My heart was filled with conflict. If I didn't find a way to see Sister Ying this time, I didn't know if I would ever have the chance again.
Taking a deep breath, I called out to Fu Honglang and said, "Brother Fu, I'll go with you."
"You're going too?" Fu Honglang sounded surprised.
"Since only your wife can contact Sister Ying, I have no choice but to go find your wife," I replied.
Fu Honglang's face lit up. "It would be even better to have you, my brother, accompany me! After all, you've been tomb raiding before."
I couldn't help but laugh wryly. It seemed he had taken Fatty's exaggerated tales to heart.
Fatty, who had been drowsy, woke up as soon as he heard about tomb raiding. He came over and said, "I'm going too! Wherever Master Xiang goes, I go!"
...
I never imagined that coming to Shangdu would involve tomb raiding.
This was completely beyond my expectations. After discussing it with Fu Honglang, I calculated the approximate timeframe. This trip to Qianzhong would take at least over a month.
Wu Tingxiu's situation was also urgent, making it a difficult choice.
However, since I had decided to go to Qianzhong, Wu Tingxiu's matters would have to be put aside.
We boarded the train overnight. As soon as I got on, I called Wu Tingxiu.
I told her I would be staying in Shangdu for another month. When she heard this, she wasn't surprised and instead said, "That's perfect timing..."
"Perfect timing for what?"
"I've already sent people to find Yan Hongguang. He's not in Guangbei right now... he won't be back for another two months."
"Where did he go?" I asked.
"Apparently, he went abroad to attend an auction."
"So, it's okay for me to go to Guangbei in two months then?"
"Mm..." Wu Tingxiu pondered for a moment and said, "And you must go in person this time."
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"In two months, it will also be the Guangbei Treasure Appraisal Conference..."
Treasure Appraisal Conference?
This suddenly reminded me of what Yan Hongguang had told me before, that my father had shone brightly at a treasure appraisal conference.
For some reason, I felt a sense of anticipation for this event.
"You mean you want me to participate in that treasure appraisal conference?" I asked.
Wu Tingxiu said, "That's right. With your skills, if you can shine at the Treasure Appraisal Conference, Yan Hongguang will surely notice you. Then, you'll have a better chance of getting him to help you decipher the map."
"Alright then, I'll handle things here as quickly as possible and be in Guangbei on time," I said.
"What exactly happened on your end? Do you want me to send Song Bing to assist you?"
"No, it's just some personal matters here."
"Alright then, as I said before, if you need any help from me, feel free to call me."
I smiled and said, "No need for help, but I do need to inform you that the money you lent me last time might be delayed in repayment."
"The money isn't urgent. If you don't have enough, I can transfer more to you," Wu Tingxiu replied with a smile.
"Aren't you afraid I'll run off with your money?" I teased.
"Would you?" Wu Tingxiu seemed to know me well and smiled, "I'm afraid you won't take my money. The more you borrow from me, the happier I am. If you can't repay it, you'll work for me forever."
I was speechless and said, "I've seen through the faces of you capitalists. You really have no good intentions."
After hanging up the phone, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Since Yan Hongguang was abroad, I had to make good use of these two months to clarify Sister Ying's situation.
When I returned to the sleeper car, Fatty was playing cards with two of Fu Honglang's subordinates.
Fu Honglang had brought two men with him this time. One was Xiao Liu, and the other was Shi Tou.
According to him, these two were his most trusted individuals and had been with him the longest.
Xiao Liu and Shi Tou were around the same age, both in their late twenties.
They were from the same village as Fu Honglang and hadn't attended school much. They had followed Fu Honglang into tomb raiding at a very young age and were considered experienced.
I climbed into my bunk and had a good sleep, as the journey to Qianzhong was quite long.
The next day at noon, as we were nearing Qianzhong, my phone suddenly rang.
It was from a public phone. As soon as I answered, a familiar voice came through.
"Xiao Fei, where are you?" Wang Yang's tone was somewhat anxious.
"I'm heading to Qianzhong. What's wrong?" I asked.
"What are you going to Qianzhong for?" I had nothing to hide from him, so I told him I was going to find Sister Ying.
After listening, he sighed, "I'm coming to find you now. We'll talk when we meet."
Before I could say anything else, the phone line went dead.
It seemed he hadn't found Sister Ying the last time he looked for her.
That made sense. If he could find Sister Ying, the people who were after her would likely find her more easily.
I informed Fu Honglang that a friend of mine was coming over, and he didn't seem to mind.
After getting off the train, Fu Honglang went to rent a car, while Fatty and I stayed at a hotel.
Wang Yang arrived at eleven o'clock that night.
He looked exhausted, his beard clearly unkempt, and he had a faint odor of sweat, suggesting his clothes hadn't been changed in a while.
I briefly introduced Fatty, and after they exchanged greetings, Wang Yang said he wanted to talk to me privately.
I took out a few hundred yuan and asked Fatty to buy some food and a change of clothes.
After Fatty left, Wang Yang lit a cigarette and took a long puff. "You can't smoke on planes; I was suffocating."
"You came by plane?"
"Otherwise?" Wang Yang replied.
"What's so urgent that you had to rush over to find me?"
He looked at me and said in a low voice, "I can now say with 100% certainty that your Sister Ying can truly achieve immortality!"
I was stunned at first, then I chuckled, "You said the same thing last time..."
"I know you don't believe me, but this time it's different!"
Wang Yang pulled several black and white photographs from his pocket. Some of them clearly showed Sister Ying's face.
The rest were report forms with data and English that I couldn't quite understand.
"Where did you get these?" I asked.
Wang Yang said, "I couldn't find An Ying in Bian Hai... but I did find the people who were after her. I followed those guys for over a month..."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but ask, "Did you get these from them?"
Wang Yang nodded. "Yes, and I also overheard their conversation... One of them said he personally saw An Ying die and come back to life!"
I froze, licking my lips. "He saw it with his own eyes?"
"That's right!"