As we followed the plank road to the bottom of the cliff, I couldn't hold back my curiosity and found Zheng Shuxuan to ask her what was on my mind.
"Did you tamper with the cable earlier, making Yang Ge do it?"
Hearing my words, Zheng Shuxuan frowned, "What do you mean?"
"You didn't want Professor Zhang and the others to come down with us, so you had Yang Ge tamper with the cable. Wang Yue's incident wasn't an accident, but a deliberate act," I said.
She blinked for a moment, then looked at me, "I don't know what you're talking about. Why would you think that?"
"Then why didn't you tell everyone earlier that there was a secret passage by the suspension bridge?" I asked.
"I understand what you mean," Zheng Shuxuan pursed her lips. "If I told you that I originally intended to go in and assess the situation before telling everyone, would you believe me?"
"Do you think I would?" For some reason, a surge of anger welled up inside me.
Fatty, seeing that we were at odds, quickly came over and tugged me gently, asking what was going on.
At this moment, Yang Hanxue also walked over. They hadn't heard our conversation, so seeing us standing there glaring at each other, they were both puzzled.
"Xiang Fei," Zheng Shuxuan looked at me and said, "You can doubt me, but I hope you understand. Although my purpose for coming here is the Kanto Army's treasure, I wouldn't go to such lengths."
Her words made my mood complicated.
In fact, having Professor Zhang come down with us was indeed inconvenient for our search for the treasure.
He had no idea about our true purpose for descending. Besides finding Guan Zhenwan, we were also looking for the Kanto Army's treasure.
If he were present, when the treasure was found, how it would be handled, and whether we could take it right under his nose, all these would need to be considered.
To put it bluntly, with Professor Zhang around, many of our actions would be constrained.
The reason I suspected Zheng Shuxuan of having Yang Hanxue tamper with the cable was because they hadn't informed us beforehand about the plank road by the suspension bridge.
This was also why I felt a sense of unfamiliarity when I saw Zheng Shuxuan this time.
Perhaps I was overthinking things, but their actions forced me to think.
Zheng Shuxuan's very existence was already bizarre enough. She was immortal and had a "suozhe" like Yang Hanxue by her side.
It was entirely possible for her to do things that crossed moral boundaries for her own objectives.
After this misunderstanding, we barely communicated with each other.
There was an underground river at the bottom of the cliff. We followed the river upstream and soon found a huge karst cave.
At the entrance of the cave, we discovered a deactivated flashlight.
The flashlight was intact, clearly discarded here.
This meant that Guan Zhenwan had indeed been here.
We quickly walked into the cave and soon arrived at an underground facility.
The reason I thought this place was an underground facility was because it was similar to the place Old Man Qu had discovered earlier.
However, the construction here was clearly rougher than the previous underground facility. The wires hanging on the walls were damaged, and there was trash strewn everywhere on the ground.
Among them were some discarded lunch boxes, clothing, and empty wooden crates.
Could this be the Kanto Army's treasure?
"Master Xiang! Found her!" Fatty's voice came from not far away, and I hurried over to him.
Soon, I saw Guan Zhenwan, looking dishevelled and lying on the ground.
She had fainted, and her foot was bandaged, indicating an injury. Her lips were pale.
Yang Hanxue came over and felt her pulse, saying, "She's alive."
I quickly had Fatty take a bottle of glucose from his backpack and force-fed some to her.
After a moment, Guan Zhenwan regained consciousness.
"Boss Guan! Boss Guan!" I called out twice.
Her eyelids fluttered, and then she opened her eyes. Upon seeing me, she seemed to relax, "Mr. Xiang?"
"Boss Guan, are you alright?" I asked.
She was still weak, so I gave her the rest of the glucose water and then offered her some bread.
After eating and drinking a bit, she seemed much better.
It had been almost four days since she descended. She likely hadn't had any food down here during those four days.
I didn't know how she managed to survive.
Now that she was found, one of my worries was lifted.
Since Guan Zhenwan was still in a weakened state, we didn't rush to move forward, but waited for her to recover a bit before making plans.
Our group rested there.
After resting for more than half an hour, Zheng Shuxuan suddenly approached me, offering me a cigarette. "Care to talk?"
I took it and stood up, walking aside with her.
She handed me a ladies' cigarette, which I found very uncomfortable to smoke, feeling it lacked any kick.
"Are you still bothered by what happened earlier?" she asked slowly, exhaling a puff of smoke.
I replied, "I just feel that you've changed."
"Changed?" She smiled and asked, "How have I changed?"
"I can't quite explain it. The last time I saw you, I felt you had become somewhat unfamiliar... Seeing you again this time, your tone and attitude have changed even more."
"Really?" She took a slow drag from her cigarette. "I don't feel anything... Speaking of which, you seem to have changed too."
I paused, "I've changed?"
She smiled, "Yes, you've become more mature. You weren't like this before... Actually, I'm often curious about how we got along during our time in Guangling. It's a pity I can't recall those memories."
Her words stirred something within me.
Thinking back to those days in Guangling, even I found them somewhat unreal.
At that time, she was a completely different person from who she was now.
I had even tricked Bai Hanyan into thinking she just resembled An Ying. Now, even I wasn't entirely sure if the woman before me was An Ying.
There were so many things about her that I couldn't figure out, and sometimes I didn't even want to think about them.
I had always felt that she and I were from entirely different worlds. The things that happened to her and the things that happened to me were completely separate, or rather, from two different worlds.
"What are you looking for by coming here for the Kanto Army's treasure?" I asked.
She glanced at me and said, "The same thing as your friend named Guan."