The previously pleasant atmosphere suddenly became tense, catching me off guard.
Looking at the gun in Guan Zhenwan’s hand, I had no doubt she would pull the trigger.
But similarly, I knew Yang Hanxue was not to be trifled with. Although we had a good relationship, he always followed Zheng Shuxuan’s orders.
After all, he was a “Suozhe.”
“Boss Guan… what are you doing?” I tried to smooth things over with a smile.
She glanced at me, then at Yang Hanxue and Zheng Shuxuan, saying, “My purpose for coming this time is this painting… I don’t care how you divide anything else. But if you intend to lay your hands on this painting, I can only apologize.”
Seeing her determined expression, I knew she wasn’t joking, so I said, “Can’t we all sit down and discuss this properly? There’s no need to get like this, is there?”
I thought everyone would listen to me, but just then, Zheng Shuxuan produced a gun from somewhere and pointed it directly at Guan Zhenwan.
Back in the armory, when Fatty and I were fiddling with the firearms, they hadn’t shown any interest in them. How did everyone have guns now?
Facing the “Mexican standoff,” I didn’t know what to say. Fatty shuffled closer and said, “Master Xiang is right, we can discuss anything properly. We’re all here by chance, no need to make a scene, right?”
They ignored Fatty, and at that moment, Yang Hanxue raised his hand to grab the gun from Guan Zhenwan.
The atmosphere instantly turned tense, as I wasn’t sure if Guan Zhenwan would fire. If she did, would Zheng Shuxuan fire as well?
Countless questions swirled in my mind, making me nervous, my palms sweating.
When Yang Hanxue grabbed the gun from Guan Zhenwan’s hand, the worst-case scenario thankfully did not occur.
Yang Hanxue snatched the gun from Guan Zhenwan’s hand, then tossed it aside. Afterward, he picked up the backpack containing the “Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival.”
“Miss Guan, I know this painting is very important to you, and I have no intention of snatching it. I just hope that this painting can be temporarily kept in my custody. In three months at most, I will return it to you,” Zheng Shuxuan said, putting her gun away.
Guan Zhenwan’s expression was somewhat uncertain. I didn’t know what she was thinking, and she remained silent for a moment.
After a while, she finally said, “Okay, but three months is too long. One month at most.”
Zheng Shuxuan hesitated for a moment and then said, “Fine, one month then.”
Seeing that an agreement had been reached, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as Zheng Shuxuan lowered her gun, I noticed Guan Zhenwan’s lips move slightly. This familiar movement made me realize something was wrong.
As expected, suddenly several strange snakes, appearing from nowhere, lunged towards Zheng Shuxuan and Yang Hanxue.
Before I could react, there was a burst of gunfire, which caught me off guard.
It was Zheng Shuxuan who fired. Her aim was very accurate; each shot hit the snakes lunging at her.
Taking advantage of the moment, Yang Hanxue drew a dagger. In a flash, countless snakes rapidly crawled out of the pit, and they all seemed agitated.
In an instant, countless snakes surrounded us. Guan Zhenwan, who had been nearby, had already gotten the backpack containing the “Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival,” retreated to the entrance of the passage, and in the blink of an eye, had left through the passage.
Looking at the dense snake swarm, I quickly asked Fatty to get the realgar from the backpack.
When we came down earlier, I had worried about encountering snake swarms, so I asked Fatty to bring a jar of realgar, which was now proving useful.
But to my surprise, when the realgar powder was sprinkled, the strange snakes showed no intention of retreating. Instead, they became even more frenzied.
I saw several snakes coil into a circle, ready to launch at any moment, attacking us.
Seeing that the realgar was useless, Fatty simply took out the submachine gun hanging from his body and opened fire on the snake swarm!
The “da da da…” of gunfire quickly tore apart the snakes nearby, splattering blood everywhere.
“Master Xiang! Let’s go this way!” Fatty pointed to a metal frame not far away. Next to the frame was a passage. Although I didn’t know where it led, there weren’t many snakes in that direction.
I glanced at Zheng Shuxuan and Yang Hanxue not far away and waved at them, “This way!”
Seeing this, they both moved towards me. Fatty provided cover with the submachine gun, and we managed to escape into the passage.
Upon entering, I realized this place was likely an exhaust passage, with several fans on the walls.
I had seen it on the map before; this exhaust passage ran through the entire underground fortress and led to the exit.
As we ran into the passage, the strange snakes were already in pursuit, surging into the passage like a tide.
Judging by the situation, there was no way back, so we had no choice but to press on through the passage.
It was just that Guan Zhenwan hadn’t entered this passage, and I didn’t know where she had gone.
But that was no longer my concern. She had already obtained the “Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival,” and I hadn’t found any clues about the Marquis Sui’s Pearl among the treasures.
This trip had yielded nothing for me, and I couldn’t bear to stay in this place for another moment.
We ran along the passage for about ten minutes before the strange snakes stopped chasing us.
“Xiao Fei…” Zheng Shuxuan called out to me. Hearing her call me that, I felt a little unaccustomed.
Although her appearance and voice were exactly the same as “Sister Ying,” I knew the woman in front of me was not “Sister Ying.”
The “Sister Ying” I longed for could only exist in my memories, in the days when I first arrived in Guangling a year ago.
“You can still call me by my name,” I said.
She gave a bitter smile, nodded, and asked me to show her the map of the fortress.
I didn’t refuse and handed her the map.
She looked at the map, and I noticed she seemed to be looking for a way to return.
“You want to go back the way we came?” I asked.
She replied, “The main entrance to the fortress must be sealed off, and the only way out now is to return the way we came. Moreover, Guan Zhenwan must have thought of this too, so we need to get back to our previous location before her to intercept her.”
As soon as I heard that she still wanted to find Guan Zhenwan to retake the “Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival,” I couldn’t help but say, “Why are you so fixated on that painting?”
She looked at me and asked, “Don’t you need that painting?”
I was stunned, not understanding what she meant.