Chapter 126: At a Loss?

Hua Yaofei, having spent so many years navigating the world of grave robbing, had never been played for a fool so many times. She had been the mantis stalking the cicada far too often... Damn it!

"It is better to leave early. This isn't inside an ancient tomb; out here under the bright, open sky, nothing feels right. Even if you were to run into them at the hospital, you would all just end up going home separately anyway..." Sui Yi said calmly, spinning a fruit knife in her hand. She looked up and added, "I have some things I need to tell you two this time."

Hmm?

Rarely seeing such a solemn expression on Sui Yi, both Gong Jiu and Hua Yaofei grew tense, fearful that this woman was about to say something extraordinary.

After a long moment, Sui Yi unfastened the long cloth from her back, revealing the Yaoque Sword.

"I brought this out of the ancient tomb... I am just letting you know."

Uh...

Gong Jiu raised an eyebrow, touched the Yaoque, examined it, then looked at Sui Yi. "You don't want to keep it all to yourself? Is that why you specifically told us? You don't have to do that. Our trade has rules; unless it belongs to a specific party, whatever an individual obtains belongs to them. Of course, if you were my subordinate, your possessions would belong to me..."

Is that a bully's clause?

Sui Yi did not commit to an answer, simply looking at Gong Jiu. "No, what I mean is... this sword, I want it. It is mine, and you cannot take it."

Such a calm, composed, yet domineering statement! She even went out of her way to add that they couldn't take it—did she have to show such disdain for them?

Gong Jiu and her companion were left speechless, feeling as if they might cough up blood.

"Then why the hell did you even bring it up!" Gong Jiu rolled her eyes.

"Just to inform you, so you wouldn't say I was hiding things..."

"..."

You would have been better off saying nothing!

The two of them wanted to retort, but remembering Sui Yi's cold, calculating nature, they both shut their mouths. Watching Sui Yi wrap the sword back up in the cloth, Gong Jiu pursed her lips and cast a quick glance at Sui Yi's indifferent, plain face.

"I just looked at that sword; it seems quite ordinary, with no signs of age. I can't believe you like it so much..."

Logically, this woman was an expert in antiques, so why would she like something like that?

No signs of age? Sui Yi wrapped the Yaoque in the cloth, pressed her palm against the blade, and gripped it tightly.

The sword had no magnetic resonance at all, as if it were sealed, yet she had a feeling it was extraordinary and ancient—more ancient than the very breath of heaven and earth. In any case, having been obtained from an ancient tomb at least proved the sword was over a thousand years old.

A thousand-year-old sword...

While Sui Yi was momentarily lost in thought because of the Yaoque, Hua Yaofei let out a chuckle. The sound was so chilling that it snapped Sui Yi out of her reverie and gave Gong Jiu goosebumps. "Flower Fairy, stop laughing. My goosebumps are about to crack the plaster... We really lost a fortune this time. The equipment alone cost a box of renminbi. If you laugh like that, it makes me think you've become mentally twisted from sheer grief..."

Hua Yaofei was not ashamed; instead, she blinked her long, captivating lashes, picked up her jacket, and smoothly pulled an item from an inner pocket.

It was a piece of gold foil the size of a palm, exquisitely crafted and inlaid with no fewer than ten delicate gemstones, each the size of a pinky nail. It looked like a miniature mask.

"This thing, I reckon it would fetch seven or eight million on the black market alone. If I take it to an auction, ten million is not a problem. It will definitely offset all my losses and earn me dozens of times the profit..."

Was this showing off? You weren't mistaken—this was exactly that! It was obvious Hua Yaofei had hidden it away, either in the upper side hall or when the underground palace collapsed.

Sui Yi remembered that when the underground palace collapsed, some items had indeed drifted out as the palace fell.

Seeing Hua Yaofei so smug, Gong Jiu said nothing, simply reaching into her chest with her un-plastered hand... and silently pulling out a radiant, luminous bead.

A night-shining pearl? A glass bead?

Sui Yi did not know much about jewelry and could not estimate its value, but judging by the rapidly changing expression on Hua Yaofei's face, she knew Gong Jiu hadn't lost out.

However, from Ye Luanyun, she had learned about the so-called curse. Although she didn't fully believe it, she...

Sui Yi told the two smug people about Ye Luanyun's situation in a different way. Their reactions were very cautious, though they did not entirely agree.

"I have never believed in curses. If people end up in tragedy, there are only two possibilities: either they were poisoned by some special ancient toxin attached to an artifact, or it is a psychological issue—perhaps they developed inner demons in a specific environment, leading to a series of tragedies... Of course, I will still investigate that guy Ye Luanyun's tragedy."

Hua Yaofei’s analysis was clear and very sensible. Gong Jiu clearly held the same view. Seeing this, Sui Yi stopped worrying.

Although she herself was skeptical of curses, she knew that while Ye Luanyun's fate had much to do with his own temperament, it was also inextricably linked to that palace. She had spared him for a reason, hoping to gain further clues from him.

—Sui Yi always felt he was hiding something. And that something was precisely related to the doubts in her heart.

Compared to Sui Yi’s pathetic, dull sword, which was blunter than a fruit knife, Gong Jiu and Hua Yaofei were undoubtedly feeling smug, though neither mentioned giving Sui Yi a cut of their gains, knowing she wouldn't want it.

Why bring it up?

However, when they later witnessed the sharpness of the Yaoque, their expressions were quite interesting. They almost begged to be kept by Sui Yi in exchange for their wealth.

Putting the bead away, Gong Jiu and Hua Yaofei brought up Aguna and the others, bickering for a while. Sui Yi didn't say much, simply peeling her pear...

Gong Jiu leaned against her pillows, and as they talked, she suddenly stared at Sui Yi, lost in thought.

"By the way, Sui Yi, why did you say that about time standing still earlier?"

She didn't avoid Hua Yaofei, and Hua Yaofei was happy to listen openly.

"A feeling," Sui Yi said faintly. She raised her eyes to look at her, "It was a thought linked to the idea of resurrection."

Resurrection...

Gong Jiu’s eye twitched, her body tensing slightly, feeling the pain radiating from her wounds.

"Do you remember what I told you before?" Gong Jiu asked softly.

Sui Yi didn't look up, only keeping her eyes on the apple she was peeling: "I don't remember."

Seriously, how could she be so indifferent! Could she be any more dismissive?

Gong Jiu felt she had to finish what she wanted to say as quickly as possible and get this person out of here, or she would die of frustration!

"It was what I said before—that if we returned alive, I would tell you the secret of our Gong family..."

A secret? Hua Yaofei raised an eyebrow.

Sui Yi looked up, staring at Gong Jiu, whose expression was grave...

In an instant, she saw the apple Sui Yi handed over.

It was the peeled kind.

Immediately, Sui Yi picked up the Yaoque beside her, slung it across her back, and stood up.

It was one fluid movement.

"Sorry, let's do it next time. We can talk when there is time."

Then, she pulled the door open and left...

Gong Jiu looked down at the apple in her hand. She had never seen anyone peel an apple like this... It was skinless, naturally, but also lumpy and uneven.

It was a pig.

"..."

Gong Jiu suddenly felt a wave of sorrow surging within her... and eventually, her tears flowed like a river.

She sighed melancholically, "That marvelous palace, I suppose we will never be able to enter it again in this lifetime... Poor brothers we left inside... Perhaps many, many years from now, some great thief of the future will finally uncover the secrets of this palace and see that among those buried with it are our brothers, our guns, our..."

"And that blood-stained pair of your underwear."

"..."

Hua Yaofei didn't tease Gong Jiu this time; she simply mocked her.

---

At Mingyue Apartments, Sui Yi saw Wang Pu as soon as she arrived home. He was cooking.

Sui Yi nodded slightly toward him, then went straight upstairs to check on the old lady. After a thorough examination, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

She turned her head to look at Wang Pu, who was standing in the doorway.

Her gaze was clear and bright, yet deep, like a bottomless cold pool. Wang Pu nervously gripped the doorknob.

"You've had a habit since you were a child: whenever you get nervous, you like to rub your right index finger and thumb together."

Sui Yi's words caused Wang Pu to reflexively let go of the doorknob, only to realize immediately that he had exposed something.

He offered a bitter smile and followed Sui Yi out of the room.

On the second-floor balcony, the setting sun cast a warm, yellowish twilight across their faces. Wang Pu wore a look of pale, nervous disappointment, while Sui Yi carried a mysterious, deep glow.

Wang Pu watched Sui Yi, who had her back to him, and eventually began to rub his index finger and thumb together again.

"You... you found out?"

Sui Yi turned around to look at him. "Did he never teach you that regardless of what leverage the other party has on you, you should never reveal your own cards before they show their decisive hand?"

Wang Pu’s face turned pale in an instant, cold sweat on his forehead. He stared at Sui Yi, and after a long while, he managed to force a bitter smile. "In front of you, I'm not used to that..."

He hadn't been used to it from the start, and he didn't like it either.

Sui Yi did not dwell on his words. She leaned against the railing, eyes half-closed. "That night, there were footprints on Grandma's window, and a leaf under the window sash... Usually, her room isn't left open. Even if it were, there are no tall trees nearby, so it's not a coincidence that a leaf just happened to drift onto the windowsill. This means someone entered through that window."

"The person who attacked me that night appeared too suddenly. And how could someone suffering from the Gu poison travel so far from the village just to destroy a document? Actually, it wasn't to destroy the document, but to deliberately lure me away."

Sui Yi looked at Wang Pu, watching his expression change.