Walking through the mountain forest, birds were chirping all around. Hei Xiazi occasionally stopped to pick flowers and watch the birds, and by the time they reached their destination, he had fashioned a floral wreath with various colors intricately intertwined, looking quite lovely.
"Master Hei, what is this?"
A patrolling crew member was the first to spot Hei Xiazi and stepped forward respectfully to inquire.
As the Southern Blind of the legendary Southern Blind and Northern Mute duo in the underworld, anyone mixed in these circles knew who he was.
Moreover, the Northern Mute, who shared equal renown with him, was currently right there in their camp, so the crew member didn't harbor too much suspicion.
"Oh, I'm looking for Mute Zhang. Where is he?"
Hei Xiazi didn't beat around the bush and stated his purpose directly.
"You're looking for Master Zhang? He's with us. Please, go right in." Someone had already run off to report to the boss the moment Hei Xiazi was spotted.
Hei Xiazi nodded and said with a smile, "Patrol well, don't slack off." With that, he patted the crew member on the shoulder and walked straight in.
"Got it, I'll definitely work hard!"
The crew member shouted excitedly, as if winning approval was some earth-shattering event. For a newcomer like him, being able to strike up a conversation with the infamous Master Hei in the underworld was a tremendous honor.
He lifted the tent flap and stepped inside to see Zhang Qiling sitting to one side, wiping his Black Gold Ancient Saber. Seated at the head of the table was the boss for this expedition.
"Boss Huang, long time no see, I've missed you."
Hei Xiazi glanced at the layout of the tent and casually sat down right next to Zhang Qiling.
"Hei Xiazi, long time no see. What brings you to my humble temple?"
Boss Huang wasn't upset; he had worked with Hei Xiazi for a period of time, so he understood him fairly well.
"Me? I just finished escorting a client down a tomb, and hearing that Mute Zhang and you were here, I came to catch up." With that, he picked up a bottle of wine from the table and took a drink.
"You didn't leave your client behind in the tomb again this time, did you?" It was phrased as a question, but the tone was entirely certain.
"How can you blame me for that? Who told them to be so disobedient? They kept wanting to send King Yama his final respects, so what could I possibly do?" Hei Xiazi said with a helpless shrug.
"Hah, if you'd just curb that stray dog temper of yours, you wouldn't be living such a miserable existence," Boss Huang scolded with a laugh.
"Ah, I want to change too, but I just can't help myself." He then put on a fake sigh to express his helplessness.
"Enough, don't play the saint in front of me. Stay for dinner tonight, and tomorrow we'll pack up and head back." With a wave of his hand, Boss Huang went off to inspect their spoils from this trip.
"Great, then thanks for the hospitality, Boss Huang."
Scrounging another free meal, Hei Xiazi figured that if he had a dozen generous employers like Boss Huang, he'd wake up laughing in his sleep.
Once the tent was left with only Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi inside.
Zhang Qiling finally stopped wiping his blade, turned around, and stared at Hei Xiazi. Although he didn't speak, Hei Xiazi, who had long since mastered Zhang Qiling's facial expressions without instruction, naturally knew what he meant.
"What? Don't remember me again?" One look and Hei Xiazi knew the man was suffering from amnesia once more.
Zhang Qiling didn't speak; he just stared at Hei Xiazi. For some inexplicable reason, the person in front of him felt somewhat familiar, yet he couldn't quite place him.
"Fine, looking at that face of yours, you definitely can't remember your Master Hei here. I'm here to take you home."
Hei Xiazi didn't bother wasting his breath. After knowing Zhang Qiling for so many years, he had already repeated his self-introduction several times over.
Home? This unfamiliar word left Zhang Qiling feeling a wave of bewilderment. Did he still have a home?
After losing his memory, Zhang Qiling had run into Boss Huang. Since Boss Huang knew Hei Xiazi, he naturally knew about the arrangement where Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi lived together.
He had originally planned to invite Hei Xiazi along, but upon learning that Hei Xiazi already had a job, he invited Zhang Qiling to join an exploration of a tomb instead.
Zhang Qiling needed to recover his memories, so he had gone along with Boss Huang.
"I remember you. Shredded pork fried rice with green peppers."
An image surfaced in Zhang Qiling's mind of Hei Xiazi making shredded pork fried rice with green peppers for him. The reason it made such a deep impression was that he had eaten it every single day for three whole months.
"Oh, you remembered! That's progress, much better than before when you couldn't recall a thing." Hei Xiazi gave him an appreciative thumbs-up.
This time, Zhang Qiling wasn't nearly as accommodating. He turned back around and went right back to wiping his saber.
"Tsk, all day long you only know how to wipe that blade of yours. Well, do me a favor and wipe mine while you're at it." Hei Xiazi pulled out his own short black gold blade and tossed it over to Mute Zhang.
As if he had eyes on the back of his head, Zhang Qiling caught it cleanly. He frowned, intending to toss it right back, but suddenly noticed something unusual about the weapon.
"This blade?"
He shifted his gaze to his own Black Gold Ancient Saber and was certain that this weapon was forged from the exact same material as his.
"This knife was a gift from you to me, you know. I kept saying I couldn't accept it, but you insisted on shoving it into my hands, so I had no choice but to take it." Hei Xiazi spun this tale of turning white into black without missing a beat.
Zhang Qiling glanced at Hei Xiazi, then lowered his gaze to the two similar blades. He only believed about half of what Hei Xiazi had just said.
That they knew each other was true, and their relationship was probably quite good, but was this knife really a gift from him? Even Zhang Qiling couldn't be certain of that.
Try as he might, Zhang Qiling would never figure out that both of these blades had actually been dug out of the Zhang Family Ancient Building by Hei Xiazi himself.
Having enjoyed a wonderful, free meal and having Zhang Qiling's commission transferred directly into his own account, Hei Xiazi was in a fantastic mood.
He wasn't worried in the least that Zhang Qiling might come looking for him to get it back later—what a joke, since when did money that entered Master Hei's pocket ever find its way back out?
"Let's go, Mute Zhang, time to head back." Hei Xiazi took the lead and went out to pick out a vehicle.
Mute Zhang slung his Black Gold Ancient Saber over his shoulder and followed behind him. For someone like him who had lost his memory, sticking with the somewhat familiar Hei Xiazi was the best choice. Besides, judging by what the man had said, they had been living together before he lost his memory.
Since both centenarians were unregistered persons without identity cards, they had no choice but to drive out and then catch a long-distance bus back to Beijing.
Since there were only the two of them traveling and Zhang Qiling wasn't one for talking, Hei Xiazi didn't try to force a conversation and simply drove in silence.
The entire journey was quiet. The two of them took turns driving—Zhang Qiling by day, Hei Xiazi by night—and after three days of driving like this, they finally returned to Beijing.
"Ah, I'm exhausted to death. Mute Zhang, that's your room over there. I'm going to get some sleep first, and you should go get some rest too. We can talk about whatever comes up after I wake up." With a wave of his hand, Hei Xiazi walked straight into his room.
Zhang Qiling nodded. Having driven for so long, his mind was also feeling somewhat fatigued. Since Hei Xiazi said he would tell him after sleeping, there was no rush, so he went to rest as well.
"003, you there?" Back in his room, Hei Xiazi called out to that entity that had been quiet for a long time.
"I'm here. What's up, host?" 003 replied.
"Mute Zhang is back now, but there's a problem—he has amnesia. He doesn't remember me and keeps his guard up around me. Do you have a way to cure his memory loss?"
To Hei Xiazi, Mute Zhang was his only companion on the path to longevity, but Mute Zhang's amnesia was a thorny issue.
"His memory loss is caused by his Kirin Blood. There is a way, but it can't completely eradicate it. It can only nourish his soul and prevent him from forgetting everything entirely," 003 said after flipping through its data.
"Good enough, what is it?" As long as it left him with some memories, those unpleasant ones didn't need to be remembered anyway.
"I'll trade with you. I'll give you the medicine, and you give me the Meteorite Jade." 003 wanted to see what the Meteorite Jade in this world was like.
"Meteorite Jade? Where on earth am I supposed to get that for you?" Hei Xiazi had heard of Meteorite Jade; rumor had it that the Queen Mother of the West attained longevity precisely because of it.
"Your upcoming trip to the Queen Mother of the West Palace will have it."
"How do you know I'm going to the Queen Mother of the West Palace?"
A flicker of darkness crossed Hei Xiazi's eyes. This entity calling itself 003 knew far too much.
"I know everything that happens in this world. I hold all the data for this world." Speaking of this, 003's tone couldn't help but swell with pride.
"Oh, aren't you just amazing." Hei Xiazi couldn't stand anyone more arrogant than himself.
"Hmph, you're just jealous." 003 didn't care what Hei Xiazi thought.
"Can't you put it on credit? And throw in some photos of me and Mute Zhang down in the tombs while you're at it."
"Why would I? I already told you to bring back the Meteorite Jade to trade."
"Look at Mute Zhang's current state. If I don't get closer to him now, what are we going to do when he refuses to help later? More people means more strength, comrade." Hei Xiazi tried to persuade it with earnest words.
"No, only the energy of the Meteorite Jade can save him. I can help you get the photos, though."
It wasn't that 003 was unwilling to help; its current energy was limited, and it usually reduced consumption by staying dormant. Zhang Qiling had been subjected to the "Heaven's Dictation" so many times that helping him recover was extremely difficult and required a massive amount of energy.
"Fine, then Master Hei will get all of it back for you."
Looking at the freshly printed photos in his hand, Hei Xiazi declared that as expected of 003's output, anything it produced was top-tier.
"Good." Satisfied for now, 003 was already daydreaming about what it could buy once it acquired so much energy.