Waiting outside, A-Ning watched through the car window as three figures came running toward the vehicle. A subtle, inscrutable smile curved the corner of her mouth when she caught sight of Wu Xie.
As soon as Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi got in, the car pulled away. Listening to Wu Xie shouting "Wait for me" from behind, Hei Xiazi gave Zhang Qiling a knowing look and drawled:
"Well, well, well. Who would have thought the Little Third Master was so persistent? Think A-Ning's going to let him on?"
Zhang Qiling opened his eyes, glanced back at Wu Xie still running hard in pursuit, kept his lips pressed into a tight line, and finally said, "Stop the car."
The words had barely left his mouth when the vehicle came to a halt.
Zhang Qiling, sitting right by the door, pushed it open and shifted sideways to make room.
Watching this sequence of events, Hei Xiazi let out a slightly bitter hum of jealousy.
He had known Mute Zhang for ages and never received treatment like that, yet Wu Xie had only known him for a little over two years and already enjoyed such favor. Hei Xiazi was consumed by a heavy wave of envy.
Ignoring Hei Xiazi's sudden theatrics—his limited memory telling him the man was just putting on a show, and that the best response to such behavior was total silence—Zhang Qiling simply stuck to what experience had taught him.
Wu Xie clambered into the car and started panting heavily. Hei Xiazi glared with bitter resentment at the back of Wu Xie's head.
Once he caught his breath, Wu Xie turned his head to look, but the first person he saw wasn't Xiaoge; it was Hei Xiazi, radiating enough grievance to resurrect the Evil Sword Immortal.
"What—what's wrong with you?" Wu Xie asked, completely baffled. Hei Xiazi certainly hadn't looked like this back at the sanatorium.
Hei Xiazi didn't answer. He just let out a huff and turned to stare out the window.
Wu Xie turned to Xiaoge, who simply shook his head to indicate he had no idea either.
At that moment, A-Ning turned around, looked straight at Wu Xie, and said, "Boss Wu, long time no see."
Wu Xie looked puzzled. "A-Ning? What are you doing here?"
A-Ning bypassed his question entirely. "You put on such a convincing act back in Hangzhou, I actually thought you had no idea what was going on."
"So you were testing me on purpose?" Wu Xie asked.
A-Ning let out a soft laugh, turned her head away, and offered no answer.
Wu Xie pressed on. "Does that mean your videotapes had hidden compartments too?"
"It seems you're not the innocent Tianzhen you used to be," A-Ning replied.
Wu Xie let out a long breath of relief. "Good thing I moved fast this time, or you really would've fooled me."
"Fair is fair," A-Ning said. "I wonder what Boss Wu managed to find at the sanatorium?"
Wu Xie silently pulled his backpack a little closer to his chest. "Didn't your people get there first?"
A-Ning said nothing more.
Both Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi noticed Wu Xie's small defensive gesture but kept quiet about it. Only A-Ning missed it, sitting in the blind spot across the aisle.
Once the mutual probing ended, silence settled over the car. Wu Xie had traveled a tremendous distance to get here and barely slept a wink; now, with Xiaoge sitting right beside him, a profound sense of security washed over him, and sleepiness naturally took over.
Zhang Qiling watched Wu Xie, shifting his body closer with deliberate subtlety to make the other man more comfortable.
It was a good thing Hei Xiazi had his eyes closed to rest and recuperate; otherwise, seeing this display, he undoubtedly would have started complaining relentlessly about Mute Zhang's favoritism.
By dawn, the car reached its destination, and one by one, they stepped out.
Hei Xiazi saw Wu Xie walking toward Mute Zhang. Instinct told him there was juicy gossip to be had, so, throwing all dignity aside, he shielded himself behind the car door and leaned forward slightly to peer ahead.
Wu Xie marched up to Zhang Qiling, grabbed him by the lapels, and demanded, "Xiaoge, when did you get out of the Bronze Gate? Why didn't you come looking for me?"
Sensing an opportunity to meddle, Hei Xiazi chimed in, "Yeah, do tell! I want to know too."
Wu Xie glanced back at Hei Xiazi, walked over, and slammed the car door shut without a shred of hesitation.
He spun back around and grabbed Zhang Qiling again. "You're not going anywhere until you give me a straight answer."
Locked outside, Hei Xiazi rolled down the window and thrust his head straight out, terrified of missing a single second.
Outside the window, Wu Xie seemed thoroughly exasperated by Zhang Qiling's silent treatment. He seized Zhang Qiling's collar, shoved him back against the car door, and snapped, "Are you going to talk or not?"
Zhang Qiling still said nothing. This finally broke the patience of Hei Xiazi inside the car; he couldn't stand watching the precious "cub" he had raised with such painstaking effort get cornered and manhandled by Wu Xie like this.
"Hey, hey, hey! Keep your hands to yourself! Didn't your Third Uncle teach you some manners?" Hei Xiazi strode over and pried Wu Xie's hands off Zhang Qiling.
The air hung heavy with silence for a few seconds. Perhaps feeling a sudden wave of awkwardness, Wu Xie stiffly changed the subject:
"You took my belt, so I need *something* to hold my pants up."
Zhang Qiling looked right at Wu Xie and spat out three words: "Should've said so earlier."
With that, Zhang Qiling turned and walked away. Wu Xie made to chase after him.
Hei Xiazi blocked Wu Xie's path with a beaming smile. "Hey, I've got one right here. Definitely better than Mute Zhang's piece of rope."
Wu Xie stared at the man, whose leather jacket was practically plastered with sunglasses. "Are you out of your mind? Are you smuggling shades or what?"
Hei Xiazi held up two fingers, gave them a wiggle, and tapped the leather belt he was wearing.
"No, look at this. This is an imported genuine cowhide belt, top-tier quality. Seeing as we've got a special connection, I'll give it to you for a friendly price—how about six hundred and sixty-six?"
Wu Xie looked down at the frayed hood drawstring he had salvaged from Zhang Qiling, then looked back at Hei Xiazi's so-called "imported cowhide belt." He picked up the string, dangled it in front of Hei Xiazi's face, and said, "Forget it. This string will do just fine."
With that, Wu Xie turned on his heel to leave. But there was no way Hei Xiazi was going to let a prospective customer walk away. He hurried over to block Wu Xie once more, wearing an expression of profound heartache.
"I'll give you a twenty percent discount! Four hundred and forty-four! That's a steal, right?"
Growing thoroughly annoyed at being intercepted, Wu Xie snapped, "Seriously, who the hell are you anyway?"
Before Hei Xiazi could flash his trademark grin and reply, A-Ning's voice rang out from nearby: "Dark Eyes, known in the underworld as Master Hei. He and Zhang Qiling are both consultants for this operation."
Wu Xie glanced at Hei Xiazi, then shifted his gaze to A-Ning. "Consultants? What makes you think Xiaoge would ever consult for you lot?"
A-Ning replied calmly, "Those two have clear, fixed rates. What—your Third Uncle could afford to hire them, but I can't?"
Without another word, A-Ning turned and walked off toward her crew. She was far too busy to coddle Wu Xie's misplaced juvenile angst.
Wu Xie muttered under his breath, glaring at Hei Xiazi, "Money really *can* make ghosts push millstones." If he had that kind of cash, he wouldn't have had to ride a rattling three-wheeler all the way to the sanatorium—he could have just bought the whole place outright.
Hei Xiazi chuckled. "If you want to pay me to push a millstone, I'd be more than happy to oblige."
He pulled open his leather jacket and offered, "Want some sunglasses? We're heading into the desert soon, you're going to need them."
Wu Xie zeroed in on a single word. "Desert? You're heading into the desert?"
Hei Xiazi let out an "Mn."
"You didn't know? We're heading to Tamutuo shortly."
Wu Xie repeated the place name under his breath: "Tamutuo?" The name sounded vaguely familiar.
He stood frozen in place for a couple of seconds, lost in thought, trying to dredge up some distant memory.
Watching Wu Xie lapse into deep contemplation, Hei Xiazi knew instantly there was no hope for this sale. He shrugged and said, "Suit yourself, then."