"She's a new friend I made," I said. "Hey, Yaoyao, Bingbing, say hi to my aunt."
"Hi, Auntie! Wow, Auntie is so pretty!"
"Hello, Auntie," Yaoyao said, her face dark despite wearing her mask. It was quite an imposition to have a woman over four hundred years old call a woman in her thirties "Auntie."
After they had greeted each other, I turned back to the camera. "Okay, Auntie, I have to go now. We're going shopping."
After ending the video call, I immediately told Old Ba to stay alert and not fall asleep, to keep an eye on Hanyin Temple for any activity.
I knew my aunt's personality too well. She was impatient and couldn't keep things to herself. She would definitely call Shen Xingyue to ask about my relationship.
As expected, a minute later, when I called my aunt again, her line was busy.
Three minutes later, Shen Xingyue called. I hung up. She then sent a WeChat video call. I pretended to press the wrong button and answered. The screen captured the sign with "Taiyuan Street" on it. After two seconds, I pretended to have a lag and hung up again. Then, I silenced the phone and threw it into a hotel trash can by the entrance.
Two minutes later, Old Ba messaged me: "They're coming out and driving down the mountain."
I asked: "All of them?"
Old Ba: "All of them!"
Excellent!
I immediately used my new phone to send a message in the group chat: "Stop training. Return to Fucheng immediately. Have Zhao Nana drive you to the Hanjiadian station. We'll meet there."
Zhao Nana had an A-class driver's license and could also drive a Coaster.
Half an hour later, we rendezvoused at Hanjiadian station. We all squeezed into one Coaster and headed directly onto the highway.
About an hour into the drive, Yaoyao pointed ahead. "They're in the opposite lane."
"How do you know?" I asked. The median barrier and bushes blocked my view of the oncoming traffic.
"I remembered Shen Xingyue's aura," Yaoyao chuckled, likely using her shamanic aura-reading technique.
Swish, swish, swish. Although I couldn't see them, I heard several cars speeding past in the opposite lane. One of them had a particularly pleasant engine sound – it was likely the Rolls-Royce Old Ba had mentioned.
A mutual chase. They were heading towards Taiyuan Street (where my phone was), while we were heading towards Jiuxian Cave.
I gradually increased speed. An hour later, the Coaster navigated through mountains and valleys, finally reaching Fanshen Village.
Old Ba was waiting at the village entrance. I asked her how many people were left at the Hanlu Temple on the mountain. Old Ba said there were only two men left, but they weren't monks.
Yaoyao, along with Old Big, Old Five, and Old Six, silently crossed the village and ascended the mountain. The rest of us dispersed, using our flashlights to search the village ruins. Shortly after, Yaoyao and the others returned, having dealt with the two Shabiya members. They joined us in the treasure hunt.
The demons were strong and could easily move obstacles. However, the "Chuyun Bin" was still too small. Even with all eleven of us, it felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"We need to pinpoint the location," I said, wiping sweat from my brow. I suddenly recalled the entries in Song Lei's diary and turned to Yaoyao. "Were the people on the mountain earlier experts? How old were they?"
"One was passable, the other wasn't very good. The passable one was in his fifties. Why?" Yaoyao asked.
"Do you think it's possible he participated in the battle fourteen years ago here, where that Shabiya traitor was cornered? If he was in the fight, maybe he could mark the exact spot where the traitor was killed. That would make it much easier to find!" I reasoned.
Yaoyao narrowed her eyes. "Why do you assume the Chuyun Bin would be at the location where he was killed? Didn't Song Lei say it was lost during the battle? In that case, it could have fallen anywhere."
I shook my head. "Song Lei was just guessing. Think about it, such an important item. The traitor would have kept it safe, wouldn't he? And after he died, the item was gone. Is it possible that before he died, he didn't want Shabiya to get the Chuyun Bin back, so he hid it right there?"
After speaking, I simulated the scene.
I played the traitor, surrounded by enemies and cornered in a ruin, with no escape. I took a dagger and a thin wire (simulating the Chuyun Bin) from my pocket, dug a hole in the ground with the dagger, and inserted the wire. Then, I jumped out of the ruin, turned back, and kicked the wall down (Xiong Xiaomeng helped me kick it), continuing the fight until I died, falling into Xiong Xiaomeng's soft embrace.
Yaoyao crossed her arms and nodded. "There's actually a good possibility of that."