Chapter 1321 — Xiaoxiao's Birthday
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Brother Yutian, I asked you here to talk about the operation in a few days, but actually I have some good news for you." Qiu Lingshan tossed her head, flinging Yufeng's troubles behind her, and regained the brisk efficiency she wore at work.
"Oh? What good news?" Chen Yuxuan blinked, then said, "Don't tell me Wei Zhao has agreed to join this operation?"
"You guessed it exactly right." Qiu Lingshan nodded. "With Wei Zhao on board, this operation of ours may go a great deal more smoothly!"
"That's true. You and I are both experts of the Yellow Rank, and you're at the very peak of the late stage, yet when it comes to facing those utterly vicious tomb robbers, I can't help worrying that something might go wrong." Chen Yuxuan nodded.
"Still, in that case, while Wei Zhao and I play the husband-and-wife thieves, you'll have to play their lackey." Qiu Lingshan said, a little embarrassed.
"That goes without saying. Don't worry, I won't read anything into it—I've already made my peace with it." Chen Yuxuan smiled. "I support you and Wei Zhao being together. There are still a few thoughts in my heart, but I've let them go."
"Good, then this operation is settled: the three of us, Wei Zhao, you and I, will carry it out. As for anyone else, we won't bring them along." Qiu Lingshan said. "According to the files, the husband-and-wife thieves prefer to work alone and don't like to bring too many underlings—sometimes just the one lackey. And in truth, tomb raiding isn't a matter of the more the better. The burial chamber is riddled with traps, and one careless move can cost a life. So if the ones you bring are all skilled hands, fine; if they're ordinary lackeys, they're nothing but dead weight."
"That's true!" Chen Yuxuan said. "When do we leave?"
"I've already been in contact with the other tomb-raiding groups. You'd better follow up on Liu Bojia's end—I've exhausted everything I can do. He says he's told everything he knows, yet I keep feeling there's still something he hasn't said." Qiu Lingshan shrugged, with some regret. "That man keeps his mouth sealed tight. Beyond what he's already told us, no matter how I circle round the subject, he never lets anything slip. But he's too precise, his train of thought too clear. Even an ordinary person telling the truth—the same truth told that many times would still produce a slip or an omission. He has none. It's as if he's reading from a script he'd drafted in advance!"
"The man's mind is too meticulous. But he was a scholar by trade, so it's only natural his IQ should outrun the common criminal," Chen Yuxuan said. "Still, you needn't dwell on it. I think whatever he's held back he must have told Wei Zhao—probably something about the medical texts in Zhang Lifeng's tomb, and that doesn't concern us much either."
"That's possible." Qiu Lingshan recalled what Liu Bojia had said about giving Wei Zhao a benefit. For Wei Zhao, the only things that counted as benefits were money and the medical texts; and Liu Bojia didn't know Wei Zhao, only that he was a formidable doctor, so the most he could offer were those two things.
After that, Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yuxuan set about working out the specific details of the mission. Most of it, though, was mere paper talk, for no one knew what the tomb chamber really looked like or how dangerous it would be; designing these things now was nothing more than an effort to keep their composure when the moment came.
Today was Feng Xiaoxiao's birthday. Early that morning, Gu Mengyao went with Xiao Shu to the supermarket, bought a great deal of fresh fruit, and set about making a fruit cake!
At home, Tang Zhi kneaded the dough and let it rise, turning out the cake base, while Wei Zhao sent Kang Xiaofeng out to buy the cream.