I didn't stand on ceremony either, walking over and plopping down onto the **. My body hadn't fully recovered yet, and the constant jarring ride in that cursed vehicle had nearly shaken me to pieces.

The two men didn't even lift an eyelid, standing ramrod straight like wooden statues, taking on the air of guards on duty. I couldn't be bothered with them anyway, and seeing they ignored me, I simply yanked the covers over myself.

I have to admit, I was amazed at myself; in that situation, I managed to sleep for I don't know how long in a daze. When I woke, those two were still standing there. Feeling a pang of hunger, I unashamedly called out for them to bring me something to eat. To hell with it; whether I live or die, I need to fill my stomach first.

The man standing to the left of the door responded, "Please wait a moment, I will report." He sounded exceedingly polite. However, just as he reached out to open the door, it creaked open on its own. Immediately, a pair of feet encased in gleaming black leather shoes appeared before my eyes, followed by the body—it was the short one! Hadn't he been escorting Old Li?

Though surprised internally, I maintained my languid, half-reclining posture on the ** with the blanket draped over me, watching him with amusement.

As soon as he entered, the two "guards" snapped to attention and saluted crisply. Seeing this, I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. Did they really think they amounted to something?

The short man waved his hand, dismissing the two of them.

I still didn't move, just kept staring at him. The short man finally grew uncomfortable under my gaze. He smoothed his clothes and said, "Is there something wrong with me?" As he spoke, he dragged the only chair in the room over and sat down beside my bed.

I remained silent and still, shifting my gaze to his epaulets. This time I saw clearly: it was roughly a golden-yellow five-pointed star, but this star was composed of many strange symbols. Vaguely, I could make out trigrams and wheel motifs, and what seemed like a cross, though I couldn't be certain. After all, these elements were, in a sense, completely unrelated, especially appearing on what resembled a military uniform—it was frankly comical.

My stomach let out an undeniable rumble: Gugugu... I instantly felt embarrassed, but quickly regained my composure, casually telling him I was hungry and needed food.

The short man was not as severe as before and kindly said food would be brought shortly. I then pretended to ask him casually, "Are you Forty-Three or Eighty-Seven?"

The short man paused, likely surprised by my question, before replying, "Forty-Three." He added, "You are quite observant."

I then asked, "Is the tall one Eighty-Seven?"

Unexpectedly, the short man shook his head. "Eighty-Seven is someone else entirely. You want to ask who the tall one just now was, right?"

My face felt a little itchy, so I lazily raised my cuffed hand and gently rubbed my cheek, deliberately jingling the handcuffs. The short man saw what I was doing and looked quite apologetic. "Eighty-Seven hasn't returned, so we cannot remove your cuffs."

That damned Eighty-Seven again! "So you're nothing more than a low-level grunt," I scoffed. "Then why put on such an impressive show earlier? Weren't you afraid of being laughed at?" I intentionally threw out words to frustrate and annoy him; perhaps then I might get an opening.

The short man's face suddenly darkened, and he said in a low voice, "I am polite to you because you still have utility, not to mention your connection to Princess Guge. Otherwise, I wouldn't give a second glance to ten Luo Lians. Do you think you're so great just because you won a few military aptitude awards at the academy, visited Mount Qiangbake and saw the Corpse Zombies, Crystal Black Scorpions, and the secret tomb of Sheng Tai, or because you toured the underwater city in Fuxian Lake and encountered the Great King Fish, the White-Robed Corpse People, and the Doctor Ciren?" By the end, his tone was laced with mockery, and my heart sank heavily. Who was this person, and how did he know everything about our experiences beneath Fuxian Lake? We hadn't had a chance to see anyone outside of Zhuoma Yangjin’s people since coming up from the depths, and none of us had mentioned the matter to her.

Could it be? Was he one of Zhuoma Yangjin's people, another trap she had set? But the way Zhuoma Yangjin looked like she was about to cry when I was being taken away, and the concerned look in her eyes—if she was acting, she was too convincing; she deserved an Oscar.

However, everything here still carried a faint shadow of the military. Even if Zhuoma Yangjin was all-powerful, could she have cultivated this kind of talent?

In that moment, my mind was a confusing mess.

Just then, someone knocked on the door from outside: "Report to Forty-Three, the food has arrived."

The short man said, "Bring it in." It seemed his name really was Forty-Three.

The door opened again, and a short, dark-skinned, sturdy man entered, dressed just like the two men who had been "standing guard." He held a wooden tray with both hands, upon which rested rice, bowls, chopsticks, and other items.

Forty-Three commanded, "Feed him." So the man walked over obediently to feed me. My hands were cuffed, so I had no choice but to let him.

The meal was quite good: plain white rice with canned cabbage and pork, and a large portion of braised beef. The cook was skilled; it tasted excellent. For now, I would set aside whether this was Zhuoma Yangjin's trap or not; I needed to eat first. Only when full would I have the strength for other plans. At least opening a mere set of handcuffs wouldn't be difficult.

...

After the little man finished serving me and cleaning up, just as he was about to leave, Forty-Three suddenly called out to him, asking, "Has Eighty-Seven returned?"

The little man answered cautiously, "I haven't seen the kitchen prepare extra rations, so I assume he hasn't returned."

Before the words had fully faded, a hearty laugh rang out from outside the door: "How did you know I hadn't returned? I just came here without reporting in first."

Forty-Three and the little man immediately snapped to attention and stood straight, saying in unison, "Eighty-Seven."

Then, a robust man with a dark, weathered face entered. He first sent the little man out, then shook hands with Forty-Three, saying things like "You've worked hard." Forty-Three respectfully replied, "Eighty-Seven, you have worked hard."

It turned out this man was Eighty-Seven. I had imagined what sort of figure he would be, and seeing him now, I was extremely disappointed. He looked like an ordinary street vendor exposed to sun and rain, just a bit taller and seemingly possessing some brute strength. Moreover, he was wearing ordinary clothes.

Seeing me sizing him up, Eighty-Seven swaggered over and sat on the edge of my bed, a half-smile on his face, adopting an air of great respect. "Oh—so you are Luo Lian." Then his tone rose, "You rascal, you made me run a lot of wasted journeys!"

Forty-Three quickly interjected, "From now on, leave these running errands to Forty-Three."

Eighty-Seven waved his hand dismissively, "No need for that. I enjoy running around outside, especially since because of this kid, I actually got to meet Princess Guge, who is the current King. Do you know? She met me wearing her most solemn court attire. If it weren't for him, I doubt I, or even several generations of us, would ever have a chance to see them."

Forty-Three also became excited, repeatedly asking, "Really? Truly? Then did you meet the High Priest? He is the most important figure."

Eighty-Seven scoffed, "Hah—don't even mention it. Being received by the Princess like that was already difficult enough. You expect to see the High Priest so soon? Impossible!"

Forty-Three dared not ask further, murmuring, "Yes, yes..."

Eighty-Seven waved his large hand. "I've said it so many times, don't be so formal in front of me; we are all colleagues working together. Got it?"

Forty-Three nodded, still not daring to be presumptuous.

Eighty-Seven, probably used to his demeanor, said no more, only asking me, "Someone asked me to pass on a message to you. Do you want to hear it or not?"

It must be a message from Zhuoma Yangjin, so I nodded.

Eighty-Seven smiled, "That's more like it. It's not wasted effort on her part to care for you... She told me to relay the following: First, this current matter—our business—she was completely unaware of it. Of course, she couldn't have known. Then she said that your trip to Yunnan was a trap concocted by two of her subordinates vying for credit by exploiting each other. For this, she apologizes and begs your forgiveness."

I listened with a blank face. Zhuoma Yangjin was so ambiguous she was impossible to gauge; I remained silent.

Eighty-Seven continued, "Additionally, Xu Zhiwu will probably return to Beijing in a few days. But he will likely try again. Tang Minghao will disappear for a while. That fellow Geng Wei has arranged for someone to treat him; his limbs should recover completely."

He said all that, but never mentioned Old Li. I couldn't remain patient and asked him, "What about Li Zeng?"

Eighty-Seven didn't answer me, instead turning to ask Forty-Three, "He is still with us, right?"

Forty-Three respectfully replied that he was. Eighty-Seven didn't try to hide it, continuing to ask in front of me which room he was in. Forty-Three answered, Room 176.

176! He's right next door to me? I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. As long as he's next door, I'm sure I can figure out a way!

Eighty-Seven then turned back to me, "Do you believe the words Zhuoma Yangjin passed on to you?"

I stared at him expressionlessly, saying nothing.

Eighty-Seven didn't seem to care about my reaction and carried on by himself, "I can tell you very clearly: what she said is true. Because she herself only has a partial understanding, she, as the King, humbled herself to act as the lead translator for the Japanese. She didn't know in advance about your journey to the Guge ruins and entering the underground area. If she had known, how could she have let you go in? That was absolutely forbidden territory for the Guge Dynasty. Later, when Xu Zhiwu strongly persuaded you to come to Yunnan, that was orchestrated by one of Zhuoma Yangjin's subordinates, a woman named Ma Danniang. Later, Zaxi discovered it, and being smarter than Ma Danniang, he designed a series of flawless events to lure you into the lake..."

"What does that mean? Lure us into the lake? What's the benefit?" I was inwardly startled, but on the surface, I acted completely indifferent, retorting, "Don't tell me we found the treasure? Just that small golden lid?"

Eighty-Seven suddenly broke into a broad grin. "Yes, exactly. You finally understand. Yes, you found the treasure, but it's not the golden lid, but what lies beneath that golden lid."

Could it be that black thing shaped like 'Doctor Ciren' and the crystal black shoes? In every dynasty, especially in nations with strong religious beliefs, it was common to find strange things like that. Was it really worth such elaborate scheming, trickery, and mystery?