"You, you know?" Wu Tianzhen was momentarily stunned, not quite grasping the meaning behind Hei Yanjing's words. He stammered, "How did you—"
"Damn it, what the hell is going on?" Fatty's loud shouts suddenly echoed from the cave entrance. "Was there a hole here just now? Could it be that the Great Sage Puxian is planning to manifest and prepare a grand gift for us?"
"I don't think so," unlike Fatty, who was blinded by gold and silver treasures, Xie Yuchen remained clear-headed. He scanned the area from above and keenly spotted the hand of a flashlight pitifully hanging from a monkey's corpse. "It's likely something unexpected happened with Wu Tianzhen."
...With Zhang Qiling by his side, the word "unexpected" should generally be foreign to young Wu.
If there's no accident, then it's clearly an unusual situation.
Fatty thought for a moment and understood that it was probably his unlucky constitution, which never failed to bring trouble even if it couldn't win the lottery, kicking in. He couldn't help but sigh, leaned down, and yelled into the cave entrance.
"Little Wu! Teacher Wu! Young Master Tianzhen! Are you still alive?!"
Wu Tianzhen: ???
The joy Wu Tianzhen felt upon hearing their voices vanished with this soul-piercing greeting. He choked for a long time, unsure whether to reply "alive" or "dead" in this situation.
After much deliberation, he decided to curse directly.
"Fatty, are you cursing me? I'm alive and well!!!"
The nonsensical conversation dispelled the solemnity in the cave. Zhang Qiling had now confirmed that the person called Hei Yanjing before him likely posed no threat. He silently put away his Black Gold Ancient Saber and leaned against the side wall to rest.
His left hand had recovered significantly after being immobilized for a period. Apart from the pain, it could be used normally, but if possible, he still preferred not to move for the time being.
The sound of a lighter clicking came from beside him, click by click, disturbing his peace.
Zhang Qiling slowly looked over and saw the Hei Yanjing, who had inexplicably appeared from the cave, skillfully twirling a lighter.
The jet-black body moved nimbly between his fingers, which were clad in fingerless gloves, appearing quite flashy.
With a "snap," the lighter stopped and was caught in his palm.
Hei Yanjing, having pondered something during that time, lost the playful smile he had worn since his appearance. His expressionless face looked inexplicably terrifying.
He had no intention of speaking, and Zhang Qiling was not in the mood to initiate conversation with the newly appeared individual. He withdrew his gaze and began to stare blankly at the ground beneath his feet, plunging the corner into a deep silence.
This silence was only broken after Wu Tianzhen finished exchanging information with the two above.
"Little Brother, Hei Yanjing, let's go up first." He said cautiously, unsure of the current state between these two big shots.
He subtly glanced at Zhang Qiling's left hand, which was now casually tucked into the pocket of his hoodie, seemingly much better.
Wu Tianzhen breathed a sigh of relief, but he also knew that Zhang Qiling might not be in a condition to help him up. Thus, he turned to Hei Yanjing, his expression contorting several times before settling into one of "humility, caution, and gentle politeness."
"Hei Yanjing, um, could I trouble you..." he said with difficulty, "Could I trouble you to take me up? Thank you very much."
"Ah? What—?" Hei Yanjing, whose expression had been somber moments ago, suddenly put on a smile that was as annoying as it could possibly be. He exaggeratedly cupped a hand to his ear like a megaphone and shouted loudly:
"Oh my, my ears must have been deafened by the mute just now, how can I not hear anything?"
"Hello? Hello?! What did you say? Why don't you say it louder?"
Little Zhang, whose ears were perfectly fine: ...?
Little Wu, feeling targeted: You *#;％··＃＆＊￥
When one is under another's roof, one must bow. Wu Tianzhen, with a mouthful of words stuck in his throat, finally forced a smile and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Could you please take me up! Thank you!"
He tried to shout as close as possible. Whether his throat hurt was irrelevant; it would be best if he could truly deafen that scoundrel's ears.
Zhang Qiling, who had been in a state of bewilderment, inexplicably felt what it was like to be caught in a crossfire. He subtly shifted slightly to the side, holding his knife tighter.
Fatty above let out a hearty, unbrotherly laugh. Wu Tianzhen's ears were sharp, and he was shocked to even catch a few chuckles from Xie Yuchen amidst the booming laughter.
Wu Tianzhen: Wait, no way, Little Hua??!
And amidst this jovial atmosphere, Hei Yanjing finally indicated that he had successfully heard the request.
He put the lighter into his pocket. "Alright, alright, who told you to be so good, Hei Ye? Since you've pleaded so much~"
Hei Yanjing emphasized the word "pleaded" arrogantly, then grinned cheekily and lifted Little Wu, leaping out of the hole with a few swift movements.
As soon as Wu Tianzhen landed, he rushed to Fatty and Xie Yuchen, determined to overcome the persecution from Hei Yanjing with the strength of their brotherhood.
However, to his utter surprise, his brotherly shield was leaky.
"Yo! Hei Ye! Haven't seen you in ages!" Fatty was the first to defect. He walked up with a smile, instinctively reaching out to clap him on the shoulder as was his habit. But halfway through the motion, he realized this old friend was taller than average, so he had to stop.
"What brought you here?" Fatty lowered his voice as he said this. "Good heavens, could there be some long-hidden great treasure here?"
"Well, there's no treasure~" Hei Yanjing, like a triumphant hero, arrogantly mingled with Wu Tianzhen's group of good brothers. He leaned slightly against Fatty's shoulder, propping up his sunglasses with one hand.
"And who is this?"
"Come, come, let me introduce you," Fatty patted his head. "Look at my memory, this is Tianzhen's childhood friend, Xie Yuchen, whom I usually call Master Hua."
"Master Hua, this is Xiao Ge's partner from exploring the Forbidden Land before, Hei Yanjing!"
Fatty's introduction was brief and to the point. He knew that neither of these two would listen to others' introductions; they preferred to judge with their own eyes.
Xie Yuchen nodded at Hei Yanjing. Hei Yanjing scanned Xie Yuchen's seemingly ordinary yet expensive clothing and suddenly smiled.
To Wu Tianzhen, who was secretly observing from the side, this smile was exactly the smile of a beggar who had discovered a benefactor.
As expected, Hei Yanjing pulled out a business card from his pocket the next second.
"Hei Yanjing here, offering blind massage, blind erhu performances, blind ride-hailing, blind scrap collection, and sunglasses sales. We have it all~"
He rubbed two fingers together. "Strong business capabilities, honest dealings, and available anytime you call~"
Wu Tianzhen: ...Good grief, you really know how to spot a business opportunity?
He watched speechlessly for a moment but then realized Zhang Qiling still hadn't come up. A sliver of panic rose in his heart. "Little Brother, are you okay?"
Silence from the cave.
Wu Tianzhen's fear grew, and he was about to jump back in, but at that moment—
"Hey, hey, hey, stop calling, he's not coming up~" Hei Yanjing's voice drifted over.
"...Not coming up? Why?" Wu Tianzhen was startled, and his mind conjured a tragic image of Xiao Zhang lying on the ground below, grievously wounded and unable to rise.
But the next second, Hei Yanjing's words shattered his fantasy.
"Hmm? Weren't you guys here to find the secrets of the Forbidden Land?" Hei Yanjing put on a feigned surprised expression. "Oh dear, did I forget to mention it earlier? The deeper entrance to the Forbidden Land—"
He pointed to the large hole from which Wu Tianzhen had managed to escape after thanking him twice.
"—is right in this cave~"
Wu Tianzhen: ??????
"What else did you think I was doing down there? Do you think I accidentally fell in?"
Hei Yanjing was about to add fuel to the fire, further unbalancing Wu Tianzhen's precarious sanity.
At this moment, young Wu finally understood why Xiao Zhang wasn't coming up—
He must have discovered the problem during the previous fight and therefore didn't want to expend any more effort to come to the surface!!!
Wu Tianzhen: Little Brother!!!! (Tears, puppy eyes)