Tomb raiding: Today is another day I don't want to go home.

Chapter 97 Soy Milk and Fried Dough Stick Enthusiasts

Although he looks like he's just entered his seventies, Xie Lianrui is actually eighty-three. He is still in good health and speaks clearly. After standing up, he even glanced at Yan Huai with a slightly respectful look.

“Mr. Yan, you can let Brother Zhang rest on the recliner over there.” Xie Lianrui bowed slightly and lowered his head, his hand holding the whisk gesturing for Yan Huai to look at the recliner not far from the stone table.

Yan Huai looked over and saw that the wooden recliner was simple and ordinary in appearance, and it must have been set up not long ago, as the cushions were very new—Xie Lianrui probably had anticipated that they would come today.

"Thank you!" Yan Huai nodded his thanks without making a sound, but Xie Lianrui avoided it. Presumably, the young Taoist priest who opened the door for them earlier had also been instructed by Xie Lianrui to make such a subtle change in attitude.

However, Yan Huai didn't ask any further questions, because he smelled that familiar scent again, coming from Xie Lianrui...

What exactly is his relationship with the Wang family?

As Yan Huai pondered, he bent down and gently placed Zhang Qiling on the recliner. Then, with a swift movement of his long arm, accompanied by a brief rustling sound, Zhang Qiling, chair and all, was moved to a spot only half an arm's length away from where Yan Huai was sitting...

Regardless of the relationship or purpose, keeping a close eye on Zhang Qiling is definitely the right thing to do!

The man with black glasses raised his eyebrows with a chuckle, feeling a sense of pride that his son had grown up. At the same time, he was becoming increasingly curious about Yan Huai's identity, but he had to get down to business for now: "Come on, come on~ Old Xie, I brought you some soy milk and fried dough sticks especially for you!"

"Cough cough..." Xie Lianrui had smelled the aroma as soon as the man in black glasses approached, and now his appetite was being whetted even more. However, he didn't dare to be too blatant and lose face, especially with Yan Huai sitting beside him watching...

"Then thank you very much, Mr. Qi, but it's not too late to use it later."

"Okay~ I'll leave it here for now!" Black Glasses suddenly looked up and grinned meaningfully, revealing two rows of big white teeth, looking particularly easy to talk to.

But Xie Lianrui felt that Black Glasses' smile looked sinister no matter how he looked at it, and an ominous premonition rose in his heart. After taking one last reluctant glance at the inside of the foam box, he finally couldn't help but swallow and then laboriously looked back to invite Black Glasses to sit down.

"Mr. Qi, please have a seat!"

“Master Xie…” Yan Huai interrupted Xie Lianrui, who was still glancing at the styrofoam box from time to time, “Since you know my name is Yan and anticipated our visit today, you must be quite clear about what we seek. Master Xie, do you have any wonderful methods to guide me? If so, please let me know. Whether effective or not, Yan Huai will certainly repay your kindness.”

Yan Huai's tone carried a subtle probing and sincerity. He knew that he absolutely could not reveal his weaknesses before confirming the relationship between Xie Lianrui and the Wang family.

On the other hand, if Xie Lianrui really had a way to restore Zhang Qiling, he absolutely could not let that hope slip away.

Although he and Xie Lianrui might be quite different in age... by generation, in the human world he is indeed only twenty-three years old, so he should still act like a junior.

Xie Lianrui felt uncomfortable because of Yan Huai's words. He waved his hand stiffly, his wrinkles on his face squeezed together awkwardly: "Mr. Yan, you are too kind to me. You can just call me Old Xie, just like Qi Shanren."

“I know why you came, Mr. Yan, but your destiny is beyond the scope of divination and fortune-telling in this world. Moreover... you yourself are not someone that can be controlled by ordinary people, which is why you have affected this young man Zhang and caused his destiny to fluctuate.”

"As for the cause and effect of this... the one who tied the knot must untie it. Mr. Yan, if you act from the heart, everything can be resolved as you wish. However, for yourself..."

Xie Lianrui shook his head imperceptibly, leaving his thoughts unsaid, but Yan Huai, who was meeting his gaze, still understood the message conveyed in his eyes.

With their fate unknown, we must think carefully and act prudently...

The man with the black glasses moved his lips, his expression behind his sunglasses equally unreadable. He was still the same person who had no manners at all... Hmm!? Holy crap! When did this guy steal the fried dough sticks and soy milk!?

Xie Lianrui's wise eyes, which seemed to gleam like those of a hermit, suddenly widened. He gritted his teeth and asked, barely suppressing the curse that was about to spill from his mouth, "Master Qi, how does it taste?"

"Hmm, very good. Old Beijing-style soy milk and fried dough sticks have a unique flavor when eaten while they're still half-hot."

"Damn, this is something else!" Xie Lianrui, no longer caring about his image, reached into the styrofoam box and rummaged through it—good heavens, several fried dough sticks were gone... my fried dough sticks!!!

Yan Huai ignored the antics of the two people in front of him. He silently watched Zhang Qiling's profile, which was exposed due to his unconsciousness, and gently stroked it.

Does it come from the heart?

Zhang Qiling, if I really kept you by my side, would you be willing...?

"Please, Master Xie, help me resolve another mystery." Yan Huai had already made up his mind, but before that, he needed to confirm one thing.

"Mr. Yan, please don't be so polite, please speak!"

Xie Lianrui continued to smugly eat the soy milk and fried dough sticks without even looking up, enjoying them more than roast duck. As a Taoist, he usually didn't have the chance to eat these foods, but he loved them so much that he had to indulge himself in them all at once.

Yan Huai couldn't bear to watch any longer. He was starting to wonder if his decision would work. He shifted his body closer to Zhang Qiling and continued, "Where did the scent on you and your apprentice come from?"

"A smell?" Xie Lianrui paused, sniffed his Taoist robe, and looked up with a puzzled expression. "Mr. Yan is joking. What smell is that? I just took a bath this morning!"

Yan Huai did not expose Xie Lianrui's excuse and concealment, but only said quietly, "To be honest, I once smelled this scent in a certain place. Does Master Xie know where it is?"

"Mr. Yan, I don't understand what you mean." Xie Lianrui's smile faded, and even the soy milk and fried dough sticks that the man in black glasses had brought became hot to the touch.

"Don't say that I don't have any smell on me. Even if I did, it would be the smell of incense from the Taoist temple. Mr. Yan, you must be referring to that!"

"I can still distinguish the scent of incense. What I'm talking about is the fragrance of orchids carried by a white mist. It's mixed with smoke and dust, and perhaps it also has some function of concealing bloodline totems."

As Yan Huai finished speaking, Xie Lianrui's expression grew increasingly cold. He looked at Yan Huai, his eyes no longer showing the respect he had shown at the beginning: "Mr. Yan, where did you smell that?"

"The back mountain of a mountain courtyard, Master Xie seems to know nothing about it."

Xie Lianrui's reaction struck Yan Huai as odd, but this scent must have been of great significance to him.