Chapter 125

Originally, Qin Cheng had a 15-day vacation, but before his vacation came to an end, Qin Cheng went to Zhang Qishuo’s house. After that, Qin Cheng took the train back to Xi’an directly from Chengdu, Sichuan.

There was only one thing on his mind: ‘ If I had lost my memory, then why did Wu Hai and Zhang Jun tell me that I’ve been in a coma all this time? ’

Once he was seated inside the train, Qin Cheng spent a long time looking at the scenery outside the window while in a daze, lost in thought. However, he could only come up with one solution: he had to check his archaeological notes.

From the moment he woke up, Qin Cheng couldn’t find his notebook. At first, he didn’t think much of it. After all, before falling into a ‘coma’, he hadn’t written down anything of importance, so it didn’t matter whether he had lost it or not. But now, Qin Cheng no longer felt that way.

Given that Qin Cheng now knew that he hadn’t been in a coma for seven months, he couldn’t see how it was possible that in that entire time he wouldn’t have been interested in the tomb, and wouldn’t have insisted on investigating the tomb thoroughly. Any archaeologist would be immeasurably curious about this mysterious tomb. Even if there were unknown dangers, Qin Cheng would still go there.

Qin Cheng was extremely sure that it would be impossible for him to just sit around, and wait for the results. For that very reason, Qin Cheng had a feeling in his heart that, perhaps, during those seven months he got answers on his own.

Whether it was information about the tomb, the Dynasty to which the tomb belonged, or the identity of the tomb’s owner….

‘ The tomb’s owner….. ’

When those words crossed Qin Cheng’s mind, his breathing became disordered for a few minutes and he felt a familiar pain spread from the bottom of his heart. Qin Cheng clenched his fists and his eyelids trembled slightly.

‘ The dream I had, which I can’t remember,…. could it be related to the tomb owner? ’

However, at the thought of it, Qin Cheng’s heart began to ache even more. It was as if his soul was roaring in pain and sorrow. Since this pain arose quite suddenly, Qin Cheng was unable to suppress it, which only made him tremble uncontrollably.

When the old man sitting next to Qin Cheng noticed that something was wrong with him, the old man quickly asked, looking alarmed: “Young man, what’s wrong with you?”

Only when he heard the voice of the passenger beside him, was Qin Cheng able to come back to his senses.

“Ah, nothing. I’m just feeling a bit cold.”

When the old man noticed that Qin Cheng was lightly dressed, he felt somewhat relieved and said, “Ay, ay, young man you should dress more cozily. The weather has been too cold these days. No matter if the heater is on in the train, you still can feel the cold.”

“Hmm, yes.”

The old man ended up being a very talkative person. Since they were both traveling alone, and their destinations were the same, the old man began to chat with Qin Cheng for the rest of the trip. This diverted Qin Cheng’s attention from his inner thoughts, which also caused the sadness and pain he felt not long ago to fade away.

There was only one express train running from Chengdu to Xi’an. The journey took ten hours, where one had to sit on hard seats the entire time.

As soon as Qin Cheng got off the train, he went straight home to search for his archaeological notes. However, even after turning the house upside down, he still couldn’t find them.

Qin Cheng had no idea where else he could have put it, since the rest of his books and notes were still there. Only the notebook he used to record the Ninghua Village tomb couldn’t be found.

‘ It’s impossible that I lost it when I moved. Someone must have taken it from me. ’

With that thought in mind, Qin Cheng took out his cell phone, calling Wu Hai and Zhang Jun. He asked them to meet at the pub near the University at 6:00 pm.

Since Qin Cheng had something on his mind, naturally, he was the first one to get there.

As soon as Zhang Jun arrived, he saw Qin Cheng sitting at the bar and rushed over to him. As soon as he patted Qin Cheng on the shoulder, Zhang Jun laughed: “Didn’t you have a few more days of vacation left? Why did you come back so soon?”

Qin Cheng looked at Zhang Jun and smiled at him. But Qin Cheng didn’t give him a reply.

Knowing that Qin Cheng had lost his memory, Zhang Jun paid no mind to Qin Cheng’s reserved attitude and simply sat down next to him. Then Zhang Jun called the bartender and asked for a beer.

“I called Wu Hai just now, he told me he’ll be here soon.” Zhang Jun drank several gulps of beer and sighed with satisfaction. “Drinking beer in winter is simply the best. Would you like to drink?”

Qin Cheng took the glass of beer handed to him by Zhang Jun and asked: “I thought Wu Hai had gone home for Lunar New Year’s Eve.”

“He didn’t have time to go home, he’s been too busy lately.”

“Busy? What could he be so busy with that he couldn’t go home for New Year’s Eve?”

“Um….” Zhang Jun looked at Qin Cheng and stammered for a long while until he was finally able to say: “With….nothing?”

Qin Cheng looked at Zhang Jun with an expressionless face and didn’t speak. The silence lasted so long that Zhang Jun seemed to become uncomfortable. Qin Cheng, realizing this, turned to take a few gulps of beer.

Qin Cheng’s attitude greatly confused Zhang Jun, so he tried to change the subject and chat about Xia Tong.

“I heard from Yalan that Xia Tong and you are an item now. Is it working out well?”

“So so.” Qin Cheng frowned and replied.

Zhang Jun simply laughed awkwardly and tried to stay on topic: “Xia Tong, um, she asked Yalan for many tips. This girl is really good, Qin Cheng, you have to appreciate her. She seems serious about you.”

Qin Cheng didn’t want to talk about this right now, so he frowned even more and said: “I will—”

Before Qin Cheng could finish speaking, he saw Wu Hai push open the door and walk into the pub.

“Why did the two of you call me today?” Wu Hai took a chair, sat at the bar, and laughed.

Qin Cheng drank the rest of the beer in his glass, turned to the side, and looked at Wu Hai with a smile: “Zhang Jun just told me you have been quite busy lately?”

“Busy?” Wu Hai poured himself a beer, took a sip, and said: “Well, yes I’ve been a bit busy lately. But what about Zhang Jun?”

“Busy with what? New Year’s Eve has already passed.” Qin Cheng slightly twisted the corners of his lips and snorted.

Naturally, Zhang Jun and Wu Hai noticed Qin Cheng’s strange attitude. Only then did Zhang Jun realize that there was something wrong with Qin Cheng.

‘ Wu Hai followed Professor Zhou to deal with the collapsed tomb and the funerary objects obtained from it. This matter wasn’t mentioned to Qin Cheng, but if Qin Cheng is now interrogating us, doesn’t that mean that he found out? ’

Wu Hai looked at Qin Cheng and his eyes turned cold: “I thought you wanted to meet with us to have dinner together. But now it seems that’s not the case at all.”

“There’s something I want to ask you.” Without denying it, Qin Cheng coldly said: “Why did you lie to me at that time and tell me that I was in a coma for seven months?”

“Did you recover the memories?” Zhang Jun put down the glass and asked in surprise.

“It seems that I’m not wrong.” Qin Cheng looked at both of them with a complicated look in his eyes and continued: “I didn’t get my memories back. Someone simply told me that I haven’t been in a coma. Now that I look at the attitude you two have, it seems you don’t want me to remember anything.”

No one would like to hear such harsh words with hidden meanings. But at the end of the day, Zhang Jun and Wu Hai didn’t believe that they had done anything wrong to Qin Cheng.

“It’s not that we don’t want you to remember! It’s just that without them, at least you won’t cling to the past. It would be hard for you to go on with life if you still had your memories!”

Zhang Jun’s words made Qin Cheng laugh: “It would be hard for me to go on with life? Hahaha! Oh, I’m afraid that has nothing to do with this.”

“What do you mean?” Zhang Jun was a little confused, not understanding what Qin Cheng was implying.

Wu Hai turned in his chair to look at Qin Cheng, looking him dead in the eyes with an expressionless face. After a moment without saying anything, Wu Hai finally asked: “Then why do you think we didn’t tell you about your memory loss?”

“My archaeological notes documenting the Ninghua Village tomb have gone missing.” Qin Cheng scanned them both up and down. “I heard from others that you guys have been handling the matter with the Great Tomb pretty well lately.”

Upon hearing these words, how could Zhang Jun and Wu Hai not understand what Qin Cheng intended to say?

Zhang Jun looked at Qin Cheng in disbelief and asked: “Are you trying to imply….that we stole your notes?”

“I don’t know…..” Qin Cheng’s eyes widened. “How would I know if that’s something you guys would do when I don’t remember anything?!”

As soon as these words were uttered, Qin Cheng felt a dull pain in his face. Dizzy, Qin Cheng didn’t even have the time to react before he realized he was already lying on the ground.

As soon as he pulled himself together, Qin Cheng raised his foot and kicked Wu Hai, who had pounced on him. Taking advantage of the fact that Wu Hai had been distracted by the pain of the kick, Qin Cheng got up, and in a fit of anger, punched Wu Hai hard in the stomach.

In an instant, the two men began to fight in the pub.

Seeing this, Zhang Jun and the pub owner rushed at them, separating them.

“Are you two mad?!” Zhang Jun hugged Wu Hai tightly to keep him from breaking loose and shouted: “Damn it! Are you guys so tired of living that you want to end it here?!”

“Don’t you see what this bastard is saying!!!” Wu Hai looked at Qin Cheng angrily and said: “Is it even worth stealing your damn notes? Damn it! At first I thought it was good for you not to remember, but it looks like without your memories, you’ll go on living as Li Guoxian’s favorite student! I hate seeing you act like this!”

“Then don’t behave like that either!” Zhang Jun looked at Qin Cheng, who was also angry, and couldn’t stop himself from cursing at him: “Qin Cheng, you fucker, you too! How can you say such nonsense without a single piece of evidence? We have been your classmates for so many years and this is how you treat us? Why do you think Wu Hai and I told you that? Do you think we deceived you simply because of that Xu Dynasty bullshit?”

“Otherwise, why—”

Zhang Jun was so furious that, even out of breath, he roared: “Fuck off! Why don’t you ask that Policeman, Jiang Ping, how many times we saved your life? Why don’t you ask Wu Hai about the time he accompanied you on that suicide mission and was more than willing to risk his life for you?!”

“Don’t speak ill of us simply because you are unwell at the moment. Qin Cheng, reach out to your conscience and ask yourself seriously. Do you really believe from the bottom of your heart that we took your notes?”

Qin Cheng was stunned for a moment. Although he opened his mouth, he didn’t know what to say.

“See? You can’t even believe it yourself, can you?” Zhang Jun then pushed Wu Hai towards the entrance of the pub. Once they were outside the door, Zhang Jun stopped and fiercely said: “Wu Hai has been busy with the tomb affairs recently, that’s true, but it was just a paper handover since he will be graduating in June. Wu Hai has already accepted a job at a museum near his hometown. Once everything is ready, he will return there, where he will also take care of Zhang Xiamei’s mother…..”

Upon seeing that Qin Cheng was left stunned, Zhang Jun sighed and continued: “Wu Hai’s girlfriend, Zhang Xiaomei, died. But I’m afraid you don’t remember that. In any case, Wu Hai and I no longer want to take care of the tomb in Ninghua Village, and now, much less of you.”

After saying that, Zhang Jun pulled Wu Hai and left, leaving Qin Cheng sitting on the floor of the pub in a complete daze.

…

A few days later, Xia Tong called. She let Qin Cheng know that she would arrive at the airport that same day at noon. Since Qin Cheng had already promised Xia Tong before the New Year’s Eve that he would go pick her up, Qin Cheng had to go.

The bruises on Qin Cheng’s face were still quite fresh, but Xia Tong didn’t ask him too many questions when meeting with him. This was probably because He Yalan must have told her about it beforehand. After Qin Cheng and Xia Tong went to have dinner, chatting about a few interesting topics about the Lunar New Year, Qin Cheng accompanied Xia Tong back to her house.

Soon the new term began in March, and with it, the thesis defense. After the thesis defense, still not contacting Zhang Jun and Wu Hai, Qin Cheng didn’t really have anything to do. However, two days later, when Xia Tong finished defending her thesis, she started to ask him out.

One day, after walking in the park for a while, Xia Tong cautiously looked at the silent Qin Cheng beside her and coughed slightly. After making sure Qin Cheng was paying attention to her, Xia Tong said: “I heard Yalan say that Wu Hai will be leaving Xi’an soon.”

Qin Cheng didn’t speak, he simply pursed his lips.

“People often say that after graduating from University, everyone goes their own way, so it’s hard to see with friends.”

“….Yeah.”

“Qin Cheng, I know you talked to him like that at that time because you were upset. But Wu Hai is a good man—”

“I understand.” Qin Cheng knew perfectly well what Wu Hai’s character was like. Although Wu Hai seemed to be a rather reserved and quiet person, his temperament was that of a grumpy one. Wu Hai and Qin Cheng had never matched with their personalities, and yet, among all his colleagues, Wu Hai had always been the most reluctant to steal other people’s research results.

At that moment, Qin Cheng was so confused, and in such a chaotic state of mind, that he could not find a way to vent. In a good state of mind, Qin Cheng would never have even dared to accuse them in such a way….

“I’ll go visit him in a couple of days.”

However, Qin Cheng had no time to go to Wu Hai in the end. An elderly Professor surnamed Zhu went to meet Qin Cheng, asking Qin Cheng if he would like to follow him to Dangtu, Anhui Province.

In Anhui province, Dangtu, the Imperial Mausoleum of the sixth son of Sun Quan ¹ , Sun Xiu ² , was being excavated.

A year after going there, Professor Zhu would recommend Qin Cheng to go to study at Oxford University in the UK to obtain a PhD in Scientific and Technological Archaeology.

After thinking it over, Qin Cheng agreed.

Ko-fi goal for extra chapters~~ o(≧▽≦)o

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Hello my dear readers!! I’m truly sorry for how long it took me to update. To be completely honest, I didn’t realize that the last update was in November until I checked my update sheet. As some of you may know, in the months of October, November and December I was a bit busy with University, and I took January as an entire vacation month (I even went on a trip), so when I decided to translate a novel, the one I went for the most was “the Prince & his Secret Servant” because the chapters were short, the paragraphs weren’t long or complicated and in general it was easier for me to translate, compared to this novel, which is heavier (in the sense that it has longer chapters, bigger paragraphs, and has the difficulty of having historical data and other things that may require more hours of work).

Anyways~ enjoy the chapter and remember we’re close to the ending! (happy ending) 👀

Footnotes

<ol><b>孙权</b> <b>sūn quán</b> ; Sun Quan, also known as Emperor Wu [182-252], was born in Wu County (now Fuyang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province). During the Three Kingdoms period [220-280], Sun Quan was the founding Emperor of Eastern Wu, having reigned from 229 to 252. <b>孙休</b> <b>sūn xiū</b> ; Sun Xiu, also known as Emperor Wu Jing [235-264], was the third Emperor of Eastern Wu and the Sixth son of Sun Quan, the Great Emperor Wu (postumus title). Sun Xiu reigned from 258 to 264.</ol>