There were a few torrential rains at the northwest side of China, but this sudden large-scale rainfall didnât affect Li Guoxianâs good mood to invite everyone to dinner.
Why a dinner? Not only was the research project on Ninghua Village, which has been written by Professor Li for several years, finally approved, but also the State had given the funds. It is also rumored that there were some major companies investing in the project because they were interested. Since the issue of the funds for the research of the Ninghua Villageâs tomb was resolved, of course, you have to invite everyone to dinner!
Oh! But to say that this was a celebration feast? Thatâs impossible! Li Guoxianâs family canât afford big banquets!âŠ.. Right?
There were at least a dozen tables at the dinner, and as Li Guoxian, the protagonist of the dinner, raised his glass with high spirits, the audience also followed along as they raised their glasses together, including Zhang Jun, who of course came to give a few hundred yuan as a congratulatory gift.
Originally, when he heard that he was invited to this dinner, Zhang Jun thought that heâll have a free dinner, but after seeing that several of his classmates had brought red envelopes over, Zhan Jun knew that he was caught in a problem. Since others had brought gifts, he was embarrassed to not do the same, so he emptied his pockets, only to pull a few hundred yuan.
Looking at the table full of delicacies, since Xiâan wasnât close to the sea, seafood was naturally quite expensive. However, this table was filled with the best seafood, and it was impossible to know how much all of this costâŠ..
Besides, no one had moved their chopsticks, so Zhang Jun was also embarrassed to make the first move. In the end, he could only raise his glass, and listen to Li Guoxianâs speech.
âThis time, the funds would be enough for our research work, but we all know that funds are limited after all, so we absolutely canât use it at will. The first thing we need to do is to use these limited funds to play a huge role⊠Open the great tomb of Ninghua Village and show the world this Imperial Mausoleum! Show the glory of that Dynasty! Well, of course, as we all know, our country has only opened the tomb of the Ming Dynasty so far, and there are many regrettable things about what happened to the Ding Tomb due to the difficulties of those timesâŠ. But! The tomb in Ninghua Village wonât have any issues! We have to treasure everything! And protect the cultural relics!â
As soon as Li Guoxian said this, the hall applauded. However, Zhang Jun, who was mixed in the crowd shouting loud congratulatory words, had some concerns in his heart.
Qin Cheng not only said that there was something wrong with Li Guoxian, but there were some things he hadnât thought about, like this sudden funding for example. Two years ago, the archeological team was so poor that they couldnât even afford wages, and they couldnât pay the workers. Didnât he also say that the following funds for the tomb in Ninghua Village couldnât come for the time being? But, what was going on now? Several people had died in the tomb of Ninghua Village, so why did the funds come at this time? The homicide cases were suppressed by the police department and the archeology team wasnât allowed to come close to the tomb, so how could it be possible for the funds to come under such circumstances?
Zhang Jun had some doubts, but he also knew that some things couldnât be said casually. Li Guoxian wasnât simple, certainly not as simple as what he shows to everyone, so itâs impossible to say whether he was holding the money back, orâŠ..
MaybeâŠ. MaybeâŠ. Just as Qin Cheng said, Li Guoxian wanted his âbeloved disciplesâ to explore the deadly tomb for him firstâŠ..
As he thought of this, Zhang Junâs heart trembled. He then hurriedly picked up the glass of wine, and drank it in one gulpâŠ. Some things can be quite frightening if you give it enough thoughtâŠ..
Thinking of this, Zhang Jun couldnât help but worry more about Qin Cheng and Wu Hai, who had gone to Shanxi.
He wasnât able to reach them through the phone since noon, and he also tried to call them half an hour ago, but they still seemed to not be in the service area.
Knowing that the place where they went to find the tomb might be deep in the mountains, then it would be normal to be without any signal. If they really had found the tomb, and they were in the middle of the expedition, then itâs understandable that he wouldnât be able to communicate with them through the phone. But, when Zhang Jun thought of the incidents that took place in the tomb in Ninghua VillageâŠâŠ he was afraid that something might have happened to them.
Especially when this sudden torrential rain came. Every time he saw the lighting and heard the thunder afterwards, his heart couldnât help shaking with worry.
â Shit! If only the three of us had gone together, an additional person could be of great help!â
After he thought this, no matter how delicious the food was, Zhang Jun couldnât eat it. As he lowered his head to take his phone, he tried to call Qin Cheng and Wu Hai one more time, but in the end, no one replied.
âZhang Jun, what are you doing with your head buried like that? Is the food on the table not good enough?â
Li Guoxianâs voice suddenly came from the top of his head, startling Zhang Jun to the core. As soon as he shook his hand, the phone fell on the ground, sliding to Li Guoxianâs feet.
âHahahaha, youâre still a young man, but you canât control your hand?â Li Guoxian patted Zhang Junâs shoulder and bent down to pick up Zhang Junâs phone before he could.
When he glanced at the still-lit phone, Li Guoxian said with a smile: âI thought you were chatting with your girlfriend, but it turns out you were calling your friends.â
Zhang Jun quickly took the phone from Li Guoxian, licked his lips, and laughed loudly: âHow can I chat with her? Haha, weâve been quarreling recently, so canât I call my friends to complain about it?â
âNo wonder I saw you coming alone today.â Li Guoxian laughed. âBy the way, how come Qin Cheng and Wu Hai arenât here today? Where have those two gone?â
âOh, arenât they on a trip?â
âWu Hai too? I thought Qin Cheng and his girlfriend were the ones going on a trip?â
As soon as Li Guoxian made this remark, Zhang Jun secretly scolded himself in his mind. He remembered that he had told Li Guoxian in Ninghua Village the other day that Qin Cheng and his girlfriend were on a trip. He thought that Li Guoxian wouldâve forgotten about it, but who wouldâve thought that he would still remember?
However, Zhang Junâs ability to talk nonsense couldnât be underestimated. Without blinking an eye, he replied with a smile: âYes, Wu Hai also went on a trip. He said that he wanted to relax after everything that had happened, and it seems that he went to Harbin to find his high school classmates. As for Qin ChengâŠ.â At that point, Zhang Jun expressed a âtskâ, and continued: âQin Cheng, this boy, is not loyal to his friends. At this moment he must be hugging his girlfriend as they look at the stars and the moon.â
Li Guoxian looked at Zhang Jun as if he believed in what he said, and no longer asked. Since there was someone calling Li Guoxian over, he asked Zhang Jun to eat more, and left.
As Li Guoxian walked away, Zhang Jun breathed a sigh of relief. He felt like his heart was beating violently, beating even faster than when he lost his virginity!
The middle-aged man sitting next to him drank a few glasses of wine and laughed when he saw Zhang Junâs appearance: âHey, are you really scared by Li Guoxian?â
Zhang Jun looked at the middle-aged man who spoke to him. He had seen him before. He was a lecturer in their field, but he didnât know what his name was.
When someone speaks to Zhang Jun, itâs impossible for him to not reply. So he simply curled up his lips and began to speak nonsense: âProfessor Li is so dignified that Iâm always looking forward to speak with him!â
Perhaps because there are very few scholars, especially those in the field of archeology, who donât match their words with what they think like Zhang Jun does, that the middle-aged man thought Zhang Jun was being serious, so he simply laughed in response.
After another glass of wine, the middle-aged man smacked his lips and said half drunkenly: âThatâs true, Professor Liâs status in the country canât be underestimated, and young people like you donât know him well, but you certainly worship him.â
As soon as Zhang Jun heard this, his eyebrows moved, â the youngsters who donât know him well will worship him? Oh! It looks like this teacher doesnât seem to like Li Guoxian much, there are some hidden meanings in his words, ah! â
Zhang Jun took a sip of the wine, pretended to be half-drunk, and put his hand on the middle-aged manâs shoulder: âHey, Professor, you seem to know Professor Li quite well. Could you tell me something about him? Hey, hey, you know that young people like me love to hear a little gossip or an emotional story~.â
The lecturer knew as soon as he heard this that Zhang Jun was referring to the matter regarding their collegeâs postgraduate students and Professor Jin. He couldnât help laughing and pointing at Zhang Junâs sarcastic face: âHey, you youngsters!â
Zhang Jun approached the lecturer with a wry smile and whispered: âCould you tell me what kind of gossip is around Professor Li?â
âThere is no gossip about your Professor. At this point, heâs still a true scholar.â
âThatâs right! I admire Professor Liâs knowledge! In my eyes, no one can compare with him!â
As soon as Zhang Jun said this, the lecturer, whoâs also an archeologist, was naturally a bit upset. Since he drank too much wine, his mouth loosened a lot. As his brow frowned, he snorted: âHow can he be as glorious as you say he is?! He didnât even explain what happened in Ninghua Village ten years ago!â
When he heard this, Zhang Junâs heart thumped. As he held his breath, he pretended like he didnât care: âWhat could have happened ten years ago?âŠ.. At most, he must have had a quarrel with a Professor! Itâs no big deal!â
âA murder! Does a murder count?!â
Those short words made Zhang Jun smile. At that instant, the lecturer suddenly sobered up after he said these words. When he saw that Li Guoxian was slowly walking over, the lecturer patted his face and hurriedly said to Zhang Jun: âHey young man, I was talking nonsense just now. You shouldnât take it seriously, all right?â
âHaha! How could I?!â Zhang Jun, who returned to his senses, laughed and drank a mouthful of wine, suppressing the waves in his heart. Then he said with a smile: âI definitely donât believe it. I still know what Professor Li is like.
Right after saying this, Li Guoxian also came over. When the lecturer saw Li Guoxian coming this way again, he quickly stood up, took Li Guoxianâs hand, and filled a glass of wine to toast for him.
Li Guoxian said with a smile on his face: âWhat were you two talking about? Did I just hear something about a âmurderâ just now?â
âHey! I thought that this young man was fun so I tried to tease him a bit. I simply talked to him about the murder cases of a while ago.â
âThat issue is in the past now, you shouldnât mention it anymore. Youâre talking about my studentsâŠ.â As he said this, Li Guoxianâs eyes were full of tears. âJust donât mention it againâŠ.â
When Zhang Jun saw this, he quickly went forward to comfort him: âProfessor, donât think too much about it. We canât blame anyone for what happened, the only thing we can do now is to do a good jobâŠ. After all, they gave their livesâŠ. ahâŠ.â
As he saw Li Guoxian shaking his head and looking uncomfortable, Zhang Jun suddenly felt sick to his stomach. As he bowed his head, he sighed hard: âAs for the murder cases, I can only believe that even though Heavenâs net is wide open, nothing escapes from it <sup>1</sup> âŠ. Heaven will naturally give us an explanationâŠ.â
After he said this, Li Guoxian, who was in front of him, trembled slightlyâŠ.
ââŠ. YesâŠ. We can only hope soâŠ.â
Zhang Jun smiled faintly, but his heart was cold. For some reason, at this moment, he suddenly had a bad feelingâŠ. that Qin Cheng and Wu Hai were in dangerâŠ.