Tomb Raider: The Adventures of a Dumb Man

Chapter 1137 Blackback Lao 6's Apprentice 20

When they left that pure land covered with ice and snow and stepped into the hustle and bustle of the world, the news that came to them made the Zhang family drop their jaws in shock.

When Jiang Xiaoyu thought the plot was going to continue, he discovered how much effort Zhang Qishan had put in to get his adjutant back.

After all, Xiao Zhang and others worked so hard to report it at that time, and the Siguniang Mountain and Gutongjing 056 projects were carried out as usual.

But there was no real Zhang Qiling every time.

During this operation in the Xisha underwater tomb, not even Jie Lianhuan and Wu Sanxing could escape.

Zhang Qishan, the tiger that has been lurking for many years, finally showed his sharpest claws.

With thundering means, he wove a huge net around Jie Lianhuan, Wu Sansheng, and all the forces they secretly contacted who tried to resist or profit from it, including some insiders who tried to intervene.

He used these people's lives and property, all the secrets they knew, and even the phased "results" of the entire Gutongjing project as bargaining chips.

The only purpose of the transaction was to get back his adjutant Zhang Rishan.

The operation came at a huge cost. The Nine Sects were severely damaged and their core members were almost wiped out.

The heirs of the once powerful Jie Jiuye and the shrewd Wu Laogou were ultimately unable to escape the cage carefully set up by the Buddha.

The entire underground world was shocked. Zhang Qishan used his actions to declare what a true "Buddha" is and what unquestionable authority is.

When the special prison door that blocked out sunlight and hope slowly opened, Zhang Qishan stood outside the door, his back to the pale light in the corridor. His figure was as tall as a mountain, yet there was a hint of imperceptible tension.

The person inside was helped out by two expressionless men in white coats.

With just one glance, Zhang Qishan's rock-hard heart seemed to be cut by a knife.

That was not the smiling adjutant in his memory, who was as tall as a pine tree, had sharp eyes, and could always keep up with him.

The light from the door seemed to burn his eyes, and he subconsciously and violently shrank back, trying to hide his entire body in the shadow of his supporter.

He was so thin that he was out of shape. The clothes that once fit him now hung loosely on his body, like a skeleton that would fall apart at any time.

The skin was a pale color from not seeing the sun for years, with an unhealthy bluish-gray hue, so thin that one could almost see the fragile blood vessels underneath.

His hair was dry, his lips were cracked, his breathing was weak and rapid, and every breath was accompanied by a subtle, heart-wrenching whine deep in his chest.

Fear of light, cold, extremely thin, and in a trance.

His body was overdrawn, his spirit was tortured, and the beliefs and pride that once supported him were crushed.

Zhang Rishan was like a body with its soul taken away, leaving only instinctive fear and extreme sensitivity to the environment.

In the organization's assessment, he had long lost any use value and was a completely discarded person who needed to be dealt with.

Therefore, they are still very interested in the second generation of the Nine Gates who were replaced.

But for Zhang Qishan, this person in front of him, who is so fragile that he seems to be broken at the slightest touch, is the only person he wants to save even if he has to cross mountains of corpses and seas of blood and betray all his principles.

"Lord Buddha."

An extremely faint, hoarse sound like sandpaper rubbing against each other was heard, with a thick, uncontrollable breath.

Zhang Rishan seemed to have exhausted all his strength before he could recognize the familiar yet unfamiliar outline at the door.

His cloudy, out-of-focus eyes tried hard to look in the direction of Zhang Qishan.

There was no excitement or joy, only a bottomless confusion and a tamed, almost instinctive fear.

His body was trembling slightly, not because of the cold, but because of a tremor deep in his soul.

He didn't even dare to confirm completely whether the person in front of him who exuded a strong sense of oppression was still the Buddha in his memory.

The word "Buddha" is more like a habitual reaction engraved in the bones.

Zhang Qishan's heart was gripped so tightly by the call that he could hardly breathe.

He took a step forward, his movements carried out with a rare, almost clumsy caution, as if he was afraid of startling a butterfly perched on his fingertips.

He waved away the person who was supporting him and reached out his hand to touch Zhang Rishan's frighteningly cold arm.

Before his fingertips touched, Zhang Rishan trembled suddenly, as if he was burned by a branding iron, and instinctively shrank back.

A suppressed, broken whimper came from his throat, and his eyes were filled with unspeakable horror, as if the person approaching was not the Buddha he swore to follow to the death, but a nightmare that brought endless pain.

Zhang Qishan's hand froze in mid-air, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He looked at the pure, almost tangible fear in his lieutenant's eyes.

Seeing him subconsciously avoiding his touch, a mixture of raging rage and piercing pain instantly swept over him.

Zhang Qishan closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the violence and pain surging in his eyes were forcibly suppressed, leaving only a rock-like, unquestionable possession and an almost paranoid tenderness.

"Rishan," his voice was low and hoarse, with an irresistible force.

"It's me. Don't be afraid."

He no longer tried to touch her, but simply blocked most of the glaring light with his body, casting a safe shadow in front of Zhang Rishan. "Come home with me."

Come back home?

Zhang Rishan listened to this word blankly, with no fluctuation in his empty eyes.

For him, home has long been a vague and distant concept, an illusion that exists in endless pain.

All he could sense was the brief peace brought by the shadow before him, and the powerful, dangerous, yet fatally attractive existence in the shadow.

This is the source of his fear, and the Buddha seems to be the only piece of driftwood he can grab at this moment.

Zhang Qishan took off his heavy cloak, and with his body temperature, gently but irresistibly wrapped Zhang Rishan's cold and trembling body, isolating him from the outside cold and the light that he feared.

Then, he leaned over and, in a protective gesture, held the light-footed adjutant steadily in his arms.

Zhang Rishan stiffened for a moment, but ultimately stopped struggling.

She simply buried her face deeper into the fabric that carried Zhang Qishan's scent, like a frightened cub that finally found its nest, with only slight, uncontrollable tremors left.

Zhang Qishan held him and walked through the cold corridor step by step, towards the world outside where the sun was glaring but everything had changed.

His steps were steady and firm, as if he was holding the most precious treasure in the world that had been lost and found again.

But this treasure has been broken.

And he will spend the rest of his life keeping each piece tightly locked by his side, even if they are sharp and will cut each other and cause blood to flow.

"Let's go home."

He repeated it again, his voice falling low into Zhang Rishan's ears.

Many years later, on the day Zhang Qishan died, there were two people in the coffin.

Yin Xinyue: . . . .

No, as for me, you guys are in a double room, so what does she count for?

The three generations of the Nine Gates were also inexplicably relieved. Wu Xie was his own boss, Xie Yuchen was a lay disciple, and he promoted the cause of Taoism.

My career luck is inexplicably good.

Xie Yuchen: . . . .

What should I do if my fellow disciples all like to worship me?

Jiang Xiaoyu was very powerful. He sent Zhang Xiaoshu away, and Zhang Qilin sent Hei Xiazi away.

The two old bachelors looked at each other, and when they were about to be sent away, he made a request. He hoped that Jiang Xiaoyu would take both him and the blind Bai Ma away.

Anyway, you already have Zhang Xiaoshu with you, so it’s okay to have a few more people.

Jiang Xiaoyu: …

Well, it’s not impossible. Xiao Zhang, who lived with him, was taken away by him.

They don't matter much.

He has a lot of space.

To be honest, this space feels wronged because of him.

It was so big. It was used to hold food, drinks, and daily necessities, as well as money, antiques, and even coffins.

Zhang Qilin looked at Jiang Xiaoyu with a strange look, but was finally sent away by Jiang Xiaoyu.

Maybe this goldfish brain can finally remember people.

Zhang Qilin is a weirdo. After Hei Xia Zi died, he became an amnesiac child.

Jiang Xiaoyu was beaten many times.

If it weren't for their friendship and the blind man, he really would have quit.

Only Hei Xia Zi can feel good when being beaten.

It's true love that makes the sky fall and the earth collapse.

So when Zhang Qilin left, Bai Ma and the blind man were by his side.

Jiang Xiaoyu kept nagging Zhang Xiaoshu in front of his coffin, asking him to beat up his clan leader to vent his anger.

The Zhang family members we met later had lost their ability to live long, but their physical fitness and brains were still better than those of ordinary people.

They also treated family matters as stories and legends, and no one believed them.

So Jiang Xiaoyu took away all the Zhang family's belongings, took one last look at the world, and then disappeared.