Shen Shixu rushed into the back courtyard, only to be startled by Xiao Lie and Bai Lixi's appearance.
After more than half a month of roughing it outdoors, both men looked considerably more weathered.
Xiao Lie had rather the air of a rugged older man, while Bai Lixi looked more like a rose that had been battered by the elements.
"Weren't you two off taking care of something? How did you end up looking so weathered? It feels less like you've been gone for a month and more like six or seven years."
When Shen Shixu brought up the treasure hunt, Xiao Lie waved a hand weakly. "Next time anyone mentions treasure hunting, I wouldn't go even if you beat me to death. Damn it, the traps and all that were easy enough to handle.
It's people's hearts that are so fucking hard to figure out!"
Shen Shixu sat down beside Bai Lixi. Seeing how shaken Xiao Lie looked, he did not dare ask him and questioned Bai Lixi instead.
"Ah Xi, what exactly happened? Why does my uncle look like he's suffered such a terrible blow?"
"Ah!" Bai Lixi sighed as well before slowly explaining, "Your uncle was betrayed by the companion he trusted most. If we hadn't been lucky enough to discover that the Treasure Site had a hidden passage and escape through it, we would probably have been waiting for you to collect our bodies!"
011 put on a live feed just then, and Shen Shixu watched the images as he listened to Bai Lixi's account.
"The person who wrote to Xiao Lie saying he had discovered the Treasure Site was a close friend of his from the Martial World. They had faced life and death together many times and trusted each other more than anyone.
So