The study in the old mansion was unnervingly quiet.
Xu Zhihan still held the letter Lin Wan had left behind, his fingertips creasing the edges of the paper. He did not put it away immediately, only lowered his eyes to the final line.
Even gods can be softhearted.
That sentence made his chest ache in a deeply uncomfortable way.
Tenderness, pain, something unfamiliar, and a trace of the original owner's lingering hurt.
Xu Zhihan disliked being swayed by emotion like this. He was used to drawing clear lines: debtors paid their debts, evildoers were punished, those who deserved death died, and those who should leave left. But Lin Wan's letter had pulled him a little way out of that cold, rigid way of judging things.
What a hassle.
Lu Wenchuan stood beside him without urging him on.
The knocking beneath the old mansion continued.
Knock.
Knock.
The sound was faint, but steady.
As though someone were knocking beneath their feet, again and again, through a thick layer of earth.
Lu Wenchuan looked down at the floor, the Short Knife already in his hand. "That sound is coming from underground?"
Xu Zhihan folded the letter and put it back in the box.
"Yes."
Lu Wenchuan looked at the map. "The spot marked on the map is in the backyard."
Xu Zhihan picked up the little jade token and was about to leave when Lu Wenchuan raised a hand to stop him.
Xu Zhihan looked at him.
Lu Wenchuan softened his tone. "Let's get this straight first. Finding things is fine, but don't go grabbing them again."
"You're awfully meddlesome," Xu Zhihan said coldly.
"Can't help it." Lu Wenchuan drew his knife back a little, that same easy smile still on his lips. "Song Zhixia said if you cough up blood again,