Chapter 67: Lake Scenery and Night Colors (Begging for Monthly Votes at the Fourth Watch)

There is a well-known saying: "Any ghost or monster has nowhere to hide in the face of great science."

Regardless of whether the Fatty's words were entirely correct, he did have a point. Perhaps without his speech, we might still have listened to Peanut, but after hearing him talk like that, everyone felt as though an extra layer of insurance had been added to our hearts.

Glancing around at us, the Fatty said triumphantly, "You commoners just don't think things through deeply enough. If the things concerning you two—Hanhua and young miss—were in my hands, they would have been settled long ago."

With a wave of his hand, acting like a sworn elder brother, he puffed out his chest and walked straight toward that door.

Peanut smiled and followed right behind. I wanted to catch up too, but seeing that Zhuge Xuan was still standing there frozen like a post, I didn't say much else, grabbed her, and ran outward.

As we stepped into the darkness beyond that door, my heart was still suspended in mid-air. Each of us switched on our flashlights and cautiously observed our surroundings.

Yet this path was surprisingly calm. The ground was paved entirely with freshly tamped earth, and the damp, earthy scent was exceptionally thick.

Another thing that proved Peanut and the Fatty right was that the surroundings were growing hotter. Faintly, I even heard the chirping of cicadas, and the ground underfoot was extremely wet, feeling somewhat similar to the drainage tunnel I had used when descending earlier.

Everyone was quite excited. The Fatty started off walking, but by the end, he was running directly.

When we caught sight of that drainage tunnel filled with puddles, the Fatty let out a howl like a wolf.

"Ooh... we're out! Damn it, I can actually see the stars." The Fatty was overjoyed, acting like an excited child. Following closely behind him, we hurried underneath that constellation of starlight within the tunnel.

"We're out." Gazing at that strip of stars, my legs turned to jelly. Releasing Zhuge Xuan's hand, I collapsed straight to the ground.

Zhuge Xuan also let out a long sigh and then said, "Let's go up quickly."

Naturally, we couldn't wait. But suddenly, it occurred to me that something felt a bit off.

"Hey, wasn't this place covered up before? Why is it now..." I asked in confusion.

"Yeah, and there's no sign of those people from the archaeological team either," the Fatty muttered.

Peanut remarked, "Those people must have all been arranged by you beforehand."

He looked at Zhuge Xuan, who didn't answer, merely offering a faint smile.

The Fatty and I were stunned. "Ah, those people weren't an archaeological team? Damn it. Isn't that young lady a bit too daring?"

After the Fatty finished speaking, Peanut shook his head again. "I didn't say they weren't members of an archaeological team."

Hearing the hidden meaning in Peanut's words, I couldn't help but feel that the waters run even deeper and more unfathomably dark behind that young lady. If she could even mobilize an archaeological team, dealing with my grave-robbing father shouldn't be difficult for her, theoretically speaking.

"In any case, it's best we leave here quickly," Zhuge Xuan said, and headed straight up the steps.

We had no desire to linger any longer. The Fatty shook out his tight boxers and started running upward.

Emerging into the open, I was instantly dumbfounded.

The clearing that had previously been crowded with archaeological team members and tents was now completely empty, and even the excavated mud had been filled back in. Yet, far off in the wilderness, a bonfire was burning dimly. At first, everyone was startled. But after crouching and peering at it for a moment, we discovered there was no one beside the bonfire.

"Strange, is someone still here to welcome us?" The Fatty looked at Zhuge Xuan.

Zhuge Xuan, however, wore a puzzled expression. "That shouldn't be. According to our agreement, they should have withdrawn as soon as we went down."

Eventually, we approached the fire and took a few looks. The Fatty's first words were, "This fire was just lit."

That wasn't the only strange thing. Zhuge Xuan discovered that in the muddy ground around the bonfire, there wasn't a single footprint. Even more absurdly, behind the bonfire were four small wooden stools, and neatly placed on each stool was a set of clean clothes—three sets of men's wear and one set of women's wear.

If this were a coincidence, it was far too coincidental.

Just as we were perplexed, Peanut looked at these items, the corners of his mouth twitching upward slightly. "Hmph, quite a thorough arrangement."

We all turned to look at him.

"Peanut, do you know who set this up?" I asked.

Peanut didn't answer. Instead, he pointed into the distance. "There's a small lake over there, and the water is very clean. Everyone go wash up first."

Once this fellow clammed up, I knew there was no use asking, and besides, hearing that there was water to wash in, who cared about anything else? The three of us men walked straight toward it, and Zhuge Xuan casually took the set of women's clothes along with her.

What that lake looked like, I have no recollection of now. I only remember that the coolness of the lake water was so refreshing it practically felt like heaven to the Fatty and me.

Mindful of his injuries, the Fatty only waded in to waist-deep water, while Peanut had already swum off to the right side of the lake.

Just as I was enjoying my bath, I suddenly noticed that Zhuge Xuan was still standing on the shore like a wooden stake.

"Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and come down, the water is so refreshing!" I called out to her.

Zhuge Xuan still didn't move. After a long while, she said, "You guys have made the water dirty. I don't want to wash here."

"Then just walk over to the left side," I said.

After a long pause, Zhuge Xuan spoke again, "Mr. Yuan, could you... could you accompany me over there? I'm a little scared by myself."

Oh boy, you should have seen how happy I was inside. Weren't I always considered a scoundrel, a ruffian, or a grave robber before? Now I'm Mr. Yuan again? It seems my standing in this young lady's heart has gone up, hehe. Going through life and death really does make a difference.

The Fatty chuckled in a low voice, "Damn, a mandarin duck bath! Young miss, seize the opportunity; I'll call Brother Xiao to head up early in a bit."

"Go to hell." After cursing him out, I smoothed down my hairstyle with water and walked over to Zhuge Xuan's side.

To be honest, Zhuge Xuan was covered in stains and half-dried red fluid from head to toe. Under the starlight, she looked somewhat eerie. Yet her posture was extremely graceful, the spitting image of a Jiangnan lady of refinement.

In the Jiangnan countryside, by the side of the clear water, accompanied by a fair maiden—tsk, this trip was truly worth it, damn it.

As we walked off to the side, I said, "You could even handle the Fatty, what on earth are you afraid of?"

I could see that Zhuge Xuan genuinely seemed afraid of something. It wasn't until we were far away from the Fatty and Peanut that she said, "I'm afraid of water."

"Ah, then do you not take baths normally?" I laughed.

"Don't you dare laugh. A shower is different from lake water," Zhuge Xuan pouted. "You have to hold my hand later."

Upon hearing this, I thought to myself: could, could there actually be a chance for us tonight?

Yet outwardly I still had to put on a show of reserve. "Well, this doesn't quite seem appropriate. Uh, mainly because you're a woman—what if people say I took advantage of you later?"

Zhuge Xuan immediately kicked me and said fiercely, "As if there's going to be a later!"

After being disciplined, Zhuge Xuan turned off her flashlight, grabbed my hand, and cautiously stepped into the water.

In the shallow area, she made me stand while she squatted down, and even told me to turn my head away. That posture was indescribably awkward; my initial excitement quickly turned into suffering. Yet after a little while, when I turned my head back, she didn't say anything.

By now, the dirt on Zhuge Xuan's body had mostly washed away. Soaked in the water, her figure was almost entirely revealed before my eyes.

The feeling in my heart... tsk, I could hardly bear it anymore.

The T-shirt on her upper body was completely soaked through, and the inner camisole she wore was practically as good as nothing. Although I knew peeking like this was wrong, I couldn't control my eyes. If not for the cooling lake water, I probably would have stood there staring foolishly at her chest long ago.

"Could you come a little closer to me?" Zhuge Xuan suddenly said. "What if I slip under?"

"Uh, right." Like a complete fool, I smiled and waded a bit deeper toward her.

Getting this close was truly lethal. The only reason I hadn't had a nosebleed was because my stamina had been utterly exhausted down in the tomb.

Then, Zhuge Xuan began talking about many things, almost as if she were speaking to herself. She said she used to love swimming in rivers and lakes. When she was nine years old, she went into the water with her mother once. Originally, the mother and daughter were very happy, but after popping up from a dive, Zhuge Xuan could no longer find her mother. Ever since then, lakes and rivers had practically turned into her nightmare.

After listening to this, both of us sat down in the water. She held my hand tightly, her hand even trembling slightly.

The lake scenery under the night sky was the perfect time for sharing secrets. I couldn't help thinking of my own affairs, and just as I was about to speak, I noticed that Zhuge Xuan's head had already rested on my shoulder. Turning my head to look, I saw she had already fallen asleep.

I sighed. Looking at her fair profile under the starlight, I whispered softly, "You are truly beautiful."