Traveling Through the Grave Robbers' Chronicles: Starting from Meeting You

Amid the bitter cold and the loneliness of winter, the red plum blossom in the corner, wrapped in ice and snow, still reveals its beauty and tenacity.

It was the first sunny day after the snow, and the lazy winter sunshine shone through the sparse shadows of the trees, illuminating the thick winter snow, making it sparkle and sparkle with mottled light and shadow.

Early in the morning, car horns sounded outside the gate on time. Zhang Yecheng put on his bulging backpack and strode out.

When Zhang Yecheng passed by the plum tree, the fragrance of the plum blossoms drifted into his nostrils with the wind. Subconsciously, he stopped and looked at the red plum blossoms blooming in the wind and snow.

Wu Xie and Fatty waited outside the door for a long time, but they didn't see Zhang Yecheng come out. They looked at the closed door from time to time, feeling confused.

"Fatty, why don't we go and see why Mr. Zhang hasn't come out for so long?"

"That's true. It's so icy here. Could it be that you slipped and fell and can't get up?"

"You fat bastard, can't you be a little considerate of me?"

Wu Xie slapped Fatty on the arm, and Fatty immediately put on a grin, which made Wu Xie frown.

"You fat guy, keep pretending. I'm going to hit you hard."

"Oh, don't do that. But speaking of that, Tian Zhen, do you have a broken palm? It hurts so much every time you hit someone."

"I'm too lazy to tell you."

After Wu Xie finished speaking, he opened the car door and walked out. When Fatty saw him leaving, he immediately got out of the car and jogged a few steps to catch up with him.

The two walked forward side by side and stood in front of the half-open door. After hesitating for a moment, Wu Xie reached out and pushed the door open at the fat man's signal.

They walked into the courtyard one after another. Just as they passed the screen wall, they saw Zhang Yecheng standing on the garden path in a daze.

"What is he looking at? He is so engrossed that we didn't notice him even after we came in for such a long time."

"I don't know, let's go and have a look."

Wu Xie pushed Fatty, and the two of them deliberately lightened their steps and tiptoed to Zhang Yecheng's side, following his line of sight and looking at the red plum blossoms in the corner.

"The plum blossoms have been quiet for five years. How come they are suddenly blooming this year? Why didn't I see any when I came here yesterday?"

"Yes, Mr. Zhang, when did the plum blossoms bloom?"

Zhang Yecheng turned his head to look at Wu Xie and Fatty, then his gaze returned and fixed on the plum blossoms again.

"Yesterday, after the solar eclipse, it suddenly blossomed. Before that, I looked carefully and there was clearly not a single bud on it."

Upon hearing this, Wu Xie and Fatty looked at each other, with a similar flash of surprise in their eyes.

"Yesterday, a strange phenomenon suddenly appeared in the sky. After the phenomenon, the plum blossoms in this garden bloomed. Tian Zhen, do you think that Brother and Han Yan... are back..."

Wu Xie and Zhang Yecheng looked at Fatty together. After listening to Fatty's nonsensical speculation, they all fell silent, but their hearts were still surging.

"You act like you have a serious illness. I don't know how Yuncai has tolerated you for so many years. Stop wasting time and go away."

Wu Xie suppressed the bitterness in his heart and pushed the fat man forward.

"and many more."

Zhang Yecheng interrupted Wu Xie and Fatty's steps forward. They turned to look at him, their eyes full of confusion.

He did not explain why he stopped, but walked straight to the corner, carefully selected among the many blooming plum blossoms, picked out the ones he was most satisfied with, broke off, and carefully held them in his arms.

"My daughter has loved red plum blossoms since she was young. The red plum blossoms at home have finally bloomed. I will bring a few branches to show her. She will definitely like them."

As he spoke, he lowered his head and looked at the red plum in his arms. Zhang Hanyan's bright smile from the past appeared in his mind. The corners of his lips curled up slightly, and his smile was gentle and bright.

Wu Xie and Fatty looked at the smile on Zhang Yecheng's face and Hongmei in his arms, and they felt an unspeakable sadness in their hearts.

"Okay, let's go."

Wu Xie greeted him, took off the backpack on Zhang Yecheng's back, turned his body sideways, and waited for Zhang Yecheng to walk in front.

He followed Zhang Yecheng closely, carrying his backpack. The fat man walked at the end. After making sure that there was nothing forgotten, he fastened the copper lock on the door and placed the key in the doorway next to it.

The white van was driving slowly on the flat and wide road. The biting wind and snow were whistling past the window. All that could be seen between the sky and the earth was a vast expanse of white.

Wu Xie and Fatty took turns driving, while Zhang Yecheng sat motionless in the back seat, staring at the scenery outside the car window.

No one spoke in the carriage and the atmosphere was surprisingly depressing, as if everything around had turned gray and black, with only a few red plum blossoms as the only bright colors.

The vehicle was parked under the shade of trees outside the Banai Yao Village in Guangxi. Wu Xie had just opened the door and had not yet gotten out of the car when the roar of a huge helicopter sounded above his head.

The fat man waved his hand to disperse the dust floating in front of his eyes, and looked up at the helicopter hovering above their heads.

"Xi Liu and Zhang Mo are really enough. Not only do they come here by helicopter every year, but when they see us they keep circling around our heads. I don't know what they are trying to show off."

Wu Xie listened to Fatty's complaints with a smile, took out his backpack and put it on his back, then threw Fatty's backpack into his arms.

"There are not only Xiliu and Zhang Mo on the plane, there are also Xiaohua and Heiye. Why don't you talk about them?"

"Then it must be whoever is talking about whom. Tian Zhen, aren't Xiu Xiu and Sang Bei Er coming this year?"

The fat man looked at the empty van and his eyes dimmed. In previous years, everyone set out together, and this van could not accommodate everyone.

This year, such a big van was empty. There was no one else except the three of them.

"I don't know. I called them ahead of time and told them. Let's go to the village and meet up with them first."

"Okay, Old Zhang, let's go. How about I hold the plum blossom for you?"

As the fat man spoke, he reached out to take the plum blossom in Zhang Yecheng's hand. Zhang Yecheng dodged sideways and the fat man's outstretched hand grabbed nothing.

"No need, you are so clumsy, if you break it, my girl will be unhappy."

"Hey! What are you talking about? I am a genuine Northern School tomb raider. I have always done delicate work. How could I break a few plum blossoms?"

When the fat man heard Zhang Yecheng say this, he immediately became unhappy. He put his hands on his hips and stood in front of Zhang Yecheng, determined to argue with him to see who was right and wrong.

"Okay Fatty, stop nagging and go."

As soon as Wu Xie saw that something was wrong, he immediately grabbed Fatty and pushed him forward.

Zhang Yecheng stood where he was, carefully stroking the petals of the plum blossom with his fingertips, cherishing them as if he was afraid that the petals would wither and fall.

"Girl, the plum blossoms you like are blooming again. What about you? When will you come back?"

He muttered a few words to himself, sighed softly, and his eyes were filled with deep sadness.

Zhang Yecheng was holding a plum blossom, walking alone in the lonely snow and wind, with only a row of deep footprints accompanying him.

The deeper the footprints, the faster the snow falls, and the old footprints will always be covered by new snow...