Xu Qingqing lay in bed. She thought she would be too excited to fall asleep because of the discovery of the tomb. But lying beside Lu Chuanbai, she inexplicably felt a sense of security. Her mind was calm, and she fell asleep soon.
Hearing the regular breathing of the person beside him, Lu Chuanbai turned on his side and looked at Xu Qingqing. He gently held her hand.
He closed his eyes quietly. After a while, Lu Chuanbai opened his eyes, and a hint of cunning flashed across his eyes.
Lu Chuanbai simply threw the pillow between them off the bed and boldly pulled Xu Qingqing into his arms. Then he fell asleep peacefully.
The next day, when Xu Qingqing woke up, the first thing she saw was a magnified handsome face. She hurriedly pushed Lu Chuanbai away.
"Jerk! How did you end up sleeping with me again? I'll never trust you again!"
In her panic, Xu Qingqing kicked Lu Chuanbai. Lu Chuanbai was woken up by the kick. Facing Xu Qingqing's accusation, he wasn't flustered at all. Rubbing his eyes, he sounded a bit aggrieved.
"You were the one who hugged me. How can you blame me?"
"Impossible... I..."
Xu Qingqing frowned, not quite believing it. She didn't have any strange dreams last night. But because of previous experiences and her not - so - well - behaved sleeping posture, she didn't dare to be completely sure that she had slept quietly last night.
"Fine. I'll reluctantly believe you this time." Xu Qingqing tucked the hair hanging beside her cheeks behind her ears and got out of bed awkwardly.
Seeing her embarrassed look, Lu Chuanbai stifled a laugh and got out of bed. His eyes were full of slyness.
After autumn came, the days got darker earlier and dawned later. It was pitch - black outside the window, and one couldn't see one's own hand. There were fewer and fewer leaves on the trees in the yard, looking like an old bald man with only a few strands of hair.
Xu Qingqing sat in front of the mirror and unwrapped the gauze around her neck layer by layer. Thanks to the scar - removing cream Lu Chuanbai had given her, the wound on her neck had completely healed without leaving any scars.
Xu Qingqing applied another layer of scar - removing cream on her neck and gently massaged it.
Lu Chuanbai came out of the fitting room with a tie in his hand. He stood behind Xu Qingqing. His broad figure completely enveloped her. "Can you tie my tie for me?"
Xu Qingqing closed the lid of the scar - removing cream and looked at Lu Chuanbai suspiciously. "You can't even tie a tie? Who has been tying your ties all these years?"
"I let my secretary do it when I get to the company." Lu Chuanbai lied without batting an eyelid. "I can't do it well myself."
"You should learn it by yourself."
Xu Qingqing stood up and skillfully tied the tie for Lu Chuanbai.
"Isn't it okay to have you?" Lu Chuanbai lowered his eyes and smiled softly. His tone was indescribably gentle and full of hidden affection.
Lu Chuanbai thought of Tang Li. Since he also wore suits, Lu Chuanbai casually asked, "Who did you learn to tie ties from?"
"My mom. When my mom was busy, I tied ties for my dad."
"Have you only tied ties for your dad?"
"Yes. You're the second one." Xu Qingqing let go of her hands and looked at the tie she had tied with satisfaction.
"It looks good." Lu Chuanbai's praise was low and affectionate. Having got the answer he wanted, he was extremely happy.
"Breakfast is already on the table. Remember to eat it. I'm going to the company."
"It's so early."
Xu Qingqing looked up at the clock on the wall. It was not even seven o'clock yet.
"I need to arrange for the construction site to be temporarily shut down, and there are also some documents that I need to discuss with the company's management."
"Okay. I'm going to the tomb with Teacher Wang and the others."
When Xu Qingqing mentioned the tomb she had been looking forward to for so long, her charming peach - blossom eyes sparkled with anticipation.
When Xu Qingqing arrived at the cemetery, the project on the island had already stopped. The extremely difficult path to the back mountain had been repaired in advance by Lu Chuanbai.
There was a cordon around the entrance of the tomb. One had to admit that Lu Chuanbai was extremely efficient.
Wang Lide and the others had already arrived. They were waiting outside the cave entrance, talking excitedly.
They were talking so loudly that they didn't notice Xu Qingqing's arrival. It was Xu Qingqing who greeted them first. "Good morning, Teacher Wang. What are you discussing so enthusiastically?"
Wang Lide, who was usually serious and steady, had a look of excitement on his face. His white eyebrows were twitching.
"Qingqing, you're here. We're discussing going into the tomb. Officer He and his men have just gone in to check the air inside, and it's confirmed to be okay."
"Really? Then let's go in quickly." Xu Qingqing was eager to try.
"Wait a bit. The special protective suits haven't arrived yet."
After Xu Qingqing's neck was scratched by someone with ill intentions last time, Wang Lide had attached great importance to safety. He had stayed up all night last night arranging for the special - made protective suits, which were waterproof, fire - resistant, and anti - bacterial.
This tomb was at least a thousand years old. They must take good protective measures before going in.
Half an hour later, Li Dadan pushed a cart and brought the special protective suits for Xu Qingqing and the others.
The special - made suits were twice as thick as ordinary ones. There were masks on the hats, covering them tightly, leaving no room for danger.
After putting on the protective suits, Wang Lide carefully checked each person to make sure there were no omissions. Then he led the three of them into the tomb.
The space inside the tomb was larger than Xu Qingqing had imagined. The width of the passages leading to the main tombs was almost as large as the living room in her house.
The air was filled with a strong musty smell. Even though there were air filters on the protective suits, the musty smell was still pungent.
The tomb walls were covered with moss. There was water on the stone bricks on the ground, which were also covered with slippery moss. One had to firmly step on the ground, or they would slip and fall.
Officer He and his men had already blazed a trail in front. Even the large stone door of the main tomb that Li Zhengyi had never been able to open had been pried open with a machine.
Officer He was standing outside the door. Her eyes were full of shock and disbelief. Her mouth was slightly open. Even in the darkness, the surprised light in her eyes couldn't be hidden.
"It's so big..."
Hearing the footsteps, Officer He turned around and saw them coming. She was a bit incoherent but eager to share her shock.
"You're finally here. Look inside!"
Xu Qingqing and the others walked over and were immediately shocked by what was inside.
The tomb had been in disrepair for a long time. There were some small holes in the ceiling, and sunlight shone through these holes onto the sculpture in the middle.
The sculpture was at least four meters tall and one to two meters wide, emitting a cold, bluish - green light all over.
It was a huge statue of a bird - bodied and human - faced creature. Around it, there were other human - shaped sculptures kneeling. These sculptures had big and long heads and slender bodies, kneeling in front of the bird - bodied and human - faced statue.
Everyone was shocked into silence by this solemn, miraculous, yet strange scene.
In today's modern civilization, suddenly discovering a civilization that subverted human imagination of history was like suddenly finding the Sphinx hidden underground in the 21st century.