Xiao Hua
His next step was to break into Xie Lian Huan's residence and see what info he could find on his place along with Xiu Xiu. The matter also involved her family, so it was a fair trait and she could open pretty much any lock on their way.
They went into the house and search the many rooms for clues left behind, but find nothing, only a bit on insight when they reached Xie Lian's sturdy and check on his old computer. The files had been already deleted, but at the very least they find out it had been done just a few hours ago, which means one of two things, either Xie Lian was still alive and erasing his tracks, or he had given instructions to someone that was aware of him not been the real Wu San Xing to do it for him.
Why? Because he saw there was a flower pot that was owned by his Xie family in the house, one of two that had belonged to father and son, before his family went downhill. He currently have one of the pots on his room and the one there had belonged to his grandfather and later to Xie Lian. The interesting thing was not the flower pot on itself, but that it was the only object that had been cared in the entire house in a long time, as it had been watered frequently.
At the end they found a notebook with a missing page and faint traces of what could have been written on it, so Xiao Hua took a pencil from the desk and very carefully used the carbon to give the invisible characters some substance and visibility.
"Xiangxi." Xiao Hua whisper at the result.
"Xiangxi? That's such a big place... this clue is just is too vague to follow. Aside from Xie Lian, who else can know the meaning? It could be anything in there..." Xiu Xia asked a bit dejectedly.
"That's easy... we ask him, of course." Xiao Hua answer.
"Brother Hua, don't joke like that. He is missing and none of us had been able to find him so far." Xiu Xiu pouted.
"Not us, but what about those who he had contact with, before disappearing?" Xiao Hua asked and she understood his meaning immediately.
"You mean..."
"Yah, Mop. He was the last one Xie Lian Huan contacted before going to Tamutuo and one of his affiliates should know how to contact him back. He hired Mop Company for the job, regardless of their poor performance later... so this investigation is still not over..."
"Right, let's head back..." Xiu Xiu suggested and so their leave the house with another destination in mind.
Wu Xie
After the chase that turned into a bath for all three of them, they went out to dry themselves and dress back, not to mention to find out what was inside that metal box that had been suddenly forgotten in the riverbank.
"Xiaoge, what kind of treasure did you hide there?" Pangzi asked as all three of them looked at the box in the floor.
"One that man may have wanted for himself... I wonder just who he was?" Wu Xie asked.
"He had Xiaoge's tattoo and his shoulder was sloped too..." Pangzi pointed.
"Yeah... thinking about it, the man in the photo that baldheaded Chu took from Xiaoge's house have the same sloped shoulder as well. Banai... the expedition team... Parcel Islands... Golmud sanatorium... Qilin tattoo... just what is the connection that ties all of them together?" Wu Xie asked himself aloud.
"Could it be that the man was also mutated there, like Chen Wenjin? He was even in par with Xiaoge and they are all connected with Golmud sanatorium. Think about it, Huo Ling gained immortality and became a monster, Chen Wenjin gained immortality and started to stink like the dead... I don't know about who else was kept in that place... but if the photo is accurate and it is indeed the Golmud sanatorium, then this man was there, thus he was probably given the shibie pill as well... Ah, I'm such a smart man, at your service..." Pangzi conclude with an exaggerated bow to his audience. Wu Xie simply rolled his eyes.
"That can't be. The photo should be around sixty or fifty years old, which is more of the time that Chen Wenjin was in the sanatorium and she was running out of it a month and a half ago, which only means, this man don't have the same side effect of the pill... if it is the same man..." Wu Xie refuted.
"Then he is a Zhang... he had the same tattoo and may have the Qilin blood too." Pangzi theorize next.
"Not the same." Xiaoge said suddenly and both Pangzi and Wu Xie looked at him.
"What's not the same?" Wu Xie asked curiously.
"The tattoo... his, is not a Qilin." Xiaoge stated.
"Are you sure Xiaoge?" Pangzi asked.
"Yes. I will draw it to you once back." Qiling said to Wu Xie and he smiled, slightly rubbing his arm.
"Alright... now let's find out what's in the box." Wu Xie said and Pangzi took the thing quite eagerly to know the secret hidden on it.
"I hope there is treasure inside..." Pangzi said quite trilled and was about to open it when Xiaoge stopped him in the same sudden way he stopped Wu Xie before.
"Don't move!" Xiaoge shouted and Pangzi froze in place and an eerie silence followed for a few seconds of tension.
"Xiaoge... what's inside? Do you remember now?" Wu Xie asked as he keep himself immobilized.
"No... but it doesn't feel good." Xiaoge hushed and Wu Xie shared glances with Pangzi who was now starting to have cold feet and tremble.
"We should stay away from something that Xiaoge said it doesn't feel right." Pangzi stated as he started to panic and as his panic intensify... he end up dropping it to the ground and getting away.
"Watch out!" Xiaoge yelled and he grabbed Wu Xie to pull him away, then cover his body with his own, expecting the worse.
Then a few seconds passed and nothing happen... a few more and still nothing happen, thus at the end, he released Wu Xie and walked back to the now open box from where something had come out. It looked like a grey piece of metal, shaped in an odd way.
"What's that thing?" Pangzi asked and Xiaoge bend down to grab it.
"Xiaoge... it doesn't look dangerous... what is it?" Wu Xie asked, but his lover remained silent.
"A kind of old bomb?" Pangzi answer for him.
"Just why will he had a bomb under his bed? He may be amnesic but he is not mad. Stupid Pangzi... he doesn't want to die. Be more sensible." Wu Xie argue.
"Yeah, yeah... no harassing the amnesic, I got it." Pangzi apologize.
"Xiaoge, do you know what it is?" Wu Xie asked again, more softly now as he bend to his side.
"No, but it's only cover in metal." Xiaoge answer as he look at Wu Xie.
"How do you know?" Wu Xie asked as he looked at the thing.
"It's too light to be made entirely of metal." Xiaoge whisper as he offer it to Wu Xie, which took it on his hand and try to estimate the weight.
"You are probably right... it's definitely less heavy than it should if it was metal alone." Wu Xie said and the Pangzi steal it from him.
"Then, the treasure is hidden inside?" Pangzi asked once again excitedly.
"I don't remember..."
"Xiaoge... don't take the wrong way but your entire life seems to be veiled in all kinds of mysteries, from left to right, up and down, one after another even in a boring town like this one."
"Pangzi, it's not his fault that he can't remember. We just need to find a way to open that thing and see what was hidden inside, then maybe we can finally get some answers..."
"Tianzhen... could this be the reason that expedition team came here in the first place? Was Chen Wenjin looking for it in the mountains?" Pangzi asked and Wu Xie ponder it for a moment.
"If that is true... then there is more to this town that we initially thought and as for how she knew about this and if it was what trigger the next expedition into the Parcel Islands... we may never find the answer." Wu Xie said and just in the corner of his eyes, he saw a shadow moving and he looked up. Pangzi did too.
"Hey, it's him again!" Pangzi yelled and the man once again run away after been found.
"Geez, I know I'm handsome and all... but there is no need to stalk me so much. What a freak..." Pangzi joked and Wu Xie sighed.
"He is not after us... but this piece..." Xiaoge said.
"So you think this is all he wants?" Pangzi asked and Wu Xie seriously analyze the entire encounter from the start until that point.
"No... I don't think that's quite right. This slope-shoulder man seems to know his way around, thus he must be a local or quite familiar with the mountains here. He also knew that the metal was hidden in Xiaoge's house... perhaps that was the reason Xiaoge said it felt wrong... out of place. That man may have as well stayed there before and moved things inside... if he had want it, he should had taken it a long time ago. He came for the people looking for the metal, meaning us... he doesn't want for us to find it or know its secrets." Wu Xie concluded.
"Then if what you said is true... we will meet him again sooner than later. We better work fast in opening that thing before he can try to steal it again." Pangzi said.
"Yeah... let's just take the photos in the house and go back to the village." Wu Xie suggested and in the moment he turned to go back the way they had come, it was when he notice the column of smoke that raised over the threes in the direction of Xiaoge's house.
"Fire!"
"The slit house!"
"Let's go!" Xiaoge shouted as he sprinted back into the woods and all the way to the now flaming house.
The locals had notice the smoke too and were trying to put out the fire, but without much success. They must have think that they were still inside, as they had headed there in the morning and didn't come back after that.
"Mr. Gui!! We are out!!" Wu Xie shouted and the old man turned to see them running toward them, but as Wu Xie was grabbed by the old man, quite relieved to see them safe, Xiaoge moved past all of them in the blink of an eye and stormed into the hot inferno.
Wu Xie was in panic instantly and he try to stop him by going after him, but was firmly hold by both Pangzi and Mr. Gui, that keep him from moving forward.
"Xiaoge!!! Xiaoge!!! Come back!!!" Wu Xie yelled his heart out, as the other two held him and pull him away from the fire.
The flames were so hot and intense that Wu Xie was pretty much at the border of despair as he yelled Xiaoge's name and try desperately to free himself of the arms that were keeping him from finding his soul mate and getting him out. He had been trough that before and Xiaoge had come out hurt.
"Stop it Tianzhen! You can't get in there!" Pangzi pleaded, but Wu Xie keep struggling, yelling Xiaoge's name over and over to a point of completely hoarse his throat in deadly fear. His heart beating so fast that he was feeling the heat not only of the flames, but also of the internal rush of blood on his veins, that were pumping the adrenaline to get himself free of his capture.
"Xiaoge!!! Xiaoge!!!" Wu Xie struggle even harder, fearing he was going to lose him this time for sure and he broke free of Pangzi's bear hug, just when Xiaoge went out by throwing himself into the only wall that didn't have much flames and landed on his feet, just a short distance from the desperate Wu Xie.
Xiaoge had hear him yell his name in despair, which was why he had try to hurry out, but seen him close to tears, while in visible pain and hurt, he had known he had make a big mistake. Wu Xie was not too prone to break down, but he knew he always did when he was involved.
Thus when Wu Xie ran the short distance to him and throw himself to his arms, he hold him tightly and muter who knows how 'I'm sorry' apologies in his ear, as he rubbed his back to try to calm him down. However, when Wu Xie did, it was like been strike with a very heavy hammer, right over his heart.
"You once said to me 'live for me', when I was been reckless, but you also need to do the same... it cannot work only one way." Wu Xie said as he turned his back and walked away, obviously deeply hurt.
It wasn't until nightfall that Wu Xie's anger subsided, despite the many attempts of apologies he made during the long hours of his confinement inside the room their shared. He had cry, Xiaoge knew, but when Wu Xie went out and sit by him in the table outside the house, he was equipped with an emergency kit.
Pangzi had already treat his burns, but he was not going to complain, now that Wu Xie was out of his cocoon. Thus he let Wu Xie, gently apply cream on the small wound on his face without even dare to blink.
"Just don't do things like that again... you have a lover now that worries for you and will die for you as well."
"I'm sorry..."
"It was not even worthy... everything must had already be on fire by the time you went in."
"I got something out..."
"You did?"
"Yes."
"Show me." Wu Xie demanded and thus Qiling show Wu Xie the piece of the photo he had manage to save.
"This is Chen Wenjin... and someone from the village... a different one than in the photo in this house..."
"Yes..." Xiaoge said and Wu Xie sighed.
"Alright. We will look into it tomorrow... now show me all your wounds..." He said, but Xiaoge simply took the chance to kiss him. It was not a passionate one... just an offer of surrender and apology.
"I'm truly sorry..." Xiaoge whisper as they separate.
"Hum... you are forgiven... it's not that I haven't done things like that before... I... over reacted too..."
"No. I hurt you..."
"Then come and pay your redemption..." Wu Xie whisper and Qiling smirked, then slowly approached Wu Xie's adorable face and kiss him again, this time with more feelings, slowly and gently to show his kind man, that he too was completely wiped by him and Wu Xie responded accordingly.
"Umhum! Ah, the moon shines brightly on such a beautiful cold night and under its light, two very stupid lovers kissed... the warm water is ready, come back inside and wet your feet on it. Pangye deserves some attention too." Pangzi interrupted and Wu Xie sighed.
"Yeah, yeah, oh great brother... we are coming..." Wu Xie said softly.
"You better, a triangle is not complete with just one side." Pangzi pretty much whined.
"Right... safe and strong... let's go Xiaoge, we need to show Pangzi what you find too." Wu Xie said as he offer his hand to him, which gladly take it and squeezed gently, before releasing it once inside the house and with their feet warming, as much as their bond and hearts.
AN: Aww... such brotherly bonds. Pangzi still keep his triangle strong. Thanks for reading, and please take care. 💞💞💞