Chapter 196 - Bandaging Her Wound And Slapping The Woman
During the critical juncture, no one dared fight against the machete-wielding terrorists.
Everyone only thought to protect themselves to avoid the attack, but no one ever considered the fact that the outlaws were not professionals. Even if they were trained, there were only four of them!
Those who were squashing against each other hurrying to flee in the mall were at least over thousands if not tens of thousands!
Among the thousands of people, there were plenty of robust men but no one dared put their foot forward to fight the terrorists who were slaughtering the innocent.
Humans showed their most instinctive nature during the most dangerous moments.
The one who stood up and saved the crowd, ultimately, was a young teenage girl who did not even look like she had reached eighteen years of age!
While the throngs of people breathed in relief, they could not help staring at Yun Jian with bafflement.
"Xiao Jian... You..." Qin Yirou was dumbfounded by Yun Jian killing the men just now.
Her daughter, her usually docile and sensible daughter, had killed someone! Her Xiao Jian killed someone!
That was against the law!
"Mom." Yun Jian took one step closer to Qin Yirou and held her trembling hands after that. "Mom, if I didn't kill them just now, we would be the ones who died."
Qin Yirou was shaking when she looked at Yun Jian. She parted her lips, filled with questions about Yun Jian's previous actions, but in the end, she could not manage to ask a thing.
Yun Jian was right. Legally, she killed the other party due to her life being at risk, the action would be deemed as self-defense and she would not be penalized.
"Xiao Jian, your - your arm is still bleeding! Mommy will take you to the hospital! We'll bandage it up in the hospital!"
Suddenly feeling a drop of moisture on the back of her hand, Qin Yirou looked down only to see the blood gushing out more fiercely from Yun Jian's arm. She panicked, forgetting all of Jun Yian's previous actions, as she moved to pull her daughter out.
"Mom, hold on." There was a sharp glint in Yun Jian's eyes before she patted Qin Yirou's hands to comfort her.
Qin Yirou was shocked to the core. She had never encountered what happened just now throughout her entire life.
Yun Jian tore the hem of her clothes, easily tearing a long strip of fabric to act as a bandage. Biting the temporary substitute, she wrapped it around her wound and bandaged it securely with a sense of ease and familiarity under everyone's watch.
Despite her bone peeking through the flesh of her wound, it was not a deep gash to Yun Jian. She took it without batting an eye.
The crowd was amazed.
It was such a deep slit and she was just a young girl. Even if it were an adult, who could bandage themselves up so well like her? Her speed of bandaging looked like she was a seasoned paramedic, but she was so young!
While the mass was engrossed with the thought, Yun Jian was already done wrapping her injury up and moved toward the staircase to the first floor.
The people who were seeking shelter up there were more or less afraid when they saw Yun Jian who had just killed the outlaws. It caused them to cram themselves to the side once Yun Jian walked over, automatically making way for the girl.
This continued on until Yun Jian came to a corner and hauled a lavishly dressed woman from there.
"You... What - what are you doing..." The woman looked at Yun Jian fearfully. Recalling how the girl looked when she killed the terrorists just now, the woman shook on the inside.
This woman was the offender who pushed Qin Yirou in becoming her human shield while she fled, causing Yun Jian to be cut open.
"I'm not planning to do anything." Yun Jian looked at the woman with a grin.
The unsettling grin remained as she landed a fierce slap on the woman's face in the next second, making a loud resounding blow in the otherwise silent mall.
"Slap!"
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Chapter 197 - Her Warning. She Killed Them!
"Ah!" The woman let out a shrill cry.
It was plain that the woman who wore a luxury branded coat and a Chanel purse came from a wealthy background.
In spite of it, she saw stars from Yun Jian's slap as the latter did not go soft.
The woman coughed after the slap, feeling like something had fallen off her gum. Covering her mouth, she tried to hack whatever it was in her mouth out.
It was a tooth. The woman's tooth fell out from Yun Jian's slap!
The witnessing crowd dared not make a sound despite having seen what Yun Jian had done. The young girl had just killed the terrorists! She killed someone! Who would be brave enough to intervene with such a barrage...
"My - my tooth!" When the woman saw that it was an intact white tooth that was on her palm, she felt dizzy, nearly passing out as she shrieked.
She glared up at Yun Jian and sneered immediately, "Who are you! Do you know who I am? How dare you hit me!"
The woman was scared of Yun Jian for what she did just now but those were terrorists. If Yun Jian had not killed them, they would be killing more innocent civilians. She did not believe that Yun Jian would dare kill her.
Would she!
Ignoring the woman's scorn, Yun Jian scowled at the woman, "This slap was for my mother."
Standing where she was, Yun Jian threw another hot slap on the woman's thickly caked face.
The strength contained in her blow caused the woman, who did not react fast enough, to spit another few teeth from her mouth.
Due to the military training, Yun Jian had improved so tremendously that her strength level had far exceeded her past self.
The powerful blow threatened to slap off all the woman's teeth.
It was the woman reaping what she sowed to Yun Jian. She should not have pushed her mother out to shield herself!
Yun Jian did not mind her wound but if something did happen to Qin Yirou or if it had been too late to save her... she could not bring herself to imagine the heart-wrenching agony.
"This slap is my warning to you. Let me see you again next time and you're dead!" Yun Jian spat menacingly.
The woman quivered like a leaf. Her previous dominance was gone as she was intimidated to silence. She had a foreboding sense that the girl would really kill her if she had spoken another word in front of her - just like how she had killed those outlaws!
Yun Jian went back to the ground floor after giving the woman two harsh slaps.
It was then when the police and a group of armed Special Forces charged in through the entrance. Ambulances arrived at the mall, too. The personnel began treating the wounded and dead on the spot, reviving those who were still alive.
Amongst the Special Forces, Yun Jian saw someone she was familiar with, Ge Junjian.
When the latter had received news that there were terrorists slaughtering civilians here, he and his team had made their way over instantly. The instruction they received from above was to gun down the terrorists at the scene.
It then came as a surprise that the outlaws were already dead when they bolted into the location and unexpectedly, Yun Jian was here too.
Yun Jian exchanged looks with Ge Junjian.
A plump police officer who held a recording pen and a notebook came to her and asked, "What happened just now? Who killed these terrorists?"
The woman who had been silent due to her fear of Yun Jian felt her confidence coming back now that the policies were here. She was unafraid of Yun Jian now, as if forgetting the latter's warning.
She pointed at Yun Jian, crying out in a gratingly sharp voice, "Mr. Policeman, it's her! She killed those people!"
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Chapter 198 - Giving A Police Statement And Coming Clean
The woman's words caused the police, the medical officers, and even the Special Forces to look toward Yun Jian in shock.
Other than Ge Junjian, everyone who had just arrived at the crime scene was utterly dumbstruck.
If they were told that these rampant machete-waving terrorists were killed by a group of men here in the mall, the professionals would still be quite baffled.
After all, these outlaws wielded machetes. It was simple logic that an empty-handed civilian could easily be stabbed or risked their life if they fought them.
What these professionals were currently greeted with, however, was Yun Jian and Qin Yirou on the ground floor, other than the succumbed victims as well as the four terrorists who were also dead.
Coincidentally, the fabric wrapped around Yun Jian's arm as a temporary bandage was now stained red, a visible sign that she had fought the outlaws just now.
Seeing is believing - there were also the crowds that stood crammed up from the first to the third floor all looking terrified out of their minds. This young girl who was not even eighteen years old had really killed the terrorists!
Contrary to the others' bafflement, Ge Junjian was much more unfazed. He had even commented to himself. Yun Jian was someone he had set his eyes on, a Special Forces candidate whom he had personally recruited. She was someone who killed the top tenth internationally ranked assassin, Wolf Blade!
It was basically a suicide mission for these terrorists to meet her.
"She killed them! She killed them! She broke my teeth just now too! You guys are police, catch her right now! Put her into prison, make her serve jail time!" The woman upstairs screeched loudly with a finger pointed at Yun Jian as if she had gone crazy.
Narrowing her eyes, Yun Jian turned slightly to glare at the woman with eyes that brimmed with ruthlessness.
When the woman met her murderous gaze, her voice softened instantly before she clamped her mouth shut, a hand flying up to cover it.
Yun Jian's gaze made her feel that she would kill her even if it was in front of the policies had she said another word. She was a devil! The woman thought as she shuddered.
"Cough!" The plump police officer raised the black pen in his hand and told Yun Jian in an order, "Miss, looks like you'll have to come with us."
"Xiao Jian..." Qi Yirou grabbed her daughter and looked pleadingly at the officer. "Mister, can you allow my daughter to treat her wound in the hospital first?"
Qin Yirou knew that they would have to make the trip to the police station with what happened. It was not just them. All the witnesses in the mall had to get their statements taken by the police.
Nevertheless, Yun Jian's wound was simply bandaged by her clothes. Qin Yirou worried about her wound being infected or the inability to stop the bleeding.
"Uh..." The plump officer hesitated for a moment before he nodded. "Sure, go with the ambulance to the hospital first."
Qin Yirou thanked him gratefully. "Thank you, mister, thank you!"
"No problem, go along now." Looking at the growing patch of bloodstain on the temporary bandage made out of clothing fabric on Yun Jian's arm, the plump police officer waved his hand dismissively to prompt Qin Yirou to take her to the hospital quickly.
He was a kind man. After all, he would have to be held accountable if Yun Jian and Qin Yirou had instead escaped or did not report themselves at the police station.
...
Yun Jian left the hospital with a proper bandage on her arm and various medicines applied to it.
Qin Yirou was finally able to breathe in relief as they made their way to the police station.
There were hordes of people standing there, witnesses from the mall. All of them were still caught in the lingering terror, trembling when they made the police statement. It was obvious that none had snapped out of the incident.
Seeing Ge Junjian wave at her at the entrance of the police station, she walked over to him with Qin Yirou who looked puzzled.
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Chapter 199 - Yun Jian's Statement And The Truth
"Is your arm alright?" Ge Junjian asked with a glance at Yun Jian's arm when he saw her coming over with Qin Yirou.
He had obviously heard from other witnesses that Yun Jian had gotten injured in favor of saving Qin Yirou. Otherwise, with her skills, she would definitely have been unscathed from the incident.
Speaking of which, due to this happening, Yun Jian's sublime skills were evident as she could save Qin Yirou when the latter was so close to the blade.
Based on the witnesses' narration, Ge Junjian knew that he would not have the speed to push Qin Yirou away in time even if he was to swap his life in place of hers should he had been there.
Yun Jian was truly someone who was competent enough to kill Wolf Blade who ranked tenth in the assassin chart!
"Not an issue." Yun Jian smiled and introduced Qin Yirou to Ge Junjian instead. "This is my mother."
"Ah..." Ge Junjian scanned Qin Yirou curiously after he heard her, taking in the lingering fear from the terror on her fatigued face. He just wanted to see what amazing woman had given birth to a daughter as outstanding as Yun Jian.
"Mom, this is the leader of the Special Forces troop," Yun Jian introduced Ge Junjian with a finger pointed at him, not planning to hide the fact from her mother. She just skipped the part that Ge Junjian was the leader of the Advanced Special Forces.
Advanced Special Forces and ordinary Special Forces were two entirely different things.
The ASF that Ge Junjian was in not only belonged directly to the country, but those who could be recruited into the troop were also people who had substantial influence in the country. - And Ge Junjian was the leader of this powerful troop.
Despite that, Ge Junjian was already someone formidable to Qin Yirou.
While she was curious why her daughter would be acquainted with someone so significant, she greeted Ge Junjian politely. "Nice to meet you!"
Since it was someone her daughter knew, she could not be embarrassing her in front of the guest.
Ge Junjian nodded and looked at Qin Yirou affably before wearing a meaningful smile. "Nice to meet you too! Your daughter... She's remarkable!"
The compliment was a sincere exclaim from Ge Junjian.
Qin Yirou was stunned by it.
"You guys are here? It's your turn to make your statements. Come on in!" The plump officer went over to greet them when he saw Yun Jian and Qin Yirou coming back.
The group's conversation stopped, as Yun Jian and Qin Yirou made their way into the police station. Ge Junjian followed as well.
He was the leader of the Advanced Special Forces. That was a high rank, so he could come and leave the police station freely.
The steps involved in taking Yun Jian's statement were more complicated than that of the other witnesses. She had killed the terrorists after all. It was an undeniable fact.
Ge Junjian must have talked to the police officers beforehand as Yun Jian could leave the station after a simple statement and registration. She did not even have to go through the lengthy procedure.
Qin Yirou who left the police station was even more bewildered.
She asked the question that had been playing in her mind. "Xiao Jian, how did you come to know someone so significant like the Special Forces officer?"
She actually had more questions to ask, like why did her daughter change so much?
"Mom, I've actually joined the Special Forces. I'm one of the candidates now/" Yun Jian winked and suddenly came clean when they passed by a relatively barren place.
Luckily, Yuan Jian held Qin Yirou as she jumped when she heard her daughter's confession, as if hearing something that could never actually happen. She dropped her jaw with bulging eyes.
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Chapter 200 - Yun Jian's Assurance
"Wha - what? Xiao Jian, you joined the Special Forces!?" Qin Yirou's hand flew to her chest as she was completely baffled by the sudden update. Her eyes trained unblinking at Yun Jian as the question came out in a higher pitch.
Since Yun Jian had decided to tell the truth, she was not holding back. She held Qin Yirou's hands and told her tenderly, "Mom, it's my choice to enlist in the Special Forces."
Most of Qin Yirou's doubts were answered by Yun Jian's reply. It connected the dots for her regarding why Yun Jian had suddenly turned so skillful. It was because she was trained after joining the troop!
Even her dexterity in killing the terrorists just now was the result of her training in the Special Forces.
It was as if Qin Yirou had found the key to all her doubts but at the same time, she could not accept it in an instant.
Yun Jian stood stationary in waiting for her to digest the truth.
After some time, Qin Yirou's hands covered Yun Jian's. She did not know how she should be facing her daughter, feeling that she was a failure as a mother. As her mother, she did not even know what her daughter had been up to!
Nonetheless, Qin Yirou grasped Yun Jian's hands. "Xiao Jian, mommy doesn't oppose you being in the Special Forces, but you must make sure that nothing bad happens to you! With the Special Forces, I know that it's dangerous but you can't put yourself in danger. Promise mommy, and I won't stop you!"
Qin Yirou was not a mother who coddle their children and guarded them like they were a gem. She loved her children but she respected their choices.
Of course, this was based on the premise that her children's lives were not risked.
Yun Jian knew that she would be facing danger anytime as a Special Forces member but she nodded at Qin Yirou. "Mom, I'll make sure that nothing happens to me!"
There were risks in being a Special Forces member but compared to the variety of organizations she had to face in her past life, it was almost insignificant. Yet, there would be a day when she will return to her past life's environment, although the people who want her, Slaying God, dead would not even be born yet!
"Mm!" Qin Yirou pulled Yun Jian close to her and rested her head against the latter before patting it.
To Qin Yirou, no matter how mature her Xiao Jian was, she was still a child.
...
Returning to school, Yun Jian had several days of peace.
It was just that there was a rumor in school that had caused a commotion in Longmen City.
A lively chatterbox boy in class told his classmates during a break, like he had been there himself, "My aunt was there when the terror attack happened in the North Gate Mall!"
"Wow, for real? I heard that a group of terrorists barged in and chopped people with machetes that day!" Someone chorused.
The incident rippled in Longmen City, even the students in the school were talking about it.
"Of course it's real. My aunt said that she was standing on the second floor and thought that she was doomed but guess what happened? The terrorists were all killed by a teenage girl fifteen to sixteen years old!"
"Holy smokes, the girl is fierce!"
When the boy began talking about the incident, there were people chorusing him instantly.
The protagonist, Yun Jian, who had just come back from the washroom, passed the group of chattering peers coincidentally.
"Hey, Xiao Jian, I remember you went to North Gate Mall to shop with your mom that day, too, right?" Chen Xinyi was engrossed with the boy's recount and suddenly recalled that Yun Jian had told her about going to the mall to buy her mother clothes on that day.
The careless mention, however, attracted everyone's gaze towards Yun Jian.
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Chapter 201 - Do You Believe It? Throwing Chopsticks
"Hey, hey, so you were there too when it happened, Yun Jian?" One of the classmates quickly asked Yun Jian with brimming excitement.
Everyone in the class wanted to know.
Although the boy claimed that his aunt was around, he had only heard from his aunt after all. It was not something he had seen with his own eyes.
If Yun Jian was really there, then she would definitely know about the entire incident.
Actually, Chen Xinyi was rather eager to know about what happened in the mall as well, but it was not her intention to make Yun Jian the center of everyone's attention, so she blinked apologetically at the girl.
In a good mood, Yun Jian returned a smile at Chen Xinyi and met eyes with the anticipating gazes in the class as she nodded. "Yup, I was there."
"Tell us then! What happened on that day! Were those criminals really killed by a teenage girl?" The classmate who could not help his thrill asked Yun Jian again, his gaze gleaming in admiration.
There was a small upward tug on Yun Jian's lips. She arched her brow looking at her curious peers. "If I said that I killed those terrorists, would you believe it?"
What?
The class was flabbergasted when they heard her.
She was the person who killed the terrorists?
Doing a double take, Yun Jian fit the description of a fifteen to sixteen years old.
The girl who was said to kill the terrorists was around this age too.
Did she really kill them?
"It's just a joke." Yun Jian dissolved the tense atmosphere in the next second.
Her half-hearted words, however, relaxed the kids.
That was more reasonable. How could she come back to school so soon after killing someone? She would have to be held in custody at the police station for at least a few days.
The class went off to their own business after that.
Chen Xinyi and Zhang Shaofeng, however, scampered to Yun Jian after the crowd dispersed.
"Jian Jian, you must be the one who killed those guys, right?" Chen Xinyi asked in a whisper, coming close to Yun Jian.
Zhang Shaofeng was only gazing at Yun Jian like he was worshipping a deity.
Yun Jian nodded unnoticeably and looked at Zhang Shaofeng. "Did you train on your own when I wasn't here?"
"Yes, of course I did! Master, I worked hard in training" Zhang Shaofeng who was pinpointed reeled in his admiration toward Yun Jian and flaunted his muscles, flexing them to Yun Jian in a silly manner.
Zhang Shaofeng and Chen Xinyi were already getting used to Yun Jian's logic-defying performances. After all, both of them were witnesses to enough incidents which took place previously.
"Master, so when will you teach me some more exciting tricks?" Zhang Shaofeng came forward asking with a grin after showing off some more.
"We'll see after you master throwing chopsticks." Yun Jian pressed her lips together into a small smile.
Throwing chopsticks was the first thing she asked Zhang Shaofeng to practice. It was simple.
Placing an empty beer bottle on the floor, Zhang Shaofeng was to throw chopsticks into it from afar. Each chopstick counted.
It was a no brainer, but in the future, when Zhang Shaofeng practiced enough and could easily throw chopsticks into a faraway beer bottle, his foundational work would be close to completion. It was because a whole lot of techniques were intricately tied to this seemingly simple action.
Firearms were one example, where the requirement was a precise aim. It was like throwing chopsticks. One would score with every chopstick thrown into the bottle, while one would shoot the target with every precise aim of the gun.
The theory behind it was the same.
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Chapter 202 - She Was Going To Si Yi
"Oh..." Zhang Shaofeng could not help feeling disappointed when he heard his training was throwing chopsticks again.
He understood, however, that foundational work could not be trained in one day, so he occupied himself with ideas to improve his chopsticks throwing precision.
Chen Xinyi made a funny face toward the direction that Zhang Shaofeng left in before turning to grin at Yun Jian while sticking her tongue out, looking adorable and cheeky.
It was also at this moment that the school bell rang, indicating the start of classes.
The students who had gathered amongst each other to chat and gossip returned to their seats while the teachers entered the classroom shortly with stacks of textbooks.
...
Yun Jian spent another period of time enjoying her peaceful life.
Now that Qin Yirou knew that she was training at the military camp, she could go to the training camp openly during the weekends.
At the same time, the first mission that was due in one month was approaching.
Completing the high intensity training and sweating profusely, Yun Jian had agreed to go to an exclusive club to let loose a little. She headed out with Chu Ning and the rest from the camp, but was stopped in her tracks upon seeing a deluxe sports car.
There was a deep frown on Yun Jian's face when she saw the person in the car.
It was him?
Yun Jian knew the person and had seen him once after her rebirth. It was Snow Eagle, one of An Hun's four commanders. He was one of Si Yi's men.
Logically, she was rebirthed. Snow Eagle should not recognize her. Nonetheless, he had come all the way from Country M to Country Z to look for her? What did this mean?
"Who are you? Can you move your car? You're blocking our way," Chu Ning said when she saw Snow Eagle suddenly stopping his sports car in the middle of the pedestrian walkway.
This was reasonable. He had, after all, intentionally blocked the way when it was a pavement made for pedestrians. It was not like Chu Ning knew that Yun Jian knew Snow Eagle. That was why she spoke up.
"I'm looking for her." There was a slight furrow of brows on Snow Eagle as he pointed at Yun Jian. His innate hostility intimidated the rest of the group.
All four commanders of the An Hun Group were young handsome gentlemen who exuded grace. This was what Yun Jian knew.
"I know him," Yun Jian spoke up to her team as well after a two-second pause.
"You guys can go ahead. I think I'll pass on the gathering this time," Yun Jian told Chu Ning and the rest, knowing that Snow Eagle would not come to her for no reason. In addition, it had been so long since she received any news from Si Yi after he went to the catacomb. It dreaded her.
"Huh? You're not going anymore?" Chu Ning muttered before pursing her lips and said, "Alright then."
Yun Jian replied with a hum before she hopped on Snow Eagle's sports car. The latter sped off a distance before finally stopping at a deserted spot.
"Did something happen to him?" Yun Jian asked anxiously before Snow Eagle spoke. Her tone was nervous, an emotion that she did not notice.
"Mm." Snow Eagle had a deep frown when he nodded at Yun Jian before speaking, "Young master went to the catacomb in the south with Ya Dang and Mo Sen and lost contact with us after a short period of time. The signal of the messenger was cut off in an instant. We... couldn't get in touch with him."
Snow Eagle's tone was grim and anxious.
"How long has it been since he went into the crypt?" Yun Jian asked quickly, disregarding what Snow Eagle would come to her after losing contact with Si Yi.
"About ten days. They brought food supplies with them when they entered but if they didn't get out still, I'm afraid..." Snow Eagle did not finish his sentence.
When one of the four commanders of An Hun was currently so solemn, Yun Jian knew that things must have been serious.
The sandalwood box and the catacomb in the south... What secrets did they contain?
Gritting her teeth, she told Snow Eagle after a beat of silence, "I'll head back to pack. Do you want to go to the catacomb with me?"
If something happened to Si Yi, she was going to find him.
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Chapter 203 - Arriving In Country A, To The Catacomb
Snow Eagle frowned, looking at Yun Jian as he said, "I have to stay in the group."
Si Yi had told him that he had to stay within the organization even if something had happened to him, in order to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation.
Coming for Yun Jian, it was not actually part of Si Yi's instruction. Snow Eagle knew that Si Yi did not intend to keep anything from Yun Jian and a woman who his young master could regard this way was definitely extraordinary.
That was the reason Snow Eagle came to Yun Jian, to ask for her help.
Clearly, Yun Jian did not disappoint him.
At the moment, Snow Eagle suddenly felt that Yun Jian was a perfect match to their young master!
"Okay." Yun Jian nodded. She understood what Snow Eagle meant.
The latter had to stay within An Hun Group, because An Hun was much like Gu Sha. Once all the authoritative figures were not in the organization, those lurking in the dark ready to wreak havoc would come out and do just that.
Yun Jian did not expect herself to go to the southern country out of the blue, but she was not able to keep still when she found out that something might happen to Si Yi.
There was a deep voice in her heart telling her that she must go to him. She had to see him in person if he was alive, or his corpse if he was dead!
When Yun Jian snapped herself out of the daze, she was already driving her LaFerrari toward Country A. It was the southern country where people dug out the sandalwood box from the catacomb.
As for her days of absence, she asked Ge Junjian to lie to Qin Yirou for her, citing that the military was conducting a closed intensive training to better cultivate the Special Forces candidates. She had even completed a report for the school.
Holding the detailed map that she had received from Snow Eagle, Yun Jian sped on the highway. She did not drive leaving Country Z. She parked her car at the province airport and bought a flight ticket to Country A.
When she arrived there, the country where the sandalwood box was unearthed from the catacomb and the country where it was relatively impoverished and barren, it was already four in the evening.
Yun Jian continued her journey to the catacomb without a break.
The crypt was located in a deep valley. When Yun Jian arrived, she saw copious tents erected around the site. Carrying the items that she had previously packed, she was going to enter the underground tomb.
"Little girl! Wait!" A baritone voice stopped Yun Jian's advancing stride and she turned around to see a serious looking middle-aged man with a pair of glasses perched on his nose, alongside a number of archaeological instruments in his hands.
Looking then at the team of people standing behind the man and their attire, it was undoubtedly that these people were archaeologists.
The discovery of the sandalwood box and the rumor of never exiting the crypt had attracted experts, scholars, archaeologists, and even renowned personages from all across the world. In spite of it, not many of them went into the catacomb.
There was a large group of people traveling from everywhere in the world to make their mark here, but there was only a rare handful of them who truly dared enter the catacomb.
Without a doubt, all of them were afraid of never coming out again once they entered. Just like the batches of people who had gone in previously, no one ever came out.
The middle-aged man had called out to Yun Jian in Mandarin, so it was a given that he was from Country Z. He asked, looking at Yun Jian, "Little girl, are you from Country Z too?"
Yun Jian gave a slight nod.
There was a furrow of brows from the man but he introduced himself first, "I'm Yu Bufan. These people behind me are my teammates. We're members of Country Z's Feilong Archaeological Team. What are you doing here, little girl? You wouldn't be planning to go into the tomb, would you?"
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Chapter 204 - Let's Go Together. Welcome!
The Feilong Archaeological Team was famous in Country Z, even those who were unfamiliar with the field knew of them.
Yu Bufan, in front of Yun Jian right now, and the group of people behind him were members of the enigmatic team.
Yun Jian was not familiar with the archaeological field but she had heard about the Feilong team too. She nodded at Yu Bufan. "Yes. I'm entering the crypt."
It was not just Yu Bufan but his teammates who came with him too, that gasped when they heard Yun Jian.
Did the little girl not know about the situation inside the tomb? Why was she declaring that she was entering the tomb as though she was going for a walk in the park?
Did she not hear about the rumor of never exiting the catacomb?
"Uh, little girl, are you alone?" Yu Bufan swallowed and asked.
When Yu Bufan saw Yun Jian and her bulging backpack just now, he was just making a wild assumption that she was going into the catacomb, but never expected that to actually be the case. - Alone too, in fact!
"I'm Yun Jian. It's just me," Yun Jian replied, not in a hurry to go.
She had only arrived here. It would be useful to probe around and find out more about this place. She was sure about one thing, however, that was she was bound to enter the tomb.
"Cough, have you not heard about the catacomb's rumor? We've quartered here for a long time and there have been many who went down but none of them ever come out alive! Are you still going in even when this is the case?" Yu Bufan reminded her kindly.
If Yun Jian did not come from Country Z, he might not stop her. He just did not want to see more unnecessary sacrifices.
"Mm, I have to enter regardless," Yun Jian answered.
The main reason of course, was for Si Yi. The second was due to the secret of the sandalwood box contained in this catacomb. She wanted to know how and why she was rebirthed as well. She longed to seek the answer!
If she could be rebirthed and if she discovered the secret to it, could she revive her baby brother too?
It was nothing but wild fantasy, yet Yun Jian was willing to give it a try. Something as mystical as a rebirth happened to her, who was to say that her baby brother could not be brought back to life?
"Alright then. If you insist, I have two friends with me who are entering the catacomb too. If you don't mind, you can go with them," Yu Bufan offered.
To show that he was not a swindler, he explained further, "Both my friends have waited around for several days too, already gathering a group of people with similar intentions to enter the tomb. Since all of you are going and who knows what will happen once you're in there, my friends planned to assemble more people to go together so they can watch out for each other too."
What Yu Bufan did not say was that the group of people whom his friends had gathered were all from Country Z. This was also the reason Yu Bufan had asked if Yun Jian was from Country Z immediately when he saw her.
"Go together?" Yun Jian raised her brow and replied lightly after a pause, "Sure."
Yu Bufan was delighted when he received her answer, taking her to meet his two friends.
On the outside, Yun Jian did not appear skillful, however, one more person was one more sense of assurance and security. It was nothing bad.
Yu Bufan's friends were a tall man and a short man respectively. The tall and thin one was Bo Zhan while the short and plump one was Fu Xin.
Both of them were professional graverobbers and had raided plenty of tombs, even having a reputation internationally. Both of them were nice, welcoming Yun Jian to the team warmly.
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Chapter 205 - Companions And A Trouble Instigator
"Nice to meet you. We welcome your addition." Bo Zhan stretched his hand out to welcome Yun Jian but Yun Jian had only nodded slightly without the intention to accept the handshake.
Bo Zhan was not put off by her, diverting the conversation. "The others who will be going with us tomorrow have gone around the catacomb to check its surroundings, they will come back in a while."
Not too long after he said that, a team of five or six people appeared in their field of vision.
Bo Zhan pointed at the group and introduced them to Yun Jian. "You guys are back. This is Yun Jian, she's our newest companion and will enter the tomb with us tomorrow."
"Oh my god! She's going into the tomb?" Before Bo Zhan could finish, he was cut off by a woman who was dressed garishly.
The woman made a surprised face as she continuously studied Yun Jian from head to toe, before she spoke up like a sigh, "Little girl, have you reached eighteen this year?"
She even clicked her tongue after that.
Yun Jian gave her a glimpse but ignored her.
The woman stood out amongst the men as she was the only female in the group going to the catacomb. Her name was Ye Yunting. Her nice sounding name and her features were considerably pretty but she looked unnatural with makeup and eyeliner caked on her face.
Moreover, there was a stinging perfume fragrance on her that stopped people from genuinely liking her. Her tone of speech, too, repulsed others.
In spite of it, Ye Yunting was unaware. She was enraged once she saw Yun Jian turning away and ignoring her.
Yun Jian was the only girl other than her in the group, so Ye Yunting was only looking for a temporary friend to keep her from feeling more lonely. That was why she talked to her in the first place, not expecting that Yun Jian would blatantly turn a blind eye on her.
Ye Yunting was not a pushover. Immediately, she muttered in front of everyone disregarding Yun Jian's feelings, "Please! She really thinks she's that amazing! If you're so good and so proud, why are you following us? Go down the tomb on your own!"
Ye Yunting was the classic "an eye for an eye" kind of person.
Nonetheless, her words did not rouse any anger from Yun Jian.
"Ye Yunting, can you behave for once!" A handsome man standing beside said woman who was in his late twenties, maybe around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, growled lowly at her.
The man then looked at Yun Jian apologetically. "Girlie, I apologize on her behalf. Don't mind her."
"Ling Tianhao, you're scolding me over someone else. I'm not even at fault!" Ye Yunting shouted when she saw the man apologizing to Yun Jian.
The man who was addressed as Ling Tianhao frowned unnoticeably. His disdain toward Ye Yunting flashed. They were a couple, everyone there except Yun Jian knew. What they did not know, however, was that Ye Yunting's love was one-sided,
The reason Ling Tianhao had even agreed to be together with her, was because of Ye Yunting's elder brother. Both of them were soldiers, best friends, and also comrades back then.
Once on a mission, Ye Yunting's elder brother had sacrificed himself to save Ling Tianhao, at the same time entrusting his younger sister, Ye Yunting, to him.
Unable to refuse the request, he got together with Ye Yunting and it had been three years since then.
Not only did he harbor no feelings for the girl throughout the years, but he was also increasingly sickened by her, especially when she found fault with Yun Jian just now, even putting the girl down because the latter did not act as she wished.
Ling Tianhao was well aware of what was happening.
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