Chapter 67

Entering Shengluo Valley was quite difficult, but with the experience gained, leaving became much simpler. It turned out that the people of Shengluo Village actually knew a shortcut out, which was not only safe but also allowed them to avoid the dense forests and thickets. Zhao Danfeng's parents had used this route to leave, so they did not encounter the army stationed outside.

On the way out, everyone had already agreed on what to say, deciding to keep the existence of Shengluo Village a secret. As for the story, anyone could make one up, but Professor Wang's version seemed more convincing, so everyone agreed to stick to his story.

The story was simple: After entering Shengluo Valley, they were attacked by wild beasts. During their escape, they accidentally discovered the ruins of the Shengluo Kingdom and the bodies of most of the archaeologists who had entered before them. However, Xu Gang accidentally triggered a mechanism, causing the ruins to be destroyed and buried under a torrent of lava.

"Why is it always me who makes mistakes?" Xu Gang grumbled.

"Who made you look like an idiot?" Zhang Tianyuan laughed.

"Damn, I'm cutting ties with you. You're so unreliable, actually insulting your own brother," Xu Gang cursed.

"But what about Zhao Danfeng? Bringing a child with an unknown background will definitely raise suspicion," Liu Mengxun, who was more meticulous, asked.

"No problem. After we leave, we won't go to the military base right away. We'll let Blue Phoenix take Danfeng to her village. After that, it will be easier. We can just say that Zhao Danfeng is Blue Phoenix's sister. There are many unregistered residents in that village, without IDs or household registration, so even if they try to investigate, they won't find anything, hehe," Zhang Tianyuan laughed.

"That's a good plan," Liu Mengxun said. Having studied in the mainland for a long time, although he wasn't very familiar with it, he understood what unregistered residents meant—basically, people who didn't officially exist.

After making these arrangements, everyone left Shengluo Valley with peace of mind. Blue Phoenix took Zhao Danfeng to her village, and Zhang Tianyuan, Xu Gang, Liu Mengxun, Mou Ying, and Professor Wang followed. As for reporting the mission, they left it to She Lin, a professional soldier who knew what to do.

"Do you believe that guy won't betray us?" Xu Gang nudged Lin Yu on the road.

"No!" Zhang Tianyuan shook his head.

"Why are you so sure?"

"It's not that I trust him, but She Lin has no reason to cause trouble for himself. He has completed his mission, and this incident is over. If he tells the truth, he might have to go back into Shengluo Valley, and the next time, it might not go so well," Zhang Tianyuan smiled. "Don't forget, he's already retired. If he were still a soldier, I might be worried, but now that he's retired, he won't be so obedient."

As Lin Yu had thought, She Lin repeated Professor Wang's fabricated story, handed over the relics they brought out to the military, and left. The military tried to get him to reveal more, but it was all in vain.

She Lin had long grown tired of being ordered around. The reason he chose to retire instead of transferring to another job like Wang Zhigang was that he yearned for a free life, one where he could strive for his own goals. Such a life was more meaningful.

Three days later, the group left Blue Phoenix's village and headed for Nandu. One reason was to find Zhao Danfeng's parents, and the other was to return to Shangpu. They had been out for so long, and they didn't know how their business was doing.

Although Blue Phoenix had completed her task and had no reason to go with them, everyone could see that she had a crush on Zhang Tianyuan, who was the only one pretending not to notice.

The return trip was almost the same as the journey there, except that everyone was much more relaxed. They had returned the heavy military equipment to the army, and the only difference was that they had one more person.

This time, Zhang Tianyuan, Xu Gang, and Mou Ying sat in She Lin's SUV. The couple sat in the back, while Zhang Tianyuan had to sit in the front with She Lin.

In the other Hummer, Wang Zhigang drove, and Zhao Danfeng, the little girl, was now with Liu Mengxun.

Professor Wang, perhaps because of his age, fell asleep as soon as they hit the road. Blue Phoenix and Wang Zhigang sat in the front, chatting about trivial topics.

Zhao Danfeng poked Liu Mengxun and asked, "Sister Liu, do you like Big Brother Tianyuan?"

At first, Liu Mengxun found it a bit difficult to understand Zhao Danfeng, but after a few days, she could understand her easily.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Liu Mengxun scolded.

"Sister Liu, I support you. Big Brother Tianyuan is a good man. If I were a few years older, I would definitely compete with you," Zhao Danfeng giggled.

Liu Mengxun rarely contradicted her this time. She was actually considering whether she had developed feelings for Zhang Tianyuan or if it was just a liking, a friendship-like liking.

...

The car continued to drive, and they gradually saw the outline of Nandu.

Nandu, also known as Rongcheng, is one of the largest cities in southwestern China. It has a 2,600-year history of city-building, with the city walls constructed around the middle of the 5th century BC. By the Western Han Dynasty, it had become one of the six major cities in China. During the Three Kingdoms period, it was the capital of the Shu Han Kingdom. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the people of Nandu jointly issued the world's earliest paper money, "Jiaozi," and the government established the world's first savings bank, "Jiaozi Wu," in Nandu.

This historic city was now bathed in the morning light, looking almost magical.

Nandu rarely sees such beautiful sunrises. Due to its location in a basin, it is often overcast, and sunny days are few and far between. Seeing a sunrise is even rarer, but the group got to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Zhang Tianyuan's little eagle had already been registered in Dali. Because it was a small species and still a juvenile, and with some connections, getting the registration was relatively easy. So now he could let the little guy perch on his shoulder, curiously looking out the car window.

"Shengluo, isn't Nandu beautiful? This place is like my second home," Zhang Tianyuan named the eagle Shengluo, finding it very meaningful, as the eagle was obtained in Shengluo.

The little eagle seemed to understand Zhang Tianyuan's words and chirped happily.

They entered the city of Nandu around 8:30 AM. At this time, the streets were crowded with people heading to work, and the busiest day in Nandu had begun.

"Everyone is tired from the journey. Let's go to the hotel to rest for a while. After that, we'll figure out how to find Danfeng's parents. This isn't something that can be solved quickly, so we need to be patient," Professor Wang said goodbye to everyone and went home. Zhang Tianyuan and the others went to the same hotel they had stayed at before, as they were familiar with the place and the service was good, so they didn't want to change.

Hotels generally treat repeat customers very well.

Zhao Danfeng, being new to the big city, was like Liu Laolao entering the Grand View Garden, finding everything new and exciting, and exclaiming in surprise.

"What is that thing with wheels that can run and carry so many people? Our jeep was so small!"

A bus passed by.

"Oh, and that, what is that flying in the sky?"

An airplane roared overhead.

"Hey, that picture can move by itself!"

She saw a large screen outside a mall playing an advertisement.

"Shh—! Danfeng, don't be so surprised. Be careful, or people might think we kidnapped you. I'll tell you about these things later, don't worry. We're in Nandu now, so let's enjoy a few days before heading to Shangpu. When we get to Shangpu, you'll see even more new things."

"Okay!" Zhao Danfeng stuck out her tongue and closed her mouth. Although her eyes were still full of curiosity, she listened to Zhang Tianyuan and didn't ask about the elevator or the TV when they got to the hotel, behaving obediently, as if she was afraid of being left behind for talking too much.

The group rested in the hotel until around noon and then got up to go out for lunch.

Zhao Danfeng was fantasizing about what delicious food she would eat, but the food wasn't much different from what they had at home. It was just a bit more elaborate and slightly better in taste. After the excitement of cars, airplanes, and TVs, the food didn't excite her as much.

After lunch, they strolled down the street. When they passed an antique auction house, Zhao Danfeng suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong, Danfeng? Do you want to go in? There are only old things inside; you probably won't like them," Zhang Tianyuan smiled.

"Big Brother, I think I found a clue about my parents," Zhao Danfeng said.

"What!" Zhang Tianyuan was surprised. He had thought that finding Zhao Danfeng's parents was almost impossible, but he didn't expect to get a clue so soon.

Zhao Danfeng pointed to an advertisement outside the auction house. "That calligraphy isn't by Wang Xizhi, but a copy by Mi Fu, so well done that it can pass for the real thing, and it's even signed as Wang Xizhi."

"How do you know that?"

"Because that calligraphy used to hang in our house, and my father took it with him. It left a deep impression on me because when my parents left, I cried my heart out. I'll never forget it," Zhao Danfeng explained.

Zhang Tianyuan looked at it. Mi Fu was indeed interesting. Known as "Mi Dian" for his eccentric personality and bizarre behavior, he might have deliberately used his copy to trick people.