Short Stories from the Tomb Raider World

One Volume, One Short Story

Part Three

However, what truly made his gaze sharpen and his breath catch was a pattern engraved in the lower-right corner of the silk manuscript.

It was a copper fish design, archaic in form yet vivid with life. Every scale on its body was clearly defined, but in place of scales above its eyes, where its brows should have been, was a little snake coiling as if ready to take flight!

“The Snake-Eyebrowed Bronze Fish...” Xie Yuchen murmured, his brows knitted tight.

At last, Wang Pangzi couldn’t take it anymore. He stopped abruptly, turned around, and glared at Xie Yuchen. His voice was hoarse, but the anger and confusion he had been suppressing were impossible to hide. “Xiaohua! We’re home now! Dumb Zhang is lying right there! You’d damn well better explain everything to us! Was what that masked bastard said true or not? You... the Xie family...”

Xie Yuchen met their gazes. A trace of deep pain and inner turmoil crossed his face. He drew a deep breath, as if he had made an enormous decision, then slowly spoke, his voice low but clear:

“It’s true, and it’s false.”

“But I won’t accept it.” Xie Yuchen’s gaze suddenly turned sharp. “The Xie family must never become someone else’s weapon, and it must never be destroyed without even knowing why! I don’t know what their ultimate goal is, but I know that if they gain complete control over us, the Xie family is finished.”

He looked at Wu Xie. “So when that silk manuscript was delivered to me in that way, I knew my chance had come. It was both their order and an opportunity. An opportunity to turn their own plan against them, draw them out of the shadows, uncover the whole truth, and even strike back!”