An off-road vehicle belched black smoke at the edge of the Badain Jaran Desert. Hei Xiazi leaned against the door, smoking, his sunglasses reflecting the blood-red sunset in the distance. Wu Erbai's call vibrated in his pocket. He answered with a cigarette butt between his teeth. “Second Master, your family’s young lady is a lot harder to handle than the rumors say.”
“She went into the ancient city of Jingjue.” Wu Erbai’s voice held a rare note of urgency. “What’s the first rule of the Lan family?”
Hei Xiazi flicked away some ash and suddenly chuckled. “If I remember right, it’s ‘Any Lan family member who enters a tomb must be killed without exception.’” He reached for the black-gold dagger at his waist. The taotie pattern on its sheath glimmered faintly in the dusk. “So do you want me to bring her back, or send her on her way?”
Lan Xi used her charm to control vines and tie Hei Xiazi up, forcing him to say something sweet: “Say you like me!” Hei Xiazi suddenly turned the tables and pinned her against a tree trunk. “I like you so much I want to keep you locked by my side. Is that enough?”
Ling Yuan approached in disguise as an archaeologist. Hei Xiazi flung his knife, burying it in the ground right in front of Ling Yuan’s crotch. “Lan Xi is my fiancée. Come any closer and I’ll cut off your hands.” Lan Xi stared at him in shock. “Since when?” Hei Xiazi smiled. “You signed the papers the last time you got drunk.”
