Chapter 1: The Sacred Tree of the Qinling Mountains

Clamping a book under his arm, Zhang Muxun had just stepped out of the library when the phone in his pocket rang.

Pulling it out, he saw it was Wu Xiexie calling.

"Hello? What is it?"

Zhang Muxun answered casually, his mind busy debating whether to have stir-fried rice noodles or stir-fried flat rice noodles for lunch.

Let's go with the stir-fried rice noodles. That Xinjiang stir-fried rice noodles place by the school gate had a real kick to it—spicy enough.

"What? You're not in Hangzhou? Then where are you?"

Upon hearing Wu Xiexie's reply from the other end, Zhang Muxun's voice instantly pitched up. "What on earth are you doing running off to a place like that? Never mind, give me the details when I get there. Remember, until I arrive, you are not allowed to go off anywhere alone with that person, you hear me?"

On the other end of the line, Wu Xiexie hurriedly covered the mouthpiece and offered an awkward smile to Lao Yang, who was looking over with curiosity.

The call was disconnected.

Lao Yang asked, "Who were you on the phone with?"

Wu Xiexie shelled a peanut, rubbed off the skin, and tossed it into his mouth. "A brother-in-arms of mine. He's a professional at this line of work, completely different from amateurs like the two of us. With him around, I can rest easy."

A fleeting expression of unnaturalness crossed Lao Yang's face, but he immediately smiled and said, "Th-That's great then. Since you, you said he's your good brother, I, I'm definitely, re, relieved."

Wu Xiexie happened to be looking down to grab his cup, so he missed it.

***

After hanging up, Zhang Muxun changed his route and went to the cafeteria for a bowl of braised chicken with rice, then took a taxi back to his courtyard house.

Underneath the main building of the courtyard actually lay a secret room. The original owner probably had no idea it was there; Zhang Muxun had only triggered the mechanism by accidentally brushing against an old flowerpot on the shelf.

Consequently, Zhang Muxun had moved everything from the original basement warehouse over, re-rigged the mechanism, and set up two defensive systems.

He had also materialized a few futuristic, 360-degree blind-spot-free surveillance cameras and installed them across the front and back courtyards.

***

The third storyline arc was about to begin, though for some reason the system was still in hibernation.

He packed a few extra sets of usable equipment into his spatial storage. Catching sight of the wicked phantom-play blade, Zhang Muxun hesitated for a few seconds before deciding to toss it into the space to bring along as well.

Before leaving, he paid a visit to Pangzi, leaving him the keys to the courtyard gates and asking him to help look after the fish and plants inside.

Pangzi didn't ask where he was going, merely admonishing him to "stay safe."

Zhang Muxun smiled and agreed, catching a red-eye flight to Chang'an City that very night.

Emerging from the airport at four in the morning, he called Wu Xiexie, who gave him the name of a large restaurant.

Zhang Muxun took a taxi there, only to discover upon arrival that the so-called "large restaurant" was actually a roadside food stall simply named "Large Restaurant."

There weren't many people at the stall at this hour. Walking through the entrance, he spotted Wu Xiexie sitting right away at the third table from the window. Opposite him was a lanky, disheveled man with half-long hair and unkempt stubble.

This fellow must be Lao Yang, or Xie Ziyang, Wu Xiexie's childhood friend from the original storyline who had spent three years behind bars.

These two blockheads were braying at the top of their lungs about tomb raiding, completely oblivious to discretion. Didn't they notice the people at the neighboring table constantly glancing their way?

Zhang Muxun strode over, his left hand clamping down on the back of Wu Xiexie's neck while his right hand smoothly blocked an incoming elbow strike. "What are you two chatting about?"

Wu Xiexie was about to counterattack when he recognized the familiar voice. He turned his head and broke into a grin immediately. "Muyu, you're here! Lao Yang, this is that good buddy Muyu I told you about."

Then he turned to introduce Zhang Muxun. "This is my childhood friend, Lao Yang."

Zhang Muxun narrowed his eyes, pulled out a chair, sat down, and curved the corners of his lips toward Lao Yang. "Hello."

Seeing Zhang Muxun looking like a pampered young master untouched by worldly hardships, Lao Yang couldn't see him as the "professional" Wu Xiexie had described. At the same time, a slight sense of relief washed over him, assuming Zhang Muxun was just someone interested in tomb raiding whom Wu Xiexie had dragged along for fun.

He offered an honest, rustic smile. "H-Hello to you too."

Zhang Muxun, however, secretly sized Lao Yang up. This guy was utterly full of trickery, playing a chessboard game with chilling calculation and keeping naive little Wu Xie completely wrapped around his finger. He would definitely have to keep a close eye on this fellow.

Yet, what puzzled Zhang Muxun was that Lao Yang exuded an aura strangely familiar to him—very much akin to the items generated through the materialization ability rewarded by the system. Reminded of the fact that this Lao Yang had been materialized by the true Lao Yang, Zhang Muxun felt a jolt of horror. Could it be that the system's materialization ability truly originated from the Bronze Tree? If so... what on earth was the system?

***

The system claimed it had manifested from the collective thoughts of rice-fan readers... That was a lie!

And what about that bizarre flame tattoo that had appeared once? Was it connected to his other half-bloodline, or to the system, or perhaps both?

As Zhang Muxun was deep in thought, he suddenly caught an elbow to the waist. Tilting his head, he saw Wu Xiexie had requested a small bowl, piling it with vegetables and meatballs before placing it in front of him. "What are you daydreaming about?"

Zhang Muxun smiled. "Nothing. Eat your food."

Just as he picked up a piece of food and put it in his mouth, someone from the neighboring table stood up and walked over. Speaking in a thick local dialect, the man asked, "The three of you, looking to head out yonder to trade in earthy goods?"

Wu Xiexie didn't understand the dialect and sat there blankly, not knowing what to say. Lao Yang, quick-tongued, jumped in, "Old fellow, where is yonder?"

Seeing they didn't understand, the man switched to a heavily accented Mandarin. "I mean, where are you two planning to go do business? Are you here to dig up earthy goods?"

Wu Xiexie gave a start and was just about to speak when Zhang Muxun set down his chopsticks, pressed a hand on Wu Xiexie's arm, and looked up at the man with a smile. "Uncle, the three of us are backpackers into wilderness survival, shooting some documentaries to upload online for money. Is the 'earthy good' you mentioned some kind of local specialty around here?"

The man paused, clearly still skeptical.

Seeing this, Zhang Muxun retrieved his backpack, pulled out a Sony camera (from his spatial storage), waved it in front of the man's eyes, and asked with an innocent, naive smile, "Uncles, are you guys here sightseeing? Would you like to team up with us?"

Realizing it was pointless to waste any more breath on Zhang Muxun, the man simply dropped a "Nope" and turned on his heel.

Returning to his table, he muttered quietly to his companions, "Nothing to worry about, just three clueless greenhorns carrying cameras, claiming to be backpackers or pig-packers or whatever, shooting some documentary nonsense."

The chubbier man among them nodded upon hearing this, lowering his voice. "I've seen plenty of youngsters like them in Hong Kong—growing out their long hair and calling it some sort of performance art. Probably the same deal. Let's keep an eye on them for a bit, and if there's nothing unusual, we'll leave them be."

Zhang Muxun finished the food in his bowl and glanced meaningfully at Wu Xiexie. "Tianzhen, since we're already here, let's tour all the local sights first before heading into the mountains."

Wu Xiexie caught on instantly. "Ah, sure. Let's do that."

"Alright then." Zhang Muxun stood up and shouldered his backpack. "Waiter, check, please."