"Shi Yong, can you stop staring at those two things? You’ve been looking at them for days now, every time you get a free moment. What is it that you can’t get enough of?" said the youngest boy beside him.
"Zhou Yu is right; I really admire you. It’s just two pictures, and yet you can ponder them over and over again. People who don’t know any better might think we’re archaeologists," another added.
"If you ask me, we shouldn’t just keep waiting here. We might as well go over and check it out. Those two have been inside for so long, we can’t just keep standing here in the rain, can we? Or we could leave and come back another time when no one is around..."
Upon hearing this suggestion, several other teammates showed signs of agreement, and a guy nicknamed "alarm clock" even started a vote to decide their next move.
Shi Yong put down the photos in his hand, looked in the direction of the granary, and said to everyone:
"Don’t you find it strange? That granary over there looks like it’s been burnt down already. It’s completely see-through, and the roof has collapsed. We can even see the scene behind it from here. Why would they go there, and stay for such a long time?"
Behind him, Xia Sha nodded and said, "Indeed, it’s highly illogical. Normal people wouldn’t run to such a place in the heavy rain and hide for half a day without a reason..."
"Right, so we should be even more cautious and stay hidden here to see if there’s anything unusual when they come out later. What’s a little rain? The weather isn’t cold, and it’s certainly better than being in the sun," one of them said.
"Haha, true, maybe there’s a tunnel under this granary leading to their secret base," someone laughed.
While they were joking, a sudden noise came from the direction of the granary. They hurriedly focused their attention and saw four people walking out from the charred ruins.
"What, there are two extra people! Who are these two? I don’t remember seeing them at the auction," Shi Yong exclaimed.
"These two are dressed so strangely... The pattern on that black-robed person’s clothing seems to be moving. And that woman in white... wait, doesn’t she look familiar?"
Suddenly, Shi Yong remembered the two people he had encountered in the restaurant at noon. His eyes widened as he whispered:
"It’s them! It’s them! I remember now! That man, it’s definitely him! Absolutely him!!"
The rest looked at him, somewhat confused.
"What them? Who is he? Who exactly is that man, Shi Yong? Can you be more specific?" they asked.
With no intention of keeping them in suspense, Shi Yong explained:
"That woman in white, isn’t she the blind girl we bumped into at the restaurant today? Look at how she walks; it’s obvious she can’t see. It must be the same person!"
Everyone looked again and indeed, it was as he had said.
Shi Yong continued, "Don’t you remember what I said at the restaurant today? When those two left after their meal, I saw that man’s face. Didn’t I mention he looked familiar?"
Shi Yong clenched the photo tightly, his voice filled with excitement, "Now I remember, he’s the man we encountered last time in Anling! The one we have been looking for!!"
Everyone looked at him, their eyes filled with disbelief, hardly believing that they had achieved their target so quickly; it even felt a bit surreal.
"Back in Anling, because he was too far away, I couldn’t see clearly. But today at noon, I was very close to him, and considering their special identity now, I’m pretty sure he’s the one we’re looking for!"
"Ah? I thought you were certain it was him!"
"Although I can’t be 100 percent sure, I’m at least 70 percent confident!"
"So what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry up and ask for an autograph... oh no, hurry up and suck up to him!"
"Are you out of your mind? You’ve just seen all their secrets, and now if you rush out, what if they decide to kill you to keep you quiet?"
While they were arguing, they suddenly noticed that the nearby people, specifically a young master from the Wencheen family, was walking straight toward them.
"Oh no! He’s coming! They’ve spotted us!"
Xia Sha exclaimed, and the others quickly ducked back behind the haystack, all displaying expressions of panic on their faces.
The fifty-odd steps closed quickly, and while the members of the Canglan Expedition Team were still at a loss for what to do next, Sam’s figure had already rounded the haystack and come before them.
"I believe my guest list didn’t include any of you," he said.
His tone was clearly one of annoyance; having just gone through a bout of grief and self-blame, Sam was not in the best of moods, especially since these intruders were uninvited and seeking to pry into his family’s secrets.
"Haha... Mr. Wencheen, we are terribly sorry, we are here because we’ve heard about it... to attend the auction..."
Shi Yong, as the leader of the Canglan Expedition Team and being the closest to Sam, naturally took up the conversation.
"Though Mr. Wencheen didn’t invite us, we... we truly admire the Wencheen family’s collection! That’s why we came uninvited, please forgive us..."
He stammered a bit, as for someone who’s life revolved only around computers and adventures, coming up with an excuse on the spot was quite a tall order for him.
Moreover, he could feel the terrifying "pressure" radiating from this powerful Transcendent before him, which was extremely tough for an ordinary person like him to bear.
At this point, other members of the expedition team also started nodding in agreement.
However, how could Sam possibly believe such a clumsy lie? He still looked stern, suddenly reached out his hand, grabbed the photo from Shi Yong’s hand, and after looking at it, his expression slightly changed.
"It seems you know quite a lot..."
No sooner had he spoken than the hearts of the expedition team members sank.
Clearly, it was the setup for a murder to silence them!
Isn’t this how they always play it out in the movies?
Does it have to be this scary? We just wanted to look for some Extraordinary Power!
But then again, this does seem pretty suicidal, huh...
Their minds were swirling with thoughts, and Shi Yong, being at the forefront, bore the brunt of this pressure. His survival instincts were kicked into overdrive, and several ideas flashed through his mind in just an instant.
"Guardians! You must be Guardians, right? We’re all part of the Order Camp, too! We’re all good people! Please don’t hurt us by mistake!"