A little later.
Julian Grant ca back with half a bowl of mung bean soup.
He took a small sip and said thoughtfully, "Hmm~, if you taste it carefully, it’s actually quite good."
He hadn’t eaten much at noon.
He couldn’t eat dinner either, so he made do with this bowl of mung bean soup.
Josephine Thompson stared at him steadily, feeling increasingly bitter.
Julian Grant took another sip and unintentionally t her gaze.
"Haha, what are you looking at, village flower?"
Josephine’s eyes softened, and she smiled faintly at him.
In just two days, his face was sunburned black and red, especially his neck, which was almost peeling.
Now there were a few dark streaks on his face, and his once prized hairstyle was a ss, covered with dust!
Julian Grant instinctively reached out to fix his hair, laughing awkwardly, "What’s wrong? Do I look really disheveled? Do I look like a vagrant?"
Josephine shook her head, sighed with a mix of emotion and helplessness.
"Co here."
Julian Grant stepped forward, "Hmm, what’s up?"
"...I’ll give you a reward, if you obediently listen, okay?"
Julian Grant was puzzled, "What reward?"
"Bend down."
Julian Grant hesitated for a mont but obediently knelt down.
Josephine took a deep breath, then leaned in to kiss his cheek.
"..." Julian Grant froze, as if struck at a vital point!
It was like a current jolting uncontrollably through his body!
Josephine looked at him earnestly, speaking in a heartfelt manner, "Julian Grant, I admire you greatly."
"You journeyed so far to find here, and honestly, I’m quite moved."
"All the things you and I have done, I keep them all in my heart."
Julian Grant’s heart trembled, a heavy ache filling his nose, "And then?"
Was she about to confess?
Or finally accept him?
Josephine smiled, "And then..."
"Then, I want to say, there’s really no need for you to do all this. Be a good boy and go back tomorrow. It’s too hard and exhausting here, really not suitable for you."
Julian Grant felt like he had been drenched in cold water; the joy that had just been ignited plunged instantaneously into an ice cavern, "Huh~, I thought you were planning to accept . In the end, you’re actually telling to leave?"
Josephine’s gaze grew intense, hurriedly explaining, "No, I just don’t want you to suffer here."
"I’m different from you, I stay here purely because I love the field of archaeology. Also, it’s to fulfill my parents’ last wish, wanting to..."
She stopped halfway.
Didn’t continue.
"Wanting to what?"
Josephine: "Nothing, anyway, I’m here to complete what my parents couldn’t achieve."
"And you, there’s absolutely no need to stay here because of . Just go back obediently, even if you’re not here, I’ll still consider you the best and most trustworthy friend."
Julian Grant snorted coldly, protesting, "At the end of the day, it’s still about urging to go back."
"You just consider a friend? What about is worse than ’that soone’? Why would you rather love such a scoundrel than love ? What am I lacking compared to him?"
"..." Josephine choked up, unable to reply.
Nathaniel Gallagher and Julian Grant were two completely different types.
Nathaniel Gallagher... is really hard to judge.
He’s the kind of man extrely skilled at manipulating human nature, understands psychology, can disguise himself, and has read countless people, deep and calculating.
He possesses all the traits won typically love.
More precisely.
He wears many masks.
Whatever type of man you like, he can beco that kind.
The key is, he’s also extrely handso.
If he reaches out to ensnare you, no woman can escape.
"...Julian Grant, you’re wonderful, not inferior to him in any way."
"You shouldn’t compare yourself to him; you’re on completely different paths."
Julian Grant is free-spirited, independent, and intensely emotional.
Moreover, he resents evil deeply, has a hero’s mindset.
Thus, he’s a person with a strong sense of justice and mission.
He doesn’t have Nathaniel Gallagher’s deep city cunning and sches.
Nathaniel Gallagher will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals.
Julian Grant sighed, his Adam’s apple moving for a long ti before uttering, "So in your eyes, compared to him, I’m just ’different’?"
His voice tightened.
The light ignited by the earlier kiss shattered severely.
Josephine felt a pang seeing the redness in his eyes, reaching out to hold him, but he abruptly evaded her.
"That’s not what I an, Julian."
Her voice trembled, "Nathaniel Gallagher is a trap, I’ve fallen into it once, exhausting all my energy."
"Besides, I feel like I’m a broken person now, incapable of giving you complete love. You are so wonderful, deserving of soone better."
Julian Grant’s eyes grew a deeper red, as if slashed harshly by her words.
He tugged at the corner of his lips, wanting to smile but unable, his voice rough as if scraped by sandpaper, "Josephine, to , you’re the best girl."
"I don’t want ’complete love’; I want you!"
"In the past, I couldn’t understand the type of relationship you wanted. But now, I do."
"A lifeti of one pair, never changing hearts, hand in hand for life. Living together, dying together."
"For years, I’ve constantly been asking myself whether I could do it? Now, I can confidently tell you the answer, I can."
He advanced a step, his tall figure casting a shadow that enveloped her, "You were deceived and hurt by him, that’s not your fault, and definitely not a reason to push away!"
"..." Josephine’s heart caught in her throat, staring at him like a startled deer.
He’s really changed from before.
At least, he’s different from when studying in Brelland.
He’s no longer flippant.
"Don’t say anymore."
Julian Grant’s face darkened, "No, I must speak. I must further tell you, I, Julian Grant, will always keep my promises."
Josephine sharply turned her face away, her eyes uncontrollably burning.
The wind outside the tent swept sand against the canvas, amidst the rustling, she heard her voice quivering, "Julian Grant, you don’t understand..."
"I don’t understand why you’re always pushing people away." He grabbed her shoulders, his thumb gently brushing her reddened eye corners, applying minimal pressure.
"But I understand myself, since the day you left, I’ve never truly let go."
"I... I’ve always regretted it, regretted that day."
"But I want to tell you, I truly love you."
"As for a lifeti..." He suddenly lowered his head, his forehead gently touching hers, his voice low and slightly hoarse with seriousness, "You don’t have to believe it right away. But you must give ti to piece together the parts of you that have shattered."
Josephine Thompson’s fingertips dug into her palms, the pain couldn’t cover the tremor in her heart.
She looked at his sun-tanned face, seeing herself clearly in his eyes.
Suddenly, she recalled years ago, when he was on the school lawn with a blade of grass in his mouth, laughing and saying, "What permanence is there in feelings?"
Back then, his eyes didn’t have this kind of light.
"Here... it’s really hard." She turned her face away, her voice as light as a sigh.
"No matter how hard it is, could it be harder than watching you treat like an outsider?" He chuckled, reaching out to tidy her wind-blown hair, "Give a chance, will you? Just... try it with ."
...
While they were speaking.
A commotion ca from not far away.
Team mber Linton held a searchlight, patrolling the periter of the site, and accidentally kicked a loose clod of earth underfoot.
Then, two kiloters away, a new looting hole was discovered.
So, he imdiately reported the situation.
"Captain Zimrman, Teacher Lynch, Professor Thompson, new developnts on the west slope."
Captain Zimrman received the information through the walkie-talkie and imdiately inquired, "What’s the situation?"
Linton’s voice was urgent, trembling even through the walkie-talkie, "On the west slope, we discovered a new looting hole!"
"It’s in the grassy slope, wasn’t found during earlier patrols, I just discovered it."
"Report the exact location."
"About two kiloters from the west slope, head towards the back mountain, roughly two kiloters, and you’ll see ."
"Alright, we’re heading over imdiately."
Imdiately following.
Captain Zimrman quickly gathered a few technicians and archaeologists and headed to the site of the looting hole.
"Let’s go take a look first." Josephine Thompson grabbed a safety helt and put it on.
Julian Grant, after hearing this, also picked up a nearby rangefinder and headed out.
The night wind mixed with sand hit against their faces.
About twenty minutes later.
Everyone arrived at Linton’s reported location according to his directions.
"Captain Zimrman, over here."
Captain Zimrman, hearing this, shone a searchlight into the hole.
From beneath a layer of wild grass was a very deep pit.
There were visible scratch marks slanting downward, with pieces of torn black canvas hanging on the rock wall, likely from the grave robbers’ backpack.
"What’s the direct distance to the main burial chamber?" Josephine squatted down, her fingertips touching the cold and slightly damp soil at the edge of the hole.
Shane Lynch held the rangefinder up for a few seconds, his expression darkened: "Less than two kiloters."
"This angle... it’s aid at the burial pit of the ear chamber."
He paused, looking up at the distant, dark silhouetted mountains, "The soil is already dry, indicating this looting hole has been here for a long ti."
"This is bad, the relics inside must have been extensively stolen."
Captain Zimrman imdiately pulled out his phone: "I’ll report to the cultural relics bureau and the police. Linton, get two team mbers over here with The Tomb-Finder’s Shovel and the barricade tape, cordon off this area, don’t disturb the evidence."
As soon as the words dropped.
In the dim light, a tal glint flashed briefly, under closer inspection with the searchlight, it turned out to be a small compass needle, stuck in a crevice in the rock wall.
"It’s an expert." Shane Lynch’s voice was suppressed, "The angle of this looting hole is tricky, avoiding the surface tamped soil, it’s not sothing a novice could achieve."
He glanced at Josephine’s pale face and added, "Don’t panic, we’ll stay here and wait for support. Since they dared to leave traces, they might be deliberately diverting our attention."
The wind blew through the looting hole, carrying a damp earthy sll.
Josephine stared at that deep hole, suddenly recalling her father’s notes: "The most dangerous aspect of ancient tombs isn’t the traps, it’s human nature."
The team mbers quickly arrived with tools.
Barricade tape was strung around the looting hole in a circle, the orange-red reflective strips flickering in the searchlight.
Josephine squatted by the hole, gently brushing away the top layer of loose dirt with a soft brush, pausing as her fingertips touched the hole wall.
The soil marks had tiny bronze powder, green-colored, common oxidation marks in ancient tombs.
"They might have already broken through the outer seal soil."
She looked up at Captain Zimrman, her voice tight.
"I don’t know how much damage has been caused inside?"
Julian Grant pressed on her shoulder, nodding slightly in the northwest direction.
In the night wind, the low hum of an engine could faintly be heard, as if a vehicle was parked in the mountain hollow, indistinct behind the shadows of the trees.
"Linton, take two people over there, but don’t get too close."
Shane Lynch’s voice was very low, as he pulled out a small night vision device from his bag, handing it to Josephine, "You stay here, I’ll go around the back. These guys daring to act now might an there’s more than one looting hole."
Josephine grabbed his wrist, her palm sweaty: "Be careful."
Shane smiled, patting her hand, "Don’t worry, this distance is nothing."
Turning around, his steps were as light as a cat’s, quickly vanishing into the darkness.
Josephine held the night vision device, staring at the looting hole, her anxiety growing.
The wind blew harder.
The barricade tape flapped violently, seemingly like soone was watching from the shadows.
Captain Zimrman carefully observed the looting hole, his brow furrowed tightly: "Warren, bring the detector here! Check the oxygen levels and any harmful gases first!"
Warren imdiately responded, carrying a palm-sized device over, carefully inserting the probe into the hole.
The numbers on the screen fluctuated for a few seconds.
Eventually, they stabilized.
Oxygen levels were normal, with no toxic gases detected.
"Captain Zimrman, the gases are fine." Warren reported, though his voice still trembled slightly.
Captain Zimrman didn’t relax, turning to Josephine: "Professor Thompson, did your parents’ notes ntion this area’s tomb structure? Could there be quicksand or trapdoors?"
Josephine’s fingertips still clutched the soil piece with bronze powder, her Adam’s apple bobbed: "The notes only ntion an ear chamber with hidden locks, but no traps. However, Dawnveil Dynasty tombs often used ’secret doors.’ These look like solid walls but can swing open; pushing the wrong way could cause a collapse."
"Then we cannot proceed recklessly."
Captain Zimrman made a quick decision, "Linton, get the retractable ladder and safety rope! Carter, with your experience, take two team mbers down first. Don’t go deep, just check within three ters down the hole, note any carvings or unusual protrusions on the rock walls, report everything with the walkie-talkie!"
Carter gave the looting hole a careful look, worrying creasing his forehead, "I can’t do it alone; I need soone to help down there."
Captain Zimrman heard this, looking to the group, "Who’s willing to go down with Carter?"
...The group listened, each showing reluctance.
Though they worked in tombs,
tombs were only explored after excavation.
Entering one through a looting hole made everyone uneasy.
Additionally, given the compass left behind the looting hole, the grave robbers had left in a hurry. The scene wasn’t even cleaned up, hinting at dangerous circumstances.
No one responded, so Josephine Thompson stepped forward, "I’ll go down with Mr. Carter."
Julian Grant, upon hearing this, was filled with concern, "Josephine, no, it’s too dangerous. Let go!"
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