781 A Million Times for You 143 (1/2)

”It'll take more than four hours back and forth. We have more than enough time, but I don't know if it'll be easy for me to find what I want.”

”What are you looking for?” Long Tianze asked.

”I'm sorry, Tianze, but I can't tell you.”

”I won't probe further, then, since it's your privacy. I'll drive faster and shorten the time.”

Long Tianze stepped hard on the accelerator, causing the car to surge forward at godlike speed.

Two hours were not considered quick or slow.

By the time they arrived at their destination, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon.

An Xiaoning instructed Long Tianze to wait for her at the foot of the mountain while she proceeded inside alone with her purse.

Clad in a cap and a surgical mask, she began walking along the cemented path.

More than ten minutes later, she arrived at a village. She took a look at the signboard to see that it was the Shi Family village.

An Xiaoning picked up in her tracks and walked toward the front instead of entering the village.

The cemented path was only 500 meters long, after which the roads would become rocky and uneven. The temperatures were also much colder in the mountains. In order to avoid wasting time, An Xiaoning decided to run there instead.

She followed her mother's instructions and continued walking after passing a small convenience store.

She finally stopped after covering another three kilometers and passing by two other villages.

She trod along the narrow path and climbed upward after making sure that there was no one else around.

It was a steep slope that was surrounded by withered branches and trees.

There were rocks past the trees.

The initial fair weather soon began to turn gloomy.

An Xiaoning arrived at the top of the slope and could not help but feel a little worried about whether or not the book was still there. After all, it had already been so many days.

She followed the markings her mother had told her to look out for and soon found the corresponding spot below the rocks.

She took out a small shovel from her satchel and began digging furiously.

The ground was rather tough and rigid, despite having sustained all sorts of weather conditions throughout all these years.

It was much harder to dig it up than she had imagined.

However, An Xiaoning did not slow down at all at the thought of wanting to find the book.

She continued to dig non-stop, thinking to herself that it was only a matter of time before she finds it.

Half an hour later, she finally found a metal box that had become extremely rusty.

I wonder what the condition of the book is like now.

She tried to open the box, only to find that the lid was tightly shut. Hence, she had no choice but to pry it open with the shovel.

The book turned out to be completely intact.

She touched it with her hands and discovered that there were no cracks or signs of decomposition at all.

This book was found in an ancient tomb, which, according to Mother, contained a corpse that had already turned into a skeleton. That just goes to show that the paper is of no ordinary quality, since it is still intact even after such a long time, An Xiaoning thought to herself.

She took the book out of the box and placed the box back inside the pit, which she then filled again with the soil. After flattening the soil with her foot, she proceeded to walk down the slope again.

The sky began to turn increasingly gloomier, and the clouds were hanging low.

An Xiaoning sprinted across a few kilometers, after which she panted heavily in exhaustion.

It began pouring as soon as she entered the car.