After a week full of exams, Ouyang Fei Fei expected a peaceful and undisturbed weekend. Her only wish was to hibernate and become a sleeping beauty, cuddling with her pillow as she covered her body with a warm and soft blanket.
That perfect scene, alas, only lasted for a while.
"Great Aunt Fei, you better wake up before this Young Master pours a bucket of cold water over you!" The man scolded Fei Fei as he pulled the blanket off her body.
Knowing there was still no movement from his cousin, Feng Yu Xiang took a deep breath and forced himself to be patient. Waking up someone named Ouyang Fei Fei was never an easy job. Rather than dealing with this young cousin of his, Feng Yu Xiang preferred to work in the excavation site for a week straight with his eldest cousin, Ouyang Shan Shan.
"Still not awake?" Feng Yu Xiang gritted his teeth, his words laced with threat.
The beautiful girl lying on the bed began to move. She stretched her body for several seconds, but then resumed her sleep, unbothered with her cousin's presence and scolding.
The male couldn't withstand her laziness anymore so Feng Yu Xiang pinched Fei Fei's nose and grumbled, "What a pig! I doubt someone will marry you in the future! Hmph!"
Breathless, Ouyang Fei Fei opened her eyes and jolted awake. The girl gasped for air as she pushed the naughty hand with a fierce and irritated glare. After filling her lungs with fresh air, Fei Fei's gaze grew even colder toward Feng Yu Xiang. She was looking at him as though he was her old nemesis.
"Feng Yu Xiang! It seems that I really gained karma from you in my previous lifetime, and now the heavens sent you to torture me! Tsk!" Ouyang Fei Fei spat out her anger as she threw her pillow to the man before her.
The handsome man could only roll his eyes upon hearing her rambling. That should be his line, alright?
Poking her head with his finger, Feng Yu Xiang ordered his cousin, "Quickly wash your face and get rid of that drool! Shan Shan has come back. She said she has something for you!"
"Shan Shan has come back?" The girl's eyes immediately twinkled as she heard the news of her beloved eldest cousin.
"Mm. Quickly go to the studio. Don't you dare to sleep again!" Feng Yu Xiang threw the pillow back before dashing out from her bedroom.
Ouyang Fei Fei was the last child of the Ouyang Clan. For over four decades, the Ouyang clan was infamous for their illegal business of tomb raiding. Since ancient times until the modern era, their track record in this business was unbeatable. They had dug many imperial tombs, excavated hundreds of archaeological sites, and unearthed countless of ancient artifacts.
From this illegal business, the clan had produced incalculable wealth and dominated China and East Asia's black market. Therefore, the people began to call them the Masters of Tomb Raiders.
Even though her family's profession was tomb raiding, Ouyang Fei Fei refused to follow their path. The girl realized that she had a chicken heart, she wouldn't dare to mess around in ancient tombs in the darkest hours of the night. Hence, the girl decided to follow her grandmother's righteous path, traditional Chinese medicine, to save people's lives from King Yama's[1] clutch.
Ouyang Fei Fei had often heard many rumours about her Ouyang family. One of the most popular rumour was the Ouyang clan having a superior genes. Everyone who had Ouyang blood running in their veins would either be good-looking, become a genius, or be talented in various ways.
Everytime she heard this rumour, Ouyang Fei Fei would alwas looked down at herself in disdain. What superior genes? Pei pei pei![2] All she had were ordinary looks, a slightly useful brain, and rotten luck! As for talent, she was a pro at sleeping for many hours if not for the fact her cousin would wake her up! Other than that, Ou Yang Fei Fei was basically useless!
After taking a quick shower, Ouyang Fei Fei immediately went to her cousin's studio. The so-called studio was actually a spacious room to clean, study and store ancient artifacs. It was also Ouyang Shan Shan's study room. The studio was located at the basement of Ouyang Residence. Equipped with high-technology security and guarded by well-trained bodyguards, the safety of the artifacs inside were highly protected.
"Second Miss!" The guards that stationed at the studio's entrance greeted Ouyang Fei Fei as the girl arrived.
Smiling politely, Ouyang Fei Fei asked, "Is Shan Shan inside?"
"Boss Shan just went to Old Master's study, she asked Second Miss to wait inside," the one who answered Ouyang Fei Fei's question was Wang Kai, Ouyang Shan Shan's most trusted guard.
"Mm, I see." The girl slightly nodded her head. Before entering the studio, Ouyang Fei Fei curiously inquired, "Brother Wang, where did you guys go these four days? Shan Shan always told me whenever she goes hunting. Why didn't she say anything yesterday?"
Wang Kai pursed his lips and didn't say anything for a few moments, wondering if he should reply at all. What should he say now? The Boss had told him not to spill anything!
"Brother Wang?" Ouyang Fei Fei raised her eyebrows in confusion as she waved her hand in front of Wang Kai's face.
Laughing awkwardly, Wang Kai stated, "Ahaha, t-that... Y-young Miss can ask Boss Shan later! Now, please come in. I will bring your favorite peach juice!"
The girl scrunched her eyebrows as she looked at Wang Kai's retreating figure. Suddenly, a suspicion rose in her heart.
Are they hiding something from me?
Ouyang Fei Fei strode toward her cousin's study room quickly. She treated it as if it was her own room, casually grabbing the remote control to the air conditioner and turned it on, plopping herself down on the soft couch that was placed at the corner of the room. The girl gave a few glimpses around the place with a frown. Was there something going on? Should she just get up and explore the place?
Ah, unfortunately, Ouyang Fei Fei was too lazy to do anything and stretched herself clumsily on the sofa.
Just as Ouyang Fei Fei took out her phone, she caught something unsual from the corner of her eyes. With furrowed eyebrows, the girl rose from her seat and approached her cousin's desk.
Ouyang Fei Fei knew better than anyone else that her cousin was a neat-freak, Ouyang Shan Shan absolutely despised being messy since it could hinder her work. Ouyang Shan Shan never let even a speck of dust touch her things. Her room and her desk would always be spotless. She also never brought any dirty ancient artifact without being scrubbed clean to her study. But now, Ouyang Fei Fei saw a certain artifact on her cousin's desk. What surprised her was how grimy it seemed. Although the object had some mud smeared around, she could still tell that it was a mask. Still, even if it's appearance faded along with time, that certain artifact held a certain type of allure that Ouyang Fei Fei was drawn to.
"Huh? What is this?" The girl stretched out her slender hand to take the artifacts and observed it closely, "This mask is really dirty, how come Shan Shan hasn't cleaned it yet?"
Looking at the mask's details, the creases on Ouyang Fei Fei's forehead were getting more obvious. Why did this mask looks so familiar for her? Was it something she played with when she was little? Did Ouyang Shan Shan prepare this as a gift?
Growing up in the Ouyang clan, Ouyang Fei Fei had read countless of historical records. She knew the stories behind each artifacts stored inside the studio. Throughout all historical records she had ever read, there was one person that she adored with all her heart; Lan Ling Wang, Gao Chang Gong.
Gao Chang Gong was one of the most renowned generals in ancient China. Although he was merciless in the battlefield, General Gao was also known for his kindness and otherworldly features. Legend has it that he looked so beautiful, almost as if he were a woman himself, so he always wore masks to appear more fearsome. Unfortunately, the brave general only lasted until his early thirties due to some political matters—poisoned by his own cousin out of hate and jealousy.
"Oh? So you already saw your present?"
A pleasant voice rang out from the direction of the study room's entrance, slightly making Ouyang Fei Fei surprised. A sweet smile bloomed at the girl's countenance as she looked up and saw the owner of that voice.
"Present?" Ouyang Fei Fei raised her eyebrows in confusion.
"You ah!" The short-haired girl pinched Ouyang Fei Fei's nose playfully. Her eyes glazed with excessive pampering and began to dote on her youger cousin. "Tomorrow is your twenty-third birthday, yet you don't remember? Have you gone senile already?"
Everyone in the Ouyang Residence knew that Ouyang Shan Shan treasured her youngest cousin the most. Ouyang Fei Fei was like a pearl in her palm. Since childhood, she always spoiled the second miss rotten. Thankfully, because of their grandparents education, the girl didn't grow up to be haughty or arrogant. In contrary, Ouyang Fei Fei had a good nature and was bearing. It made everyone in the residence feel more at ease around her than some other masters. In fact, because Ouyang Fei Fei was more of an idle person who rather sleeps around all day in her room, her personality was quite tame and she didn't have much care about keeping up with her appearance. So her servants always had an easy job, no matter what Ouyang Fei Fei requested since she never asks for much.
Ouyang Fei Fei grinned innocently. "Shan Shan, this mask... it looks a bit familiar. Have I seen it before?"
"Of course it's familiar!" Ouyang Shan Shan let out an amused laugh. "This old lady personally went to H Province and dug around the tomb for days only to find your lover's belonging!"
"T-this..."
Ouyang Shan Shan snapped her fingers. "That's right. This mask is his last belonging that can be found. However, I brought you something else as your birthday present."
The girl crouched down to take out a certain sword from inside a chest. Ouyang Fei Fei leaned down to gaze at the weapon, slightly enamored with its appearance. It was old, no doubt, and she could tell that her older cousin tried her best scrubbing the muck off, possibly even spending more money to polish it. But it paid off. The sword looked elegant and refined, but Ouyang Fei Fei had an unsettling feeling in her stomach that it also seemed a bit malicious. It really portrayed its owner, didn't it?
"This is General Gao's most precious sword, Han Jian Sword. This sword accompanied him in every war and battle."
Ouyang Fei Fei was speechless, she felt like her jaw almost dropped to the ground. "This... it's for me?"
The eldest miss of Ouyang clan nodded her head. "All for our beloved Fei Fei ah!"
Just before Ouyang Fei Fei could express her gratitude, her cousin's phone rang.
Winking her eyes, the girl teased Ouyang Shan Shan, "Is it brother-in-law?"
Rolling her eyes, Ouyang Shan Shan received the call and went outside to have some privacy.
Filled with happiness, Ouyang Fei Fei played with the sword times moments before placing it back in the chest. After securing it, she went back to the mask with her phone in one hand, quickly taking a selfie with the object.
To have a better resolution of her picture, the girl used the back camera of her phone. Yet, since she forgot to adjust the camera, the light flashed and momentarily blinded her vision.
Ouyang Fei Fei blinked her eyes to adjust her vision. However, no matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't see clearly. Soon, a headache abruptly caused her to stumble around, almost making her drop the mask.
Before Ouyang Fei Fei could ask for help, she lost her balance and fell.
Damn, she could've at least fallen on some soft carpet before passing out completely.
Author's Note:
[1] In East Asian and Buddhist mythology, Yama (sometimes known as the King of Hell, King Yan or Yanluo) is a dharmapala (wrathful god) said to judge the dead and preside over the Narakas ("Hells", "Hell Realm" or "Purgatories") and the cycle of afterlife saṃsāra.
[2] Sounds of people spitting.