Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Two weeks later, Zhang Qiling was discharged from the hospital. Wu Xie went to Beijing to meet him and Fatty to discuss what happened next.

The most difficult thing for Wu Xie after he came back was how to deal with the mess left by his uncle.  The events of the past year, although intense, were all done in secret. Wu Xie family had no idea of the drastic changes that took place on his side, and his uncle was really missing and might never appear. It was one thing to try to explain the events from this side, but on the other side was Zhang Qiling.

He had now become a dead weight, and he has lost his memory, Wu Xie who had a romantic relatioship with him had to face the problem of getting to know each other again.

Zhang Qiling had no relatives, left no trace in this world, and didn’t know where he lived. He asked a lot of people, but hadn’t heard anything back. As he had said before, he had almost no connections with this world. All his equipment was left in the basin, he had no money or documents, and at this time, he was left alone. Wu Xie was afraid, that Zhang Qiling would not love him like he did before.

Fatty had done quite well and opened a shop in Liulichang. Wu Xie decided to meet there since they hadn’t seen each other for several months. Poker-Face had regained his former complexion, and apart from the furrow between his eyebrows, the other things gave Wu Xie a familiar feeling that made him feel relieved.

When Wu Xie saw him, he was leaning against the window and didn’t look at Wu Xie. His eyes were like a mirror, paler than before, as if his mind had already ceased to exist in this world. Wu Xie wanted to go by his side, give him a hug and the love he couldn't give his lover this past few months but he couldn't do something like that, not when Zhang Qiling doesn't remembers anything about his lover Wu Xie.

Since Wu Xie can't give love to Zhang Qiling, he said some conventional remarks at first, but Zhang Qiling didn’t respond, so Wu Xie asked Fatty how he was and what the doctor had said.

Fatty shook his head: “Don’t worry about it. They said he recalled some fragments. The doctor said he had been under a lot of stress, so he needs to be mentally stimulated to get better, otherwise it would be useless to stew pig’s brain every day.”

Wu Xie sighed, not knowing what had happened in the meteorite at the last minute to make him like this.

“Do you have any plans?”  Fatty asked Wu Xie after discussing the boring stuff. “I only have little more than forty square meters here, so it’s really cramped. If you want him to live here, I won’t even be able to find a lover.  When people see me hiding such a pretty face, they’ll think I’m a pimp.”

“You really have no conscience. He’s saved our lives on more than one occasion. What are you worried about?” Wu Xie retorted angrily.

“He’s not living at your place, so of course it doesn’t hurt for you to stand there and talk. You want me to pay to find a house for Xiaoge ? Say the word.  He wants to live in a courtyard? I’ll take him down. But he can’t live with me; it has nothing to do with whether he saved my life or not.”  Fatty said. “How about this, I’ll pay the rent and you pay for a babysitter. Let’s settle him in the neighborhood and give him some good food and drink. We’ll visit him on the weekends.”

“You son of a bitch. You’re acting like a sugar daddy.” Wu Xie said, “He’s not a fool. You have to ask him what he thinks.”

So Fatty looked at the Poker-Face and said, “Xiaoge, what do you say? What are your plans for the future?”

Poker-Face closed its eyes and seemed to be thinking. It took a long time before he finally said, “I want to go somewhere.”

Wu Xie asked, “Go for a walk?  Where to? Do you have a destination?”

“I don’t know,” he said calmly,” I’ll go to the places you’re talking about– Changsha, Hangzhou, Shandong– and see if I can remember anything.”

Wu Xie heart thumped, as this was the last thing he wanted to hear–Zhang Qiling originally wanted to remember something, but now his mind was blank, and his past was a huge mystery. But the bigger the mystery, the more it eats at you, and if his memory started to recover during his travels, then the emotional fragments that would emerge in his mind would be extremely tempting. A little hint would reveal all kinds of threads, which would make him miserable in the end.

Wu Xie understood that for those who lost their memories, their whole purpose in life was to find their past. There was no way to avoid it, but Wu Xie really didn’t want him to take that old road again.

Seeing Wu Xie face change, Fatty knew there was a knot in his heart, so he patted Wu Xie and said: “We agreed to let nature take its course. It’s unrealistic for you to keep him here.”

Wu Xie sighed. If that was the case, then the only thing Wu Xie could do was think about these things with him and look after him. After all, they had been through so much, and the main point is that Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling are a couple. But that's something Fatty didn't know about, so Wu Xie will try to act the most normal he can until Zhang Qiling recovers his memories at least the ones of Wu Xie.

Now Wu Xie has to live in the same house as the man he loves, but he can't do anything romantic with him, that's why Wu Xie wanted Fatty to let Zhang Qiling live together with him but Fatty didn't wanted to.

Wu Xie decided not to think about that anymore and focus on other things, Iike the fact that had planned to take Zhang Qiling to meet some people in Changsha, but now that the situation over there was chaotic, he didn’t know who to look for.  At that moment, Wu Xie suddenly thought of something and asked Fatty, “Didn’t you say last time that you had a way to learn about Xiaoge’s background? Why didn’t you check with them?”

“Don’t mention it, it makes me sick.”  Fatty said, “I had planned at that time to find those information brokers to ask. They have a lot of information, so I figured that since Xiaoge could be contacted by your uncle, he must have left some information with them and we could find out this way.”

Wu Xie listened, thinking that this was a viable way, so how was it disgusting?  Fatty continued, “I didn’t think that all these people would shake their heads and go quiet. They’re in the procuring business, but at this time, they pretend to be saints and gentlemen.”

Wu Xie snorted, thinking that it was obvious. There were rules in this business, so you couldn’t blame them. They probably counted on that information to eat, but once it was revealed, they may not only be unable to put food on the table, but may even be killed.

“These people are extremely tough, so this was also a dead end.”  Fatty said. “How about you?”

Wu Xie sighed and told him that if his uncle were here, he might be able to find something out. But the people Wu Xie was in contact with weren’t qualified enough. Those old vultures were eccentric by nature and were now watching the situation on Wu Xie side. If he wanted to get especially close to them, and not give them any food… it wasn’t something people like Wu Xie could do.

“Let’s not think about it, and just do as Xiaoge said. We’ll sign him up for a tour group, prepare some money, and let him go out for a walk,” Fatty said. “Why don’t we just ask for a marriage for him, and give him to a rich woman? With his good looks, I think we could still make some money. Later, he could look into the past on his own. What do you think?”

This is bullshit, Wu Xie said to himself, as he shook his head and didn’t say a word. Zhang Qiling belongs to me that's what Wu Xie thought, he wanted to said it and make it clear to Fatty but he couldn't do something like that not when Zhang Qiling is present.

“No, you just find a way to contact the broker. Maybe it’s not a dead end.”

“How?”

“The brokers refused to say anything, maybe because they were afraid of offending someone, or didn’t know, or were afraid of revealing it. But there’s one person who doesn’t have this problem. Maybe we can start with them.”

“Who?” Fatty asked.  Poker-Face also turned his head.

“When I went to Changbai Mountain, it was a man named Brother Chu who took over the arrangements for my uncle. Do you remember?”

“You mean the bald one?”

Wu Xie nodded; Bald Brother Chu was the boss of the underground bank who cooperated with Uncle Three. After being bought out by Chen Pei Ah Si, he was arrested, but I didn’t know which prison he was sent to.

He had contacted Poker-Face and Fatty before, and certainly knew their information. Moreover, he was in prison now and had nothing to worry about. Wu Xie just didn’t know how to find him or make him speak. Not having any worries, after all, meant that he also didn’t have a reason to help them.

Fatty looked thoughtful: “Oh, that’s true.”  Understanding my train of thought, he then added, “I didn’t expect that, but if we go to him, would he report us?”

“This kind of person is very shrewd. He has a lot of information in his hands, so if he wants to spill it, Changsha will fall. He can’t bear to say it because he knows that it’s in his interests not to.” Wu Xie said. “He’s in trouble now and doesn’t have many places to turn to for help. I don’t think it’ll be hard to find a way.”  With that said, Wu Xie already knew what to do. He couldn’t trouble Pan Zi with some things, but this wasn’t a sensitive matter, so they could entrust him to make some inquiries.

So, it was decided that they would help Poker-Face check it out. Their intervention was better than letting him run around, but Wu Xie couldn’t do it alone. He was extremely busy, and the situation was chaotic, meaning he couldn’t let Poker-Face follow him around everywhere. There was no way Wu Xie could control him, and in case he suddenly remembered something and ran away again, he wouldn’t know where to look. In the end, Wu Xie had to drag Fatty into the water with him.

After discussing it with Fatty, he had to agree. “If nothing else, it’s better to find a place for Xiaoge to live. That way we can save a lot of energy.”

So, it was agreed: Fatty would go ask Pan Zi to handle their business, Poker-Face and Wu Xie would live together first, and then they would discuss the rest of the situation together later.  This matter couldn’t be tossed aside with three people involved, so it was better to handle it theirselves. It could even be regarded as a favor to Poker-Face.

As the saying goes, it’s hard to persuade fierce ghosts with good words. Such a decision would be followed by good and bad things.

Wu Xie returned home with Zhang Qiling,  he will have to take care of his lover who can't remember anything, Wu Xie will have to endure seeing his lover so close but he wouldn't be able to touch him: Wu Xie days of torture had only begun. 

Thanks for reading, I hope someone would like this story 😄 I love the lost tomb a lot so I decided to write a story about my favorite ship pingxie 😘

Chapter Text

Wu Xie days of living together with Zhang Qiling had begun, it was peacefully since Xiaoge is a quiet man Wu Xie can relax as if he's living alone. But Zhang Qiling started to wander around a lot and he always looked at Wu Xie all the time.

Wu Xie didn't liked when Zhang Qiling looked at him all the time, it makes him nervous and he couldn't make his impure feelings go away. So while he was cooking, Wu Xie told Xiaoge who's sitting in one of the chairs to go take a bath.

Zhang Qiling nodded at Wu Xie words, he gets up and goes to the bathroom: Wu Xie sighed tired. 

"I have to make Fatty take care of him," Wu Xie mutters as he turns off the stove.

After a few minutes, Zhang Qiling enters the kitchen with only a towel around his waist, his hair is dripping water on the flor.

"Why are you only wearing a towel?"

"My clothes got wet, don't have other ones."

Wu Xie didn't thought of buying Xiaoge clothes, so he will have to give him some of his clothes. Without any delay, Wu Xie told Xiaoge to wait there while he brings some clothes for him.

Wu Xie left the kitchen and enters his room, he still has the picture of Zhang Qiling's body inside his mind. 

"I can't do this, at this point I will commit a crime." Wu Xie takes out some clothes from the wardrobe. 

Then he remembers Zhang Qiling body, he looked quite attractive and sexy with the water running down his pale skin. Wu Xie thought about that, but he hit his forehead on the wardrobe door to forget that impure feeling. 

The sound of Wu Xie cry of pain, alerted Zhang Qiling. Like always he runs to Wu Xie rescue, Xiaoge opens the door seeing Wu Xie. 

The towel Xiaoge has on his waist falls on the ground when Wu Xie's eyes landed on him, Zhang Qiling made the error of running with only a towel on his waist.

Wu Xie almost drooled when he saw Xiaoge naked body, Zhang Qiling noticed that Wu Xie wouldn't stop looking at his exposed body. 

With embarrassment, Xiaoge says to Wu Xie. "Stop looking."

Wu Xie turned his gaze away and showed Xiaoge the clothes he had planned to give him. Zhang Qiling grabs the clothes, the towel and leaves Wu Xie room.

"He will definitely think I am a perverted." Wu Xie touched his forehead, feeling the swelling. 

...

After that incident, Fatty came to visit Wu Xie to tell him about the things he had found out. The plan to go to Guangxi was basically confirmed when Fatty got the address of Banai from Brother Chu.

Banai was a Yao village, located in the hinterland of the Shiwan Dashan Mountains of Guangxi. It was called the "Siberia of Guangxi" and was quite a poor place in the early years of the People's Republic. Looking at that address, Fatty had given Wu Xie, he was afraid it wasn't in Banai Village, but actually in the mountains around the village.

Chen Pei Ah Si was an old-fashioned person, and probably chose this kind of place because it took two days to get to the police. It didn't matter to him if there was something bad going on in the mountains, but it was hard for Wu Xie.

Wu Xie and Poker-Face meet Fatty in Hangzhou first, where Fatty said that they could take this opportunity to stock up on supplies at Tangkou in Nanman. It was difficult to do business these days, and he had been out of food for a long time, so they rested there for a few days. Then, they set out from Hangzhou, flew to Nanning, and then transferred to the train to Shangsi.

They didn't bring anything with them since this wasn't a tomb robbing job, so they got to relax and joke the entire way. There were six people to a carriage: the three of them, two who were working outside the city and returning to Shangsi, and a tour guide who taught them how to play big-character cards. It was like mahjong and was really fun.

The mountains were all close to Shangsi, and the train passed through caves one after another. The mountains were foggy in the distance, and the guide told them that it was the hinterland of Shiwan Dashan, which is what Guangxi's mountains were called.

The mountains were spread over several hundred kilometers, and the forest area alone was more than five million acres. In the center were hundreds of thousands of acres of primitive uninhabited jungle areas. It was said to be a land of bliss and a gathering place for immortals, but this kind of terrain was also extremely inconvenient for transportation. They chose the train for this very reason, because people from the city who travel by bus or car into the hinterlands of Guangxi will probably end up vomiting.

Wu Xie felt strange as he looked at the mountain. In the past, seeing this kind of thing often meant that Wu Xie would go deep into the mountains to find some secrets buried within. But this time, their destination was only a simple village in the mountains.

That feeling was quite odd, and Wu Xie didn't know whether it was disappointment or excitement. Looking at the cyan granite peaks and lush forests in the distance, Wu Xie felt goosebumps rising on his arms.

When they arrived at Shangsi, they went to Nanping and then entered Banai. They took a bus and then had to walk the rest of the way. It was midsummer, and the scenery was so beautiful that people almost melted from the sight. Fatty and Wu Xie could see flowers everywhere, and even Poker-Face's eyes were bright.

Because of this, they were delayed for a long time on the road, and it was almost evening before they arrived in Banai.

Wu Xie had asked several travelers for information beforehand and knew that the villagers could accommodate them. They asked all around until they came across a man named Agui before they could find a place.

Agui was over forty years old and had two daughters and a son who were fairly young. He had two tall Yao wooden buildings and used one for himself and the other for a hotel. He was an able person in the local area and brought in many tourists from outside. Wu Xie thought he would recognize Poker-Face when he saw him, but Wu Xie didn't see him react at all. Fatty told him where they came from and gave him a lot of money, so they stayed there without much hassle. Agui was quite used to people like them and had the air of a farmhouse owner. He said that he could help them with anything if they stayed there, but Wu Xie couldn't think of anything that needed to be done at that moment.

Wu Xie was just so hungry that he told him their finish dinner first before talking.

Agui asked his two daughters to cook as he took them to get settled. Wu Xie put his luggage down on the wooden floor, wiped his body with spring water, and then sat on the building's porch. It was very cool and comfortable, and his whole body was soft. 

Before the meal was ready, Poker-Face asked Agui where the address Brother Chu gave them was. He seemed a little anxious.

When Agui said it wasn't exactly in the village, but a little ways above it, Fatty told him not to worry: "Although it's your own house, it's too late to ask someone take you there. Plus, you don't have a key. We've got plenty of time here, so there's no harm if we go tomorrow."

Wu Xie also agreed and Poker-Face nodded. Wu Xie knew he had this kind of patience.

Dinner was stewed meat and sweet wine. The Yaozhai people were hunters and were said to eat squirrel meat, which was very strange, but the wine was quite good. The first sip was sweet, and the aftertaste was good and smooth. Fatty drank too much and had a loose tongue. He urged Agui to call him big boss, said he didn't want to leave, and then asked Agui to betroth his two daughters to him, arguing that he was good at farming.

Wu Xie was afraid he would offend someone by talking such nonsense, so he hurriedly finished picking up his things, helped the two daughters clean up, and left Fatty alone to sober up in the cool wind.

While Wu Xie was washing the dishes, Zhang Qiling enters thru the door and looks at Wu Xie. He felt the Intensely gaze of Xiaoge, Wu Xie still remembers what happened some days ago and can't forget Zhang Qiling naked body. 

He knows that Xiaoge doesn't remembers about his relationship with him but sometimes Zhang Qiling looks at Wu Xie like he's starting to remember something. 

"Is something wrong Xiaoge?" Wu Xie asked as he looked behind him.

Zhang Qiling is resting his back on the wall, he didn't say anything and just continued looking at Wu Xie. For a few seconds Xiaoge didn't say anything, then he left the room leaving Wu Xie confused.

Wu Xie sighed and dried his hands, as he told himself that it appeared that Chen Pei Ah Si was really careful and didn't even dare to stay in the village.

Presumably, they came to Banai disguised as tourists while the Vietnamese went straight to the woods. They could meet in the mountains to trade, which meant that there were probably more things to trade here than Wu Xie thought. At least Chen Pei Ah Si valued them, especially if these people were related to the contacts he had planted when fleeing Guangxi.

While thinking that over and about the strange behavior of Xiaoge, Wu Xie went to the dining hall to ask Agui for some fruit to eat. At that time, he saw Fatty, smelling strongly of alcohol, staring at something on one side of the wall.

Wu Xie thought he had drunk too much and his mind was muddled, but he unexpectedly grabbed Wu Xie as soon as he saw him and said, "Little Master Three, come here."

Wu Xie went over and asked him what he was doing. Wu Xie followed the direction his eyes pointed to and saw a picture frame hanging on the wooden wall of the dining room. There were a lot of photos there, and he jutted his chin at one in particular and said to Wu Xie, "Who do you think this is?" 

Wu Xie looks at the photo with surprise.

Chapter Text

The photo Wu Xie saw with surprise, is a black and white photo that was a little faded and was similar to the one Brother Chu had shown Fatty. It wasn’t easy to distinguish from among the many photos, but there were two people pictured. Wu Xie was surprised to find that one of them was Chen Wen-Jin.

This photo was much bigger than the one Fatty showed Wu Xie, so He was able to see it clearly. In addition to these two people, there was a child in the background. The man was wearing a Yao style outfit and had a tense expression, while Wen-Jin smiled brightly.

What was going on? Why was Wen-Jin’s picture here? Wu Xie got goosebumps all over his body and immediately asked Agui, "When was this photo taken?"

Agui came over and looked: "A few decades ago. "He pointed to the man dressed in Yao clothes. "This is my father, and this woman was a member of the expedition team."

"Expedition team? There’s been an expedition here before?" Wu Xie almost jumped up, "What happened?"

"I don’t know, it seems like something was found in the mountains over there." Agui pointed to one direction, "After several years of expeditions, there was suddenly no further discussion."

Wu Xie muttered to himself, it didn’t take much time to find some information. This trip is really worth it. He immediately asked Agui to sit down and tell him something about the expedition team.

Agui felt puzzled and wondered what had happened, and why Wu Xie was so excited when he heard this. 

Fatty said, "Some of us are just like this, don’t mind it. Just tell me and we’ll give you some money. A story fee for every thousand words."

As soon as Agui heard that he was going to be rich, he immediately got excited. He waved his daughter to come over and count the words and told them everything from beginning to end.

When it happened, Agui was only in his teens. At that time, Banai was very poor and practically isolated from the world. As a result, he was very impressed by the appearance of the expedition team. He remembered that there were more than a dozen people going on the expedition, and it was led by a woman. She had come to the village with the people returning from the market outside. Since his father was the liaison in the village at that time, he went to receive them.

The woman told his father that they were an archaeological team from the city conducting an expedition nearby, and that she hoped his father would cooperate.

They had the government’s red seal documents, which was a big deal for the village. Agui’s father didn’t dare neglect them and arranged accommodation and guides for them.

The expedition stayed here for six or seven months, but during this period, they spent most of their time running in the mountains outside. The people in the village basically didn’t have any contact with them, and the guide arranged by Agui’s father was the closest one to them.

After the expedition team left, the people in the village asked the guide what they had been doing in the mountains, but he couldn’t say for sure. They had practically traveled all over the nearby mountains in the past few months, and only recently did they seem to find the place they were looking for. If you didn’t travel in the mountains, then you didn’t need a guide, so he hadn’t followed the team at that time. The woman only asked him to report for duty every three days and reminded him not to be late or early.

Then, something strange happened.

The guide went once every three days at the beginning, no big deal. But one time, he wanted to help his relatives mow their grass and thought it was okay to go one day earlier. As a result, he found that there was no one in the archaeological team’s camp, and he didn’t know where they had gone. He was frightened and thought they had suffered some evil. He didn’t dare say anything, but went to find them himself. As a result, he searched all the nearby mountains and found nothing.

Terrified, he went back to the village and stayed up all night. He went back the next day, only to find that those people had appeared again. The camp was bustling as if nothing had happened. At that time, he thought it was abnormal and that the mountain god was playing a trick, so he didn’t dare to speak of it. It was only when the archeological team left that he told the villagers.

When the team left, they took away more than a dozen boxes of things. They were said to have been found in that area, but no one knew what was inside. The photo was taken of the female team leader and his father before they left and was printed in the city and sent back. Because of this, his father later became a village official and hung it up on the wall, saying it was his glorious history.

When Agui finished, Fatty couldn’t contain his excitement and gave Wu Xie a look. He knew what Fatty meant: the archaeological team probably disappeared because of a tomb. Wu Xie made a gesture for him to calm down and asked Agui, "What year was it? Do you remember?"

Agui pointed at the child in the background of the photo with his pipe: "That’s me. I was too young to know the year since there were no books to read. But some people will certainly remember if you want to know more about it. I’ll help you ask around tomorrow."

Wu Xie thanked him with a churning heart. It seemed that things here really weren’t so simple, and the archeological team had been here before. It was no accident that Poker-face lived here, so there must be a connection between him and this expedition team. Although Agui didn’t have much information, Wu Xie could confirm that they had indeed carried out a series of archaeological activities in the mountains, which obviously had something to do with their plan.

Wu Xie looked at the mountain and asked Agui, "You’re a native, do you have any insights about the mountain? Do you know anything?"

"The area is called Yangjiao Mountain. I really don’t know what happened in that place, but I was actually quite curious. I later asked some elders, and according to them, there’s an old village in the ravine. I don’t know when it existed, but some people said it was in the Ming Dynasty. Later, when the emperor was fighting a war, a mountain fire broke out. Most of the houses were burned, and many people were burned to death, so it was abandoned. Maybe they were studying that thing." Agui said, "Why? Are you also interested?"

"Quite interested!" Fatty said sincerely.

"The mountain’s a bit far away, the road isn’t easy to walk, and it’s very strange. There are a few wild animals, so we generally don’t go there. However, there’s a river valley where we normally catch fish. It’s rained a lot this season and there will be danger. I suggest you don’t go there."

"Have you ever been?" Poker-Face suddenly asked.

"I haven’t. My grandfather’s been there and said that the mountain fire was very fierce. Everything that could be seen on the ground was gone. There may be some traces of foundation left in the soil, but it’s been many years." Agui said, "If you want to know about the archaeological team, why don’t I take you to the guide tomorrow? He must know more than me. It’s better not to go to the mountains."

Poker-face ignored him and simply asked, "If you have to go, how should you get there?"

"Follow the stream, but the road’s difficult to walk. If you want to go there, I can help you find a guide. Is two hundred yuan, ok? But I can’t go tomorrow. It’ll take at least two days because he hasn’t come back yet."

Poker-Face looked at Wu Xie and he nodded. No matter what, Wu Xie also wanted to have a look and two days was just enough time. They could inquire about Poker-face in the village first and then go to the mountains. There was no conflict in time.

Agui muttered, "The problem is that there’s nothing there, just forest. You can’t see anything when you go."

Fatty immediately said to him, "It’s better to scope it out for ourselves."

Agui shook his head and sighed with a wry smile: "It’s a really difficult road. You city dwellers don’t know what’s going on. You like to spend money to buy things that hurt you." He suddenly thought of something and asked them, "By the way, why are you asking about this? You’re not selling cultural relics, are you?"

After drinking too much, Fatty scolded: "Who’s selling cultural relics? Let me tell you, in fact, we’re dumping—"

Wu Xie gave him a quick prod and then said: "We’re tour guides. There’s a group coming in, but there’s nothing on the itinerary yet to accommodate them. We’re here to inquire first, looking for scenic spots."

Agui was very interested when he heard this: "Well, I’ll arrange it for you when they come back. There are many interesting places here locally, but there’s nothing fun in the mountains. You can go and see for yourself that it’s pointless. The guests certainly won’t like it."

Wu Xie nodded and smiled, secretly cursing Fatty in his heart. Fatty also knew that he had a slip of the tongue, so he stopped talking and went to pee on his own.

Wu Xie also wanted to ask Agui for more details, but he really didn’t remember. It could be said that he probably worked for a long time and didn’t know much about the village’s past. Wu Xie had no choice but to give up and wait until tomorrow to find out from the other villagers. After that, they sat outside enjoying the cool air and continued to discuss some details.

Fatty saw Agui go back to his room and immediately lowered his voice: "This team of archaeologists sounds like grave robbers. No one was seen during the day, and they left with so many things. It’s obvious that this Yangjiao Mountain has a tomb. This is really a ‘blind cat and a dead mouse’ situation. We came here on a lark, but got this news. How about it, you two? Should we comply with God’s will and resign ourselves to our fate?"

Wu Xie said to Fatty, "I knew you would say there’s an ancient tomb in the mountain. It’s only your conjecture right now, so you want to go there and see it for yourself. Moreover, the tombs into which those people entered are probably all extremely strange. I really don’t want to enter."

"This time it should be fine. Didn’t you hear that they all came out safe?" Fatty said, "Besides, they also brought several boxes of artifacts. Damn it, how much do you think they’re worth?"

"It’s strange now that you mention it. According to Agui, this group of people apparently didn’t adopt the work method normally used by archeological teams. It seems like they used robbers’ holes, which is very rare." Wu Xie said. If it weren’t for the government papers, he would definitely think they were professional grave robbers disguised as archaeologists.

"That’s your ignorance showing. When conditions aren’t ripe, archaeological teams also use robbers’ holes to rescue some cultural relics. In my opinion, it’s possible that the tomb is quite large in scale and couldn’t be excavated under normal conditions at that time."Fatty said, drooling. "Didn’t the little sister say that the Vietnamese are still in the mountains? I think they heard about it and are looking for the tomb."

"Even if we don’t do it for the money, we can’t give it to those Vietnamese who can’t even use a Luoyang shovel."

Wu Xie sighed and thought to himself, he really don’t want to go down again. He won’t listen to you no matter what you say. But if there was really a tomb, then it must be related to what the archaeological team was looking for. He didn’t want to seem unwilling, but this made things a little difficult.

As Fatty continued to nag in Wu Xie ear, he tried to calm him down and tell him not to get too excited. Wu Xie told him that even if there was a tomb when they went out exploring in two days, the place was so big that he may not even be able to find it. If he did find it, however, they would go down and help. This way, maybe he would give up. But he could no longer contain himself, and as soon as Agui came back, he immediately took him aside and asked him about it.

Wu Xie was afraid that he would reveal himself, but his heart was already very chaotic, and he wasn’t in the mood to interfere. Wu Xie leaned against the porch railing, studying Xiaoge and looking at the moon, wondering what to do.

"Wu Xie," Xiaoge said softly attracting the attention of Wu Xie.

Wu Xie stops looking at the moon and turns his gaze towards Zhang Qiling, his brown eyes met Xiaoge black eyes.

"Is something wrong Xiaoge?" 

Zhang Qiling didn't respond and just move closer to Wu Xie, making him a little surprised. Xiaoge touched Wu Xie cheek with tender care, Wu Xie's eyes widened.

'Could it be that Xiaoge remembers something about us?' Wu Xie thought with a little happiness.

"When I am close to you, I feel a strange pain in my heart," Zhang Qiling touched his chest, and Wu Xie looked at Xiaoge hand. "I can't understand this feeling, do you know what is this that I am feeling?"

Wu Xie touched Zhang Qiling hand and said: "Is nothing serious, you don't have to worry about it." Wu Xie didn't say the truth, since Zhang Qiling still doesn't remember about their relationship.

"Are you hiding something from me?" 

"I'm not hiding anything, maybe you're tired, go to sleep is already late."

Zhang Qiling trust Wu Xie words, he decided to go inside and sleep.

Wu Xie stayed outside enjoying the cool breeze that brought the fragrance of trees down from the mountains. The wine soon went to his head and Wu Xie was a little dizzy. Fatty was still talking to Agui, but Wu Xie couldn’t hear what they were saying clearly, and his mind couldn’t focus. Wu Xie simply felt that looking at the stars in the sky here, was like being in the countryside when he was a child: It was very natural and made him happy.

In a trance, Wu Xie suddenly noticed that there seemed to be a person looking at him through the window of Agui’s wooden building across the way. There was no light on the other side, and only a vague, strange shadow could be seen.

Wu Xie rubbed his eyes and found that the shadow’s shoulders were completely flat, just like the shadow behind the screen in Brother Chu’s picture.

Chapter Text

The summer mountain wind blew the lamp hanging in front of the house, and that, coupled with the light bulb shaking with a large number of insects, made the light mottled. Wu Xie thought he saw wrong at first, but after the wind stopped, the shadow was still there.

Wu Xie didn't feel anything when he first looked at it, but the more he stared at it, the colder his back became. Did someone hang himself in Agui's house?

Wu Xie fought back his trance-like state, sat up, rubbed his eyes, and then looked carefully.

When Wu Xie looked at it again, the shadow had disappeared, and there was nothing but darkness behind the window.

Was it an illusion? Wu Xie frowned hard and asked Agui, "Who lives in that room?"

Agui looked and said, "My son."

"Oh." Something flashed through Wu Xie mind, but was gone before he could grasp it, leaving him feeling dizzy again. Wu Xie told himself that it was his son looking at them, and the things he saw weren't normal because he had drank too much.

It was getting late. Agui looked at his house and said that he would go back to rest.

Fatty paid the fee for the story, and then they said their goodbyes to Agui and entered the room. When Fatty entered, he said gloomily, "Damn it, with just one or two words, this son of a bitch can earn three hundred yuan. The wisdom of the working people is really infinite."

Wu Xie said to himself, who told you to be a rich man? Showing off your wealth in the hinterland is too ridiculous, and yet you still regret it.

Fatty muttered a few words and said that Wu Xie was a monk and a hypocrite, but he didn't pay any attention to him. It wasn't so easy for ordinary people to fall asleep at night in Guangxi. They hadn't slept soundly since a few nights ago, but they fell asleep very quickly after drinking the wine tonight.

The sleep was peaceful, and they didn't get up until after eleven o'clock the next day.

After eating the lunch Agui had prepared for them, they followed his daughter to the address Brother Chu gave them and arrived within ten minutes.

It was a very tall, old one-storied wooden building with black tiles and yellow mud walls. Compared with the other wooden buildings, it looked a little smaller-it seemed that all the houses here were like this-and it seemed to be uninhabited. It was mixed among the other houses in the village and was very small.

Agui's daughter wondered what they were doing here, so they pretended to take pictures. Fatty gave her some money to hold her off at first, and seeing that no one was around, they tried to go in.

The wooden building was built on the hillside, with the mountain behind it. The windows were all broken, and the door was firmly locked, with a faded picture of the door god pasted on it. The door wouldn't even budge after Fatty and Wu Xie pushed it.

"Do you remember this wooden building?" Wu Xie asked Zhang Qiling.

When Zhang Qiling touched the wooden pillars and door and shook his head, Wu Xie sighed. By this time, Fatty had pried away one of the windows and waved at Wu Xie and Xiaoge: "Quick, you can enter here."

"So fucking skilled, have you done this before?" Wu Xie cursed.

"What kind of person do you take me for? Only one word separates tomb robbing from theft." Fatty said, while urging Wu Xie and Xiaoge.

One kept watch, while the other two crept in through the window and closed it. Wu Xie heart beat wildly after entering, and he felt extremely anxious. His nerves were on tenterhooks and he felt particularly exposed. Wu Xie told himself that stealing from the living was much more stressful than stealing from the dead.

The wooden building was a little dark inside, but the structure was very simple. With one glance, Wu Xie saw a big dining room like Agui's that was connected to the hearth. Many tools were hung on the wall and were rusted.

"Xiaoge, I really can't imagine you as a farmer." Fatty picked up a hoe that was leaning to one side and said, "Using the hoe to dig for grain in the hot noon sun. I'm the hoe, and you're the hot noon sun."

Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling ignored him and saw that the room was separated on one side by a wooden wall, which must be the room Brother Chu said he had found. Indeed, this kind of wooden building only had one other room.

There was no door, only a rather old curtain that was covered in dust. Zhang Qiling frowned, turned around in a circle, and seemed to be a little hesitant, but after a few seconds, he lifted the curtain and went in.

Wu Xie was a little nervous, too. The man who seemed to be floating in the void finally found a foothold, but he didn't remember it at all. Wu Xie didn't know if God was playing with him, but I didn't have the time to think about it as Fatty pushed him in.

Wu Xie noticed that there was a musty smell as soon as he entered the room, and it was so dark that he couldn't see anything clearly. Wu Xie reluctantly looked at Fatty and wanted to open the window, only to find that there wasn't one in the room.

They didn't expect this kind of situation. No one had a flashlight, so they cut up the curtain to let the outside light in. In the dim light, they could see that the room was very cramped and there was a circle of shelves placed against the wall. The first thing they noticed were some books and boxes, but the shelves were empty for the most part and the ground was littered with mud. In addition to these things, there was only a plank bed and a wooden table on one side, along with an old student desk. There was a thin layer of dust on everything.

There wasn't much dust since the air in this mountain was very clean, but if they were in a big city, Wu Xie was afraid that there'd be enough dust to farm the land. This also showed that no one had been in here for a long time.

"Is this your room?" Wu Xie was a little surprised as he looked around, thinking that it was a little too ordinary. Was this where Xiaoge lived? Shouldn't the room be a bit weirder for someone like him?

But when Wu Xie thought about it, he couldn't think of a specific reason for why that would be the case. Zhang Qiling was also a person who slept in beds, not coffins. Clues wouldn't be written on the wall either, but maybe they would be in these furnishings.

When they walked in, Fatty approached the cabinets and found that there was basically nothing. He said to us, "I can see that you're a very poor farmer."

Although there weren't many things in the room, it looked quite messy. The boxes and books weren't placed neatly, and Wu Xie wondered if Brother Chu had turned the place over when he came before. Wu Xie picked up a book and found that it was a very popular title. It was an old version of a thread-bound book, and when he turned it over, he found that it was a little moldy inside. Wu Xie wondered why such a book was here.

The only thing that looked a little bit like it was lived in was the bed and the table. As Wu Xie thought this, he immediately went to the table to look for the photos Brother Chu had mentioned to Fatty.

As he got closer, Wu Xie noticed the dusty glass, and could vaguely see a lot of pictures underneath it. It seemed like Brother Chu hadn't lied to Fatty.

Chapter Text

Zhang Qiling outburst gave Wu Xie and Fatty a fright. He looked pale and seemed very nervous.

“What’s the matter?”  Wu Xie asked, while touching Xiaoge arm.

He frowned and looked at the box for a long time before saying, "Don’t open it. I… have a very bad feeling."

"Did you remember something? Are you not supposed to open this box?"

Zhang Qiling nodded: "I don’t know, I just have a very bad feeling. If you open this box, something will happen."

Wu Xie looking at Xiaoge's face dripping with cold sweat, he couldn’t help but feel a cold sweat break out on his own back. The fact that Zhang Qiling  was so nervous made Wu Xie wonder, what’s in the box? Is it a bomb?  He immediately asked Fatty to pull his hand back from where it had been fiddling with the lock.

Fatty said: "I believe you, Xiaoge, don’t frighten me.  What exactly do you remember?"

The way Zhang Qiling pinched his brow looked a little painful: "I can’t describe this feeling."

Fatty tutted: "Maybe this box can’t be opened in a normal fashion. Is there a trap inside?  If we open it this way, maybe we’ll be injected with poisonous needles or something?"

When Wu Xie thought about it, it was very likely that Poker-face had a deep understanding of the mechanism. The iron box was his, and it looked like he put something quite important in it, so it was very likely that a mechanism had been set up. If you didn’t know the trick, it would be very dangerous to open it.

It was so troublesome that it made Wu Xie heart itch. But in this case, it was impossible for him to grit his teeth and take a look. It was at this time, that Wu Xie realized something: if Fatty’s hands had been quicker just now, they wouldn’t be in this conundrum; on the other hand, there might not have been any problems for the rest of their lives.

Wu Xie asked Fatty to carefully put the iron box on the table so that he could take a closer look at its lock.  This kind of old twist lock wasn’t actually a lock, but a kind of ordinary clasp that could be opened with a slight push. But at their level, they couldn’t see whether there were any traps behind it or not.

"What now?" Fatty was depressed.

"It seems like we have to take this thing back, find some experts, and then look elsewhere. Is there anything else worth noting?" Wu Xie asked. Looking around, this appeared to be the only way.

Fatty knocked on the iron case: "Shit, when can I open this thing? It may take six months at this rate. Or, let’s quickly get Agui to lend us a knife and pry it open."

Before Wu Xie had a chance to shake his head, Poker-face shook his. "No, I shouldn’t have a problem with the mechanism," he said.  As he spoke, he held down the twist lock with his unusually long finger and touched it a little. "I don’t feel anything like a mechanism. The lock is fine."

"If it’s not a mechanism, then why can’t it be opened?"

When Zhang Qiling shook his head, Wu Xie speculated, "Is there something wrong with the contents of this box?"

"What could it be? Is there a poisonous snake in it? After being locked up for so many years, it’s long dead." Fatty was a little impatient and said, "Why don’t all of you stand down? This Fat Master will do it. I’m a tough guy and don’t believe I can be killed by a box."

"Don’t. Not to mention living creatures, there may be something poisonous in it. If you open it, you’ll not only implicate us, but also the whole village." Wu Xie said.

Fatty scowled and sat down on the bed: "Can’t do this, can’t do that. Let’s send it to the steel mill to be melted down and pretend it doesn’t exist."

Wu Xie felt that the atmosphere was a bit funny and weird. They came all this way, found Xiaoge'ss house, and also found important clues. But because of Zhan Qiling's unfounded feeling, they didn’t even dare open the box containing the clues. It was really depressing, but it wasn’t really worth taking the risk.

Wu Xie patted Fatty in a placating manner. He figured he might as well knock on the floor again to see if there were any more hollow spaces underneath.  Looking at where Xiaoge had broken the floor, the space was covered with a nailed-in board, indicating that he hadn’t planned on taking the box out for a long time. This method of hiding it was a huge project, so there might be more than one.

They started to knock on the wood floor, but the house was built on stilts and they all felt that there was something underneath.

The floor of the wooden building wasn’t done professionally, but simply built with long wooden boards. The gap between each board was very large, so Fatty lay on the ground and looked down. The area below was usually used for raising chickens, but all they could see was mud.

Fatty wasn’t afraid of getting dirty and was soon covered in dust just after looking for a short while. But there was nothing to gain, as it seemed like there was only a dark hole.

Without a doubt, they searched three times and checked every place inside and out, but found nothing. Fatty patted his clothes and said, "Alright, I can’t find what I’m looking for, and I can’t open what I want to open. Let’s pack up and get out of here before Agui and the others get suspicious. It’s impossible to say we were taking pictures of a dilapidated house for so long."

As soon as Wu Xie thought about it, he moved to grab the box. Fatty stopped him and said, "This thing can’t be seen, so we’ll have to leave it. Agui saw us leave his house empty-handed, so I’m afraid it won’t be easy to explain if we bring such a big thing back. If this gets out, it may reach Chen Pei Ah Si’s ears. I think we’d better put the box back in its place and grab it the night before we leave."

Fatty was very sharp in this regard, so Wu Xie nodded. He climbed under the bed, pushed the box into the hole again, and then hastily moved the boards to cover it.

Wu Xie packed up the photos and put them in his bag, ready to go back and have a good look. While he was packing up, Wu Xie suddenly heard the sound of knocking on the floor.

He said to Fatty, "Stop knocking, didn’t you say we were leaving?"

Fatty, who was off smoking to one side, raised his hands and said he didn’t knock.  Wu Xie looked at Zhang Qiling. He was organizing the boxes as neatly as the books. Obviously, he had also heard the sound of knocking on the floor and looked at Wu Xie.

'Huh?' Wu Xie paused, 'who was knocking on the floor?'

They listened attentively and found that the sound came from under the bed: "Tuk Tuk Tuk". It was very slight, but very urgent.

Fatty and Wu Xie looked at each other. He stubbed out his cigarette butt and carefully bent down to look under the bed. Wu Xie also squatted down.

Needless to say, there shouldn’t be anyone under the bed. They were close to the floor, but they couldn’t feel it shaking at all, which meant that the sound wasn’t actually something knocking on the floor. It sounded a little distant, and they couldn’t tell where it was coming from under the bed.

Fatty made a gesture that meant: under the floor!

Wu Xie nodded and asked himself, 'are there rats or chickens under this wooden building?' But suddenly, he saw the wood pieces covering the iron box unexpectedly move.

'Well, that’s fucking weird.' Wu Xie was dumbfounded. 'Is that the iron box moving?'

Wu Xie first reaction was that there were rats. It was quite common in mountain villages, and the abandoned wooden house here was simply a paradise for them. But they didn’t find any traces when they were flipping through everything just now, which was a little surprising. Wu Xie told himself that they might have been scared enough to climb out when they were knocking on the floor just now. They had knocked everywhere, but they didn’t knock under the bed, so they might have hid there.

Wu Xie didn’t expect such a situation, but he wasn’t worried about the iron box being bitten. If the rats gnawed on it and released the twist lock, however, there might be some danger. A little worried, Wu Xie immediately climbed over to the dark space and slapped the floor twice to make the rats run away.

Sure enough, he must have shocked them when he slapped the floor. The noise started to increase, but no rats ran out from under the boards.

Wu Xie knew that rats that lived among humans were extremely skilled and could judge a situation. It seemed as if they thought it was safer to hide inside than to jump out and run.

Wu Xie didn’t like rats, especially since the rats here were mountain rats. They were a fiercer breed, and might take the initiative to attack people, so he didn’t dare move the boards rashly. Instead, he waited for Fatty to come and deal with them.

Fatty didn’t care at all. He had been sulking just now, and this was the perfect time to vent his anger. He muttered, "It’s too late to ask who your grandfather belongs to." As Wu Xie crawled over, Fatty told him to adjust his position to block the direction that the rat might escape to. Wu Xie carefully pushed aside a board, raised himself up, and made an eagle’s claw with one hand.

Wu Xie glanced at Fatty to show he was ready.  Fatty took a deep breath, suddenly threw off the wooden board, and reached in. He grabbed for it twice, and leaned back in excitement, hitting his head on the bed board. The pain made him curl up immediately, but he was so dedicated that he told Wu Xie to grab it before it ran.

Wu Xie was afraid that after the rat received such a shock, it would really destroy the twist lock, and he wouldn’t be able to care at that point. Wu Xie stretched his hand out and groped for a while to try to force it out. Wu Xie didn’t expect to catch it, but suddenly, he held an object as thick as a bowl. It immediately started struggling, and his mind froze for a moment as he thought: 'shit, it isn’t a rat, but a snake?!'

Fatty was also shocked. This was Guangxi, after all, the one place in China that had the most poisonous snakes. Just when Wu Xie wanted to let go, Fatty rushed over to help him, grabbed his hand, and said, "Hold on, don’t let go!"

Wu Xie face was green at this point, so Fatty took his hand in both of his and pulled up abruptly, saying, "Damn it all, I’ll stew it for Agui later—shit! What is this?!"

Fatty let go, and Wu Xie saw that what he had lifted from the dark hole was actually a gray hand.

Wu Xie yelled and immediately threw it off, asking himself, what’s going on?! He saw the hand suddenly retract into the darkness, grab the iron box, and begin to pull. The action was so quick that it had all happened in a few seconds. Then, the hand went to break the boards surrounding it.

Both Fatty and Wu Xie were stunned, and it took a long time for Fatty to react before he eventually shouted, "Shit, I know what this is! It’s a robbery!" Wu Xie also thought someone was under the floor trying to steal the iron box.

Fatty immediately became angry and started cursing as he grabbed hold of the iron box and dragged it out of the dark hole. They saw that the wooden board on one side of the hole had been broken off, and the hand had entered through there, but the opening was too small to pull the box through.

As soon as the hand found that the box had been taken away, it immediately retreated back into the hole. Fatty immediately went up and grabbed the wrist, asking Wu Xie to help. Before he could reach down, the hand had already broken free and disappeared into the hole. Then,  Wu Xie heard a crash under the floor, signaling that the person had apparently crawled away.

Fatty climbed out from under the bed and shouted at Zhang Qiling, "Xiaoge, go outside and intercept him!"

By the time Wu Xie looked up, Zhang Qiling had already burst through the window.  Fatty came to his senses and said to Wu Xie, "Little Wu, watch the box!" As he said this, he stood up and rushed out, and Wu Xie heard him shout, "Xiaoge, flank left! I’ll go right! Flank left!"

Wu Xie grabbed the box and came out from under the bed, feeling as if his heart was going to jump out of his chest. 'What the hell’s going on here? What bastard did that hand belong to, and why was it so terrifying?  Shit, it scared the hell out of me.'

Wu Xie sat there gasping for a long time, unsure whether it was the hot, humid climate here making it hard to catch his breath, or something else. He pulled the box aside and heard Fatty outside shouting, "Who the fuck are you? You think you can escape?" The sound was getting farther and farther away as they continued to give chase.

Wu Xie took a few deep breaths to try to calm down when suddenly, he heard the sound of cracking wood under the bed. Wu Xie paused before suddenly thinking, 'shit, this isn’t good! Didn’t he leave? Wasn’t this supposed to be a “move the tiger away from the mountain” kind of situation?'

Looking under the bed, Wu Xie saw a man crawling towards him from the dark hole.

Chapter Text

Wu Xie first reaction was to run. He picked up the box and tried to run out, but it was so heavy that he couldn't lift it by himself and only managed to drag it a few steps. Wu Xie was frantic and nervous, unsure why the box was stuck on the floor and wouldn't move. He looked back and saw that the man had climbed out from under the bed. He was covered in mud, just like Wen-Jin back at the basin.

Wu Xie suddenly realized that it wasn't a zombie, but a person. He was terrified and didn't know what to do when he suddenly remembered the hoe Fatty had just played with. He immediately ran out, grabbed it, and rushed back in.

Upon entering, Wu Xie saw the man had already picked up the box and was stumbling towards him. He swung the hoe to try to hit him, but he turned and dodged. His elbow slammed into Wu Xie's back, almost making him fall to the floor in pain. Without looking back, he rushed out the door.

Although Wu Xie didn't fight often, he had the blood of youth flowing in him veins and was quite stubborn. Wu Xie was so furious that he grabbed the hoe and chased after him.

As soon as he went out the door, Wu Xie eyes lit upon Fatty squatting down, looking under the wooden building. The man was so strong and fast that he managed to stumble and run behind Fatty with the iron box in his arms. Wu Xie shouted to Fatty, "Stop him!"

Fatty didn't know what was going on yet and looked back at Wu Xie, so he shouted, "The box was stolen!" He reacted quickly and immediately grabbed the man's clothes.

The box was so heavy that the man suddenly lost his balance and fell to the ground. The box was thrown aside, and he immediately got up to grab it, but Fatty wasn't Wu Xie. How could it be so easy for this guy to succeed? Another shove kept him down, and Wu Xie rushed to the box and hugged it.

That was a very serious mistake. At that time, Wu Xie should have first helped Fatty subdue the man, since the box naturally wasn't in any danger. But the situation was too chaotic, and he didn't think about it. As a result, Fatty didn't hold him down, and when the man saw Wu Xie grabbing the box, he got up and ran.

Fatty shouted "He's getting away," and immediately ran after him. Wu Xie went to follow, only to find that the man was too fast. He rushed into the village and soon disappeared. The houses in the village crisscrossed and were connected by bluestone paths. It wasn't easy for locals to get lost, but they had no idea where he was going.

Fatty was gasping and wondered why a man had run out of the building. When he asked Wu Xie what was going on, and heard the story, he cursed and then let out a mournful sigh.

Wu Xie felt puzzled when he looked in the direction the man had disappeared in, and asked himself, 'who is this guy, and why did he suddenly appear to steal the iron box?'

They shouldn't have any rivals now, and not many people here knew about it. Was it just an ordinary thief? But this thief's technique was too strange.

As Fatty was in the middle of cussing up a storm, Zhang Qiling came over. He was the one that had told Fatty to go to this side to crouch in wait, but if he had been here instead, Wu Xie thought that guy wouldn't have had a chance of escaping.

They walked back to the house where the iron box had fallen into the mud and was completely covered in it. Fatty said, "Thank God this box didn't come apart; otherwise I really don't know what would've happened."

Wu Xie said: "Now it seems like we can't leave this thing here. I think we should take it back to Agui's and give him some money to help us. He should know what to do."

Fatty nodded and said, "Although the most dangerous place is usually the safest, it's still better to keep it near us." Without further ado, he moved to grab the box, and when his hand touched the seam, Wu Xie suddenly heard a "click" and the twist lock unexpectedly disconnected. The box fell to the ground and turned over, spilling the contents out.

As they were standing around baffled at the events that had just taken place, Fatty broke the lock on the old iron box he was holding. The box fell to the ground, turned over, and the contents all spilled out at once.

It all happened so fast that none of them had time to respond. The box was already on the ground, the lid was wide open, and a fist-sized object rolled out of it and stopped at Fatty's feet.

Zhang Qiling had said earlier that he had some vague memories of the box, and that they should never open it because it could be very dangerous. So as soon as the box fell to the ground, Wu Xie subconsciously raised his hand from where it had been resting on his waist and made a defensive move.

Fatty, not having any time to react, could only squeeze his eyes shut. The both of them stood there frozen, not daring to move.

Wu Xie thought it would explode or something, so he didn't have much time to think about it. He reflexively gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds, but nothing happened-there was no explosion, and no hidden weapons flew out.

Wu Xie opened his eyes carefully and looked at Fatty's feet. The thing that had rolled out looked like a piece of wood covered in bumps. Wu Xie had never seen it before, but it didn't seem to be dangerous. Fatty gradually relaxed and took a few steps towards it, and Wu Xie slowly put down his hand. Wu Xie was suspicious: 'Was Xiaoge wrong? Or was it because it was past its shelf life that it was no longer dangerous?'

When Wu Xie looked at Zhang Qiling, he wasn't showing any special expression, but he was obviously startled.

This kind of situation was like a firecracker misfiring- no one wanted to be the first to approach to see what was wrong. They all stood there frozen for a moment before Fatty, who had thought that he was doomed, leaned over. Wu Xie also followed and saw that the thing's shape was a bit like a gourd. It was about the size of a wide-mouthed cup, and the pimple-like pustules on the surface uncomfortably reminded Wu Xie of a toad's skin. On closer inspection, he found that this scabby "gourd" pustule was mixed with the luster of rusted metal, and actually looked like iron.

Fatty went to touch it with his hand, but Zhang Qiling stopped him. He grabbed a leaf from the side of the road, wrapped it around the "iron gourd", and then picked it up.

Based on how he handled the gourd, it really must have been made of heavy iron. The lumps seemed to have been corroded by a strong acid or had contained a large number of bubbles during casting, and the red and yellow pus spots were traces of rust. Even though this thing was a gourd-shaped iron lump, they could still make out some ancient faded patterns on it, which vaguely revealed that it was an antique.

Fatty looked at Zhang Qiling and mused, "What the hell? It looks like a cannonball. Or is it an ancient grenade?"

Wu Xie immediately shook his head: "Don't talk nonsense, would he bury a grenade under the bed?"

Zhang Qiling weighed and then sniffed it, before finally shaking his head. When Wu Xie asked him if he still felt like there was any danger, he didn't speak, but stared at the iron gourd with a strange look on his face. He paused for a moment, and then said, "This thing has only one layer of iron skin. The real thing is wrapped in an iron sheet."

Wu Xie paused: "What makes you say that?"

Zhang Qiling responded: "It's too light."

Fatty was surprised and said, "What the hell, did you weigh it?"

This wasn't surprising, as the average person handling antiques had to learn this craft. Anyone who had ever weighed pure iron or made moulds would know that the weight of a piece of iron was different from the average person's expectation. For an iron block the size of a pencil case, a person of average strength wouldn't even be able to hold it with two fingers.

Wu Xie said to Fatty, "The basic skills you used to become an antique dealer halfway through life aren't very good. You have to learn things like this."

Fatty snorted, "Why should I spend so much of my free time learning this? Wouldn't it be easier to buy an electronic scale?"

Wu Xie gave him a disdainful look, and then asked Zhang Qiling, "What could be wrapped in the iron? Do you have any thoughts or impressions?"

Zhan Qiling shook his head and Fatty said, "There used to be a kind of iron-clad gold. When transporting the gold, they covered it with iron sheets so it would be inconspicuous. But this iron sheet looks like it was cast, and its weight is light. There's definitely not gold inside."

Wu Xie hadn't heard of the 'iron-clad gold' he was talking about, but he did know that there was a Tibetan mastiff called iron-clad gold. Wu Xie grandpa had one once, but he couldn't keep it because he had misbehaved. He was later kicked by a cow in the village and died.

Wu Xie didn't know if Fatty was bullshitting, or if he had really seen it before, but what Wu Xie really cared about was the faded pattern. Since there was a pattern, then this thing had at least a decorative purpose and wasn't just a pure casting. It certainly had practical uses.

"Could it be a part of something?" Fatty asked. "For example, the feet of an incense burner, or the decorations on the wheels of a cart?"

Wu Xie didn't know much about iron and thought it might be possible. It rusted easily and was difficult to preserve in ancient tombs, so it was far less popular on the market than copper and porcelain. Plus, the value of ironware generally wasn't high, so most antique dealers weren't familiar with it and Wu Xie really had no clue.

But since it was an antique that was hidden under Zhang Qiling's bed, it must have an origin and be related to what he experienced in this village.

When Wu Xie thought of Fatty's idea yesterday that there might be a tomb near Yangjiao Mountain, he had a theory in his heart: Zhang Qiling may have been in Wen-Jin's archaeological team, and this "gourd" may be something they brought out of that tomb. But for some reason, Xiaoge hid the gourd; otherwise it would be too difficult to explain its origin.

Fatty frowned: "I guess that's possible. So, if Xiaoge was on guard when he hid it, I'm afraid that makes the situation very complicated."

There must have been a hostile force if he was on guard, which shows that what happened here wasn't as simple as Agui had said.

The three of them were silent for a moment, and Wu Xie felt a little uncomfortable and depressed. Luckily, they got more information here than Wu Xie had expected, but sadly, it could only give a rough outline of "an event" without more details.

Wen-Jin had appeared here when Agui was only seventeen or eighteen years old in the photo. Now, Agui must be in his early forties, so it was more than twenty years ago. That time was just before the Xisha incident, which meant that Wen-Jin appeared here not long before then. They didn't go to Xisha until after they had left here, but since Wu Xie didn't see anyone else in the photo, it was unclear whether Wen-Jin was following another team or came here with the Xisha archaeological team.

Zhang Qiling, as Ah Kun, had been tied up here by some Vietnamese. The timeframe must have been five or six years ago, with a 15-year gap between them, so what had he been doing these past 15 years? Wu Xie felt very troubled. With his skill, the Vietnamese definitely weren't worthy opponents, and even if the other side had guns, Wu Xie didn't think it would be a problem for Zhang Qiling to escape. 'Why was he tied up like a piglet? Was it true that his meeting with Chen Pei Ah Si was a coincidence? These were all questions with no answers.'

"Does the person who robbed us just now have something to do with this?" Fatty asked as he looked in the direction the man had disappeared in.

Remembering the incident, Wu Xie asked them, "Did you see his face clearly just now?"

"Fuck, that guy can run faster than a rabbit. Let alone seeing his face, I didn't even see his ass clearly. I only saw that he was unkempt and had a figure similar to yours before he disappeared."

Wu Xie asked himself: 'Who was that guy? We basically didn't attract any attention when we came here, so was this a thief who simply followed us, or an insider? The whole thing was shocking and made me feel a bit like we were being shadowed. If he wasn't a simple thief, then he must have something to do with this matter, which meant our present situation was a bit bad and we had to be on guard.'

"Let's ask Agui later. That man is a fount of knowledge, so maybe he knows something." Fatty said. "What now? We can't do anything about this iron gourd. Why don't we find a blacksmith and see if we can melt some of it?"

Wu Xie disagreed. The wisdom of the working class was infinite, and he knew there was a way to deal with this kind of thing- they could use sulfuric acid to dissolve the iron shell bit by bit. If you looked at the lumps, it was easy to assume that someone had already done this, but they had stopped before they succeeded for some reason.

Maybe it was Zhang Qiling. Wu Xie had a feeling that his dangerous impression of this thing came about when he dissolved the iron seal. At that time, he may have suddenly found some dangerous signs, which impressed him so much that he immediately stopped. Even though he had forgotten everything now, the impression was still in his mind, making him feel uneasy.

Of course, this was complete conjecture, even though Wu Xie felt that it was very possible.

Fatty was eager to try and said, "Sulfuric acid is easy to handle. I'll go to the fertilizer station and get some."

"Forget about that, let's go back first."
Just before Wu Xie had taken two steps, Zhang Qiling suddenly saw something and grabbed Wu Xie arm. When he saw the look in Zhang Qiling eyes, Wu Xie immediately felt that something was wrong. He followed Zhang Qiling line of sight and he was immediately stunned to see several villagers standing on the hillside above the building. Wu Xie didn't know when they had appeared, but they were looking at them with faces full of hatred.

Chapter Text

When Zhang Qiling grabbed Wu Xie, the heart of Wu Xie thumped, he grabbed Zhang Qiling hand and his first thought was: Since when were they standing there?

Wu Xie lived in a city and was used to looking down on everything. When he got here, he didn't want to pay attention to the mountains, so Wu Xie didn't have any impression of anyone here. If they had been up there since early in the morning, then they must have seen them climbing into the building, which wasn't good.

And looking at the expressions on a few of them, they seemed to be very bad. It was a cold wait-and-see feeling, like those expressions commoners had in the old black and white movies when they saw a traitor.

Wu Xie was a little overwhelmed and stopped to look at them. These people were all between forty and fifty years old, but the villagers lived a hard life that prematurely aged them, so their actual ages may be a little younger. Two men were carrying poles, as if they had just captured something from the mountain. None of them did anything and just stared at them.

Wu Xie wasn't popular in his hometown in Changsha and had experienced this kind of scene before. He knew that this expression meant that they were very wary of them, but weren't sure who they were. It appeared they might have seen all of their actions just now.

In a mountain village, one must never offend the local people; otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable. If it was a light offense, then one would be driven out. But if it was a heavy offense, then one would be directly taken to the police station. The fact that Brother Chu betrayed Chen Pei Ah Si on the way to Changbai Mountain made the case unclear, and Wu Xie didn't know if they were wanted criminals at this time. If they went to the police station and they checked the system, there was no guarantee that bigger problems wouldn't arise.

At this moment, climbing into the building again would just make them look guiltier. Fatty made several noises behind Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling, suggesting that they should go quickly and not look at them. This was a little problematic, since they had to be careful in case the people got angry and rushed down.

As a thief, Wu Xie felt a little darkness in his heart, but at this moment, his heart beat faster and he became tense, feeling as if a pressure was coming down from the mountain. But when he looked at the tall building, he felt that he couldn't walk away, even though he knew he couldn't stay either. It was like reading a novel and seeing the answer to the riddle coming to light, but the author was circling around. It was too painful.

Seeing that Wu Xie didn't move, Zhang Qiling grabbed once again Wu Xie's hand and whispered, "We'll come back in the evening. It's only a few hours away." He dragged Wu Xie back.

The three of them were tense and left as naturally as possible. After a long walk into the village, Wu Xie turned back and was relieved to see that the villagers didn't follow them.

This was a bit like when Wu Xie was a child, and Lao Yang and him went to the orchard to steal oranges. After stealing them, they happened to meet the owner. The two of them had oranges in their pockets, and the two boys were so scared that they pretended to be passing by. That was the kind of nervousness that made Wu Xie's feet unable to move, so he thought: 'It's funny, now of course, I wasn't as scared as I was when I was a child, but I still felt uncomfortable.'

Based on their memory, Wu Xie and the other two took several detours back to Agui's house, but he wasn't there. When his eldest daughter saw them while she was sweeping and asked why they came back so soon, Wu Xie said he couldn't stand how hot it was.

Fatty went straight back to the room and hid the iron box under the bed. Only then did they settle down and feel that the matter was over. Fatty said, "We've learned from our mistakes. We shouldn't be so impatient in the daytime. We should observe the environment first. At the same time, I think we have to take care of Agui since he's a local strongman. We have to pull him into the group. It's better to have someone to speak for us at a critical time."

Wu Xie heart said it's useless; he wouldn't wade into this muddy water. Moreover, there was a reason why he was so anxious. After today's events, any side effects may produce a butterfly effect, so it was better to be cautious.

Having said all that, Fatty went out to ask for water while Wu Xie thought about the photos he had yet to see. He felt hot and restless, so he lay down and forced himself to meditate. It didn't take long before he heard Fatty asking Agui's daughter where the mountain road behind the wooden building led to, and whether many people usually walked it. Agui's daughter said that it led to melon fields in the mountains. In summer, the watermelons were ripe, so people often went up the mountain to pick them. The old wooden building had been there for a long time and she had heard that an old woman had lived there before.

Wu Xie looked at Zhang Qiling and asked, "Old woman?" Did he live with an old woman before? He may have been locked up there as a sex slave during his fifteen year absence, which was rather tragic. Wu Xie was surprised, not knowing where such nasty ideas had come from. He had probably listened to too many of Fatty's dirty jokes.

The time span wasn't clear, however, and this could have happened before or after Zhang Qiling left.

After that, Fatty asked Agui's daughter about the unkempt man, and they discovered that there really was such a person. This madman had been here since she was born, but she didn't know who he was. People in the village called him "the son of Ah Yu", and it seemed like he was also a hunter before, but she didn't know why he went mad. The man lived in a shabby house on the mountain and sometimes came down to pick up some leftovers to eat. Now they hardly saw him and thought he might be too old to walk. Some village elders felt sorry for him and would often leave him food in the mountain pass and cover it with a jar. He would move the jar away at night and bring the food back.

Wu Xie was surprised when he heard this. The man he saw today ran like a bull and wasn't at all like an old man. Were the city dwellers not as good as the old madmen in the mountains?

It was possible that they didn't know his exact age and could only say that he had grown old. He may only be in his forties, but looked very old because he didn't eat or drink enough, and had been beaten by the wind and the rain. But in order to live in the mountains all year round, his physique must be different from ordinary people.

Fatty came in with a cup and said to Wu Xie."Did you hear that? It's watermelon season. There are too many people over there, so you have to hold your horses. It's not like being in the middle of nowhere where you can do whatever you want. Instead of taking that risk, we might as well wait a little bit. I think it's better for us to wait until after midnight."

Wu Xie thought it over, but couldn't agree. If he was really a madman, then his behavior was unpredictable, and there was no guarantee that he wouldn't climb back to check. It was no big deal for him to climb into an old abandoned house in the village, so who knew what he would do there. Wu Xie told them that he couldn't wait, and that he had to take a look around after lunch. Wu Xie would go in as soon as he could, so he could finally forget about this whole matter.

Fatty gave a wry smile and refused to talk to Wu Xie anymore, saying that it was up to him.

To make a long story short, after lunch, Zhang Qiling and Wu Xie approached the outside of the old house and found some old men sitting under the big tree at the door enjoying the cool shade.

The difference between a story and real life was that you could always speed up the pace of the story at critical times, but real life was always full of surprises. Wu Xie squatted under the tree on one side and waiting for the old men to leave until his forehead was sunburnt, but the old men kept talking happily.

It's hard for Wu Xie to describe the kind of anxiety stuck in his chest, but he didn't want to go back to be laughed at by Fatty.

"They are not going back," Zhang Qiling whispered.

"It seems so, the hot is killing me." Wu Xie whispered back, and for some reason he started trembling with fear.

Zhang Qiling noticed and he squatted close to Wu Xie, he grabbed Wu Xie's hand tightly trying to call him down. 

When Wu Xie felt the touch of Zhang Qiling, his heart calmed down and all his fears disappeared. Right now Wu Xie wanted to be in the protective arms of his lover, but now is not the right time for that.

Fatty saw that Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling hadn't come back for so long and thought that they had been caught.

Thanks to Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie had gradually calmed down. The sun shone brightly and there was a humid heat wave in the air, as all Wu Xie's anxiety came dripping out of his pores, he really had to admire Zhang Qiling. He still stayed firm and didn't show any irritation even though it was so hot, but he was still wet with sweat- even the cool-as-ice Xiaoge couldn't resist the big sun in Guangxi.

Since Zhang Qiling was so close to Wu Xie, he could see perfectly the sweat on Zhang Qiling's forehead. Wu Xie reached out his hand and touched Zhang Qiling's forehead making the man a little surprised. 

Is so hot that Wu Xie couldn't think very well, the only thing passing thru his mind is that he wants to kiss those lips of Zhang Qiling. Being taunted by his thoughts, Wu Xie brings his face closer to Zhang Qiling until their lips met.

The kiss was a small thouch of lips since Fatty came, his voice made Wu Xie get away from Zhang Qiling.

"What is happening here, did you guys kissed," Fatty teased Wu Xie but he didn't have the strength to refute him. Fatty snorted and didn't say anything anymore since after staying in Beijing for a long time, he couldn't get used to the hot and humid weather here. He felt very uncomfortable and said to Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling, "Come on, let's not wait anymore. Let's go for a walk and find a stream to soak in. Otherwise, I'll spoil."

There was a mountain stream outside the village that they saw when they first came here. It wasn't wide, but the water was very swift, and they thought it must be a good place to spend the summer. The only problem was, they didn't know how to get there from the village.

Wu Xie really couldn't stand it any longer. As soon as he heard Fatty's suggestion, he agreed and quickly got up and Zhang Qiling touched his lips then he got up too. 

The three asked several villagers along the way and they pointed them in the right direction. Fatty picked banana leaves to block his head and scolded the sun all the way out of the village.

The village was basically built adjacent to the stream, separated only by a stone beach. When it rained heavily, the water would overflow, and these stones acted as a buffer. 

The green water in the stream was calmer than when they saw it downstream, and when the three walked up to it, they finally felt cooler. Fatty takes off his clothes and went inside the water, Wu Xie felt that it was indecent to only wear briefs, so he went into the water in his shorts. The stream was a little warm in the sun, so he walked to the shade under a rock. 

Wu Xie thought that Zhang Qiling wouldn't come in, but he did and gets closer to Wu Xie. 

"Wu Xie," Zhang Qiling said his name attracting the attention of Wu Xie.

"Is something wrong?"

"You like me?"

Wu Xie knew that this would happen sooner or later, saying the truth is better than keep saying lies. "I don't know if you will believe me, but before you lost your memories we were a couple."

Wu Xie thought that Zhang Qiling wouldn't believe him, but he smiled with such a beautiful smile that made Wu Xie surprised. In Wu Xie's eyes, the smile of Zhang Qiling made him look more handsome and makes his heart thump.

"I always felt that Wu Xie is my world, so does this feelings and the strong thump of my heart are because I love you?"

Wu Xie smiled and nodded, while getting closer to Zhang Qiling, right now Fatty is not looking at them so Wu Xie gives Zhang Qiling a hug. They shared a hug full of love, right now the two felt like they are the only two people in the world. 

The two sat down, and after soaking for a moment, the summer heat disappeared completely, a leisurely and comfortable feeling came over them. As Fatty was playing with the water, Zhang Qiling started to dozed off on Wu Xie's shoulder.

Wu Xie touched Zhang Qiling forehead as he looked up at the village and could see that Zhang Qiling's tall building wasn't far away. Here was much more comfortable than waiting at Agui's house.

So Wu Xie laid his head a little on Zhang Qiling's, then immersed himself in the water, and closed his eyes.

Wu Xie didn't know how long he was lying down, but just when he was feeling a little sleepy, he suddenly heard someone calling him. Wu Xie woke up gradually, seeing that Zhang Qiling is still sleeping on his shoulder, he was going to go back to sleep but Fatty shouted as he splashed water at the two of them, "Wake up!"

The two stood up and saw in the distance smoke rising from somewhere in the village. When Wu Xie asked what was going on, Fatty said, "It seems like a house is on fire."

Wu Xie looked in that direction, which was where Zhang Qiling's building was located, and immediately he had a bad feeling.

Chapter Text

At this time, Wu Xie still had an ominous feeling, but he told himself that it was impossible to be such a coincidence. In this weather, the probability of the old wooden houses catching on fire was very high, but the ominous feeling in his heart gradually increased until it felt suffocating.

The closer Wu Xie got to the place where the fire was, the worse he felt, and when he rushed to the front, he could hardly believe the present situation. Wu Xie saw smoke billowing from Zhang Qiling's building. The fire was so fierce, and the heat wave was soaring so high into the sky that Wu Xie couldn’t get close at all. As soon as he saw it, he knew it was too late to save. The mountain behind the building was also set ablaze, and he saw that the bushes were blackened, and the fire was still spreading upward.

Villagers came from all directions and rushed to the mountain to extinguish the fire. They had experienced mountain fires before and knew that once a mountain burned, it was hard to imagine the terrible consequences, so it is absolutely right to stop the mountain fire first.

The source of the fire seemed to be on the mountain, and Zhang Qiling's building was at the foot of the mountain, so it just happened to be affected. Wu Xie stood there stunned and knew it was no coincidence.

The fire was too big. How long would it take them to get to the stream? Even if it were struck by lightning, it wouldn’t burn so fast, and there was a noticeably strong smell of kerosene in the air.

There were no fire hydrants here, so the only firefighting equipment was buckets. But there was a limited number of them, and the villagers used them to scoop water from water tanks, so by the time the mountain fire was extinguished, Zhang Qiling's house would have burned to the ground. Wu Xie was in a hurry to rush in, but Zhang Qiling grabbed him and said that there was no other way. It was too dangerous to go in and there was no need for Wu Xie to die here.

Wu Xie mind was in turmoil and to fell to his knees. At this moment, Zhang Qiling left his side and before Wu Xie could react, he saw Zhang Qiling rush to the front of the burning building and roll underneath.

Fatty and Wu Xie were shocked to see him rushing into the fire without protection. To do so would definitely result in severe burns, there was no doubt about it. It was impossible to say that you would be fine by avoiding the fire. The temperature at the center of the fire was as high as a thousand degrees Celsius, and you would be cooked in an instant.

Wu Xie panicked and wanted to go after Zhang Qiling, he and Fatty immediately rushed over and approached the house, but from five or six meters away, the hot waves rushed towards them. Wu Xie's hair immediately curled up and his eyebrows crackled. He gritted his teeth to resist the burning pain of his skin, then rushed to the side of the house, squatted down, and immediately found it impossible to enter. The high temperature inside gushed out like the breath of a fire dragon and Wu Xie could barely see the damp mud under the ground when he got down. Zhang Qiling was covered in the wet mud and climbing in.

It didn’t work to think about it carefully anymore. They couldn’t open their eyes because of the heat wave, so they had to retreat. The fireman next to them rushed up to hold them back.

As soon as Wu Xie was lifted up, he heard a loud noise from the fire. Then, Zhang Qiling rolled out from the building, covered in white smoke all over. He scrambled up and ran towards Wu Xie, and someone immediately went up and splashed water on him. Off to the side, someone said, "Crazy."

Wu Xie rushed over and saw that he was covered in mud from underneath the room. He didn’t know if he had been burned, but he could see several places on his left hand were all black and gray.

Worried by his lover Wu Xie gives him a hug, Fatty stared at them while Zhang Qiling touched Wu Xie back.

Wu Xie cursed: "You don’t want to fucking live?!" He stopped hugging Zhang Qiling, right now he's angry.

Fatty asked, "How is it?"

Zhang Qiling face was expressionless, but he coldly said, "It’s all burnt." He looked at the people who were busy fighting the fire. "It smelled of kerosene and even burned through the floor."

The meaning of this look was self-evident. Fatty also looked at the firemen and then looked at Wu Xie with a grimace: "Little Wu, there seems to be something wrong with this village."

Wu Xie didn’t have time to think about it as he looked at Zhang Qiling’s injury. Someone nearby shouted to him, "Take him to the village office to find a doctor. Burns can be large or small. This house is uninhabited, so don’t be a hero."

They found a bystander child to lead the way, and after taking Zhang Qiling to the village office, the child asked Wu Xie to stay while he called the doctor. Wu Xie remembered that he was still scared and couldn’t help blaming Zhang Qiling. Fatty told him not to be annoying, but he didn’t shut up until he was sure he was heard. Wu Xie was a little choked up and didn’t know what to say.

Zhang Qiling didn’t seem to care about the wound at all, and just stared blankly ahead. Not knowing what he was thinking, the atmosphere around them seemed frozen.

Wu Xie can’t describe this kind of depression. No one expected this kind of thing to happen, and if he had known earlier, he would have gone in for a look and run the risk of being caught and beaten on the spot. But it was too late to say anything now.

It took four hours to put out the fire and many people were burned. Soon a barefoot doctor came to treat the wounded with herbal medicine. Zhang Qiling’s examination was fine, probably because of the insulation of the mud. Although he had many burns, none of them were serious. Only his left hand was badly burned. Barefoot Doctor seemed to have seen strong winds and waves and wasn’t nervous. He slowly applied herbs to the burns, saying that as long as the dressing was changed regularly, there would be no scar. Mountain fires were frequent here in summer, and the villagers had a lot of experience in dealing with burns since ancient times.

The three of them didn’t speak, and when they went back to Agui’s house to wash, Wu Xie's eyebrows and hair were so burnt that they fell off: It was simply horrible.

Zhang Qiling was completely silent, and the room was full of the strange and unpleasant smell of herbs. Wu Xie blamed Fatty, saying that if he hadn’t said to come back first, they would have gone in and taken out the photos directly at that time.

Fatty became angry when he heard this and said, "How can you blame me? Since someone started the fire, then we must have been targeted by people long ago. The accident will happen sooner or later. This time it was an old house. If we saw the photos, then they might have burned us instead.  Moreover, in that situation, no one would dare to go in. You were too daring to climb into somebody else’s house in broad daylight."

Wu Xie know he had no right to sulk, and shouldn’t blame Fatty, but when he said that, Wu Xie was full of fire. He barely resisted the urge to quarrel with him and instead he hit his head against the wall a few times before easing up a little.

Fatty snorted and said to Wu Xie, "I don’t think we can do anything about it. I think the universe already had it planned out; otherwise we wouldn’t have been so unlucky.  I think the madman who stole the box may have been working for someone else, or the arsonist’s gang.  I think he made so much noise when he stole the box and deliberately knocked on the floor to attract our attention. He must have been trying to lure us out." He paused. "And his associates were supposed to be waiting outside. Once we went out and saw them, we would definitely not dare to go in again. And when we left, they’d set the house on fire… damn it, this must be the case."

It made sense, so Wu Xie nodded. In this case, they must have found them by accident and led them out in a hurry. If they had known Wu Xie's plan, they would have taken measures long ago and wouldn’t have been so eager and extreme.

If so, it was very likely that the arson was committed by the villagers who were watching them on the hillside at that time… but who were they? They had never met them before, and they shouldn’t know Wu Xie and the other two.

"They certainly don’t know what we’re looking for. If they knew we were looking for photos, they’d just need to take them away and burn them. They didn’t need to burn the whole house down." Fatty said, "But these people aren’t smart either since they showed their faces. I don’t believe we can do anything about them. Do you still remember what they looked like?"

Wu Xie had some vague impression, but he really couldn’t recognize them from such a distance. There would certainly be some difficulties in identifying anyone, so he couldn’t help but sigh.

If Zhang Qiling hadn’t suddenly remembered the box, they would have seen the photos directly and wouldn’t have experienced the present situation. But in this way, the box would had been buried under the scorched ruins and would never have emerged. Although mistakes were made, Wu Xie was somewhat relieved to think that they hadn’t completely failed. There was no other way, and as soon as the house burned down, he knew one thing: someone in this village must know something, and it wouldn’t be any old thing. Anyway, this was definitely a clue.

The only thing was, he didn’t know if those people would take any more action and decide to do something to them. Fatty said: "They won’t kill us; otherwise there’s no need to burn down the house when they can just do the deed.  However, we still need to be careful in the future."

Even so, Fatty was still a little uneasy. He went to Agui’s yard and took a few sickles back to hide under the bed to protect himself. He also took some cups and hung them on the doors and windows, so if either one moved, the cups would fall and make a noise.

Wu Xie felt uneasy and had a premonition that since someone was blocking them, something might happen when Agui helped them find the old guide. Someone didn’t want them to keep digging.

Zhang Qiling noticed that Wu Xie was uneasy, so he touched his lover shoulder and said to him. "I will protect you, I never let anything bad happen to you."

Hearing Zhang Qiling's words, Wu Xie calmed down a little, he softly touched Zhang Qiling hand and said. "Thank you for always being by my side." 

"Don't be so lovey-dovey infront of me," Fatty teased, but Wu Xie didn't wanted to argue with him.

For now on, they will be careful in everything they do, to asure they security.

Chapter Text

Apparently the mountain fire was finally put out, and according to Agui, it seemed to be caused by the too hot weather. Wu Xie didn’t know if that was how it really started, but mountain fires occurred here every summer. This was only the first time that it was so close to the village, but fortunately, it burned an abandoned house without much loss.

Wu Xie secretly scolded in his heart that he had a great loss, since all the clues Brother Chu told them about had disappeared. Now the only way was to force Brother Chu to talk, which certainly wouldn’t be easy, and would require coercive means, which he couldn’t accept. But it wasn’t completely impossible, so he wasn’t too depressed—as long as Brother Chu wasn’t burned.

After Wu Xie talked to Fatty, it appeared that they couldn’t stay here for long. If there was no special development after looking for the old guide, they may have to go back to Changsha, because there would be no point in staying here. The so-called Yangjiao Mountain tomb may have to be explored next time.

Fatty was also at a loss. Although he was reluctant to give up, he didn’t bring any tools and it wasn’t very realistic to go to Yangjiao Mountain. He still insisted on going to the mountains to take a look, however, so he finally decided to hold another discussion.

Wu Xie had been uneasy since then, always feeling that the matter with the old guide would certainly go wrong. He kept thinking of preparing for the worst, so that when the time came and something really happened, he would feel better.

To their surprise, things went very well with the old guide. After Agui came back, he told them that he had made an appointment, and they could find him at the old hunter’s house tomorrow.  The old man had a strange temper so Agui told him that they were government personnel. The old man may be more responsive if they didn’t reveal the truth.

Fatty didn’t look like a government official at first glance, so as soon as they started discussing it, Wu Xie told him not to go.  Fatty said that he would go to the fertilizer store to find a way to get some sulfuric acid and see if he could dissolve the "iron gourd" and see what was in it. Then, he would go to the burned ruins to see if he could dig something up.

Wu Xie told him it was good to split up, but he should be cautious and not make a move after the sulfuric acid was bought. He had to wait for Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling to come back and then they all think about it together since the "iron gourd" was still a little dangerous. Fatty readily promised, saying that he wasn’t a child.

After the discussion, they went to bed. Everyone were all quiet, each thinking their own thoughts. Some hours passed and Wu Xie could only sleep for one hour, then he couldn't fall asleep at all, he continued to be nervous about everything that happened. On the other side, Fatty is sleeping peacefully, and Zhang Qiling is not on his bed. Seeing that Zhang Qiling is not inside the room, Wu Xie decided to go out to search for his lover.

He didn't have to walk a long distance, since Zhang Qiling was just outside of The room. "Xiaoge," Wu Xie said softly.

"Wu Xie," Zhang Qiling looks behind him. "You can't sleep?" He asked walking closer to Wu Xie.

"Everything that happened won't leave my mind," Wu Xie looked at the sky. "Maybe if Xiaoge sleeps by my side, I would be able to sleep peacefully." He looks at Xiaoge with a smile on his face.

When Xiaoge sees Wu Xie smile, he smiled too. "Let's go inside and sleep together." Zhang Qiling offers his hand to Wu Xie, he grabs it without thinking twice. Together they entered the room, Wu Xie lied on the bed first and then Zhang Qiling, he lied close to Wu Xie wrapping his arms around him. "Good night," Zhang Qiling gives Wu Xie a kiss on the forehead.

Every time Zhang Qiling is close to Wu Xie, makes him forget about all of his fears and he always feel safe.

When the morning came, Fatty split up. Zhang Qiling and Wu Xie were led by Agui to find the old hunter while Fatty headed straight for the fertilizer store.

Wu Xie didn’t think anything would go wrong, but the old man stood them up and they were told that he had gone to the mountain last night and hadn’t come back yet.

When the hunter hunted, he wandered all over the mountain and there would be no trace at all. Wu Xie said to himself, 'what’s going on? Why did you suddenly enter the mountain? Should I have expected this?'

The old man’s son was also a little embarrassed and said that the old man was confused. It was two years ago when he suddenly started to act a little abnormal, entering the mountain from time to time without notice. The son didn’t know what to do since the old man didn’t listen to anyone and just left, regardless of whether important things were happening the next day. Looking at the shotgun still hanging on the wall, it was clear he wasn’t out hunting and would come back later.

Wu Xie told to himself that there was nothing he could do but wait. But as soon as they sat down at the house, another man came in through the door and asked, "Is Father Pan Ma here?"

Father Pan Ma was what the old guide called himself here, and it seemed like Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling weren’t the only ones looking for him. To Wu Xie's surprise, this man spoke with a Beijing accent. He looked and saw a short, middle-aged man coming in. He felt a little strange when he saw his face. The man had a fat head and big ears, but he was neat and tanned, though there was no sign he did manual work.

As Father Pan Ma’s son immediately greeted him, Agui said to Wu Xie, "This is Father Pan Ma’s distant nephew. I heard he’s big money."

Wu Xie listened to his accent, noticing the pure Beijing dialect, and thought that "distant relatives" was quite right.

The middle-aged man seemed to know this place very well and went straight into the courtyard without hesitation.  He handed a cigarette to his cousin, saw Wu Xie, looked puzzled, and asked, "You have guests?"

The old man’s son said in Mandarin with a strong accent: "Yes, he is also looking for my dad. These two are from the government…"

The middle-aged man seemed uninterested in this and immediately interrupted him and asked, "Where’s Uncle?"

The old man’s son was embarrassed and repeated the story about his father’s whereabouts. The middle-aged man gave a snort and nodded, "What does Uncle mean by this? If he’s not here, I’ll be beaten. How can I face my boss?" He looked at Wu Xie and said, "Is your father too short on money and looking for another customer to deceive me?"

Father Pan Ma’s son was busy denying it, saying that they were really members of the government looking for his dad.

The middle-aged man looked at them again and walked up with a skeptical look: "Which division do you belong to? I know all the people in this town, why haven’t I seen you?"

This was a bit rude. Wu Xie looked up at him, thinking that it wasn’t easy to answer, before saying, "We’re from the province, wanting to talk to Father Pan Ma for an interview."

"From the province?" He looked at Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling suspiciously, but seeing that they were really like government agents, he muttered, turned to Father Pan Ma’s son and said, "Well then, can you persuade your father that my boss’s price isn’t low, and there’s no use in you keeping that stuff?  Don’t be stubborn. It’s a good deal to sell it. It would be nice for the old man to enjoy a few years of happiness."

His son kept nodding.

The middle-aged man added, "You have guests. It’s not good for me to stay here, so I’ll leave first." He smiled again, "When you’re done, I’ll take you to see the sites. Grab some snacks and find me to drink in the evening. I’ll go first."

With that, he went out of the yard without looking back, and left quickly.

Looking puzzled, Wu Xie asked Father Pan Ma’s son who he was and what he wanted to do.

Pan Ma’s son was relieved to see him go away. Sighing, he said that—that man was one of their distant relatives, Pan Ma’s nephew and his cousin. He was a local ruffian and hooligan, who had been living in Beijing for a long time. They had long since stopped seeing each other, so Pan Ma’s son didn’t know which boss he was with recently. He went to Guangxi to collect antiques and asked him to introduce him to people. Pan Ma’s son was very familiar with him and they dared not offend him.

Wu Xie asked, "Listening to him, it seems he’s taken a fancy to something your family has and wants to take it away. Do you have any family treasures?"

"zhoudu Mountain, it’s the mountain pass in front of Yangjiao Mountain. It takes half a day to get there." Agui answered, and then said to them, "You go back first, I have to go and see." He quickly followed behind the others.

 ZhangQiling looked calm and undisturbed, but he immediately went after Agui. Wu Xie quickly followed him, thinking that there was something strange at foot, and they needed to understand what it was.

Chapter Text

Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling wanted to help them search the mountain, but Agui didn't initially agree, and after discussing it for a while, they ended up following along anyways. Agui ended up asking his youngest daughter, Yun Cai, to follow Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling to keep them from getting separated. The villagers gathered about twenty people, and with torches and flashlights, they followed the hunting dogs to Shuiniutou Gouzi.

It was dark along the mountain road as they called Father Pan Ma's name and had the hounds smell the clothes that had been found.

The roads weren't difficult to walk since the forest here had been cut down before, but there had been a lot of rain recently, so there were many puddles on the mountain full of leeches. They walked all the way to Baolin District, where the road became more difficult to walk, but these mountaineers were all hunters with rich experience, so it wasn't difficult for them. And for Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling in particular, these kind of mountain roads were like a walk in the park compared to Tamutuo. In this manner, the search party walked to the depths of the mountain.

As Wu Xie walked along, he asked Yun Cai what the situation was with Shuiniutou Gouzi, and whether Father Pan Ma would be in any danger.

Yun Cai answered, "There's the boundary line between Dabao Forest Region and the forest protection area of our village. Yangjiao Mountain is in Dabao Forest Region, Zhoudu Mountain is in the forest protection area, and Shuiniutou Gouzi is in the middle. Behind Yangjiao Mountain are deep mountains and forests. People in the forest set up a sign at the mountain pass telling us not to go in, so we usually don't go to Yangjiao Mountain. Besides the old hunters, we haven't heard of anyone going into the forest behind Yangjiao Mountain."

Agui piped up from behind Wu Xie, "I'm afraid the only one in the village who knows Yangjiao Mountain best is Father Pan Ma. It's said that only ancient Vietnamese merchants dared to walk there in the past. In ancient times, Vietnamese jade traders traveled through the forest for a month to sell jade in order to escape customs duties. I don't know how many people are buried in the depths of these mountains."

Jade trading was the most profitable, cruel, and mysterious commercial trade on the ancient Sino-Vietnamese border. Wu Xie had heard of the terrible struggle between Vietnam and Burmese jade gangs, and overnight poverty and wealth were more common than usual here. Under the huge benefit of ten million yuan, human nature would rear its ugly head.

Agui said that they weren't far from the place where jade trading was most popular. Jade merchants from Banai to Guangxi all did small business with some of the gangs in Guangdong. They were the most ruthless group of jade traders, so they were also extremely vicious. It was especially prevalent in the Qing Dynasty, when Vietnamese businessmen and bandits working in groups created problems for the locals.

It was just before midnight when they reached the ditch. The man who found the bloodstained garment pointed to a tree and said that the garment was found in the tree. He first saw blood stains on the trunk and looked up, finding the garment. At first, he thought it was a night owl killed by a wild cat, but later he found that wasn't the case.

The flashlight shone on the tree. The copper flashlight had little lighting power, but it was clear that there was nothing else on the tree. It was obvious that Father Pan Ma had climbed up there and left the bloodstained garment behind.

Pan Ma was nearly eighty years old, and although he used to be a master tree climber, he wouldn't climb a tree for no reason. Obviously, he had encountered some danger. When Wu Xie asked Yun Cai what kind of beasts were here, she said that there had been talk of tigers a long time ago. Now, the strongest thing in the mountains was probably leopards.

Hearing that, Wu Xie comforted himself that tigers were definitely out of the question now. But leopards were good climbers, so they would be in trouble if there were really any present. Besides, leopards had a habit of hanging food on trees and hiding it, so maybe Pan Ma had already been killed.

But Yun Cai added that leopards were deep in the mountains, and since they weren't deep enough, the probability of encountering them was too small. Father Pan Ma didn't bring a gun, so why would he go so deep into the mountain?

Wu Xie thought of the plot of soldier Zhang Jia hiding the captured pistol in the bird's nest and told himself that Father Pan Ma had also learned this trick, but there was no bird's nest in the tree.

They searched around the tree for a moment, but found nothing besides some small traces of blood leading in several directions. This was where the dogs they brought with them came in handy. The hunters were all armed with guns, and after they loaded the bullets, they dispersed in different directions to try to find any clues. Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling followed Agui all the way to Yangjiao Mountain.

Shuiniutou Gouzi was so long and deep that no one had ever reached the end. The middle part of the valley was the mountain pass where Yangjiao Mountain met Zhoudu Mountain, and it looked like a tropical forest. It felt very similar to Tamutuo and made Wu Xie uncomfortable. He kept hearing a "hehehe" sound and broke out in a cold sweat, but there was no way around it. He had to bite the bullet and follow.

The hunting dogs were quite fierce and stood taller than him, and although they were all mongrels, they were well trained. They soon caught a scent and led them all the way to the depths of the valley.

Nobody spoke the entire way. The dogs seemed to find their target around midnight, when the crescent moon was over their heads, and they stopped near the Yangjiao Mountain Pass. It was a slope on the mountainside, and because of landslides, the trees were very thin, the slope was very steep, and the soil was wet and soft as snow. They used branches as crutches to keep their balance, and when they occasionally stepped on the wrong spot, whole pieces of mud slid down.

The hounds pulled them forward and half-crawled under a tree before they stopped and barked at a large piece of grass behind the tree.

Yun Cai was a little scared, and even Wu xie's heart was stuck in his throat. If Father Pan Ma had met a leopard, then whatever was in the grass may be horrible.

Agui stepped forward and poked through the grass with a branch. Under the flashlight, he found that there was no body inside, only a big stone. When Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling came over, they found that it was a fragment of a stone tablet, completely eroded after so many years of wind and rain.

Agui and the others were searching through the waist-high weeds all around, when a hunter suddenly cried out and appeared to have shrunk.

When they rushed over to help, they saw a big pit hidden in the grass, as if it had been washed out by rain. There was mud in the pit, Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling looked at each other with racing hearts when they saw the bottom. A few pieces of rotten wood were faintly visible in the pit, completely covered in mud. Looking at the shape, Wu Xie could basically confirm that it was a coffin that had been torn to pieces.

This was a shabby tomb that had been washed out by the rain.

As the moonlight shone pale on the mountainside, nothing could be seen around it. But all kinds of strange sounds could be heard from the deep forest in the valley under the slope. The pit shocked Agui and the others. Mountain people were superstitious and always thought it was unlucky to see a coffin, so they all looked at each other. Agui seemed at a loss and muttered to himself, "When you see a coffin in the middle of the night, go back and wash your eyes."

Another man looked down and asked, "Whose grave is this, and why would they put it so deep in the mountain?"

No one answered him, and Yun Cai hid behind Zhang Qiling in fear. Seeing that the young woman is so close to Xiaoge, that made Wu Xie angry, but he could not show it in a time like this. He has to remain calm, or else his behavior could cause problems.

To not think about it, Wu Xie thought about the grave, he was sure that this was a barren grave, and not the tomb of a large family. It must be from the Ming or Qing dynasties, because it was impossible for a coffin of this quality to be preserved up to now in an area so abundant in rainwater. Looking at the grass growing out of the mud in the coffin, showed that the coffin had been exposed to the elements for at least several years, and the bones inside must have been destroyed.

The pit wasn't big, but they couldn't find any trace of Father Pan Ma in it even if they used a flashlight. He definitely wasn't here, but Wu Xie felt that this may be the place where the old bat had been hiding things, because it was really suitable for such things. The iron piece Father Pan Ma's son had mentioned may be down there.

The dogs were still barking, which made the surrounding people irritated. Agui pulled them away and let them wander around, and then picked up a branch and rummaged inside the coffin.

Because the villagers were superstitious, they didn't dare go down into the pit, but the dogs' reaction told them that there must be something down there. But it was certainly impossible for them to find it like this.

Wu Xie looked at the surrounding mountains. Even a person who only knew the basics of Feng Shui could see that it definitely wasn't suitable for burial. This was a mountain pass, where all the water on the mountain would converge, so the coffin would be moldy within a few days. This tomb couldn't be Fatty's big tomb in Yangjiao Mountain, but only an ordinary barren mountain tomb. It shouldn't be dangerous, so Wu Xie told Agui not to bother. While Zhang Qiling and Wu Xie jumped into the pit to dig it up.

Wu Xie was familiar with robbers' holes- not to mention opening coffins- and Zhang Qiling was also familiar with this kind of thing, but Agui was very surprised. He felt that city people like them were too daring, and Yun Cai looked at Wu Xie with an overwhelmingly eager expression.

The two of them went down into the pit in tandem. Since the pit was on the slope, one side of the wall was very short while the other side was high. They could see the broken wall formed by the collapsed slope, and half of the coffin was embedded in there. It wasn't small, and the residual paint on it showed that it was an old black wooden coffin. The mud sunken into the bottom of the tomb was half a foot deep, which meant either the soil here was sinking, or the old coffin was extremely heavy.

This method of burial wasn't something ordinary people could afford either, and the coffin looked like it may have been the comprador of the ruler here before. The inside of the tomb was badly broken and completely covered in mud.

Wu Xie don't know if he was infected by Fatty's usual excitement, but his heart began to beat faster when he saw the coffin. He told himself that he had to behave like a layman at this time; otherwise Agui and the others would easily start to doubt him.

Zhang Qiling took the flashlight and poked through the weeds. After only one look, they saw some bloody handprints on the inconspicuous part of the coffin. Zhang Qiling asked Wu Xie to hold the light for him as he stretched out his hand to trace it. The handprint on the coffin must have occurred when Father Pan Ma bent over to balance his body. Zhang Qiling also squatted down and saw that there was a crack in the coffin below. He didn't hesitate and reached directly into the crack and began to dig in the mud.

Wu Xie felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise as he listened to the noise of the sludge being stirred, but Zhang Qiling had only moved a few handfuls aside before he retracted his hand. He was holding a chunk of mud, and when he wiped the mud off, they found that it was a plastic bag with blood on it. Zhang Qiling shook it a few times and found that the plastic bag was empty.

"How did this happen?" Wu Xie wondered, "Where's the thing?"

"The blood is fresh. He took it away." Zhang Qiling looked around and said indifferently, "Not long ago, he must be nearby."

"So, he came here to take something out after he was injured?" Wu Xie breathed a sigh of relief. The distance from the place where he was injured to here was quite far, so his injury must not have been too bad if he could walk.

Zhang Qiling touched it again, but didn't find anything. 

"Let's go back up." Wu Xie said, but Xiaoge grabbed his arm, "Is something wrong Xiaoge?"

He was not sure why he grabbed Wu Xie's arm, it was like he wanted to stay alone together with him some more time, but right now is not a good time for that. They have to go back up, he knows that, even so Zhang Qiling gave Wu Xie a small kiss on the lips.

Leaving Wu Xie confused and with a red face, Zhang Qiling climbed up and told Agui about the situation while Wu Xie climbed back up too. An old hunter without a gun, although tough and experienced, could never escape the attack of a leopard. And oddly enough, why did he come here after being injured? He should have returned to the village immediately. He had lost so much blood along the way so what was his reason for coming to take away this iron piece? Did he think it was dangerous to leave it here?

The people called the dogs back and split up to look around, using the ancient grave as their focal point. One group of people went up the mountain while another followed the slope. As Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling followed Agui and Yun Cai to the bottom of the valley, Wu Xie asked her, "Apart from leopards, what else in the woods can attack people?"

Yun Cai said that there used to be a lot of pythons, but they had all been eaten up now, and she hadn't seen them for a long time. If their were talking about animals that attacked people, it could be wild boars, but they were timid and only attacked people when provoked. Father Pan Ma was experienced and wouldn't provoke a wild boar without weapons.

What she said was reasonable, but Wu Xie still couldn't figure out why Father Pan Ma would come here to remove that thing. At this time, he wondered vaguely if maybe the danger Father Pan Ma had encountered wasn't an animal, but the mysterious person that had burned down the house?

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard a sharp bark come from one of the other groups in the distance.

Chapter Text

As soon as they immediately stopped and looked back, someone gave a shout of surprise.

The sound was like a gunshot, but they could only see the chaos over there and didn’t know what had happened. All of them froze for a moment, and then immediately ran to the place where the shout had come from.

Not far off, the dogs were barking into the shadows of the trees, but Wu Xie couldn’t see what it was. Agui asked: "What’s the matter?"

"Be careful! There’s something in the grass!" The man in front shouted. As soon as he said that, there was movement in the woods, as if something was passing through the bushes quickly. The movement was very big, and it seemed to be a large animal.

Agui picked up his gun and fired a shot, but he couldn’t see where the target was. The thunder-like gunshot startled all the birds in the distance, and the animal ran wildly as it stayed hidden in the darkness.

They rushed over to the group, and several people who had been searching on the mountain rushed over too. When the flashlights swept around the woods, and only showed the bushes shaking everywhere, Agui immediately shouted, "Let the dogs go!"

A few hunters whistled, and the hounds rushed out, their momentum completely different from that of pet dogs in the city. It quickly became chaotic, as the bushes were trampled, and the dogs incessantly barked. Agui and the others immediately followed. A few of those who had hunting experience shouted a few times in the local dialect, then scattered to follow the dogs that ran into the woods.

Wu xie wanted to follow, but Agui turned back and shouted at Yun Cai. She stopped Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling, told them not to follow, saying that they couldn’t take care of them. A hunter couldn’t shoot randomly if he was blind in the dark, and the beast might hurt people if it was cornered. Beasts– especially leopards– were very fierce, and could cause serious injuries if caught, so they had to be very careful. And since they were inexperienced, it was easy to have an accident. Besides, Wu Xie didn’t know how to hunt and had no idea how to help in this case.

He didn’t want to listen, of course, because even though he didn’t have the skills, would Zhang Qiling give them trouble? After taking a few steps forward, however, he found that what she said was another matter.

The three hounds were well trained, and formed a half-circle, rushing at the thing. Seeing that it was blocked, it immediately turned around and ran, followed closely by several hunters. Dogs and people worked in tandem as they formed an encirclement.  This required everyone in the circle to have experience; otherwise the prey may find a point to break through and escape.

Agui and the others kept shouting, so that the prey would be confused and unable to pick a direction to flee to. It could only go back and forth in the encirclement, as the hunters raised their shotguns and closed in. This was how slightly larger animals like wild boar were hunted, and Wu Xie had seen similar situations in his hometown before.

He hadn’t seen the reality of hunting for so long and watched with bated breath as Agui and his team got closer and closer. The prey was soon within range of their shotguns, but it kept moving and the flashlights couldn’t lock onto it. The hunting dogs here were all medium-sized dogs, most of which were used to hunt small animals such as pheasants and hares, so they didn’t dare rush up. If they were the big dogs of the northern Borzoi, however, they would have rushed up to fight even if it was one against three.

After a long delay, Agui still didn’t shoot. Common prey would make mistakes at this time and would suddenly rush to a certain direction. Once it approached, the prepared hunter would be sure to shoot at close range. After that, the hunting dog would chase after it and it wouldn’t be able to escape. But instead of breaking through immediately, this prey gradually calmed down, lurking in the grass and not knowing where to hide. In this way, Agui and the others dared not approach.

Wu Xie looked at them in surprise and fiercely thought, look at this guest-turned-host. What is this cunning thing, is it a big fox?

But how many foxes would attack people? Was this the Schwarzenegger of all foxes?

Agui took a few unsure shots, but completely missed. These hunters were not the mountain spirits who had lived in the mountains all their lives. They lacked some experience and had no good methods, so they shouted at Yun Cai to throw stones at it in order to lure out their prey. Wu Xie had just picked up a stone and was about to throw it, when Zhang Qiling grabbed him. Wu Xie looked up at him and found that he didn’t know when his face had changed. Instead of looking at the hunting grounds, he looked behind Agui and cried, "Watch your back!"

Wu Xie followed his gaze and found a ripple in the grass behind Agui, which seemed as if it had been blown by the wind. But there was no wind around, and something in the grass was gradually moving closer to Agui.

Agui immediately turned back and the ripples stopped.

"What is it?" Wu Xie wondered aloud, “"Is there another one?"

"No." Zhang Qiling said coldly, looking around. Wu Xie swept his flashlight around and found several strange ripples in the grass far away, heading towards them.

When had the hunters here ever seen such a scene? One by one, they stood there gaping, but Yun Cai was the first to react and immediately whistled to call the dogs back.

When Wu Xie shouted for the others to gather around, a few listened and looked around carefully. They saw that the ripples appeared and disappeared like waves in the grass.

The three hounds were more aware of the strange situation than they were, barking incessantly and acting agitated. Several ripples gradually approached; the movements irregular. Although Wu Xie wasn’t afraid, he was inevitably nervous and felt his heart beating like a drum.

"Come over here." Agui said to Yun Cai, also unsure of what was going on.

But it was true that the mountain people were wild and fierce, and none of them were afraid. A few of them picked up their guns, not worried about them at all. Wu Xie picked up a stone to use as a weapon, looked around, and said, "There’s too much grass here. Let’s go back to the grave on the hillside."

A few of them immediately set off towards the mountain, being sure to stay on guard. Unexpectedly, the ripples that immediately surrounded them disappeared when they moved and ended up more than thirty meters away. They had almost no time to hesitate, so went straight up the slope without stopping.

Several men went up first, but Yun Cai twisted her foot on the wet mountain mud and slipped down several meters. Wu Xie tried to pull her up, but his feet also slipped, and the mud collapsed.

Zhang Qiling and Agui stopped to pull Wu Xie up, and the distance between the teams increased to several meters. After he was pulled up, he went to look for Yun Cai. 

The weeds on the hillside were so dense that they were like curtains, and it was at this time that Wu Xie heard the sound of grass stalks being crushed all around. It was very dense here, and his heart was suddenly flooded with intense anxiety. He broke out in cold sweat and his legs refused to listen to him, but he gritted his teeth and parted the grass. Wu Xie found Yun Cai, but she had sprained her ankle and was starting to tear up because of the pain. He finally managed to pull her to the hillside, but the mud over there had collapsed into a pit. Wu Xie pushed her little, and Zhang Qiling pulled her up with one hand.

As Wu Xie tried several times to climb up, he found that he was too heavy. If no one pushed him from behind, the mud would collapse from his weight, so he tried to go around the edge. Before he took a few steps, the mud at his feet collapsed again and he fell several meters down the hillside. Struggling to get up, he heard Agui shout from above, "Run away! Run away!"

After hearing the note of panic in his voice, Wu Xie instinctively knew what he must have seen. He immediately moved to the left and heard Agui shouting, "No! Not that way!" There was a commotion in the grass in front of Wu Xie, and then he saw a calf-sized animal with a white forehead emerge. It was like a leopard, but not, and it was poking its upper body out of the grass. With a cold light in its two green eyes, and a face with ferocious eyebrows, it looked like a fierce demon in Peking Opera facial makeup.

As soon as he looked at it, he was surprised to know what it was— a lynx.

A lynx is a kind of big cat, smaller than a leopard and much bigger than a cat. The face is like a monster, with an evil and poisonous aura emitting from it. The most obvious difference between a lynx and a leopard is that the lynx has two long thick hairs on its ears, like the flower plumes you’d see in Beijing opera.

This animal has a very high IQ, and although it likes to live alone, it also hunts together when food is scarce. It’s the only feline besides lions that can hunt together in groups. In Tibet, large lynxes are called “forest monsters” and are said to fetch young women back to their nests to mate with. But they were almost extinct in modern times because of their prized fur, so how could one appear in Guangxi where poaching was so serious?

If it was a lynx, though, then that would explain why Father Pan Ma was attacked and didn’t die. Lynxes, like cats, prefer to kill their prey after playing with it. And their character is extremely cautious, so they don’t easily engage in confrontations.

In the blink of an eye, an even bigger lynx poked its head out of the grass on the other side of Wu Xie. At the same time, mud fell from above his head and Zhang Qiling came sliding to his side, Agui’s hunting knife in his hand. He immediately grabbed Wu Xie after coming down and said firmly "Step on my back."

Oh, this is too pitiful. Wu Xie didn’t immediately react.

"Come up!" Agui shouted from above, face dripping with cold sweat.

Cats like to attack their prey’s throat the most, and go in for the kill when they strike, so Wu Xie shrunk his neck and said in his heart, I’m not tasty at all. When he grabbed the mud and stepped on Zhang Qiling’s shoulder, he jerked up and sent Wu Xie flying. Agui took hold of his hand, and his legs kicked wildly as he tried to gain a foothold on the hillside. Wu Xie suddenly heard a loud cry from Yun Cai, and a "giant cat" sprang up from the grass below. When it jumped on the hillside to gain leverage, Wu Xie saw it land on the splash of mud flowers, almost flying in front of him like a whirlwind.

Agui reflexively released his hand, and he fell down and was bitten mid-air.

Fortunately, the lynx was still too small to push Wu Xie directly to the ground. He fell into the grass and rolled down several meters. Then, he gave it a good kick and managed to fling it off. When he got up, Wu Xie saw that his shoulder had almost been bitten through.

Almost all of the grass around him was moving, and the one he had kicked off had just landed on its feet and resumed its attacking posture. It quickly swooped down on him again.

There was no time to fear. The excursions he had been on in recent years made his survival instincts strong, so when he was knocked down, Wu Xie protected his throat and simply turned over and rolled down the hillside.

The experience was really disorienting, and after climbing up, he stumbled and ran. Agui and the others behind him had already fired their guns. Wu Xie couldn’t tell the direction clearly and rushed deep into the valley. He heard a gust of wind come within a few meters of his back and knew it was coming. He absolutely couldn’t leave his back exposed like that since his skull would be directly bitten through, so he immediately turned around.

Almost as soon as he did, he saw a black shadow chasing him like a thunderbolt. Wu Xie couldn’t estimate the speed at all, and it reached him in the blink of an eye. His heart stopped as he was tackled this time, and he had absolutely no time to defend himself. He could only close his eyes and wait for death.

Wu Xie eyes hadn’t completely closed, when suddenly, the grass beside his parted. Then, there was a flash of cold light, and a figure jumped out of the grass like lightning and hugged the ferocious shadow.

The two shadows crashed into each other and ended up far away. Wu Xie stood there and couldn’t react at all, as if he were dreaming. He only heard the roars and groans of the lynx, and saw the grass chaotically moving.

Wu Xie don’t know how long it was before the grass quieted down, and a shadow stood up. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was the figure that had come out on top. In the moonlight, he found that it was a thin, strange old man who was covered in blood and holding a Yao Miao hunting knife in his hand. He carried the big lynx on his back, and it seemed to have breathed its last breath.

He walked up to Wu Xie and appeared surprised to see him, asking something in the local dialect. Wu Xie didn’t know what he said, but he shook his head subconsciously and thought, who is this old grandpa? In the next second, he saw a more surprising scene—the old man unexpectedly had a black Qilin on his body.

The Qilin was stepping on fire and raging winds, was exactly the same as Zhang Qiling's.

Chapter Text

The old man was very thin- even thinner than the fat lynx on his shoulders- but if you looked closely, you could see that his atrophied muscles were still as strong as iron bars, and you could imagine how magnificent they were in their prime. The old man's eyes sparkled in the moonlight, giving off an indescribable feeling.

He put the hunting knife back into the sheath at his waist, looked at Wu Xie again, moved the lynx to his other shoulder, and then told him in the local dialect to follow him.

The grass was still moving, but the old man turned a blind eye and carried the lynx all the way forward. The movement around them gradually faded away, and they could hear their plaintive cries coming from the depths of the forest. It appeared that this group of lynxes was a temporary hunting group, and the one killed was probably the strongest. It must have been responsible for the final culling, but when it died, the hunting group disintegrated. Lynxes were very cautious by nature and would never take a second risk.

The old man shouted something and walked in the direction of the ancient tomb. The flashlights flickered, but they were still fixed on the mountain. Obviously Agui wasn't very nice and didn't come down to save Wu Xie.

There was only a single flashlight shining in their direction, and when they called out a greeting, they saw Zhang Qiling looking a little anxious. He seemed relieved to see that Wu Xie was alright, and then he walked closer to him giving him a hug.

Zhang Qiling's hands were full of blood and Agui's hunting knife was stuck in his waistband. At first his eyes only saw Wu Xie, but then saw the old man, the two looked at each other. Zhang Qiling was shocked when he saw the old man's tattoo, but the old man didn't seem to pay attention to him and went straight past him.

Wu Xie said to himself, what a cool old man. Since he has Zhang Qiling's demeanor, could this guy be his dad?

Zhang Qiling wanted to go up and talk, but Wu Xie stopped him and said that the old man wasn't all there. It was useless to ask him since he obviously didn't understand the language, so they had to head back first.

Passing by the place where Wu Xie fell, he saw the body of a lynx on the ground, its neck apparently broken by Zhang Qiling. When the old man motioned to lift it up, Xiaoge carried the body on his shoulder, and they climbed up the hillside together. The men immediately ran up and looked surprised when they saw the old man.

The old man talked with them in the local dialect, and Wu Xie couldn't understand it at all, so he secretly asked Yun Cai, who is this old man?

She said: "Who else can it be? He's Father Pan Ma, the man you're looking for."

"Isn't he just a guide?" Wu Xie was surprised, but he remembered what he had been told before about Father Pan Ma being the best hunter. Besides him, who else could kill such a big lynx with his bare hands at such an age? It was well known that a single lynx could kill a lone Tibetan wolf. Cats are mammalian predators that have evolved to their zenith, and it was impossible to kill them without being extremely familiar with their habits.

Just now, Pan Ma must have been attacked by the lynx and had been dealing with it all the way here, lying dormant in the grass and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Shit, Wu Xie didn't think even Zhang Qiling could have done it so simply. Even if it was a second later, either one of them would have definitely been dead.

Agui looked at Wu Xie's injury as he introduced them to Pan Ma. He didn't seem to be interested in then and just said hello before he began to wipe away the filth on his body.

As he did this, Wu Xie found that his tattoo covered in blood was very frightening and looked to be modeled almost the same as Zhang Qiling's. Pan Ma's back had a fresh wound that looked horrible and was probably caused by the lynx attack.

A few people murmured, telling him the story of Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling entering the mountain. By inferring what was said, coupled with Yun Cai's translation, Wu Xie understood that his previous assumption was correct. It was really because of his nephew that he had entered the mountain, and he didn't expect to encounter something like lynxes.

Fortunately, Pan Ma had a habit of entering the mountain with a branch slung across his back, which could be used as a crutch, or to prevent his back from being ambushed when he was on the ground. These were the rules left behind when wild animals were rampant in ancient times, and they were of no use in today's times. But this time, they had saved his life, and so the lynx only tore off his clothes instead of biting the back of his neck off. It was really a close call.

Lynxes hadn't appeared in this area for many years, but the fact that they did so was probably because of the continuous heavy rain a few days ago, and the various changes in the remote mountains, which forced them to come out. There were many rats in crowded places, so they were attracted to the edge of the village by the thought of food.

Pan Ma's facial expression was very excited, and he seemed to be back to peak condition, but Wu Xie thought it was inappropriate to ask more questions at this time. Agui figured that the other villagers were probably anxious and shouted for the others to come back. He also said that Wu Xie and Pan Ma's wounds were a little deep and had to be dealt with as soon as possible.

Several people burned the bodies of the two lynxes, and by this time, the sky had turned light. They put out the fire and set off immediately.

Lynx fur was priceless, so it was really a pity to burn it like this. But Agui said that no one could know that lynxes had appeared here; otherwise, poachers would flock to the area in less than a week. These people were insatiable, and even if they couldn't hit any of the lynxes, they would definitely have to take something else back. Eventually, there would be nothing left to be hunted here.

There was nothing to say all the way back to the village as the sky was getting brighter. Several village officials, who had stayed up all night making preparations to enter the mountain with several people, met them at the mountain pass.

They had breakfast in the village office that consisted of pancakes and egg porridge, Wu Xie was so hungry that he ate two large bowls. People kept asking them questions as if it were a holiday in the village.

Wu Xie had been bitten on his shoulder, so after getting it disinfected, he got a tetanus shot and had to apply herbs to it. Father Pan Ma had a dozen stitches on his back, and the barefoot doctor was actually the one who did it. It was just like sewing quilts at home, and Father Pan Ma remained silent during all of it, listening to the village cadres' incessant nagging.

Zhang Qiling and Wu Xie wanted to go back to rest, then visit Father Pan Ma after a good night's sleep, but when he left, he made a gesture for them to go home with him.

As Zhang Qiling and Wu Xie looked at each other, Wu Xie thought that the old man was really eccentric. The two of them stood up and hurried to follow him, but they hadn't taken more than two steps before Father Pan Ma shook his head again, then suddenly pointed to Zhang Qiling and said something.

They couldn't understand what he said and looked to Agui who had followed them. Agui had a strange look on his face as he said a few words to Father Pan Ma, but Father Pan Ma answered with a firm tone and then left straight away.

Wu Xie didn't know what had happened, and looked at Agui blankly, noticing that he was a little embarrassed. Wu Xie asked him what Father Pan Ma had said and he answered: "He said that if you want to know anything, you have to come alone. This one can't go."

Wu Xie frowned as he wondered what he meant. When he looked at Zhang Qiling, Agui added: "He also said..."

"Said what?"

"If you two are together, sooner or later, one of you will be killed by the other."

Chapter Text

Once again, Wu Xie went into the dining hall of Pan Ma’s house to sit down on the floor with Agui. He had been thinking about what Pan Ma meant, and how best to communicate with him.

"If you two are together, sooner or later, one of you will cause the other’s death."

Pan Ma had suddenly uttered such a sentence, which was puzzling enough by itself. And as a mountain hunter, if he didn’t know something, he wouldn’t play tricks for no reason.

But his attitude was very strange, and he obviously didn’t like Zhang Qiling very much. Wu Xie always thought that he and Zhang Qiling were bound by fate, that having become a couple made them Fated Lovers. But after hearing Pan Ma's words, he was not so sure anymore.

Since Wu Xie really couldn’t think of a reason why he would say such a thing. It may be a very common word, or a metaphor, so he told himself not to think about it. Maybe Father Pan Ma meant that he wasn’t skilled enough compared to Zhang Qiling, so he would bring trouble to him one day. But his intuition told him that based on past experiences, the person being warned seemed to be Wu Xie, and he was the one who would die sooner or later.

But would Zhang Qiling really cause Wu Xie's death? If it weren’t for him, he would have been zombie food back in the palace. But even if he wanted to kill him, Wu Xie could do nothing but admit defeat. This whole thing seemed totally illogical.

When Pan Ma’s son brought them water to wash their faces and bodies, Pan Ma lit a pipe and took a few puffs of the yellow smoke while his son helped him wash the wound on his back.

When Wu Xie smelled it, he found that the scent was somewhat similar to that of Xiaoge's burn herbs. It appeared that these herbs also contained this ingredient, which made him wonder if he could use this as a starting point to ease the atmosphere. But he couldn’t seem to find the words.

The sun sank, and it appeared as if it was going to rain again. It made Wu Xie think that Guangxi really did seem to get a lot of rain. Pan Ma’s daughter-in-law closed the window and sat on the floor, but the wind blew in through the gap and made the temperature much cooler. When the old man leveled Wu Xie with a look, he returned it unflinchingly.

At this point, he was able to take a closer look at Pan Ma. He had clear facial features, and his face was full of wrinkles as dark as those of the other villagers. He was very ordinary looking, and it was hard to imagine him as a local celebrity back in the day. Wu Xie was a little relieved to find that these facial features definitely weren’t of the same pedigree as Zhang Qiling's.  

Agui told him what Wu Xie had come for, and also mentioned that he was an official. Pan Ma looked at Wu Xie and said a few words, which Agui translated: "Father Pa Ma said he can probably guess who you are, and he also expected that someone would ask about this one day. You can ask what you want to ask, but then you have to leave quickly and not bother him again."

Wu Xie was stupefied for a moment, feeling that there was something in Father Pan Ma’s words like he misunderstood who he was.

But Wu Xie couldn’t think of a reason for his misunderstanding, and once he thought about it some more, he immediately decided that he should just ignore it. It was better to act like nothing was wrong, and just tell him his real reason for coming. 

Wu Xie straightened up, gathered his thoughts, and then said to Father Pan Ma, "I just want to ask you about the old archaeological team. I hope you can tell me about that year, but before that, I want to know more about what you just said. What do you mean that out of the two of us, one will certainly cause the other’s death…"

Pan Ma took a big puff of smoke and suddenly showed a strange expression. He shook his head and then said a few words that Agui quickly translated: "Pan Ma said that the meaning of what he said just now is very clear. Your friend… you have no idea what kind of person he is. With him, you will never meet a good end."

"Do you know him?" Wu Xie immediately asked, "Why do you say that?"

Father Pan Ma looked at Wu Xie and paused for a long time before he said, "I don’t know his face, but I recognize the smell of death on him."

It took Agui a long time to translate this sentence, and he obviously found it very strange too. Wu Xie didn’t understand, what did it mean?

What did he mean by the smell of "death"? Corpse rot?

Wu Xie wanted to keep asking, but Pan Ma shook his head and told him not to ask again—the smell of death was the smell of death. If he wanted to know anything else, he was free to ask, but that was all he would say regarding this matter. He didn’t care whether Wu Xie believed it or not.

He naturally wouldn’t give up like this, but Pan Ma was resolute. Wu Xie asked him several times, but he maintained a blank expression and didn’t even respond.

Agui gave Wu Xie a few glances, so he decided to quit for now in case Pan Ma stopped talking entirely. But in Wu Xie's heart, he couldn’t help but curse the old man for being so stubborn.

He could see that Pan Ma definitely had a lot of things in his heart. Although he didn’t show anything on the surface, his words told Wu Xie that he knew a lot even if he seemed a little secretive and contradictory. And judging from his indifferent attitude towards Zhang Qiling, the old man had definitely seen much of the world.

Wu Xie tilted his head a bit and thought about it. When would someone act like this?

One such instance would be when there was something to be sold. Wu Xie used to deal with some brokers in this way, but this old ghost wasn’t like them at all.

The other instance would be that he had a secret in his heart that he couldn’t talk about. But if he saw a phenomenon that was related to his secret and didn’t say anything, then it might lead to some serious problems. In this situation, he could only provide some ambiguous explanations. Take for example, a spy that’s under suspicion. At this moment, he saw a kid playing with an iron disc that he knew was a landmine. But if he told the child, then his identity as a spy might be exposed, so he would simply say to the kid, "If you play with this thing, it will kill you sooner or later."

Wu Xie thought that this possibility was the most likely. He had just wanted to know some details about the time when Wen-Jin and her team entered the mountain, but after Pan Ma saw Zhang Qiling, he shared some details that made Wu Xie think about it more. In other words, he deduced that Xiaoge was a landmine that would kill him. Pan Ma had a secret in his heart that meant he knew Zhang Qiling was a landmine, but he wasn’t willing to come out and say it.

How interesting! Wu Xie suddenly wasn’t annoyed anymore and said to himself, I’m not afraid of you leaking secrets, only afraid that you don’t have a secret at all. This old ghost reminded him that he at least still had a conscience, and his impression of Wu Xie shouldn’t have been bad, so it was no use cursing him out now. Maybe he could get something out of him with a little patience.

But it was clear from the beginning that his idea to snoop would alert him, so he decided to turn his attention away without showing his thoughts. Wu Xie nodded and said: "Forget it, if you don’t want to say it, then I won’t force you. Can you tell me about the archaeological team?"

After hearing this, Agui breathed a sigh of relief. He was obviously afraid of them quarreling and didn’t give Wu Xie a chance to ask any more questions before he quickly translated the question for Pan Ma.

Pan Ma simply looked up, but shook his head and then said a word. Agui immediately translated and said: "Father Pan Ma said that you made a mistake. It wasn’t an archaeological team that came here. Those people were soldiers."

"Soldiers?" At first, Wu Xie thought he had misheard it, but when Agui translated it again, he knew he had definitely heard right.

After thinking for a moment, he felt that Father Pan Ma must have made a mistake. At that time, all the people were wearing green uniforms so he might have regarded all of them as soldiers.

"The situation was very tense. Many soldiers came with submachine guns and said that they were going to Yangjiao Mountain and they were looking for someone to guide them. Agui’s father found me at that time and I took them to the mountain." Father Pan Ma continued.

Wu Xie frowned and was suddenly reminded of the border dispute with Vietnam at that time. In the 1970s, there had been sporadic wars here, but he didn’t expect that this was a war zone at that time, and the situation was very complicated.

This was really an unexpected situation, and as Wu Xie fell deep into thought, many things started flashing through his mind.

At that time, under that kind of environment, it would certainly be impossible for an archaeological team to come here to investigate. It was definitely strange… Wen-Jin and the others were really amazing. Was it true that the project at that time was headed by the state, and the presence of guns meant that there were soldiers there protecting them? It appeared that what Father Pan Ma had said wasn’t all false.

What project prompted the country to send an archaeological team into a war zone? Was there really a valuable tomb in Yangjiao Mountain?

"Those people’s backgrounds are very mysterious…" Uncle Three’s words flashed through Wu Xie's mind and made him shudder.

After that, Wu Xie conversation with Father Pan Ma lasted for more than three hours. He kept asking questions and trying to find out the secret, all while trying to understand what had happened. Pan Ma didn't wanted to say the most important things at first, but since Wu Xie kept putting pressure on him, he ended up saying everything.

He said he had killed all of the members of the archaeological team, since two of them found him and other villigers stealing rice. At that time, it was like something had posesed them, and after killing everyone, they threw the bodies, guns, ammunition and other materials into the lake. They secretly carried the rice and food back to the village and hid them under their beds.  Some of the daily necessities that they could use but couldn’t carry were also hidden away, waiting for things to calm down before they could take them out. At the same time, they made an agreement to never mention this matter again.

Pan Ma felt guilty at that time and wanted to cover their tracks, so after much deliberation, he began to declare in the village that the archaeological team had disappeared.  Border conflicts were frequent at that time, so some troops disappearing along the Vietnamese border was generally believed to have been done by Vietnamese agents.

A few people thought that nothing was wrong, and nobody thought much of it, but this was the beginning of their nightmare.

Three days later, Pan Ma entered the mountain again and returned to the lake, wanting to go through the valuables first and take them back. The madness of that night had left him scared, so he watched the lake from a distance. What made his hair stand on end was that he saw another camp on the lake, and people were moving around.

Was it another army? Were the bodies found? He was so scared that it took him a long time to recover. When he summoned the courage to sneak closer to observe, he was stunned to find that the previous archaeological team had appeared in front of him again.

Pan Ma wasn’t the type of man who resigned himself to his fate. He didn’t believe that he had dreamed it all, but he couldn’t understand what had happened. He kept an eye on these people, wanting to know whether they were humans or ghosts, but he couldn’t see any flaws no matter how much he looked at them.

The only thing that he found a little strange was that he smelled a strange odor on the group of people, which he hadn’t smelled before.

That kind of odor was the one Pan Ma smelled coming from the iron box, but the one from the box was more intense.

To Pan Ma, it was the smell of death, and he thought those demons– who he was still unsure whether they were humans or ghosts– must have brought it from hell.

"Your friend has that smell, too. If it wasn’t covered by the smell of herbs, I would have smelled it the first time I saw him." Father Pan Ma looked at Wu Xie. "He’s just like them, a monster from the lake!"

What did Xiaoge smell like? Wu Xie wasn’t very sensitive to smell, nor he was a hunter, so he didn’t have an excellent sense of smell. Wu Xie was skeptical, but decided to secretly sniff Zhang Qiling next time.

To prove this matter, they had to go to the lake.

Father Pan Ma showed Wu Xie the iron block, and it was exactly the same as the one he found under Xiaoge’s bed. It had the same iron bumps with primitive patterns, but this one was slightly larger. Wu Xie gave it a small sniff, and indeed, he could smell a strange, very weak and almost indistinguishable odor coming from it. Pan Ma said that the smell was very strong when he first found it, but it gradually disappeared bit by bit.

Pan Ma refused to go to the lake again, so Wu Xie thought about asking Agui to find another guide. He gave the money to Pan Ma and got up to leave, but suddenly remembered something when he got to the door. Wu Xie turned back and asked, "By the way, old man, how did you get your tattoo?"

Pan Ma looked at him and was somewhat surprised when he suddenly asked this question out of the blue. His son explained for him, "This is the tattoo of Fanggu, given to him by a passing Miao shaman when he was a child.  At that time, my grandfather saved his life, and he thanked my father with it. It’s said that with this tattoo, you can pass through the Miao village without any hindrance and no one will stop you."

...

After quickly returning to Agui’s home, Wu Xie was anxious to tell Xiaoge what he had learned. He found his lover sitting outside looking at the sky: "Xiaoge," Wu Xie said attracting Zhang Qiling's attention.

Xiaoge looked at Wu Xie and got up, he walked towards him and grabbed both of his hands. Wu Xie noticed that his lover was anxious, so he decided to tell him everything that Pan Ma told him.

After saying everything he learned, he buried his face in Zhang Qiling's chest: "It doesn't matter to me what Pan Ma said about you, you are my precious lover and the one I love the most, I don't mind dying together with you." He snuggled his face in his lovers chest.

Zhang Qiling was silent like always, but he wrapped his arms around Wu Xie, giving him a warm hug.

"Is okay if you don't say anything, just don't leave my side no matter what, I need you here with me."

"I will never leave you, this I promise."

Chapter Text

Wu Xie was originally very excited in his heart, but it all cooled down instantly as he remembers about Fatty. He had asked Agui's daughter about his friend, and she told him that he didn't come back all night.

The mountain village wasn't like the city, where there were tons of entertainment places for him to enjoy. It wasn't normal for him to not come back all night. Wu Xie knew Fatty's temperament very well, and when he thought about what he had said before about getting some sulfuric acid, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

Wu Xie figured Zhang Qiling was like him, that he also thought of this possibility.

"Let's go look for him." Zhang Qiling said while grabing Wu Xie's hand.

Wu Xie immediately asked Agui to take him to the village office, because if Fatty had an accident, he would definitely be there. They had only taken a few steps outside, however, when Fatty came back. His face was covered with gauze and he was cursing as he walked, as if he had been hurt.

It was only after that Wu Xie asked what had happened, he learned that Fatty had seen a hornet's nest on the way back from buying sulfuric acid, and instantly became intrigued. As a result, he miscalculated his skill and was stung. It was quite serious, so he was patched up in the village office and slept there all night. Fatty said that the wasps here were different from the ones he had encountered before. All the wasps he was used to could be poked before they became angry, but this time, he only came close to them and was immediately surrounded. It was shocking how fierce they were.

Wu Xie said: "You don't have to give any excuses, just admit that you're old. Don't even think about doing such brave things as poking a hornet's nest, Old Fatty. You shouldn't do such things in the future, others will laugh at you."

Changing Fatty's dressing was obviously a painful experience, and if it weren't for showing his masculinity in front of Yun Cai, he would surely have cried like a dying pig when he went back to his room.

As Yun Cai calmly disinfected his face like a dragonfly skimming water, Wu Xie saw several large, nail-sized areas on his chin that were all swollen. She used bamboo sticks to cut the swollen areas before applying medicine, making it look like she was poking raw meat. No wonder it hurt.

Fatty had a hard time eating after this, and by the time their were done with the meal, it was getting dark. Wu Xie repeated everything he had heard in Pan Ma's house as they enjoyed the cool night air on the porch.

After hearing the whole story, Fatty frowned, and asked, "There are still such things? Damn it, this is all in line with the ghost stories that I used to scare girls with back when I was a child. Is it true? What do you make of it?"

"I don't think Pan Ma's lying." Wu Xie replied. "This matter is absolutely true, but his truth isn't true in that sense."

"What do you mean?" Fatty asked.

"Let's consider the most reasonable possibility instead of some monster or magic lake. What do you think is the most likely situation?"

Fatty shook his head and said, "Come on, my brain cells are all stung by wasps. I can't guess, just say it."

Wu Xie gave a smug grin, but Fatty still didn't cooperate, so he said: "Well, let's take out all the impossible factors: there is no magic lake, there is no resurrection of the dead, and there is no monster. There must be a reasonable explanation. And if we have to believe what Pan Ma said, then the only possibility is obvious-people can't be resurrected, which means the first archaeological team that entered the mountain isn't the same as the team that left."

Fatty paused and realized, "Do you mean that the dead didn't come back to life, and it was another group of people who came out?"

"The people they killed are indeed dead. Pan Ma admitted he didn't know the team members well, so if another team changed their appearance, I don't think it would take much to fool him."

"But, why would they do that? Are they messing with him?"

"I think there may be some discrepancies regarding the team's and Pan Ma's situations. Let's assume that this is a plot long in the making. If so, then maybe the archaeological team's decimation on the day Pan Ma killed them had been planned before, but the plan may have gone wrong. Perhaps the killer who came for the archaeological team met with some accident in the woods, and instead, Pan Ma completed the task. Then, the fake replacement team came here, believing that the killer had completed the task, and began to disguise themselves as planned. After that, the unwitting Pan Ma started to believe that the lake was magical." Wu Xie continued, "This is a reasonable theory, though it may not actually be the case. But it does show that it's possible."

"Huh, that sounds a bit reliable, but I seem to have heard such a story before somewhere." Fatty then asked, "What evidence do you have?"

"There are only some details. For example, the team followed Pan Ma in, but they didn't wait for him when they came out and ended up setting off on their own. This shows that the later team was familiar with the terrain here and had the ability to get out. What happened after that may be because the fake archaeological team found some clues about what really happened and killed Pang Ergui and the other one in retaliation." Wu Xie said. "I don't know whether this archaeological team is the one that went to Xisha, but I feel that if not all of them were present, then there were certainly some of them. If this is the case, do you think there's someone who made the switch in order to join the archaeological team to Xisha?" Wu Xie felt like his thinking was very mature.

Fatty said, "Goddamn it, but how do you prove it?"

"The most direct way is to go to the lake in Yangjiao Mountain to have a look. Now that the lake is getting smaller, I think we can dive down to see what's below, and whether any bodies had been thrown in."

"Fuck, it'll be a bit difficult, right? It's been almost forty years now, and the corpses would have already rotted away."

"The bones must still be there." Wu Xie said, "Pan Ma and the others didn't have a boat, so the bodies must have been dumped in the shallows. I think we can take a chance."

Fatty thought Wu Xie's statement was very ridiculous, but admitted that it was the only possibility. He was originally an advocate for the day trip to Yangjiao Mountain, so he readily agreed when he heard him say that we should go.

Then they discussed the specifics. They didn't have any equipment since the trip this time was a leisurely one, so that made things a bit tricky. In case there was a need for them to open a coffin or dig up a grave, the only thing they could do was stare.

It was a remote area, so it was impossible to buy ready-made equipment here, but Fatty said: "There are some things that aren't necessary, and we can buy some substitutes for the others. Although they won't be as good, this time the site is close to the village, so the quality doesn't have to be as high."

He was talking about the wilderness survival supplies that hunters usually had. They certainly didn't need to carry solid fuel and smokeless stoves, but Wu Xie felt they still needed to prepare some weapons after seeing those fierce beasts on the mountain.

They called Agui to get his input since he also hunted. There were three shotguns, all of which were modified old guns whose names Wu Xie didn't know. The three guns were of different ages, and Agui took the oldest one out of the chicken coop. Although the quality of the barrel was acceptable, the inside was completely rusted. No one dared to use it, and there was no place to find gunpowder. The other two were all loaded, and it was obvious that they were left over from the war years.

Guns were banned a few years ago, but the people here depended on hunting for a living. Of course, those who wanted to eat weren't willing to hand them over, and the top authorities also knew the situation and turned a blind eye. The only problem now was that bullets weren't easy to come by. Agui said that the village hunters had to go to the county for approval to buy them.

Agui's own hunting was already an amateur activity, so there weren't many bullets in the house. Fatty checked the two usable guns and said, "Agui's one is absolutely fine. The other one hasn't been used for so long, but has been maintained well. It only takes one shot to know if it can be used."

They bought fifty rounds from a few of Agui's neighbors at a high price of fifty yuan per round. Wu Xie noticed that the brass cylindrical bullets had been hand-made in a small workshop. He felt a little distressed because it cost fifty yuan for each one, but Fatty said: "Don't be so petty. If that fifty yuan saves your life, it's definitely worth it."

To cut paths in the mountains, Agui's family had a machete that he specially sharpened for them. They wrote a list of other things they would need and asked him to go to the village to see if there were any substitutes. If there was no climbing rope, he took hemp rope from the well. If there was no high-power flashlight, he tied several torches together. If there was no knife, he grabbed a sickle.

Agui warned them that there was a lot of rain now, so there were many mosquitoes and poisonous bugs in the mountains. This was especially true at the edge of the lake, where the mosquitoes were as big as wasps. He went on to say that they should bring mosquito nets and mosquito-repellent incense to throw into the bonfire, otherwise it would definitely be too much for city folks. Wu Xie told himself there was no need to worry about it with Xiaoge here.

Arranged properly, Agui said that it would take a day or two to prepare everything. The guide wasn't back yet anyways, and they could only leave once he was ready.

In the meantime, Fatty said that he could find a way to use the sulfuric acid he brought back to see what was wrapped in the iron block. This would require careful operation, so a better site had to be chosen.

Wu Xie thought of Pan Ma's story and felt that it was inappropriate to mess with it at this time. The iron piece emitted a smell that gradually faded with the passage of time, indicating that there was a volatile substance inside. There was no way to know if this substance would be harmful to the human body, so he figured it wasn't time to dissolve it. When they got there and found some clues, they could judge whether to take the risk or not.

Fatty's curiosity was eating at him, but what Wu Xie said was absolutely reasonable, so Xiaoge agreed with him. Fatty had to give up once he realized it might bring trouble to others.

In the next instant, however, he was back in high spirits. First, he believed the tomb existed. Second, he hadn't hunted for a long time, and his hands were itching to shoot. He had been nagging Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling all night about hunting, despite the fact that his face was swollen like he'd been kicked by a horse. Wu Xie couldn't sleep either, since he was thinking about the lake. Zhang Qiling didn't speak, but he saw him looking at Agui's other building through the window.

Wu Xie thought he had seen a shadow in that building two nights before, but now the window was completely dark, and he couldn't see anything. Agui's son didn't seem very willing to see people and appeared to live in seclusion. Wu Xie wondered if he had some kind of disease that forced him to stay home. Such things often happened in the countryside.

After not sleeping for a night, plus a day of intense mental activity, Wu Xie couldn't hear what Fatty was saying after a while. Zhang Qiling was leaned up against the wall, dozing off. It was much cooler out here than in the room, and with Xiaoge around, there weren't any bugs. The three just lay there.

At first, Zhang Qiling was far away from Wu Xie, but the moment Fatty fell asleep, he quickly got closer to his lover. Those two snuggled together, and fell asleep. It was noon the next day before they woke up, luckly Fatty was the last one to open his eyes, so he didn't saw Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling hugging each other.

...

They set off with Agui on the third day.

To Wu Xie dismay, he didn't see the legendary guide. Agui and Yun Cai were the only ones who set off with them.

Wu Xie asked, "What's going on? Agui, didn't you say you haven't been there before? How can you take us?"

Agui told them that the guide went into the mountains and hadn't come back yet. He didn't know if he had encountered an obstacle of some sort, but several teams had gone looking for him and hadn't returned. No one else besides his daughter had been to the lake, and Yun Cai had been there several times before with her grandpa so she knew the way. With Yun Cai and a few dogs in tow, Agui took them with him, saying it shouldn't be a problem. Since they couldn't communicate in their dialect, Wu Xie was afraid there would be trouble.

He cursed himself as he realized that he had offered too much, and Agui was reluctant to let others earn this money. Fatty immediately said, "No, we're here to work. It's no joke bringing a little girl with us. If she gets hurt, I'll feel bad for you as a father."

Agui kept telling them not to worry, because the little girls here handled guns since they were five or six years old. In the mountains, she was more useful than them, and she knew the mountains better than him anyways.

As they spoke, Yun Cai came out of the house. Fatty and Wu Xie glanced at her and saw that she had completely changed into a Yao hunting outfit. She had a hunting knife placed at her lower back, and was carrying a short, small shotgun.

She walked over to Fatty's side, stared at him challengingly, and then said, "Boss, are you looking down on people?"

"No, no, no! Not at all!" Fatty immediately said, "Sister, don't get me wrong, this fat brother is mainly afraid of working you too hard. In fact, you are definitely the best candidate in our hearts."

Wu Xie immediately frowned, kicked Fatty, and scolded him in a low voice: "Why did you change your mind so quickly? What, at your age, you still want the old cow to eat tender grass?"

"What's the matter with my age? I'm what you'd call a man in his prime. It's a strong cow, not an old cow." He whispered back. "You asked Pan Zi to find a wife, so why can't I?"

Wu Xie also didn't know if his heart was really moved or he just wanted to mess around. He told him that Miao Yao families- especially the women- were all fierce, and that he should be careful. If the family thought he was serious, they'd tie him up and make him take care of the fields for a lifetime. If he changed his mind and tried to run away, then they'd pierce his heart with a bug and feed all of his body fat to it.

Fatty was obviously well informed and disagreed, saying that even if the peonies died, it was also romantic to be a ghost. It would be better if all the beauties in Yaozhai tricked him, then he could stay here and be the village chief.

Wu Xie started laughing and had no choice but to accept the present situation. Looking at Yun Cai, he felt that Agui was right, and things wouldn't be too dangerous this time.

The only thing that had him worried was that Fatty kept teasing Yun Cai and making her laugh while they packed everything up, but Wu Xiecould see her secretly looking at Xiaoge from time to time and that made him angry. She was very careful, and always looked away immediately.

They followed the same route they used to find Father Pan Ma, which Wu Xie was already a little familiar with. This time, it was much easier going than that night they searched for him.

Fatty was absolutely captivated, circling around Yun Cai and practically kneeling down to be her horse. She said they certainly weren't tour guides, because what kind of tour guide would come to such a place? Fatty pretended to be mysterious and said that they were important men with secret missions. If she was willing to kiss him, then he would tell her in secret. Fortunately, she still cared about appearances and wouldn't fall for it.

Zhang Qiling, on the other hand, wasn't affected by the lively atmosphere, and his face remained unchanged. In a relaxed atmosphere like this, he was the only one who remained in a dark mood.

They arrived at the ancient grave in the mountain pass that evening, and then went one or two kilometers further in before resting. After daybreak, they continued walking for two more days before arriving at the lake.

From a distance, Wu Xie could see the lake from the ridge. It was probably due to several days of torrential rain, but the lake was larger than he expected. Sure enough, as Pan Ma had said, the lake was surrounded by rocks and vast mountains. The high and steep peaks were endless, and the huge mountains soared into the clouds, more dangerous than any hills. Plants were very densely distributed in the mountain, and even the cliffs were dark green with them. Shiwan Dashan really deserved its reputation. Wu Xie couldn't help but rejoice at the fact that this place wasn't far from the village. If they went further in, the hinterland in the deep mountains may be even more dangerous than Tamutuo.

After walking on an invisible mountain road that was completely covered by vegetation, they came to the lake's shore. They couldn't see any traces of anyone stationed there. The clear water in the lake reflected the clouds in the sky, painting a really beautiful picture. They shed their packs and washed their faces in the lake, feeling refreshed. The water was cool, which meant that the bottom of the lake was connected with an underground river.

After Wu Xie washed his face, he looked up and glanced around. The lake reflected the sky and the surrounding mountains, and he suddenly had a sense of déjà vu as he stared in confusion. Off to the side, Zhang Qiling also looked puzzled.

Chapter Text

Wu Xie had experienced this kind of déjà vu before, and it always gave him goosebumps. He thought it was an illusion, but it was different this time because he saw Zhang Qiling's face had also changed, and he wore the same puzzled expression. Wu Xie didn’t know whether he felt the same way or not.

Where was it? Where had I seen this scene before? Or did I merely see something similar to this?

He tried hard to recall, thinking it over and over in his mind, but he just couldn’t remember. He only felt that this scene was one which he had just witnessed. Moreover, there was a feeling of "something is wrong" that went along with this familiar feeling. Obviously, the impression in his memory was slightly different from the one here.

Fatty was completely carefree as he took off his clothes and jumped into the water to swim. Agui asked him to be careful, saying that the lakes in the mountains were unlucky, and it wasn’t good to swim about too much. Fatty had never heard such a thing before and splashed water on Agui to shut him up.

Back on the shore, they took off their wet shoes and pants, and then Fatty helped Agui build a canopy. Agui cut some firewood while Yun Cai helped cook rice for night’s meal. Wu Xie was drinking water when he suddenly remembered where he had seen this mountain view before.

The shape and feeling of this mountain were actually very similar to the mountain scenery they saw when their were swimming in the village stream. The line and trend of the mountain were exactly the same, it was just that they were in a stream at that time, and now they were in a lake. That was why the reflection in the water— along with the mountain’s appearance—surprised him. It was simply that the mountain here was thickly wooded, while all the trees beside the village had been cut down, creating a small difference.

Before Wu Xie had closed his eyes to rest back then, he had carefully observed the scenery around the stream, and although Zhang Qiling was absent-minded, he certainly took everything in with his eyes. Fatty’s attention was on the little girls, so he obviously hadn’t noticed.

It was really interesting how nature could be so uncanny. Wu Xie didn’t know if it was pure coincidence, or because of geological reasons, but it seemed that feng shui terrain like this really existed. This kind of terrain was called "fish scale ridge", because all of the mountains were like fish scales, the similar-looking peaks overlapping layer after layer. This kind of feng shui wasn’t suitable for burials, because it was said that under the fish scales was a place to hide dirt. Geographically speaking, a fish scale ridge was especially prone to soil erosion and was plagued by stagnant water. The ancient grave they saw at the mountain pass was one such example.

But if there was a lake in the "fish scale ridge," then it was completely different and was instead called "fish comes from the water". This was because the water that came out of the fish scales wouldn’t become stagnant. If this happened, then it wasn’t a fish, but a little dragon. If there were any young people who had died early, then they were probably buried here.

In this case, there was a high possibility that an ancient tomb was here. Unfortunately, Wu Xie didn’t know the burial details of this mountain, and in his opinion, the surrounding mountains weren’t very suitable for it.

Yun Cai and her father built a shack and began to collect firewood on one side. Fatty, Zhang Qiling, and Wu Xie started searching around the lake and observing the surrounding environment.

The lake was only the size of two football fields, and they finished it in one go. Wu Xie walked along the bank and looked at the water, finding that the bottom was full of stones, and there appeared to be a large drop-off in the middle of the lake. He could see the bottom in the shallower places, but the rest of the lake was hidden in darkness and seemed to be extremely deep. Just as Pan Ma had said, the lakeshore was full of large and small stones that varied greatly in size. What concerned him, however, was that the lakeshore was very clean and free of any debris. Perhaps it had all been washed into the lake by days of heavy rain.

Wu Xie had always had an inexplicable fear of deep lakes. As the saying goes, shallow water does not hide dragons, but deep water must be strange. Deep water meant that the lake’s holding area wasn’t as small as they could see from the lake surface, and there may be some strange things in it. There were many big lakes with water monsters in the world. The lake surface wasn’t big, but it was extremely deep, so even if there was nothing strange down there, there could still be some big fish. When the bottoms of some large reservoirs are cleared, they always tend to find some fish that have grown extremely large.

Wu Xie didn’t see any obvious traces of bones after circling, but most of the stones on the lake beach were very fine. The water level here had been changing continuously for more than forty years, and the rocks had been rolling down. The bones may have been pressed underneath them.

At this time, they evaluated the situation. According to general practice, the archaeological team must have been stationed at the south end of the lake, just as they were. On the other side of the lake was a mountain, meaning there would be danger of falling rocks and mudslides. That told them that they should search the area south of the lake.

This was a big project. They brought a few dogs with them, but Wu Xie didn’t know if they could use them. The bodies had been soaked in water for so many years that the bones must have ossified, which made them no different from stone.

After lunch, Agui went on an excursion to see if there was anything to hunt. They began to search the area as Yun Cai washed their sweaty clothes. The area around the lake was very large, so Fatty, Zhang Qiling, and Wu Xie each picked an area and started their operation.

What they had to do was move the stones one by one with bare hands. The stones here must have been the closest to the shore, but the water level here was gradually falling, and the accumulated stones functioned to prevent the rain from scouring the area (rain water will sink into the lower layer of the stone beach and converge into groundwater instead of forming water flow on the stone beach. Part of Dujiangyan was based on this principle). The slope at the bottom of the lake was very steep, and it was impossible for Pan Ma and the others to go too deep into the lake, so the place where the bodies were dumped must be very close to the shore. Not to mention the fact that the water level had dropped a lot, so the bones wouldn’t be in the lake, but on the shore.

Fatty said that if nothing had been tied to the bodies after they were dumped, they would first become floating corpses, and then be swallowed by fish and shrimps. In this way, the bones must have been scattered. The heads could be here, and the tailbones may be a hundred meters away, so they were definitely impossible to find. And if the bodies hadn’t been thrown into a deep place, then they may have also been dragged ashore by animals for food.

Wu Xie said: "No matter what you say, it’s unlikely that there isn’t a single trace left. Chairman Mao said that the world is afraid of being serious. Let’s look first, and then analyze the situation."

The three of them kept turning rocks over until the sun set, but there was still no result. Several hounds were playing by the lake, ignoring them completely and not wanting to help. The sun by the lake was very lethal, and after a full day, Wu Xie's skull was burning with pain. Agui’s gun went off twice in the woods, and he brought back a pheasant. Soon, the smell of roasted chicken made them unbearably hungry.

Fatty couldn’t help feeling a little depressed, and as they leaned against each other to smoke during the break, he said: "This is killing me. We’d be better off looking for a tomb instead. The dead archeological team may not even be here." Wu Xie knew that he was still thinking about looking for the tomb, so he comforted him by saying that they were staying for several days anyway. They had time, so if they really couldn’t find the dead team, then he would find the tomb for him.

It was rare for Wu Xie to not be so impatient. He drank some rice wine, and rested by the campfire near the lake. Since it was also by the mountain, the air was extremely cool.

After dinner, Yun Cai showed them a few dances. Yao dances had many movements that involved turning in circles and kicking the lower legs. Wu Xie thought Fatty’s jaw was going to fall off. He said he had to learn it, but he danced like a man possessed by spirits, and Wu Xie ended up laughing his head off.

He hadn’t laughed so freely in so long that in the end, all he could do was smile. That was when he suddenly saw Xiaoge leaning against a stone, looking as tense as ever. Wu Xie hadn’t even noticed him at first.

He told himself that it wasn’t a mistake to come here to look for his past, and judging from the clues collected so far, they were obviously on the right track. It was easy for them to come all this way, but for him, everything he encountered was like knocking on the door to his past, so it must have been really difficult for him to relax.

This man also had a typical self-exile personality. His heart was outside of the peach garden as he smiled at the spring breeze, at first no one could enter his heart but Wu Xie did it.

Thinking about it, Wu Xie threw a small stone at him and said, "Don’t think about it. Let me tell you, I have experience. It’s useless to think about it. What we’re doing now is a puzzle. Before all the pieces are found, don’t worry about it." Then he handed him the rice wine.

Zhang Qiling took it silently, but put it aside. Wu Xie was a little drunk and sighed, "Can’t you have a drink?"

He shook his head and looked out into the darkness. Wu Xie gets closer to Xiaoge, since he was drunk, he didn't mind if someone saw him. He kissed the edge of Zhang Qiling's lips, his actions made his lover look at him.

Wu Xie is always shy when it comes to kiss his lover, but right now he's drunk, so he could do the things he couldn't when he was sober. Zhang Qiling thought he was cute when he gets drunk, so he hugs him tightly. 

While Wu Xie was in the arms of Xiaoge, he had to turn his attention back to Fatty, who was using a brain teaser to keep Agui and her daughter entertained. He asked Yun Cai what kind of battle would kill a hundred enemies at the cost of three thousand of his own.

Agui, kept giggling because he had also drank too much, kept guessing wrong. Finally, the answer was announced. It turned out to be a mahjong battle between "fart hu" and "thirteen orphans". You win a hundred yuan, but lose three thousand. 

Yao people didn’t play mahjong, so Yun Cai didn’t understand. Wu Xie scolded Fatty, "Aren’t you bullying people? Do you have any local brain teasers?" Since Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling were a little far away from the others, they didn't noticed those two are hugging each other.

Fatty said yes, and asked, "Guess again, what kind of battle kills one enemy and injures three thousand?"

"Hornets!" Yun Cai immediately raised her hand.

Fatty said angrily, "Silly girl, are you intentionally messing with me?"

They laughed, and Wu Xie said it must have been a battle between cavalry and tanks. Fatty said that if that were the case, then ten thousand men in the cavalry would be injured, and still wouldn’t manage to kill the tank.

They went on to guess, some saying poker, some ants, some abalone. Fatty gloatingly said that they were all wrong, as if he were insulting their IQs.

Wu Xie said angrily: "What the fuck are you talking about? If it’s too far-fetched, I’ll beat you."

Fatty said: "This one’s too easy. Ah, I really am gifted. How can I be so different from you ordinary people? I’ll tell you, so listen carefully. Killing one enemy and injuring three thousand is a battle between bananas and elephants."

When Wu Xie heard this, he was furious and scolded: "What bullshit are you spouting? Bananas and elephants fighting? What is that? How can bananas and elephants fight to kill an enemy, and cost you three thousand?"

Fatty said, "The elephant ate too many bananas and died."

They laughed so hard that Yun Cai couldn’t breathe, but after a few laughs, it slowly calmed down. Zhang Qiling stands up silently, walk towards the lake, and then sit at a distance where the bonfire could barely reach.

There was a trace of fear in Yun Cai’s eyes as she looked at them: "Does he think we’re too noisy?"

Fatty sighed, took a puff of tobacco, and comforted her, "It’s okay, leave him alone. He’s going to take a shit."

Wu Xie looked at Zhang Qiling and was about to get up, but Yun Cai walked towards him first.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

After returning to Banai, Wu Xie had a good meal first, and then went to a nearby county town without stopping. He bought some swimming things first, ordered Agui to take them back, and then took the bus out of Shiwan Dashan.

The entire trip was bumpy, his heart was anxious, and he was very distressed. On the bus Wu Xie also saw Father Pan Ma's distant relative, the one who had a Beijing accent. He could see that he had a very heavy heart, and he didn't speak the entire way, as if he were thinking about things. He didn't recognize Wu Xie.

When Wu Xie returned to Fangcheng Port, he booked a hotel and started his operation. He had bought things before, and knew the problems and difficulties, so he did it very methodically. Wu Xie called Pan Zi first and asked him to transport some equipment because he was familiar with it and had the highest efficiency. Then asked Wang Meng to fly over immediately to help him, since he needed someone to stay in the village.

Pan Zi was a little worried when he heard that Wu Xie wanted to be equipped, so he lied and told him that he had been entrusted to do it. He agreed to help Wu Xie, the things and people arrived five days later. Wu Xie rented a car in Fangchenggang and transported the things directly to Banai. The mountain road was very steep and extraordinary, and he could only drive a C driver's license car.

Driving a big car this time was very dangerous and thrilling, and he almost rushed down the cliff several times even though he tried to stay as close to the rock wall as possible the whole journey. In the end, both sides of the car had been scraped, and Wang Meng's legs were weak when he got out of the car.

Because the area was impoverished, the roads in Banai were all sand and gravel, and the last section was impassable. It was raining heavily again, so they had to change cars and move the equipment to a tractor with three wagons before it could be pulled into the village. Everything had gone smoothly so far, but it had been two weeks since Wu Xie left the mountain and set foot in Banai Village.

He had an appointment with Agui to meet him at the entrance of the village. Wu Xie took the goods to his house first and unloaded them at the entrance, but he didn't see him.

At that time, he was exhausted and a little irritated. Wu Xie left Wang Meng to keep an eye on things and went in Agui's house to find him. The door of the building where they had previously stayed and had meals was closed. Wu Xie knocked for half a day without any response and ended up having to go to the wooden building where he lived.

The door of the wooden building was open, and he was reminded that this was where Yun Cai lived. The lobby was almost the same as theirs, but the kitchen was much cleaner here. Some colorful woven frames were piled up in the corner and sold to tourists, and New Year's pictures were pasted on the wall. The sisters' bedroom was in the back, Agui slept in the side room, and a wooden ladder led to the second floor.

The people here were simple and honest, so the doors weren't locked, and the inside rooms were all covered with curtains. Wu Xie called out a few times, but after entering carefully, he found that none of them were present. He shouted twice up the upstairs, but there was still no one. It seemed that none of them were at home.

Wu Xie scolded him in his heart. What happened to this fucker Agui? Why couldn't I find him when he had an appointment to wait for me? Did he enter the mountain? This was killing me. He was my only point of contact in the village, and I didn't know when he would come back.

At that time, Wu Xie's blood was boiling, and he wasn't thinking. He was afraid he might not be able to hear him if he was working, so he quickly went upstairs and opened his mouth to continue shouting.

There was a bamboo door between the first and second floor that was pressed against the floor. Wu Xie pushed it open and climbed up onto a walkway. The end of the walkway led to a wooden balcony on one side, where it was clear that the slab and bamboo walls had been used for many years. It appeared that they had been stolen from the old abandoned wooden building.

There was a room on each side, and hw could see that the inside of one of them was piled high with things such as woven baskets and stretched dry skins. The door on the other side was closed, and Wu Xie knocked for a long time, but nobody responded. It was as if nobody was really here.

Wu Xie took a few breaths to calm himself down, telling himself that it was no use getting angry. At that moment, he suddenly thought of the room behind the door, and remembered Agui saying that it was his son's room.

Wu Xie had only heard about his son, but had never seen him. He felt that his son probably had some kind of disability, so he wasn't very popular, but why wasn't he here today? Wu Xie couldn't help but wonder. He looked through the crack of the door and found that it was very dark. He could only see a bunch of things hanging on the wall, but he couldn't tell what they were. They seemed to all be pieces of paper, but there was no one there. Moreover, he didn't see any daily utensils, and the room appeared to be empty.

Wu Xie thought to himself, it's strange, isn't his son sleeping in this room? How does he live in this room? Wu Xie tried to push the door open and go in to have a closer look, but the door didn't move, as if some latch had been bolted from the inside.

He didn't have time to think about it, so he put aside his curiosity and went downstairs. When he asked a neighbor, they said that Agui hadn't appeared for a long time, as if he hadn't come back since he went into the mountains two weeks ago. But they weren't sure, because Agui often had to pick up guests from out of town. His younger daughter went to her grandfather's house in the neighboring village because it had been heavily raining for days.

Wu Xie cursed. Two weeks ago, when he left here... it looked like Agui didn't come back after he entered the mountain again. He probably didn't remember Wu Xie telling him he had to come back to pick him up.

So, Wu Xie used his own money, and asked some villagers to help him. He moved the equipment to Agui's house and told Wang Meng to handle it. Then went to get the neighbor's help to find another guide to enter the mountain. Wu Xie would take some equipment to the mountain, trade places with Agui when he arrived, and then make him bring the rest of the equipment in.

After asking around, Wu Xie immediately knew why Agui didn't come to meet him. It turned out that it had rained for several days after he had left, and the mountains were full of landslides and mud. Needless to say, walking-especially when we were taking a dozen people and mules into the mountains- was going to be hard. It would only take a matter of seconds for an army to be destroyed in such conditions, so Agui and the others were probably trapped in the mountains.

This was really unexpected, and Wu Xie was at a loss. But the neighbor told him not to worry too much, because Agui knew how to deal with it. As long as they stayed by the lake and only got caught in the rain at most, there wouldn't be any great danger. If Wu Xie wanted to enter the mountain again, though, he will have to wait at least a week, and if the rain didn't stop, it might be longer. No guide would be willing to help in this weather, and it wasn't about money.

One week... Wu Xie was worried when he thought about it. If Agui hadn't come back, then that meant they didn't have supplies for two weeks, and the food may have run out. Even if Agui could hunt, it was still a question of whether there was any prey in this heavy rain.

In fact, even if they could hold up, Wu Xie couldn't wait another week. So, he offered three times the original high price to find someone who wanted money and wasn't afraid of death. Finally, the neighbor got tired of him asking and said, "In this weather, only one would dare enter the mountain. Father Pan Ma. Why don't you ask him to do it?"

But if Wu Xie went to Father Pan Ma for help now, he really wasn't sure what he'd do. When Wu Xie deceived him before, he told him that he wouldn't bother him again, but now he wanted to ask for his help. It wasn't consistent with the impression that he gave Pan Ma before that he had a big influence backing him up. It would be good enough if he didn't beat Wu Xie, let alone help him.

Thinking about it, Wu Xie told himself that he couldn't flinch. Finding Pan Ma was the only way, so he had to bite the bullet. There just had to be a very clever way to lure him in.

Pan Ma was an old fox with the special wisdom of his generation, so figuring out how to lead him into the game was really troublesome. Wu Xie didn't think there was a good way to go about it.

Shit, this was really difficult. If I suddenly appeared and begged him to take me to the mountain, it wouldn't be convincing at all. Since I didn't even have the ability to enter the mountain, it wasn't like I could threaten his capital.

When Wu Xie thought about it, he felt like this would be totally different compared to conventional talks, which were just like business negotiations. All you had to do was muddle through during the negotiations, but after the discussion here, he would have to go with Pan Ma. It was too difficult to pretend the entire way there under such bad conditions.

Wu Xie rubbed his temples, trying to empty his thoughts. Fuck, I changed my mind. If I couldn't do it by pretending, could I do something ruthless?

Kidnapping? Wu Xie's mind flashed-could he knock him unconscious and load him into a donkey cart?

But Wu Xie immediately thought of his skills, looked at Wang Meng and him, he immediately gave up. If they kidnapped him, maybe he'd hack them to death on the spot.

Kidnapping wouldn't work, so Wu Xie was going to have to spend a lot of money. Pan Ma's family had financial issues, and his son seemed desperate. In this way, maybe they would enter the mountain for money.

Finding this a bit reliable, Wu Xie started to go through his belongings. Two to three hundred thousand wasn't a large sum, but he couldn't bring that much with him. He sorted out all the cash and sundries on his body, counted them, and only came to forty thousand. Wu Xie card still had money, but he had to go to town to get it. He estimated that it would probably be enough, and was just about to send Wang Meng out, when a thought suddenly flashed through hia mind.

No, this wasn't a one-size-fits-all solution. Although I figured Pan Ma would probably agree, it wasn't a hundred percent certain. What if he refused? As soon as he refused, no second chances for me.

"One method may not have a fifty percent success rate, or even a ten percent success rate, but there has to be room to maneuver so subsequent methods will have a hundred percent success rate."

Wu Xie once again collapsed, scratched his head, and looked at the credit cards while thinking, damn it, this is really too difficult.

Wu Xie was a little anxious and stood up. When he thought of the heavy rain outside, he stormed out and got rid of all the useless ideas in his head. He was packing up the cards and putting everything away when he touched a bag with something inside. It turned out to be the piece of iron they had found under Xiaoge's bed.

Fatty originally asked Wu Xie to take it back to the city and find a place to store it, but he forgot. He picked up the iron block, untied the newspaper around it, and looked at it. In a flash, he suddenly remembered a sentence his grandfather had said: "When you fight with others, attack their weaknesses."

What was Pan Ma's weakest point? After thinking about it, Wu Xie saw the piece of iron in his hand and came up with a complete strategy.

When he thought it over carefully, he found that it was perfect, and couldn't help getting goosebumps all over his body. These thoughts frightened him a little, as he had never been so calculating before. Wu Xie found that he had changed after everything he had been through, and now he could naturally and calmly consider such a deep plot. But when Wu Xie thought of Fatty's and Xiaoge's situation, he couldn't worry about it too much.

Before it was too late, he immediately began to prepare. First, Wang Meng found him an incense burner, which filled with hot charcoal. Then wrapped the iron and burner up to bake.

Pan Ma said that this iron block would give off a smell, but the scent would become weaker with the passage of time. Wu Xie knew that whatever was inside was definitely volatile, so based on common sense, this faint volatilization would intensify again once it was heated.

As expected, the iron slowly began to emit a strange smell, which became stronger as time passed.

This was the first time Wu Xie had smelled such an odor, and it was really strange and indescribable. It could almost be described as a chemical smell, mixed with the scent of hot iron. If someone like Pan Ma had smelled it, he really wouldn't be able to identify what it was.

Wu Xie wrapped his things loosely in a towel, put them in the backpack, practiced his enigmatic and strange expression in front of the mirror, and then walked to Pan Ma's house under a umbrella.

...

Pan Ma's expression when he saw Wu Xie was hard to describe. He couldn't say whether it was surprise, fear, or disgust.

But when he entered and sat down, the odor began to permeate the room, and his face showed nothing but panic. Then, he collapsed.

Wu Xie calmly sat down and looked at the trembling man. The first thing he said was: "They're back. I'm here to pick you up."

Chapter Text

Wu Xie had prepared a lot of words and planned to deepen his fear on this occasion, but it was totally unnecessary. He collapsed after only a few words, as if he had completely lost his mind.

Fight with others and attack their weaknesses.

Pan Ma's weakness was the fear in his heart, meaning Wu Xie didn't need to say anything. He had completely destroyed him psychologically.

But things didn't go as smoothly as he thought. Pan Ma almost broke through the door and ran away because he was so scared. In fact, maybe he would rather die than see those people again.

Wu Xie convinced him bit by bit– saying that his son and grandson would be unlucky if he didn't finish the matter– until he was eventually forced to submit.  At that time, he made up his mind and followed Wu Xie into the mountain, knowing that he might not survive it. As for Wu Xie's purpose in going to the mountains, he didn't say anything, and he didn't ask.

Of course, Wu Xie had originally asked Pan Ma to follow him into the mountains, but in fact, he was the one that ended up following him. Either way, it didn't matter if he walked in front or behind.

Seeing him like this made Wu Xie feel a deep sense of guilt. Not only was it really unjust to frighten an old man into doing this for his own benefit, but he had to force him to follow him into such dangerous conditions. This kind of behavior made Wu Xie feel sick, and he suddenly realized that his Uncle Three's blood– the ferocious and cunning family instinct– might really be running through his veins.

The rain was pouring almost non-stop the entire way, making the mountain road very difficult to walk on. Fortunately, Wu Xie had enough strength after staying in Fangchenggang, so he was able to survive.  Pan Ma was completely silent the entire time, and Wu Xie basically didn't talk to him. He just kept walking forward with his head down.

In a few days they finally returned to the lake. Looking at it from a distance, the water level had risen by at least five or six meters, and the surface of the lake had suddenly become wider. Compared with the vast expanse of water when Wu Xie left, the heavy rain in Yangjiao Mountain now was like a tsunami. Mud and water splashed on the hillside, and the force was very ferocious.

Now it was too dangerous on the mountain, so they immediately drove the mules to step in the muddy water and went straight down the path to the rocky beach by the lake.

The sound of rain hitting the leaves in the mountains was deafening, and that didn't even compare to how it sounded on the lake. The pouring rain hit it with the same frequency, almost filling the whole world with noise, and making it impossible for people to talk.  The hounds were very agitated and didn't follow, so they had to let them hide under a tree on the edge of the beach.

Without the cover of an awning, the rain curtain hung straight, and visibility was extremely low. They dragged the mules to the awning Wu Xie had built before, and soon saw a vague shadow in the downpour that looked like Fatty.

Wu Xie knew it was no use calling. Even if they were face-to-face, he couldn't speak at this time, so he went on past. Wu Xie didn't know why, but at this moment, the mules suddenly stopped. He looked back and saw that Pan Ma had pulled the mules back and was staring at him. Obviously, Pan Ma thought he had arrived at his destination and would wait for Wu Xie's instructions.

Wu Xie thought he might have figured it out after so many days, because he wasn't as scared as before. And looking at his eyes, he seemed to have made up his mind. The whole man's aura was so menacing that Wu Xie was a little afraid.

That was just how people were. They could be scared half to death once or twice, but they would eventually overcome it.

When Wu Xie got here, he didn't have to pretend anymore. In fact, he didn't bother pretending at the end of the journey, because he was too tired. Instead, began to think about how to explain to Pan Ma what he would see. Wu Xie was afraid he would kill him if he let him know that he was completely deceiving him, but it was too difficult and inhumane to continue lying.

Wu Xie didn't know how to tell Pan Ma, but the lie would be exposed as soon as Agui and the others appeared. Wu Xie figured he had to discuss it with Fatty first, or could just hide and wait for Pan Ma's anger to dissipate before coming out. Wu Xie told Pan Ma to wait as he put down the reins and went to talk with Fatty and the others first, hoping to get them to help unload the cargo.

Wu Xie had only walked a few steps when he looked at the rain curtain ahead and found that the figure just now flashed out again. At that time, he found that the shadow was a bit strange.  Before he could tell who it was, he suddenly felt a pain on the back of the head and fell to the ground. Black spots dotted his vision, but he somehow didn't faint.

As soon as Wu Xie rolled over and sat up, he saw Father Pan Ma standing behind him with a livid face, holding a hunting knife, and eyes full of murder.

"What are you doing?" Wu Xie shouted, as he saw him lift the knife and slash at him.

Wu Xie was so horrified that he immediately rolled away and got up again. He saw Pan Ma's knife draw a graceful arc in the rain and cut straight towards Wu Xie's neck. He staggered and only just evaded. He fell to the ground, only now realizing that Pan Ma was trying to kill him.

Wu Xie looked at his eyes and remembered his constant expression on the road. Suddenly, his heart trembled. Shit, this guy figured it out on the way here. This fucker actually planned this out and wanted to fight and kill us all.

Wu Xie immediately tried to escape, but only managed a few steps before Pan Ma came around to his front, knife held horizontally. 

Wu Xie shouted, "I was wrong, I lied to you! It's okay, they didn't come back," but he wouldn't listen.

Wu Xie couldn't run all the way back to the village, and he clearly couldn't deal with him in the rain, so he ran to the awning. Wu Xie didn't expect to run a few steps and fall down into a stone crevice. Pan Ma immediately jerked him up, and Wu Xie grabbed a stone at random and threw it at him, but he dodged it. He was about to lunge towards with his knife held in a reverse grip, but he suddenly stopped and looked to the side, as if he had seen something.

Wu Xie took the opportunity to get up and keep running, but suddenly found that a lot of people had appeared in the rain curtain around them. They had surrounded them, leaving Wu Xie and Pan Ma standing in the middle.

The figures were fluttering, appearing and disappearing in the rain curtain. As soon as Wu Xie saw this, he knew they were up to no good. They seemed to be watching them carefully and waiting for a chance.  The ghostly shadow peeping behind the rain curtain made one shudder.

What was going on, why were there suddenly so many people here?

The first thought in Wu Xie's mind was what he had theorized before: someone in the village was secretly obstructing us, and now they had finally started moving. It was possible these people wanted to kill us here.

This was a complete mess. Shit, there was a murderous Pan Ma on one side, and on the other side was a large team of interlopers. Goddamn it, this time I was definitely going to die.

Wu Xie roughly looked around. Fuck, there were about seven people here, and I didn't know what they wanted to do. This seemed to be a set up.

Wu Xie scrubbed his eyes and wiped away the water, but it was raining so heavy that he was immediately covered again. The figures were still indistinct, and he didn't know what weapons they were carrying.

Also he couldn't see the expression on Pan Ma's face, so he kept his distance from him. Pan Ma paused, and suddenly rushed towards one of the shadows.

Wu Xie got a fright at first, but then he understood what Pan Ma was thinking—fuck, he thought these figures were those people.

In this kind of environment, no one could calmly ambush or intercept others, so it was better to rush over at once instead of waiting for the other party to react. In such a chaotic environment, so many people would mistake the enemy for their own, which would give him a chance.

Wu Xie didn't know if this was a good or a bad thing for him, but he couldn't do much about it. Wu Xie immediately ran after Pan Ma, but they surrounded him. As soon as Pan Ma clashed with them, there would definitely be a gap and Wu Xie could take the opportunity to escape.

He couldn't go back to the awning either. If these people had been here for a long time, then Wu Xie didn't know how Fatty and Xiaoge were doing. Even though the both of them were skilled, one shot could still kill them, after all. Not to mention the fact that Agui and Yun Cai would weigh them down.

Running on the slippery and uneven rocky beach was like playing acrobatics. Wu Xie ran for several meters, falling down repeatedly, and scraping his knees. He followed Pan Ma at a distance as he rushed to one of the shadows. As the distance changed, all the shadows around them became difficult to recognize, and Wu Xie wasn't sure what they were doing.  Pan Ma rushed straight at the shadow and cut through the rain curtain with his knife. He didn't seem like an eighty-year-old man at all.

Strangely, the shadow remained motionless and seemed unconcerned about the sharp impact of Pan Ma's knife. In less than ten seconds, they had rushed up to the shadow. Father Pan Ma's blade stopped, but didn't cut it. Then, he suddenly let out a scream and the knife fell to the ground.  He started to back off wildly and then tripped over a stone, falling to the ground.

Wu Xie looked around and saw the true face of the shadow—it turned out to be a standing skeleton. What was so creepy was the fact that the skeleton was still wearing a military uniform. The military band had rotted into black threads, and it was carrying a rusty machine gun.

Wu Xie's scalp tingled, and he also immediately took a step back. Then thought to himself, shit, fuck, what is this thing?! Did the dead really climb up from the water?!

Wu Xie's psychological endurance was much better than Pan Ma's. As a shower of rain came down, he immediately saw the skull of the skeleton sway in the wind like a lantern, as if it were hanging on something.

After looking at it intently, he found that the skeleton was made with branches, and there was a rod behind it.

Shit, how could there be dead people here? Did they find the bodies at the bottom of the lake? Wu Xie took a deep breath and looked at the skeleton carefully. Indeed, it wasn't bad. The clothes and military belts corroded by water must have belonged to the soldiers.

When Wu Xie looked at the skeleton standing here, he felt weirdly annoyed, and scolded in his heart, what the fuck is this? A trick?

Father Pan Ma was scared to death, and when Wu Xie looked back, he could no longer see where he was. Wu Xie figured this was one of Fatty's pranks.

He immediately rushed back to the mules, but still didn't see Father Pan Ma. Wu Xie had a terrible headache, and walked to the other shadows, finding that all the dead were the same. All he could see were seven bones, and it was impossible to be sure if there were any more in other places. The madman had disappeared and seemed to have gone into hiding.

Wu Xie couldn't find Pan Ma in such heavy rain, so he was going to have to meet Agui first and tell them there were others here. The mules seemed to be afraid of the dead and couldn't be driven any closer. Wu Xie tied them to a stone and walked around the dead until reaching the awning that they had built before. The awning had obviously been reinforced, since it didn't collapse under such heavy rain. When he rushed in, it was suddenly quiet. Wu Xie looked around, but found that the others weren't there.

He cursed again. Under such heavy rain, were they still in the water? What the fuck happened? There were a lot of things piled up under the awning, all of which had been salvaged from the water. Fatty and Zhang Qiling had made great achievements in the past two weeks while Wu Xie was away.

All the metal items were rusted to a large extent, including canteens, rifles, pistols, binoculars, and some knives and machetes. They were all standard equipment at that time, and he could only imagine what the war atmosphere was like back then. In addition to those items, there were many articles for daily use, including hardtack boxes. Fatty and Zhang Qiling were very meticulous and grabbed everything, these items came from some of the larger salvageable items.

Wu Xie had nothing to defend himself with, so he picked up a five-six type triangular bayonet, which was very famous.

Wu Xie thought he was an easy target under the canopy if Pan Ma came in, so he rushed into the rain again and ran to the lake to see if Agui and the others were there. After circling back and forth several times, he suddenly saw a man dragging a raft to the lake's shore.

Wu Xie rushed over and found that the thin figure was Agui, and he was dragging the raft ashore by himself.

When Wu Xie appeared in front of him, Agui saw him and froze, his face horribly pale.

"Why are you the only one here? Where are the others?" Wu Xie asked.

Agui stood in the lake with a dull expression, just staring at him. Wu Xie asked again, but he still didn't respond.

Wu Xie looked at the raft and thought that Agui had just come back from the lake. He said to himself, damn it. Sure enough, these people are crazy. Such heavy rain is coming down and they are still salvaging.  At this moment Wu Xie suddenly realized that something was wrong. Why did Agui come back with the raft? He should wait for them on the lake, otherwise it would be very dangerous to swim in the heavy rain. What's more, the water level had risen so much, and Agui's expression was very wrong.

Wu Xie approached Agui, wanting to ask him again, but the closer he got, the more he realized that something was wrong. Agui's expression was very dull, and it seemed that he had experienced something that made him go into shock.

When Wu Xie reached him, he slapped him and shouted, "What's the matter?" 

Agui immediately reacted, bursting into tears and crying out, "They... they're all dead!"