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墨書 Inktalez
I felt a bit nervous; perhaps the true "behind-the-scenes mastermind" was about to make an appearance.
"Any real man wouldn't hide away," Fat Ma shouted. Just as he finished speaking, three unfamiliar faces emerged from the tomb passage we had entered earlier.
One was a frail old man, accompanied by a middle-aged man wearing black glasses, and a young man dressed in a suit.
The one who had just spoken was the young man.
"Who are you?" Fat Ma asked bluntly.
The young man stepped forward and said, "You must have heard of the Old Mountain Master from the Northern Faction!"
Fat Ma's expression changed immediately, and even the clay figure looked uneasy.
I cautiously asked, "Who is the Old Mountain Master?"
The clay figure succinctly replied, "Not someone to be trifled with."
In the next moment, Fat Ma greeted with a smile, "So it's the Old Mountain Master. I've long admired your reputation. I was just a fool for not recognizing your greatness."
I instinctively reached for my waist; if things turned hostile later, damn it, even if it were the Old Wang from heaven, I would take him down.
The Old Mountain Master waved his hand at Fat Ma and hoarsely said, "Is that coffin made of Dark Wood?"
"Yes, Old Mountain Master," Fat Ma replied promptly. Compared to me and the clay figure, he was certainly more worldly wise.
After asking his question, the Old Mountain Master stepped onto the stone platform.
I glanced at Fat Ma, who leaned in closer and whispered in my ear, "This one is truly ruthless."
Old Mountain Master placed his hand on the coffin and suddenly spoke up, "In my old age, I've done quite a few good deeds!"
I was taken aback and quickly swallowed the words I was about to say; I didn't expect this old man to have such sharp hearing.
I shifted my gaze to the side of the coffin.
At that moment, the Mud Man spoke up, "Old Mountain Master, although you are an elder in this field, there is a proper order to things."
"Order? My master has poured countless efforts into this coffin," the young man scoffed.
"Shut up, Xiao Nan! This young brother is right; everything must follow a sequence, and rules cannot be broken," Old Mountain Master rasped in reprimand.
Xiao Nan had no choice but to close his mouth and step aside.
Old Mountain Master continued, "Now, young brothers, why don't you tell us your conditions?"
Since the conversation had reached this point, I decided not to hold back any longer. I directly asked, "What about Hills?"
"What Hills?" Xiao Nan replied rudely.
Upon hearing me mention Hills, Fat Ma stopped pretending to be submissive and retorted firmly, "That's my Hilly Big Sister. Don't act all innocent like a pig with green onions."
Xiao Nan was left speechless by Fat Ma's response.
I took out a photo to show them, but they shook their heads in refusal.
The Old Mountain Master spoke in a hoarse voice, "I believe there has been a misunderstanding, young brothers. I have never seen the girl in the photograph."
It seemed to be a misunderstanding, so I put the photo away.
The Old Mountain Master continued, "Aside from this coffin, everything inside after we open it, including the Mingqi, will belong to you. How does that sound?"
Fat Ma had always been keen on wealth, and when this topic came up, he was straightforward. "Old Mountain Master, let me be direct. What if there are no Mingqi inside the coffin?"
Old Third Master frowned slightly and said, "If there aren't any, I will compensate you with a gold soup spoon that Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang used."
Fat Ma's eyes lit up with joy as he quickly agreed.
However, the Mud Man was less pleased and remarked, "The value of this coffin is probably worth more than just one gold spoon!"
Xiao Nan scolded, "Don't push your luck."
The Old Mountain Master admonished, "Xiao Nan, do not be rude. We of the Northern Faction must maintain our dignity." After a moment of thought, he added, "How about I also offer you a purple jade urinal used by Zhu Yuanzhang?"
The Mud Man took a step back as well; it seemed an agreement had been reached.
The Old Mountain Master placed his hands back on the coffin and began to fumble around. Gradually, his hands started to tremble, indicating that he was somewhat agitated.
"Can we proceed now, Old Mountain Master?" I asked.
The Old Mountain Master withdrew his hands and replied hoarsely, "I apologize for my rudeness." To my surprise, he even bowed deeply to the coffin before stepping down from the stone platform.
I looked at the Old Mountain Master in astonishment, wondering if something unusual was happening.
"Come down first," Xiao Nan said. We obediently stepped down from the stone platform.
Old Mountain Master had already given us ample face, and we couldn't be ungrateful! Otherwise, if things turned sour later, I could see that Black Glasses standing behind him was definitely not someone to mess with; he could easily take us all out.
The Mud Man remarked, "They have many rules in the Northern Faction!"
Hearing them mention the Northern Faction so often, I asked, "Could it be that there's also a Southern School?"
The Mud Man confirmed my suspicion.
"Then do we belong to the Southern School or the Northern Faction?"
Fat Ma chuckled, "We're not part of any faction; we're free agents."
The Mud Man frowned slightly at Fat Ma's words. As for me, I didn't care much about the Southern School or Northern Faction.
I watched as Xiao Nan took out incense and paper money from her backpack, lit them in front of the coffin, and then handed the incense to Old Mountain Master. He bowed three times toward the coffin, followed by Black Glasses and Xiao Nan.
After Old Mountain Master recited a solemn speech in formal language to the coffin, he stood up.
Xiao Nan quickly brushed off the dust from Old Mountain Master's knees.
Old Mountain Master handed me the incense. I was momentarily stunned but accepted it and politely bowed. Fat Ma imitated my gesture, but the Mud Man refused to bow, and Old Mountain Master did not insist.
Once everything was set, we stepped forward again. I knew that if we were to open the coffin, it absolutely must not be damaged; this kind of Ebony wood was rare and precious, truly a treasure that could be described as a phoenix feather or a unicorn horn.
Old Mountain Master was a man of principles. As he approached the coffin, he performed another bow toward it.
The coffin made from this type of wood requires little embellishment; otherwise, it would ruin the wood itself. A skilled carpenter would hollow out the Ebony directly and place the deceased inside, which is the most perfect method.
Old Mountain Master took out a small golden knife and began to carefully work on the side of the coffin, making delicate movements. Xiao Nan wanted to step forward to help but was stopped by Old Mountain Master. Black Glasses approached to assist, but Old Mountain Master said nothing.
Their movements were subtle, so their speed was slow. After about a quarter of an hour, they finally stopped. I leaned in to take a look and found that the coffin appeared completely undamaged. Were they just working in vain?
Old Mountain Master pulled out a golden hook from his waist pocket, which had points on both ends.
He carefully brought the golden hook close to the side of the coffin. Under the intense light, I saw a pinhole-sized opening.
I looked at the golden hook again; although it was small, it seemed impossible to fit it inside. Yet, just when I thought it was impossible, I was amazed.
Old Mountain Master's hands did not resemble those of a man in his sixties or seventies; instead, they were like those of a young woman—very delicate.
In an instant, Old Mountain Master's nimble fingers moved like embroidery as the golden hook passed through the pinhole with astonishing skill.
Soon, another golden thread emerged from another pinhole, clearly from the middle section. Old Mountain Master tugged at the golden thread.
I rubbed my eyes and realized that three pinholes had been made on the side of the coffin. Two golden hooks caught two of the pinholes while pulling out the Gold Thread from the middle one, effectively locking the coffin.
Fat Ma spoke up at that moment: "Old Mountain Master, can such a thin Gold Thread hold?"
Old Mountain Master wiped his sweat but did not answer Fat Ma.
Xiao Nan said, "Master doesn't like to be disturbed when he is working."
Fat Ma stared wide-eyed and fell silent.
Black Glasses took out a handkerchief from the bag. After Old Third Master received it, he first soaked it in water and then wrapped it around the Gold Thread.
Old Mountain Master clearly put in a lot of effort, as evidenced by the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
It was time for Xiao Nan to step in, handing over a bottle filled with water. Old Mountain Master took a sip.
Fat Ma sniffed eagerly and immediately approached with a grin, "Hey, Old Mountain Master, can I have a taste?"
Xiao Nan shot back fiercely, "You Fat Ma, why do you want everything?"
I tugged at Fat Ma, but he shrugged off my hand and whispered, "It's an aged fine wine!"
I was at a loss; this Fat Ma just couldn't keep his mouth shut.
Old Mountain Master wiped his mouth and said to Xiao Nan, "It's fine. Since the young brother likes it, let him have a sip."
Reluctantly, Xiao Nan handed the wine over to Fat Ma, who took it and gulped down a mouthful. Seeing this, Xiao Nan quickly retrieved the wine jug.
With a look of deep satisfaction, Fat Ma asked, "What is this brewed with?"
"You can't say," Xiao Nan decisively cut off Fat Ma's curiosity.
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