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墨書 Inktalez
At that moment, everything felt so peaceful. I simply lay down on the stage to rest. Hills was still lost in her own world, not yet coming to her senses.
I don't know how long it had been—maybe a few minutes or even a dozen—but suddenly, I felt a wave of intense drowsiness wash over me. After that...
In my dream, it felt like someone had ignited a fire in my chest, and I was burning uncomfortably. Suddenly, I felt a coolness on my cheek, and I quickly opened my eyes to find Hills' hand just pulling away from my forehead.
"You have a fever," Hills said in a low voice.
I sat up and touched my forehead; it was indeed hot to the touch. However, I didn't feel too uncomfortable—instead, I felt quite refreshed.
Hills' expression had returned to calmness. Seizing the opportunity, I asked, "What exactly do you need me to do for you?"
"It's already over," Hills replied calmly.
"Over?" I asked in surprise.
"Yes."
"What a pity I couldn't help; I fell asleep."
Hills didn't respond. She slightly closed her eyes and then opened them again quickly. I didn't ask her what she had done because I knew she wouldn't tell me even if I did.
"Since your task is complete, let's go outside."
Hills nodded in agreement.
I was the first to jump down from the Stage, while Hills hesitated for a moment before following me down.
Looking at Hills, I felt an inexplicable sense of relief; the mission was complete, and thankfully, neither of us had gotten hurt. Although the Hills before me was an illusion, in a way, I still hoped she would be safe.
After descending the stairs and entering the courtyard, our current task was to find the White Jade Chair; otherwise, everything else would be in vain.
Hills didn’t linger in the courtyard and headed straight towards the Main Hall.
In the beam of light, the White Jade Chair radiated a warm and peaceful glow.
I froze for a moment, feeling a slight disappointment. It turned out this wasn’t a problem at all. Just as Hills and I were about to sit on the White Jade Chair together, my pupils suddenly dilated in shock as I saw a Black Cat leaping towards me. At that moment, I felt a surge of panic.
Fortunately, I had already returned to a tomb passage, and the Black Cat failed to reach me.
I wiped the sweat from my palms on my pants.
I glanced at the White Jade Chair and felt a genuine admiration rising from my heart for the designer of this tomb.
Stepping out of the passage, it seemed that all danger had finally receded from us.
In fact, it was almost over. As I walked onto the Golden Path, I noticed that the walls had become pockmarked with numerous holes of various sizes.
I knew this had to be the work of Fat Ma.
After Hills and I exited the tomb, the giant python had vanished. It was nighttime now, and a cool breeze swept through as the moon hung high in the sky.
The hazy light illuminated the entire mountain range as Hills and I walked onward.
Through the winding path obscured by the treetops, I arrived at a relatively open area, my vision expanding as I stood there, feeling as if I had stepped into another world. I shook my head and took a deep breath.
Tonight, I would not descend the mountain. I lit a campfire with Hills and dried the clothes that had gotten wet from crossing the stream.
The cold wind at night sent chills down my spine.
The flames crackled in the wind, rising and falling. Suddenly, a stomach growled.
I glanced down and then looked up at Hills.
A blush crept across her face.
“Wait a moment, I'll go find something to eat,” I said as I stood up. In the darkness, I dashed out, carrying the food I had just gathered, but when I returned to the campfire, it was empty—Hills was gone.
I lost my focus for a moment but quickly regained it, chuckling to myself as I sat back down beside the fire. I buried a few bird eggs in the mound of dirt next to the campfire so they could cook while we waited.
I lifted my head to gaze at the moon, but the branches of the trees obstructed my view. Lowering my head again, I picked up a dry twig and poked at the flames.
The sound of the wind accompanied the rustling leaves, echoing through the vast sea of trees. I tightened my clothes against the chill and added some firewood to keep warm.
My mind was filled with many thoughts at that moment, yet I couldn't articulate them clearly. It felt like trying to knit a sweater, but due to my clumsiness, it had turned into a tangled mess of yarn.
The night stretched on until dawn without me sleeping. After tending to the campfire, I began my descent down the mountain.
As morning dew blanketed the ground, the sun slowly rose over the distant horizon that seemed just out of reach. I quickened my pace down the mountain but found myself inexplicably lost.
Just as I was looking around in confusion, I noticed many trees marked with symbols. Following those markings led me safely down Xing'an Ridge.
In the Forest Farm, I was searching for Fat Ma and the clay figurines, while the others had already left, including Xiao Nan and Black Glasses.
Fat Ma had taken advantage of this time and had become quite familiar with the place.
"Fatty, how long have you been here? You've already blended in so well," I remarked.
Fat Ma looked at me disdainfully. "Old Sun, if you don't come down soon, the clay figurines and I are going to head up the mountain to collect your corpse."
I eyed Fat Ma suspiciously.
He continued, "Old Sun, let me ask you honestly, have you two gotten involved in something?"
"What? Just say it outright, Fat Ma," I replied, seeing remnants of capitalism in his wicked gaze.
"We've been waiting for you here for five days. We were just about to head up the mountain today," the clay figurine suddenly said.
Five days? If Fat Ma had said that, I might not have believed him, but the clay figurine wouldn’t lie to me.
"Has it really been five days?"
Fat Ma chuckled. "Old Sun, I think you've lost your mind."
"You're the one who's lost it, you deadhead," I retorted without hesitation.
I felt a bit disoriented; five days had passed without me realizing it. Had I really been unconscious on the Stage for three or four days? The thought seemed absurd and unbelievable.
"What are you thinking about?" The Fat Ma stared at me with his shifty eyes. Suddenly, his gaze shifted to my bag, and I pressed down on the bulging part of it.
Fat MaLooking at my movements, my eyes couldn’t let go. "Old Sun, come on, take it out, Fat Master will help you identify the authenticity." "Don't lie to me, the things coming out of there could be fake!" "That's not certain, Old Sun, Emperor Qianlong, do you know?" I nodded and waited for his next words. "A senior once made a fake from Emperor Qianlong's grave, and in Guangxu, someone dug up a fake Blue and White Porcelain," Fat Ma said and sighed. His tone showed an expression of displeasure at being bullied by others. "Fat Master, I am also afraid that you will be deceived." He said and looked at me piously. I really couldn't stand him anymore, so I finally showed Fat Ma some teacups I took out from the theater. Fat Ma took my teacup and immediately put it into his bag. I was just about to get emotional. Fat Ma said: "Old Sun, don't be so flamboyant. The most important thing in our industry is to keep a low profile. I will help you collect your things first, and I will help you identify them when I get back." "I...I... "Stop talking, let's pack our things first and prepare to leave here. As soon as we finished speaking, Fat Ma disappeared in a flash." I greeted him thoroughly from behind. The clay figure smiled and said nothing. These teacups of mine are like a sheep in a tiger's mouth. They were originally intended to be given to my grandfather, but no, the Fat Ma must spit them out later.
I learned some information from the Clay Man.
After eating and changing into a new outfit, we bid farewell to Uncle Zhang. Strangely, we didn’t mention anything about his nephew, and he didn’t ask us either.
“Hey, Fatty, who made that hole in the wall?”
Fat Ma’s heart skipped a beat, but his face remained calm. “Old Sun, what are you talking about?”
The Clay Man chuckled, “Don’t try to deny it.”
Fat Ma looked at us with disdain. “Look at you two; when Fat Master becomes successful, how could he forget about you?”
“Stop with the useless talk and get to the point.”
“Old Sun, you’ve been brainwashed by the vile thoughts of capitalism; you’re no longer pure. With our revolutionary bond, isn’t talking about money a betrayal of our feelings?”
When Fat Ma said this, he didn’t even blink, his face as thick as a city wall. In no time, this topic had escalated to the level of revolution.
“Enough. Just give me back my cup.”
Fat Ma immediately stopped talking and reluctantly returned my cup.
On the way, the Clay Man and I tried to pry some information out of Fat Ma, but this Fat Ma had clammed up; whatever we asked, he denied.
With no other options, we had to give up.
We headed back to Fat Ma’s lair in Changsha. After all the trouble we went through, we were quite exhausted. Once we arrived at Fat Ma’s territory, he was generous as the host.
To welcome us, we wandered around Changsha. A few years ago, I heard that a remarkably well-preserved female corpse was unearthed at Mawangdui, which reminded me of the Faceless Female Corpse I encountered at Xing'an Ridge, sparking my curiosity.
Fat Ma mocked me, saying, "Old Sun, have some taste. What’s so interesting about that ghostly thing?"
I couldn't be bothered to respond.
When we finally arrived at Mawangdui and saw the female corpse with our own eyes, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. If this was considered well-preserved, then the one we found at Xing'an Ridge was a masterpiece. If these archaeologists discovered it, they would surely treat it as a treasure and study it for a decade or more.
After returning from Mawangdui to Fat Ma's place, we spent the next few days hanging around old Changsha. Fat Ma said he would take us to experience Changsha's Antique Market.
"Aren't you in this line of work?" I asked in confusion.
"Old Sun, if I say your vision is shallow and you don't believe me, those goods wouldn't easily emerge from Water Surface, would they?"
I couldn't help but nod in agreement, which made Fat Ma laugh.
"Old Sun, although you've been with me on a few digs, you're still not quite seasoned. Today, Fat Master will teach you some jargon."
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