Volume 3 Chapter 5: Eavesdropping

The group was quiet for a while before Mr. Li said, “I wouldn’t normally tell anyone about this, but since you’ve been with me for so long, I consider you my own people. Since you want to know, I’ll tell you.”

The young man immediately said excitedly, “That’s great! To be honest, we’ve been wondering if you have any special skills that can help you find the location of an ancient tomb.”

Mr. Li board paused again, and it sounded like he didn’t want to talk about it. He said, “There’s no such thing as magic. In fact, it’s not a secret. This matter is related to my ancestors. There is such a thing in my family tree. I’ll tell you about it.”

Mr. Li then told a very interesting story:

It was during the Northern Wei Dynasty, a time of war and chaos. There were so many battles that day that all the adults died. His ancestor, who was less than six years old, had to go out to graze the cattle to support the family.

That year, there was a riot near their village, and the soldiers came to suppress it. The villagers all fled, but they were trapped in the house, unable to leave in time. It was only on the third day that the fighting finally stopped.

His ancestor crept out to take a look, and found the ground covered in corpses, and many people still alive. He was so scared that he ran to look for his cow, but when he got to the barn, the cow was gone, and in the straw lay a wounded soldier.

The soldier was mute and could not speak. My ancestor was too young to tell whether he was a rebel or a soldier, but he pitied him and gave him some water to drink and used a cloth to stop the bleeding. But the mute was so badly injured that he did not last long.

Before he died, he took out a roll of linen with words written on it and gave it to my ancestor, and he also made gestures to ask my ancestor to keep it well.

Unfortunately , his ancestors were all illiterate and had no idea what was written on it. Later, during the great cold of that year, many people froze to death, so the family used the cloth to make cotton-padded clothes.

After After he became an adult, his ancestors were conscripted into the army. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, they repeatedly achieved great feats of arms. Later, they were promoted to the rank of school captain, but at that time, due to the weak flow of the years and the rapid change of dynasties, by the time his ancestors were in their later years, the family’s fortunes gradually declined. As a result, when he died, the only thing buried with him was that cotton-padded jacket.

After that After several ups and downs, by the late Qing Dynasty, their family had become a local landlord. During a relocation of the ancestral tomb, several of the elders accidentally tilted the coffin, causing the bones inside to fall out and scatter on the ground. When cleaning up the bones, his grandfather discovered that everything inside had rotted away, but the cloth in the cotton-padded jacket that had been buried with him was still perfectly preserved.

His grandfather grandfather felt very strange, and handed the cloth to a family member who dealt in antiques. After taking a look, he discovered that the cloth was no ordinary cloth. The characters on it were called “mute characters,” which were said to be only readable by the mute.

Mr. Li said, “Do you know what this cloth was used for?”

The crowd After a moment of silence, a voice that they had not heard before said, “I have heard of this. At that time, there was an army in the Northern Wei Dynasty that was all mute. This thing was used by them to pass on secret information. The characters on it were all in ‘mute script’, which ordinary people could not read. I heard it from my own uncle.”

Mr. Li nodded and said, “The master is the master after all. Do you know what this army was doing?”

The master Master smiled and said, “I’m not sure, but I heard that this army of the Northern Wei Dynasty was the successor to Cao Cao’s Touching Gold Captain. On the surface, they were the emperor’s guards, but secretly, they also did the business of turning over tombs… Because they were mute and used a sign language that only they knew, the tombs they turned over were only known to them and the emperor. Their whereabouts have always been very mysterious.”

When he Here, the counselor paused, as if he had thought of something, and asked, “Mr. Li, is the hemp cloth you are talking about the ‘River Wood Collection’?”

Mr. Li laughed heartily, nodded proudly, and said, “You’re amazing. With you here, I can’t even sell a secret. Yes, this is the thing.”

The counselor took a deep breath and replied, “That’s amazing. People are different. With this thing, the Li family should get rich.”

That year The young man didn’t understand and asked the counselor, “What is the River Wood Collection? What does it have to do with the ancient tomb?”

The counselor said, “According to legend, after the mute soldiers found the ancient tomb, they usually didn’t rush to excavate it, but instead recorded it, trampled it with horses, and poured iron slurry on it. When they needed it, they would retrieve it again according to the record. This record of the location of the ancient tomb is called the River Wood Collection, which means that there is a tomb there.”

That year the young man exclaimed in surprise: “Damn, so that means the information we got from the last few trips was all from this? Wow, Mr. Li, you’re not being honest. You should share more with us since you have such a treasure.”

Mr. Li board smiled: “Not exactly. The things of our ancestors are not inexhaustible. The white cloth in my ancestor’s coffin recorded the location of 24 ancient tombs. The one we are going to now is the last one, but this one should be the best of all the ancient tombs.”

The young man asked: “Does it say anything about what’s inside?”

Li Lao board frowned and said, “There is no detailed record, but the white cloth says that the treasure in this urn is beyond mortal comprehension, the best of the best, three points better than the first emperor of Qin, there is no mistake, you just trust me.”

When I and Lao Yang heard this, we already knew that they had a goal in coming here, but we didn’t expect that these people had such a big reputation. Lao Yang asked me, “You—do you think what this Li said is true—really? In the world can there be a better urn than the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor?

I shook my head and replied, “I can’t say for sure, but he sounded so convinced, I’d say there’s a 50% chance they’ll cross the mountain tomorrow.

Lao Yang said, ‘Then we might as well follow them to the end. Their goal this time should be no small, even if we pick up what they left behind, we can still get half full. So we don’t have to go to the broken sacrificial pit?’

His words were so nervous and stuttered that a few words were particularly loud. I heard it was bad and hurriedly covered his mouth to calm him down. At the same time, I listened with my ears to the reaction from the other side, but it was already too late. Suddenly, it was quiet over there, and they had obviously noticed something strange nearby.

Me and Lao Yang held our breaths and tried not to make a sound. Our hearts were beating like drums, and they didn’t speak either, as if they were trying to listen to the sounds around them. Both sides both sides were silent, and the stalemate continued for several minutes. The old Tai couldn’t stand it anymore, and said softly, “Er Ma Zi (the young man), it seems like there’s something moving behind us. Go and see what it is.”

After hearing this, I heard two clear pistol clicks, and I suddenly broke into a cold sweat. It seems that they really are bandits, and now I’m afraid that Lao Yang will get killed.

I turned I looked around. If I ran away now, I would have an 80% chance of escaping, but it would be difficult to track them down later. If I didn’t run now, I really wasn’t sure I could hide from them.

While I was hesitating, suddenly a loud noise came from a distance. I looked in the direction of the noise and saw a row of four or five flashlights approaching us. It was the mountain patrol. At this time, I heard Uncle Tai call out softly, “Damn it, let’s get out of here.” After that a few people hurriedly extinguished the fire and ran into the forest with their equipment.

Lao Yang was just scared to death, but now that he saw the people running away, he became anxious again and asked me hurriedly, “What should we do? Should we chase after them?”

I cautiously I looked carefully and saw that none of them had flashlights. It was pitch black in the forest and we could no longer see anyone. I said, “No, look at this dark and dim light. We might be able to catch up to them if we chase them this way. Let’s rest for now and follow their footprints tomorrow. I believe they won’t go too far and will have to stop and rest.”

Old Itch I was worried, but there was nothing I could do. At this point, the patrol team was already very close to us. If we didn’t leave soon, we would probably be caught red-handed. I told the chattering Lao Yang to shut up and led him hastily into the depths of the forest in the other direction.

We didn’t dare go too far, for fear of not being able to find our way back tomorrow. The two of us hid behind a bush, watching the flashlight gradually recede into the distance, before we finally relaxed.

I thought I thought about it and said to Lao Yan, “The locals along the way said that this time of year is the most rampant time for tomb robbers. I’m afraid there won’t be a shortage of patrols tonight. I think we shouldn’t think about sleeping well. Let’s find a place to stay for the night. Tomorrow, we have to hurry and walk further in, otherwise two outsiders will be caught here and there is no way to explain.”

Lao Yan nodding in agreement, I shook him a little, and he was already half asleep. I sighed, wrapped my clothes around me, and thought to myself that it looked like I would have to keep watch during the first half of the night.

The next day The next morning, we woke up early. Since we slept under the tree, we were covered in bird droppings, and the stench made me want to vomit. Old Itch didn’t care about this, and after a few strokes with his hands, he yelled that we had to hurry up and find the others. I really couldn’t stand running around in the forest with bird droppings on my head, so I had to sacrifice half a pot of water to rinse it off.

I ran back to the place where we had stayed the previous day with Lao Yi, praying that there would be some clues left on the ground, but after going around in circles, we didn’t even find the remains of the campfire from the previous day. Lao Yi was very upset with me and kept nagging me in my ear, “So I told you – told you to follow – follow them yesterday, and look – look, now it’s all over, the cooked – cooked duck – duck has flown.”

I was angry: “Damn it, where did all these opinions come from? Look, there’s only one mountain road here. Where can they go? We just keep going straight ahead. I don’t believe we won’t find them.”

We We followed the mountain road and chased after them quickly. We walked for a whole morning, but we still hadn’t found their trail. Further ahead was a very dense forest, with trees reaching for the sky and thick bushes. There were no road signs at all. I felt a little scared when I looked at it. This meant that even the mountain patrol team wouldn’t go down this road. That was when we really entered the Snake Head Mountain, deep in the mountains and old forests. From here on up, it was only a real mountain road. I didn’t know how many cliffs were waiting for us to climb.

After this I had already sunk down in my heart. These people probably didn’t rest after being scared away by the mountain patrol team last night, and they went straight ahead on the night road. If that’s the case, our chance of catching up with them is almost zero.

I stood I hesitated at the end of the mountain road, but I made a decision right away. Human energy has its limits. If these people have been traveling all night, they will definitely rest during the day. Moreover, traveling at night is much slower than traveling during the day. They must still be not far ahead of us. If we follow them, we still have hope. We just have to be careful not to be discovered.

We We took out our military knives from our backpacks and hung them around our waists. We each broke off a large tree branch and used it as a walking stick. There are many wild animals in the Qinling Mountains, such as tigers and bears, and if we were unlucky enough to encounter one or two, Lao Yang and I would have enough to eat for several meals.

Lao Yang asked me what if I was wrong and couldn’t catch up with them. I thought about it for a while and told him that according to the information I had checked before coming here, there were many temporary huts built by medicine hunters in the mountains, and there were cooking utensils, firewood and dried meat inside. If we could find one, we could rest well tonight and then make plans.

Lao Yang said, “You have to be sure that we still have a chance to turn back now. Go further in? You — Look around, there isn’t even a ghost in sight. It’ll be too late if we get lost in the forest. The Sichuan Road is difficult, as difficult as climbing to the sky. Since ancient times, people have been traveling from Chang’an to Sichuan, and for thousands of years, no one knows how many people have died in these mountains hundreds of miles long. I don’t even know if it’s haunted at night.

I laughed at him and said, “Where did that ambition go when you first came? I said you’re a paper-pushing general. This is We haven’t even reached the mountains yet and you’re already talking about the difficulties of the Sichuan road. If you don’t dare to go in, then let’s go back.”

Lao Yang laughed and said, ‘I was the one who brought up the difficulties first, to see if your determination would waver. Now it seems that our little Wu has indeed abandoned his scholarly air and is moving closer to us rascals. Don’t worry, your brother is definitely not someone who talks about things on paper. Not to mention the difficulties of the Sichuan road, he’s not afraid of the difficulties of the dog road.’

We We knocked on the bushes with branches while entering the jungle, heading for a mountain peak in the distance. The “mountain road” without a road was very difficult to walk on. The ground was almost all grass and vines, and the top was a dense canopy. The sunlight was extremely difficult to shine down. After walking After walking for an unknown length of time, I felt that the sky was dark and the ground was dark, and it seemed that I had seen it all. Just when I began to wonder if we were going in circles, the mountain became steeper and steeper, and a cliff appeared in front of us.

A plank road built at some unknown time was built on it. had not been maintained for a long time and had taken on a dark green, damp color. It was covered with a large amount of spring flowers and pig grass, and it seemed that no one had walked on it for a long time. We were just about to climb up when we suddenly heard someone in the woods on the side call out, “Hey! What are you doing?”

My old friend and I were startled and turned around to see a group of people coming from afar. They all looked like local people, both men and women, and seemed to be going to the village on the other side of the mountain, just like us.

I don’t I didn’t know whether to be happy or scared, so I quickly gave Lao Yang a signal to hide the dagger in his waistband, then I walked up to them and asked them in a sincere manner, “Big brother, big sister, I am a tourist from afar, I want to go to the village across the mountain, can you tell me how many mountain roads are there to the village further ahead?”

A woman in a red coat looked at me and said, “Are you talking about our village? Why did you come all the way to our broken village?”

I Look, the women here are very vigilant. They said, “I came to find someone. I was in your village two years ago. At that time, an old man served me. This time I came back to see him, but I haven’t been here for two years and I don’t know the way anymore.”

The middle-aged woman glared at me and scolded, “I spit, with your thief-like appearance, who knows what you are up to? I’ve seen I’ve seen a lot of people like you. You’re either grave robbers or poachers. You’re not good enough to fool me.”

I was She scolded me so much that I was speechless. I didn’t know how to respond. Lao Yi pushed me aside and handed a hundred-dollar bill to the middle-aged woman, saying, “What’s with all the nonsense? Which eye of yours saw us digging graves? Answer the question politely. This—this—one hundred dollars is yours. If you dare to say another word, I’ll slap you.”

There were several strong men in this group There were several strong men in the group. When I heard what Old Itch said, I thought to myself, “This is bad. The mountain people are fierce. How dare you say this? I took a step back and was about to leave. But the man behind the middle-aged woman saw the money and immediately smiled and took it, saying, “Don’t be angry, don’t be angry, my wife is joking with you. If you want to go to our village, you have to go left, go around this mountain, there is a waterfall, follow the water of this waterfall and go straight ahead, that is the fastest shortcut to cross the mountain, as long as you follow the mountain stream, you will definitely reach our village.”

Lao Yang asked with a grin, “Are you lying? Isn’t it faster to go around and take the plank road?”

The man said, “This plank road was built years ago, but it has never been reinforced. Now no one dares to walk on it.”

I was shocked to hear this. I thought to myself, “I’m glad I met them. I was so confused just now that I almost went up there. I don’t know what I would have done if I had gotten stuck up there.”

The man man looked at the sky and said, “Oh, I don’t think you’ll make it tonight. You’ll have to spend the night in the mountains. There are several tributaries of the mountain stream. If you don’t know the way, you’ll definitely get lost. How about this? We’re going to the other side to collect firewood. If you don’t mind waiting for us, we’ll go back to the village tomorrow. If you go with us, you’ll be fine.” He then came to help me carry my equipment.

I I saw that he was quite enthusiastic, and it didn’t seem like a bad guy. I quickly calculated in my heart that the place we were going to was in the canyon on the other side of Snakehead Mountain. It had already taken us nearly three days to climb over this mountain. There was a limit to the weight a person could carry, and it was impossible to bring more than ten days of dry food. After we had climbed over the mountain, we would definitely have to go into their village to buy something. The five people who were ahead of us were now gone, and maybe they had taken a different path from us. Now that we had met someone, we didn’t have to risk getting lost.

I exchanged a glance with Old Itchy exchanged a glance with me and nodded quickly, “Thank you, big brother. Come on!” He took out a cigarette and gave each of the men a share.

The middle-aged woman still wanted to say something, but the man glared at him, and she looked at us and didn’t dare to say anything.

In the mountains The custom in the mountains is that the man is the head of the family and the woman has no say. As long as you get along with the men, these village girls should have no way of getting back at us. I looked at the expression on the middle-aged woman’s face and laughed to myself.

We We joined their team. The oldest man seemed to have the least to do, so I focused my efforts on him. The man told us that he was the secretary of the village. The village was too backward. Although it had electricity, it was not convenient for transportation and could not develop. Now the young people have all left, and no one is doing the farm work. These cadres have to travel dozens of miles of mountain roads to collect firewood. However, he has a waist problem and can’t work for long.

I agreed, but I also felt sad. These people are not easy.

We We followed them for a while, and when they started working, we checked out the terrain. However, the mountains here are low, and the view from the other side of the mountain is not very clear. I only felt that the mountains were connected, and the whole area was lush and green. I had no idea where the burial pit that Lao Yi had mentioned was in the Guangao Mountains.

After we finished It was already night when we finished cutting the grass. We helped carry a large bag of grass that was almost as big as me, and walked back with the setting sun for about an hour. It was already getting dark. As we walked, I suddenly noticed that Lao Yang’s expression had changed. His eyes were looking around, constantly scanning back and forth.

I asked him what was wrong. He whispered, “I’ve been here before. If I remember correctly, there must be a place to stay if we keep going.”

Sure enough Not long after, a wood shack appeared in front of us. Lao Yan’s expression became excited, and he winked at me, meaning that I was right. The man pushed open the door and turned back to me and said, “We’ll spend the night here today. There’s a stove here, and you can cook for yourself if you want.”

I followed followed them inside and found that it was a two-story shack connected by a ladder. There was a loft on the upper floor, which was bare of furniture but covered with large wooden planks. In the center of the room was a pit full of charcoal ash, which was probably used for heating. We put down our equipment, picked up some firewood outside, and quickly built a fire to keep warm. Then pulled out some dried food from our bags and ate it straight off the fire. By the time we finished eating, it was already dark outside, and we could hear the calls of wild animals all around us.

Lao Yang lit a cigarette and asked the village secretary what it was. The latter couldn’t say for sure either, saying that the people who used to hunt here had long since died, and that only the village elders would know. He added, “At night, we men can only sleep for half the night. Someone has to keep an eye on the fire so it doesn’t go out, or else I’m afraid the wild animals will come in.”

I I didn’t say anything. I was tired from the day’s journey and thought that I might have to do this for several weeks in a row. I couldn’t help but regret agreeing to do it. I said to Lao Yang, “I’ll take the last shift. I’ll take a nap first, and you can wake me up in the middle of the night to take over.” As soon as I finished speaking, he protested loudly, but I was too confused to know what he was saying.

I fell asleep in no time. I didn’t sleep very well. I tossed and turned until the middle of the night, when someone suddenly shook me awake. I opened my eyes and saw that everyone else was asleep. Lao Yang was looking around, gently pushing me and whispering, “Get up, get up!”