Jia the Madman placed the item in his palm, staring at it fixedly for a full quarter of an hour, before suddenly narrowing his pupils: “Huh? Cao Gong’s treasure-seeking talisman!”
Jia finally recalled something: “Authentic pangolin claw tip, definitely the treasure-seeking talisman!”
“Master Jia, we’re afraid our visit today is rather abrupt and disrespectful!” Liu Dashao quickly stepped forward to apologize. Fan Debiao also rushed up and said: “Yes, yes, we hope Master Jia can forgive our rashness and recklessness…”
“I seem to have had a dream, like I’ve been asleep for a very long time. You… you two, are you actually treasure-seeking guards?” Jia examined the talisman in his hand and looked at the two men.
Both nodded and said: “Master Jia is the true treasure-seeking guard. To this day, your skills are among the very best in the treasure-seeking sect!”
“Not at all, not at all! It’s precisely that the younger generation surpasses the older one! Who is your master?” Jia the Zhuangyuan was no longer mad at all; his mind was exceptionally clear, and he exuded an air of authority.
“Da Guozao (Big Cricket), have you heard of him?” Fan Debiao ventured cautiously.
“Hehehe, I’ve not only heard of him, I’ve even met him. A few years back when he came, my illness hadn’t gotten this bad yet, and we even discussed some matters… Are you saying he’s your…?”
Master Jia asked unhurriedly.
“Haha, he’s my boss, the one who introduced me to the tomb-robbing trade,” Fan Debiao felt the atmosphere of the conversation instantly become more relaxed.
“Oh, so that’s it! No wonder you have his treasure-seeking talisman. Although Da Guozao is a bit of a trickster, his skills are indeed top-notch. You must have learned quite a bit from him!” Master Jia mused.
Fan Debiao grinned and shook his head: “Not at all, not at all! These years I’ve just been under his care and protection. I haven’t really learned much, but I’ve definitely gained quite a bit of weight.”
“Hehe, this young brother is just joking around,” Master Jia showed a trace of kind-hearted smile, but then his face suddenly darkened: “Wait a minute!”
“Our treasure-seeking sect has always had its own set of rules since ancient times: the talisman represents the life of its owner; losing the talisman means losing one’s life. How could Da Guozao entrust such an important item to you? Could it be that…?”
Fan Debiao realized Master Jia’s sharpness and knew he couldn’t hide the truth anymore, so he came clean: “You are indeed a true master. Our boss has indeed passed away.”
“Dead? How could he die? Where did he die?” Master Jia’s eyes widened.
Fan Debiao and Liu Dashao thought his illness had flared up again and hastily stepped back in fear. But noticing that his eyes were normal, they continued: “Tibet.”
“Hahaha, are you taking me for a three-year-old child? Do you know what Tibet is like? It’s just a high-altitude area with some thieves around. For an ordinary archaeological team, it might indeed be difficult to traverse on foot. But Da Guozao and I were quite close, and I know his abilities well. Besides, he led a professional tomb raiding group, well-equipped and well-resourced. There’s absolutely no way they could have failed so miserably. Tell me, who are you really? Daring to impersonate Da Guozao’s men!” Master Jia asked coldly with a sneer.
“HAHAHAHA, Master Jia, you truly are a master. But don’t forget, deep in the Tibetan plateau, there’s a forbidden place for the living. Our leader’s team was large, but they encountered ancient mechanisms and traps, and were caught off guard. Everyone perished except for our leader and one other who managed to escape, though both were infected with a strange virus. Their bodies severely dehydrated, aged rapidly, and our leader passed away just a week ago.” Fan Debiao closed his eyes painfully after finishing.
“The Guge ruins, mechanisms… Could it be the stone-sand trap?” Master Jia tilted his head, seemingly deep in thought.
“It was a bed-nu (large crossbow)!” Fan Debiao slowly uttered those three words, “Who would have thought that something thousands of years old could still function!”
Only then did Master Jia’s expression soften. He said: “It seems it really was a case of the dragon king’s temple being washed away by floodwaters. Friend, don’t be too sad. Although our treasure-seeking sect relies on skill for survival, it doesn’t mean we can always get what we want. We also risk our lives in this trade!”
After talking for quite a while, they finally got to the main topic: “Alright then, what do you two want from me?”
As a seasoned veteran, Master Jia naturally guessed their intentions, but he still asked the question.
“To be honest, we’ve been searching for the truth all these years, and the final piece of the truth is likely hidden in this place. If Master Jia still has the heart for it, would you be willing to venture once more into this forbidden land for the living?” Liu Dashao quickly revealed his plan.
Seeing that Liu Dashao had finally spoken, Fan Debiao no longer held back and said: “Master, I heard you robbed a major tomb in Tibet decades ago…”
It was fine not to mention it, but now that it was brought up, Master Jia immediately recalled that terrifying scene, tears streaming down from the corners of his eyes: “It’s been such a long time since I last cried, I almost forgot what it feels like to cry. Five people died, five vibrant lives, five, a full five people!!”
Master Jia painfully extended one hand, visibly trembling.
“Finally, only I survived, dazed and confused, as if King Yama had given me a second chance.” He sighed again.
“It was so tragic, so unbearable. I still remember clearly how they looked when they died. Because of that, I was left with a long scar on my head…” Saying this, Master Jia parted his hair for the two to see.
The scar was very long, almost dividing his entire head into two halves.
“What was it that split your head?” Yin Silu asked.
“I don’t know, my memory is unclear. I only remember that I didn’t go inside at the time; I was just responsible for keeping watch near the cave entrance. There was a fellow named Hu Hansan who was originally supposed to keep watch with me, but he was called down at the last minute. Later I heard something was wrong from inside the cave and wanted to go down to check. Just as I had descended partway, I suddenly felt a sharp pain on my head, and then I knew nothing more. Hu Hansan went down but never came back. He had a wife, who already had one child and was pregnant with another. I’ve had no face to show myself to her ever since…” Master Jia began recounting that bloody night from the past…
Thirty years ago, in Shaanxi Province, China.
Master Jia wasn’t actually called “Master Jia” originally. He was surnamed Jia, and his given name was Zhuangyuan, a name of great significance. No one really knew who had given him this name. In those days, some villagers, upon having a child, dared not hastily name the child. Instead, they would consult a fortune-teller, first revealing the child’s birth date and time, allowing the barefoot fortune-teller to analyze the five elements—what precautions should be taken for a water fate, a fire fate, or an earth fate—and finally, the naming decision was left to the fortune-teller. Not only did they have to treat the fortune-teller to good food and drink, but they also had to pay generously to ensure good luck.
On that day, a fortune-teller happened to come to the village. In truth, this fortune-teller, while publicly reading fortunes, was secretly a businessman, going wherever there was business to be made. Upon hearing that the Jia family had a son, he naturally headed to their home.
Even if a fortune-teller knows that a child will not amount to much in the future, for the sake of earning more rewards, he would spout all sorts of flattery, saying that the child would not succeed in martial pursuits but could excel in literary studies, suggesting the name Zhuangyuan, hoping he would become the top scholar in the imperial exams!
Jia Zhuangyuan’s mother happened to be a village shamaness, usually treating people’s illnesses and believing in spirits and ghosts. She naturally believed every word the fortune-teller said. Although it was a time of social upheaval, Old Lady Jia never lacked food. Although the villagers didn’t have much money, there was a custom: they would offer the grain they had painstakingly saved to Old Lady Jia in exchange for her help with healing and exorcism. Thus, Jia Zhuangyuan’s life became much better.
Later, when Old Lady Jia passed away, Jia Zhuangyuan lost his support. He had not inherited his mother’s skills in healing and exorcism, and his wife and child went hungry every day. Women just wanted a stable, peaceful life, but this kind of life was simply unbearable. One day, Jia Zhuangyuan’s wife took their child and remarried.
With no other options, Jia Zhuangyuan gradually came into contact with some tomb robbers and entered this trade. He did not follow the “literary” path but instead entered the “tomb robbing” trade. It could be said that “everyone has their own destiny,” and a pleasant-sounding name alone couldn’t determine one’s fate.
Jia Zhuangyuan first robbed tombs several times in the suburbs of Beijing. But either his luck was bad or he wasn’t successful, and he never made a big fortune. However, his only good fortune was meeting a great master of the treasure-seeking sect, from whom he learned some genuine skills.
One day, several brothers were idle and started chatting. The conversation eventually turned to the events in Tibet. At that time, they were young and full of vigor, so they discussed going there. In their eyes, the treasures in Tibet seemed as easy to obtain as picking them up for free.
Not long after entering the desertified areas of Tibet, the group encountered a strange occurrence. In the desert, living animals either burrowed underground or were extremely drought-resistant. The most common were camels, which could eat and drink their fill once and then go for many days without food or water. But humans couldn’t do that.
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