Iron Bull taucht wieder auf

Kapitel 163

The moon has set, and the surroundings have fallen into the darkest hour before dawn.

The courtyard gates of the library were wide open, and we leaped straight up to the third floor. The broken arrow still pierced Tengjia's chest, though the wound had stopped bleeding. The safe hadn't been moved; it was still in the same spot where Tengjia had dragged it out. Strangely, the front of the safe had no combination lock, LCD screen, or keyhole—it was completely empty except for the handle.

"It's only sealed and locked. As long as I live, the lock will remain in effect forever. Even the most skilled thief can't open it." Tengjia smiled bitterly, walked over, and reached out to touch the handle.

I stopped beside the safe, remaining silent. This seal was a mistake from the start; how could she use her death as the unlocking code? If she hadn't died, wouldn't the secret inside the safe have been imprisoned there forever?

“I’m dying, Wind, I can feel it, so this secret belongs to you. Regardless of whether I’ve reached the final level of understanding the ‘Sea God’s Plaque,’ I’ve done my best and can go to see my master with a clear conscience. Do you know? The moment my soul departs, my thoughts can communicate with the world of the dead and reach their side. Bless me…”

Fujika finally couldn't hold on any longer and sat down on the ground, leaning against the safe.

“Miss Fujika, let me pull the arrow out for you and seal the acupoints near the wound. Let’s get to the hospital right away, okay? You’ll be alright—” I saw a black tiger’s head carved on the end of the arrow shaft from her side, and I immediately stopped talking and smiled bitterly with her.

"What's wrong?" she gasped, like a small fish pulled from a river.

"This is a bit troublesome. These are arrows from the 'Crane Tiger School' ninjas. Once they hit a person, they immediately unleash extremely strong tremors, increasing the area of the torn wound while also causing devastating damage to the internal organs. Modern medical methods offer no hope of a cure." I didn't want to hide anything from her. Time was precious, and if there were any other secrets, it was best to tell them all at once, so we wouldn't take them to our graves.

I carefully took the cicada shell out of my shirt pocket and held it in my palm. Despite the repeated hardships, I was still protecting it with great care, simply because it had once been the "house" where Tengjia practiced.

"Thank you... thank you..." She really looked old, and this aging seemed to be accelerating. When she lifted her eyelids to speak, her gaze was somewhat unfocused.

"The magical significance of the 'Poseidon's Plaque' lies in the fact that everyone who sees it will have a different interpretation. I once saw a six-armed god imprisoned at the end of a Rubik's Cube, unable to escape. They locked themselves behind door after door, sadly dwelling in the deep sea. They came from a distant planet, a place of seas of fire and deserts, where there is no snow or rain all year round... Perhaps they imprisoned themselves only to wait for their kind to rescue them. I don't know... the meaning of their existence... They fell to Earth, surely for something..."

She suddenly raised her hand and grabbed my wrist: "Feng, find them. Master came to Hokkaido to find them. Help them or kill them—"

The six-armed god only reminds me of the illusion demon that appeared in Tina's notebook. It is the most dangerous enemy on Earth. What was Master Jianzhen's purpose in sacrificing his ten disciples to enter the cold pool?

"The 'Sea God's Plaque' is still in the waters of Youhuang Water County. I hope you can find the most correct answer there..."

Tengjia's voice gradually faded, and the morning light shone in through the east window, illuminating her sallow face, which looked extremely old and haggard.

I stared at that face in disappointment. I had thought I would find the answers to all my questions, but in the end, I realized she had no answers either. On all the enigmatic loops, she was merely a small node, knowing something, yet harboring a larger, more perplexing void.

She died. Her life was taken by a combination of her painstaking efforts to comprehend the "Sea God's Nameplate" and the ninja's sneak attack. If death, imprisonment, coma, resurrection, and death again were truly her destiny, then she was nothing more than a sacrifice after Master Jianzhen's eastward journey, without a self, living only for her mission.

The cicada shell remained intact and still on her stiff palm.

I picked it up and held it in front of my eyes, deeply wondering if its life might return to the cicada's molt once more, waiting to be reincarnated a thousand years later? At this thought, the tiny cicada molt suddenly felt heavy, as if it had acquired some kind of spirituality.

Four sounds, "clack, clack, clack, click," emanated from inside the safe, shattering the tranquility of the library. Then, the silver door opened silently, and my heart clenched—"Tengjia's life seal has been broken; she is truly dead!"

Without any exertion of force from my fingers, the cicada shell shattered unexpectedly, turning into fine, sand-like gray powder that drifted down onto Tengjia with the night breeze. Her body seemed to twitch, and I felt a sudden, sharp pain in my eyes, instantly bursting into tears and snot. It was as if something had flown out of Tengjia's body and shot straight into my heart.

Two red glows appeared on her cheeks, but her eyes were closed and she remained motionless.

The red light came from inside the safe, because the moment the door opened, flames shot out from inside. I could see paper ash fluttering like butterflies, and there was no chance to salvage the documents at all.

I jumped to my feet, standing there stiffly and silently, my mind blank. The "Blue Heaven and Yellow Springs Sutra" was stolen in the desert, the tiger disappeared, Tengjia died, the translation was burned... all within seconds. What was once a hopeful event suddenly vanished into thin air, all hope shattered at the same time.

The fire lasted less than five minutes. I approached the safe, picked up a short knife from the ground, and, enduring the scorching heat of the smoke, turned it over in the ashes. The fire had burned thoroughly; not a single scrap of paper remained, or perhaps it had vanished along with the translation that Teng Jia had painstakingly written down.

Tengjia is indeed dead, and the search for the "Blue Heaven and Yellow Springs Sutra" can seemingly come to an end.

I slumped down and dropped the dagger, then sat on the floor with a thud, letting the morning glow through the east window grow brighter and brighter, before finally feeling the first rays of sunlight on my face.

Reason tells me I should return to the courtyard and order the monk to begin cremating the Shao brothers. Now, there's also the corpse of Princess Tengjia. Perhaps I should report this to the important figures. In any case, this is not a good thing, since she once carried the dreams of a powerful figure, who attempted to open a breach here to seize the "Wrath of the Sun God."

I approached the south window; the night of fighting had left me utterly exhausted.

In the center of the courtyard stood a man carrying a long, black-sheathed sword, his bald head bathed in the morning sun. It was Tanino Shinshu, whose appearance resembled that of Tanino Shinshige, but whose profound and serene aura far surpassed the latter. He wore an outdated, worn-out suit, its original color no longer discernible. The only thing that caught the eye was the precious sword he wielded, a relic of the Dragon-Slaying Saber.

The fourth super weapon

— Chapter 3 — Tanino Shinshu (Part 2) —

“Wind—” He looked up, his expression calm, just like the Japanese tomb raiding expert who died in the desert.

I held onto the window frame and slowly nodded.

“I have something to say to you—” He pointed to the stone bench, walked over first, kicked aside a black-clad ninja lying beside the bench, and placed his long sword on the stone table.

The courtyard was a mess, and the air was thick with the stench of blood.

I leaped out of the window and landed lightly. If it were my younger, more impetuous self, I would have flatly refused him, because there's absolutely nothing to talk about with the Japanese, and there's no chance of cooperation. But now, with the investigation into the *Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs Sutra* completely dead out, the tycoon controlled by blackmailers, and Guan Baoling possessed by the curse of the Fang Demon—I really should humble myself, calm down, and accept any advice that might be beneficial to me.

The stone bench was cold. After sitting down, I simply lowered my head and stared silently at the knife.

"The Dragon Slayer's work—he greatly admires you, saying you are the most outstanding among young Chinese, destined for greatness. He also said that only you disdain his knives, always able to point out flaws in the forging process. For example, with this one, you once criticized him for using room-temperature spring water during quenching, causing abnormal twisting of the blade and thus increasing wind resistance when striking."

Gu Ye reached out and slapped the scabbard, and the long sword was drawn with a clang, exuding a chilling aura.

I saw that arrogant, soaring dragon again, with the words "May 2003" engraved on its tail.

“Yes, the forging technique of the Dragon Slayer Saber is unparalleled in the world. It’s just a pity that he was never able to forge a saber from start to finish without any distractions. That’s human nature. In a duel between masters, the slightest difference can lead to a huge difference. Perhaps only a few milliseconds can determine victory or defeat, life or death—” I gripped the hilt and slowly drew the long saber.

The blade, ninety centimeters long, is entirely black, with only a thin line of the edge gleaming with a barely perceptible cold light. There is no glint of light on the blade; this is because the Dragon-Slaying Saber borrows from the "Mysterious Iron Smelting Technique" of ancient Chinese swordsmiths, incorporating highly light-absorbing black gold ore during the forging process. This approach to sword making is inherently designed for those skilled in stealth attacks.

"He said you're also a master of the knife, and that Chinese martial arts are unparalleled in the world. I'd really like to see it for myself—"

As Gu Ye spoke, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. Suddenly, the blade pressed against his Adam's apple, without even making a whistling sound as it sliced through the air. The location where the engraved raging dragon was carved reflected a light and shadow the size of half a palm, which landed coldly on his forehead.

"In terms of the forging techniques of cold weapons, there were many masters in ancient China. The Dragon Slayer Sword pursued the realm of the ancient swordsmiths Gan Jiang and Mo Xie throughout his life. However, although he deliberately lived in seclusion, his mind was not at peace. Therefore, I dare to assert that he could never forge a truly perfect sword."

With a flick of my wrist, the sword was sheathed again. If it weren't for Fenglin Huoshan seizing the initiative last night, setting up a series of traps, and preemptively killing Tengjia to distract me, my situation wouldn't have been so passive.

Gu Ye smiled wryly: "You're absolutely right. No wonder the Dragon Slayer Blade always speaks so highly of you. If Feng Lin Huo Shan hadn't devoted most of his attention to dealing with you tonight, I definitely wouldn't have been able to break free of his mental constraints and would still be imprisoned in the Meditation Hall. Now, I'm back, and the things I started three years ago will begin anew from today—"

I don't want to hear nonsense. If it weren't for the hidden dome beneath the meditation hall, I wouldn't have bothered to sit down.

"I've finished the pleasantries, Mr. Tani. Please speak frankly." I was worried about what might have happened to Guan Baoling; without a doubt, the teeth marks on her neck would increase today. If Fenglin Huoshan was indeed the blackmailer driving the Fang Demon, I hoped he would reappear. In any case, as long as he was there, there was a possibility of lifting the Fang Cocoon curse.

Gu Ye stroked his smooth chin, the black mole on his brow bone trembling, clearly deep in thought: "Feng, let me get straight to the point. The origins of Fenglinshan are known to almost everyone in the martial arts world. According to World War II records, he disappeared on the eve of the surrender ceremony and has not reappeared in the martial arts world for sixty years. Only I know the details of this part of history—this is my bargaining chip."

I sneered: "You've always been a renowned tomb raiding expert, but who would have thought you'd also be a shrewd businessman?"

There is no doubt that Tanino Shinshu has consistently ranked among the top ten in the global tomb raiding world.

"I'd rather consider myself a skilled gambler... Victory or defeat hinges on a single thought, which is why I suffered the ordeal of three years of imprisonment. But I'm still willing to gamble, enter the Divine Tomb, obtain the 'Wrath of the Sun God,' and become a true Japanese who surpasses 'King of Tomb Raiders' Yang Tian—"

He mentioned my older brother's name, which made me refocus my attention.

The monks should have already gotten up. I heard someone screaming and running, probably horrified to discover the horrific scene of corpses strewn everywhere.

"The treasures on Japanese territory will never be allowed to be obtained by foreigners first; this is a matter of honor for the Yamato people. There are over five million tomb raiders from all over the world, of whom about fifty thousand are masters, but no more than fifty can be called 'top masters.' For so many years, all tomb raiders have willingly bestowed the title of 'King of Tomb Raiders' upon one person, a Chinese man, Yang Tian—"

I nodded: "Yes, Yang Tian, the 'King of Tomb Raiders,' is famous throughout the land and is the best in the world."

This is not just empty praise; Big Brother deserves any great title. If it weren't for his mysterious disappearance fifteen years ago, he would still be the sole spiritual leader of tomb raiders worldwide, unmatched by anyone else.

Taniguchi touched his chin again, his facial muscles contorting in pain: "From the very first day I resolved to join the world of tomb raiding, Yang Tian has been my idol. But the pride of the Yamato people doesn't allow me to worship a Chinese man. Almost every day, I'm tormented by this pain, frantically immersing myself in historical records worldwide, searching for ancient tombs that Yang Tian might have missed. Because I want to surpass him in achievements and reputation, to bring glory to the Yamato people. As our economic power recovers and we closely follow the Americans, every patriotic Japanese person will consider 'bringing glory to the nation' as the most important thing in life—"

I understand his words and I am aware of the Japanese people's perseverance. However, the surgeon once said with absolute certainty, "No one can surpass Yang Tian. At least with the current intellectual structure of humankind, even if one could triple brain capacity and increase physical fitness tenfold, there might be a chance to be compared with him. Otherwise, any tomb raider who tries to compare with him is like a firefly compared to the sun."

The door was ajar, perhaps closed casually when Gu Ye came in, but with the sound of clothes rustling in the wind, someone leaped and smashed the door open with a loud bang.

“I know that Yang Tian has never been to the ‘Underwater Divine Tomb’, let alone obtained the ‘Wrath of the Sun God’. Therefore, I have finally set my sights on Fengge Temple, hoping to accomplish this feat and achieve a tomb raiding spectacle that even Yang Tian could not do.” Gu Ye did not turn around to look at the people outside the gate; they were not important to him at all.

I remained calm, only inwardly sneering, "That's not necessarily true!"

In Shao Hei's remote perception, the words "Yang Tian, the King of Tomb Raiders, has arrived" were clearly written on the wall behind the two doors. If it wasn't his elder brother who personally drew it with his "Mighty Vajra Finger," then who could it be? Gu Ye painstakingly tried to surpass his elder brother, but ultimately fell short. But what happened after his elder brother went there? There was no news of the "Wrath of the Sun God" appearing in the martial arts world. Could it be that his elder brother went in and never came out again...? The logical deduction ultimately leads to only one conclusion—his elder brother entered the "Underwater Divine Tomb" and disappeared, never to be seen again. I forced myself not to accept this, simply because I kept in mind the words the scalpel had said: "Yang Tian will never die."

The first to enter was the disheveled elephant monk. The corpses scattered all over the ground had numbed his spirit. He walked in with a bitter face, tiptoeing to avoid the dead bodies and blood. Behind him, a dozen or so gray-robed monks, looking tense, crowded at the doorway, peeking out and pointing at Gu Ye's back, but dared not follow him in.

"When the Wind Forest Fire Mountain appeared, I had already spent five years preparing data for the exploration of the God's Tomb, using the most advanced acoustic detection equipment to thoroughly search every inch of the ground of Muwanzhou Mountain, and finally made a major discovery." His expression was indifferent to the point of numbness, and he did not show the slightest joy when mentioning this.

"Feng, guess what I found?" He looked up, the mole on his brow twitching nervously.

I replied, seemingly off-topic, "It's just a mirage. What's the difference between something unattainable in reality, whether it's just a step away or a hundred thousand miles away?"

If that discovery had truly been of fundamental help in obtaining the "Wrath of Apollo," he wouldn't be sitting here calmly discussing the issue with me now.

Gu Ye was taken aback, then immediately reached into his robes and pulled out a palm-sized silver mirror, holding it horizontally in front of him. He stared intently at it for a few moments, then suddenly sighed dejectedly, "A reflection in a mirror, a moon in the water? You're absolutely right. I can feel it, even though that feeling is more real than the pain of a scalp, yet I still can't hold it in my hand. It's nothing but a flower in a mirror, a moon in the water... a flower in a mirror, a moon in the water..."

With a clang, the mirror slipped from his hand and fell onto the stone table.

The mirror, with its smooth, 20-centimeter-long handle, was polished to a gleaming shine, likely due to frequent use. Its craftsmanship was extremely intricate; almost every part within sight was covered with realistic, three-dimensional iris patterns, making it undoubtedly a masterpiece from the 19th-century era of abundant silver.

"Mr. Tanino?" The monk's voice trembled. He craned his neck and observed Tanino's face from the side, his expression of horror as if he had seen an ancient monster from the Cretaceous period.

The monks crowded outside the door cried out in surprise at the same time, and several quick-footed ones rushed in and stood next to the elephant monk.

Gu Ye's discovery likely indicates the detection of an underground vault. The only version of the legend of the "Underwater Divine Tomb" circulating in the martial arts world places it beneath the "Tower of the Dead." One can imagine Gu Ye's ecstatic joy upon discovering the vast, unknown space beneath the Meditation Hall, believing he could instantly claim the prestigious title of "King of Tomb Raiders."

The fourth super weapon

— Chapter 4 — Strange Characters in Youhuang Water County (Part 1) —

The gap between ideals and reality is often vast; the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment—this is an irrefutable truth.

Tanino was immersed in the profound memories of the past. Beneath his seemingly calm expression lay a deeper pain: "I discovered the huge cavity beneath the meditation hall. That very day, I found the most skilled demolition expert in the underworld. We planned to use a small-area, low-yield, silent, layered blasting method to excavate a five-meter-diameter vertical shaft at the center of the radiation detection..."

To anyone else, his method of advancement seemed perfectly reasonable, even methodical and well-trained.

Given the hardness of volcanic rock, even with skilled blasting experts working continuously for 24 hours, the ideal excavation depth should be around four meters. Based on this, Tanino's exploration should have yielded satisfactory discoveries. What unforeseen events led to his inability to fulfill his wish to this day?

"Mr. Tanino, it's been a long time. How are you? When did you break through your seclusion? The temple has undergone tremendous changes. Master Shenbi has passed away..." Under the immense shock, the monk's incessant greetings sounded verbose and grating, and the extremely pale smile on his face looked very strange.

"I know, you all go out first, I have something to say to Mr. Feng." Gu Ye waved his hand, appearing aloof.

I always sensed that behind the monk's strange behavior lay some unknown secret. As the only remaining high-ranking monk of Fengge Temple, his timid and submissive manner seemed quite out of place for his status.

"Yes, yes, we'll go out right away—"

It seems that Gu Ye's position is very special. The monks dared not refute what he said and immediately retreated to the door.

I glanced at the monk's footsteps out of the corner of my eye, and I kept thinking that his gait resembled someone I had seen before. The blood-stained clothes were very uncomfortable to wear, so I gestured to the monk and pointed to my own clothes: "Master Elephant, please prepare a set of clothes for me."

Everyone left, and the last monk, Elephant Monk, closed the door behind him.

“I have drilled through rock strata no less than twenty times and have never failed. Data from the sonic detector shows that we will reach the top of that mysterious space after digging about 150 meters. For the sake of secrecy, I have installed state-of-the-art sound-absorbing equipment on the inner walls of the meditation hall, so that no noise is emitted during operation.”

I don't want to go into detail about Tanino's past tomb raiding achievements. If he weren't Japanese, he would be one of the senior tomb raiders I respect.

"Soon, we reached a depth of fifty meters and suddenly encountered a rock layer we had never seen before. It was the same color as ordinary volcanic rock, but its hardness was extremely high. Every time we drilled a small hole to put in the explosives, it wore down one of the pneumatic drill bits. As for the results of the blasting, they were even more astonishing. Even after increasing the amount of explosives tenfold, only a small portion of rock fragments were broken off. After chemically analyzing the fragments, the experts discovered that this rock contained an excessive amount of carbon, and its molecular structure was very similar to that of diamonds. It was definitely a new type of rock that had never been recorded on Earth before."

I wasn't overly surprised. Tanino has extensive experience in tomb raiding, and unless it was an extremely bizarre discovery, he would have taken it lightly and wouldn't have been surprised.

A question that even a tomb-raiding expert like him couldn't understand must be beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. I simply listened quietly, refusing to offer my own opinion.

"Feng, do you ever think that we've struck gold with a rare diamond mine? A treasure trove that could bring us endless wealth?" Some of the words that should have been bursts of excitement came out of Tanino's mouth with only a strained, bitter laugh. Compared to the deceased Tanino Shinji, he gave me the feeling of being as steady as a firmly rooted giant rock.

I shook my head: "Money is no longer a goal in your life. If it were just about diamond mines, you would definitely be disappointed. Besides, there are no natural diamond mines in Japan; it's all just an illusion."

The chemical properties of volcanic rock layers are highly unstable, especially under the influence of suitable external catalysts. Each change brings exciting results for chemists. However, these are all discoveries made in laboratory academic research and have no practical application value.

Tani's eye twitched, and he sighed repeatedly, "You're right. I had enough money back then, enough to fund every tomb raider in Japan and launch a crazy global drilling campaign. The excavation progress immediately dropped to zero. In the next ten days, we only dug down one meter, and more than 80% of our original power tools were destroyed. We were forced to stop the excavation work, and it's still the same as it was when we stopped."

As I listened to Tanino's account, I kept thinking: "If it's impossible to enter the dome from the meditation hall, how did the submarine and the Ten Saints of the Fang God Stream appear? It's conceivable that there must be another entrance in the infinite depths of the dome—" Tanino's detection results, from another perspective, verified the accuracy of Shaohei's remote sensing.