King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 78

A captivating horror thriller always manages to evoke a profound sense of dread, leaving a lasting impression long afterward. This kind of mountain castle is one of the perfect settings for crafting horror stories, but I'm not so naive as to mistake fantasy for reality and have spent half the night working on it.

As soon as the stairs creaked, Anko (or perhaps Nobuko) came up, holding my Rado watch in both hands, and bowed to me politely: "Mr. Feng, your watch."

I went over to take it, secretly admiring the girl's elegant manners. Of all of Japanese culture, the only things I truly appreciate are their "etiquette" and "politeness."

If the watch malfunctions, I'll have to call Rado's distributor in Japan to discuss a replacement, which will waste time. It's frustrating to encounter these small setbacks so soon after arriving in Hokkaido. Holding the watch in my hand, I glanced at its face unconsciously. Huh? It's started ticking again; the time is 8:20 AM.

I froze, gasping for breath. The clock stopped at 8:20 PM last night, but now it was starting to work again at that time…

"Xiao Xiao, what time is it?" I blinked repeatedly, turning my watch over and over again.

"8:20, oh no, it's 8:21. What's wrong?" Xiao Ke's cold smile became more and more obvious.

I put on my watch, Anzi bowed goodbye, and then quietly went downstairs.

The possibility of a watch stopping is inevitable for anyone in the world, and I'm no exception. This limited edition of 3,999 watches is said to have never broken down, and I don't want to be the first. However, as I sat back on the sofa and saw the large clock beside the window, a pang of unease struck me again—

The old-fashioned bronze grandfather clock, which was more than half a meter tall, also stopped. The time was neither too early nor too late, pointing to 8:20, exactly the same as my wristwatch.

I clenched my fists tightly, hissing as I inhaled deeply. I had just heard the clock chime downstairs, proving it had recently stopped. So, what was the necessary or coincidental connection between the two clocks and the two 8:20s?

The grandfather clock's surface was also spotless. It was shaped like an ancient Chinese general with his hands on his hips, his armor, boots, and sword gleaming. The clock face and pendulum together stood fifty centimeters tall, resting steadily on the general's chest.

Such a huge bronze statue is quite rare. I stretched out my finger and flicked it on the sleeve of the statue's robe. It made a clear, ringing sound, confirming that it was indeed a genuine bronze artifact.

Xiao Ke walked over with a frown, muttering in dissatisfaction, "It stopped again? I don't know why, but this clock always stops at 8:20, with the hour and minute hands blocking the winding hole. Sigh, it's always like this..."

She pressed a button-like spring switch on the statue's chest, and the glass panel of the clock sprang open with a snap. Hanging on the inner wall of the clock, beside the pendulum, was a bronze key over twenty centimeters long, with a black ribbon tied to its handle.

What attracts me is the tip of the key, which is not square or flat like the winding handle of an ordinary clock—but rather a lotus flower with twelve overlapping petals in full bloom.

Xiao Keleng took off the lotus key, moved the hour hand slightly, and then inserted the lotus-shaped end into the winding hole on the dial, turning it with a clanging sound.

I walked to the study door and peered inside. My eyes were filled with layers upon layers of books, enough to make my head spin. If these books were all bought by my older brother in the past, he must have been an avid reader.

There is an old Chinese proverb that says, "Travel ten thousand miles and read ten thousand books," and my elder brother has undoubtedly put this saying into practice very well.

Even just skimming through all these books from beginning to end would be an incredibly difficult task, let alone meticulously searching through each page. The workload would be unimaginable.

Suddenly, the sound of a car screeching to a halt came from outside the window.

Xiao Keleng had already wound the clock to its fullest extent. He looked up at the window, frowned, and muttered, "It's that group of people again?"

From the window, one could see all the way to the manor's main gate. Two luxurious black Toyota sedans were parked one after the other. The driver of the front sedan jumped out, opened the door, and respectfully placed his hand on the door frame to welcome a middle-aged Japanese man out of the car.

The man was wearing a well-made gray suit and shiny black leather shoes. He was tall and had a commanding presence.

"Who are these people?" I asked as Xiao Keleng had already put away the keys and closed the glass case of the grandfather clock.

“Watanabe Shiro, the executive officer of the alliance of Japan’s three major heavy industry conglomerates.” She pointed to the man.

In the global heavy industry, the name "Watanabe Castle" is arguably more renowned than that of Emperor Hirohito of Japan. Many well-known heavy industrial product distributors in Europe and America regard Watanabe Castle as the industry leader, whose mere presence in Tokyo can send shivers down the spines of London, Paris, and New York.

I'd heard of him, but he looked noticeably younger than in the newspaper photos.

He wore a pair of light-colored brown glasses, his hair was neatly combed back, and his chin was slightly raised, giving him an air of confidence.

Xiao Keleng hurriedly explained, "I have already reported to Sister Su Lun that the Japanese Heavy Industries Alliance of Watanabe City, for some unknown purpose, has been contacting us for the past two months, preparing to purchase the series of villas in Xunfuyuan. You must know Mr. Feng, right?"

I nodded. Indeed, Suren had mentioned it.

"As for the price, they've already offered four times the market valuation—" Xiao Ke took a deep breath, because a transaction amount four times the market price was absolutely deviating from business principles, and some caution was necessary. In business, everyone knows that "there's no such thing as a free lunch," and any seemingly sure-fire deal could be bait thrown by competitors.

Xiao Ke walked downstairs, efficiently reporting two figures to me: "The Xunfuyuan villa complex, including the land and buildings, was valued at US$40 million by Tokyo's leading real estate appraisal firm, which is already the maximum possible overvaluation. Based on this report, the business representative of the Heavy Industry Alliance directly promised to acquire it for US$160 million, and in cash."

In such a large-scale business merger and acquisition plan, almost no one will readily hand over cash to the seller; most transactions will be conducted through a "stock swap".

I followed him downstairs, laughing sarcastically, "Has the Heavy Industry Alliance gone mad? Would they really do such a losing business?"

The downstairs hall had been cleaned up, and Anzi and Xinzi were placing two vases on the fireplace, filled with blooming red roses and baby's breath, filling the room with the fragrance of roses.

Xiao Ke turned around and smiled gently: "It's me again—"

I continued, "Is this just another routine from Mr. Scalpel?"

Scalpel is a person with an extremely elegant lifestyle. Over the years, he has developed many unique and refined habits, such as authentic Chinese jasmine tea and the need to see roses and baby's breath wherever he goes—all the flowers and herbs are air-freighted from the Dutch flower cultivation base on the same day to maintain first-class freshness.

Both vases are made of bronze, with a large belly and short neck, and two small carved handles at the mouth, giving them an antique feel.

I noticed that there are many bronze artifacts in the villas of Xunfuyuan, such as vases, statues above fireplaces, bronze carved mirrors in the bathrooms, and grandfather clocks—it would be a shame if the crystal chandelier on the living room ceiling were replaced with a large, flamboyant Baroque-style bronze floral lamp…

Looking out from the open gate, Watanabe Castle had already walked halfway down the tree-lined road. He slowed his pace and looked up at the main building on the villa side.

Two men stood to his left and right. The one on the left was very tall and thin, looking like a bamboo pole used for drying clothes wearing a suit, giving him an extremely incongruous and "swaying" appearance. At first glance, I noticed his sleeves; they were slightly taut from the wrists to the elbows, suggesting that weapons or ammunition were concealed inside.

The man wore dark sunglasses, his sparse hair hung down casually, and he was definitely over 1.8 meters tall. He followed behind Watanabe Shiro, looking somewhat absent-minded.

The one on the right was wearing a loose-fitting gray European-style casual suit and gray sneakers. He held a folding fan in his right hand and tapped it lightly on his left palm as he walked. He wasn't wearing glasses, but his eyes were long and narrow, like two horizontal willow-leaf knives.

Watanabe stopped and stood in the shade of a birch tree.

The two men behind him also stopped, standing in a triangular formation with Watanabe, remaining silent. It was then that I noticed a young man in a suit and tie, carrying a briefcase, following them humbly and closely. The three men in front were so tall that they had completely hidden the young man from view.

“Mr. Otake is an employee of the Tokyo Real Estate Exchange. He was entrusted by Watanabe to negotiate the transfer of the property with us.”

Xiao Keleng explained to me in a low voice and quickly went out to greet me.

I know that Watanabe Jo has unfathomable yakuza connections, which is why he wields such influence and power in the business world. If the Xunfuyuan Villa Complex wants to continue operating in Hokkaido, they can't afford to offend him too much.

I didn't want to deal with the Japanese, so I slowly strolled to the fireplace and looked up at the statues on the wall.

The golden age of bronze artifacts was during the Shang, Zhou, Warring States, and Qin periods. Both the discovery of materials and the smelting techniques had reached a level of perfection, which is why tens of thousands of magnificent bronze national treasures were left to future generations.

I can't estimate the exact age of this statue, but if there are finished products "cast in bronze", they must have been made many years after the Han Dynasty. After all, before the collapse of the Eastern Han Dynasty, bronze smelting technology was owned by the emperors and the royal family, and was mainly used to make bells and tripods for sacrifices, or weapons and swords. There was no technical guiding principle for using it to sculpt human figures.

The box in the statue's hand should be operable. I reached out and gently lifted it, and the lid popped open.

The box was empty, which didn't surprise me. The bottom and sides were carved with intricate cloud patterns, densely packed together. Of course, the inside of the open lid was also covered in carvings. The workers were very diligent in cleaning; not a speck of dust could be found even on the inside of the box.

I didn't hear the sound of bubbles again, but instead, I heard a melodious Chinese voice: "Your villa has perfectly formed a 'nine-headed bird fighting for its life' trap, extremely dangerous. The price of 160 million is already its limit in the market, even in Japan—if you still refuse to sell, then you can just keep it and use it as a coffin for the owner..."

Foreigners speaking Chinese, no matter how fluently and fluently they speak, always carry a certain foreign accent.

I turned my head to look outside, and there was a young man named "Dazhu" gesturing at Xiao Keleng.

The villa's layout is indeed ominous, as any discerning person can see. However, this layout can be neutralized by placing a bronze artifact depicting a white crane stepping on a tortoise in the owner's study or bedroom. If the solution is executed skillfully, the unfavorable situation can be turned into a prosperous one, bringing wealth, offspring, and family well-being.

When it comes to the mysterious schools of thought surrounding Feng Shui, Bagua, fortune telling, and Yin-Yang dwellings, there is no doubt that all schools of thought worldwide originated in China. Our neighbor Japan, in particular, has been constantly picking up scraps of information from China, then changing labels and taking things out of context to create so-called "Japanese Yin-Yang Feng Shui," which is nothing short of blatant plagiarism and utterly ridiculous.

Hearing that young man, whose baby hair hadn't even fallen out yet, showing off with spittle flying everywhere, I got so angry that I couldn't help but let out a heavy "humph" and lightly slap the fireplace with my right hand, making a soft "smack" sound.

The snow-white baby's breath buds in the vase swayed slightly from my powerful palm strike, causing three or four small flowers to fall and drift away in the wind.

Xiao Keleng possessed the composure of a great general, showing no anger whatsoever, and always wore a smile as he listened to Dazhu arrogantly waving his arms and shouting.

"Hmm, is there another expert in the living room?" It was still in Chinese, but this time it was the man holding the folding fan who spoke. He turned the fan handle and tapped it on Daitake's shoulder, signaling him to step aside. At the same time, he took a few steps forward and blocked Watanabe Shiro's way.

A deal worth four times the market value is indeed a great deal, but I first need to figure out Watanabe's purpose in buying this series of villas. If he really insists, I might not sell even forty times the market value, let alone four.

The ashes in the fireplace had been cleaned out, and dry, neatly arranged firewood had been replaced on the stove rack. Thinking back on last night's eerie experience, I still felt a lingering fear: "It definitely wasn't a hallucination! One hundred percent sure!"

I glanced down at my watch and asked the two Japanese girls, "Who took my watch upstairs just now?"

A girl with a turquoise earring raised her right hand: "Sir, it's me, Anzi."

I finally noticed the subtle difference between the twin sisters: Anko wore the turquoise earring, and Xinzi wore the green turquoise earring. Apart from that, I couldn't see any difference between them, including their expressions, mouth shapes, and teeth—sigh, they were exactly the same.

Volume Two: The Tower of the Dead

The first book, The Mysterious Villa

— Chapter 5 — The Nine-Headed Bird Struggles for Its Life, A Single Arrow Pierces the Heart —

"So, did you adjust the time on my watch? I remember it stopped by itself last night, stuck at 8:20," I asked, puzzled.

“No, sir, I just found it on the sofa and thought you might need it, so I brought it up,” Anzi answered honestly, her eyes clear and innocent, her attitude respectful. Neither of the sisters were strikingly beautiful, but they were clean, tidy, and gentle, making one feel comfortable and at ease in their presence.

A master scalpel expert like him has a unique eye for judging people and things. Since he has chosen these two sisters as servants, they must be quite good.

I was puzzled: "My wristwatch stops at 8:20 p.m. and restarts at 8:20 a.m.; while the grandfather clock upstairs stops at 8:20 a.m.—are these breaks and continuations in time a coincidence or an inevitability?"

At that moment, my hand remained resting on the protruding edge of the fireplace, feeling an unusual chill in my palm. I couldn't help but pull my hand back, squatting down to carefully examine the interior of the fireplace, meticulously searching each brick. The fireplace was built with genuine solid Japanese red clay bricks. In the 1970s, the rapidly developing Japanese construction industry consumed an average of 200,000 such solid bricks every day, causing a significant shortage of soil in Japan and greatly alarming the government.

The bricks are very ordinary; they look the same on both the front and side walls.

The bluestone slabs paving the ground were also normal, with the adjacent gaps neat and uniform, and each gap was carefully filled with white cement.

I didn't want to ask the Anzi sisters about the sound of the bubbles anymore, lest I make them laugh so hard they choke.

"Since a master has arrived, why not invite him out to meet us?" The man holding the fan raised his voice, his tone aggressive.

It's understandable that the Japanese are arrogant on this land, just like the old Chinese saying, "Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake."

I sneered and strode out. This was the private property of Scalpel, their personal territory. We had the right to do whatever we wanted and to kick out any uninvited guest at any time.

As I descended the steps, I deliberately showed off my "Eight-Step Cloud Leap" light-footed skill. Fifteen steps, a straight distance of six meters, I practically slid out with a flick of my shoulder, landing lightly next to Xiao Keleng. This startled Da Zhu, who took a big step back, his face full of surprise and doubt.

Xiao Keleng's short hair flew wildly as she made a look of utter astonishment, as if she were filled with "utmost admiration."

"Impressive skill!" The man holding the folding fan opened it with a whoosh, revealing a long row of colorful images of Japanese geishas painted on its surface. Intimidated by my imposing presence, he also took a half-step back, his sharp, piercing eyes suddenly widening in a menacing glint.

“Xunfu Garden is mine. If there’s anything, you can talk to me.” I casually took over Xiao Keleng’s responsibilities.

"This is Mr. Watanabe Castle, and these two are the Fate Hunter, Mr. Nine-Tailed Fox, and his assistant, Mr. Golden Wheel." Xiao Ke smiled coldly and took a step back to the side.

It's good to have business to do, but there has to be a willing seller and a willing buyer.

Nine-Tailed Fox is known as the "Number One Fate Hunter Feng Shui Master of the Japanese Islands," while Golden Wheel is a multi-time Japanese Sanda Champion. Both are influential figures working alongside Watanabe Castle.

The atmosphere on the tree-lined avenue suddenly became tense. These Japanese men had come on strong, trying to intimidate us from the start, which aroused my great resentment. The house was built by my elder brother; his expertise in feng shui was far beyond the comprehension of a few Japanese devils.

Watanabe waved his hand, turned his face to the side as if admiring the tall, straight birch tree next to him, implying that everything should be handled by Kurama, as if shaking hands and talking with someone as insignificant as me would diminish his noble status.

Nine-Tailed Fox waved her fan, smiling with feigned elegance: "This must be Mr. Feng, the new owner of the villa Miss Xiao mentioned. Let's get straight to the point. This deal is clearly a bargain from our boss. Think about it, four times the market price, enough for you to rebuild a mansion in Sapporo or Tokyo. The contract is already here, and the cash is in the car. If you're wise, sign the contract now, and 160 million will be yours!"

On the reverse side of the fan is a famous quote from Confucius' Analects: "Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar?"

It seems that not only does Nine-Tailed Fox speak fluent Chinese, but he also possesses a high level of Chinese literary literacy. However, when he laughs loudly, his eyes open and close like knives, making it clear that he is no ordinary kind person.

I deliberately frowned and smiled: "One hundred and sixty million? That's a lot, but—"

Nine-Tails chuckled disdainfully: "But what? Our boss anticipated that you Chinese would hoard this treasure—haha, there's a box in the trunk, worth a full two hundred million US dollars, how about that? Five times the price, you wouldn't even dream of that, would you?" After saying this, the three Japanese men smiled simultaneously, seemingly confident that they had me completely under their control.

Two hundred million US dollars, five times the market valuation, is indeed enough to impress people.

I stroked my chin, making a drooling face, and stared at the car outside. There were several men in black inside, probably Watanabe's other bodyguards.

"How about it? This is amazing news, are you overjoyed? Hahahaha..." Nine-Tailed Fox laughed arrogantly. The Japanese are superstitious about the "silver bullet offensive." In the past, when their business scouts opened up the European and American markets, they used a very powerful silver bullet offensive to bribe all the high-ranking officials in the import and export departments of European and American countries, so that they could push electronic products into supermarkets of all sizes in those countries like a tide.