King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 183

The Truth of the Sixth Tomb of the Gods

— Chapter 4 — The Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sparrow Killing Formation —

The operators of both cranes jumped out of their cabs at the same time, circling the samurai statue to admire it and marvel at it. Perhaps they had never seen anything so strange in their crane-hauling careers.

I noticed that as soon as the samurai statue moved out of the projection range of the main building, the load on the crane immediately decreased by at least tenfold, which could be seen from the operator's movements. In other words, the gravitational force exerted on it was inside the main building.

Sunlight streamed through the holes drilled in the floor, shining directly onto the ground floor. Xiao Ke knelt down, carefully examining the exposed steel bars and picking up a piece of concrete to scrutinize it repeatedly, but found nothing.

We eventually gave up and left the main building, and the workers went back to work.

“Mr. Feng, the X-ray survey vehicle will arrive in ten minutes. Perhaps we can find something from its base?” Xiao Keleng circled the warrior statue a few times, then opened the front panel of the clock to take a look.

I pointed to the water pavilion: "Xiao Xiao, don't be too anxious, take a rest first."

Judging from the workers' progress, if nothing unusual happens, the dismantling should be completed in another five hours. When I was looking down at the main building from the crane just now, I felt that the thickness of the partition walls in the three rooms was normal, and there were indeed no hidden walls. On this point, the results of the previous detection by the scalpel were accurate.

As soon as Xiao Keleng entered the water pavilion, she was startled by the blueprint on the table: "Hmm? Mr. Feng, is this the prototype of the target you want to modify?" She pointed to the north mark I had added later, rotated the blueprint so it faced the main building, and suddenly sighed with a cold face: "Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sparrow Killing Formation against 'One Arrow Piercing the Heart Formation', doesn't this violate a major taboo in divination? Could it be that the oracle of the 'Well of Spirits' is that we should modify the Xunfuyuan Villa passed down by Mr. Scalpel into something like this? I can't accept it, I can't accept it!"

She shook her head vigorously, looking at Guan Baoling in disbelief.

Guan Baoling frowned, wondering why Xiao Keleng was so agitated. She pressed down on the drawing from the other side of the coffee table: "The oracle that appeared in the well shows exactly this. What I drew is completely consistent with Feng's memory, so there's nothing wrong with it."

Xiao Keleng gave a few cold laughs, feeling that she couldn't explain it to an outsider like Guan Baoling, and then turned her gaze to me.

I smiled gently: "Xiao Xiao, this is just a process of seeking solutions, just like the 'Nine-Headed Bird's Fate-Struggling Formation' that once stood in this courtyard. If it's not good, it can be changed. It's never the final conclusion. Society and people are constantly evolving, and we always have the opportunity to correct our mistakes—don't be too impulsive. The first step is to dismantle the main building and see if there are any special discoveries."

Xiao Keleng's feelings for the villa were unparalleled. Perhaps over the past three years, she had come to regard the entire villa complex as her home. Every demolition of a piece of it brought her the feeling of leaving her hometown and losing her family. The ups and downs and constant displacement during her escape had caused her immense emotional damage, making her more emotionally volatile than normal in certain aspects.

"I've just brewed a pot of Chinese Longjing tea. Why don't we all sit down, enjoy a cup of tea, and chat leisurely?" Guan Baoling picked up the short-necked glass teapot and filled three chrysanthemum-shaped glass cups with the clear, bluish-green tea. The fragrant aroma of Longjing tea slowly floated in the air. Thinking about it carefully, aside from the fanged demon curse afflicting Guan Baoling, we all have a future full of time. There's no need to rush forward; we should at least have the leisure to stop, have a cup of tea, and organize our thoughts.

Xiao Ke's impatience contrasted sharply with Su Lun's calm and composed demeanor as commander-in-chief. Therefore, in my mind, when faced with major events, she could never compare to Su Lun. One could only say that she was capable of being a general and a vanguard, while Su Lun, in every respect, was undoubtedly a brilliant commander.

As the art of war says, "A thousand soldiers are easy to find, but a great commander is hard to come by." As the last disciple of Guan Nan Wulang, Su Lun naturally possesses exceptional abilities.

As I picked up my chrysanthemum cup and thought of Su Lun, a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on my face. It's so hard to control one's emotions. Between Su Lun and Guan Baoling, once the obstacle of "The Tycoon" was removed, I suddenly felt that on the scales of our emotions, Su Lun and Guan Baoling had become equal.

"What came to mind?" Guan Baoling's gaze shifted and landed on my face.

Xiao Ke's emotions calmed down. She sighed several times, holding her teacup silently, staring blankly at the busy workers. Everyone feels the same way: building a house is a busy and joyous occasion, while demolishing and moving is a time of utter frustration and dejection.

"I was wondering if Xiao Yan's tracking work had already begun—" I lied, but my thoughts also returned to normal, and I focused entirely on the current situation.

It was just past 10 a.m. If Helen had already transferred 1.5 billion US dollars to the other party's account, the tycoon should have received a call from the extortionist immediately. I stared again at the teeth marks under Guan Baoling's neck, wishing that all those horrifying things would disappear in the next second.

Xiao Ke finished her tea in one gulp, then held up the blueprint with both hands, examining it inch by inch. Only when a white special-purpose vehicle drove into the villa did she look away from the blueprint, puzzled, and smiled bitterly, "Mr. Feng, the 'Arrow Through the Heart' formation is positioned high up, overlooking the battlefield from above, making it unstoppable—that's one advantage. Secondly, the 'arrow' of Fengge Temple is positioned with sheer cliffs and the sea to the north and east, eliminating the threat of the 'Azure Dragon of the East and Black Tortoise of the North,' ensuring our rear is secure and allowing us to focus our efforts on dealing with the 'White Tiger of the West and Vermilion Bird of the South.' We are currently in the 'Vermilion Bird' position; if we dig a channel, wouldn't that be the most dangerous moment?"

She is absolutely right. "A bird leaping into the abyss is about to be shot down" is indeed a major taboo in feng shui, and it is a chapter specifically marked in the classics.

I nodded: "Yes, you're absolutely right."

Xiao Keleng gave another bitter smile, seemingly unwilling to say anything more, and got up to greet the white X-ray survey vehicle.

"What did Miss Xiao just say? I didn't quite understand." Guan Baoling laughed and refilled my glass. Explaining terms like Nine Palaces, Eight Trigrams, Five Elements, taboos, and offense and defense to a complete novice is a very complicated matter. I could only shake my head and smile: "It's okay, we were just discussing some concepts in numerology, which are very dry stuff."

In this situation, Guan Baoling wouldn't be of much use. Perhaps her most suitable stage is under the spotlight in the city center, while I, as a wandering figure who intends to dedicate my life to tomb raiding, archaeology, and a life of wandering, seem to have very little overlap with her life.

“Okay, I really don’t understand, but I know you’ll always keep your promises to me,” Guan Baoling said with a gentle smile.

I stared intently at her face: "Miss Guan, I think you'd better go to the Water Mist Villa. The environment here is very dirty and chaotic, and when the old houses were being demolished, dust flew everywhere and yin energy arose. I'm afraid it might hurt you."

According to general principles of Feng Shui, houses older than ten years accumulate a considerable amount of negative energy. Therefore, girls with weak mental defenses should avoid such places, otherwise, they risk being possessed by evil spirits and potentially encountering unforeseen problems. Guan Baoling's past experiences have shown that she belongs to the category of people with "weak birth charts" in ancient Chinese philosophy, making her easily controlled by evil spirits. Otherwise, the curse of the Fang Demon wouldn't have so easily afflicted her.

Guan Baoling stood up and sighed sadly, "Feng, I know I can't help you. Okay, I'll go over there first and wait for your good news."

Xiao Lai always appears when I need him most. He drove Guan Baoling away and brought me a note from Xiao Yan: "Feng, this time, it's a hacker war between the Chinese and the most famous 'Six Demons' in Europe, haha! Let them all die! I've mobilized 20,000 botnets in the Pacific Rim region. This will be a unique botnet feast. Open the champagne and wait for me!"

Xiao Yan's Chinese writing is absolutely terrible. Even with guessing and trying to read it, I can only understand about 80% of it. The rest are all inexplicable self-invented English words.

"Most of the brothers in the guild are setting up guard posts at the Water Mist Villa, but unfortunately these watchtowers were just built and have to be put to use without ever being used..." Xiao Lai seemed very frustrated, constantly touching the scar on the corner of his mouth.

"Xiao Lai, do the brothers have more objections to dismantling Xunfuyuan? Especially... Brother Thirteen?" I knew that because of Guan Baoling, the feud between Wang Shisan and me had been completely severed.

Xiao Lai, with a pained expression, took a brand-new Nokia phone, a pistol, and a box of bullets from the drawer under the dashboard. After handing them to me, he whispered, "Brother Thirteen has a lot of prestige among the brothers in the Japanese branch. When he complains, one sentence is worth a hundred sentences from others. If anything happens, please call me first, Mr. Feng. If you consider me a brother, then let me be the first to charge into battle and risk my life. I will always support you!"

He spread his palms out and held them upright in the air. I reached out and gave him a high five: "Xiao Lai, I've already considered you a brother. From now on, call me 'Brother Feng.' No need for any formalities. From now on, we'll share the good times and the bad, and be brothers who will go through thick and thin together."

The test for Xiao Lai should be over. His quick wit, courage, loyalty, and diligence are enough to earn my full trust.

"Brother Feng—" Xiao Lai was overjoyed and gripped my hand tightly, his scar on his lip turning red with excitement.

I patted the car door with a smile: "Brother Xiao Lai, I'm entrusting Miss Guan's safety to you."

Xiao Lai stepped on the gas, and the engine roared. He patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Brother Feng, with me here, no one can hurt Miss Guan."

Guan Baoling remained silent. This was probably the first time an awkward rift had appeared between us, but I believed that as the curse of the Fang Demon was lifted and the "black magic" was broken, we would definitely reconcile.

Watching Xiao Lai's car drive out of the gate, I walked lightly toward the warrior statue.

Staff members wearing white lead-plate protective suits were still carefully examining the statue with probes. Xiao Keleng stood silently with his arms crossed, fifteen steps away from the outer circle of the bronze statue.

"It's very likely we'll find nothing again, but why? There must be some kind of force at work, whether it's magnetism, electricity, or energy radiation... Without an external force, the weight of this bronze statue wouldn't fluctuate so drastically. Mr. Feng, can you explain this strange phenomenon?"

Xiao Keleng was trying her best to control her emotions. As she spoke, she frowned and scratched her short hair vigorously. The temperature wasn't very high today, but fine beads of sweat still appeared on her nose, reflecting a shiny sheen.

The samurai statue faces the waterside pavilion, cradling a clock, maintaining its fixed upright posture, appearing out of place with its surroundings. I have a feeling that its existence, like the glaring "Nine-Headed Birds Struggling for Life," is unable to blend into its environment, making one increasingly uncomfortable the more one looks at it, wishing one could move it elsewhere.

The staff member turned off the probe, removed the whistle, let out a long sigh, and slowly shook his head: "Miss Xiao, nothing found. This is the twenty-sixth time this bronze statue has been probed in three years. Why?" The man had an ugly, horse-like face, with pockmarks all over his cheekbones, making him look quite repulsive.

The samurai statue gleams in the sunlight; what secrets does it hold inside?

"You Chinese, do you just go looking for trouble and do all this useless work? It's ridiculous..." The long-faced man muttered, lowering his head to tug at the waterproof wire on the probe, preparing to return to the engineering inspection vehicle. Inside the vehicle, four other men in work clothes were engrossed in reading magazines.

“Wait a minute, Mr. Ben—” Xiao Keleng pulled out a wad of banknotes from his pocket and waved them in the sunlight.

The horse-faced man and his four companions' expressions changed instantly. Like lapdogs seeing braised pork ribs, their faces beamed with delight, their eyes narrowing into slits. In Japanese society, customers rarely tip staff, so receiving extra money from a customer is considered a stroke of incredible luck.

“Miss Xiao, if there’s anything else you need, please feel free to say it, please feel free to say it—” This despicable man named “You Ben” rubbed his hands together and chuckled. It seemed that if he had the voice of a lapdog, he would probably bark twice without hesitation to express his excitement at the moment, and the pockmarks on his face were shining with excitement.

The stack of banknotes was worth over ten thousand yen, equivalent to a week's income for a worker of their level. But Xiao Keleng took out his phone with his other hand, skillfully dialed a number, and said with a cold smile into the microphone: "I am Xiao Keleng, your company's largest business partner in the past three years. I can promise that we will cooperate with you at least thirty times in the next three years. However, my condition is that Mr. Benji Saburo be dismissed. Don't ask me why, I want him to disappear from the X-ray detection industry in Hokkaido immediately."

Ben's horse-like face stretched even longer, and his complexion turned deathly pale in an instant.

"Mr. Ben, you're fired." Xiao Ke hung up the phone, staring coldly at the other person's horse-like face.

"You Chinese—this is our Yamato people's territory, just you wait! Just you wait!" Ben jumped back onto the inspection vehicle, shouting, "Let's go, we're leaving! We won't work for the Chinese, let's go!"

The four men's eyes were fixed on the colorful banknotes in Xiao Keleng's hand, ignoring him completely.

Xiao Ke sneered: "Go, immediately inspect the floors and walls of the three rooms on the second floor. In one hour, this money will be yours."

The four men immediately started the car, and one of them gave Ben a heavy shove on the shoulder: "Get out, get out, we're about to start working."

After being pushed down, Ben glared at Xiao Keleng resentfully before walking towards the gate.

This unexpected turn of events made me worry that Xiao Keleng might have gone too far, but she was determined to do it, and of course she had her reasons.

After the inspection vehicle drove towards the main building, Xiao Ke said in a low voice, "Mr. Feng, don't blame me for being nosy. This person, You Ben, has always discriminated against Chinese, North Koreans, and South Koreans, and he has close ties with Watanabe City's forces. I even sold him a copy of the villa's inspection data. I've been putting up with this for a long time. Taking this opportunity to drive him away is like getting rid of a thorn in my side."

There has been no news from Watanabe Castle for a long time, and it seems that his covetousness for the villa will not end so easily.

Actually, my biggest worry is that after the disassembly is completed, nothing will be found, and our panic and concern about the "Nine-Headed Bird Fighting for Life" will be unnecessary.

This result could be verified within a few hours. As a result, not only did I fail to find any clues to continue my pursuit of my elder brother, but I also destroyed the only trace he left in Muwanzhoushan, which was a net loss. Even worse, the demolition of the house and the construction of the canal were ineffective, and my and Guan Baoling's hopes of breaking the "black magic" were repeatedly dashed.

“Mr. Feng, I would like to ask you a question—” Xiao Keleng hesitated.

I smiled at her and said, "Xiao Xiao, you're always so polite. Please speak freely. I'll tell you everything I know."

Xiao Keleng clasped his hands together, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "You and Sister Sulun went through life and death together in the desert, and your bond is extremely deep. And that intelligent and beautiful female general, Tina, is also deeply in love with you. Can't they win your heart? I know Sister Sulun is very unhappy, otherwise she wouldn't have risked her life to enter 'Lan Valley.' Given her calm and experienced personality, this risky move is more than 90% likely related to you. So, I want to ask on her behalf, do you really like Miss Guan? Compared to her, would Sister Sulun be excluded?"

It was nearly noon, and all the workers stopped what they were doing and waited for the four X-ray detectors to finish before they could continue.

My gaze remained fixed on the half-demolished nine-pane window. I pondered Xiao Keleng's question for a long time before slowly answering, "Xiao, you're still young, and matters of the heart are unpredictable. I'll talk to Su Lun again, but not now. Once things in Hokkaido are settled, I might fly to Xi'an to join her exploration team. Thank you for your concern."

This ambiguous answer clearly did not satisfy her. Unfortunately, I hadn't even thought this through myself, so how could I casually tell others?

My conversation with the tycoon left me with mixed feelings. I was pleased that he had personally confirmed Guan Baoling's innocence, but worried that my own investigation would be restricted under his powerful influence. The tycoon doted on Guan Baoling and would undoubtedly demand that I provide her with a stable life and stay by her side.

That's something I can't do, at least not for the next thirty years. Tigers roam the mountains and forests, dragons soar in the clouds; the world of martial arts is where I belong. The kind of life of seclusion and pampered comfort is not for me.

At 11:40 a.m., Gu Zhijin called the latest phone number Xiao Lai had given me: "Feng, your phone is really hard to find. You keep changing it, you're more mysterious than the Chief Executive of Hong Kong."

His voice wasn't the furious one I'd imagined; instead, it was urgent yet joyful, even a little smug.

I mumbled an agreement, made a wry smile at Xiao Keleng who was listening intently, and then pressed the "speaker" button on the phone.

"I got the instrument. It's alright. The asking price of eight million pounds is reasonable for its quality, but how could you possibly refuse it? I, Gu, am not one to rob or seize; I have an excellent reputation among Asian ancient musical instruments. Consider this a debt I owe you. When you come to Hong Kong, I'll cover all your expenses—food, clothing, accommodation, and transportation. Ah, having a friend like you is truly a wonderful thing! Um, wait a moment, Qingcheng has something to tell you—"

Xiao Keleng's mouth immediately formed an "O" shape, her hands clenched into fists and she waved them forcefully, exclaiming in a low voice, "Who? Who did he say he wanted to answer the phone?"

We didn't mishear; Gu Zhijin said the words "倾城" (qīngchéng).

Immediately, Gu Qingcheng's melodious voice came through the receiver: "Mr. Feng, are you alright? I hope the eight million pounds bill hasn't kept you up at night?"

Xiao Ke patted her chest and sighed, "What a brilliant 'golden cicada shedding its shell' plan! The entire police force in Hokkaido has been fooled." Not only her, but I also sincerely admire Gu Qingcheng's retreat plan. She was able to anticipate the Japanese's wolfish ambitions and make the most thorough arrangements.

I smiled contentedly and replied, "Miss Gu, the fake car accident you staged really gave me a fright. I was worried your brother would come to Hokkaido and tear me to pieces. Hearing your voice again is such a relief, I'm so happy. Don't even mention eight million pounds, I'd be willing to give you and your brother an extra two million—"

Gu Qingcheng smiled and asked in return, "Oh? You're just worried that your brother will hunt you down. Can't you even worry about me from a friend's perspective?"

Honestly, when the news of the car accident came, I did feel sorry for her tragic death. Given her looks and education, she was an outstanding young woman among Chinese women, no less than Su Lun or Guan Baoling. In today's Chinese world, such girls are extremely rare, and I even felt a momentary, intense hatred for powerful figures because of her death.

We both laughed on the phone. Gu Qingcheng spoke with great sincerity: "Mr. Feng, my brother and I are extremely grateful for your kindness in gifting us the zither. A gentleman repays a small kindness with a great one. In a few days, we'll be flying to Xi'an on the mainland to discuss some antique business. I heard your good friend, Miss Su Lun, is nearby. If possible, how about we all get together in Xi'an? My brother will treat you to a drink. Of course, Mr. Feng is surrounded by beautiful women, so everyone is welcome to come. My brother has said at least ten times that he wants to learn from Mr. Feng how to obtain so many romantic encounters. We hope you won't hesitate to share your wisdom then..."

Perhaps on the surface, I seem to have one girl after another in my life, enjoying the bliss of having multiple wives, but I know what kind of person I am. I can only respond to the misunderstanding of the Gu siblings with a wry smile: "Miss Gu is joking. We'll keep in touch again when we have the chance. However, this time you have caused too much trouble for the Japanese police. They will soon be searching Xunfuyuan Villa as if it were a major threat. I'm afraid it will take several months to conduct a continuous investigation. Isn't this deliberately harassing them?"

Gu Qingcheng laughed even more heartily: "Yes, the Japanese love to stir up trouble and create problems where there are none. Let them have their fun this time. To repay Mr. Feng's generosity, my maritime supply lines will be open to you free of charge. Whenever you need to transfer assets out, you can call my brother, and our people will bring them back to Hong Kong. I really hope to find an opportunity to repay your favor, whether it's all at once, ten times, or a hundred times—"

The Truth of the Sixth Tomb of the Gods

— Chapter 5 — What exactly is buried beneath the main building? —

After hanging up, Xiao Keleng had recovered from her shock. Looking at the four inspection workers who had reluctantly finished their work, she seemed to understand something: "Mr. Feng, is it worth eight million pounds for two favors? I'm a little... confused. Is this the meaning of the ancient saying, 'A smile is worth a thousand pieces of gold'? Would any man spend a fortune without batting an eye just to win a smile from a beautiful woman?"

She didn't understand the mysteries of that guqin, and I didn't want to bother explaining them; I just wanted to give Tengjia's soul a place to rest freely.

I pointed to the main building and changed the subject: "Xiao Xiao, it seems our probe has failed again."

The four workers received the banknotes from Xiao Keleng, but we received nothing except a long string of "no"s on that white report. There were no hidden compartments, no unknown magnets, no metal mechanisms—none of the things we expected appeared.

This was a terrible start. After a brief discussion with Xiao Keleng, I ordered the workers to work faster and speed up the dismantling process. If they could finish within three hours, their wages would be doubled.

Lured by the money, the foreman bought boxed lunches, and the workers were divided into two groups to take turns eating, without slowing down the progress at all.

The down-to-earth and hardworking spirit of Japanese workers deeply impressed me. They are the lower class in this commercialized society, but they never complain or give up on themselves. Instead, they work diligently and earn their wages in a way they can accept. It is truly an incredible business miracle that Japanese cities, devastated after World War II, could rise to become one of the "Four Asian Tigers" in just forty years.

Perhaps this almost dull, "ant-like" spirit of perseverance is what intelligent Americans fear most.