However, when they arrived at Mo Mo's side, they were stunned. Around the wooden building, which was still burning fiercely and was about the size of seven or eight houses, were corpses that had been drained by the black snakes. There were human corpses and various animal corpses, all of which had been completely devoured by the black snakes, leaving only empty skins. Although the corpses were wrapped in the spider silk of the black snakes, the gruesome sight of them being slowly tortured to death was still visible. Their faces were all contorted with pain.
Suddenly, the fat man pointed to the fire and said to Hu Bayi and Big Gold Tooth, "Old Hu, Old Gold, look there, there's a human face."
Hu Bayi and Da Jinya looked in the direction the fat man had indicated, and sure enough, a huge human face appeared in the fire. It was several times larger than the human face formed by the patterns on the back of the black snake, and even larger than the human face carved on the stone coffin.
The face in the fire was illuminated by the flames, making its already bizarre expression even more mysterious. This giant face was located in the center of the building, and it was revealed as the surrounding area burned and collapsed. It turned out to be a huge bronze cauldron with a strange human face cast on its body.
Seeing this, the fat man asked Mo Mo, "Master Mo, is this also part of that damned ghost tomb?"
Mo Mo shook his head and said, "This is not part of the Ghost Tomb. It should be that the ancients worshipped this cruel human-faced black serpent as the incarnation of a god, and specially built this temple in their lair to worship it. That ghost tomb from the Western Zhou Dynasty is most likely related to this altar with the human-faced tripod."
After hearing this, the fat man grinned and said, "Those ancient people really didn't treat people like human beings. Who knows how many slaves they sacrificed to feed these black worms. Today, Master Mo destroyed their lair, which can be considered as doing justice for Heaven."
With Mo Mo around, the three of them felt very confident. They stood not far away and watched, not afraid of any black worms that hadn't been burned to death. They even thought about whether they could go over and find some good things after the fire was extinguished. The fat man focused his attention on the bronze cauldron.
So he urged, "Once the fire's out, let's find a way to get that bronze cauldron out. If we can bring it back to Beijing, it could probably be worth several buildings." He then nudged Big Gold Tooth, "Old Gold, what do you think? This thing is definitely worth a fortune." He slapped his thigh and added, "Hey, this thing won't burn, will it?"
Big Gold Tooth said to Fatty, "Fatty, I think you should just give up on that thing. The Human-Faced Cauldron probably weighs no less than a thousand pounds. How can the four of us move it empty-handed? Besides, even if we take it back, we can't sell it. This kind of thing is a national treasure, not something ordinary people can afford to sell. Only the state can collect it. It's better to just leave it where it is and not cause any more trouble."
Everyone knew that Big Gold Tooth was a shrewd businessman, but he was also a seasoned veteran in the antique trade. He knew exactly what kind of antiques and artifacts could be bought and sold. However, for things like bronze tripods, which could cost lives, no matter how much money was involved, they were still a hot potato. Even if you had the life to make money, you wouldn't be able to enjoy it. No matter how much money you made, it would still be a business that would wipe out your capital in the end. It was definitely not worth it. So, even though Fatty was unwilling, he had no choice but to give up.
The group followed Mo Mo through a maze of winding paths, long since leaving the entrance to the tomb. Although Mo Mo still remembered the way, he had no intention of going back. However, he remembered that Fatty had obtained a genuine tomb-raiding talisman here, though Mo Mo didn't know if that person was Jin Suanpan, since the original novel didn't explain it clearly. Moreover, Mo Mo hadn't finished reading all of Ghost Blows Out the Light; he had only read about the Jingjue Ancient City, the Dragon Ridge Cave, the Yunnan Insect Valley, and the Kunlun Divine Palace. He hadn't read the rest, but he figured it was pretty much the same.
After thinking for a moment, Mo Mo took a few steps forward and looked carefully. He then discovered what appeared to be the corpse of Jin Suanpan. He reached out and took the talisman from the corpse's neck. He then used a phosphorus pellet to set the corpse on fire and walked to the side. He then threw the talisman to Hu Bayi.
Hu Bayi instinctively caught the tomb raiding talisman that Mo Mo had thrown out, examined it, and exclaimed in surprise, "This is a real tomb raiding talisman! Master Mo, could he be the senior from the Fishbone Temple?"
Mo Mo nodded and said, "It should be him. If it really is him, there should be some connection between you. But even if there isn't, since you accepted his talisman, take him out and let him rest in peace!"
Hu Bayi looked at the Tomb Raider Talisman in his hand and nodded solemnly.
The three fat men watched the fire gradually die down, feeling somewhat unwilling, as none of them wanted to leave empty-handed. Seeing this, Mo Mo searched for the faint fragrance and walked to the cave where they found the Fragrance Jade in the original story. The fat men and the others followed him.
After walking only a few meters into the cave, Hu Bayi and his companions were drawn by the enticing aroma and began searching for its source. Soon, Fatty found the fragrant jade, while Mo Mo frantically collected the fragrant jade pieces covered in stone skins behind them. By the time Fatty found the fragrant jade, Mo Mo had already collected no less than twenty pieces. Moreover, Mo Mo unexpectedly found something else of great value in the cave, comparable to what he had gathered in the previous world.
Since there was no way out of the cave, Mo Mo and the other three returned to the temple. Fatty carried Wen Xiangyu, while Mo Mo held a fist-sized piece of jade. Although they still had plenty of time, Hu Bayi and the others couldn't recognize Wen Xiangyu because it was covered in stone. So Hu Bayi and Da Jinya returned empty-handed.
Finally, Mo Mo led Hu Bayi and the others out through a cave that was uneven, narrow, and only wide enough for one person to pass through in some places. Later on, it became even more winding and steep, with slopes at forty or fifty degrees.
Hu Bayi was still dreaming of getting rich by selling Wenxiangyu, unaware that their journey had only just begun, because Mo Mo clearly sensed the curse surrounding Hu Bayi and his companions.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 104 The Dragon Coiling in the River
It was still early when they came out, around noon. Mo Mo and the others discussed it and decided to take advantage of the time to go back to the village at the foot of Panshe Slope and see if they could collect some more good items. If they could collect two or three good items, Hu Bayi and Shirley Yang's agreement would be fulfilled. After all, that fragrant jade was quite valuable. Even if Mo Mo and the others split it equally, each person could probably get around 100,000 yuan.
After leaving Panshe Slope, the four began collecting items from street to street, with the two jade pieces carried by Fatty following Mo Mo. They met at the village entrance in the evening and found that their haul was quite good. A rough estimate suggested that each person had collected nearly ten thousand items, and that they could at least double their money by reselling them.
After discussing it, the group decided to rush back to Gulan that night. However, just as Mo Mo and the others were about to leave, the sky suddenly darkened, followed by a torrential downpour. Caught off guard, all four of them were soaked to the bone and had no choice but to find a family to stay with for the night.
The next day, everyone got up early, at seven o'clock, had breakfast at the home of a local villager, and set off. However, when they reached the village entrance, something terrifying happened to Hu Bayi and his companions.
As soon as they stepped out of the village, the originally sunny sky immediately turned windy and rainy, but when they returned to the village, the sky cleared up again.
"Master Mo, what's going on? Could it be that this damned heaven doesn't want us to leave this village?" The fat man was the first to lose his composure.
"It seems that's how it is. But even God can't stop me, or I'll fight to the death," Mo Mo said in a cold voice.
Hu Bayi and his two companions trembled upon hearing Mo Mo's words, their knees buckled, and they almost knelt down.
What terrified Hu Bayi and his companions even more was that after Mo Mo finished speaking, the sky gradually cleared up, and it stopped raining even after they left the village.
Big Gold Tooth rested his chin on his hand and said, "Master Mo, you're truly amazing. Even the heavens listen to you. What temple did you come from?"
Hu Bayi and Fatty nodded in agreement, looking at Mo Mo with admiration.
"Actually, I'm the Jade Emperor who descended to earth to experience life. I'll be going back in a few days. Do you want to come back to heaven with me?" Mo Mo said with a hint of amusement.
The three of them, understanding the hidden meaning in Mo Mo's words, shook their heads in unison.
Just kidding. Hu Bayi and the others knew that if they agreed to go back now, they'd be in for a world of hurt. They'd experienced Mo Mo's methods firsthand. For example, one night he'd told them with a smile that he'd made them a highly nutritious dish. After they happily ate it, they found it was indeed very nutritious, and the three of them ended up running around the hospital all night to release their pent-up energy. Another example was when Fatty wanted Mo Mo to help him lose weight, so Fatty did lose weight, but he had diarrhea for three days. And so on and so forth.
"Do you really think I'm a god? You think I can command the heavens? This is just normal localized rain. Let's get going before it starts raining, or we won't be able to leave today." Mo Mo said calmly as he walked forward.
However, Mo Mo's heart was not at peace at this moment. "Sure enough, good things are not so easy to take. If I'm not mistaken, that thing should be what those two were preparing to use to evolve the miniature world. I didn't expect to pick it up. And if I'm not mistaken, that thing should have been noticed by this world, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easy for me to take it."
When Mo Mo and his companions returned to Gulan to prepare to cross the Yellow River northward, they were told that heavy rains had fallen upstream in the past two days, and the current in this section of the Yellow River was too strong. The earliest they could cross the river was the day after tomorrow.
After discussing it, the group decided that if they tried to find a boat at another ferry crossing, it would take at least a day to get there. They figured they might as well stay in Gulan County for a couple of days, take a break, and wander around the county. Maybe they could find some bargains and collect a few funerary objects.
So Mo Mo and his group stayed at the same guesthouse as before, but this time the guesthouse was almost full. Many people were waiting to cross the river. Moreover, Gu Lan was a small place with only two or three guesthouses and hotels, so there was not much choice. Now, only the dormitory-style rooms on the first floor were left.
However, Mo Mo had already anticipated this situation, so he didn't check out of the hotel when he left. After learning about this, Hu Bayi and the others exclaimed that Mo Mo was incredibly prescient. If he had set up a stall at the street corner, it would definitely have been packed with people.
While taking a shower that night, Hu Bayi came out shirtless. Old Liu, who was passing by, saw the eye-shaped writing on his back and was very surprised. He grabbed Hu Bayi and told him what he knew from back then.
Actually, this happened not long ago, less than three years ago. At that time, the experts from the archaeological team were staying at this guesthouse in Gulan County, counting and sorting the bones they had recovered. The local leaders also attached great importance to this matter and closed the guesthouse, prohibiting anyone other than staff members from entering.
Old Liu, who worked in the guesthouse canteen, was a busybody. He usually cooked for the archaeological team members, and when he had nothing to do, he would watch them work and help them out. The experts on the archaeological team all ate his food and knew him. They knew he was a kind-hearted man, and sometimes, out of politeness, they would turn a blind eye to his behavior, as long as he didn't steal or cause trouble. They would let him watch if he wanted.
The archaeological work recovered a large number of tortoise shells, as well as some bones from unknown animals. Each piece of bone and shell was engraved with a large number of characters and symbols, but most of them were damaged and incomplete, requiring a lot of manpower and time to restore.
However, among the many broken bone shells, there was a huge tortoise shell that was the most complete. This tortoise shell was as big as an eight-immortal table. When the archaeologists were cleaning this tortoise shell with a mixture of glacial acetic acid, Old Liu happened to be there and saw that the most common symbol on it was a symbol that looked like an eyeball. That's why Old Liu was able to recognize the mysterious characters on Hu Bayi's back.
What happened next left an even deeper impression on Old Liu. After the large tortoise shell was retrieved, the guesthouse was constantly on fire, causing unrest for everyone. What followed was even more bizarre. It was said that they wanted to airlift it back to Beijing, but the military plane crashed en route, and everything, including the bone shells with inscriptions, was burned to ashes.
After listening, Hu Bayi said with some regret, "Master Liu, so you don't know what this word means either?"
Old Liu chuckled and said to me mysteriously, "Brother, I only know that this is an ancient character, but I really don't know what it means. But someone does. It's better to be lucky than early. Professor Sun happens to live next to you now. He comes to Gulan to work for a period of time every year, and you just happened to be there."
So Hu Bayi returned to his room and told Mo Mo and the others what had just happened. Then he pulled Mo Mo and the others to knock on Professor Sun's door.
Just like in the original novel, after Hu Bayi told them about Professor Chen's matter, the group stayed inside. Professor Sun then recounted what had happened three years ago, and Hu Bayi and the others understood what the so-called "heavenly book" was all about. It turned out that the ancients used the heavenly book to record things on dragon bones, which was a kind of encrypted script. Professor Sun called the marks on Hu Bayi and the others' backs "pictographic symbols." He told Mo Mo and the others that it symbolized something special. People at that time did not have an accurate word to describe it. The pictographic symbols were symbolic symbols, but Professor Sun did not know the meaning of these symbols either.
Despite the persistent pleading of Fatty and Hu Bayi, and even the introduction of Professor Chen and his students, Professor Sun still refused to reveal the contents of the heavenly book on the dragon bone. He only told Mo Mo and the others that the mark on their backs was not some kind of curse or anything unfounded, and would not affect their health.
After what happened, Hu Bayi and his companions lost their will to stay in Gulan, so they prepared to return to Beijing after the rain stopped.
However, they encountered a strange thing while crossing the river. The river was calm, but the boat just wouldn't move. There was nothing wrong with the boat, and after stopping in the middle of the river for three or four minutes, the boat returned to normal.
But only Mo Mo knew that Hu Bayi and his companions had already narrowly escaped death. At that time, a dragon was circling beneath their ship, threatening to attack at any moment. Mo Mo knew that the dragon was after him, but ultimately did not make a move. However, Mo Mo knew that their journey ahead would not be lonely, which made him sigh that the world was indeed a bit too deep.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 105 Searching for the Muchen Pearl
Since Mo Mo and the others returned, the past few days have been sweltering and muggy. Even sitting still, one would be drenched in sweat. Finally, the heavens released a torrential downpour, so heavy it seemed to be steaming, which finally cooled down the scorching city.
The Panjiayuan Antique Market was bustling with activity after the rain. Amateur collectors and antique enthusiasts who had been waiting at home for several days rushed to the market to hunt for treasures.
Big Gold Tooth was busy talking to an old customer, while Fatty was trying to sell the embroidered shoe that Hu Bayi had collected to a foreign couple with blue eyes and big noses. Fatty said to the two foreigners, "How about it? Take a sniff of the inside of this shoe. It smells just like Marilyn Monroe from your America. This is the fragrant shoe that Marilyn Monroe wore in the Ming Dynasty of China. Famous... famous courtesan, do you understand?"
The foreign couple, who spoke a little Chinese, were clearly interested in the exquisitely designed oriental embroidered shoes. Taking advantage of the situation, the fat man made an outrageous demand, asking for 20,000 yuan. This price scared the two foreigners so much that they turned around and left.
Foreigners who frequently visit China know how to bargain. When the fat man saw that this foreign couple didn't know how to haggle, he knew they were visiting China for the first time. So he quickly stopped them and claimed that in order to promote exchanges between China and foreign countries, and on the premise of adhering to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, he could give them a discount. In the end, the fat man successfully sold the embroidered shoe for three thousand yuan.
After returning from Shaanxi, Hu Bayi and his companions went to the hospital for a checkup. They found nothing unusual about the marks on their backs, no illness was diagnosed, and neither of them felt anything unusual.
On the contrary, his business has been booming lately. The fragrant jade raw stone he brought back from Shaanxi sold for a price that made him laugh in his dreams. He also acquired several genuine funerary objects. Almost every transaction yielded profits several times over. The agreement between Hu Bayi and Shirley Yang was fulfilled after the raw stone was sold.
However, Hu Bayi wasn't too happy. He probably thought of Professor Sun's words and was worried every day, unable to muster any interest in anything. Now, he even followed Mo Mo's example and brought over a recliner. Sure enough, Mo Mo was still asleep when Hu Bayi fell asleep.
It's especially easy to feel sleepy in the summer, and Mo Mo is doing so because he has spent a lot of energy deducing and modifying his cultivation technique. Fortunately, it is now basically complete, but it has also made him particularly prone to sleepiness.
In fact, the modification of this cultivation technique began after returning from the Jingjue Ancient City. Mo Mo's cultivation technique was already quite perfect. As long as he continued to find some special or high-level energy, he could gradually restore his original cultivation level and then go further to achieve the Immortal King realm.
When Mo Mo and his group emerged from the Jingjue Ancient City, a sudden realization struck him as he witnessed the Ghost Cave swallowing the entire tomb. He remembered something he had overlooked: when quantity accumulates to a certain level, it can lead to a qualitative change. Moreover, in cultivation, at the same level, there is not only a difference in the amount of power but also in the quality. The higher and purer the energy, the more powerful it is. And the only way to obtain pure energy is through refining. So he thought, since low-level energy is assimilated by the body's internal energy and cannot be absorbed, why not refine it first before absorbing it?
So Mo Mo began to modify his cultivation technique, and just last night, he finally had a rough prototype, which was ready for initial practice.
In a daze, Mo Mo felt someone calling him, so he opened his eyes and sat up. He found that the person calling him was a foreign girl in her early twenties. The girl was blonde and blue-eyed, with a bright red hair, wearing a light blue dress, and her long blonde hair was casually tied up in her hair. She was full of youthful vitality.
Mo Mo glanced at Big Gold Tooth, who understood what Mo Mo meant and said, "Master Mo, I've already served her, but she said I'm not the owner of this stall, she wouldn't talk to me, and she even said I'm a bad person and that she'll have to wake you up."
Mo Mo "..."
That's right, Mo Mo and Hu Bayi's group didn't share a stall, but rather had two. Hu Bayi and Wang Kaixuan's stall mostly sold small trinkets, with prices generally not exceeding 20,000 yuan. Mo Mo's stall, on the other hand, sold high-quality items collected by the four of them, with the lowest price exceeding 10,000 yuan. Of course, occasionally Hu Bayi's stall would also have some good items at lower prices. These were actually transferred from Mo Mo's stall, with the aim of attracting customers.
Mo Mo stood up, stretched, and then sat back down. He then said, "You've got your eye on that thing? Let me tell you about it."
"I think that jade pendant looks really nice. Can you tell me about it?" Mo Mo was a little surprised. He didn't expect that the foreign beauty's Chinese was so good, and she spoke very clearly and fluently.
"Of course, this pendant is..." So Mo Mo explained the pendant's origin, function, materials, and value to the girl. Mo Mo finally understood why her Chinese was so good; it was because she was studying in China and had been there for almost a year.
Just then, Mo Mo noticed an acquaintance walking towards them. This person went straight to Hu Bayi's stall, greeted Mo Mo and the others, and then approached Hu Bayi, who was drooling while sleeping. The person pinched Hu Bayi's nose, and Hu Bayi opened his eyes, looked at the person, and then shuddered, almost falling off the recliner.
Seeing that Hu Bayi was awake, Big Gold Tooth said, "Master Hu is awake? Isn't Miss Yang just here from America? She said she has something urgent to discuss with you."
Shirley Yang handed Hu Bayi a handkerchief and said, "It's only been a few days, and you've developed another problem? You're drooling like a river, wipe it off quickly."
Hu Bayi didn't take her handkerchief. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, stretched, rubbed his eyes, and then said to Shirley Yang in a daze, "Your eyes... Oh, right!" At this moment, Hu Bayi was fully awake and quickly said to Shirley Yang, "Right, I've been thinking about how to find you these past few days. I have some important things to tell you."
Shirley Yang also said to Hu Bayi, "I also have some important things to discuss. It's too noisy here, let's find a quiet place to talk."
Hu Bayi originally wanted to invite Mo Mo along, but seeing that he was in the middle of a business negotiation, he had no choice but to leave alone with Shirley Yang.
After Shirley Yang and Hu Bayi left, Mo Mo continued talking with the foreign beauty.
"Boss, could you make it cheaper? It's too expensive and I don't have that much money, but I really like this jade pendant." The girl said with a pitiful look.
"So, how much money do you have?" Mo Mo asked upon seeing this.
"I only have five thousand yuan," the girl said, somewhat embarrassed.
Big Gold Tooth chimed in, "Little sister, no offense, but we already paid about this price for this stuff. If we sell it to you at this price, we won't make any money."
The girl thought about it and agreed. She played with the jade pendant for a while before reluctantly putting it back. It was clear that she really liked that piece of mutton-fat jade.
"I can tell you really like this jade pendant. How about this, I'll sell it to you for five thousand yuan, but you have to let me watch the stall while I take a nap." With that, he lay down on the recliner to sleep. However, he had only closed his eyes for less than ten seconds when he felt a cool sensation on his lips, and then a soft touch entered his mouth. When he opened his eyes, he found that it was the foreign beauty.
Mo Mo: "...", does this count as being forcibly kissed?
A dozen seconds later, the girl stood blushing beside Mo Mo and said, "This is my first kiss. I have class this afternoon, so I can't watch your stall. This is my compensation. Goodbye, and I hope we'll meet again next time." After saying that, the girl carefully put away the jade pendant, left the money with Big Gold Tooth, and skipped away.
"Master Mo, you're really lucky with women. Old Hu is nothing compared to you. Shirley Yang never threw herself at Old Hu, let alone offered him a kiss," the fat man said with some envy.
"Go away, if you were as handsome as me, beautiful women would throw themselves at you too. But unfortunately, you just can't seem to lose weight, and you've gotten all that fat back. So just give up on that idea." With that, Mo Mo closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
That evening, Mo Mo and his group of five found Professor Chen and his team. After discussing it all night, they finally decided that Mo Mo, Shirley Yang, and the other three would form an archaeological team to search for the Muchen Pearl, while Professor Chen and his team would be responsible for contacting Professor Sun and searching for more clues about the Ghost Cave.