Diez historias clásicas y conmovedoras sobre lo sobrenatural

Capítulo 6

"During this time, did you see them take the book anywhere, or did you leave the table?" Lai Bao asked Lao Fu. Lao Fu thought carefully and said affirmatively, "Absolutely not, no one left. My eyes never left my book. It's my treasure. I was watching it the whole time. So I was wondering how the book could have been replaced. I didn't even have a chance."

Lai Bao lay back on the sofa, rubbing his eyes and head, then suddenly got up and asked Lao Fu, "What kind of tables are those in the teahouse?" Lao Fu gestured and said, "They're a little taller than the table we have now, and the rattan chairs are a little shorter than the ones we're sitting on. You should know, they're the kind you usually see in teahouses."

Lai Bao continued, "Then how do they read books?"

Old Fu asked, "What do you mean, how do you read books?"

Lai Bao gestured and said, "How do they hold the book?"

Lao Fu quickly straightened his posture, picked up a flyer from the bar, and compared it to the flyer. Lai Bao looked at it and said, "I understand. This is too simple. We've overcomplicated things."

Lao Fu and I asked at the same time, "What?"

Lai Bao smiled and said, "Do you remember how we used to sneak peeks at comic books and other extracurricular books in class when we were in school? Or how we used to cheat on exams?"

I demonstrated the gesture, and as soon as I did, I understood. It was so simple. Except for Zhou Wensheng, Zhong Sheng and Wang Qiang were both reading under the table. Although Lao Fu was watching, he couldn't stand up and stare at the book in that situation; he could only see their hands. One of them, Wang Qiang or Zhong Sheng, switched the book under the table—or rather, they switched it together. Since they were reading in the same way, it's highly likely that after Zhou Wensheng finished reading, he gave the book to Zhong Sheng. Zhong Sheng checked it and confirmed it was the same book, then gave a signal to Wang Qiang. But the fake book was probably on Zhong Sheng, so he gave it to Wang Qiang, who also kept it under the table. While flipping through it, they switched the books under the table. Then Wang Qiang gave the fake book to Zhong Sheng, who then started drawing conclusions…

Chapter 17 of "Strange Tales of Tangdun"

Chapter 17 of "Strange Tales of Tangdun"

Author: Tang Xiaohao

Lai Bao nodded and said, "Old Tang's analysis is similar to mine. I just remembered a quote from a famous foreign writer: If an authoritative expert says something is correct, then he is probably right; but if he says something is absolutely wrong, then he is definitely wrong... Nothing is absolute. We've just overcomplicated things. We can't go astray now, because when I thought about Zhong Sheng being a suspect, I even wondered if he had done something to kill Wang Qiang so he could keep the book for himself. But thinking about it, there's no need to do that. We need to find someone to investigate this old man named Zhong Sheng."

After Lai Bao finished speaking, the three of us immediately thought of Chen Zhong. After all, he was a policeman, and it was much easier for him to check the information of these individuals than for us.

After getting through to Chen Chong, he launched into a tirade on the phone, complaining about being woken up shortly after falling asleep and asking if they were crazy. He said they were incredibly unlucky to run into anyone like them. Lai Bao quickly comforted Chen Chong and then asked him to check Zhong Sheng's information. After his outburst, Chen Chong readily agreed and said he would give them news the next day, but warned that checking other people's information was illegal, and if they used someone else's information for something else, it would be a serious crime. Lai Bao quickly reassured him that they wouldn't, that they were law-abiding citizens, and that they would often wait at the street corner late at night to wait for people to steal their belongings and then do the right thing; they would never do anything bad...

After leaving the bar, Lai Bao and I went straight home to sleep. We even asked Lao Fu to come back with us so we could get the news together the next day and avoid the hassle of making phone calls. But when Lao Fu looked at his watch, he said it was already 5:30 a.m., and Mi Dou would be getting up soon. He said he would buy some breakfast and bring it over. Lai Bao and I were about to tease him when he said that now that the book was gone, whether we could find it or not was another matter, but if he lost his wife too, he would be completely finished.

Notes on the Fourth Chapter of the Heavenly Book: Professor Zhong Sheng

Lai Bao and I slept for less than three hours before getting up to take turns showering. Then, feeling groggy, we went to the company. Lai Bao even managed to squeeze in about ten minutes of exercise, saying it would help with brain function. I have to admit, Lai Bao's lifestyle is much better than mine. We'd only been at the company for a little over an hour when Chen Zhong called to say there was news, there was news! I quickly asked, "What news?"

Chen Zhong said on the other end of the phone, "Wang Qiang's cause of death has been determined. It was poisoning. They found some things in his house, all of them Chinese medicine, and none of them should be used indiscriminately. It's basically concluded that the kid mixed these things together and swallowed them. It's a typical suicide. There were no signs of struggle at the scene. Apart from your three fingerprints and footprints, we couldn't find anything else. And we could only find your fingerprints and other miscellaneous things in the living room. I don't know the tricks the criminal police use. But you haven't been completely cleared of suspicion yet. We're still investigating the source of those drugs and the reason for his suicide. You'd better not wander around. Be ready to come to the police station at any time. And don't say that I told you all this. I'm trusting you two bastards, understand?"

I quickly agreed, and then asked Zhong Sheng if he had found anything.

Chen Chong continued, "I was just about to say that I asked around, and it turns out they didn't even check any population database; they just searched online and found it..." As Chen Chong said this, I slapped my forehead. How could I be so stupid? If Zhong Sheng were truly an authority in this field, he should have been able to find it online, right? I quickly searched for Zhong Sheng's information. Although Chen Chong was still talking, I suddenly remembered the medicine and casually asked, "Did Wang Qiang's test include a herb called bitter bean grass?" Chen Chong paused for a moment and then exclaimed, "Yes! Yes! I remember now! How did you know? You said it had nothing to do with this! You're definitely hiding something from me, aren't you?!"

I quickly said, "Old Chen, Boss Chen, I swear to God, Wang Qiang's death has nothing to do with the three of us, only some indirect connection. I assure you, I assure you in the name of Chairman Mao, that we haven't done anything illegal, okay? If we really did, may we get hit by a car on our way out." Seeing how serious I was, Chen Chong's voice softened noticeably, but he was still pressing for details. I simply said that I would tell him everything once the matter was resolved, and then said goodbye.

I found out online that Zhong Sheng used to be a veteran of the provincial writers' association and had been studying ancient documents for many years. He was considered an authority and expert in the field. People said that he could tell the authenticity of most things with just a glance. However, he didn't like collecting, and he donated most of the antiques that others gave him to museums. Zhong Sheng also had his own personal webpage, saying that he didn't care about money, that he had a retirement pension, a rehired salary, and consulting fees from others, etc. In short, he said a lot of things that were useless to us. I scrolled down and finally saw that Zhong Sheng now lived in a villa area in LongX District, City C, but I couldn't find the exact location.

I quickly relayed the news to Lai Bao, who was frantically chugging coffee. Lai Bao leaned over, glanced at the message, and told me to call Lao Fu. He said if all else failed, we should go there; after all, Lao Fu knew people in that line of work, and maybe someone would know where he lived. Lao Fu answered the phone and, upon hearing my suggestion, immediately agreed. Then he hesitated, saying, "Last time we went to find Wang Qiang, that kid died. What if the same thing happens this time? We're doomed! The police will come and, without a word, pull out their guns and shoot us on behalf of the people and the government..."

I said, "What a coincidence. Based on my current analysis, Wang Qiang is a typical idiot, a half-baked expert. He basically got himself killed without understanding anything. Zhong Sheng is a master-level expert in ancient literature. That kind of thing won't happen to him. Don't delay. If you really want to know what happened, go and find out. Then we'll set off. You drive over and pick us up."

Less than ten minutes after I hung up the phone, Lao Fu called and said we were downstairs at our company and told us to come down immediately. Lai Bao and I hadn't asked for leave yet, so we had no choice but to take out the set of the now-discontinued "Heat" D9 deluxe DVDs that our new supervisor had been eyeing to bribe him. Lai Bao and I had searched for a long time before buying that set from a scoundrel who had a collection of DVDs, and it cost us a lot of money.

As we walked downstairs, we cursed Lao Fu, swearing that we would make that kid bleed a lot after this was over.

As soon as we went downstairs, we saw Lao Fu sitting in the passenger seat, with Mi Dou driving. Mi Dou smiled at us and said, "Hurry up and get in the car, I'll be your driver today." I thought Lao Fu really treated Mi Dou like his wife, taking her everywhere he went. After we got in the car, Lao Fu said that Mi Dou knew Zhong Sheng and they kept in touch. Mi Dou had attended Zhong Sheng's lectures when she was in college, and they gradually became acquainted. She was almost ready to become Zhong Sheng's godfather. When I heard this, I thought, "Great, all these coincidences have come together!"

When we entered the villa area, the security guard saw Lao Fu's Bluebird and quickly opened the door, even saluting. He was especially polite to Mi Dou, who parked her car next to him and chatted with the security guard for a while. After getting in the car, she told us, "This guy used to say he was quitting, but Teacher Zhong persuaded him to stay, so we're very familiar with each other."

When we arrived at Zhong Sheng's building, we saw him reading a book in the garden as soon as we got out of the car. There was also a pot of tea brewing on the small table. It was definitely good tea, because we could smell the aroma even before we reached the garden. When Zhong Sheng saw us, he first greeted Mi Dou, and then quickly invited us in. He also said to Lao Fu, "I knew you would come, but I didn't expect you to come so soon. I was going to come and see you."

Upon hearing this, I realized the old man seemed to know the truth about the matter; otherwise, why would he say such a thing? It seemed there would at least be some progress today. The four of us followed Zhong Sheng to his study. He asked the housekeeper to make us each a cup of tea, then took the book from his small safe and placed it in Lao Fu's hand, saying, "Here, take this back." Lao Fu flipped through the book for a while, then handed it to Lai Bao. Lai Bao specifically turned to that page and saw the stain was still there, but he still didn't seem certain that it was the real book. Zhong Sheng sat down at his desk, took out cigarettes, offered them to us, and then lit one for himself before saying, "Don't worry, this book is definitely yours. However, I must clarify that I didn't take it; Wang Qiang did."

We looked at each other without saying anything. Old Fu asked, "Then... how did it end up in your hands again?"

Zhong Sheng closed his eyes and sighed, saying, "Wang Qiang is my student, the most talented of all my students, but he is also the most selfish. This is what is meant by being blinded by greed. Don't turn yourself into a living dead. If you turn yourself into a walking corpse for one thing, you will only end up trapping yourself."

We didn't understand at first, but we did know that Wang Qiang was his student.

Zhong Sheng continued, "When this book first came into Wang Qiang's hands, he knew what it was and was determined to possess it. So he came to me to ask about it. I told him everything I knew and asked if he had seen the original. Wang Qiang said he knew some information and was interested, so I didn't press him. Later, Wang Qiang gave me a book, the fake one, and asked if I could tell the difference. When I looked at it, the contents were almost identical to the real one, so I asked him where it came from. He didn't answer. Then you showed me the book, and Wang Qiang switched it. When I got the one Wang Qiang gave me, I knew it was the fake one, but I didn't say anything. I know you want to ask me why... After all, Wang Qiang is my student, and I also wanted to know what the real book contained, so I thought I'd study it before giving it to you."

Lai Bao asked, "Teacher Zhong, how do you know this book is fake? When Wang Qiang first gave you the fake one, had you seen that book before?"

Zhong Sheng paused for a moment and nodded, saying, "I've seen it, but not this one... I'll tell you later. After Wang Qiang got the book, he came to me excitedly that night, saying he wanted to study it with me and that this time it would definitely work. I didn't know what he meant by 'work,' but I was happy to finally see the original copy again. After studying it with me for a long time, Wang Qiang suddenly left. He left very suddenly, and I don't know why. Later, I learned about Wang Qiang's death. The police came to my place, and I told them what I knew, but I didn't reveal the one thing. After all, if I told them, the police would probably think that this old man was going crazy."

Zhong Sheng's words immediately piqued my interest, and I moved my chair forward and asked, "So, Teacher Zhong, what exactly is that book about?"

Chapter 18 of "Tangdun Strange Tales Notes"

Chapter 18 of "Tangdun Strange Tales Notes"

Author: Tang Xiaohao

Zhong Sheng gestured for Lao Fu to bring him the book, and Lao Fu quickly handed it over. After receiving the book, Zhong Sheng opened it, flipped through a few pages, and then folded the pages in half. He then called us over to look, and we leaned over to see. On the first folded page, a few words appeared: "Bitter Bean Grass." I roughly understood what was going on then. Then, on the folded pages below, I saw the names of three other herbs. I looked up, about to ask, when Zhong Sheng said, "I know what you want to ask. There's also a talisman, isn't there? Look here."

After Zhong Sheng finished speaking, he turned on the light in the window, then turned on the desk lamp and stuck the book cover on it. After a while, I saw a talisman appear on the page, but only half of it. Then Zhong Sheng stuck the back cover of the book on the lamp, and the other half of the talisman appeared. I couldn't help but say, "That's amazing! It was hidden here. But how did you find it?"

Notes on the Heavenly Book, Part Four: Chapter Five - The Heavenly Book Filled with Secrets

After sitting down, Zhong Sheng lit another cigarette and said, "This should be called a coded message, or a trap. This book is not something that has been passed down from ancient times. The appearance of this book can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. Look carefully at the beginning of this book and see if there is anything strange about it?"

Lao Fu, Lai Bao, and I took turns reading the book, but we didn't find anything strange. When it was handed to Mi Dou, she flipped through it for a while. Then she looked up at Zhong Sheng and said, "The paper on the third page seems a bit thicker?"

Zhong Sheng nodded and said, "Look under the lamp." Mi Dou placed the book under the lamp, and with the light, he could vaguely see something tucked inside this page. Mi Dou looked at it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. Zhong Sheng leaned over and pointed to the words, saying, "You probably can't understand the writing on this. It's written in a secret language, a Manchu secret language. When the Qing army first entered the pass, most of their military intelligence was written in this Manchu secret language. But just understanding the secret language isn't enough; you also need to understand the feng shui layout."

I shook my head. What kind of nonsense is this? Manchu script and feng shui layout?

Zhong Sheng continued, "The Manchu text here contains numerous pages of text arranged according to feng shui principles. The text itself describes the layout of a room or the surrounding area. You have to find a way to arrange these texts in a way that is 'without direction,' which is called 'fangsuo' in ancient times. It means arranging them as if there is no direction. But we ordinary people think that no matter what, things are arranged in a certain direction. However, in feng shui, there is such a thing as 'without direction,' which means 'nowhere to be found, everywhere to be found.' To arrange them like this, you must be well-versed in feng shui. Otherwise, you simply cannot arrange them. I don't have in-depth knowledge of feng shui, so I had to ask my old friend. But I didn't dare to take out the book, so I had to replace the text with something else and ask him to replace it with 'without direction.' It took him a while to realize that it wasn't a replacement, but a substitution, which means folding the pages of the book."

Zhong Sheng handed the book to Lao Fu, then asked us to sit down. He opened the window and, after we sat down, continued, "After I changed the medicine according to his method, I discovered the medicine inside and told Wang Qiang. When I saw these things, I knew what was inside, but I didn't tell Wang Qiang. I thought he would just let it go once he found out, but he actually wanted to investigate further. Or perhaps he had heard about this book before, so he actually tried it according to the legendary method."

After talking for so long, it was almost lunchtime. The nanny had already prepared the food and came up to knock on the door. Zhong Sheng invited us to eat in the living room, saying that he would tell us other things while we ate. After Mi Dou sat down at the table, she said she wanted to eat sweet and sour fish. Sure enough, there was some on the table. Zhong Sheng smiled and said that he had asked someone to prepare the sweet and sour fish when Mi Dou called. I glanced at Mi Dou. I didn't expect that this little girl had already betrayed us this morning and revealed our whereabouts to the enemy.

We were really hungry, so we picked up our chopsticks and started eating without any hesitation. Zhong Sheng put down his chopsticks after only a few bites and continued, "Wang Qiang really thought he could live forever."

I almost choked when I heard that. Immortality? I stared straight at Zhong Sheng, who nodded and said, "Yes, immortality..."

Among Zhong Sheng and his group of archaeologists, especially the older generation, they had heard rumors from before the liberation about a book, actually a roll of silk, that recorded the method of achieving immortality. The person who left this book was said to be Xu Fu, the one who went to find the elixir of immortality for Qin Shi Huang. Someone claiming to have read the book said that the writing on it wasn't Chinese characters at all, but another language (Zhong Sheng and his group speculated that the descriptions of that writing belonged to the Uralic/Altaic language family, roughly related to Japanese, but not entirely, only close). He also said that the contents of that book are now basically incomprehensible to most people. The only thing visible at the beginning is a simple biography of Xu Fu written in small seal script, saying that his real name wasn't actually Xu Fu, and so on. The rest of the text consists of records from other countries before Qin Shi Huang unified China. Therefore, the person speculated that, based on the text, Xu Fu did indeed go to the direction of Japan, but he must have obtained the method of immortality before going to Japan, not after arriving. At the end of the book, there is a side illustration, which seems to depict an island with two characters written on it: Penglai.

The person who read the book was a Ming Dynasty person. Some of these legends were compiled from fragments in ancient documents, so their credibility is not high. The compiled information did not belong to the official documents of that time, but to some folk circulations. There was not much research on them. However, in the late Qing Dynasty, someone claimed to have obtained the original book and had deciphered it by all means. But after deciphering it, he found that the contents were too terrifying and might cause a fight among the people. So he rewrote the book in his own way.

Zhong Sheng pointed to Lao Fu and said, "It's the one you're carrying."

I was stunned when I heard this, and then I looked at Lao Fu. Lao Fu was also completely stunned. He took out the book again and flipped through it, then looked at us. My first thought was that Lao Fu's great-grandfather, grandfather, and father might have known the secret and gone off to begin their own path to immortality. I saw Lao Fu frowning; he was probably thinking about this question too.

The person who re-edited this book claimed to have reprinted the items from a Ming Dynasty tomb. This man, a tomb raider by profession, wouldn't reveal the exact location of the tombstone, only stating that no one knew its location and that he was probably the only one in the world who could accurately locate it. He added that even if others found it, it would be useless, as he had destroyed all the original copies of the book about Xu Fu's remains in the tomb. The only genuine copy was the one he had re-edited, and whoever could decipher it would obtain the formula for immortality. Then, this man did something astonishing: he sold the book directly to an antique dealer at a very low price, and then disappeared…

Later, many people said that the person had become immortal and even a god. Some people said they saw him on Mount Wutai, some on Mount Emei, and some even said they saw him on Mount Tai. In short, there were many different accounts, but they were all definitely just bragging.

"Do you believe this really is a book that records the method to achieve immortality?" Zhong Sheng suddenly stopped and asked us this question.

I shook my head. Lai Bao and Mi Dou were the same as me, but Lao Fu didn't do anything. He just held the book and looked at it, as if he was in a daze.

Zhong Sheng said, "Absolutely not! There is no way to achieve immortality in this world."

I couldn't help but ask, "So what exactly is this book?"

Zhong Sheng sighed and said, "This book is actually a treasure. It does indeed hide a great secret, but along with the secret, it is also full of traps. This book is divided into two volumes. Your copy should be the first volume. I don't know where the second volume is now."

Notes on the Fourth Chapter: The Heavenly Secretary, Chapter Six: Zhong Sheng's Experience

When Zhong Sheng first joined the Writers' Association, he had a friend who also loved literature. This person usually wrote nonsensical things (Zhong Sheng laughed heartily as he mentioned this, giving several examples, which I won't list here). But once, this person wrote something entirely in classical Chinese, criticizing the officialdom and politics of a certain dynasty. It was very professional. Although many people privately said that the person must have copied it from somewhere, they couldn't find its origin in many books. Zhong Sheng couldn't help but ask the person about it. Finally, Zhong Sheng pressed him for an answer, and the person had no choice but to tell him that he had taken the book from a handwritten copy in a box at his house. He didn't understand what it was; he just thought it was fun and used it as calligraphy practice.

Zhong Sheng went to that person's house and found a large number of handwritten copies in the person's box. The contents were all handwritten, and some were directly printed. Anyone with eyes could tell that they were printed from stone walls and some kind of stele. Zhong Sheng had been in contact with these things for a long time. In one of the printed copies, he found a record about the life of a tomb owner. At that time, he knew that these things could probably be obtained from some kind of tomb.

At that time, the reform and opening up had just begun, and the tomb raiding industry had been dormant for a long time. With the reform and opening up, these people saw an opportunity and took advantage of loopholes in the country to start frantically raiding tombs and digging up graves everywhere under various pretexts, causing damage to many cultural relics. But no one ever liked to print out the things on ancient tombs. Printing them out is not worth anything except for research.

Chapter 19 of "Tangdun Strange Tales Notes"

Chapter 19 of "Tangdun Strange Tales Notes"

Author: Tang Xiaohao

Under Zhong Sheng's persistent questioning, the man finally admitted that the items belonged to a relative who had been imprisoned in Xinjiang for committing a crime. Zhong Sheng then asked to borrow the books. The man, who was on good terms with Zhong Sheng and knew the items weren't valuable, readily gave him the box. When Zhong Sheng carried the box home, he accidentally broke a corner. He tried to repair it, but discovered a bronze plaque and a book inside. This book was the same one Old Fu had mentioned earlier. Zhong Sheng recognized the bronze plaque and looked it up. He discovered it resembled a military tally, but the bottom had been worn down, as if repeatedly rubbed against something. The book contained methods for deciphering written characters and instructions on how to decipher certain parts. Zhong Sheng immediately realized the book was a treasure. Without hesitation, he asked his friend where his relative was serving his sentence and then set off for Xinjiang.

After arriving in Xinjiang, it took Zhong Sheng more than a month to find his relative (because Zhong Sheng did not reveal the names of his friend and relative during the conversation, I don't know either; I asked him then and later, but Zhong Sheng only said that knowing wouldn't help). It turned out that his relative had already served his sentence and was penniless, so he stayed in Xinjiang, helping the locals harvest cotton and do hard labor. After finding the person, Zhong Sheng got straight to the point and took out the book. The person, seeing that the book was still there, held it in his hands like a treasure, crying and laughing, saying that he would have no worries about making a living after reading it. Zhong Sheng didn't understand. When the person saw that Zhong Sheng had come all the way to find him, he said that if Zhong Sheng could find a way to get him back and find him a job, he would tell him everything.

Zhong Sheng didn't know if he was bewitched or what, but he actually spent money to pull strings and get his friend's relative back. After everything was settled, the person spoke, but the first thing he said was: "Old Zhong, I think you shouldn't be too curious. This is not something you should know. But it's okay if you know, but don't try to find it, or you'll suffer the consequences."

Zhong Sheng didn't understand. Only then did the man mention the book of immortality, saying that it had been rumored for a long time and many people were looking for it. However, the book had been lost long ago. It was stolen during a mission to escort goods during one of their gatherings and its whereabouts were still unknown. But that was many, many years ago. Without the second volume, the first volume would be useless.

Zhong Sheng was even more confused when he heard this. What was this "association" again? The man chuckled and said, "My family has been members of this association for generations. I originally wanted to keep this secret, but now that you know about this book and that matter, I'll tell you since you helped me. However, you must remember not to try to find anything or look for that book after you know this, or you will be courting death."

The man said that the society they belonged to existed in the early Qing Dynasty. The original founder of this society was to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming, so that the Han people could rule the country. They did similar things to the Heaven and Earth Society at that time, but they had fewer people and could not become a big deal. They were just some poor and pedantic scholars who sat in dilapidated temples all day cursing the society at that time, just like some angry young people today who clamor on some forums all day long to drop a few nuclear bombs to defend the country's territorial integrity.

Later, the founder rescued a bodyguard, who told him that the current emperor of the Qing Dynasty had heard from somewhere that in order for the Manchus to truly establish themselves in the Central Plains, they had to completely destroy the Manchu and Dragon lineages. The way to do this was to start with the Hundred Family Surnames, find the ancient tombs of those dynasties in the Central Plains, and start digging from Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, and Wang. Each surname would correspond to a tomb, preferably the tombs of high-ranking officials and nobles who had those surnames in the past.

The person who came up with this stupid idea on purpose must have been forced to memorize the Hundred Family Surnames by their private tutor when they were a child, and has had a psychological trauma since childhood...

The bodyguard said he had secretly tried to stop the Qing forces on several occasions, but the Qing army was strong and well-equipped, making direct confrontation impossible. While these anti-Qing groups were mostly composed of martial artists, their intelligence was far inferior to those with formal military training. However, the founder of the group devised a plan: spread rumors that they had obtained a celestial book containing the secret to immortality. This would draw the court's attention, and they would then gather forces across the land to search for ancient tombs and treasures. After finding them, they would re-mark the locations of these tombs and treasures on maps and distribute them throughout the land. However, at that time, the founder's men were all... The critics said the scholars were incapable of literary pursuits; if they were, they would have become top scholars long ago. They also said the martial arts masters were all utterly weak. The bodyguard claimed he could share this method with other anti-Qing organizations so they could implement it together. Subsequently, led by the bodyguard, they united with other anti-Qing organizations and even contacted some people within the Joseon Dynasty, embarking on this massive project. However, in reality, only the founder, the bodyguard, and another mysterious figure knew whether the book was real or fake. The identity of this mysterious figure was never revealed, nor were the names of the founder and the bodyguard ever mentioned.

They spent countless years compiling a book—the "Heavenly Book"—compiled on the locations of all the ancient tombs and treasure troves they discovered. This book contained numerous traps and was divided into two volumes: the first recording the locations, and the second the methods to break them, along with a military talisman. However, all the deciphered addresses were fake. The biggest secret was that they took an item from every treasure location and ancient tomb they visited, placed it in what they considered the safest place, and marked the correct location on each item. The key to unlocking that safest place was the bronze military talisman. Therefore, even if they obtained the two books and deciphered the methods, it would be useless. Furthermore, there was a trap about immortality; following the methods would lead to certain death. This book was designed to trap the Manchus, so many parts were deliberately set up using Manchu coded language, combined with Han Chinese feng shui principles—a complete trap within a trap. The Manchus needed Han Chinese to break the trap, but even if they did, what good would it do? That Han Chinese must be a slave of the Manchus. Being a slave to the Manchus is a dead end. Once you decipher the method, you're doomed. The location you decipher is either a cliff or a jungle full of wild beasts. Going deeper into it leads to immortality. The methods in the second volume that supposedly decipher the methods in the first volume are all made up. Trying them will definitely kill you. There's even a record that if you want to become an immortal, you must go through five tribulations: being stabbed with a knife, burned by fire, buried in the ground, struck by lightning, and drowned. If you survive all five tribulations, then you're incredibly powerful. Congratulations, you've become an immortal!

When I heard this, I thought, these seniors are really too mean. But are there really such stupid people in this world? They actually believed it. But thinking about it, Wang Qiang, that idiot, actually tried it, and Yang Zhan, that huge idiot.

Notes on the Fourth Chapter: The Book of Heaven, Chapter Seven: The True Secret

The location of the actual safe place is also recorded in the book, but it can only be deciphered by having both books together. However, the method was not left by our predecessors. It was said that only a person of great wisdom could know the secret inside. If the Han people really could not restore the world, then they should find a wise and powerful person to open the treasure and use it as military funds to win back the world. In the end, the Qing Dynasty was destroyed, and the treasure trove was never opened. It was not that they did not want to open it, but that later generations tried many methods without success. Moreover, all twenty-five people who participated in writing the book had died and turned to ashes. They were all extraordinary people from the common people. Although they all left descendants, they all kept their mouths shut and did not reveal a single word before they died.

The four of us were completely mesmerized. If Zhong Sheng hadn't tapped our bowls with his chopsticks to ask if we wanted more soup, we probably would still be lost in thought. Old Fu, on the other hand, treasured the book even more. After snapping out of it, he held the book and grinned from ear to ear. Zhong Sheng looked at us and shook his head, saying, "I've thought about finding this book countless times, but I've always given up on the idea. After all, it could really bring about murder. I think the descendants of that organization have probably already set their sights on you. I advise you not to make any moves, and if they come to take the book back, you must give it to them. After all, you won't have any use for it."

I was taken aback and asked again, "Does that organization still exist?" Zhong Sheng nodded and said, "It still exists. Everyone said that the organization has always existed, protecting this secret of us Chinese. Now, the members of this organization are scattered all over the world. The organization's purpose has changed from the previous anti-Qing restoration to the current protection of Chinese cultural relics. They try every means to find the cultural relics that have been lost abroad. Moreover, most of the members of this organization are now in the business world, and some of them are ruthless. Once they discover that someone is robbing a tomb or selling cultural relics abroad, they will eliminate those people in advance without the government having to intervene."

Hearing this, I broke out in a cold sweat. I couldn't help but look around, thinking that I needed to stay away from Lao Fu. It didn't matter that the bastard was dead, but we couldn't be dragged down with him. It seemed that his great-grandfather had killed someone from this organization. If his descendants came seeking revenge, they might just rush in and shoot them to death. Who knows if they'd even leave them a whole corpse? Or they might help them pass through some kind of five tribulations and directly make them immortal...

In the afternoon, I spent the whole afternoon drinking tea with Zhong Sheng. The conversation revolved around analyzing Lao Fu's ancestors and his father. After a long discussion, Zhong Sheng gave us three conclusions: First, Lao Fu's father and his group discovered something, searched outside, were misled, and eventually died outside; second, the organization probably struck first and was killed by Lao Fu's father and his group, but this doesn't make sense, since they didn't take the book if they did; third, they had joined the organization for some special reason and were now working for it.

After dinner, the four of us left. On the way back, Mi Dou kept saying that Lao Fu's book was actually something like that, but Lao Fu seemed preoccupied. I knew he was thinking about his father and grandfather, but no one knew what was going on. We just knew what the book was about, which meant all the mysteries were solved. Lai Bao and I also felt relieved. After Lao Fu took us home, we told him not to overthink it and to keep the book safe, still in the bank. If someone came to collect it, we told him to give it to them immediately. That way, he might be able to find out where his father and grandfather were, and that he would have some hope. Life would go on, and he could find a wife. As we said this, Lai Bao and I glanced at Mi Dou at the same time. Mi Dou avoided our gaze and turned her head to the side.

Chapter 20 of "Strange Tales of Tangdun"

Chapter 20 of "Strange Tales of Tangdun"

Author: Tang Xiaohao

To be honest, when Zhong Sheng told us the story behind that book, I was three parts credulous and seven parts skeptical. It was simply too unbelievable. If he had just said the book was created by an anti-Qing, pro-Ming organization, I might have believed it. But the fact that that organization still exists today is questionable. If that organization is so powerful, how come we see news reports of ancient tombs being looted and artifacts being severely damaged all the time? So, I've already marked Zhong Sheng in my mind; it seems the key to understanding this book lies with him…

Wang Qiang's death was ultimately determined to be due to accidental drug overdose, and we were not implicated in the case. After all, Zhong Sheng's help was indispensable. Without the testimony of this highly respected person, Zhong Sheng, we would have had a hard time clearing our names. However, Zhong Sheng said that he just didn't want too many people to know about the book.

My gut feeling tells me that this story is far from over.

[over]

My notes from the Fourth Day of Book Review

To be honest, I don't know how to sort this out, because I can't completely connect my current thoughts with what Zhong Sheng told me. Is it that my thoughts are not close to the truth at all, or is the truth that Zhong Sheng told me not the truth?

First: If the secret of immortality is a trap set by the Heavenly Book, then why didn't Zhong Sheng stop his student Wang Qiang from doing something foolish?

My speculation has two points. First, Wang Qiang did believe that the Heavenly Book contained a way to achieve immortality, but he also discovered other secrets within it. Zhong Sheng, for some reason, allowed Wang Qiang to experiment with the so-called method of immortality, essentially to silence him. This can be inferred from the fact that his reason for testifying for us at the end was simply to prevent too many people from knowing. Second, although Zhong Sheng knew about the Heavenly Book, he also felt that immortality was possible, so he allowed Wang Qiang to collect "immortality" materials, essentially using Wang Qiang as a test subject. Regardless of which point is correct, I have listed Zhong Sheng as a suspect.