Rey de los saqueadores de tumbas

Capítulo 6

Ruan Xiuwen's speech was quite assertive, which was completely different from the slow and deliberate speech of the archaeologists I had met before, and it was quite persuasive.

"So, there's a possibility that the original conclusion could be completely overturned?" I quickly jotted it down in my notebook.

"I think it's possible."

“That’s exactly what we reporters want,” I said with a smile.

“Look at these bluestone slabs. We’ve basically ruled out the possibility of them being formed later. But there are already steps, so why drive in wooden stakes and lay stone slabs? Isn’t that strange? In my opinion, it’s simply extravagant. This kind of thing would only happen in the tombs of high-ranking officials and nobles, and it’s absolutely impossible for a water gate.”

I nodded in understanding and casually remarked, "Isn't that just as strange as the pyramids?"

“There is a slight resemblance, but it’s not that incredible. I think if we wait a few more days and make some progress, we might be able to find an explanation.” Ruan Xiuwen laughed. “The key is that we can’t know who the builder was. Neither the common people nor the government can. We can’t find a reasonable explanation based on the current motives for the construction and the date of completion, which is why I came here. I wouldn’t have come all this way if it weren’t for the most difficult issue.”

"Could it be that some members of the royal family, or some relatives of the emperor, supervised the construction of the water gate and then went on a lavish and extravagant project, insisting on making it like this?"

“Impossible,” Ruan Xiuwen denied. “You have to understand that whether it was the historically famous and prosperous Tang Dynasty or the Song Dynasty, which had made great progress in science and culture, Shanghai was a very remote area at that time. The Jiangnan region that was mentioned at that time was also quite far away from here. In any case, it had nothing to do with the emperor.”

As I pondered the various possibilities surrounding the builders, it suddenly occurred to me that many people believe the pyramids were the work of extraterrestrials, so perhaps the Zhidan Garden site was built by underwater people. I couldn't help but smile wryly; I was interviewing an archaeologist, not some naive female college student. I immediately dismissed this absurd thought.

"Could it be some kind of ceremony, like a sacrifice or something? I remember reading some ancient texts like that when I was little, something about Ximen Bao..." I asked casually, but before Ruan Xiuwen could answer, I immediately dismissed my own question, "Oh, I was just saying it offhand. I forgot for a moment that we're in a river, underwater, haha."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Xiuwen suddenly glanced at me, his eyes flashing as if he had thought of something. However, the glint in his eyes vanished in an instant, and he simply smiled and said to me, "Mr. Na Duo, you are quite interesting."

We concluded the interview in a relaxed atmosphere. Ruan Xiuwen is indeed different from ordinary archaeologists. Perhaps his archaeological knowledge comes more from personal experience than from books. Therefore, unlike others, he does not always use a lot of obscure technical terms when he speaks. Instead, he will occasionally put forward some simple hypotheses and inferences. He is very talkative and humorous.

As I mentioned before, I'm not a particularly diligent reporter; I always try to finish writing down what I interview that day, no matter how late it is. Anyway, according to Ruan Xiuwen, I was the only reporter who interviewed him, not many people know him, and someone like him probably wouldn't repeat the same things even after multiple interviews. So this is my exclusive report, and I can put it aside for a bit, even if it takes half a day. So I went straight back to Zhidan Garden, planning to go to the newspaper office tomorrow to finish the article.

It was past nine o'clock when I arrived at Zhidan Garden. I realized I often frequented Zhidan Garden at night and was quite familiar with its night view. The construction site had just stopped, and many lights were still on in the apartments, but the streets were still quiet. I subconsciously looked for any trace of the black cat that had been bothering me, but after looking around as I reached my building, I found nothing.

"Na Duo!" A crisp voice startled me.

Looking up, I saw Su Ying leaning out of the second-floor window, looking at me with a half-smile, her hair hanging straight down. "Just got off work? Want to come up and sit for a bit?"

Having obtained exclusive information today, I was in a pretty good mood and naturally went to investigate. Arriving at Su Ying's house, the door was open. As soon as I went in, I saw Su Ying feeding her fish. The dozen or so colorful saltwater fish in the huge aquarium were gathered around Su Ying, vying for food.

"Hi!" she greeted me when she saw me. "Have a seat!"

I sat down casually and asked her, "What's wrong? You called me before I even got home?"

"Nothing's wrong. Are you busy with work tonight?" Su Ying sat down opposite me, hugging her knees as she looked at me.

"No, I don't have anything else to do today."

"Actually, I really enjoyed chatting with you yesterday. I've never had such a pleasant conversation with anyone before. If you're free today, how about we chat some more?"

I laughed and straightened up. "Don't you have anyone to talk to at school? Why are you dragging around a grown man like me, whom you barely know, talking to?" Even as I said this, I couldn't help but feel secretly pleased with myself. It seemed my charm was still quite good, managing to attract such a beautiful woman who wouldn't let me go. This wasn't just wishful thinking; it was a fact that she always initiated the invitations.

Of course, her saying she had a good chat... is probably just one-sided.

"It's not exactly unfamiliar anymore."

Su Ying simply smiled at my slightly teasing question, running her fingers through her long hair without giving a direct answer.

I instinctively felt she was somewhat lonely and isolated. But these days, most girls who are lonely would choose to watch TV or go online; chatting with others is more relaxing and stress-free, and they might even meet other die-hard fans and join a club or something. Now she's forgoing these two usual pastimes and so actively inviting me to chat—could it be…could this beautiful woman have taken a liking to me? I couldn't help but glance at her again. Su Ying has a face like a celebrity, and a rare kind of natural beauty—no makeup, no embellishment. Could I really be having a stroke of good luck with love?

I personally enjoy my own space because I dislike being bound by all sorts of messy rules, which is why I rent an apartment alone. Some self-disciplined people force themselves to live a military-style life; I'd probably go crazy in a few days if I tried that. Of course, I can't refuse a beautiful woman's request, but if she keeps inviting me upstairs every night, I can't handle it. Besides, the most suspicious thing is, how can a beautiful woman like her feel so lonely? I spent so much time at her place yesterday, and she didn't call even once. Logically speaking, it wouldn't be surprising if she was surrounded by suitors, especially since she's done commercials, appeared on TV, and was at least a campus beauty or a popular figure in school. This is something I just can't understand.

"What kind of work did you do today? You reporters usually work really hard," Su Ying asked me.

"Oh, I went to interview people about the progress of the archaeological work at Zhidan Garden today. Well, actually..." I said, suddenly noticing Su Ying staring intently at me. I immediately thought of how she had talked about "finding the underwater people" before. "What's wrong?" she asked anxiously. Her gaze made me a little uncomfortable. I cleared my throat, deciding to use the information I had gathered to dispel her strange idea of underwater people.

"Actually, progress is still quite slow. What we found in this interview was not much different from the last one. However, an expert came today to re-examine some details that are still disputed."

"Any new discoveries regarding the builders or purpose of the site?"

"The purpose still needs to be re-examined. However, it is basically certain that it is a product from around the Yuan Dynasty. Other aspects are still similar to the original. If we're talking about new discoveries, then there seem to be more new doubts."

What's suspicious?

"Those iron ingots, wooden stakes, and the like—after that expert's comments, it seems like every single one of them has become suspicious. No concrete conclusions have been reached yet; we'll have to wait a few more days to see."

Su Ying looked somewhat disappointed. However, she quickly became very enthusiastic and said to me, "You'll continue the interviews, right? Be sure to let me know if there are any new developments next time!"

Her attitude made me feel uneasy, as if she was putting some kind of pressure on me.

"Why are you so concerned about this archaeological excavation?" I asked.

Su Ying tossed her hair and adjusted her posture. Then, in an almost solemn tone, she said, "I have an idea. Do you remember the underwater people I mentioned to you?"

I couldn't help but sigh inwardly. I was right; it was another sea creature. Even so, I still answered, "Yes." I could have guessed what she was going to say next.

“I think,” Su Ying said, enunciating each word clearly, “who could have built this place? Perhaps this site was built by the underwater people in the past. I believe it might have been a place where the underwater people conducted rituals, celebrations, or similar activities.”

I couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing. Having just spoken with Ruan Xiuwen, my mind was filled with a rational analysis of Zhidan Garden, so Su Ying's ideas now seemed utterly absurd to me.

Just as I thought, Su Ying's obsession with the underwater people had truly reached the level of faith. For example, Christians attribute everything to the power of God, while Buddhists believe it's the protection of Buddha. Su Ying, however, attributes everything to the underwater people. Therefore, she connects all inexplicable things to the past. I couldn't help but want to end the conversation immediately and go home.

Su Ying, however, said with great interest, "I think that's very likely..."

I wanted to say, "But you didn't say it was created by aliens, so I think that possibility is equally high," but I held back and calmly asked her, "What evidence do you have? I mean substantial evidence. So far, there's no indication that any factors other than humans were involved."

As soon as I raised my voice, she immediately fell silent, seemingly speechless, or perhaps hesitant to speak. I patiently waited for her reply, and for a moment, silence fell over us. She pursed her lips, and her expression gradually became somewhat displeased.

Seeing her like this, I quickly tried to say something to change the subject: "But that archaeology expert from Beijing today was really interesting. He was very scholarly and very talkative..."

Su Ying clearly didn't care about what I said later. She seemed a little stunned, still holding a grudge against me for refuting her point of view. But I really thought her idea was outrageous, and I felt that I had already been very polite, so I simply stopped talking.