Le roi des pilleurs de tombes

Chapitre 12

Having lived a life of utter humiliation, Lao Deng chose to commit suicide by overdosing on pills.

Ironically, just like those suicidal fools who want to commit suicide but don't actually want to, after swallowing the pills, he called his friends one by one, crying and sniffling, to say goodbye. This caused the police to break down his door, throw him into the hospital for a stomach lavage, and he stayed in the hospital for a whole week before being discharged.

After being discharged from the hospital, Lao Deng disappeared for quite some time.

Just when everyone thought that Lao Deng had secretly slipped into the deep mountains to hang himself, Lao Deng appeared.

Like a completely transformed man, Old Deng reopened his business at the same location, looking radiant. He even married a beautiful Vietnamese bride, twenty-three years his junior. Occasionally, Old Deng would still play the disappearing act, no one knowing where he went, but after a while, he would reappear before everyone... travel-worn, with an incredibly mysterious smile.

At Bo Xu's farewell ceremony, Lao Deng also showed up to pay his respects.

As everyone took turns giving their speeches, Lü Xuda, who was sitting next to Deng Xiaoping, suddenly sighed heavily: "Deng Xiaoping, I really envy you for being able to come back to life."

"..." Old Deng squinted, sizing up the junior student whose face was full of worry: "...Envious?"

Those eyes were like two polished knives, piercing directly into Lü Xuda's unfocused pupils, dulled by days of insomnia.

"What, can't I be envious?" Lu Xuda felt a little uncomfortable.

"Junior, what do you think... hehe, why is life meaningful?" Old Deng actually laughed during the solemn farewell ceremony.

It was just a question that even elementary school students could blurt out, but it made Lu Xuda feel like he had been electrocuted.

This question was once the sharpest weapon that Lü Xuda most often used to "interrogate" patients.

Rather than interrogation, Lü Xuda preferred providing alternative answers, and now...

"I don't know," he said honestly, not really wanting to continue the discussion.

"I don't know either," Old Deng said, shrugging.

"?"

"I used to think I knew, but now I'm not so sure anymore." Old Deng seemed to have seized an opportunity and started rambling on: "To be honest, I don't fucking care what the meaning of life is, but I do know very well how happy it is to be alive!"

"Hmm. Really? That's quite remarkable." How empty, Lu Xu thought to himself.

"Ha, if you've ever been on the verge of real death, you'll understand what I mean."

"Are you referring to the suicide?" Lu Xu asked, looking at Bo Xu's portrait.

Bo Xu, now in black and white, has more defined features and a more sinister appearance.

And he felt even more regretful.

"Pah, what's that? It's just taking some medicine and getting a stomach pump. It's just feeling unwell, a little worse than a cold." Old Deng seemed to be dangling some kind of spiel: "I'm talking about utter despair, helplessness, and the absolute brink of death... When you know your life could end at any moment, or you'd be starved and tortured for over ten days before finally succumbing to weakness, and you still survive, ha, I guarantee you'll be just like me, never wanting to die again!"

This crude notion that "hope can only be found in desperate situations" was once a guiding principle that Lü Xuda believed in.

So how should we react to Lao Deng? Lü Xuda couldn't help but make a sneer.

"Junior, I don't know why you look so unhappy." Old Deng didn't seem annoyed at all; on the contrary, he seemed quite pleased with Lü Xu's nonchalant expression. It was as if he had found a new toy.

I don't want to talk about it.

"Ha, I have absolutely no interest in psychological counseling, nor do I want to know... what exactly happened between you and Bo Xu. But I'll ask you a simple question, so answer me honestly."

"..."

Are you afraid of dying?

“I don’t want to commit suicide, and I don’t have the guts.” Without even thinking, Lü Xu’s answer came straight out of his heart: “But if a car came and killed me right now, I wouldn’t complain. I can die, I can die right now.”

"A good idea, but also a very fake one." Old Deng grinned and chuckled. "Want to try playing a game where you might die, using the method I used to bring you back to life? As long as you don't die, I guarantee you'll do everything you can to keep living!"

"in the end……"

“A person who thinks they can accept death at any time, don’t say you can’t take a joke!” Old Deng took out a pen from his pocket, wrote his phone number on the back of Lü Xuda’s hand, and said, “Call me before you wash it off. Remember, don’t blame me if you die.”

That evening, halfway through taking a shower, Lu Xu walked out of the bathroom, dripping wet, and made a phone call while looking at his hands covered in foam.

Perhaps it was out of a desire to rekindle one's passion for life, or perhaps it was simply out of curiosity.

Or perhaps, it's something even Lü Xuda couldn't explain... a desire to die.

This dangerous death game "seems" to be presented as a journey.

Old Deng instructed Lü Xu to prepare his gear with the mindset of a mountaineering summit attempt: a compass, flashlight, lighter, sleeping bag, and even a wad of US dollars. The bigger the backpack, the better, containing at least fifteen days' worth of water and food. Clothing should provide both warmth and sun protection. The first-aid kit should be packed with as many medications as possible, with extra anti-diarrheal medication. A deadly knife was also recommended; if a gun could be obtained, that would be an even better option.

"Why are you carrying a gun?" Lu Xu was taken aback.

"If the location of the experience is exciting enough, it might come in handy."

Old Deng revealed another mysterious smile. This ambiguous smile was constantly fueling suspicion and displeasure in Lü Xuda's heart.

"What about the time? When do we set off?"

"I'll let you know the time later. Keep your phone on at all times; sometimes we can leave on a whim. Also, remember to bring an extra 100,000 yuan for travel expenses with you!"

"Senior, where exactly are we going? Which country? Which mountain?"

"Wrong, wrong. It's not about where we're going, but where I'm going and where you've gone."

"Aren't our routes different?"

"The Earth is so big, how could it be such a coincidence? Hahahaha..."

3

It did not go to Songshan Airport, nor to Taoyuan Airport.

The taxi arrived at Park No. 4 in Yonghe, in an alley leading to Yongan Market MRT station. Both sides were lined with commuters' motorcycles, and the alley was bustling with shops selling food, drinks, and trinkets.

When he got off the bus and started walking, Lü Xu was filled with confusion.

Old Deng, who was leading the way, was also dressed in elaborate attire, so it shouldn't be a prank out of sheer boredom. What on earth was going on? As Lu Xu watched Old Deng's slightly trembling back, his curiosity grew stronger.

Old Deng rang the doorbell at the foot of an ordinary, twenty-year-old apartment building.

Without asking any questions, the iron gate opened directly, and Lao Deng and Lü Xu went in one after the other.

As he climbed the stairs to the third floor, Old Deng stopped, panting, and looked thoughtfully at his feet.

“Senior…” Lu Xu muttered.

“I went four times, and I was terrified every time I set off.” Old Deng clenched his fist.

This atmosphere made Lü Xuda involuntarily tense up.

Old Deng remained frozen in place for five minutes without saying a word before finally lifting his right foot back up.

Finally, they reached the fifth floor. Judging from the height of the stairs, which differed from those on the fourth floor and below, this floor was an extension added to the top floor. The slightly old red iron door was ajar, clearly having just been opened to wait for Old Deng. Old Deng pushed the door open and went inside.

The house was terribly garishly decorated. Large swaths of old pink paint dominated half the visual space, while the other half was marred by bright green paint, creating a jarring effect. Neon light bulbs hung haphazardly like stars, their bright lights adding an eerie touch even in broad daylight. The windows were half-open, and a languid breeze made the seashell wind chimes tinkle. Floral curtains blocked most of the afternoon sunlight, further contributing to the room's disharmonious atmosphere.

Beneath the main mast stands a giant, monstrous convex television screen in the video hall, displaying four McDonald's Hello Kitty cat figurines that were very popular a few years ago. The figurines are carefully wrapped in unopened plastic sleeves, covered in fine dust.

An old radio sat under the window, playing a strange, crackling sound... The frequency was clearly not tuned properly, but no one cared, letting it struggle in the murky channel.

More than the strange and incongruous furnishings, what bothered Lü Xu more was the unique panting and slapping sounds of a man and woman having sex coming from the bedroom behind the living room.

Lu Xu closed the door behind him and, like Lao Deng, walked into the living room without taking off his shoes, since the five people who had come in before them hadn't taken their shoes off either.

All five of them were men, fully armed, looking like they were heading to the moon to set up camp. In comparison, Lü Xu's equipment was truly shabby. Although he had no idea where they were going, he couldn't help but agree with Old Deng's disdain for his gear.

Old Deng nodded to each of them, and Lü Xuda followed suit.

"Here you go." Old Deng took out a stack of banknotes he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and placed them on the fruit plate on the coffee table.

"..." Lü Xuda followed suit, this was the "travel expenses" that Old Deng had instructed him to prepare beforehand.

The fruit platter was already piled high with banknotes, neatly bundled in bundles with rubber bands. Lü Xu glanced at them quickly; there were probably about ten bundles. Quite a few people had joined this adventure.

"Write your phone number on the calendar," Old Deng said, pointing to the calendar on the wall.

The calendar was from two years ago and hadn't been changed in a long time. It was covered with strings of phone numbers, some circled repeatedly in red pen. Without asking any questions—it would be pointless—Lü Xuda copied the phone numbers down as instructed.

There was no room on the sofa, so the two sat down anywhere on the floor.

Lu Xuda was naturally very curious as he looked at the five people, but the five people were equally curious as they stared at him intently.

You look at me, I look at you.

Behind a green curtain made of strings of plastic beads, the sounds of a man and woman making love could still be heard, their intensity making Lü Xu blush and his heart race. Why would someone be doing it so loudly in the bedroom? Old Deng hadn't mentioned this at all…

"First time?" asked an old man with a scar on his face, who was still wearing military rubber boots with leg wraps.

Before Lü Xu could admit it, Old Deng patted him on the shoulder and laughed, pretending to be relaxed. "That's right, I introduced him. His name doesn't matter, what matters is that he said he wants to die, haha."

After he finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.

“Newcomers always help ease everyone’s tension, haha,” a middle-aged man with a full beard laughed loudly: “Hahahahahahahaha!”

"Back when I first set off, my equipment was even more rudimentary than his!" An old man with a black eye patch covering his left eye laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight.

"The first time I set off, I only carried a bucket of 5,000 cc of mineral water. Hahahaha, compared to that, this guy is a coward! Hahahaha!" A middle-aged man with skin so dark it looked like he was oozing soy sauce clapped his hands and laughed.

"Hehehe, you want to die, sir? No problem, you'll get what you want most of the time, hehehehehe." The young man with a strange laugh fiddled with his hair with his right hand, which only had three fingers left. The movement was definitely a deliberate display of his disability, a practiced and skillful gesture.

"Don't talk about death so easily, my friend, the Grim Reaper will be after you..." A long-haired old man with expensive Ray-Ban sunglasses hanging from his chest bent down and slapped Lu Xuda's shoulder from the sofa, the force of which almost made him cough.

"Now that you're done laughing, can you tell me what happened?" Lu Xu was quite unhappy, but the laughter had made him very nervous, as if the thing they were going to do together was as foolish as trying to cross the Pacific Ocean in a canoe.

No one answered Lü Xuda.

"By the way, does anyone know what day it is now?" Old Deng ignored the "responsibility" he was given.

"They say it's the next day," I forget who said it.

"The second day... although it's not the first day, it's still impeccable." Old Deng nodded, his voice trembling with a mixture of excitement and fear.

“I went on the fifth day last time, my goodness, and I came back in just one week.” The long-haired old man with Ray-Ban sunglasses hanging around his neck frowned and said, “This time I must seize the opportunity.”

"By the way, now that we're chatting... has anyone here ever set off on the very first day?" The dark-skinned middle-aged man seized the opportunity of the lively atmosphere to gather information.

“Me.” The young man, who liked to show off his injured fingers, shook his right hand again and said, “These two fingers of mine were originally stuck to my hands… and my left little toe and right ring toe were lost on that trip. No doubt about it, I took a knife and slowly cut them off myself in the snow with a fire burning in the snow, so as not to die of sepsis.”

"It must hurt a lot, right?"

"To be honest, it was so frozen, it felt like I wasn't cutting my own flesh, haha, so I just grilled it and ate it. It tasted amazing—my tongue wasn't frozen at all!" The young man said proudly. "After being starving for almost five days and four nights, I..."

It took a lot of self-control to refrain from cutting off my healthy toes to eat!

Everyone burst into laughter again.

This time, however, it wasn't a hearty laugh of mockery, but rather a laugh of empathy, a "sigh, I can understand that feeling too." This kind of laughter completely ostracized Lü Xu.

"That's amazing, I also want to set off on day one."