After I returned to the pawnshop, I lay on the bed in the bedroom on the second floor, looking at the transfer records on my phone, feeling like I was dreaming.
Originally, I was just a small pawnshop owner, tending to this half-dead shop every day while also having to do part-time jobs.
Delivery driver, designated driver, mover, night shift security guard...
Even if you work yourself to the bone for a month, you can only earn five or six thousand.
Today, the Wei family suddenly approached me, claiming that I am the successor of the Four Gates of Fengtian and that I am the Ghost Eye Judge, offering me a job with a daily wage of 20,000.
More importantly, according to Mr. Wei, there seems to be a deeper story behind my father's disappearance, and he may still be alive.
Whether it's for the money or to find my father's whereabouts, I have to go on this trip.
However, according to the records in the Judge's Records, tomb raiding is not a simple matter.
If the evil deeds recorded in that notebook are true, then my journey has been a life of constant danger.
With that in mind, I dug out the notebook from under the bed and started reading it from the beginning, as if I were cramming for the battle.
I was reading a book when I drifted off to sleep.
...
On the day of departure, I was woken up early by the doorbell. When I went downstairs, it was still dark. As soon as I opened the door, Monkey came in carrying a large travel bag: "Young Master Duan, when can we leave?"
"Are you crazy?! The flight is at 11:40 AM, it's only 5:30 AM, what's the rush?"
I glanced at the huge backpack behind the monkey: "What's in that bag? It's making a lot of noise!"
The monkey patted his backpack: "Aren't we going to rob a tomb? I brought a whole set of tomb-robbing tools: a Luoyang shovel, a soil-dividing sword, and black donkey hooves. I bought them all at the antique stall."
"Brother, please wake up! We're going to be flying to several different places. Do you think we can get through security with all this stuff? Besides, black donkey hooves are folk tales about warding off evil spirits. Historical records don't mention any tomb raiders carrying them!"
I rolled my eyes: "This is the modern world. A metal detector is worth more than all of your stuff. The Wei family is taking this matter so seriously, and they've even brought professionals with them. Do you really need to bring your own tools?"
"Then I got this for nothing? I carried it all the way here, I'm exhausted."
The monkey looked at me awkwardly: "So what do we need to do now?"
"Catch up on sleep."
I went back upstairs and slept until 9:30. After washing up, I took a taxi with Monkey to the airport to head to Yangzhou.
I don't know why, but looking at the receding street scene outside the car window, I felt no joy at making money, and instead had a very uneasy premonition.
...
In order not to delay my trip, I arrived at the airport two hours early.
Monkey, being a carefree person, wasn't as anxious about the trip as I was. Instead, he was unusually excited and kept chattering beside me: "Young Master Duan, to be honest, I still feel like I'm dreaming! The new house my family bought last year was developed by Changwei Group. If I had known you had this connection, I would have saved so much on agent fees! And the salary they offered, I never thought I, Zhao Qinghou, would be worth so much, ten thousand yuan a day! Ten thousand!"
"This money is easy to earn, but not necessarily easy to spend."
I stopped and looked at the monkey: "Tomb raiding sounds simple, but it's actually far more dangerous than you can imagine. If you regret it, it's not too late to back out now!"
The monkey was completely unfazed by the danger I mentioned: "Quit? Are you kidding me! I've been in the antique business for so many years, and apart from silver dollars and copper coins, I've never seen any genuine antiques. This is a rare opportunity, only a fool would give it up!"
Although I hoped the monkey would come with me, the matter was of great importance, so I added seriously, "I must remind you, although I've taken this job, I've never robbed a tomb before. When it comes to the actual operation, I can't guarantee your safety."
The monkey looked me in the eye and said, slowly and deliberately, "That's why I can't let you go on this adventure alone! Don't let my unreliability fool you; when it matters, I'll never abandon my brother. Even if we don't get paid, I'll still go with you."
A warm feeling washed over me: "Since you've said that, then I won't give you any money. Your 10,000 yuan salary is mine. I won't let you work for nothing; I'll give you 200 yuan a day as a hard-earned fee."
monkey:"???"
We were chatting and laughing when someone suddenly tapped me on the shoulder from behind.
I turned around and saw Wei Xiao, and smiled: "Hello, Uncle Wei."
"Um."
Wei Xiao nodded: "Your tickets are already booked. They're Air China first-class tickets. You can just use your ID cards to check in."
"Is it just the two of us? Is no one else with us?"
I blinked: "So far, all you've told me is to go and do the work, but you haven't told me anything about the specific location or the age of the tomb."
"Because you haven't finished the Wei family's test yet, it's best for us to keep our distance until we're sure you have real skills."
Wei Xiao handed me a slip of paper with a phone number on it: "The owner of this number is called Shark. Contact him after you get to Yangzhou."
The Wei family's evasive attitude always made me feel uneasy: "Uncle Wei, let's be clear beforehand, are you sure that my trip to Yangzhou is really for tomb raiding, and not to trick me into cutting off my kidney?"
Wei Xiao finally smiled: "Don't overthink it. Your kidneys aren't worth the Changwei Group going to such lengths for. It's just that your probation period isn't over yet."
The monkey blinked and asked cleverly, "His kidneys aren't enough, so how about adding mine?"
"Judging by your physique, your kidneys are probably not even worth as much as a first-class ticket."
Wei Xiao glanced at his Audemars Piguet watch, patted my arm, and said, "It's almost time to board. Have a safe trip. Before you leave, let me give you a piece of advice: the underground world is different from here. Think twice before you act."
Monkey watched Wei Xiao's departing figure, then asked me, completely bewildered, "Young Master Duan, what exactly do you think the Wei family means? They hired us to rob a tomb, but didn't say a word. Aren't they just messing with us idiots?"
I pursed my lips and turned to walk towards the Air China counter: "The Wei family is indeed rich, but they're not so rich as to waste money. The 30,000 yuan salary we get every day isn't for nothing."
The less Wei Xiao said, the more curious I became.
What caught my attention most was a remark Wei Xiao made just now.
He said the Wei family's test of me was not over yet. Could this trip to Yangzhou be one of the tests that Old Master Wei was talking about?
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