On the steps of the tomb passage, I looked at the man lying in the sand and his body buried in the sand. The thought that this person could still talk to me even though he was cut in two gave me an indescribable feeling of unease.
Song Laosan patted the man's arm: "Friend, your body has been broken by the falling rocks. Although we are all Chinese, we are still enemies in the same trade. Since we have met in this foreign land, we can't pretend we didn't see you. You don't have much time left. If you have any unfulfilled wishes, you can tell us and we will try our best to help you fulfill them."
After listening to Song Laosan's words, the man turned to look at the sand pile pressing down on him. He was silent for a few seconds, then revealed a relieved smile: "I never thought that after hunting eagles all my life, I would be blinded by a sparrow. I've weathered many storms, but I've been defeated in a fake imperial tomb... Give me a cigarette."
The bird sings mournfully as it is about to die. Although the one trapped underneath was this middle-aged man, we were kindred spirits after all. His words made me feel a little depressed. I took out a cigarette from my pocket, lit it, and put it in his mouth: "This cigarette is Russian. We're in a foreign country, and there are no cigarettes from home."
"Having worked in this line of work for half my life, I've long known the saying that after a person dies, all that remains is a handful of yellow earth. There's no need to make a fuss about it."
The man took only one puff of his cigarette before coughing repeatedly, choking on the smoke: "You're right, it's fate that we met in a foreign land. Take my advice, something's not right here in this tomb. Don't go any further, get out of here as soon as possible!"
I pressed further, "Is there something wrong with this tomb?"
“I have robbed more than 30 tombs in my life, including two imperial tombs, but I have never seen such a complicated layout. Moreover, there seems to be something unclean in this place! I know that people in the industry should not talk such nonsense, but you have seen what happened to me.”
The man didn't say much: "If you want to live, turn around and walk away immediately, take the two long-necked (gallbladder-shaped) bottles by the door, and it won't be a wasted trip. If you can get out and have the chance to go to Dali, please tell the landlady of the Nine-Colored Flower Inn in Blue Moon Valley, Dali, that the heartless man has remarried his ex-wife, and tell her not to wait anymore."
I could tell from his voice that the man was referring to himself as the unfaithful one. Although I was eager to ask about Duan Jinyan, he was on the verge of death, so I couldn't ask him directly: "Sir, aren't you going to leave your name?"
The man beckoned with his finger, gesturing for me to take another puff of his cigarette: "My name is Huang Qiurong, with the back of Mount Wanzu, embracing a bunch of crabapple blossoms, and the fragrance adorning the mouth of a precious vase."
"Are you a member of the Chengdu Begonia Flower Clan?"
Upon hearing the slang used by Huang Qiurong, Song Laosan immediately cupped his hands and said, "Song Laosan, the successor of the Goddess of Fertility, greets you!"
I followed suit: "The Judge of the Ghost Eyes of Fengtian, Duan Shenxing."
"Are you from the Four Gates of Fengtian?"
Huang Qiurong's eyes suddenly became wary: "Why did you come here?"
Seeing Huang Qiurong's strong reaction, I knew we had come to the right person: "Mr. Huang, I'm looking for someone. You should know Duan Jinyan, right?"
Huang Qiurong's demeanor changed, and his face turned ferocious: "You just said you came from Wangyunzhai, but were you sent by the Duan family to capture Second Master?"
Seeing Huang Qiurong address Duan Jinyan as "Second Master," I became even more certain that he was Duan Jinyan's companion. After thinking for a moment, I said, "Duan Jinyan is my father. I came here to find him. I hope Mr. Huang will consider my eagerness to save my father and tell me the truth."
"What did you say? Second Master... Duan Jinyan has another son?"
Huang Qiurong was stunned for a moment, then grabbed me and yelled, "You little bastard!"
"careful!"
With lightning speed, Song Laosan grabbed my shoulder and pulled me backward, while Huang Qiurong, whose body was buried underneath, could only grasp empty air.
"Liar! Duan Jinyan, you liar! I trusted you so much, and you dared to lie to me!"
Huang Qiurong glared at me with bloodshot eyes: "You little bastard, I'm going to fucking kill you!"
"Bang!"
Seeing Huang Qiurong speak rudely to me, the monkey kicked him, saying, "Watch your mouth! If it weren't for us, you wouldn't even be able to send out your last words. How can you repay kindness with enmity now?"
Looking at Huang Qiurong's appearance, Song Laosan changed his expression as well: "Huang, I'm only being polite to you because you come from a prestigious family, but don't think we're easy to mess with! Remember you just mentioned an inn to me called Nine-Colored Flower, right?"
"You dare!"
Upon hearing this, Huang Qiurong began to struggle violently: "If you dare to lay a finger on her, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"
"You said that after a person dies, all that remains is a handful of yellow earth."
Song Laosan was of course not afraid of Huang Qiurong's threats: "I have no interest in hurting a woman, but you must answer my question. Duan Jinyan has also come to this tomb. He's right in front of it, isn't he?"
No! He's dead! They're all dead!
Huang Qiurong pointed at the rock that was pinning him down, his face fierce: "You saw it too, all our men are trapped underneath!"
"You're lying! If Duan Jinyan were really dead, you wouldn't have acted so nervous when you heard I was a member of the Duan family. You were clearly trying to protect him!"
Without hesitation, I exposed Huang Qiurong's lie: "You wanted to protect him even when you were on the verge of death, so why did you suddenly change your attitude after hearing about my identity? Duan Jinyan has a son, so why is that such a big blow to you?"
"You little brat! Shut the fuck up!"
Huang Qiurong seemed to harbor immense hostility towards me, and roared angrily, "Yes! I'm lying, Duan Jinyan is inside! Go, go find him! Didn't you want to find your father? He's inside, this tomb is complicated! Go in and be buried with him! Die together! Hahahaha!"
"Huang Qiurong, don't push your luck!" I was enraged by his attitude and grabbed his collar tightly: "Tell me about Duan Jinyan, how many of you came, and what you went through!"
Huang Qiurong also grabbed my arms with all her might, looking like she was going to eat me alive: "I'll tell your grandpa!"
He was seriously injured after all. I punched him in the face, then pinned him down. My anger surged up in an instant: "Tell me about Duan Jinyan! You fucking tell me!"
"Xiao Duan! Xiao Duan!!"
Old Song called my name twice, and when I didn't respond, he suddenly pulled me back: "Look carefully, he's dead! My adrenaline just now only kept him conscious for a short time, but his body below the waist is broken. That ordeal just now has exhausted his last bit of life force!"
I was panting heavily when I realized that Huang Qiurong had just struggled to get out of the sand pile in order to fight me. His mangled body was dragging a string of intestines, and his angry eyes were already lifeless.
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