I was startled by what Grandpa Wei said: "Grandpa Wei, are you kidding me? You're planning to send me abroad to rob tombs?"
"This is no joke. During the Tang Dynasty, India was a tributary state of ours and was once destroyed by Wang Xuance. That evil monk was brought back by Wang Xuance when he returned in triumph!"
Old Master Wei looked at me with a firm gaze: "After the evil monk died, what was buried in Chang'an was only a beggar of similar stature. In reality, under the manipulation of spies, his body was frozen in an ice coffin by his followers and transported back to Magadha, which is now Bihar in India."
I pressed on, "You just said that this evil monk was the culprit who killed Emperor Taizong of Tang, but Li Chunfeng was an official of the Tang Dynasty. How could he have designed his tomb?"
"The tomb of this sorcerer monk was not designed by Li Chunfeng himself. Instead, he took advantage of Li Shimin's trust and obtained a blueprint of Li Chunfeng's tomb design while looting treasures. India at that time was still a barbarian land and had no knowledge of feng shui or traps. So the sorcerer monk had someone use this blueprint as a model to secretly build a mausoleum for him in Magadha, which was named the Blissful Floating Pagoda."
Old Master Wei paused for a moment: "Although this tomb is not in China, it was designed using blueprints from famous domestic architects. Only experts in feng shui and mechanical arts can decipher it. After the incident with Li Fan's tomb, you have seen the dangers of this line of work. I gathered the Four Gates together to ensure your sincere cooperation and to help you better understand the Four Gates. Once you open this tomb, I will tell you everything about your father."
I thought for a moment and asked, "According to you, the four sects have already broken ties. Why are you going to so much trouble to find the Demon Monk's Tomb?"
A hint of sadness flashed in Old Master Wei's eyes: "I did it to save someone. She was your grandfather's good friend and also my wife."
I became more and more confused: "Your wife? My grandfather's friend?"
Grandpa Wei still didn't mention my grandfather's matter: "My wife has been diagnosed with late-stage cancer. We've tried all the treatments in the world, but none of them have been effective! My only hope now lies in that evil monk's tomb."
I picked up my water glass without saying a word.
"This wicked monk took advantage of Li Shimin's trust to plunder many treasures in the Tang Dynasty, including a book of alchemy called 'The Immortal Scripture.' Even Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng praised this book highly, calling it the number one alchemy book in the world."
Wei Xiao explained to me, "The sorcerer monk took this book under the pretext of alchemy, and it has since disappeared without a trace. We suspect that the sorcerer monk took the book out of the Tang Dynasty. As a sorcerer, he must have valued this book highly, and it is very likely that he took it to his tomb to be buried with him!"
"In other words, you are not sure if this book actually exists, let alone if it is in the tomb of that evil monk."
I looked at Grandpa Wei speechlessly: "Grandpa Wei, don't you think this is a bit too surreal? It's the 21st century now, and your family member is sick, so instead of placing your hopes on modern medicine, you're pursuing some ancient and ethereal things. How is this any different from Li Shimin...?"
"Nobody says that modern things are necessarily good, and ancient things are necessarily bad, right?"
Wei Xiao interrupted me: "The knowledge we have is all passed down from generation to generation by our ancestors. Traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese characters, tea ceremony... everything you know is the inheritance and improvement of generations. Moreover, before Li Shimin was poisoned to death, he did achieve the effect of prolonging his life through Taoist elixirs."
You don't need to comfort me.
When Old Master Wei heard Wei Xiao arguing with me, he gestured for him to be quiet and said to me, "Actually, my thoughts are the same as yours. I also know that the hope of this approach is very slim, but since modern medicine is helpless, I have no choice but to take a gamble. Rather than searching for a prescription, perhaps what you are pursuing is more like the obsession in my heart."
"I understand."
Upon hearing Old Master Wei's words, I stopped trying to persuade him and ceased criticizing his spiritual sustenance: "You just said that opening this tomb requires the combined efforts of the descendants of the four families. Does this mean that besides the Duan and Wei families, you have also contacted the descendants of the other two families?"
"Ever since what happened to your father, the Four Gates have been defunct in name only, and we haven't been in contact for many years. I only recently started working on this matter."
Old Master Wei sighed: "I have half a map of the Blissful Floating Pagoda Tomb. I bought it at a high price. This map is from the Ming Dynasty and was drawn by your Duan family ancestor. I just don't know why it ended up in the wrong place."
I was somewhat surprised: "The drawing was done by our Duan family?"
"Yes, that's why I gathered the four sects together. Our ancestors lived together for generations until the Japanese invaded China! There are many markings on that map that are not areas that your Duan family is good at, which means that the map must have been drawn by the combined efforts of the four sects. It is because of this connection that I decided to let the descendants of the four sects open the tomb."
After explaining the origin of the map, Old Master Wei added, "I have already found out the whereabouts of the other half of the map and contacted the descendants of the Qu and Song families. The Song family was already making a living in India, and the Qu family also got the other half of the map and went to India. The Wei family will process your passport as soon as possible, and then gather the strength of the four families to locate the burial site."
I heard that the Wei family hadn't even gathered all the men to carry out the attack yet, and I sniffed: "So, during this period of time, I can still receive a salary of 20,000 yuan every day?"
Wei Xiao responded, "We will transfer the money to your account every day as usual."
I grinned: "The Wei family is really rich and powerful! Aren't you afraid I'll deliberately delay and make money off you for nothing?"
Just then, a woman's voice came from outside the door: "Do you really think our Wei family is your ATM?"
I looked in the direction of the sound and was immediately drawn to it.
The girl who entered was short-haired, about 1.7 meters tall, with fair skin, beautiful face, long legs, and stunning looks.
I have never seen such a beautiful girl in my entire life.
When the girl entered, Old Master Duan smiled and said, "Shengnan, you've come at the right time. Let me introduce you. This is Duan Shenxing, the fourth-generation successor of the Duan family. We need you to work together on this trip abroad."
Wei Shengnan glanced at me, her eyes full of displeasure: "Grandpa! Dad! I don't agree to go with him on the journey to find the Blissful Pagoda!"
"Shengnan, don't be so presumptuous!"
Wei Xiao scolded in a low voice, "This is your grandfather's decision, how dare you talk nonsense! Your grandmother has spoiled you since you were little, don't you want to save people?"
"It is precisely because I am worried about Grandma's safety that I disagree with letting the Duan family get involved!"
Wei Shengnan glared at me angrily: "The Duan family has been corrupt from the very beginning. His father is no good, and he must be no good either!"
"Hey! Just say what you want to say, why resort to personal attacks?"
Hearing Wei Shengnan's words, I was also somewhat dissatisfied: "We've never even met, and you're already speaking rudely to me. Didn't your family teach you anything about manners?"
"Good manners? You Duan family members don't even deserve to use that word!"
Wei Shengnan's gaze was like a knife: "If it weren't for your Duan family, how could the Four Gates have fallen apart! If it weren't for your father, how could my second uncle have become a paraplegic, ending up in a state that's neither human nor ghost! And how could so many people from the Four Gates have died?!"
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