Seeing my anxious expression, the monkey quickly comforted me, "Young Master Duan, don't worry, the ancient book was on you and was successfully brought out."
Our purpose in coming to India was to find this book. I felt a little relieved to hear that it hadn't been lost: "Where is that book?"
The monkey scratched its head: "Wei Shengnan took the things back to China."
"What did you say?!" I struggled to sit up, but the movement aggravated my wound, causing me to grimace in pain. "Who told you to give him the things?"
“I had no choice but to hand it over! We followed your instructions and found the snake cave that day, but there was a large jungle outside, and we couldn’t pinpoint our location at all. Wei Shengnan said that after we lost contact, the Wei family must have been looking for us, so they lit a campfire and used the smoke to send a signal.”
Seeing my grim expression, the monkey quickened his pace: "Sure enough, the Wei family found us not long after. Wei Shengnan heard from Song Laosan that you had found the scriptures, so she had people search you. Of course, I wouldn't allow them to do that, so a conflict broke out. But you were too badly injured at the time. The accompanying doctor examined you and said you had a fractured left leg, three broken ribs, one of which might be lodged in your lung, and there was also a risk of spinal dislocation. Without immediate treatment, your life would be in danger. I insisted that you had obtained the ancient book and that I would only have the right to decide your fate after you woke up. But Wei Shengnan threatened me, saying that she wouldn't save you if I didn't hand over the ancient book. In a life-or-death situation, I had no choice..."
I heard the monkey's explanation, and I knew he had done his best. Moreover, Wei Shengnan had taken the things away, so I fell silent.
Seeing my expression, the monkey added, "When Wei Shengnan took that book, she said she was only doing it to save people first, but the Wei family will definitely fulfill the conditions they promised you and will never go back on their word."
I wasn't surprised by this result, and I knew the Wei family had no reason to lie. After all, my deal with them wasn't about any financial interests; it was just a story.
The reason I am unwilling to hand over the immortal scriptures is not because I am afraid that the Wei family will go back on their word, but because I have ulterior motives.
Based on my previous interactions with Mr. Wei, I could tell that he was a cunning old fox who kept some things to himself; if he didn't want to talk, there was no way I could get any information out of him.
My original plan was to obtain the immortal scripture and then use it to threaten him, so that he would find out all the information I really wanted to know.
Although I felt sorry that the immortal scriptures were taken away, when I thought about it again, the monkey was also trying to save me.
Moreover, according to the monkey's description, even if I were awake at the time, I could only threaten Wei Shengnan into submission by destroying the immortal scriptures, which meant that the two sides would definitely break off relations because of this.
After accepting this fact, I asked the monkey, "How long have I been unconscious?"
Five days!
The monkey held out a hand: "The doctor came this morning and said that if you don't wake up before dark, your condition will be very dangerous."
I recalled the events before I lost consciousness: "I remember that Song Laosan was also injured at the time. Didn't he stay in India?"
"No, Song Laosan wasn't seriously injured. He just had a piece of flesh torn off his leg by the python. He went back to China with Wei Shengnan and the others. I brought a lot of things up from the tomb, but the beads and the like were blown to dust by the wind. The gold and jade, however, were preserved. Song Laosan said that we would get into trouble by showing off those things in public, and that he would help us deal with it, so he took them all."
The monkey licked its lips: "Young Master Duan, do you think that guy Song Laosan might try to steal my things?"
"Probably not. Song Laosan may seem shrewd, but he still has his principles. Give me the phone; I want to talk to him."
After thinking it over, I decided not to contact the Wei family immediately, but instead chose to speak with Song Laosan first.
When we were at the Demon Monk's Tomb, Song Laosan chose to stay to save me, and I was seriously injured while saving him. In a way, we had a life-or-death friendship.
After the call connected, Song Laosan's voice came through the receiver: "Hello, who is this?"
My voice was hoarse after several days of unconsciousness: "Third Master, how have you been?"
"Xiao Duan? You're awake!"
Old Song recognized my voice and became excited: "It seems that my going to the Taoist temple to offer incense for you yesterday had some effect. I was so worried about you these past few days while you were unconscious!"
I said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Isn't that a bit hypocritical? As far as I know, you didn't make a single phone call while I was unconscious."
"That's a rather heartless thing to say. Didn't I come back for you? Although I, Song Laosan, may seem unreliable, I'm not stupid, and I know what loyalty is! When we encountered the snake swarm at the Demon Monk's Tomb, you suggested leading the snakes away instead of joining forces with the monkey to push me out. You chose to treat me as an equal. I remember that favor!"
Old Master Song said righteously, "Don't forget, I'm injured too! Staying in India to recover would just make things look like a huge meeting of the Disabled Persons' Federation, which would be pointless. On the contrary, it's most advantageous for me to return to China! The four families have reunited after more than ten years, and there must be many things to discuss. Wei Shengnan and I came back to represent the Song family and make it clear that we must wait for all four families to arrive before agreeing to talks. Isn't that much more meaningful than staying in India and staring at each other like this?"
I smiled and said, "Can I trust you?"
Song Laosan retorted, "I didn't need to explain these things to you. Lying to you wouldn't do me any good, right?"
That reply warmed my heart: "Third Master, thank you!"
Song Laosan responded realistically, "I'm not doing this entirely for you. Only when the four families are united can everyone have food to eat. You and I are both from the bottom, unlike the Wei and Qu families."
I then asked, "Does the Qu family also have business in real life?"
"It is said that Qu Ruilin's father left him a huge fortune, but I don't know the specifics."
Old Song changed the subject: "By the way, I took the 'yellow goods' that Monkey brought out, as well as the stick you always carry. After testing, it turns out to be a gilded vajra. I've already shipped these things back to China. If I sell them all, they'll fetch around six million. I'll take 40% as a 'tea money' fee. Is that acceptable?"
When I heard what Song Laosan said, my heart almost jumped out of my chest.
In all my years, my savings at my peak never reached 60,000 yuan, yet the price he offered was 6 million yuan. Even after deducting the tea money, we would still have more than 3 million yuan left.
That's how the antique business works; you're poor at midnight and rich at dawn. Although I've never seen so much money before, I know how much profit it can generate. I pretended to be calm and said, "The things we've brought out were all looted by that wicked monk during the Tang Dynasty. They weren't ordinary items back then. Isn't six million a bit too low?"
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