Chapter 149

Li Zhuiyuan fell into a deep sleep.

In terms of both seniority and strength, Runsheng was unquestionably the second most important person in the team. But he did not like managing people, and he knew he was not good at it.

So for the moment, temporary command of the group naturally fell to Tan Wenbin.

The general had already gone up.

And Tan Wenbin was also the “Eight Thousand Years” of this place.

So at this moment, Binbin was effectively the true top decision-maker in the entire underground area.

Tan Wenbin told Runsheng to keep carrying Little Yuanhou and stay where they were. He himself, meanwhile, took Lin Shuyou and Yin Meng, and under the guidance of his godfather and Little Wang, wandered around the palace.

Officially, it was to gather more background material for The Zhuiyuan Secret Scroll.

In reality, he was deliberately stalling for time.

What Little Yuanhou had said before falling asleep had basically been a disclaimer aimed at the Heavenly Dao.

Using the wolf to devour the tiger was already taboo enough. The scene up above was probably extremely bloody by now, so there was no need to rush up there just to step into a puddle of gore.

Still, there really was not much to see in this palace.

Its very existence was meant to suppress the general. Even the grand eunuch had been buried in such haste, so there was no way the place could have had any careful, complete burial goods. And even if there had once been a little something, it would have long since been destroyed in the various upheavals.

Tan Wenbin took a camera out of his bag and casually snapped a few photos.

After all, since they were already here...

He simply told Lin Shuyou and Yin Meng to find better backgrounds so he could take souvenir photos for them.

Lin Shuyou could only grin foolishly and flash a standard V-sign.

Yin Meng, on the other hand, knew how to pose. And honestly, she was very photogenic.

On this trip, although her role had been irreplaceable, since without her there would never have been that banquet, in truth she really had not suffered much the whole way through.

In excellent condition, with her naturally pale skin set against the dark, ruined surroundings, she looked like she was posing for Tomb Beauty.

Then Tan Wenbin handed the camera to Ah You and had him take a few pictures of himself too.

In one of them, Tan Wenbin deliberately invited his godfather to stand in the middle, while he and Little Wang stood on either side of him.

The grand eunuch and Little Wang copied what Lin Shuyou had done earlier and both made V-signs.

Lin Shuyou raised the camera, then lowered it. Raised it again, then lowered it again.

Through the lens, he simply could not see the grand eunuch or Little Wang.

Tan Wenbin urged him, “Come on and take it already. We’re all waiting.”

“But Brother Bin...”

“If I told you to take it, then take it.” Tan Wenbin smiled at the grand eunuch beside him. “Sigh, this little brother of mine has had no sense since he was a kid.”

The grand eunuch nodded and said, “True enough. He would not be suited for entering the palace as a eunuch. Little Binzi, on the other hand, would be perfect.”

Lin Shuyou seemed to understand something. He lifted the camera again and started directing them.

“A little farther over. Right, right, right. Brother Bin, raise your hand a bit more. Turn a little to the side. Right, right, that’s it. Hold it. One, two, three!”

Click.

Once developed, that photo was destined to contain only Tan Wenbin.

But that was the meaning of a photograph. It froze a single instant, while the mind could still recall the motion of the scene that had existed in that moment.

In the future, whenever he looked at this photo, the two people beside him would reappear in his mind.

Still, if he put that picture up at home and his mother saw it, she would probably think he had found time to sneak into Beijing and hopped the fence into the Old Summer Palace after dark.

Once the photos were done, the little impromptu outing came to an end.

As he put the camera away, Tan Wenbin found himself understanding the value of learning to paint. A brush could create things that reality itself could not show.

Too bad he did not have Little Yuanhou’s skill with a brush. Otherwise he could have made a painting himself. At the very least, he could have painted memorial portraits for his godfather and Little Wang.

When they returned to the edge of the giant pit, Runsheng was sitting there, and Little Yuanhou was still on his back. He neither trusted himself to put him down nor had the heart to.

Tan Wenbin stopped, took out the camera again, and snapped a photo of them.

Afterward, Binbin waved a hand and called softly, “Let’s go. Time to head back up.”

The exit was behind the banquet hall. The group climbed the slope again, passed through the hall, and arrived in front of the waterfall at the back.

To their surprise, Xiong Shan and Lihua, the husband and wife, had been waiting there the whole time.

Perhaps they too felt there was no point going up early. Once you got up there, whose side were you supposed to help? The three enemies against the general, or the general against the three enemies?

Tan Wenbin licked his lips. Ever since Little Yuanhou had said the child should be sent to an orphanage, the couple, having lost their chance to die, seemed as though most of their spirit had been sucked out of them. It was as if life had suddenly lost its purpose.

“What do you plan to do next?”

Xiong Shan said, “First, light the lamp a second time. Then leave the jianghu.”

He did not say what came after that, but Tan Wenbin understood.

The main members of the three families had probably all come this time, but there were bound to still be survivors back home. The deaths of their second and third children were grudges the couple would still have to settle one household at a time.

As for whether they would wipe them out to the last person, Tan Wenbin could not be bothered to ask.

For thousands of years, this had always been the rhythm of jianghu blood feuds. You killed one of mine, so of course I would kill one of yours in return.

Lihua asked carefully, “The address of Li the Corpse Retriever’s residence in Nantong?”

Tan Wenbin looked at her.

Lihua smiled and said in a low voice, “That one promised.”

“I’ll give you my pager number. After you finish dealing with your own affairs, contact me first. And remember, do not go sneaking off to Nantong on your own to look for Li the Corpse Retriever.”

Lihua reached out to take the slip of paper with the pager number written on it and tucked it into the swaddling cloth in her arms.

Xiong Shan said, “Naturally. How could we be so rude?”

Really, it was not about manners. Tan Wenbin felt that even if the two of them did go to Nantong, they probably would not be able to find Old Master Li’s home.

Actually, if they somehow did find it, that would be when they would really have a big problem.

Xiong Shan asked again, “Can we leave now?”

Tan Wenbin said, “We’re getting ready to.”

Up above, things were probably almost finished.

“All right, then let’s go, Lihua.”

“Mm.”

Carrying their child, Xiong Shan and Lihua leaped straight down through the waterfall and dropped into the pool below.

Just as Tan Wenbin’s side was preparing to jump, the grand eunuch reached out and turned a nearby stone. To some extent, he could still manipulate objects.

As the stone rotated, part of the smooth cliff wall beside them sank inward, revealing a flight of stone steps leading downward.

The grand eunuch said, “Just follow it all the way out. Don’t jump into the water. You’ll end up soaked, and that makes it easy to catch a chill.”

“Thank you, Godfather. We’re leaving.”

“Take care, Little Binzi.”

“Take care, Brother Tan!”

Runsheng, Yin Meng, and Lin Shuyou walked in front, while Tan Wenbin stayed at the rear, turning back to wave at the grand eunuch and Little Wang, who stood at the cave entrance.

As he waved, the two of them began to weather away, then dispersed completely like dust in the wind.

Up above, it was truly over.

Tan Wenbin sighed. No longer lingering, he quickened his pace to catch up with his companions ahead.

...

Xiong Shan and Lihua surfaced from the lake. The moment they reached shore, they saw Tan Wenbin and the others walking up to the bank, perfectly dry.

Tan Wenbin said, “You jumped too early. There was actually a shortcut.”

Xiong Shan and Lihua exchanged bitter smiles.

Once the group had reunited, they continued walking along the lakeshore.

Very soon, they saw a great many corpses twisted into unnatural positions, their faces frozen in terror.

Before dying, they must have endured torments even more horrifying than death itself.

Standing in the middle of the ring of corpses was the corpse-driving Daoist.

He too had weathered away. Only his yellow Daoist robe remained standing there.

Jie Shunan knelt on the ground. Before him was a small mound of dirt, and planted atop it was a stone. On the smooth side of the stone, the single character Qin had been written in blood.

In each hand he gripped a bamboo pole, and the other ends pierced through his chest.

Which meant his neck had not been snapped. He had killed himself.

The corpse-driving Daoist behind him must have watched him commit suicide and only dissipated after his life had fully ended.

Jie Shunan was not afraid of death.

And perhaps right up until the moment he died, he still did not believe he had done anything wrong. He did not think there was anything wrong with demanding that a great number of innocent people be buried alongside the others.

Once his plan had fallen apart, he had in truth already “died.”

He was grateful that Li Zhuiyuan had ultimately granted him a chance to take revenge with his own hands. But even more than that, he was grateful that Li Zhuiyuan had “told” him that the image of the Qin Clan in his heart had not collapsed.

A smile had frozen on his face.

Before dying, he had reconstructed the “Qin Clan Dragon King memorial tablet.”

At the instant of death, it was as though he had returned to childhood, back to the days when his grandmother told him stories of the Qin Clan.

In a way, this too was a kind of release for him.

Overhead, the dark clouds were growing denser, as though an even heavier rain was about to come.

The lake would continue rising. Before long, it would flood over this place and drown every trace of what had happened here.

Tan Wenbin waved his hand. “Let’s go. Rainy weather makes driving harder.”

They found the van again. There was enough gasoline in it, and they could also get supplies midway through Meiling Town.

Tan Wenbin drove the group to Meiling Town.

Xiong Shan and his wife left with the child in their arms. They would find another vehicle and head back to the city.

They had to begin their revenge before news from Peach Blossom Village had time to reach the three families.

After parting from them, Tan Wenbin did not rush back onto the road. Instead, he found a private home in town so everyone could take a proper hot bath and eat a farmhouse meal.

During that time, Tan Wenbin carried a basin of hot water and a towel into the room, then wiped down Little Yuanhou, who lay on the bed, and changed his clothes.

Little Yuanhou never opened his eyes the entire time.

After Tan Wenbin finished everything and rose to leave, he even reached out and checked Little Yuanhou’s breathing.

Thankfully, it was even and steady.

When he opened the room door, he happened to see Yin Meng standing outside too, holding a basin of hot water and a towel.

Somewhat helplessly, Yin Meng said, “You could at least leave me something to do.”

“Next time for sure.” Tan Wenbin smiled. “Stay here and look after Little Yuanhou. I’m taking Runsheng and Ah You to the clinic in town to get their wounds treated again. I noticed when they were bathing that there’s still a lot embedded in their injuries.”

Runsheng and Lin Shuyou had both fought the corpse-driving Daoist, and both had suffered fairly serious injuries. Though they had received simple treatment, the dirt and fragments inside the wounds still had to be picked out if they wanted to heal better.

At the very least... they would look better.

“All right, go on.”

Tan Wenbin called to Runsheng and Lin Shuyou and took them to the clinic.

Inside was a very old barefoot physician with white hair and beard.

He led Runsheng and Lin Shuyou into the back room, turned on the light, and told them to take off their clothes. After examining the wounds, he was visibly startled, but he managed to stay composed.

Without a word, he picked up his tools from a tray and began cleaning and disinfecting their wounds, his movements practiced and clean, without the slightest hesitation.

Watching from the side, Tan Wenbin could not help admiring him. Just in terms of mental composure alone, this old doctor far surpassed Divine Doctor Fan in Jinling.

The old doctor finished treating Lin Shuyou first, since his injuries were lighter. Lin Shuyou said, “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. It should be us thanking you.”

“Huh?”

Tan Wenbin picked up the thread and asked, “What do you mean by that, sir?”

In a heavy tone, the old doctor said, “When I was little, every time we had weather like this, my grandfather would say, ‘Something’s going to happen in the mountains.’

“I asked him, ‘Then shouldn’t we hurry and run?’

“My grandfather said, ‘Run from what? No need. Capable people will go settle whatever happens in the mountains.’”

The old doctor pointed at the terrifying wound on Runsheng’s back and shook his head.

“I don’t believe for a second that came from slipping and falling.”

Some people were not part of the mystic world, yet still knew a little about jianghu matters.

Many people grew up hearing all kinds of strange and twisting tales from grandparents. As for how much of those stories was true and how much false, who could really say?

Tan Wenbin took out a cigarette case and pulled a cigarette free for the old doctor.

The old doctor said, “I don’t smoke.”

So Tan Wenbin stuck the cigarette into his own mouth instead.

The old doctor said, “You ought to smoke less too. You’re still young. Don’t ruin your health.”

Tan Wenbin said, “I think I’ll live a long life.”

“If your body breaks down and you get sick or end up bedridden, then the longer you live, the more painful it’ll be.”

“Oh, now that really did scare me.”

“Since it scared you, then what should you do?”

“I should hurry and smoke one to calm myself down.”

“You little brat. Go smoke outside.”

“Much appreciated.”

Tan Wenbin laughed as he walked out of the clinic and lit the cigarette outside.

He had just blown out a ring of smoke when a little girl bumped into him.

She was only four or five years old. She looked up at Tan Wenbin, then ran into the clinic.

Tan Wenbin happened to be standing outside the window of the side room of the clinic. From where he stood, he could see the girl running in. Inside were beds and chairs, a room specially set aside for IV drips.

The little girl ran to one of the beds. A woman lay there hooked up to an IV. Beside her sat a man, presumably her husband, and also a boy about the same age as the girl who looked very much like her. The two children were probably twins.

The woman on the bed glanced at Tan Wenbin outside and then said a few words to the man.

The man stood, took the little girl by the hand, and walked out of the clinic.

“Come on, Huahua. What did Daddy and Mommy teach you? If you bump into someone and cause trouble, you have to apologize first. Go on, apologize to uncle.”

“Heh, no need, no need.”

“Uncle, I’m sorry. I bumped into you by accident just now.”

“All right, uncle accepts your apology. Uncle’s fine. It didn’t hurt. You’re a good girl.”

“Heehee.”

The little girl ran back inside happily to play with her brother beside her mother’s bed.

The man stayed where he was. Probably he also found the inside stuffy and came out for some air. He took out a cigarette and offered one to Tan Wenbin.

Tan Wenbin still had one in hand that he had not finished, so he tucked the new one behind his ear, took out his lighter, and lit the other man’s cigarette for him.

“Oh, thanks.”

The man cupped his hands around the flame and lowered his head to light up.

“You’re not local either, right, brother? Going by your accent?”

“Mm, no. I’m from Nantong.”

“Nantong? In Shandong?”

“Jiangsu. Near Yangzhou.”

“Oh, right, I know that. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine.”

Tan Wenbin was used to it by now. Nantong just was not famous enough. Of course, that was also because the other cities in the province were too famous and too recognizable.

“You’re from the north, big brother?”

“Why don’t you guess where I’m from?”

“Tianjin?”

“Is my accent really that obvious? I really am from Tianjin.”

“Here on vacation?”

“No. I’m here with my wife to look for her relatives.”

“Found them?”

The man blew out a ring of smoke and shook his head. “No. These days, finding someone isn’t so easy.”

“Are they somewhere around here?”

“Heh. All we know is that they’re in Zhangjiajie.”

“Then how’d you end up all the way here? This place is pretty remote.”

“Well, it’s like this. Ever since my wife got pregnant, she’s had palpitations and headaches. Pretty serious ones. And she was carrying twins. Seeing how things were at the time, I honestly didn’t want to risk keeping the babies. But my wife insisted on having them. Fortunately, the pregnancy went smoothly.

“But this condition has gotten worse and worse over the past few years. It flares up every so often and really wears a person down.

“This time, our family of four had just arrived in Zhangjiajie when it hit her again. We took her to a hospital in the city, and one of the doctors there said there was an old doctor in Meiling Town who was especially good at treating this kind of thing. So I rented a car and brought her and the kids here.

“And let me tell you, after she drank some herbal medicine from a folk remedy this morning and got put on an IV, she improved by noon. Can you believe that?

“We’ve taken this condition not only to doctors in Tianjin, but also to major hospitals in Beijing, and nobody could figure out what was going on.

“But the moment we got here, it was like a miracle cure.”

“Congratulations. That’s a good thing.”

“Yeah, exactly. So wherever we look is the same anyway. Once my wife rests a bit more, I’m planning to take her around the villages near Meiling Town and keep looking.”

“Since luck’s on your side, then grab the chance and keep following it.”

“Right, that’s exactly what I mean. Sometimes people really do need a little superstition. Otherwise they don’t have the energy to get things done.”

“Was your wife trafficked when she was a child?”

“No.” The man shook his head. “Back then, my father was on a business trip passing through Zhangjiajie by train. There was a boy on the platform who shoved my wife, who was still just a little girl then, through the train window and practically stuffed her into my dad’s arms.”

“Oh?” Tan Wenbin’s expression shifted.

“You know how train windows are set high up. A little boy, lifting a little girl and shoving her inside. Whew. Even now, when my dad talks about it, he says that little boy looked skinny and small, but he was unbelievably strong.

“That little boy stood on the platform and bowed to my dad, like this.”

The man demonstrated the motion.

Although his imitation was clumsy, Tan Wenbin could still tell it was not a bow. It should have been a rite of homage.

“That really is something.”

“Heh, and guess what? There’s something even stranger.

“That little boy said that he had run the entire length of the train with his little sister and had picked my dad because, out of everyone, my dad had the face of the most blessed man. He said his little sister would definitely live well if she followed him.”

Tan Wenbin smiled. “Then he really didn’t pick wrong.”

The man was well dressed and refined, and the two children were dressed nicely too. At a glance it was obvious the family was quite well off.

And the fact that he had brought the children along to help his wife search for family was proof enough of how much care there was in that household.

The man said modestly, “Ah, we get by.”

Tan Wenbin teased him, “So in the end, your father adopted her?”

The man’s face reddened. Embarrassed, he flicked ash from his cigarette.

“Well... yes, my parents did adopt her. My mother liked her very much. She even specially invited a famous fortune-teller from Tianjin to choose a name for my wife. In the end, the fortune-teller gave her the meaning: ‘A smooth life ahead, in an honest and decent family.’”

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