My vision of Jiang Lingxi's face twisted, elongating and shortening, and I wanted to rub my eyes, thinking I was hallucinating, but found I had no strength at all.
Finally, my vision went black, and I lost consciousness.
When I regained consciousness, I felt my face was a little hot, and there seemed to be a fireball in front of my eyes. I slowly opened my eyes and found myself tied up, sitting in front of a stove.
Fatty was by my side, but Jiang Feng and Jiang Lingxi were nowhere to be seen.
Several people stood behind the stove. Judging by their attire and clothing, they looked like farmers.
However, I knew for sure that these people were definitely not ordinary farmers!
"Awake?" The old man named Zhai looked at Fatty and me with amusement.
"Uncle, what is this?" I forced a smile and said, "Why did you tie us up?"
"Still playing coy?" Old Man Zhai said, "Didn't you say we were bandits? Does my dog eat human flesh? What, you don't remember?"
Fatty also woke up at this moment: "What do you want? Don't mess around. Do you know who we are?"
"I am indeed quite curious," Old Man Zhai said, looking at us. "You two have quite a bit of earthy smell on you, while the other two have no earthy smell at all… Tell me, what is your purpose for coming here?"
I froze for a moment, then recalled that when Old Man Zhai first saw me, he kept sniffing.
It's said that those who often enter tombs are particularly sensitive to the smells within, but I hadn't expected that this Old Man Zhai could detect an earthy smell on us.
Fatty and I had gone into a tomb together months ago, and we had washed ourselves countless times since then, yet this guy could still smell it?
"Uncle Zhai, we're really just passing through," I said.
Fatty chimed in, "Yes, we're just passing through."
"Bullshit!" A burly man next to us roared. "This place of ours, ordinary people can't find it at all. If you were just passing through, how could you have ended up here?"
"Kui Zi." Old Man Zhai raised his hand to the burly man and said, "You don't need to speak."
The burly man pursed his lips and stood silently to the side.
Old Man Zhai took out a pipe, stuffed some leaf tobacco into it, lit it, and took a puff. "It's not impossible for me to believe what you say, it all depends on your sincerity."
Sincerity?
I looked at him in confusion.
"Tell me your names, what you do specifically, and your purpose for being here. If there's a single lie, I'll have someone chop you up and feed you to the dogs later," Old Man Zhai said, grinning. "Didn't you say my big black dog eats human flesh?"
I took a deep breath, stated my name and Fatty's, and then mentioned that I ran an antique shop in Guangling.
As for my purpose for being here, I told them I was there to "clear the land."
"Guangling, An Yuan Tang?" Old Man Zhai pursed his lips and said to that Big Kui, "Make a call and ask if these two people exist."
Big Kui nodded, took out a mobile phone, and pulled out the antenna. It looked like a satellite phone.
Someone had tried to sell me this type of phone in Guangling before, called an Iridium phone. Each one cost over thirty thousand yuan, and there were only nine hundred in the entire country.
I never expected these guys to be using such high-tech equipment.
The call was connected quickly. Big Kui spoke to the person on the other end in dialect. After a short while, he hung up and whispered something to Old Man Zhai.
"So, you're Boss Xiang," Old Man Zhai said with a smile. "My apologies."
I was stunned, feeling a bit surprised that these people were quite capable, having verified my identity with just one phone call.
"Boss Xiang, tell us the truth, what exactly are you doing here?" Old Man Zhai stared at me coldly.
"I already told you, we came here to clear the land…"
"Do you think I'd believe that? Your An Yuan Tang isn't a small shop in Guangling. You, a boss, coming here to clear land? Do you take me for a fool?"
"Whether you believe me or not, I can't help it. Who stipulated that a boss can't come out to clear land?" I said. "Then tell me, what are we here for? Could it be that we're here specifically to find you? What benefit would finding you bring me?"
Before he could speak, I continued, "Looking at all of you, you don't seem like ordinary people, do you? Are you perhaps also in the antique business?"
"Do you still not see who we are, Boss Xiang?" Old Man Zhai sneered.
I put on an expression of sudden realization and said, "I understand… If you gentlemen have anything good, you can give it to me, I'll buy it."
"You?" Old Man Zhai scoffed. "You likely don't have the appetite for our goods."
With that, he stood up and stared at me. "I don't care what your purpose is for coming here, but since you're here, you'll stay. You can leave when we've finished our business. Don't say I didn't warn you, if you dare to run, don't blame me for showing no mercy."
"Grandpa Zhai, shouldn't we…," Big Kui made a gesture across his throat.
Old Man Zhai said, "Keep them for now, they might be useful."
"Alright!"
Seeing that they were about to leave, I quickly called out, "Where are my other two friends? Please don't do anything rash. If you want money, I can give you money, any amount is negotiable. My shop in Guangling has many valuable items. If you want antiques, I can give you those too…"
Old Man Zhai smiled. "Don't worry, we won't touch a single hair on your head for now. As long as you behave, I guarantee you'll be fine."
Not long after they left, Jiang Feng and Jiang Lingxi were also brought over.
Seeing their terrified expressions, I knew they were probably already stunned.
After all, in this day and age, encountering bandits was probably their first time.
"Boss Xiang, what do you think that old man wants?" Fatty asked me.
I replied, "I'm not sure…"
At this moment, Jiang Lingxi leaned over and asked, "Are they really bandits?"
"What, you still don't believe it?" I asked.
"Why did they tie us up? Do they want ransom? How much ransom?" the girl asked several questions in one breath.
I sighed and told them the truth, saying that those people were likely tomb robbers, and this place was their hideout. We had stumbled in, and they probably wouldn't let us go.
"Tomb robbers?!" Jiang Lingxi exclaimed in disbelief. "Is that true or not?"
"Of course, it's true. Would I lie to you? We're in the antique business, and occasionally we have to deal with tomb robbers…" I said.
"Then what tomb are they here to rob?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. Let's not speculate wildly. Let's try to get some sleep while we can and conserve our energy."