I returned to the private room. The waiter had already tidied it up. I quickly rummaged through the trash can and found the address Yang Hanxue had left.
Holding the slip of paper, I breathed a sigh of relief.
If I had known that guy was Yang Hanxue, I wouldn't have let him leave for anything.
But now that I had seen him and knew where he lived, there was no need to rush.
Next, I had to figure out how to get him to accompany me to Guangling.
As the saying goes, if you want someone to help you, you have to make them owe you a favor.
Isn't there an old saying, "What you take from others will bind your hands, and what you eat from others will bind your mouth"?
Since Yang Hanxue liked that Youxian Pillow so much, I might as well embody the spirit of a gentleman, not taking what others desire, and helping them achieve their wishes.
With that thought, I took out my phone and called Bai Hanyan, asking if her aunt had figured anything out about the Youxian Pillow.
The reply from Bai Hanyan was, "She figured out some things. My mom is preparing to burn it with fire..."
"What?!" I exclaimed, alarmed. "Don't burn it yet! That's an antique!"
"I couldn't stop her, she's already started..."
I quickly hung up the phone and, without a second thought, rushed downstairs. Fatty followed me.
After changing clothes and heading out, I was about to hail a cab when a dilapidated minivan pulled up in front of me. Fatty, sitting in the driver's seat, beckoned to me, "Get in, I'll give you a ride."
I opened the door and sat in the passenger seat. "You have a car?"
"For getting around," Fatty said with a smile. "This city of Yanjing is so vast; without transportation, it would be quite inconvenient."
The car soon started moving. After driving for a while, I realized something was wrong.
Looking out the window, I saw several bicycles, the 'er ba gang' type, whizzing past us.
I glanced at the speedometer. It wasn't even twenty kilometers per hour!
"Can you drive faster?" I asked, somewhat speechless. "Are we crawling like snails?"
Fatty chuckled, "Brother Xiang, my car's temperament isn't very good. It needs to warm up when it starts, otherwise, it'll throw a tantrum and refuse to move."
"But you're way too slow!"
As soon as I finished speaking, Fatty nearly hit the car in front. "Why aren't you honking?"
"Brother Xiang, this car makes noise everywhere except the horn. That's just how it is; it's not very talkative."
I suddenly regretted getting into the car. I shook my head helplessly and asked Fatty to stop, deciding to take a taxi myself.
But who knew that this darn fatty, he put the car in neutral, opened the door, and took out a steel pipe from the back seat, extending it outwards. I asked him what he was doing.
He actually replied, "The brakes broke yesterday, so stopping is a bit more troublesome now."
His action startled me considerably. Seeing the heavy traffic around us, I quickly told him to put the steel pipe away.
"I'm not in a hurry, just drive properly," I said.
Fatty smiled, "Actually, my car isn't usually like this. It's just that I've been driving around a lot these past few days... Of course, I'm doing this to help you."
"You just made sixty thousand yuan from me, can't you afford to fix your car properly?"
"Brother Xiang, you don't know the situation. The sixty thousand yuan barely stayed in my hands before it was all gone," Fatty said with a dejected look. "I spent over ten thousand on rent, paid back several tens of thousands, and sent some money home... After all that, I only have a few hundred yuan left on me."
"What kind of rent costs over ten thousand? Is renting in Yanjing that expensive?" I asked.
Fatty chuckled, "I owe three years of rent..."
This guy is truly something else. He really lived up to that old saying in the antique business: "Three years without a customer, then eat for three years!"
We finally arrived at the Yanjing Archaeological Research Institute. As soon as the car stopped, I leaped out, not wanting to spend another moment in that vehicle.
Bai Hanyan was standing at the entrance and waved at me when she saw me.
I jogged over to ask about the situation. Bai Hanyan handed me a plastic bag with a look of embarrassment.
I took it and opened it. The Youxian Pillow was inside, but its appearance had completely changed!
The red exterior was gone, replaced by a pitch-black, charred look, as if it were charcoal.
I blinked a couple of times and looked at Bai Hanyan. "Is this the wooden pillow I gave you?"
Bai Hanyan smiled shyly and nodded, "It's the wooden pillow you gave me..."
I took it out of the plastic bag, feeling like I could cry.
Even though it wasn't my money, something bought for sixty thousand yuan had been burnt?
"Don't be too sad," Bai Hanyan said. "My mom said this thing couldn't be burned through, only the outer layer was scorched."
As we were talking, Fatty also came over. Looking at the object in my hand, he asked, "Brother Xiang, what are you holding a piece of charcoal for?"
I squeezed out the words through gritted teeth, "This is the Youxian Pillow..."
Fatty was stunned. "What?"
Then he leaned closer to examine it carefully. After a while, he said, "This isn't how I sold it to you, is it? You can't return it now."
Bai Hanyan glanced at Fatty and asked me, "Is this the fatty you were talking about?"
I nodded weakly.
Seeing Bai Hanyan, Fatty's eyes lit up. "Brother Xiang, could this be your sister-in-law? She looks quite unique!"
"If you don't talk, no one will think you're mute," I replied, annoyed.
Bai Hanyan chimed in, "You're quite sweet-mouthed, aren't you?"
"Oh, may I know your name, sister-in-law?"
"Bai Hanyan."
"A good name! It truly suits you, being white and smoky... Judging by your accent, are you also from Yanjing?"
Seeing them chatting enthusiastically, I put the Youxian Pillow back into the plastic bag. I thought that since things had come to this, I could only take it to Yang Hanxue first. If it really didn't work out, I would think of another plan.
Even though the item was scorched, it had been bought with real money, after all.
"Where are you going later?" Bai Hanyan asked as I prepared to leave.
"To find someone."
"There's something I forgot to tell you."
"What is it?"
"My mom said that the reason this pillow makes people fall asleep as soon as they rest their head on it is that it was soaked in a type of herbal medicine for a considerable time. So, anyone who gets close to it will feel drowsy," Bai Hanyan explained.
So that's how it was. I wondered how this thing could make someone fall asleep immediately; it was due to the medicine.
I looked at Fatty, who seemed taken aback. "You don't suspect me of soaking it in medicinal water, do you?"
Bai Hanyan said, "My mom said the soaking time was at least a hundred years ago. Now that it's been burned, that medicinal effect should be gone."
I said, "Please thank your mom for me!"
After that, I went to the roadside to hail a cab.
I didn't dare ride in Fatty's broken minivan again. That thing was like a roller coaster; it didn't harm you, but it was terrifying!