After finishing the meal, the fatty led us through winding alleys to a courtyard house.
Upon entering, we arrived at a room less than ten square meters.
Besides a bed, the room was cluttered with all sorts of sundries, leaving almost no space to stand.
"This is where you live?" I couldn't help but ask.
The fatty chuckled sheepishly and said, "Not exactly. I usually stay in hotels. This place is my warehouse for storing things. Don't underestimate these items; any one of them is a treasure if taken out."
As he spoke, he casually picked up a dust-covered vase and said, "This vase was used by Yang Guifei. It's genuine official porcelain..."
I quickly interrupted him, "Where is the Suihou Pearl you mentioned?"
"Wait a moment, I'll find it for you."
As the fatty began rummaging through a nearby box, I immediately felt like an idiot.
How could I have believed him?
Just as I was about to leave, I noticed a rectangular wooden pillow on the table beside me.
The wooden pillow looked old and was well-crafted. Most importantly, its patina didn't seem artificial but rather like a genuine testament to the passage of time, giving it a sense of weathered history.
"Found it!"
The fatty turned around, holding a dark, unpolished round bead in his hand.
Although I had never seen what a Suihou Pearl looked like, based on my father's notes and the information I had gathered, the material of the Suihou Pearl should be a special mineral that also emitted light.
The dark, iron-like ball in the fatty's hand could not possibly be the Suihou Pearl.
Fortunately, I had prepared myself mentally, so I wasn't too disappointed when I saw what the fatty was holding.
The fatty seemed to notice my disappointment and asked, "What? You don't believe this is the Suihou Pearl?"
Before I could reply, he continued, "Don't disbelieve it... This is an authentic Suihou Pearl. I took it out of Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum myself..."
I let out a sigh. Without even looking at the iron bead in his hand, I pointed to the wooden pillow on the table and asked, "Are you selling this thing?"
The fatty's eyes lit up. "Buddy, your eye for treasure is sharp! This is a good item, but you're a step too late. It's already been reserved."
I hadn't expected anything the fatty had to be genuinely sellable. I instinctively asked, "How much did you sell it for?"
The fatty rubbed his hands together and licked his lips. "Brother Xiang, you want this pillow?"
I shrugged. "If the price is right, I might consider it."
"Alright, for the sake of our friendship, you can have this pillow for sixty thousand!"
"Sixty thousand?" I couldn't help but laugh. "Then you'd better sell it to the person who reserved it."
"I'm telling you the actual price. I quoted him eighty thousand!" The fatty said, "Do you know what kind of pillow this is?"
I remained silent, watching him, curious to see what else he would say.
"This is the famous Wandering Immortal Pillow!" the fatty declared proudly.
Hearing the name surprised me. I had indeed heard the legend of the Wandering Immortal Pillow.
Many ancient texts recorded it, such as Song Dynasty's "Rhymes with My Younger Brother" and Yuan Dynasty's "Viewing the Golden Sutra: Visiting a Daoist Priest," both mentioning the Wandering Immortal Pillow.
However, those records were highly unreliable. Classical novels like "The Three Knights and Five Valiants" also contained accounts, stating that the Wandering Immortal Pillow was one of Bao Qingtian's treasures.
Whenever Bao Zheng encountered difficult cases, he would rest his head on the Wandering Immortal Pillow to seek clues in his dreams and even communicate with immortals through it.
Putting aside whether the Wandering Immortal Pillow had such a function, the question of whether such a pillow even existed in the world was a matter in itself.
"What? You don't believe this is the Wandering Immortal Pillow?" the fatty stared at me and asked.
Isn't that obvious?
The fatty nodded, picked up the wooden pillow, and placed it on the small wooden bed. Then he said to me, "Today, my friend, I will show you this legendary Wandering Immortal Pillow!"
He then beckoned me over. "Try it."
I blinked, looking at him in confusion. "Try what?"
"Try to see if it's the Wandering Immortal Pillow."
Before I could react, the fatty grabbed me, dragged me to the edge of the bed, and made me lie down.
"I guarantee that after lying on it for just three minutes, you'll immediately experience a journey to the realm of immortals!"
"Do you think I would believe you?" I looked at the fat man speechlessly.
He smiled. "Since you're already here, trying it won't cost you anything, and I absolutely won't deceive you."
Song Bing, standing at the doorway, found my predicament amusing.
"How about this," the fatty proposed, "Let's make a bet, a hundred yuan bet."
"How do we bet?"
"If you don't fall asleep within five minutes of lying down, I lose!" the fatty said with confidence.
Seeing his expression, I felt a flicker of curiosity. Could this pillow really be that magical?
"Fine! A bet it is."
Without even taking off my shoes, I lay down.
I thought to myself, I'll see where this fatty's confidence comes from.
As soon as I lay down, I asked Song Bing to time us, just in case the fatty tried to cheat.
The wooden pillow was very hard, and resting my head on it was extremely uncomfortable.
I found it amusing. In this state, if I could actually fall asleep, it would be truly strange.
Lying on the wooden pillow, I stared at the ceiling. But somehow, without any warning, a wave of sleepiness suddenly washed over me.
Before I could resist the urge to sleep, my eyelids grew heavy, and everything around me began to blur.
After a long while, the blurred vision became clearer. I found myself in a large mountain, with a woman standing not far in front of me, her back to me.
Confused, I was about to ask her who she was when she turned around.
"Sister Ying?" I exclaimed in surprise, looking at the woman before me.
"Xiao Fei... help me..."
Her expression was complex and tinged with pain.
"Sister Ying, what's wrong?" I couldn't help but ask.
She didn't answer, but instead repeated, "Xiao Fei... help me..."
"Sister Ying, how can I help you?" I asked urgently.
She hesitated for a while before finally saying, "Find me... help me... Xiao Fei... Xiao Fei..."
Her voice grew increasingly ethereal, as if coming from all directions. In the blink of an eye, she vanished before me.
Startled, I jolted awake, looking at the familiar ceiling and my surroundings. I realized then.
Had I actually fallen asleep? And had I had a strange dream?!