Getting off the train, I had planned to find a place to stay first. To my surprise, Wu Tingxiu had already prepared two jeeps.
I had no idea where she got the vehicles from, but they were fully equipped with everything like climbing ropes, tents, and more.
Seeing this setup, I felt a sense of unease. Where were we going?
While eating lunch at a restaurant, I saw Wu Tingxiu making a phone call outside. I seized this opportunity to ask her where exactly we were going this time.
Wu Tingxiu's eyes showed some hesitation. After a moment, she said, "To Nanzhao County."
I wasn't very familiar with Cloud City, and hearing this place name meant nothing to me. So, I directly asked, "Why did you ask me to come with you? What exactly are you going to do?"
Wu Tingxiu replied, "Appraise some items."
"What items?" I pressed.
Seeing that she didn't answer, I continued, "With so many tools in the car, what exactly do you need me to appraise?"
"An ancient tomb," Wu Tingxiu slowly uttered the two words.
When I heard those words, I froze, even suspecting I had misheard.
An ancient tomb?
"You mean, we're going tomb raiding this time?!"
Wu Tingxiu nodded nonchalantly.
"Ms. Wu, I'm just a treasure appraiser. I've never done tomb raiding before, and I..."
Wu Tingxiu smiled and said, "There's a first time for everything. And you don't need to go into the tomb; you just need to do your job."
Without waiting for me to ask further, she walked back into the restaurant and sat down to eat.
After finishing the meal, before getting into the car, Wang Yang found me and asked if I had found out anything.
When I told him that Wu Tingxiu was taking us tomb raiding, Wang Yang wasn't surprised at all. He raised an eyebrow and said, "I knew it... This woman has been dealing with funerary objects for years, and now she's traveled so far and even brought Bai Zhujing's daughter..."
As he spoke, he gestured with his chin towards Guan Hu and Song Bing, who were checking the jeep not far away. "Look at those two guys. They smell strongly of soil, and their skin is rough and pockmarked. They look like people who have been active underground for a long time..."
"Have you ever been tomb raiding?" I asked.
Wang Yang chuckled, "Why would I go tomb raiding? If I had that much free time, I'd rather pick up a few more bargains."
I suddenly thought of something and said, "Bai Zhujing is okay with letting his daughter come along?"
Wang Yang scoffed, "What? You look down on Bai Hanyan? If it's about appraisal, she's definitely not as good as you. But if it's about tomb raiding, her skills are much greater than yours."
"Oh?" I was somewhat confused.
Wang Yang explained, "The Bai family's ancestors were a renowned geomancy family in Guangling. Even though Bai Zhujing is now dealing in antiques, his family's geomancy skills are quite substantial... A large portion of the newly built houses in Guangling had their feng shui done by the Bai family. Bai Hanyan's appearance fee in the Guangling geomancy circle is not low."
I hadn't expected that the seemingly arrogant and willful Bai Hanyan possessed such a skill!
"The Bai family's greatest strength is in reading the feng shui for the dead," Wang Yang added. "Back then, a prominent figure in Yanjing passed away, and Bai Zhujing personally went to determine the tomb's location."
"How do you know so much?" I asked Wang Yang.
"I like to gather this kind of gossip when I have nothing else to do," Wang Yang said with a playful grin. "So, isn't it beneficial to have me around?"
Seeing his unserious demeanor, I was both amused and exasperated.
After the cars were ready, Wang Yang and I took one car, while Wu Tingxiu and Bai Hanyan took the other.
Not knowing how far we had to go, I started to feel sleepy after getting into the car.
The journey involved national highways and dirt roads, and with Cloud City having a high altitude and many mountains, I was almost experiencing altitude sickness.
After more than ten hours of driving, we finally reached our destination late at night.
This place was called a county town, but it looked more like a small town. There were only two main streets, one of which was a muddy road with potholes everywhere.
Our accommodation was the only guesthouse in the county. The environment was dreadful; I don't know how long the bedding had been used. Even sleeping clothed, I could feel the dampness and stickiness.
After staying a night in the county town, we set off again the next morning.
This time it was even more harrowing. The jeep seemed to be falling apart along the way, shaking and swaying so much that I couldn't even doze off, let alone sit still.
It was a jeep; an ordinary sedan would have probably broken down by now.
Finally, we arrived at a village. As soon as the car entered, villagers of all ages surrounded us as if we were monsters.
Wu Tingxiu found the village chief and, I don't know by what means, managed to get the chief to find two guides.
The older of the two guides was talkative, while the younger one spoke little, giving off an impression of being unapproachable.
Leaving the car in the village, our group shouldered their packs and set off into the deep mountains.
Initially, I worried whether the two women, Wu Tingxiu and Bai Hanyan, could handle the mountain trek. However, after more than an hour, they were both unfazed, while I, a grown man, was already panting.
As for Wang Yang, his stamina was clearly much better than mine. As we walked, he didn't forget to tease me, "You really need to exercise more. Look how much you're panting."
I retorted grumpily, "Don't get cocky. You'll be sorry soon enough."
"Oh, you stubborn ox. If you're tired, just give me your backpack, and I'll carry it for you," Wang Yang offered.
I ignored him and glanced back at the bushes behind us.
All along the way, whether it was an illusion or something else, I felt like we were being followed.
Several times I wanted to tell Wang Yang, but I couldn't find an opportunity because the two guides leading us kept glancing back at us, as if afraid we would run away.
In this remote and underdeveloped area, I feared these local people might have thoughts of robbery and murder.
Of course, it was also possible that I was being overly suspicious, thinking the worst of people.
After walking for more than three hours, we had only rested twice along the way.
As the sky began to darken, we had no choice but to find a place to rest.
We arrived in front of a cave. The older guide told us in broken Mandarin that we would spend the night here.
This was clearly a mine shaft, about two meters high and one meter wide. The entrance was shored up with wooden frames, a common practice in mines to prevent cave-ins.
I hadn't expected anyone to have mined this place before, which was somewhat surprising to me.
The cave was very dry. After placing our belongings inside, we built a campfire at the entrance to start eating.
We had all brought compressed biscuits, which we quickly consumed with mineral water.
After filling our stomachs, Wang Yang said he had an upset stomach and asked me to accompany him to the restroom.
As he said this, he winked at me, clearly having something to say to me privately.
I nodded, stood up, and followed him into the nearby bushes.