The fatty squeezed into the tent holding two cans of beer. He handed me one, and I asked, "Where did this come from?"
"Where else? The rich old man and his crew brought it when they came. I found it in the equipment bag, they only brought a few bottles," the fatty said.
I took it and took a sip.
It was truly not easy to have a beer in this place.
Seeing me studying the map, the fatty asked if I had figured anything out.
I shook my head and said, "I can recite this map backward and forward. It just keeps saying the same thing about this place... I found the location, but I haven't seen any treasure."
"Could it all be buried underground?"
It wasn't an impossible thought. I said, "Perhaps."
"Brother Xiang, I think you should stop thinking about treasure or no treasure. Anyway, whether we find treasure or not doesn't matter to us. As long as we get back safely, it'll be a success," the fatty said after taking a swig of beer.
"I hope so..." I replied faintly.
My purpose for this trip was to find the Marquis Yi's Pearl. I certainly wouldn't be content if I returned empty-handed.
After finally getting some clues, if they were to be broken off here, would I never be able to know about my father's affairs?
And those people who went to find him back then...
The more I thought about it, the more disheartened I became. After finishing a bottle of beer, I was already feeling a bit tipsy.
It truly was that one has oneself to blame for being drunk.
Lying in the tent, I chatted with the fatty about this and that, and gradually fell asleep.
When I woke up, it was still dark all around. I turned on my flashlight and checked the time: two fifteen in the morning.
The fatty's snores were echoing beside me. After waking up, I lost all desire to sleep and decided to go out to relieve myself.
Climbing out of the tent, the bonfire not far away was still lit, but Li Chuang and Rexi Ti were nowhere to be seen. Sitting by the bonfire was Jin Qiaoyue.
She was sitting there alone, seemingly still eating.
As I walked over, she saw me and greeted me, "Mr. Xiang, you're awake?"
"Why are you alone?" I asked.
She said, "Everyone else is still down below. I came up to rest for a bit and eat something."
"Still down below?"
"Yes. My uncle is preparing to clear out all the skeletons from the first stone chamber."
I didn't understand what Fu Kui was trying to do, so I asked, "What are they cleaning the skeletons for?"
"Uncle wants to see if there are any clues on the ground."
I couldn't help but laugh and cry. "Are everyone else down there doing this?"
Jin Qiaoyue nodded.
I sat by the bonfire and thought of Fu Honglang. He had taken their money, so he had to work diligently.
"To be honest, I've always wanted to ask you, how old are you this year?" I asked.
Jin Qiaoyue smiled and said, "Is this how you ask girls about their age?"
I was slightly taken aback. She continued, "I just had my twentieth birthday last month."
"You're only twenty?" I was a bit surprised.
"What? Doesn't it show? Or do I look old?"
I smiled wryly, "Not at all. I just didn't expect you to be only twenty... By rights, people your age should be in college, shouldn't they?"
She laughed, "Mr. Xiang, you're not much older than me, are you? Why aren't you in college then?"
I shrugged, "I'm not cut out for studying."
"Me neither..." she said, "I grew up with my uncle in Chinatown. My living environment is different from others..."
Jin Qiaoyue began to tell me about herself. Although we had spent several days together, I still knew nothing about her.
Her parents died early, but she didn't say how.
She had been following Fu Kui since she was eight years old.
Fu Kui was already a well-known figure in Chinatown at that time, owning many entertainment venues and having hundreds of people under his command.
As a boss of the Big Circle Gang, Fu Kui's activities were mostly illicit.
Growing up in such an environment, Jin Qiaoyue had already become a proper delinquent in junior high.
Fu Kui didn't think there was anything wrong with this and even began to train her specifically, sending her to learn martial arts, shooting, and so on.
After Jin Qiaoyue graduated from high school, she began to help Fu Kui manage some of the gang's affairs.
In a way, she could be considered a person of the martial world. Her name was now quite well-known in Chinatown.
Hearing this, I smiled and said, "I wouldn't have guessed, you're one of the underworld figures?"
Jin Qiaoyue smiled and said nothing. After taking a bite of bread, she said, "I don't have any friends in Chinatown. People my age are afraid to interact with me, and those older than me are like my uncles and aunts..."
As she spoke, she glanced at me, "This is my first time back in China. When I saw you that day, I don't know why, but I wanted to befriend you."
I joked, "Is my charm that great?"
She shook her head, "It's your eyes."
"My eyes?"
"Yes... In your eyes, I don't see any apprehension towards me."
"Just because of that?" I asked, "I didn't know what you did back then."
"And now? You know now, are you afraid of me?" she asked, staring at me.
I found it a bit amusing. This girl's thought process was indeed interesting.
Frankly speaking, I'm not involved in the underworld, and I don't know much about the things she mentioned.
However, I have experienced life and death and weathered storms.
There are not many things that truly frighten me now.
Seeing my silence, Jin Qiaoyue started to laugh.
I asked her what she was laughing at, and she replied, "You're a good person..."
I was completely confused, "What kind of evaluation is that?"
She said, "It's a good evaluation, of course."
"Then I should thank you?"
"No need."
Soon, we became familiar with each other, chatting about many topics, such as her experiences in Chinatown and my work as a treasure appraiser.
More than an hour passed unconsciously, and at this moment, Fu Kui and his group emerged from the secret chamber.
Seeing Fu Kui's expression, I knew they must have found something.
He looked excited, holding a piece of animal hide in his hand.
Fu Honglang, following behind him, gave me a meaningful look, his gaze shifting to the animal hide in Fu Kui's hand.
Seeing this look, I understood instantly.
"Third Master? Any new discoveries?" I walked over and asked.
He didn't seem to hide anything from me and smiled, nodding as he handed the animal hide to me. "Mr. Xiang, take a look at this."
I took the animal hide and glanced at it. I found it was a map. Although the map was simple and abstract, the writing next to it invigorated me.
There wasn't much writing, only two lines in classical Chinese, roughly stating that this map showed the location of the underground palace of the King of Taohuai Kingdom!