Spending the night in the grand hall of this ancient city, my mind couldn't help but wander.
How did the people who lived in this underground ancient city spend their daily lives?
As the leader here, how did he maintain order throughout the entire city?
What puzzled me the most was, what exactly happened in the past that caused this ancient city to become what it is today?
If it was war, who did the people of the ancient city fight against?
Shifting my body, I looked at the burning fire, and vaguely, I seemed to see the appearance of my father.
His face came alive in the fiery glow, as if he were saying something to me.
A wave of sleepiness washed over me, and I had a dream.
In the dream, I stood alone in the center of the ancient city's plaza. People were everywhere, faceless, like walking dead, drifting around.
At this moment, someone ran out from the crowd. Looking closely, it was my father.
When he saw me, his face was anxious, his mouth open as if he were trying to tell me something.
I couldn't hear him clearly, so I moved closer to him. As I got nearer, his voice reached my ears.
"Hurry and leave! Get out of here! Go!"
I was stunned. Before I could think further, my father turned and disappeared into the crowd, vanishing quickly.
At the same moment he disappeared, everyone around me turned to look at me. Those faceless countenances sent a shock through me, scaring me awake instantly.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, I sat up and looked around.
Fatty was asleep beside me, snoring.
Opposite the fire, Fu Kui and A Yuan had already lain down to rest.
Only Fu Honglang sat nearby, smoking.
"What? Had a nightmare?" he asked me.
I nodded. "Brother Fu, why aren't you sleeping?"
"I can't sleep," he said, tossing me a cigarette. "What did you dream about? You look pale with fright."
I gave a wry smile. "Nothing, just some strange things."
He said, "Actually, there's something I've always wanted to ask you."
"What is it?"
"Do you think the Suihou Pearl can really grant immortality?" he asked.
I knew what he truly wanted to ask: if An Ying had gained immortality because of the Suihou Pearl.
In truth, I also held some doubts about this matter.
Why An Ying could achieve immortality, and whether it was related to the Suihou Pearl, was perhaps something even she didn't fully understand.
However, I felt there might be some connection, but not a significant one.
Think about it, An Ying gained the ability of immortality, but each time she reborn, her past memories would disappear. To recover her memories, she had to find specific ancient artifacts.
Through those artifacts, she could slowly restore her memories.
Perhaps her reason for searching for the Suihou Pearl was because she also wanted to figure out if her immortality was due to that bead.
According to the notebook she found, she joined the archaeological expedition team back then, simply to find the Suihou Pearl.
There was just one thing I didn't expect: my father was also involved with An Ying.
Then why did my father insist on finding the Suihou Pearl?
With his personality, he had no interest in things like immortality. His pursuit was only treasure appraisal.
He was always striving, always wanting to become the most outstanding treasure appraiser in the history of the Xiang family.
He always put his treasure appraisal skills first, aiming not only to surpass my grandfather but even the ancestors of the Xiang family.
Therefore, I felt that my father was definitely not interested in the immortality granted by the Suihou Pearl. His motivation for joining the archaeological expedition team must have been related to treasure appraisal.
As I thought, a bold idea suddenly popped into my mind.
Could it be that the Suihou Pearl also has fakes?
If the Suihou Pearl had fakes, it would mean that there wasn't just one Suihou Pearl in the world.
As the saying goes, before appraising a treasure, you must first see the genuine article. Only then can you compare and find clues to distinguish the fake from the real.
If my idea held true, wouldn't that mean my father had seen the genuine Suihou Pearl?
The more I thought, the more confused my mind became.
"Brother Xiang, what's wrong?" Fu Honglang asked when he saw that I had been silent for a long time.
I snapped back to reality, looked at him, and forced a smile. "Nothing, I was just thinking, if the Suihou Pearl can truly grant immortality... how could such a treasure fall into the hands of a small country like Taohuai?"
Fu Honglang replied, "Didn't the murals in the secret chamber say it earlier? It was a treasure offered by someone called the 'Thief of Nations'."
I smiled. "Brother Fu, if you possessed a treasure that could grant immortality, would you give it to others?"
Caught by my question, he was stunned. I continued, "Let's not even discuss that. Where did the 'Thief of Nations' get the Suihou Pearl from? Where was the Suihou Pearl before?"
Fu Honglang pursed his lips. "Are you trying to ask, if the Suihou Pearl can grant immortality, then the person who possesses these beads..."
Before he could finish, I nodded. "Exactly. If the Suihou Pearl can grant immortality, then the person who owns the beads must still be alive? If he's still alive, then the Suihou Pearl must be with him."
Fu Honglang blinked a couple of times, meeting my gaze.
At this moment, he finally understood what I meant.
What I wanted to say was that if the Suihou Pearl could grant immortality, then it was in An Ying's hands.
Of course, this was just my speculation.
If the Suihou Pearl was with An Ying, then why would she have sent Fu Honglang to look for it?
Or, perhaps, she didn't know that the Suihou Pearl was with her?
It was clearly difficult to face this issue squarely now.
At this moment, a voice rang out. Fu Kui, who had been lying down, sat up. "You mean, if there really is a Suihou Pearl in this place, then the person who possesses it is still alive, and he lives in this place?"
The conversation between Fu Honglang and me earlier was actually indirect; we only knew what we were truly discussing.
Fu Kui had only heard the surface of it. Seeing his question, I could only say, "That's right, that's my thought."
He nodded. "Brother Xiang's analysis is very sound. If there are other living people in this place, the Suihou Pearl must be with them."
I felt that Fu Kui was truly obsessed with finding the Suihou Pearl. However, I didn't contradict him, only nodding in agreement.
"It's getting late, let's sleep a bit more," Fu Honglang yawned, giving me a knowing glance, meaning we'll talk again later.
And just as I was about to lie down to sleep, a strange laugh suddenly echoed through the great hall.
"Heh heh heh..."