Chapter 23

Although we were still shaken by the monstrous hand we'd encountered, the treasure in the ship's hold quickly diverted our attention.

The chests were filled with gold and silver jewelry, jade Buddha statues, and Ma Hailong found a small metal chest containing a lifelike Ayutthaya jade Buddha.

The Ayutthaya Kingdom was known as the land of a thousand Buddhas, and the ship's cargo reflected this.

The jade Buddha statue Ma Hailong found was very different from the ivory Buddha statues we had seen before. This Buddha had four faces, one on each side, and was what we commonly call the "Four-Faced Buddha."

At the time, I didn't know much about Buddha statues and didn't realize the value of this "Four-Faced Buddha." I only saw Yu Xiaobo and Ma Hailong's eyes light up when they saw the Four-Faced Buddha.

Later, as I grew older and gained more knowledge, I learned that the Four-Faced Buddha was originally named "Lord Brahma," one of the three major gods in Brahmanism. This Buddha has many incarnations throughout Thailand, and many artists in the entertainment industry in China are devout believers, even traveling great distances to worship.

After obtaining this Buddha statue, according to the rules, the treasure should belong to Ma Hailong.

Familiarity breeds content.

The first time, Ma Hailong repeatedly declined, but this time he was straightforward and put the Four-Faced Buddha into his backpack without saying a word.

But it was also his due, after all, he was the backbone of the team. Besides, the metal armor he got the first time probably wasn't worth much, and couldn't compare with the treasures we found later.

After dealing with the Four-Faced Buddha, we continued to search for other treasures in the ship's hold. There were a large number of jade artifacts in this hold. In addition to the Four-Faced Buddha statue, we also found some jade carvings of elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, and other handicrafts, each of which was lifelike and exquisitely crafted.

We each took treasures in turn, quickly filling our backpacks. When it was my turn to take a treasure, Ma Hailong suddenly pulled out a strange object from a cargo box.

How should I describe it? It was a porcelain jar.

The jar was about 30 centimeters high and 15 centimeters in diameter, thin at both ends and thick in the middle, like a pier.

It was painted with a complex and delicate pattern in colored lacquer. The pattern looked a bit like Chinese cloud patterns, but not quite. On closer inspection, it looked like a spider web, making you dizzy if you looked at it for too long.

The mouth of the jar was wrapped in a layer of gold foil, sealed tightly and airtight.

Ma Hailong looked at the jar from left to right, seemingly very interested, reluctant to put it down. He examined it for a long time before handing it to Yu Xiaobo.

Yu Xiaobo was also very concerned about this ordinary-looking porcelain jar, holding it carefully in both hands and looking at it for a long time.

I saw it and felt strange.

The crown and Buddha statues from before were obviously valuable, so it was understandable to look at them for a while. But this porcelain jar looked like a cheap item, like the jar my family used to pickle vegetables. What was so special about it?

But then I thought about it. Yu Xiaobo and Ma Hailong were experienced divers. Since they were so interested, it meant that this jar was extraordinary.

After a few minutes, Yu Xiaobo carefully handed the jar to me.

When I took it, the first thing I wanted to do was open the jar and see what was inside.

But as soon as I put my hand on the lid of the jar, Yu Xiaobo hurriedly stopped me in alarm, waving his hands and shaking his head frantically, shouting "Woo, woo, woo."

I understood that this treasure could only be looked at, not opened. Opening it might make it worthless.

So I nodded to him and carefully held the jar in my arms.

This thing was a real burden. Putting it in my backpack would definitely damage it, so I had to hold it like an ancestor. If it weren't for Yu Xiaobo and Ma Hailong being so concerned about it, I would have thrown it away.

Later, Ma Hailong rummaged through the boxes and found many more treasures. We divided them in turn, the four of us not fighting or arguing underwater, and getting treasures quickly and in large quantities.

Just as we were opening boxes enthusiastically, I suddenly heard a "thud" behind me.

I was immediately startled, because I had encountered that monstrous hand before, and I was always worried that it would come back to find us. So as soon as I heard the sound, I immediately turned around.

Uncle Mei and the others had the same reaction. Ma Hailong immediately turned around with his crowbar.

When we looked, we saw that the sound was not made by the black-scaled monster, but by several divers who had entered from outside the ship's hold. They were probably locals, holding crowbars, hammers, and other tools, and looking at us with hostility.

The leader was a dark-skinned diver. He pointed at our ship's hold with his crowbar, then pointed at our bulging backpacks, and showed a malicious smile.

I immediately understood that they wanted to get a share of the loot and ask us what good things we had found.

Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but feel nervous. I subconsciously counted their numbers. There were six of them, two more than us.

Yu Xiaobo was an experienced diver and knew how to handle this kind of situation. He stepped forward and waved his hand at them, signaling them to leave.

The Ayutthaya cargo ship was more than 20 meters long, and conservatively estimated, there were at least a dozen cargo holds. There were only 20 divers who came down, which was more than enough to have two people search one cargo hold. They were clearly greedy to come and ask us for a share.

Relying on their numerical superiority, they didn't take Yu Xiaobo seriously at all. Seeing Yu Xiaobo gesturing for them to leave, they even laughed and forced their way towards Yu Xiaobo.

Yu Xiaobo didn't back down. He immediately took out his diving knife from his backpack, held it across his chest, and confronted them.

Seeing this, I immediately took out my diving knife as well. So did Uncle Mei. Ma Hailong had a crowbar, so he waved it at them.

They had more people, we had fewer. At this time, unity was more important than anything else.

Yu Xiaobo held his diving knife and gestured at their oxygen tubes, meaning that although we were few in number, we were willing to fight to the death and prevent them from getting out alive.

Seeing that we were so united, the four of us acting as one, the local divers didn't dare to confront us head-on.

After all, everyone was just here to make money and didn't want to lose their lives for nothing.

So they smiled, turned around, and left.

Later, I learned that it was very common for these local divers to bully Chinese people. If the four of us weren't united and of one mind, they would have forcibly searched us and taken the most valuable treasures on our bodies.