Chapter 57: The Khitan Jade Pendant

I furrowed my brows and asked first, "What is this thing?"

Qi Lin smiled and said, "Actually, what fell out of that Qing dynasty porcelain wasn't just a piece of gauze, but also this tiger-shaped jade pendant. Because its material has a purplish hue, I call it... the Purple Tiger Jade Pendant."

As she spoke, Qi Lin handed the jade pendant to Old Master Chen. After receiving it, Old Master Chen placed it in his palm and looked at it thoughtfully.

Filled with curiosity, I also leaned sideways to look at the jade pendant in Old Master Chen's hand...

The pendant was shaped like a lying tiger, emitting a faint purple glow that looked quite marvelous. Even upon closer inspection, there were two densely packed lines of tiny characters carved onto the surface of this couchant tiger pendant...

Old Master Chen handed the pendant to me, then turned to Qi Lin and asked, "What script are the characters on this?"

Qi Lin pronounced each word clearly: "Khitan script!"

...

When I took the jade pendant, it felt slightly cool to the touch, smooth on the surface, and surprisingly heavy.

"Good stuff!" I exclaimed instinctively.

Sometimes, when it comes to top-tier items, even an outsider can immediately sense their value upon touching them.

However, upon hearing Qi Lin say that the writing on the pendant was Khitan script, I immediately knitted my brows and asked suspiciously, "That can't be right, is it? Didn't you say that Walin Mangha written on the gauze was in Mongolian?"

Qi Lin turned to look at me and nodded heavily: "That is indeed the case! But, Sanqi, the Walin Mangha mentioned on the gauze is indeed in Mongolian, but the gauze itself is of a more modern date... Whereas this jade pendant can be verified as an artifact from the ancient Khitan Kingdom..."

I narrowed my eyes.

In my heart, I already understood what Qi Lin meant.

She meant that this Qing dynasty vase had actually been opened in modern times by some means, and then the gauze and that piece of jade pendant were placed inside...

Old Master Chen chimed in, "I more or less understand what you mean! You're saying that in modern times, someone once reached that place called Walin Mangha and obtained a Khitan Kingdom jade pendant there. And when they left, they recorded the route to Walin Mangha on the gauze using Mongolian script and a map..."

"Exactly!"

Qi Lin nodded heavily and continued, "Therefore, from this jade pendant, we can deduce that the so-called stone palace hidden in the canyon mountain hollow must be the treasure vault of the Khitan Kingdom..."

"The Khitan Kingdom? Good grief, but why on earth would the Khitan Kingdom bury their wealth here?" I said in shock.

Qi Lin shook her head, "As for that, I wouldn't know. After all, if historical events aren't recorded, who could possibly know? Besides, our sole purpose is the treasure. Why they chose to bury their wealth here—whether they had nothing better to do or were simply too full of themselves—has nothing to do with me!"

Qi Lin's words were quite realistic.

After all, to these tomb raiders, nothing made their eyes turn redder than gleaming silver.

After exchanging a glance with Old Master Chen, I said, "Once the snow stops, we'll look for it, but... we might not necessarily find it!"

"Hehe! It's fine. With the two of you joining..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Old Master Chen interrupted, "Don't talk nonsense, I haven't joined any of you!"

Qi Lin was slightly stunned, then smiled: "Right, right, right, you haven't joined!"

...

To these grave robbers, there were no taboos whatsoever. As long as it was something that caught their eye, I reckon they would dare to dig up their own ancestors' graves.

However, it was different for Old Master Chen and me.

We worshipped the deities of the Five Mountains. If the Five Mountain Lords were to find out that we had joined a team of tomb raiders, there was no telling whether we would even make it out of the Greater Khingan Mountains alive.

Night... had deepened.

After finishing all these discussions, I handed the jade pendant back to Qi Lin, but she merely glanced at me and smiled, "Forget it, Sanqi. Let's consider this jade pendant a token of our acquaintance! You've helped me so much, so I should give you something good as well. Let me tell you, if you keep this jade pendant, it'll probably sell for a lot of money! At the very least, it's worth a hundred wolf pelts..."

With a blank expression, I tossed the jade pendant right onto her bed.

She froze.

Old Master Chen didn't quite understand my actions either.

I said, "I don't want things that belonged to the dead. If there's a chance in the future, remember to give me something proper instead..."

She immediately burst into laughter: "Sanqi, oh Sanqi, I really can't figure you out. What kind of person are you, little fellow?"

I remained silent, or rather, I no longer knew what to say.

Old Master Chen took a gulp of liquor and gave me a thumbs-up...

Extinguishing the kerosene lamp, we lay down on our beds, all three of us remaining silent.

Before long, the sound of Old Master Chen's snoring filled the air. Drowsiness washed over me as well, and holding Da Han close, I soon drifted into a deep sleep...

This time, I had a dream again.

I dreamed that the man had entered the double-room cottage. He stood rigidly right in front of me, the dense mass of leeches crawling ceaselessly all over his body and face. An indescribable, faint stench drifted to the tip of my nose, making me nauseous enough to vomit.

Moreover, black liquid continuously spilled from his mouth, making gurgling sounds, while his eyes were filled with endless resentment...

"Why... Wuwuwu... Why did you kill me?"

I swallowed hard, looking at him right before my eyes, unable to utter a single word.

Suddenly, his boundless sorrow vanished, transforming in the blink of an eye into an insidious, grinning expression: "Hehehe... Come... and keep me company in death! Keep me company in death! Keep me company in death!"

This hair-raising scene almost drove me mad.

After reaching the ultimate extreme of fear, an inexplicable courage welled up from the bottom of my heart. I pointed straight at his forehead and cursed, "Screw your mother! Get lost for crying out loud! Did I kill you? If not, get lost immediately... Otherwise, if someone else could let you die once, believe it or not, I can make you vanish into thin air!"

As soon as I finished speaking, he stopped talking and simply stared straight at me...

After about ten seconds, as he looked at me...

"I will come back again!"

Immediately afterwards, everything vanished completely without a trace.

I let out a long breath of relief. When I opened my eyes once more, the world outside the window was already brightly lit...

However, the snow that had started falling the previous night still hadn't stopped. Looking out from the window, everything was a vast expanse of white.

Instinctively, I reached to the head of the bed to grope for a cigarette and muttered, "Old Master Chen..."

Before I could finish the sentence, I turned my head and discovered to my shock... that I was the only person left in the room; Qi Lin and Old Master Chen had vanished without a trace, goodness knows when.

Everything was dead quiet.

Only the stew pot in front of me... was still emitting a faint, savory aroma of meat...