Volume Two: The General’s Tomb Chapter Fifty-One: Meeting Xu Tian Again End of Volume Two

I was utterly shaken when I saw the short blade in Li Kun’s hand. That blade had clearly been lost already, so how had it suddenly appeared inside the clothes on my back?

I reached out and took the short blade from Li Kun, but the instant it came into my hand, I sensed that it trembled faintly, as though an infant had found its father. The feeling was so startling that I could scarcely believe it.

I gently stroked the scabbard, and then enlightenment seemed to flash through me. Looking down at the blade in my hand, I thought to myself that since this weapon could of its own accord suit my healing wounds, it could only mean one thing: this short blade was surely alive with spirit. Could it be some kind of magical implement, or perhaps a murderous weapon? Otherwise, why did it feel so intimate the moment I held it?

After thinking for a long while, I still could not make sense of it. Since I could not determine what this blade truly was, I would have to find an expert, or perhaps Xu Tian’s grandfather. Failing that, there was the master of the ghost market, the Thousand-Poison Taoist, or the Ghost Lantern Taoist. Only by asking one of those three seniors might I learn the origins of this short blade.

At that thought, I could not help but sigh. I still had not figured out the origin of that bell, and now this strange short blade had appeared as well. Not only could it heal injuries, it could even return on its own after being lost.

Seeing me lower my head in thought, Li Kun did not disturb me. I slipped the short blade back into my coat and turned to him. “For now, forget how this blade got back. We should hurry and head home. Once dawn breaks, it’ll be troublesome. If anyone in the village sees us, they’ll know we were here to plant the earth marker. Then everything will be ruined.”

Li Kun nodded. I took out my flashlight and looked around. All around us were mountains, and there was no way to tell east from west, north from south. But I carefully recalled the route we had taken just now. We had come straight along that path without turning.

If we wanted to go back the way we came to where we left the car, we could only follow the same route back, then retrace our steps from the place where we entered the tomb. Otherwise, Li Kun and I would surely lose our way in the mountains.

I shone the flashlight upward. Above us were only rocks, and it would not be hard to climb them.

I said to Li Kun, “All right, we’ve got nothing left to rely on now. Luckily the moon is fairly full tonight, so we can still see the road. Otherwise, if this flashlight dies later, we’ll have to grope our way back in the dark.”

Li Kun said, “Then we’ll grope our way back. Are we two supposed to be afraid of ghosts? The corpse ghosts in that tomb were far more frightening than ordinary spirits. One swipe of those things could kill a man. But if a ghost wants to scare me, that’s truly asking for the impossible.”

I laughed. “All right, all right, I know how capable you are. Enough talk. Let’s hurry back. I’m afraid it’ll take us a long while to get back to the car.”

Li Kun looked up at the dense stars overhead and sighed. “Sigh... We’ve run all this way, and now we have to run all the way back. Damn this wretched heaven—it really wants to kill me, Lord Li and all.”

After his complaint, the two of us began slowly climbing up along the rocks above.

There was nothing unusual in the mountains. Even the wolf pack we had encountered earlier was not in this area, so neither of us worried about that.

The two of us moved one after the other through the forest. I could roughly tell our direction from memory, but whether the path was truly the right one was still uncertain.

I don’t know how long Li Kun and I walked. By then the flashlight had long since gone dead, and the two of us were thirsty and hungry. After all that trouble in the tomb and so long spent in the mountains, the strain on both body and mind was beyond imagination.

We moved on through the forest for about half an hour, and then the sight before us suddenly filled our hearts with hope. Not far ahead, a broad, enormous ravine came into view.

The instant I saw that vast chasm, I immediately knew where we were. I remembered clearly that when I had once stood with A Miao on the mountain and surveyed the feng shui layout of the General’s Tomb, this great ravine lay on the right side of the tomb.

At that, I was greatly delighted. If that was the case, then Li Kun and I were not far from leaving the mountains.

Li Kun turned to me and said, “Old Liu, why do I feel like I’ve seen this huge ravine somewhere before?”

I patted Li Kun on the shoulder. “This giant ravine was discovered by you, wasn’t it?” Then I turned and looked toward the high mountain in the distance and continued, “We’ve found our way back. Looks like I really didn’t go wrong.”

Hearing that, Li Kun finally let out a long breath. “At last we can get out. I was afraid we’d be stuck in these mountains and never make it out. I was just about ready to give up.”

I nodded. “All right, let’s hurry. Once we get the car out of this ravine, we can change clothes and make do in the car for the night. We don’t need to worry about anything today—just get some proper sleep first.”

At my words, Li Kun’s face lit up with visions as well, already imagining himself full and satisfied, lying on a clean white bed and sleeping soundly.

After I had dangled that promise before him, the two of us continued on through the forest.

When we reached the tallest peak again, Li Kun and I could not hold back any longer and simply sat down. We were exhausted beyond words. Not only Li Kun, even I did not want to move another inch.

But even so, we had to keep going, because when we had been making our way back, the wolves had howled behind us. It sounded as though they were taking a final farewell from their dead companions. If we lingered here and the wolves tracked our scent to this place, Li Kun and I would have no chance of resisting them at all.

By the time we followed the same route back to the foot of the mountain, I only felt both legs aching fiercely. Still, enduring the soreness in my legs, I slowly walked back to where we had left the van.

I opened the car door and tossed the rifle slung across my body into the back. The moment we sat down in our seats, Li Kun and I both let out long breaths at once, and our legs felt incredibly light. Even when Li Kun and I had served in the army, we had never been this tired.

Sitting in the seat, Li Kun grinned at me, and then the two of us burst out laughing inside the car. In our laughter was the joy of surviving disaster, along with an incomparable sense of relief.

Although this trip into the tomb had brought us no real gain, at least we had achieved our purpose. That short blade was the thing the Fox Immortal and the Ghost Lantern Taoist had spoken of.

Li Kun and I drove out of Flowing-Heart Village and slowly made our way into the county town. By then both of us were wearing clean clothes, and the dust on our faces had been washed away with the water we brought, so no one would look at us strangely anymore.

We parked the car in front of an inn and took a double room. The two single beds were clean and tidy, and all we needed was to stay half a day. By afternoon, we could drive back and rest properly.

My plan from there was to find Ghost Lantern Taoist and Thousand-Poison Taoist and ask them to help me determine the true origin of this short blade.

After Li Kun and I finished washing up, the sky was still dark, and it was already past six in the morning. Fortunately, before we set out, we had bought some food and drink and left them in the car. Otherwise, sleeping on an empty stomach would have been terribly uncomfortable.

That sleep was truly solid. Li Kun and I slept from morning until after eleven at noon before I slowly woke.

When I woke, Li Kun was still snoring. I turned to look at him, still deep in sleep, and picked up my phone. The time showed that our room was almost due. As I got dressed, Li Kun also began to stir.

He turned to me and asked, “Old Liu, what time is it?”

I said, “Almost noon. Hurry up and pack, then we’ll go see Xu Tian.”

After everything was put in order, Li Kun and I found a restaurant nearby and ate a hearty meal. Just then, my phone rang. I took it out and looked; the caller ID showed Xu Tian.

Li Kun glanced at me. I said, “It’s Xu Tian.” With that, I pressed the answer button.

From the other end came a rough, rooster-like voice. “Brother Liu, it’s me, Xu Tian.”

I said, “Old Xu, perfect timing. I actually have something to ask you. Where are you now?”

Xu Tian said, “I’m at the shop right now. You and Old Li are already back?”

I said, “Yeah, we got back early this morning. Then wait for us at the shop. We’re coming over right now.”

Xu Tian gave a reply and hung up. Then I said to Li Kun, “Old Li, let’s go to Xu Tian’s place first and see whether he knows the origin of this short blade.”

Li Kun nodded. After we finished eating, the two of us drove straight to Xu Tian’s shop.

As soon as we opened the car door, Xu Tian was standing outside, looking around. When he saw our van approaching, he trotted over. He gave Li Kun and me a slight smile and said, “Brother Liu, Old Li, you’ve returned in triumph, haha. I’ve already prepared wine and dishes, just waiting for you.”