Chapter Seventy: Reunion

I suddenly felt very strange, unsure whether Peanut was just stretching his limbs or trying to give me some sort of hint. If it was a hint, then his shaking his head at me just now... My heart tightened abruptly.

Could Peanut be telling me not to trust what my father had just said?

I glanced nervously at Father and Peanut, freezing in place. At that moment, we suddenly heard voices outside. Peering out, I saw beams of flashlight flickering again from the direction of the main burial chamber’s cliff.

“What are those people trying to do?” As I spoke, I could hear someone shouting loudly across the way, though I couldn’t make out the words. It was clear, however, that more than one person was speaking.

“Hey, look—those aren’t the same flashlight beams we saw before,” Fatty said.

I studied the scene carefully and realized that the lights now weren’t just single pinpoints, but columns from more than a dozen flashlights. Then, suddenly, the previous ten or so points of light we had seen also lit up among the beams.

In an instant, nearly thirty sources of light appeared on the other side, leaving us utterly confused.

After a while, the voices gradually died down. Soon after, I saw the cluster of light points begin to move off in another direction, quickly vanishing from sight.

Fatty said, “I think there are two groups over there. Should we call out to them again?”

“You must have a death wish. But fine, if you want, go out there with a torch and shout, see how many new holes you end up with,” I glared at Fatty.

Fatty was about to retort when Father spoke up, “Let’s go, it’s time. Old Jin from the Cao family was right—those are two groups, and those flashlights belong to your second uncle and his men.”

Looking from afar, I did sense something distinctive about their flashlights, perhaps some kind of signal from Father’s side.

“Since you’re sure they’re our people, shouldn’t we let them get food and drink ready to welcome us?” Fatty said excitedly.

Father chuckled, “Right, right. Go ahead and call out.”

With permission, Fatty wasted no time. He hoisted my father onto his back, and as our group stepped outside the burial chamber, he began to sing loudly across the way:

“There’s water in the river and frogs croak, croak so loudly it stirs my heart, catch a few for a tipple, croak! Croak! All gone!”

If I were standing on the opposite side, hearing someone suddenly singing such a song in an ancient tomb, I’d probably faint from fright. I imagined the people across the way must have been stunned by Fatty’s performance; I saw their flashlights stop moving almost all at once.

“Hey! My dear second uncle! Finally, I see you! Don’t shoot, it’s me! Master Yuan has been found! Your young master is with me! Don’t shoot! Qin Feng is near death! Get your things ready, we’ll be over soon!”

I thought to myself, what nonsense is he shouting? The other side must be shocked, but also thoroughly confused, and probably questioning this Beijing accent’s allegiance.

“Brother! Yuanzi!” Immediately, Uncle’s voice echoed from across the way, followed by a chorus of “Master! Master...” and even some cheering.

A wave of relief washed over me, and I told myself that finally, I could relax.

“Yuanzi, tell your second uncle and his men not to come over here, and not to enter the main burial chamber,” Father said.

I replied, then shouted across, “Uncle, it’s us, we’ve found Father! Qin Feng is badly injured, prepare emergency supplies quickly. Father says don’t come over, and don’t enter the main burial chamber—it’s dangerous.”

“Understood,” Uncle responded, and immediately a flare shot up.

We moved forward as much as possible, hoping Uncle and his men could see us.

“We see you!” Uncle’s voice trembled slightly, and his men shouted excitedly.

At that moment, I wanted to think of nothing else. Without waiting for Father and the others to speak, I was the first to step onto the stone path ahead. Along the way, torches and flares lit our path, an extravagance for tomb robbers. But now, the flames before me seemed more like dazzling fireworks; with the cheers from across the way and Fatty’s singing in my ears, I felt as if I were immersed in it all. For a moment, I felt as though I had become a tomb robber myself.

Touching the breath of terror, brushing against death in the shadows, and finally, under the glare of the flares, telling myself, “I... am still alive.”

For the first time, tomb raiding had a certain allure for me.

From then on, as Father had said, I didn’t have to think about anything; I just moved forward by instinct. Though the dark depths flanking the stone path occasionally startled me, we made our way safely toward the cliff by the main burial chamber. I don’t know how long we walked, but at last, I saw a row of figures at the edge of the cliff. Finding Uncle and Liu’s blockhead among them, my emotions surged and I quickened my pace.

In the end, I forgot who was first to greet us. Just as I was about to rush up and embrace Uncle, my vision suddenly went black, and all thoughts slipped away.

That fainting spell was so thorough, my mind almost screamed, “Uncle, have someone carry me out, I don’t want to walk anymore, I’m too exhausted.”

In my sleep, I vaguely heard the sound of that woman singing opera... This time, she seemed very close; within the pitch-black haze of my consciousness, a human face flickered in and out. I wanted to get closer for a clearer look, but could only make out a blurred silhouette.

I knew I was again in that half-awake, half-dreaming state. As confusion filled my mind, I heard a sudden shout: “Ah!”

I woke abruptly from the dream, sat up, and found myself lying by a massive stone door, wrapped in a sleeping bag, with Father sleeping nearby. Looking around, Uncle and his men were sitting on the edge of the cliff, while Fatty and someone wrapped in bandages were arguing.

Squinting, I realized the bandaged man was Qin Feng. At that moment, his face showed no signs of recent injury; holding a few playing cards, he glared at Fatty.

“What kind of nonsense rules do you Sichuan folks have? Three twos and you won’t let me throw in a little card? Damn it, is there any justice left?” Fatty shouted.

Liu’s blockhead laughed, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I suggest you save your breath.”

“Damn, bullying Fatty because he’s outnumbered, huh? Let me tell you, I’ve got status in Beijing! When it comes to a showdown, who knows who’ll come out on top!” Fatty retorted.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “You idiot, you want a showdown over a card game? Your rank is way too low.”

As soon as they saw I was awake, Uncle and the others came over.

“Yuanzi, are you alright?” Uncle asked anxiously.

“I’m fine, just not sure what happened.”

Fatty walked up, “Oh, the lady is always the lady—just a bit of walking and you’re wiped out, so fragile! You’d better go home and weave cloth instead.”

I figured everyone had gotten used to Fatty’s banter while I was unconscious, so no one paid him much mind. Qin Feng muttered, “Didn’t you just sleep like a dead pig yourself?”

I turned to Qin Feng, “Hey, you’re injured, how come you’re up?”

“It was just a bit of blood,” Qin Feng shrugged it off, and I said no more.

Liu’s blockhead came over and handed me water. “Fatty and Qin Feng told us everything. We never expected so much to happen this trip. It’s a pity about those two brothers...”

I remembered the two men who had followed Qin Feng, and my heart sank.

“Alright, let’s talk about all this when we’re out,” Uncle called for everyone to spread out and rest. But I grabbed him and asked, “Uncle, where’s Peanut?” After waking up, I hadn’t seen Peanut around.

Uncle shook his head. “He’s gone.”

“Gone? How could he leave on his own?” I exclaimed.

Fatty stepped up, “That guy isn’t ordinary, don’t worry about him. Damn, I asked him to take me with him, but he just played it cool. Oh, and he asked me to pass on a message.”

“What did he say?” I felt certain that Peanut’s departure meant I’d likely never see him again, so his message must be important.

As I waited for Fatty to speak, I saw his round face wobble twice in front of me.

“Are you nuts?” I wondered if Fatty was messing with me.

Fatty clicked his tongue, “This was his message.” He shook his head again.

I immediately understood: Peanut hadn’t left me any words, but rather a gesture—a shake of the head. So, back in the burial chamber, he really was hinting at something.