Book 3: Chapter 14: The Ancient Tomb’s Huge Stone Tablets


    Those pale things turned out to be three huge white stone tablets, each of which was as tall as three people. They stood there like a wall and were covered in Huihu Mongolian script (1). The stone tablets were very badly weathered.


    When we were near this ce earlier, we never saw these three huge tablets. It was almost like they had appeared out of thin air, and they were so big that it was quite shocking.


    I nced at Poker-Face, relieved when I found that he could also see them. Then, the re went out and our surroundings plunged intoplete darkness again.


    When I lit another one, the three huge stone tablets were gone and the person wed been chasing had already rushed into the woods. Our pursuit had failed.


    Those three huge stone tablets had appeared so suddenly that I immediately felt a jolt go through me. I could tell at a nce that they were arranged in the same way as the stone tablets in the Imperial Pce Square. White stone had been used, but it definitely wasnt white marble. Even though there werent any textured decorations carved on them, they were still very domineering.


    As a matter of fact, I had also seen some shadows further behind the stone tablets that appeared to be some huge buildings.


    These buildings werepletely different from those in the Central ins, but they were about a kilometer away so the re could only reveal their dim outline, which looked like the shape of the ground covered in fog. If I hadn''t doubted myself so many times before, I wouldve still suspected that I was wrong this time.


    Now all of these things had disappeared, leaving only my shock.


    My first instinct was that this was a huge imperial tomb that had suddenly appeared and disappeared right in front of me. But when it appeared just now, it was so real that I felt as if I was almost at the entrance of the imperial tomb.


    <em>Whats going on here? Is it a mirage?</em> There were also rumors that this imperial tomb appeared and disappeared randomly on the grasnds. That was why no traces had been found even though so many years had passed.


    <em>How does it work? Did it be a spirit?</em>


    The re disappeared again, plunging our surroundings into darkness once more. I was eager to see those stone tablets again and wanted to light another re but Poker-Face stopped me. I came back to my senses and found that the moon was no longer hidden behind the clouds. Our surroundings were brighter now but there was nothing there.


    As I looked at the small grove in front of us, the reality of the situation gradually hit me. Poker-Face was wanting me to regain my senses and deal with the immediate problem first.


    The person we had been chasing had already entered the forest, and if my guess was correct, he would find a way to bury himself in the soil until he suffocated to death.


    Were we still going to save him?


    The grove was dark and the situation inside was very dangerous so the thought of backing down had already rushed to the forefront of my mind. That grave robber was bewitched and anxious to die, plus the situation was so dangerous that it was probably better to give up for the sake of my own teams integrity.


    Moreover, our chances of finding this person after entering the dark forest werent high.


    I was sleepy and tired and had already saved four of those grave robbers so my conscience was clear.


    But after thinking about it, I let out a sigh. This time, I didnt juste here to go grave robbing but to save people. We had to continue.


    After ncing at Poker-Face, the two of us rode our horses towards the grove.


    The corpses that had been standing at the edge of tree line were no longer there.


    We used ournterns and shlights to light the way, but we didn''t encounter any problems this time. There werent any traces of the man we were chasing, almost as if he had disappeared into thin air. We didn''t even see the corpses again, which had me thinking that maybe they had all gone back into the soil.


    As we continued moving through the woods, we found the area from before. It was surrounded by porcin and Fatty''s wine bags but everything else was gone.


    After searching inside the forest for more than an hour, we finally withdrew.


    When we went back to our campsite, we saw Fatty standing far away waiting for us. He was obviously very worried. I gave a brief ount of the situation, but Fatty didn''t understand it for a while. I got off my horse, wanting to find a ce to rest, but suddenly noticed that a lot of living people had been tied up by the corpses near the tent.


    For some reason, I was very tired. I wanted to hold on for a little longer, but I somehow fell asleep after drinking a cup of hot tea. I didnt know how the others would handle those peopleter.


    When I finally woke up, it was four o''clock in the morning and Poker-Face was sitting together with the dog, watching the sunrise. I had actually only slept about two hours, but I felt as if I had slept all night long. Even though my back was sore, therge amount of oxygen on the grasnd and the clean air made me feel refreshed.


    Everything was silent as I looked at the magnificent scene formed by the sun rising over the grasnds. I also sat down beside the dog and watched the morning glow shift between dozens of colors. We were on the high ground, so we could see the mist flowing in the distance. It was an indescribably beautiful sight.


    When I was in Badain Jaran, the sunrise in the desert was also very beautiful, but I couldnt remember it.


    After that, Poker-Face went to rest. He wrapped himself in a sleeping bag and fell asleep directly on a lounge chair. The dog liked him a lot and huddled in next to him. I knew it was because the dog had fleas, which all fled when he leaned in close to Poker-Face. I found two or three on my body, so I sprayed some medicine and nned to shave all my hair and body hair offter. Otherwise, Id keep going through the same thing over and over again as long as we were on the grasnd.


    After catching those three fleas, I decided to wake up our four captives and put our loot fromst night in front of them. Iid out the ceramic figurines face fragment, some of those ck stone grapes, and the three fleas one by one. Then, I was ready to start extracting confessions.


    I won''t talk about the detailed process, but I couldnt help thinking that there was something wrong with Ding Jingen''s mental state. It was almost like he had been bewitched by something. As long as I asked about key things, he would immediately nk out and stop answering my questions.


    Jin Wantang helped me interrogate them after he woke up, but he soon let out a gasp.


    When I asked him what was wrong, he said to me, "I know Jingen to some extent. You know that Im someone who knows a lot about human nature."


    "Hmm." I gave him a look that said he needed to speak quickly.


    "I think this person isnt Jingen," he said.


    I paused. I didnt recognize Jingen''s face either, but Jin Wantangs words were so convincing. <em>Are you admitting that you made a mistake?</em> I wondered. <em>Jin Wantang, youre too unreliable</em>.


    "No, no, Jin Wantang immediately said. Im not saying that I made a mistake. This person has Jingen''s face, but hes not Jingen."


    "Why do you say that?"


    "If Little Brother and Fat Master were reced, you would immediately feel it, right?"


    Understanding what he meant, I fell into deep thought.


    Jin Wantang went up and pulled at Jingen''s face, but the other man wasnt wearing a human skin mask.


    "This person doesnt feel like Jingen." When Jin Wantang said it again, Jingen suddenly fell silent.


    I stared at him, and he suddenly showed a strange smile.


    I was taken aback for a moment. Why did that smile look the same as the expression on the ceramic figurines facest night?


    ****


    TN Notes:


    (1) The Huihu is the Tang Dynasty name of an ethnic group corresponding to modern Uighurs. Uighurs are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. More info here.