Book 4: Chapter 18: Trap


    Even though Fatty had just gone to sleep, I woke him up again. He never had any problems sleeping and had actually managed to fall asleep after only a few seconds just now. When he woke up, he shouted in a daze, "Fuck, is it the heavenly gift again? Have we received the heavenly gift again?


    I asked him to watch the video on my phone, but he ended up falling asleep in the middle of it. I had to shake him awake again before he fully woke up. After watching the clip, he remained very silent for a while. I also showed it to Poker-Face again, just like an elementary schooler showing their ssmate a goodic they saw.


    After watching it, we were all very quiet. Fatty looked at me, but I noticed that something in his gaze was off. "What''s wrong? I asked him. Don''t you find it strange?"


    "I don''t think it''s strange," Fatty said. "There were four of us from the beginning. Mr. Nave, did something happen to you?"


    I gave Fatty a questioning look while saying to myself, <em>what? Have you been heavenly gifted? Only three of us came in here.</em>


    "Are you still half-asleep? He asked. Its been the four of us this whole time. Look!" He tilted his chin in a certain direction.


    I turned my head and suddenly found that there was a person sleeping by the pile of corpses on the other side.


    I instantly broke out in a cold sweat and nced at Poker-Face, but he didnt seem to care at all. It appeared I really was making a fuss over nothing. I crawled over to see who the person in the sleeping bag was, but at this time, I found that the person had a skinless dog face. Startled by my actions, they sat up and said, "You forgot me again!"


    I woke up with a start. I was still watching the videos on my phone, Fatty was fast asleep beside me, and Poker-Face was sitting up on a high rock. It was all just a nightmare.


    I raised my hand and looked at my phone. The video clip with that fourth suspected person was still there. I remembered that I had shown it to Fatty and Poker-Facest night, but we couldnte up with any conclusions. This whole heavenly gift incident had a great impact on us, and we were all exhausted. I kept watching that video clip over and over again and must have fallen asleep before I knew it.


    It had been a long time since I had this kind of strange dream. Was it the remnants of my consciousness from when I had been under the heavenly gifts influence? I looked at Poker-Face and wondered if he ever dreamed of those bits of memory from the countless heavenly gifts he had received before.


    I rubbed my eyes and found that I couldn''t sleep anymore, so I stood up and found a stone to sit down on.


    The person in that video wasnt actually in the frame, and all I could see was their shadow. Was it possible that this person was the young man in the strange Mongolian outfit?


    If there really was a fourth person, did they leave as soon as the heavenly gift controlling us was interrupted? We didnt have this guys equipment here, so he must have taken it with him. And if that were the case, then he should still be near us.


    Following that train of thought, if he left because of the heavenly gift getting interrupted, then it meant that he knew what state we were in. So, he was deliberately staying with our heavenly gifted selves but unwilling to meet with us now. At this time, his best choice was to wait nearby for us to receive the heavenly gift again.


    I was almost certain that this person was the young man from before since there wasnt another living person around. But this persons appearance was originally very bizarre. If it weren''t for him, there would be a lot of people hiding here. I looked at the darkness on both sides and silently asked myself, <em>where is he?</em>


    I found a high ce, stood up, and shouted into the darkness, "Come out!"


    The sound echoed in this space, the words e out" reverberating for a long time before they finally disappeared. I decided to bluff and said, "I know everything about you and Jin Wantang. What do you want to do? You can juste out and talk directly."


    There was no response from the darkness, so I thought for a moment and then said, "Are your mom and dad close rtives? I bet your eyes are spaced quite far apart. Did your mother eat too many crabs when she gave birth to you?"⁽¹⁾


    Insulting ones parents was the easiest way to get a rise out of someone, but there was still no response.


    I sighed, but at this time, the satellite phone next to Fatty suddenly made a harsh beep. Then, it forcibly came on and I heard a strange, ented voice start talking. I didnt know what it was saying, but it seemed to be a kind of chant.


    After listening carefully, I realized that it was Jin Wantang''s voice. He seemed to be chanting in anguage I didnt understand, but his tone sounded very scared.


    "Tang Tang?"⁽²⁾ I asked.


    The chanting on the other end of the line instantly stopped, as if the person were shocked. Then, he immediately shouted, "Little Master Three! Save me, save me!"


    "Where are you, Tang Tang? Shouldn''t you be eating mutton on the grasnd and watching over the destruction youve caused?" Fatty, who had also woken up, started scolding him.


    "I don''t know where I am. It''s very dark here." Jin Wantang''s voice sounded like he was on the verge of tears, and even his fear could be heard over the satellite phone, which made the whole situation seem less funny. "Im crushed under a stone. My ribs are broken.


    "Then do you have anyst words to say? Give me your bank card password and your mistresss phone number. This Fat Master will live for a hundred years, so you can feel at ease leaving them to me."


    "Fat Master, are you Oboi trying to ransack my home?⁽³⁾ Ill give it all to you, just save me! Save me quickly!"


    "Where the hell are you?" Fatty rubbed his stomach. "Is there any food around you?"


    "I don''t know. I just woke up here. Its dark and I cant see anything. All I have is this satellite phone. But I heard you call me just now, so I prayed that the heavens would drop Zhang Qiling down here to save me."


    <em>Why do you hear my voice and pray for Zhang Qiling? Its not like Im some useless chess piece</em>, I said to myself. But still, my heart was a little moved. I did call his name just now, so was he near us?


    I looked at the rocks on the side. It was impossible for us to receive any satellite signals here, but Jin Wantang could still contact us, which meant that he must be somewhere in this ck rock vein. How did he get in?


    "Turn off the satellite phone first and then knock on the stone next to you," I said to him.


    "Why?"


    "If you ask again, then consider this goodbye," I replied. "Just do it."


    Jin Wantang obediently turned the satellite phone off, so I told Fatty not to talk and just listen carefully. Sure enough, I heard the sound of something tapping on a stoneing from a gap about a hundred meters away from us.


    Fatty nced at me with a puzzled expression on his face, "How did he get in there?"


    The satellite phone rang again, and Jin Wantangs voice cried out, "Blood! Shit, I lost a lot of blood! Fat Master, Ill be your servant. Is Little Brother there? Ill build a temple for you! Ill be your servant, too! Just save me!"


    I looked at the distance, shined my shlight over there, and saw a messy pile of stones. I cleared my throat and said, "This is to lead us away from here."


    Then I heard the sound of coughing. Jin Wantang must have coughed up a lot of blood, for this coughing almost sounded like he was on the verge of death. I didnt know if Jin Wantang had also received the heavenly gift, but he was definitely there and he most definitely had internal bleeding.


    Fatty was a little anxioushe still had some warm feelings for Jin Wantangso he pulled out the rope and tied it around his waist while saying to me, "Mr. Nave, I''ll go. If I wind up getting the heavenly gift, then you''ll have to pull me back. Don''t worry about anything I might say. Ill tie a knot so that you can pull me back."


    I moved to stop him, but Fatty acted so fast that he rushed out before I could do anything. I looked at my hand and found that it was empty. That fucking bastard had taken the other end of the rope and ran away!


    ****


    TN Notes:


    (1) Hes pretty much just insulting this person by saying theyre inbred.


    (2) Tang Tang is Jin Wantangs nickname.


    (3)Oboi was a prominent Manchu militarymander and courtier who served in various military and administrative posts under three sessive emperors of the early Qing dynasty. In the wuxia novel, The Deer and the Cauldron, he was a cruel and power-hungry aristocrat who plotted to usurp the Kangxi Emperor''s throne.