Chapter 219: The Guide of Yesteryear

Qian Deli pointed to a spot on the map, and we all crowded in to look. It was a massive region within Ulanqab. In a place that vast, one would normally have to hire a local guide; back then, my great-grandfather Ye Yuzhu had only been able to find the location thanks to the group of experts he had gathered.

Thinking of this, I stole a glance at the people sitting around the campfire. One was a semi-invalid who was basically deaf in one ear; one was a rebellious brat who looked down his nose at everyone; one was an old fellow wearing thick glasses who looked completely unreliable; and then there were He Yu and me, just there to make up the numbers. That left only Lu Ayao as someone who could actually hold his own.

Compared to the team my great-grandfather had led back then, the phrase “a ragtag bunch” truly applied to us. If even he couldn’t withstand the dangers despite bringing so many capable men, who knew what kind of tragic end awaited us if I rashly led this group into the Linhu Tomb. At that thought, my resolve to go began to waver.

I quietly buried my face in my hands.

At that moment, He Yu suddenly asked Qian Deli, “Look, Old Qian, are you sure? Are you certain it’s this place? Even if this is the great tomb that Chief Chief Ye visited, none of us have studied the water system map from the Nine-Ring Jade Casket. How can you be so sure that Tian Yuqing disappeared because he entered this specific tomb?”

After He Yu finished asking, I looked at Qian Deli. Seeing his confident expression, I knew the old fellow must know something more about that past history. Otherwise, he would never show such a look. But he merely smiled, showing no desire to elaborate, and turned to ask me instead.

“I won’t hide it from you all. This trip to Linhu has been a knot in my grandfather’s heart for many years. The old man couldn’t settle this grudge even on his deathbed. Young Master, if you trust me, I will do everything in my power to accompany you on this journey. If you don’t trust me, we’ll turn back right now, and I’ll go with you to apologize to the Eldest Miss.” Qian Deli cupped his fist toward me.

I reconsidered. Back then, only Ye Yuzhu and Qian Deli’s grandfather, Qian Chuanzi, had escaped from the Linhu Tomb. Ye Yuzhu had been proud and arrogant since childhood; in the end, unable to bear the humiliation, he had taken his own life with a bullet, a miserable end. In contrast, Qian Chuanzi had been flexible, staying with the Gan Clan in the fields for years. It was only by being a lackey for so many years that he managed to survive and pass things down to Qian Deli’s generation. Indeed, only Qian Deli and his kin would know the inner details of the Linhu Tomb.

The Nine-Ring Jade Casket was certainly not going to fall into my hands again, so relying on the water system map for guidance was impossible. Now, only this Linhu Tomb lay before us. If we were going to Inner Mongolia, this was our only hope.

So I smiled slightly, my gaze turning resolute. “We’ll do as you say. We’re going to the Linhu Tomb.”

We had rested enough in that wretched cellar. Outside, the sky was bright. There was no time to lose, so the six of us packed our bags once more and set out on our journey.

On the train, I listened to Qian Deli tell many old stories. Unlike He Yu’s rambling nonsense, Qian Deli remembered many fine details with remarkable clarity. Later, I spent a long time organizing these accounts. Only then were the stories of the Thieves’ Sect Chief, the number one fortune-teller of the Central Plains, and the blank period of my family’s history during the Republic of China era, those long-buried remains swallowed by time, finally brought to light before the world.

But that is a story for another time.

It was already dusk when we finally arrived at the Ulanqab grassland. However, Qian Deli had no intention of stopping to rest. He said he had been making inquiries non-stop, nearly blowing up his phone with calls over the past two days, but he had finally managed to contact Ulunzhurige, the female guide who had led the expedition into the Linhu Tomb all those years ago.

I never expected we could still find a guide from so many years ago.

Ulunzhurige was ninety-two years old, a stern woman who rarely smiled. She was in good health, her yellowish skin still looking remarkably healthy under the lamplight. From time to time, she would ask her grandson, Kuba, for a stick of caterpillar fungus to smoke and unwind, then sit in the yurt with her back to us, resting with her eyes closed.

When we first arrived, I thought they might not be willing to host us. After all, there was no way Ulunzhurige didn’t know why we were here. To my surprise, her grandson Kuba was not only very welcoming, presenting us with hada scarves^[1], but he also prepared bedding and brewed tea for us.

In a place with so many customs, neither He Yu nor I dared to speak much, fearing we might accidentally break a taboo.

“Please drink some tea, guests. Mamma is old and sometimes slow to react, so please forgive her,” Kuba said. He often went to the tourist area to help out, so he had seen the most tourists and spoke the best Mandarin.

Qian Deli smoothly took up the conversation. “Not at all! We really must thank you for taking us in. Otherwise, in this vast grassland, we probably would’ve struggled to even find a guesthouse.”

Kuba gave a simple, honest smile. “Have you guests come here this time to ask about the Linhu Tomb from back then?”

Hearing this, all six of us holding our milk tea froze. I hadn’t expected Kuba to be the one to bring it up first. I felt a slight sense of unease, as Qian Deli hadn’t explicitly told us we were coming for the Linhu Tomb before we arrived.

My eyes happened to meet He Yu’s as he looked over.

I set down my tea and asked, “Um, how did you know we…”

Kuba nodded. “I know because many people have come to ask my Mamma about it over the past month. You’re already the twentieth group I’ve hosted. But you’re different from them; you’re much more polite.”

We all looked at each other in surprise.

He Yu whispered to me, “Looks like we’ve almost certainly found the right place. It’s very likely your Fourth Brother’s team came to ask her too.”

Just then, Ulunzhurige coughed softly, and He Yu shut his mouth. Kuba quickly moved over to support her, helping her over to sit opposite us.

The old woman struggled to open her wrinkled eyes. She scanned us with a flat gaze, her eyes finally coming to rest on me. I shivered under that cloudy stare. Then, in a raspy voice, she spoke a sentence in Mongolian.

I didn’t understand, so Kuba translated from the side:

“My mother asks, what is your relationship with Chief Chief Ye?”

I let out an “ah” and told the truth. “Ye Yuzhu was my great-grandfather.”

Kuba translated my response back into Mongolian.

Hearing this, Ulunzhurige exhaled heavily. She slowly leaned toward me, scrutinizing me even more closely, then reached out and clamped a hand onto my shoulder. The old woman’s grip was surprisingly powerful, and the pain nearly made me grimace.

“Hey, what is she doing?” Seeing the pained expression on my face, He Yu hadn’t expected this and started to get up to argue with Kuba.

But Kuba calmly refilled his tea and explained, “The Chief Chief’s kindness to us was as heavy as a mountain. Recently, many people have posed as confidants to pry for information. My mother is only confirming that you and your companions are not deceiving us.”

He Yu was puzzled. “And what can she possibly tell just by feeling a shoulder?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Ulunzhurige abruptly released me. By the time she sat back, tears were streaming down her face. Kuba hurried to hand her a tissue and stroked her back to help her catch her breath. I had no idea why she had suddenly broken down like this, and for a moment, I didn’t know what to say.

Qian Deli leaned in and whispered to me, “Years ago, I heard that Ye Yuzhu had extraordinary qinggong^[2] and could move in and out of tombs with total freedom, all because he was born with ‘light bones.’ Could it be, Young Master, that your bones are built differently from ordinary people, and the old lady could tell just by feeling them?”

I kept a straight face, but internally I thought he was talking nonsense. Ye Yuzhu belonged to a generation long past. Feeling the small roll of fat on my belly, I didn’t think I was any lighter than an average person.

However, Lu Ayao chimed in right then with a quiet “Mm,” telling me, “You eat quite a lot, but your weight barely goes up. There probably is some truth to that.”

That single sentence nearly made me cough up blood in frustration.

Turning back around, I saw that Ulunzhurige had wiped away her tears. Her clouded eyes were gazing at me, so I made my intentions clear. “We mean no harm. We only came to ask about a few things. I know that back then, the only reason my great-grandfather was able to find the Linhu Tomb was thanks to your help.”

Qian Deli poked his head forward and added, “Right, right. What exactly happened back then? Even Chief Chief Ye nearly met his end there. Is that tomb truly so strange?”

Ulunzhurige didn’t ask her grandson to translate this time. She sighed and sent him to watch the door, saying, “In truth, I never actually entered the woods marked on the deerskin. The Chief Chief saw how young I was and told me to turn back halfway. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t be alive today.”

“Deerskin?” A sly gleam suddenly flashed in Qian Deli’s eyes. “Could it be the legendary Burial Bone Testament?”

“What the heck is that?” He Yu asked, completely lost.

Qian Deli explained, “The Burial Bone Testament is said to be a treasure map left behind by Master Jiyun before his death. It marks nine naturally formed feng shui sites across China. Later, emperors who were lucky enough to obtain the Burial Bone Testament buried their mausoleums deep within these nine auspicious spots. You have to cross-reference the Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and Twenty-Eight Mansions^[3] to locate them. In the hands of ordinary people like us, that map is nothing but scrap paper.”

“There’s that much to it?” He Yu asked.

Qian Deli gave a sly chuckle. “Moreover, it’s said these nine spots enjoy extraordinary natural advantages. To enter those tombs, you need the right time, the right place, and the right people. If even one element is missing, going inside means dying without even a grave.”

Ulunzhurige nodded slightly from across the room. I turned back to listen as she began recounting the story from decades ago, telling it softly and steadily.