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 area 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 because of 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 for a while.

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 people, who knew what kind of tragic end awaited me if I rashly led this group into the Linhu Tomb. At that thought, my resolve to go began to waver.

I silently covered my face with my hands.

At that moment, He Yu suddenly asked Qian Deli, “I say, 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 his question, I looked at Qian Deli. Seeing his confident expression, I knew this old fellow must know something more about that old history. Otherwise, he would never show such a look. But he only smiled and didn’t want to say much, turning instead to ask me.

“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 gave a slight smile, my gaze turning firm. “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 stories of the past. Unlike He Yu’s rambling nonsense, Qian Deli remembered many small details quite clearly. Later, I spent a long time organizing these accounts. It was only then that 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 remains buried by time—were finally revealed to the world.

But that is another story.

It was already dusk when we finally arrived at the Ulanqab grasslands. However, Qian Deli had no intention of stopping to rest. He said he had been asking around and had made so many calls his phone nearly exploded, but he had finally managed to contact Ulunzhurige, the female guide who had led the party into the Linhu Tomb all those years ago.

I had never expected that a guide from so many years ago could still be found.

Ulunzhurige was ninety-two years old, a stern woman who rarely smiled. She was in good health; her yellowed skin still looked quite healthy under the lamplight. From time to time, she would ask her grandson, Kuba, for a piece of caterpillar fungus to smoke to relieve her fatigue. Then she would sit in the yurt, her back to us, resting with her eyes closed.

When we first arrived, I thought she 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 enthusiastic, presenting us with hada scarves, but he also prepared bedding and brewed tea for us to drink.

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

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

Qian Deli smoothly replied, “Don’t say that. We really must thank you for taking us in. Otherwise, in this vast grassland, we probably would have had trouble even finding 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 were stunned. I hadn’t expected Kuba to be the one to bring it up first. I felt a slight sense of unease because Qian Deli hadn’t explicitly told us we were here for the Linhu Tomb before we arrived.

My eyes met He Yu’s as he looked over.

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

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

We all looked at each other in surprise.

He Yu whispered to me, “It 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 gave a light cough, 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, she spoke a sentence in Mongolian in a raspy voice.

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

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

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

Kuba translated my response back into Mongolian.

Upon hearing this, Ulunzhurige let out a sharp, sudden breath. Her body slowly leaned toward me, her eyes scrutinizing me even more closely. Then, she reached out and clamped a hand onto my shoulder. The old woman’s grip was incredibly powerful, and the pain nearly made me grimace.

“Hey, what’s this about?” He Yu saw my pained expression and, caught off guard by the sudden move, moved to stand up and argue with Kuba.

However, Kuba calmly refilled his tea and explained, “The Chief Chief was as kind to us as a mountain is high. Recently, many people have posed as his confidants to fish for information. My mother is simply confirming that you and your companions are not deceiving us.”

He Yu was skeptical. “And what exactly can she tell just by grabbing a shoulder?”

The moment he finished speaking, Ulunzhurige abruptly released me. By the time she sat back, tears were streaming down her face. Kuba hurried to hand her a tissue and rubbed her back to help her catch her breath. I had no idea why her emotions had suddenly collapsed, and for a moment, I didn’t know what to say.

Qian Deli leaned in and whispered to me, “I heard years ago that Ye Yuzhu’s qinggong was extraordinary, allowing him to move freely through tombs because he was born with ‘light bones.’ Could it be, Young Master, that your skeletal structure is different from ordinary people, and this old lady can feel it with her bare hands?”

I kept a calm face, but internally I thought he was full of it. Ye Yuzhu belonged to a generation long past. I felt the slight spare tire around my own waist and didn’t feel particularly lighter than the average person.

However, Lu Ayao chimed in with a hum of agreement. “You eat quite a lot, yet your weight barely fluctuates. There likely is some truth to that.”

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

When I turned back, Ulunzhurige had wiped away her tears. Her clouded eyes gazed at me, and I stated my intentions clearly. “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 asked, “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 wait for her grandson to translate this time. She sighed and sent him to watch the door before speaking. “In truth, I never actually entered the woods indicated 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 greedy glint suddenly flashed in Qian Deli’s eyes. “Could it be the legendary Burial Bone Testament?”

“The what?” 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 testament buried their mausoleums deep within these nine auspicious spots. One has to cross-reference the map with the Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and the Twenty-Eight Mansions to find them. In the hands of ordinary people like you and me, 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 are uniquely blessed. To enter these tombs, the timing, the location, and the people must all be perfectly aligned. If even one element is missing, entering means certain death without a grave.”

Ulunzhurige nodded slightly from across the table. I turned back to her, listening as she began to recount the story from decades ago, piece by piece.