Chapter 38: He Yu’s Theory

We carried the injured men into the tent—many with broken arms and legs. He Yu’s left leg was in bad shape, a large chunk of flesh bitten off by those insects. Tian Yuqing and Tan Qiu didn’t look so good either; we must’ve lost quite a few people down there.

Those few days had left me utterly drained. I tore the rune-covered white paper from the wall, stuffed it into my backpack, and collapsed into rest. I slept for two full days straight, and when I finally woke up, my whole body was numb.

After that came the aftermath—tending to the wounded, organizing the data. I could help with the former, but the latter was completely out of my depth. They never even included me in those discussions.

The day after we came up from the cave, Lu A’yao left without a word. Not long after, Tian Yuqing also took off in a hurry. Before leaving, he took the Nine-Ring Jade Casket from me, gave me some money for a train ticket home, and extended my hotel stay, telling me to enjoy myself a few more days—all expenses on him.

But I didn’t speak the language well, didn’t feel like dealing with people, and honestly, there wasn’t much to enjoy. So I only stayed one extra day before checking out and catching a long-distance bus with He Yu to the nearest train station.

I sat on the bus hugging my backpack, trying to call my Fourth Brother again. Same as before—no answer. I felt a wave of disappointment. I’d been tricked, dragged across half of China, and in the end, I hadn’t even seen his face. I had no idea if he was safe.

“Relax. Your Fourth Brother’s tight with Yu Jingzi. As long as those two are together, nothing major will happen. Who knows, maybe they’re off somewhere being all lovey-dovey and ignoring the world.” He Yu patted me on the shoulder.

I knew he was just trying to comfort me, so I gave him a smile and let it go.

We still had time before the train, so we found a nearby diner and ordered a few stir-fried dishes. He Yu insisted I drink with him. We argued for a while, but he won in the end, raising his hand to order two small bottles of strong baijiu from the proprietress.

After a sip, He Yu started rambling. “So, Tian Yuqing’s got a big family and maybe even a billion-yuan inheritance waiting for him. Makes sense he’d want to head back early. But what about Lu A’yao? Why’d he leave so fast? Sure, he was forced into this, but the three of us went through hell together. Not even a goodbye meal, just vanished into thin air. What’s up with that?”

“Maybe the Lu family’s got their own secret billions waiting for him to inherit,” I said, stuffing a bite of food into my mouth.

“Bullshit!” He Yu cursed with a mouthful of food. “His whole family’s practically dead. What inheritance? I bet he figured something out and went off to investigate without telling us. People who can divine the future always have deep minds.”

That piqued my interest. “His whole family’s dead? Could it be some incurable hereditary disease?”

He Yu waved his chopsticks. “Nope. If it were just a genetic illness, that’d be easier to explain.”

He suddenly paused, then motioned for me to lean in. I did, and he whispered in my ear, “It’s not a disease. It’s a curse.”

I burst out laughing and kicked him under the table. “You messing with me? What kind of fairy tale nonsense is that? You think I’m three years old?”

“Hey! I’m not messing with you! I’m serious!”

He Yu looked agitated. “I’m telling you, this is what people in the field say. The Lu family had some spiritual talent in their ancestry, but they drew too much attention—got themselves cursed. Most Lu family kids either die young or don’t live long. The stories are wild, but one thing’s consistent: no one in that family lives past forty. Don’t believe me? Go check their genealogy records.”

“Even though Lu A’yao was adopted and isn’t related by blood, once you’re enshrined in the Lu family ancestral hall, who knows how long you’ll last?”

He Yu usually didn’t lie when it came to documented history. It seemed to be a principle among those who called themselves orthodox Record Keepers of the Heard. He sounded so sure, and I’d seen enough strange things myself that I started to think there might be some truth to it.

“His face—do you know what happened to it? Why it looks like that?” I asked.

He Yu choked on his drink, then clinked his bottle of Erguotou against mine. “I record things, not run a gossip column. How would I know? You saw how he treated me—does that look like someone who’d share secrets?”

I didn’t say anything more. I was thinking about something else. Before I jumped into the Quicksand Layer, I’d tried to gauge Lu A’yao’s true opinion of the Blood Jade. I was sure I’d guessed at least half of it right.

My conclusion was simple: the Blood Jade wasn’t a one-of-a-kind artifact. Based on the legend of “Grief Born in the Mirror,” there should be a pair of Luan Birds. That meant there had to be another jade of the same size, with a mirrored pattern.

Lu A’yao had probably seen the other piece before. But he chose to keep it secret. Not only did he withhold the information, he even deliberately steered us in the wrong direction.

I shared my theory with He Yu. To my surprise, he didn’t get angry. He just calmly picked up more food with his chopsticks, which honestly shocked me. When I first figured it out, I was so mad I could’ve exploded.

“Wait, you’re not even mad?” I asked directly. “Think about the situation we were in—missing a single clue could’ve gotten us killed. And he still fed us lies?”

He Yu thought for a moment, then set down his chopsticks. “Well, here’s the thing. You haven’t officially joined our circle yet. In our line of work, who doesn’t have secrets? You don’t need to worry about Lu A’yao lying to you. If he gave you a copper coin, he won’t hurt you. That’s a rule in the trade.”

“As for why he lied, I’ve got two guesses. Want to hear them?”

“Shoot,” I said.

He Yu cleared his throat. “First guess: he thought the jade wasn’t important, so whether he told the truth or not wouldn’t change anything.”

I nodded. “And the second?”

“Second guess: he believed the jade you’re holding contains extremely dangerous information. So he lied to you, hoping to distract you, maybe even get you to ignore it completely.”

A chill ran down my spine at his second theory. I grabbed the bottle and took a swig. The fiery liquor burned its way down my throat, warming me up and calming me down a bit.

“That second guess… sounds pretty damn plausible,” I said with a forced smile.

He Yu chuckled. “Hey, I was just spitballing. You don’t have to take it seriously. But whatever you do, don’t throw that jade away. It’s precious—worth a fortune.”

After that, we didn’t have time for more talk. We quickly finished our food, grabbed our bags, and sprinted toward the train station. I hadn’t eaten much to begin with, and running like that just killed what little appetite I had left.

He Yu’s uncle had summoned him to Beijing, and I was headed back to Henan. We said a quick goodbye at the ticket gate. Once I boarded the sleeper train and got my things in order, I sat in the aisle seat, staring blankly ahead. Only then did it hit me—how terrifying everything I’d just been through really was.

No matter how warm the Blood Jade felt in my pocket, it was still cold to the touch. That coldness crept into my chest like a slow tide of fear. But it was fine—everything would go back to normal now. No more Jade Caskets, no more tombs. None of it had anything to do with me anymore.

With that thought, I felt a wave of relief. I stood up, climbed into my bunk, and reached into my backpack for something to eat.

The moment I unzipped it, my smile froze.

The Jade Casket—didn’t Tian Yuqing take it with him?!

End of Volume One: The Nine-Curved Dragon Descent

# Cursed Market of Ghosts and Shadows