Chapter 218: The Linhu Expedition

“Since the Northwest Outdoor has turned into this mess, and with the snow being so thick, there’s definitely more than one Man-Bear in these woods. These things are wicked and known for being incredibly vengeful. We just killed one, and if we stay here, we might face retaliation from its entire lineage. If you ask me, we should pack up and head back early instead of freezing our tails off out here.”

He Yu rubbed his hands together vigorously. This fellow had clearly wanted to leave for a while now. In the dead of winter, even the hardiest among us found this cold unbearable.

I grabbed him and said, “We can’t leave. If I go back now, I’m certain I won’t be able to get out again. We have to change direction. Regardless, I’m just not going back.”

He Yu let out a “Heh” and said, “Didn’t your Fourth Brother go to Inner Mongolia? How about we divert there? This time we have to be careful not to let them spot us. We’ll shadow them quietly. What do you think?”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Inner Mongolia? You make it sound so easy. The box isn’t in our hands right now. Inner Mongolia is vast; where exactly are we supposed to go?”

“Hey, hey, hey, my two young masters, don’t get your feathers ruffled just yet. Speaking of Inner Mongolia, this humble servant happens to have studied a bit of the basics. Would you two care to hear me out?” Qian Deli suddenly gave a sly smile, stroking his thin mustache.

This guy loved to play the mystery man from time to time. He Yu and I had grown accustomed to it on this journey. Realizing that a minute or two wouldn’t make much difference, we both sat back down to listen to his talk.

All eyes fell on Qian Deli. He cleared his throat with great solemnity and began, “Back then, during the chaotic era of the warlords, the world was in turmoil. Bandits of all stripes were burning, killing, and looting. The people lived in utter misery…”

I thought to myself, is he going to start from the fall of the Qing Dynasty? We were indeed idle and had time to spare, but I couldn’t stand him recounting every single year’s events. I quickly cut him off.

“Forget the backstory. Just get to the point.”

Qian Deli gave an embarrassed laugh, coughed again, and continued, “Young Master, you’re young, so there are some things about your ancestors you might not know. Actually, my family’s rise to prominence wasn’t that long ago. We started out following the Chief Chief, operating in the Central Plains. Later, the Chief Chief had grand ambitions and wished to expand his forces, which led him to travel far and wide.”

Qian Deli was clearly underestimating me. He thought that because I hadn’t officially entered the trade, I knew nothing. But my grandfather used to ramble about these things constantly when he was alive. I had heard quite a bit. The “Chief Chief” Qian Deli spoke of was actually my great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was one of the wealthiest men in the Central Plains, a man who robbed the rich to help the poor and moved comfortably in both the legal and criminal underworlds. He and our family once shared the prestigious reputation of “Gan in the South, Zhu in the North.”

“Ah, how times have changed. Back then, my ancestors followed Ye Yuzhu all over the north searching for great tombs but found nothing. In the end, they had to ask Manager Gan to come out of retirement. He pointed out an exquisite dragon vein located at the tail of the Northern Dragon. Feng shui requires a balance of Yin and Yang, and the dragon’s tail and head have been vital positions since ancient times. If the dragon’s tail is uneven, the mountains and waters will be in upheaval. Thus, Manager Gan concluded that there must be a grand imperial tomb there.”

Qian Deli took a breath and sighed. “It’s just a pity that the greater the tomb, the greater the peril. It’s said that the place was riddled with occult traps. There were blood corpses blocking the path and poisonous mists everywhere. More than half of the experts brought along perished there. Only my ancestor and Ye Yuzhu escaped the tomb. My ancestor lost a hand because of it, and Ye Yuzhu was riddled with toxins, his light-body techniques completely ruined. The Linhu expedition drained his vitality so much that he never recovered.”

He Yu clicked his tongue in wonder, pulling out his precious notebook and clicking his ballpoint pen to start writing. “I didn’t realize the Central Plains had such a legend. Old Qian, tell us more. I love this kind of stuff.”

As I listened, something felt off. I asked, “If it was my great-grandfather who pointed out the dragon vein, why did only your ancestors and my maternal great-grandfather go? Why didn’t my great-grandfather go with them?”

Old Qian explained, “Sigh, according to my grandfather, after the dragon vein was identified, Manager Gan felt it was better to be cautious. He asked the Chief Chief to cast a divination. The hexagram said that the place could not be entered unless the earth shook and the mountains swayed. Although the Chief Chief was well-versed in fate and numerology, he was an arrogant man who never truly believed in such things. He thought the idea of the earth shaking was nonsense and insisted on proceeding with the original plan. Manager Gan, however, insisted on caution. The two had a falling out right then and there. They smashed their teacups and parted ways before even reaching Linhu.”

“It seems your great-grandfather had the foresight to turn back,” He Yu said, patting my shoulder with a smile.

Lu Qianshan, who had been sitting silently to the side, suddenly spoke up. “That incident was quite famous at the time. I know of it too. Ye Yuzhu was a remarkable man. I heard he was recruiting men and horses in the Central Plains, bringing almost every expert I can think of under his banner. There were even lobbyists who went to the Lu Clan to try and poach our people. However, without exception, all those masters fell at Linhu.”

Qian Deli lit a cigarette and took a drag. “You can’t really blame the Chief Chief. He grew up pampered and adored, highly educated, and exceptionally talented. Plus, he had martial arts to back him up. Before the Linhu expedition, he had almost never failed. Anyone would have a bit of arrogance with that kind of record.”

His words awakened long-lost childhood memories. As far as I knew, the Qian family had served as my maternal great-grandfather’s head stewards for many years during the Republican era. Later, when Ye Yuzhu married his daughter into the Gan Clan, the steward followed the eldest Miss Ye to the Gan family.

Compared to now, a head steward back then was a true power player. Internally, he managed hundreds of experts; externally, he was a man of great influence. Furthermore, Ye Yuzhu was a proud man with deep connections among various powerful factions and bandits. He was incredibly generous, often handing out dozens of silver dollars as a casual tip. They were wealthy and powerful; everyone had to look up to them.

It wasn’t like today. Now we live in a society ruled by law. One could only say Old Qian was born at the wrong time. Now, Qian Deli had to humble himself and call me, a kid twenty years his junior, “Young Master.”

Recalling those days now, Qian Deli looked as if he wanted to pinch himself in regret.

“Hmph! If you ask me, they were nothing more than a ragtag bunch back then. The whole place was a den of bandits. They called grave robbing ‘robbing the rich to help the poor’ and styled themselves as heroes of the greenwood just to gild their own names!” Lu Qianshan was merciless, clearly unconcerned about offending me despite our family ties.

“True enough, they were wealthy enough to rival nations, which is exactly why they were eventually toppled, isn’t it?” I replied, completely unruffled. I was determined to show this kid what it felt like to throw a punch into a bale of cotton.

Lu Ayao turned to glance at Lu Qianshan. Rebuffed and frustrated, he looked away and busied himself with a fallen branch, poking at the campfire in silence.

I turned back to Qian Deli. “Old Qian, since you’ve told us most of the history, I assume you have a good idea where the grave is located?”

Old Qian gave me a dry chuckle and stroked the small tuft of hair on his chin. He reached out and pointed casually at the map spread out on the ground. “The Linhu Tomb is right here.”