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墨書 Inktalez
The plane tickets were booked, and considering the current level of transportation, the round trip wouldn't take much time at all. With the task of searching for the origin of the ink jade, a day would likely be sufficient. Mary had found the exact coordinates online, which seemed to lead to a deep forest.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Southeast Asia was referred to as Nanyang. When I was young, I heard many strange stories about Nanyang. The most famous was the concept of "descending heads," along with tales of the Flying Head Man and Southern Sea Ghost Techniques. My grandfather used to tell me these stories as if they were mere fables.
On the plane.
"I wonder what kind of events we will encounter," Yan Junde said. "Since joining the Special Investigation Team, I've seen more bizarre occurrences in this past year than in my entire life before. The ability to control insects was something I never even dared to imagine. And those insects are terrifying; they can truly kill without a trace."
I put on my eye mask and replied, "Nature is indeed miraculous; every creature has its own way of surviving. For example, elephants rely on their size, leopards on their speed, eagles on their flight. The weaker ones might depend on camouflage or bluffing, or they gather in numbers. As for us humans, we rely on our intelligence."
Juan Juan chimed in, "But other creatures only exist to survive—hunting and preying, and so on. Yet we humans cannot be satisfied with mere survival. Greed, lust, money, power—all these can drive people to madness: robbery, rape, murder—there's no end to evil."
"It seems you believe that human nature is inherently evil, Sister Juan," I remarked upon hearing a clattering sound; it appeared Mary was typing while speaking. "However, I think it's not just humans; the entire biological world operates this way. The instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm is inherent in all living beings. Once a species gains intelligence, it seeks to maximize its benefits and eliminate anything unfavorable. Unfortunately, we are currently the only super-intelligent species discovered in this world."
I continued, "Heaven and Earth are unkind; they treat all things as straw dogs. Nature is like this: dinosaurs ruled the Earth for millions of years but ultimately could not escape extinction. From our limited perspective over a hundred years, we cannot see the end; however, in the long run, how long can we truly dominate this world? Every species has its own mission; since humanity has been thrust into the spotlight by the world, we must bear some responsibilities that belong to us."
After disembarking from the plane in the afternoon, we didn't linger but quickly found a local guide and headed straight into the forest. We informed him of our destination; he was an overseas Chinese who had lived here for nearly forty years. He told us that the place we were heading to used to be controlled by a Drug Lord but was taken over by Allied Forces later on and is now growing other economic crops.
Many widows of former rebels and Drug Lords still remained there; typically, guides wouldn't venture into this area. Although drug trafficking has significantly decreased under strong government control in recent years, it cannot be completely eradicated—who knows where large fields of poppies might be hidden in those unknown forests?
After all, this is the Golden Triangle.
However, our mission was not to negotiate with Drug Lords. After walking for about four or five hours—my legs nearly giving out—the guide finally brought us to a simple little village where there were very few men around. Fortunately for us, Mary was a genius fluent in various languages; otherwise, our journey through the Golden Triangle would have left us unable to understand anything.
Mary explained our purpose for coming here to an elder who welcomed us. The elder appeared to be around seventy or eighty years old; his dark skin was lined with wrinkles covering his face. He wore tattered clothing and leaned on a branch he had casually broken off as a cane. He looked like a scavenger. Most of the other villagers resembled him as well. Upon seeing us arrive, some appeared wary while others seemed frightened.
It seemed that people in this village rarely had opportunities to see outsiders—let alone foreigners. We found a spot to sit down while some villagers worked nearby.
Mary spoke with them in a language we couldn't understand; she later relayed their conversation to us.
About a month ago, Yang Shuai—a jade trader—had come to this small village seeking their locally passed-down ink jade for use. Naturally, the elders were unwilling; that piece of jade had once been a gift from an emperor of the Tang Dynasty to their king as a symbol of friendship between their two nations.
The old man said, "That is fine jade, jade from Hetian. Until about a month ago, a man named Yang Shuai found this village. He claimed to be in the jade business and had heard from a friend that our village had such jade stones. He wanted to buy it, saying there would be a jade exhibition in a month."
"But we refused," the old man continued, his dark face revealing no emotion. "Because this was left by our ancestors. We have endured wars and chaos. During those days of conflict, we never sold this jade for money, let alone now. Although our village is poor and lacks anything profitable, and no one comes here to travel, we can still be self-sufficient."
Mary asked, "How did that piece of ink jade end up in Yang Shuai's hands?"
The old man shook his head and sighed. "Due to the wars, it has become unclear who this jade belongs to, so the ink jade became something shared among our village. It was usually kept in a box, but some young people in the village, having seen the outside world, felt our village was too poor. Unable to resist temptation, one night they stole the ink jade and secretly sold it to Yang Shuai for money."
"Are those young people still in the village?" Mary asked.
The old man touched his gray hair and replied, "They are gone; they must have taken the money and gone to the big city." As he spoke, there was still no hint of emotion on his face; his deep-set eyes showed no signs of feeling. Perhaps those who have experienced life and death through war do not place much value on a piece of jade.
"The key question is, does anyone in your village know how to control insects?" Mary translated my words for the old man.
The old man nodded and said, "Almost everyone in our village knows how. This has been passed down for a long time; it dates back many generations. At that time, the ink jade had passed through many hands until it reached our ancestors. They discovered that a certain type of insect seemed to have some kind of sensitivity to jade."
"When these insects gather in large numbers, they can even devour a living person!" The old man frowned as he spoke. "However, there is a black insect similar to a king; as long as you control this king, these insects will surround that person. But we cannot tell you how; this is our village's secret technique."
The old man continued, "When Yang Shuai took the ink jade away, the people in our village decided to go find him and get it back. Unfortunately, none of us understand Mandarin; those young people took the money and ran away. There was only one kind-hearted child left in the village who did not participate in stealing the jade; he understands Mandarin."
As he spoke, the old man took out a business card for us to see. It was indeed Yang Shuai's Tianyu Company card.
The old man continued, "He looked at the card and knew how to go outside. But he has been gone for quite some time now and hasn't returned."
I suddenly thought of the young man who died in the factory; he could very well be the child the old man mentioned. Mary revealed the truth to him, and he murmured something incomprehensible as two tears rolled down his cheeks. He said, "I told them not to go out with the Worm King; there would be retribution! Our ancestors have rules: we can only stay in the village. Those insects can help us cut firewood or trees, but if used for wrongdoing, retribution will follow!"
"How many people from your village have gone out in total, including those young people who ran away with money?" Mary asked next.
The old man thought for a moment and replied, "A total of four people went out: three young men took money and ran away, plus one who went out to pursue the jade."
"Can those young people control insects too?" Mary asked.
"Yes," the old man replied. "We have been teaching them these things since they were children."
After hearing Mary's account, we fell into deep thought. In a village with valuable jade, the villagers lived in such hardship. It seemed they knew the worth of the jade, yet they never considered selling it. A village that knew how to control insects had never thought to use that ability for wrongdoing; even without the jade, they could earn a lot of money with their skills.
Was it the rigidity and inflexibility of these elders that held them back, or had the younger generation already lost their last moral compass?
After walking for four to five hours, it was clear we couldn't return tonight. We decided to stay in the village for the night. Although the old man wasn't overly enthusiastic, he was hospitable enough to arrange a few rooms for us. During our stay, he also showed us how to use the Insect Eaters to gnaw through trees for firewood.
The old man leaned on his cane and said something before leaving. Mary translated: "Anything that can help oneself can also harm oneself, just like a gun; it can save lives or take them. The same goes for insects. He said if this village has a next generation, they won't pass on this skill anymore. Too many of their kin have died because of it."
"No matter how powerful insects are, they can't compare to the human heart," the old man suddenly laughed. Mary translated: "Our ancestors discovered this point; is it a good thing or a bad thing? Who knows?"
Although I couldn't understand the old man's words, the desolation and bitterness in his tone were unmistakable.
A Charming Widow sent a letter to a Young Man, inviting him over for dinner in the middle of the night. Afterward, she let him ride her husband's Gallop. Coincidentally, on the way, he encountered a Young Woman hitchhiking. Her actions after getting into the car made it hard for him to maintain his composure—more benefits for homebodies awaited...
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