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墨書 Inktalez
Before us lay an endless expanse of mountains, but the landscape was different from what we had traversed earlier. It appeared to be a vast low-lying hilly area, clearly situated below the surrounding peaks. From this vantage point, it seemed as though we were in a valley flanked by towering mountains. However, one end of the valley was also blocked by steep mountain ranges, while the other end opened up to the rushing Beipan River.
In the field of Archaeology, one inevitably encounters the principles of Feng Shui. While I may not be an expert, I must understand its basic tenets; otherwise, mistakes could arise. This low-lying area nestled among the towering mountains might seem to gather wind and energy, but it lacked a proper dragon vein according to Feng Shui principles—it was a broken vein, a dead zone. Moreover, the mountain on the opposite bank of the Beipan River completely enclosed this hollow space, leaving it with water but no wind—a very inauspicious sign.
I scrutinized the surroundings repeatedly but could not discern any potential for a suitable burial site. At that moment, Ah Xiang spoke up. "We've received information that there is an ancient tomb from the Han Dynasty here. Our mission is to retrieve an item from this tomb. Finding it will depend on you."
Hearing Ah Xiang's words only added to my confusion. The Han Dynasty territory here was essentially wild and untamed! The Yelang Kingdom had existed in this region at one time, but it had been destroyed during the Western Han period. Since then, no significant political power had emerged here, and certainly, nobles from the Han Dynasty would not have built tombs in such a place. There had been some minority tribes in the area, but their scale was small, and their burial sites would not be substantial either. Why would Wu Qitai go to such lengths just to excavate a tribal burial? Even if it were the grave of a tribal chief, it wouldn't hold much value based on my experience in Southwest Archaeology. Of course, I doubted that Wu Qitai's intentions were purely archaeological.
I asked Ah Xiang in disbelief, "Are you sure there's an ancient tomb here? A Han Dynasty one? I find your information unreliable."
"Absolutely reliable. The other party has already paid a deposit." Ah Xiang paused for a moment, realizing he had misspoken. "There must be an ancient tomb; we just need to find it."
I had to voice my concerns. "Is it in this low-lying area? It's too vast; I need more precise coordinates. According to Feng Shui principles, this place isn't suitable for burial. Of course, if it's related to minority tribes, that's another matter entirely. But if it's indeed a minority burial site, finding it will be even more complicated; we can't search based on Han Dynasty tomb construction rules without knowing which ethnic group's burial we're dealing with."
This outcome clearly caught Ah Xiang off guard; he stared at the low hilly terrain before us with a troubled expression. My mood lightened somewhat—this expansive area lacked any specific location to start from. If he didn't have more accurate information, our mission would likely end in failure. My situation was different; I already knew Cao Mingzhe's direction of travel—his path roughly paralleled ours. I could cut across this hilly hollow to intercept him; even if I couldn't catch him directly, I might encounter the search team from Hong Kong and continue tracking his movements.
After pondering for a moment, Ah Xiang pulled out a pair of binoculars from his backpack and began observing the distant hollow.
After a while, he pointed in a direction and asked me, "What is that?"
The dense forest below was lush and green; I squinted but couldn't make out anything unusual. Reluctantly taking the binoculars Ah Xiang offered me, I looked toward where he was pointing. Behind one of the hills, several rooftops of Bamboo Houses faintly emerged.
I was so surprised that I nearly dropped the binoculars. Rubbing my eyes and looking again confirmed it was indeed Bamboo Houses; however, they were too far away and too small through the binoculars we had used for surveillance in Laos—they would have been clearer with our specialized telescope.
I handed the telescope to Jack, who was anxiously urging me on, and stroked my chin as I contemplated this incredible situation. The mere existence of people in such a ghostly place was hard to believe. However, it could also just be an abandoned Bamboo House; from this distance, it was impossible to see clearly, and at least I hadn't noticed any signs of human activity. It was also possible that some ethnic group had left traces of their burial practices here, which meant that finding a tomb was still a possibility.
Jack looked through the telescope for a while and seemed very excited. "Zhang, that might be the remnants of an Ancient Civilization. We should head down there right away."
As an Archaeologist, I understood Jack's feelings. Discovering and excavating remnants of civilizations was the dream of every Archaeologist. At the same time, I could tell from his tone that he hadn't noticed any signs of life near those Bamboo Houses either.
"A San," Ah Xiang called over to another Vietnamese, handing him the telescope. "Find the nearest route to the Bamboo House. Let's take a break and set off as soon as we can, aiming to arrive before dark."
Ah Xiang immediately walked over to the other two companions and began chattering away. Jack and I found a sheltered spot to rest. I wasn't as optimistic as Jack about what dangers we might encounter down there, so I decided to update Fatty on our current situation first. I discreetly pulled out my Satellite Phone from my backpack and briefly shared our discoveries and our next steps with Fatty. I also asked about their situation, particularly whether they had found any additional support teams, like the Vietnamese support team. Fatty hadn't seen any, but he wasn't optimistic either. In his words, the Vietnamese were better adapted to this mountainous jungle than we were; just because I hadn't seen them didn't mean they weren't there—indeed, I could very well be under their watch.
After resting for a short while, we set off. The wind was strong on the mountain, and going down from here was mostly along cliffs. A San found a cliff with several footholds and dropped the rope down first. The cliff was too steep for the two Mountain Folk; they had to climb down using the rope as well. It would be too dangerous to carry equipment down at this point, so we decided to lower our gear first. I was the last one to descend; we needed to keep hold of the rope or it would be troublesome when we tried to return. As we descended, the humidity and temperature increased significantly, and the wind became less frequent until we reached a section at the valley bottom where there was almost no wind at all. The humid heat felt like being in a sauna, making it difficult for me to breathe.
I jumped onto the ground and immediately splashed mud all over myself. Looking over at Jack, he was similarly covered in black mud, panting like a dog with his tongue hanging out. Ah Xiang's team wasn't faring much better; they were struggling with this humid climate.
I stepped into a puddle of muck and had to exert considerable effort to pull my foot out of the knee-deep mud. Looking around, I saw that everything was a swampy mess mixed with rotten grass and decaying leaves; it seemed this stretch wouldn't be peaceful at all.
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