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墨書 Inktalez
Fat Ma glanced at me suspiciously.
I felt uneasy under his gaze and said, "Fat Ma, why do you keep staring at me?"
Fat Ma replied, "For so many years, I've been looking for a loyal comrade in the Revolution. After observing you for some time, I believe you are the right fit. I've decided it's you. Don't say anything else; the organization trusts you."
Before I could respond to Fat Ma's string of words, I found myself inexplicably becoming his 'comrade,' and from that point on, we worked together for decades.
I wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the term "tomb raiding." In fact, it wasn't strange to me at all.
My grandfather seemed to have been involved in this line of work back in the day, but he eventually turned his life around. My father also had a questionable background; over the years, he became increasingly elusive. By the time I was older, he had completely vanished from my life. I grew up with my grandfather.
My grandfather treated me well. Since our family had only one line of inheritance, he doted on me even more.
As a child, my grandfather would weave tales about tomb raiding and tell them to me as stories. At first, I took them as mere stories, but as time passed, I began to grasp their deeper meanings.
This time, Fat Ma was giving me a sort of 'education.'
Fat Ma was older than me by about twenty-five or twenty-six years. He had worked alongside his father in the field before. According to Fat Ma, his family was a 'tomb raiding dynasty,' with generations dedicated to this craft. He couldn't trace it back any further than that.
In any case, it had been a family business for generations. As the saying goes: "In every profession, there are those who excel." Fat Ma's skills were undoubtedly impressive, which would become evident in our future tomb raiding endeavors.
On that day, the weather was clear. After finishing our work and having dinner, we went to sleep. Li Jie was also sharing the room with us.
Fat Ma and Li Jie never got along well; their personalities clashed, and they often looked down on each other. They had quarreled and even fought before. Perhaps because I was closer to Fat Ma, he also found me displeasing.
However, I couldn't be bothered to care about it.
After finishing dinner with Fat Ma, we lay on the bed chatting for a while before falling asleep.
In the middle of the night, I was awakened by Fat Ma again.
I said, "What are you messing around with at this hour?"
He whispered, "Let's go find the treasure." I glanced at Li Jie, still sound asleep, and followed Fat Ma out the door.
As we rounded the hillside behind the cave, Fat Ma raised his voice. "Old Sun, do you feel comfortable leaving your treasure in someone else's pocket?"
I shot him a disdainful look and replied, "Since when did it become your treasure?"
Fat Ma ignored my comment and said, "Old Sun, this is our first hard battle as Revolution comrades. We can only win; we cannot lose."
His words stirred an inexplicable passion within me, and I couldn't help but quicken my pace.
We each held a flashlight and began walking toward our destination.
On the way, Fat Ma said to me, "I've gotten to know the surrounding environment thoroughly these days. That place shouldn't have anyone around."
I replied, "This matter can't be taken lightly. Are you sure?"
Fat Ma, slightly embarrassed, said, "If anyone shows up at that time, I'll take care of them."
I couldn't help but laugh at his words, and Fat Ma joined in.
Before long, we reached the spot where the spring water was located; it was here that Fat Ma had discovered those treasures.
I asked him, "Be honest, do you have any other treasures hidden away?"
Fat Ma's gaze flickered for a moment before he sincerely replied, "No."
Seeing his earnestness, I didn't press further.
Fat Ma changed the subject. "The location of that Tomb should be nearby." I nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Fat Ma asked me, "Old Sun, do you know the exact location of that Tomb?" I nearly choked; in this regard, I was an outsider dragged onto this ship by him, and he had the audacity to ask me.
However, I seemed to know a thing or two. I often listened to my grandfather tell stories, and he had recounted similar events from the Late Qing Dynasty, where a person could determine the location of a tomb by listening to the thunder.
One day, three people went out to search for a tomb, but the leader hesitated to make a move. The other two grew impatient and asked, "Why aren't we starting?"
The leader replied, "Don't rush; we can go down once it thunders."
Though the two were skeptical, they had no skills of their own and could only wait. Finally, the sky rumbled with thunder. The leader immediately stood up and listened intently. After a while, the thunder subsided.
He told the two still sitting on the ground, "Get up; the tomb is right beneath you." At first, they didn't believe him until one of them dug down with a shovel. They couldn't help but exclaim in amazement as they discovered a burial mound hidden below.
After I finished this story, Fat Ma hurriedly urged me, "Come on, listen up!"
I smiled and said, "What are we listening to at this late hour?" A solitary star hung in the sky; it didn't seem like a night for thunder. Then I thought to myself, "Fat Ma, this is your business; why are you asking me? Aren't you the expert?"
My words left Fat Ma speechless.
Finally, he helplessly said, "I’m only responsible for going underground to find treasures; everything else is not my concern."
I replied, "Isn't your family known for tomb raiding for generations?"
Fat Ma chuckled and said, "Our family has always been responsible for going underground to find treasures."
I was at a loss for words.
This Fat Ma didn’t seem to know anything at all and dragged me out here to freeze in the cold.
I suggested to Fat Ma, "How about we call it a night and go back to sleep?" Just as I finished speaking, an eerie thunder suddenly echoed in the sky. I was startled.
Fat Ma remarked, "Thunder on a clear day surely means someone has done something wrong."
I couldn't help but smile bitterly at his words; wasn't what we were doing just as dubious?
The thunder rolled on in a continuous rumble.
Suddenly, I felt as if I could hear something stirring somewhere nearby.
I said, "Fat Ma, are you hungry?"
Fat Ma shook his head and replied, "No." I listened intently again. It wasn’t Fat Ma’s stomach making the noise after all. Suddenly, a dull roar echoed in my mind.
"Could it be..." I uttered those two words but quickly dismissed the thought.
Fat Ma's face also showed signs of surprise and doubt.
The sound continued, forcing me to believe it, even though the idea seemed absurd.
"It’s coming from underground," Fat Ma said to me.
I could see he was a bit excited, but we still couldn’t pinpoint the source.
I listened closely and quickly maneuvered around a few large trees, climbing up a Small Hill. Fat Ma followed closely behind.
The resonating sound became increasingly real, as if the ground beneath us was boiling water, churning vigorously.
I couldn’t contain my excitement, which mingled with doubt, and I stammered to Fat Ma, "It should be right here."
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