Beipai Tomb Raiders Notes

Chapter 571 Before Dark

"Yunfeng, stop thinking about it. You haven't slept for a few days. I'm watching over you. Close your eyes and have a good sleep."

"Brother Yu, you said that Old Master Xia has been buried for three months, right?"

"Not three months yet, more than two months."

He reclined the car seat, lay down, and slowly closed his eyes. Suddenly, he recalled the "strange sound" that suddenly came from the coffin when Old Master Xia was buried.

I asked Uncle Cha about this at the time, and he gave an ambiguous answer. He said, "The golden toad jumps out of the coffin, and the descendants gain wealth. The Xia family is really unscrupulous."

As I thought about it, I felt sleepy.

When I opened my eyes, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon. My whole body was sore and painful, and I felt like I was about to fall apart.

Brother Yu was leaning over the steering wheel and typing on his phone. He didn't notice that I woke up.

As soon as I stood up, Brother Yu quickly put away his phone.

"Who are you texting?"

"No one, it's still early, why don't you sleep a little longer."

"I'm not going to sleep anymore. I can't sleep well. Why don't you make a phone call?"

"Yes, I told the captain what we were going to do tonight."

"How do you say head?"

"Nothing was said. Let's be careful and not leave any evidence. Yunfeng, I think the boss also wants to find out the truth. How did Xia Shuishui say that Old Man Xia died?"

"He had a heart attack while sleeping at night and died suddenly. He couldn't be saved at the hospital."

There are some things that Brother Yu doesn't know the hidden secrets behind. I thought about it and added, "But if we go by Uncle Cha's original words, he should have died long ago. The reason he's still alive is because he borrowed life from his descendants through the weird feng shui formation set up in the ancestral hall. The life he borrowed was Xia Shuishu's mother's life, so Xia Shuishui's mother died at a young age."

"Borrow a life? So mysterious?" Brother Yu was a little surprised.

I nodded. "Borrowing a life is commonly known as borrowing longevity. For example, some old men and women who have lived to their eighties or nineties still don't want to die. They just like to find a child to hug, hug, and kiss. Most of those people don't understand the Dharma, so the amount of life they can borrow is limited. But even if they can get a little vitality, it's good."

"Yunfeng, what you said is not so exaggerated. The older generation likes children. It's normal for them to hug and kiss them."

"Damn it, Brother Yu, don't be so skeptical. Immediate family members are fine, but if it's someone you barely know, how can you really know what they're up to?"

"Just like the boss taught us, we must always be on guard against others! After going through what happened with the Xia family with Uncle Cha, I believe this even more!"

"Many stories have been passed down for a long time, and there must be a reason behind them. They are not all groundless. Let me tell you a story. More than ten years ago, when I was still in the village, someone was getting married, and I went to the banquet with my relatives. Just as the newlyweds were bowing in the hall, an old lady wearing a red cotton-padded jacket, with a jade piece hanging from a purple string around her neck, and holding a bowl of raw rice with half a candle stuck in it, suddenly rushed forward and hugged the bride."

"and after?"

"We later chased the woman away and the wedding went smoothly, but...the woman died of illness three years later. I heard it was breast cancer."

Brother Yu touched his chin and said, "Maybe the woman was in poor health to begin with, so she got cancer."

"I can't rule out this possibility, but Brother Yu, you can't rule out the possibility I mentioned either. Didn't I go back to my hometown two years ago? That old woman is still alive and kicking."

Brother Yu frowned: "According to your logic, our lives are our own. How can we borrow them so easily from someone who is about to die?"

I frowned and said, "It won't be easy. It might also depend on gender, zodiac sign, and birth date. The old saying that the elderly send off the young might also hint at this. I only know that even if the borrowing of life is successful, there will be side effects."

"What side effects?"

I rolled down the car window, looked at the passerby, and said, "Before borrowing, that person must have been physically weak and had a bad temper. After borrowing, he will have nightmares and his family fortune will decline."

"Huh? Is this the reason why the Xia family uses the golden toad to jump over the coffin?"

"Yes! That's definitely the case!

"Uncle Cha told me that the Golden Toad Jumping Over the Coffin technique can bring good luck and wealth! The Xia family was afraid of their fortune declining, so they did that!"

Brother Yu also realized it and nodded: "There is cause and effect. Now that you put it that way, it seems to be true."

Brother Yu then shook his head and said helplessly, "What a sin! What difference does it make if a person lives a few more or less years? Money is something you can't bring with you when you are born and you can't take with you when you die, so why value it so much?"

"Brother Yu, please stop now. Money is one of the most important things in this world. You've been with us through thick and thin for so many years, all to save money to open a martial arts school."

"Don't deny me, you said it yourself."

"Amitabha, it's not Yunfeng. I've saved enough money a long time ago. I don't pursue material things. I may not be able to spend all that money in this lifetime. The Buddha said that wealth can confuse people. It's just the embodiment of external karma."

"Brother Yu, what do you mean you don't pursue material things? I think you're focused on pursuing that, right?"

"Tell me the truth. During the month you disappeared, did you contact Ah Chun and ask her to look for you?"

Brother Yu quickly waved his hands and said no.

Seeing me frown, he immediately changed his words: "Achun had a mission and was on his way, so we met a few days ago."

"Then I guess what you said before about the Old Martial Arts Association was also told to you in person by A-Chun, right?"

Brother Yu seemed a little embarrassed. He smiled awkwardly and nodded and said yes.

I pressed him: "Did he tell you while I was lying in your arms?"

Brother Yu’s face turned pale and he didn’t dare to say a word.

I lit a cigarette and asked with a squinting look, "Do you know how I figured that out?"

He shook his head.

I flicked my lighter and said, "Because you don't look well, and your eyes don't look as bright as before."

Brother Yu didn't want to talk about Ah Chun anymore. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, stop talking. You can't hide anything from me. We have to do some hard work tonight. Do you want to go get something to eat?"

I glanced at the sky and said, "Let's buy two lunch boxes and eat them on the way. It's still early before dark, and I suddenly want to go somewhere and take a look."

"where to?"

I dug out an old map, pointed to a mark, and said, "Go here."

Brother Yu took a closer look and frowned, saying, "This map is from decades ago, so this place may not still exist."

"I asked the locals before, and the village still exists."

Brother Yu nodded and started the car immediately.

"Qiandao Lake Jiang Village", as the fat sister said, even the locals have almost forgotten this place. Even if someone knows about it, they are old Chun'an people like the fat sister.

Over the past few decades, Qiandao Lake has undergone tremendous changes. You cannot look at the map to find it, because some of the roads shown on the old maps are no longer accurate, but the general direction is likely to remain unchanged.

We had a boxed lunch on the way, and around four o'clock in the afternoon we drove to a place called Shiwan Village in Lishang Township.

I got off the car and exchanged cigarettes with two old men who were playing chess at the village entrance, and then asked them if they knew how to get to Jiang Village.

The old man didn't react for a moment, and they said they didn't know.

I took out the map and showed it to them.

"Oh, you're looking for Jiangcuncun, I know."

"So you just said you didn't know?"

"Young man, you are asking about Jiangcun, but we know Jiangcun Village. That's different."

"Damn, sir, what's the difference between Jiangcun and Jiangcun Village?"

"How can it be the same? There's one word missing. Your cigarette is really good."

"Master, if you like it, I'll give it all to you."

"That's so embarrassing."

"Nothing, take it and smoke it."

The old man reluctantly took half a pack of cigarettes from me. Then he turned around, pointed westward, and said, "See that mountain?"

I nodded.

"Just keep going in that direction. At the foot of the mountain, there's a reservoir. There's a small path next to the reservoir. Follow the path straight in. It's about three miles to get there."

"Can't the car drive in?"

"Can't get in, no traffic,"

The old man turned around and asked another old man, "Hey, Jiangcuncun, do you think there is anyone here now?"

The old man who was being questioned, holding a pipe in his mouth, replied: "The spring tea is being harvested this month. There are a lot of Jiukeng tea trees planted over there, so maybe there are people there."

"Thank you, sir. I won't disturb you guys from playing chess anymore."

"Wait a minute, young man."

"how?"

The old man stopped me and said with a smile, "Your accent tells you you're from out of town. But for the sake of this box of good cigarettes, I'm going to warn you: that place is quite spooky... A long time ago, most of the villagers fled overnight, and the rest gradually moved away in the following years. You can go and see the scenery, but try to leave before dark."

I frowned and looked at the sun that was about to set, then went back to the car, got a pack of cigarettes and threw it to the old man, just as a thank you for his kind reminder.