chsdbacks Page 140
Page 140
"Comrade Li Yang, you don't know, I often have dreams, and they're nightmares!"
"In my dream, my father and brother kept urging me to find the Earth Immortal Village and destroy the corpse demon that Feng Shigu had transformed into!"
"They really are as you say, claiming that the ancestors of the Feng family had a very difficult time in the underworld because the Feng family produced a great demon like Feng Shigu!"
"So please, you must help me!"
Next, Sun Xuewu revealed all the intelligence and plans he knew.
It was only then that Hu Bayi was shocked to discover that Sun Xuewu had been eyeing their tomb-raiding trio all along!
Some time ago, they went to the Dragon Ridge Caves in Shaanxi Province. After a thrilling adventure, they escaped from the Fishbone Temple with the Dragon Bone Book.
then.
At a farmer's house, I met Sun Xuewu, who was collecting tortoise shells in the countryside!
At this time, Sun Xuewu was unaware that the tomb of the King of Xian had already been breached.
Seeing that Hu Bayi, Zhang Qiling, and Wang Pangzi were exceptionally skilled in tomb raiding, he wanted to test the trio's abilities.
He then deliberately said that the Dragon 723 Bone Heavenly Book recorded the world's most rare treasure—the Muchen Pearl!
Unfortunately, the Muchen Pearl was hidden in the dangerous tomb of King Xian.
He stated frankly that the Muchen Pearl is worth a fortune, and if sold to someone who knows its value, one could earn enough money to last ten lifetimes!
The result, however, elicited laughter from Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang.
Sun Xuewu was puzzled.
Fatty Wang loved to boast, so he said, "What's so great about the Tomb of the King of Xian? My brothers and I have already razed that godforsaken place to the ground!"
Sun Xuewu was shocked. He had been working in the countryside for a long time and had no idea that the tomb of the Prince of Xian had been excavated!
Hu Bayi gestured to Fatty Wang not to talk nonsense, since they had signed a confidentiality agreement before.
The two parties separated.
No sooner had Hu Bayi and his two companions left than Sun Xuewu returned to the capital and, through his connections, managed to gather some information.
Just then, news of the Guixu Divination Mirror appeared: due to a smuggling merchant's ship sinking, the divination mirror fell into the depths of Guixu in the South China Sea!
Sun Xuewu immediately came up with a plan. Knowing that Professor Chen knew Hu Bayi and the other two, he would pretend that the Guixu Gua Mirror was the Qin King's Bone-Illuminating Mirror and reveal the relevant information to Professor Chen.
And so, tonight's dinner party came about!
But Sun Xuewu never expected that Professor Chen would actually invite such a great figure as Li Yang!
No, it is the true God!
At this moment, Sun Xuewu was extremely excited.
The mission that the Feng family has carried for hundreds of years may truly be accomplished in his hands!
After hearing Sun Xuewu's plan, Hu Bayi took a deep breath. "Professor Sun, you are truly cunning. Your plan is so meticulous that we almost got sold out and ended up counting the money for you!"
Sun Xuewu looked ashamed and apologized, "I'm so sorry. My brother repeatedly told me not to tell anyone that I was the successor of Guanshan Taibao!"
"Therefore, I can only conceal my identity and secretly devise a plan in order to have any hope of opening the entrance to the Earth Immortal Village with your help!"
"If it weren't for the story that Comrade Li Yang just told, and then directly revealing my identity, I wouldn't have been able to expose myself."
Hu Bayi pondered for a moment and quickly understood Feng Xuewen's intention.
"Your brother is worried that once you reveal your identity as the Guanshan Taibao, some tomb raiding families or sects will cause you trouble!"
"After all, with the support of the Ming Dynasty emperor, Guanshan Taibao once carried out a large-scale crackdown on other tomb-raiding schools. There must have been some deep-seated hatred between them!"
Sun Xuewu nodded, "That should be it!"
Then he looked at Li Yang, pleading earnestly, "Comrade Li Yang, please help me! Help the Feng family! Get rid of this scourge, Feng Shigu!"
"If the Corpse Demon is allowed to appear and wreak havoc on the region, the sins of my Feng family will be even greater!"
Li Yang looked at Shirley Yang and asked, "What do you think?"
Shirley Yang pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded, "If you are strong enough to deal with that corpse demon, let's go!"
"With great power comes great responsibility!"
Li Yang was taken aback. "Where did you hear that phrase?"
Shirley Yang smiled slightly and explained, "My father has a close friend named Benjamin Parker, and this is a famous quote he often uses. I'm just using it here!"
What the hell!
There's actually a Ben Parker in this world!
Spider-Man's uncle?
Li Yang grinned. If the Marvel storyline still existed in this world, then his current strength was not enough!
We must find a way to increase our strength!
Thinking of this, Li Yang turned to Hu Bayi and asked, "Brother Hu, what do you think?"
Hu Bayi shrugged. "Sure, I'm curious to see just how many interesting things Immortal Village has!"
"Let's go to the South China Sea first to try some seafood, collect some pearls while we're at it, then retrieve the Guixu Divination Mirror and go to the Earth Immortal Village to investigate!"
"Me, Fatty, and Little Brother, the three of us are the Iron Triangle. If we add that, the four of us are the Four Heavenly Kings. If we add Miss Yang... then it's a five-pointed star!"
"With the stars guiding us, this tomb raiding adventure is sure to go smoothly!"
After eating and drinking his fill again, Fatty Wang let out a burp and patted his chest, guaranteeing, "With Fatty here, that Guixu Divination Mirror and that damned Corpse Immortal are all within our grasp!"
Zhang Qiling remained silent, only occasionally glancing curiously at Li Yang.
Shirley Yang even suspected that this guy had a crush on Li Yangtie!
Lei Xianming tried hard to make his presence known, "Heroes, count me in! Don't forget I'm the sponsor of this expedition!"
And so, the group agreed to set off for Guixu in the South China Sea three days later!
The group traveled light and headed straight for the South China Sea!
Lei Xianming, as expected of a veteran sea wolf who had been active in the South China Sea for more than a decade, easily found a smuggling ship and took everyone to a small island called "Coral Temple".
Coral Temple is a must-pass place on the way to the Coral Spiral Sea. It was originally an unnamed island, but it got its name because there is an ancient coral temple on the cliff on the south side of the island. Legend has it that it was a relic from Zheng He's voyages to the west.
Coral Temple Island is surrounded by the sea and located in international waters, so it is not under the jurisdiction of any country and has become a no-man's-land.
Nearly a hundred households on the island make a living by fishing and pearl harvesting. Because many ships have sunk in the nearby waters over the years, they also salvage some antiques and cultural relics.
Coral Temple Island was a stop on the ancient Maritime Silk Road, and there are many shipwrecks from the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
This is why many antique dealers from around the world, as well as professional salvage teams, come here.
So although Coral Temple Island is not large, it is home to thousands of people year-round, making it quite lively.
Lei Xianming was clearly very familiar with the place, and introduced it to Li Yang and his group, who found everything new and interesting:
"This Coral Temple Island is a melting pot of all sorts of people. It's not just home to local fishermen, but also antique dealers, black market traders, and even people who have committed crimes in their own countries and fled here!"
"There are no good people here. People who sail the seas are always lawless and fiercely competitive. You all must be careful!"
"Furthermore, mobile payments are useless here; the US dollar is the hard currency. However, as our country grows stronger, the RMB is also very strong!"
"But one thing: never flaunt your wealth on the street, otherwise someone might try to make a profit without any investment!"
Lei Xianming was referring to robbery and theft.
After all, Coral Temple Island does not belong to any country and is not bound by any law. It only has a loose Tanka people's association and is basically without any constraints.
In this regard.
Li Yang, Hu Bayi, and the others were not surprised.
Lei Xianming led everyone on a tour of the island's only market, which was quite an eye-opener!
Besides fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, eggs, and dairy products, the market is filled with all sorts of things that fishermen haul up from the sea – a truly diverse array.
Porcelain, weapons, spices, timber, ancient coins, statues... and even unopened vintage wines salvaged from shipwrecks!
The tomb raiders call the treasures in ancient tombs "mingqi" (明器), and things retrieved from the sea also have names. In folk slang, they are collectively called "qingtou" (青头), and the transaction of qingtou is called "jie qingtou" (接青头).
The market was also filled with counterfeit goods. Big Gold Tooth, who came with him, browsed through a dozen stalls with great interest, then returned to the group with a sour face.
Fatty Wang asked curiously, "Brother Jin, what's wrong with you? You're acting like someone owes you two or three hundred thousand!"
Big Gold Tooth sighed, "Fatty, I just took a quick look around, and more than half of the things here are fakes, while the rare genuine items are ridiculously expensive!"
"I was hoping to snag a bargain, get a batch of good stuff, and make a fortune in Beijing, but now it seems like that's out of the question."
Lei Xianming, standing to the side, chuckled and said, "There's definitely nothing good here. It's just a place to scam clueless idiots!"
"Some of the good stuff has definitely been snapped up by local bullies beforehand. They'll only sell it to regular customers, or if you offer a high enough price!"
Coral Temple Island is close to the equator and has a relatively hot climate. After walking around the streets for a while, everyone was tired and hot, so they found an open-air pub on the side of the street and decided to have something to drink to cool off.
The tavern was so shabby that calling it bare-walled would be an understatement, since it had no walls at all!
A long bar counter was built from old wooden crates, and the tavern seats were also made of wooden crates, surrounded by ropes, with dried fish hanging on top.
Behind the simple bar was a long cabinet with all kinds of alcoholic beverages on it. Li Yang even saw Tsingtao Beer and Snow Beer on it, placed in a relatively conspicuous position.
Besides these, there are all sorts of other kinds of green heads!
Big Gold Tooth glanced at them and instantly became interested, then quietly moved closer to Li Yang and Hu Bayi.
"Master Li, Master Hu, I just took a look around, and although the green tea displayed in this tavern isn't top-quality, it's all old stuff that's been around for years!"
"The shop owner here must be the local tyrant Uncle Ming mentioned. He should have some good stuff. Shall we consider it?"
Li Yang wasn't interested, but Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang were.
After all, they set up stalls in Panjiayuan, and they need to have some really good stuff to attract customers. Getting a batch of high-quality green tea would be a good choice.
The tavern owner was a middle-aged man surnamed Wu. He was dark-skinned but looked strong and powerful. Because he was lame, the locals called him "Bai Wu" (meaning "Lame Wu").
Bai Wu's demeanor and mannerisms clearly indicate that he is an old sea wolf who has spent many years dealing with the ocean.
When Bai Wu learned that Li Yang and his group came from China, he was very enthusiastic because he was also Chinese. His ancestors had served in the Qing Dynasty navy and, during the Republic of China era, made a living on the sea by doing some low-cost business.
Because he was shot in the leg and became disabled, Bai Wu could no longer do business without capital, so he had to drift to Coral Temple Island and make a living by selling alcohol.
However, his true identity is that of a black market dealer. Antique dealers from all over the world would buy green jade from him.
The people on the island would also buy some scarce supplies from him.
Hu Bayi and Da Jinya quickly became close with Bai Wu, preparing to buy a batch of greenheads from him.
Li Yang didn't care, because if the group wanted to go to Coral Spiral, they needed a ship that could navigate that dangerous sea area!
This matter ultimately falls to Bai Wu.
Only that extremely special Ghost Willow ship can freely navigate the Coral Spiral Sea.
Shirley Yang invited Li Yang to take a walk around the island together.
Coral Temple Island is an island with azure seas and skies, boasting a southern landscape and some exotic charm. Aside from a few safety concerns, it is a popular tourist destination.
The two explored most of the island before returning to the market.
Shirley Yang took a fancy to a floral wreath necklace at a witch's stall. It was a unique amulet made of the sea.
Shirley Yang was about to pay for it when the witch suddenly grabbed her hand.
“Every ship will be swallowed by death, and when the shadows climb the second step, two souls returning from the sea will roam here!”
Just as the witch finished speaking, two people carrying two bodies that had perished at sea passed by the market, and the shadow on the altar happened to climb to the second step!
Shirley Yang was shocked, recalling the dinner party a few nights ago.
Hu Bayi brought Li Yang and her along to the South China Sea Ruins to search for the Ruins Mirror and gather pearls because he received a very ominous divination from Chen Yulou!
Could it be that the South China Sea Ruins and even Li Yang are powerless against this danger?
Just as Shirley Yang was feeling uneasy, Li Yang came over carrying two fresh coconuts, which had already been punched in and had straws inserted.
Li Yang handed a coconut to Shirley Yang, and seeing that she looked a little upset, asked, "What's wrong?"
Shirley Yang then recounted what the witch had just said.
"Does this foreshadow danger on our trip to the South China Sea?"
Li Yang looked at the witch, pulled out a handful of US dollars from his pocket, casually scattered them on the stall, and said with a smile: