Daomu Biji: Restart

Book 3: Chapter 5: The World’s Second Most Valuable Tomb is a Tomb That Destroys Households

I saw a photo of him and Xiao Hua on his cell phone, so I knew that Jin Wantang had really pulled out all the stops this time. I could even see the real grave goods in the photo. It seemed that colleagues in this business really were treated differently from one another. He came to dupe me into going with these A4 papers, photocopies, and photos, but when it came to Xiao Hua, he had to actually bring the grave goods with him.

Moreover, with Xiao Hua's character, if he accepted Jin Wantangs commission and took the number one spot, it meant that the Xie family had investigated and recognized this matter. This would have a huge persuasive effect on the subsequent groups of people Jin Wantang went to hire.

Of course, I was a little upset when I saw this because it was basically a zongheng (1) manipulation technique. And seeing it used on me made me feel like I'd been cheated.

I still had the backbone to just stand by and watch, but I couldnt decide on this matter myself so I looked to Fatty.

At this time, I suddenly found that the atmosphere in the room seemed off. I turned my head and found that Poker-Face had come out of the back room at some point and was squatting on the ground, looking at the skeleton.

I swear, this guy is becoming more and more silent whenever he moves, I thought to myself. I noticed that his hair was a little messy and figured he had just woken up.

"Little Brother, don't look at it. This Jin Wantang is using it to tempt us. This is his fish food and were the grass carp in the pond. Its always like this. I don't want to be a grass carp anymore."

"Fat Master, this is a society run by business. Cant you show a little respect?"

I snorted. The two of them were just on the verge of arguing when Poker-Face said, "I know him."

We all immediately became quiet.

No matter how many times this happened, I always found the feeling very strange. It was a feeling like your friend saying they knew you in a past life.

"Did you find him in Inner Mongolia?" Poker-Face looked up and asked Jin Wantang.

Although there werent any fluctuations in Poker-Face's eyes, Jin Wantangs knees still went soft and he had to hold onto the nearby table, "Yes!"

Poker-Face turned his head and touched the seams on the skeletons skull. "Alright. Those who seek benevolence shall gain benevolence."

"What do you mean? Jin Wantang leaned over.

Poker-Face looked at me, "I have to save them."

Fatty and I still didn't react, but based on what I had learned over the years, there was a huge amount of information behind Poker-Faces words. I instantly broke out in a cold sweat. The front and back halls of our house werent very soundproof, so he must have woken up when I was talking with Jin Wantang earlier. He definitely knew the purpose of Jin Wantang's visit today.

In that case, the meaning behind the words "save them" was very clear.

"Huh? Little Brother, can you clarify?" Jin Wantang was even more confused.

"You mean, the tomb in Inner Mongolia can't be entered?" I asked.

"It cant be entered. Its extremely dangerous. If forty-three teams go down, forty-three teams will die."

"Have you been there before?"

Poker-Face didnt say anything but just went into the back room. I glanced at Fatty and saw that he was looking at me. The two of us were very excited.

Jin Wantang was still standing there. His previous cockiness was gone and had been replaced by a completely stupefied expression on his face. "Ill pack the equipment, Fatty said to me. You take care of Old Jin."

As Fatty went inside to help, my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my throat. This was the first time in recent years that Poker-Face had taken the initiative to do something. Plus, he needed our help to do it. Finally, Im not the one pushing us to do something. Instead, I get to play a supporting role this time.

But I still couldnt take it too easy because Poker-Face had said that it was extremely dangerous. But what did that entail? I had experienced what Uncle Two and Uncle Three considered extremely dangerous, which was, in fact, extremely dangerous. None of those words had been exaggerated at all.

So if Poker-Face said that it was extremely dangerous, did that mean that it was EXTREMELY dangerous for normal people like us? What kind of tomb was it? Was it really the worlds second most valuable tomb? I couldnt even begin to imagine it.

Before I had time to figure it out, Poker-Face and Fatty had already come out with big bags slung over their shoulders. Fatty pushed Jin Wantang, "Walk."

"Im an investor. Ill just sit on the sidelines this time."

"Get moving. Fucking investor, my ass. This time youve dragged those in the Central Plains industry to a dead end," Fatty scolded him. "Little Brother just said that all of these people will die. This is a tomb that destroys households (2)."

We went over to our Jinbei that was parked in the yard. Fatty pulled the shade cloth off of it while saying to Jin Wantang, "After we get in the car, youll tell me the truth. I dont want to hear any shit about a past life." He suddenly seemed to remember something and took the piece of paper with the 44 written on it out of his pocket (I had no idea when he even put it in his pocket). He smeared his saliva on it and then stuck it on the cars windshield.

"Can you persuade them to come back? Just swallow your pride and tell them the job is canceled. If you do it early, maybe a few will be persuaded to come back." I got into the driver's seat.

Jin Wantang showed an extremely embarrassed expression, "These people are all desperadoes and the information I gave is legit. This is the worlds second most valuable tomb. Do you honestly think theyre afraid of death? Let me tell you right now. As soon as those people enter that grassland, theyll all jam the satellite signals so as not to give others the opportunity to track them."

"Call Master Hua," Fatty said. "Hes reasonable."

"Master Hua entered the grassland half a month ago and hasnt been in touch," Jin Wantang said. "The signal on the grassland is particularly poor. Theres only one chance a day to contact people."

The engine groaned as I started the Jinbei. I shifted the clutch and glanced at Poker-Face, who was in his familiar position in the back seat.

"Go," he said to me.

Ok, boss, I said in my heart.

****

TN Notes:

(1) I had to use the pinyin, it didnt translate over well and I couldnt think of an English equivalent at the moment. Its where you get a strong person on board so that everyone will follow. And when other people see that everyone else is going along with it, they jump on the bandwagon as well.

(2) The characters really mean something like no offspring or no descendants. Fatty is basically saying this tomb is going to kill all those people, which will end their families bloodlines if they dont already have kids.