The thorn in his heart had not yet been pulled out. No matter what anyone said about longevity being better than money, he absolutely would not accept it.
At such a young and tender age, he would not usually think about old age. It was more practical to look only at the present.
“…” The little martial uncle was left speechless. He slowly raised his head to look at the sky and sighed. “Alas, senior brother, it seems even your spirit in heaven cannot rest in peace.”
Yu Qing now had his mind set on earning a large sum of money and did not want to waste time on useless talk. His thoughts returned to the painting as he said, “Live in the same chamber, die in the same grave. Martial uncle, do you think this same grave place could be a tomb?”
The little martial uncle nodded slightly. “That is possible.”
Yu Qing asked, “Whose tomb? Whose same grave place? It is obviously the person who made the treasure map. So as long as we find out the origin of this treasure map and know who the original owner was, we can find a way to locate his tomb. The first step now is to figure out the origin of the treasure map. I originally thought Ah Shi Heng might know, but he has already left.” He looked regretful.
The little martial uncle raised his eyebrows slightly and roughly understood why this fellow had suddenly sneaked back. It turned out he had come to find Ah Shi Heng for information.
After figuring it out, he asked in return, “Have you not already learned who the owner of the treasure map is?”
Yu Qing was surprised. “How would I know?”
The little martial uncle said, “Did you not say that Zhong Su told you it came from the ‘Guanfeng Yang ancient tomb’?”
“He did say that…” Yu Qing paused, looking doubtful. “The owner of the treasure map is the owner of that ancient tomb, Guanfeng Yang?”
The little martial uncle slipped both hands into his wide sleeves, clasped them in front of his abdomen, and paced back and forth. “It should be him. I have also heard the Jianghu rumours about the ‘Cloud Map’ before. Legend has it that in ancient times there was an immortal cave dwelling called ‘Little Cloud Chamber’. Before the immortal returned to the immortal realm, he dismissed his serving maids.
One of the serving maids was named ‘Yun Xi’. After returning to the mortal world she married a general, and that general was Guanfeng Yang.
It is said that only on her deathbed did the maid reveal to Guanfeng Yang that she had served the immortal of Little Cloud Chamber. She left him a painting and calligraphy, saying it was a map leading to Little Cloud Chamber. If he could decipher it, he could find the immortal’s cave dwelling.
It seems that a change of dynasty happened to occur. Before Guanfeng Yang could go look for the immortal’s cave dwelling he died in battle. His loyal trusted generals secretly buried him. The rumour is that the ‘Cloud Map’ was buried with Guanfeng Yang. It is said that finding Guanfeng Yang’s tomb would lead to finding the ‘Cloud Map’.
Later the Sinan Prefecture somehow learned the news and found out that Guanfeng Yang’s tomb was in ‘Jianyuan Mountain’. They carried out large scale excavations, probably the one that Ah Jiezhang participated in.
It is said that many demons and evil beings occupied the ancient tomb. The Sinan Prefecture suffered heavy losses that time and found nothing. Now it seems that they actually found the ‘Cloud Map’ during that excavation, but Ah Jiezhang secretly took it away. This Ah Jiezhang hid it really deeply and even deceived the Sinan Prefecture.”
He looked at the painting on the table again. “To obtain longevity, the same grave place. Comparing it with the legend, it really matches. It looks like the message that ‘Yun Xi’ left for ‘Guanfeng Yang’.”
Yu Qing savoured the story, nodded in agreement with his martial uncle’s explanation, and quickly asked, “Then where is their ‘same grave place’?”
The little martial uncle turned to look at him. “Are you ill? How would I know where their same grave place is?”
Yu Qing gave a dry laugh. “Martial uncle, are you not knowledgeable and experienced?”
The little martial uncle scoffed. “If this painting and the legend are both true, these eight characters from Yun Xi were clearly meant for Guanfeng Yang alone. Only Guanfeng Yang would know where their couple’s same grave place is.”
Yu Qing asked doubtfully, “Could it be inside the ancient tomb where Guanfeng Yang was buried?”
“It should not be.” The little martial uncle thought for a moment and pointed at the painting and calligraphy. “If all this is true, in my view this husband and wife were probably not buried in the same place. If they really were together, what the Sinan Prefecture found that time would probably not have been the ‘Cloud Map’.”
Yu Qing understood the meaning. He tilted his head and stared at the painting. “But… martial uncle, if the rumour is true, do you not find this Yun Xi a bit strange?”
“How so?”
“Just these eight characters. Think about it. Guanfeng Yang should have known where Yun Xi was buried. If he did not know, Yun Xi could not have said this. It is very likely that Yun Xi was buried by Guanfeng Yang himself. That makes it strange. There is a secret about her burial place. Since she wanted to tell her husband, why not tell him directly instead of leaving this puzzle like painting and calligraphy for Guanfeng Yang to figure out?”
“Now that you mention it, it is a bit strange. Perhaps this is why Guanfeng Yang could not be buried together with his wife in the same grave, because he never solved the puzzle. Or perhaps his wife’s burial place was hidden, and after he died in battle his subordinates did not know the location and could not bury them together.”
Yu Qing immediately asked, “Where is ‘Jianyuan Mountain’ where Guanfeng Yang’s ancient tomb was discovered?”
The little martial uncle thought for a while. “It is within Luan Prefecture in the eastern part of Jin Kingdom. The mountain is within the demon realm. It is said that when the Sinan Prefecture went in to excavate they first communicated with the demon realm side. At the beginning the excuse was that the Jin Kingdom court was mining. Only after trouble arose was it discovered by the demon realm.”
Yu Qing asked, “What is the terrain like there?”
“I have never been there. How would I know the terrain…” As the little martial uncle spoke he seemed to realise something.
Yu Qing pointed at his own forehead. “Martial uncle, think carefully again. The human realm’s boundaries have basically expanded gradually. If the ancient tomb’s location is now within the demon realm, the possibility that it was not within the demon realm back then is very small. Leaving aside why Guanfeng Yang’s subordinates would bury him in such a place, what about the demons and evil beings in the ancient tomb? An ancient tomb that can hide so many demons and evil beings probably has no small underground space. How could that be a burial site chosen temporarily after Guanfeng Yang’s death?”
The little martial uncle raised his eyebrows. “You suspect that the couple has already been buried together and that Guanfeng Yang’s ancient tomb is the so called same grave place?”
“Exactly.”
“These are all your guesses, while the people from the Sinan Prefecture have actually surveyed the site. With their strength, if there was any problem would it be left for you to discover?”
“Not necessarily. Did not the Sinan Prefecture fail to know that Ah Jiezhang had swallowed the ‘Cloud Map’?”
“What are you planning? You would not really want to go treasure hunting, would you?”
“Since it is a treasure, why not seek it? Now that we have seen through the mystery in the treasure map, would it not be a waste to sit by and ignore it? Martial uncle, if the legend is true, the way Yun Xi left the painting looks suspicious no matter how you look at it. Why do we not join hands and find this blessed land?”
The little martial uncle pointed at his own nose. “You want me to go do this with you?”
Yu Qing exclaimed in surprise, “Martial uncle, this is such a good thing. If it were someone else I would not even tell them the secret of the treasure map.”
The little martial uncle casually flicked the painting and calligraphy on the table, knocking it straight onto the ground. “Have you forgotten the sect rules? Unless absolutely necessary, there must be a true disciple stationed in the temple. If the two of us both run off to the demon realm to take risks and do the same thing, if anything happens do you want Linglong Temple to be wiped out?”
This time he was truly a little angry. This behaviour of disregarding everything for money had somewhat provoked him.
Yu Qing fell silent. He could see it too. He bent down to pick up the painting, slowly folded it, and said, “Forget it. Anyway it is not suitable for me to return to the temple now. You stay here to guard it. I will go by myself.” With that he turned to leave.
The little martial uncle’s cheeks tightened. He suddenly spoke, “Stop.”
Yu Qing stopped with his back to him.
The scene fell quiet for a while.
“I said that the place the Sinan Prefecture has already swept through has no meaning for you to go again. Why make a wasted trip? Besides, the demon realm is not somewhere you can just break into.”
“I will find a way to solve that myself.”
“Strictly speaking, inner sect disciples also need to go out for training. Your master left too early and did not have time to arrange your training. Treat this trip as going out into the world for training.”
The little martial uncle had relented. Because he knew he could not stop this fellow, he could not keep guarding him forever. It was better to guide than to block.
Yu Qing immediately turned around, put away the treasure map, and beamed with joy again.
The little martial uncle said, “Take two helpers with you. Two more hands would be good. Choose two of your three senior brothers and leave one in the temple to help me with chores.”
Yu Qing was stunned. He pointed outside and said, “Them? Their skills are not even as good as mine.”
“That is not how it is said. No matter how poor they are, they have wandered the Jianghu for some years and have more experience than you. When away from home it is always good to have your own people to help. As for what you are going to do, there is no need to hide it from them. Tell them openly. They are your own brothers. It is never wrong to have hearts working towards the same goal.”
“Tell them this secret?” Yu Qing was quite shocked.
“What is wrong with that? Every disciple of my Linglong Temple has been carefully selected. There are those without prospects and those who like small advantages, but none have rebellious bones. They are all good. Apart from the inner secrets stipulated by the sect rules, everything else can be shared. If you tell them such a big secret and can trust them, then they can also trust you. They are all from the same sect. There can be some conflicts inside the sect, but outside when things happen we must stand together.”
Yu Qing felt a bit puzzled. It was not that he did not trust the three of them. He just felt it would be better if the financial power of Linglong Temple remained under his own control.
“Let us go.” The little martial uncle called out and opened the door to leave first.
Yu Qing followed helplessly. They headed straight for the open ground in the front courtyard. Before they even arrived they could hear the sounds of fighting and grunting.
On the open ground outside the main hall a bonfire was lit. Three figures were moving back and forth, exchanging blows in practice.
Among the three, the one with ink black beard and hair, large bright eyes and full spirit was named Gao Yunjie. He was Yu Qing’s second senior brother and currently the eldest among the same generation of martial brothers. He had quite an impressive appearance, his speech and manner were usually very steady, and at nearly fifty years old he carried the flavour of years of experience. He always maintained a dignified and righteous look.
Next in seniority was the seventh senior brother, named Nan Zhu. His appearance was average, but his build used up quite a lot of cloth for clothes. He was a big fat man. Normally fat people appear amiable, cheerful and broad minded, but this seventh senior brother was a rare serious fat man. His hands were often crossed over his big belly, his posture straight, and he rarely smiled.
After him was the ninth senior brother Mu Aotie. His facial features were angular, his head square and proper. His eye corners and mouth corners seemed to often carry a cold proud look. He had a tall and sturdy build. When he took off his clothes during training his body was full of bulging muscles that felt harder than stone. He seemed obsessed with martial arts and called himself a “martial arts fanatic”.