“Hey, Old Seventh, stop rolling around. Neither golden nest nor silver nest is your pigsty. Come look over here.”
Yu Qing turned back and shouted, waving his hand toward the house by the lake.
Mu Aotie heard this and walked over first.
Nan Zhu also knew this gold did not belong to him, but he just wanted to prove he had embraced it.
Rolling in a mountain of gold, was that not a life experience? In the future he could also tell his juniors about it.
Hearing there was something else to see, he quickly climbed up from the golden sand. Gold grains were truly falling from everywhere on his body, from inside his clothes, from inside his trouser legs. Finally it hurt his feet, so he walked while hopping about removing his shoes, even pouring gold out from inside his shoes.
Many grains of golden sand were still caught in his hair, flashing under the moonlight. When he reached his two junior brothers, he glanced casually and froze, saying, “Strange. Thousands of years have passed, even that ‘Cloud Palace’ has collapsed. How could such a small house still stand to this day?”
Then he turned back to look at that pile of gold mountain, muttering in confusion, “Why pile a mountain of gold here?”
Facts lay before their eyes. However many doubts they harboured, none outweighed facing reality. The three could not help but walk toward that house.
In the dust-sealed soil beneath their feet, from time to time they would step on things making crackling breaking sounds. Knowing what those things were, they pretended not to know.
When they reached the outside of the house, they discovered it was a two-storey small building, a very small building. Looking through the window lattice, they could tell the internal layout was also very small, without even rooms to the left or right. Above the door where a plaque would hang, there were carved characters, but they could not see clearly against the light.
Moving closer and carefully examining, Nan Zhu said strangely, “Cloud Supervisor… Cloud Supervisor… The ‘cloud between’ of Little Cloud Between and this ‘Cloud Supervisor’ have the same pronunciation. Is there some connection?”
“Ghost knows.” Yu Qing shook his head. He could not guess anyway. Walking to the door, he reached out to push.
Only upon this push did he discover with surprise that it was a metallic texture. The door was naturally very heavy. It took considerable effort to make the metal door emit a deep groan as it opened wide.
Hearing the sound, the other two also realised something was wrong. They immediately came over, intending to feel it with their hands. Who knew that Yu Qing would suddenly retreat, spreading his arms and causing the two of them to retreat urgently as well.
The three flashed outside the door, all gripping their sword hilts.
Only then did Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie discover that inside the door, in the room, there was a table. Behind the table there was a chair. On the chair there was actually a faint human figure sitting, instantly giving them a hair-raising sensation.
“What person?” Nan Zhu shouted.
The person inside the house did not respond. The three gradually noticed something abnormal. A ray of moonlight passing through the inside air window brushed against that person’s head. That person’s head was somewhat strange.
Yu Qing focused his eyes to look carefully. After slightly adapting to the backlight, he roughly made out something. So he moved forward again, reaching the doorway, observing the interior surroundings, carefully stepping over the threshold and entering.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie exchanged a glance, immediately following him, following into the house. While Yu Qing was observing the surroundings, they were still carefully observing that sitting person.
Moving closer, the two suddenly relaxed, discovering it was also a skeleton, leaning against the chair back without falling over. It made them think it was a living person, scaring them badly enough.
Nan Zhu released the sword hilt in his hand, clicking his tongue, “Other people after death were all sealed in the dust of years. Only this fellow is sitting, with a table, a chair, and a house. Does he have somewhat higher status than the other dead?”
He reached out to touch the dust on the table, then suddenly exclaimed, “This table is also iron?”
Along the wall inside the room there was a staircase leading upstairs. Yu Qing was about to go upstairs to look. Hearing these words, he turned back and walked over, also touching the table, knocking with his knuckles, discovering it was indeed iron.
Nan Zhu had already reached one hand under the table, lifting one end with force, “Goodness, very heavy. This is probably not ordinary iron, I fear it is much heavier than gold. What thing is it made of?”
“The chair is also iron.” Mu Aotie had already moved behind that chair, his hand touching the backrest beside the skull.
Nan Zhu let go of the table. When he put it down, there was a “buzz” of vibrating sound.
The three simultaneously looked at their feet, then successively squatted down, hands touching or knocking on the ground, discovering it was also iron.
The three then stood up, dispersing to examine everywhere in the house, even going upstairs.
Upstairs was empty. Perhaps things had once been placed there, but they could not withstand thousands of years of erosion, possibly all weathered away.
Meeting downstairs again, Yu Qing said, “Even the stairs are iron.”
Nan Zhu nodded, “Apart from this table and chair, everything else is integrated with the entire house. Goodness, an iron house refined so lifelike, how much thought must this have taken. Also, this iron seems not to be ordinary iron…” At this point, he drew his sword, about to strike the stair railing with one sword, seemingly wanting to verify.
“Stop!” Yu Qing urgently shouted to halt, “Are you mad? Such a quiet place, you strike this iron thing with a sword, it can be heard several miles away.”
Nan Zhu was stunned, thinking about it, yes indeed. He smiled embarrassedly and sheathed his sword.
“Have you noticed this small house looks somewhat familiar?”
Mu Aotie suddenly came out with such a sentence. Regardless of the puzzled two, he himself walked out first, moving away from the door some distance before turning back, facing the small house to examine it.
Yu Qing and Nan Zhu looked at each other. Old Ninth’s speech was always simple, but this time they truly did not understand. Where was it familiar?
The two completely confused also ran out, one left one right standing beside Old Ninth, following to examine the small house.
Not seeing anything, Nan Zhu could not help asking, “Old Ninth, aren’t houses all about the same? Is it not normal to look familiar?”
Yu Qing frowned, slowly continuing, “He means the ‘Four-Legged House’.”
“The ‘Four-Legged House’ of the Mountain-Porter?” Nan Zhu asked in shock. Then looking again, reminded like this, truly one must say, this house’s abrupt feeling here, plus its internal integrated nature, clearly it was a house that could be moved entirely.
Mu Aotie walked toward the house again, this time to the side of the house, walking to the lakeside and squatting to look under the house.
Yu Qing and the other also hurried over, also squatting to examine.
Only upon looking did they know, this house was half situated in the water, somewhat like a stilt house, indeed supported by pillars at the four corners.
Mu Aotie stepped into the water, taking out a fire starter to light, covering the flame with his hand, sending it under the house to illuminate and observe.
This time they all saw clearly. Under the house there were indeed mechanism structures similar to the Mountain-Porter’s “Four-Corner House”.
Mu Aotie blew out the fire and walked out from the water. The two who had been lying on the ground looking also slowly stood up.
“It really is a ‘Four-Corner House’. In the era when immortals existed, it seems there were no Mountain-Porters yet? Furthermore, for Mountain-Porters, the materials of the ‘Four-Corner House’ are the lighter the better, while the materials of this house are quite unusual, absolutely heavier than gold. Something this heavy, ordinary cultivation cannot even carry it, let alone walk far. At least the three of us certainly cannot carry it.” Nan Zhu, his confusion unresolved, spoke only of how strange it was.
Yu Qing, “The facts before our eyes clearly show that similar things already existed in the immortal era. Perhaps it was the original form of the later ‘Four-Corner House’.”
Nan Zhu used both hands to rub his big belly rounded by peaches, “Mm,” then puzzled again, “Piling a mountain of gold here, and placing this house, what does it mean?”
“Alright, no matter what material this house is refined from, and no matter about the gold mountain, none are as practical as fairy peaches here. The key is we have no ability to take them away. Footprints underground, footprints in the house, skeletons dug out from underground, and the turf pulled off that pile of golden sand, all must be restored and concealed. Cannot let people casually see that someone has been here. Old Ninth, you handle inside. Old Seventh and I will do outside. Finish early and leave early!”
Yu Qing began directing with gestures.
Mu Aotie said nothing, walking toward the house.
The other two walked toward the way they came. Walking past the grassy mound and seeing the golden sand flowing all over the ground, Yu Qing could not help cursing, “Damn fatty, this is all your doing. You restore it yourself.”
Nan Zhu retorted, “Was I not doing it so everyone could see more clearly?”
Yu Qing ignored him, walking straight toward the place where the skeleton was dug out, wanting to restore the scene.
Restoring inside the house was rather simple. Mu Aotie first went to the second floor, circulating his power to sweep out wind, stirring up dust. When the dust settled again, the footprints naturally disappeared.
After finishing above, he went downstairs to handle below.
Passing by that table and chair skeleton, Mu Aotie’s movements were somewhat more careful, maintaining basic respect for the unknown person’s remains, lest the palm wind blow it over.
However, just as he carefully circled to one side of the chair, his feet stiffened, feeling he had stepped on something. Looking down, the light was poor and he could not see clearly. Kicking with his foot, it could move. So he bent down to the ground to feel, seemingly a small stone flake. His fingers touched it, and paused.
He quickly walked to the air window, raising the small stone flake against the moonlight to examine in the diffused dust, discovering the small stone flake was a type of black jade, with “Supervisor Rong” three characters clearly on it. Behind there seemed to be traces of more characters, broken off.
Mu Aotie immediately returned beside the chair, groping on the ground where he found the thing. As expected, he quickly touched more fragments, also touching writing on the fragments.
Raising the fragments in his hand onto the table, he took out his fire starter, lighting it again, covering the flame with his hand to illuminate and examine beside the chair, under the table. Dust was still diffusing, but he could see things on the ground.
Had he not circulated his power to stir things up with palm wind, he truly could not have seen, all covered by the thick dust on the ground.
Big and small, he picked up seven or eight fragments in total, until he could find no more. He then covered the fire starter light and stood up, afterward facing the lake, his back to the door using his body to block the firelight, standing before the table, piecing together the shattered jade fragments.
The firelight illuminated the skeleton sitting opposite. There was accumulated dust on the skull. The dark empty eye sockets seemed to be staring at Mu Aotie’s actions.
It was not shattered too badly, just seven or eight fragments. Comparing them, he quickly pieced together the original form of the jade document, a text emerging from it. Only at the pieced fracture lines, some places were finely shattered, probably caused when it was broken, with many fine bits at the edges right on the characters, causing some characters to be unrecognizable.
However, the opening salutation at the beginning of the text was clearly visible, related to the fragment Mu Aotie first picked up, with one more character added behind, the complete written surface being: Respectfully reported by Supervisor Rong!