“What is that fellow Lao Jiu doing? Does he not know that making firelight at night easily attracts attention? And it has been staying lit!”
Yu Qing muttered curses as he passed by Nan Zhu. Although the people inside the room tried to block the firelight with their bodies, those outside could still clearly see the brightness on the inner walls. He had to pause his work and go over to see what was happening.
Nan Zhu, who was re-piling and camouflaging the gold sand, turned to look and also saw the firelight inside the room. He was similarly surprised, wondering what Lao Jiu was up to.
Just then, the firelight inside suddenly went out. Mu Aotie emerged from the room and waved at the two people outside under the moonlight, signalling them to hurry over.
Yu Qing, who was walking over, and Nan Zhu, who was crouching by the gold sand, both paused for a moment, then quickly approached.
As soon as they met, Yu Qing immediately questioned, “Lao Jiu, what are you doing? Lighting a perpetual flame, are you afraid others cannot find us at night?”
Nan Zhu, waddling over with his corpulent frame, asked curiously instead, “Lao Jiu, what is wrong, what is wrong?”
Mu Aotie said nothing, turned back into the room, and waved again, signalling them both to come inside.
Yu Qing and Nan Zhu exchanged a glance, realising there was something significant, then quickly followed.
After they entered the room, Mu Aotie even closed the two iron doors. Although the window frames all around had long lost their coverings and light shone through everywhere, making closing the door somewhat ineffective, he still closed it, proving he was not unaware that firelight could be discovered.
“Here.” Mu Aotie beckoned the two to the table and blew to reignite the flame. What came into everyone’s view was still the skull sitting opposite them, which seemed to be watching them as well.
Following Mu Aotie’s direction, the gazes of Yu and Nan fell upon the assembled jade page document on the table. Both froze, stared carefully, and were immediately captivated by the written content.
Nan Zhu murmured character by character in puzzlement, “To the Supervisor, I respectfully report: The cloud lake landscaping, the golden pavilion rising above the waves, is by immortal decree. The work… is urgent. This subordinate will absolutely not… cause delay. However, the gold… has unexpectedly shown anomalies. Entry and exit are strictly controlled. The gold materials… are thus delayed. I hope the Supervisor will understand clearly. The first… shipment of twenty million jin of gold sand, dispatched with Xiao Shan for escort, to report to the Supervisor… for verification. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the escort… horses will proceed to the Golden Ruins again. Direct passage is not possible. The Golden Valley… has been sealed below. One must first find the halberd-bearing… guards outside the valley. Jinyang respectfully reports…”
After Nan Zhu finished reciting to himself, there was a long silence. All three stared blankly at the content on the jade page document. Yu Qing and Nan Zhu were clearly stunned.
Mu Aotie, having already been stunned once before, reacted and looked at the two others, “Does the Golden Ruins written here refer to that legendary Golden Ruins?”
Among the several legendary immortal abodes, one was a place called the “Golden Ruins”.
Yu Qing and Nan Zhu’s Adam’s apples bobbed, their mouths feeling somewhat dry.
“I am afraid it is.” Nan Zhu swallowed, then suddenly rubbed his face hard with both hands and looked outside, “No wonder there is a mountain of gold piled up out there. So it came from the Golden Ruins. Twenty million jin of gold sand, good heavens. Legend says the Golden Ruins have countless gold. It seems the legendary Golden Ruins truly bloody well exist!”
Yu Qing stroked his small moustache and muttered, “Legend says within the Golden Ruins there is uncountable gold, a golden spring with flowing gold, and immortal treasures that can preserve youth and grant immortality. If the legendary Golden Ruins truly exist, could the other legends about the Golden Ruins also be true?”
Hearing this, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie felt a momentary daze.
“Perhaps there is no smoke without fire!”
Nan Zhu suddenly swallowed again.
Although this place was the legendary Little Cloud Realm, legend said it was merely a so-called immortal abode. Everyone wanted to find this place to locate immortal relics, but what relics there might be, no one knew. The legendary Golden Ruins were different. Legends specifically mentioned the existence of immortality elixirs there, and secondly, immeasurable vast wealth.
Yu Qing suddenly uttered an “Eh?” and looked at Mu Aotie, “Lao Jiu, those three groups turned the Cloud Palace ruins upside down, not leaving out even a single word of inscription. So many people seemed to have found nothing of value. How did you find this thing?”
They could not understand how to reach the legendary Golden Ruins, but it was clear that this jade page document contained clues to finding the Golden Ruins. For those who understood, it would be extremely valuable. If this fell into the hands of those three major powers, given their capabilities and influence, the possibility of them finding it was quite high.
Nan Zhu casually added, “Those three groups, even if they found something valuable, would hide it and not let the other two groups know. Who knows if they have found anything?”
Mu Aotie pointed at the skull opposite, “I did not search much. I just stepped on it under the table and chairs, then picked it up to look, and stumbled upon it.”
Yu Qing frowned, “Have you not noticed? That Cloud Palace was cleaned very thoroughly, almost without a single furnishing left. It must have been cleared out before it collapsed. And this room was actually also cleaned very thoroughly, with almost nothing left, almost like that Cloud Palace. How could this important clue have been left behind for you to find? Do you not find that strange?”
Nan Zhu hummed in agreement and nodded, “Correct. Look, the reason this table and chair were not cleared away, I estimate, is because this person had some status in life, so they left him a little dignity. Otherwise, he would probably have been left exposed in the wilderness like the skeletons outside.”
Mu Aotie thought for a moment and pointed at the arm of the skeleton opposite, “Judging from the position of the fragments, the jade page document seems to have fallen and shattered from his hand. The number of cracked pieces is small, and it is relatively intact, which matches the height of a fall. If it had truly been smashed with force or dropped from a greater height, the degree of fragmentation should have been more than this.
Look at the colour of the jade pieces. They are black, matching the colour of this ground. Perhaps, it is not that no one cleaned it, but that no one noticed. Later, it was buried by accumulated dust, making it even harder to see. Look, there is nothing on the table. If the jade page document had been placed on the table at the time, we might truly have been unable to see it.”
Speaking, he stared again at the skull opposite, “I feel he seems to have died very suddenly. Perhaps he was reading this letter when he died. That pile of gold sand outside might have just been delivered. Look at the content of the letter. Do you not feel this fellow might possibly be the Supervisor mentioned in the letter?”
Yu Qing turned to look above the doorway and muttered, “Cloud Supervisor…”
Prompted, Nan Zhu also pondered, “The construction overseer or the person specifically in charge of urging and supervising in Little Cloud Realm. When constructing something, could this supervisory lodge also be placed at the construction site at any time?”
He lifted his chin towards the content on the jade page document, “The cloud lake landscaping, the golden pavilion rising above the waves, is by immortal decree… This is saying that the Cloud Fairy wanted to build a golden pavilion on the lake, so they brought a large amount of gold sand from the Golden Ruins. Comparing it like this…” He glanced at the skull sitting in the chair opposite, “This fellow really could be that so-called Supervisor from the letter.”
“Is our luck this good?” Yu Qing looked around, “I just feel it is a bit too coincidental.”
Nan Zhu snorted, “You fellow have become more and more suspicious. The accumulated dust on that pile of gold sand outside could grow grass. This house has obviously been here for many years. The characters on this jade page are clearly ancient relics. The jade page is so brittle it has cracks. It is almost weathering away in the room. How could this be easily faked in a short time? Besides, whose luck is this? This is clearly Lao Jiu’s luck. Stop trying to take credit for yourself.”
His gaze fell on the jade page text again, and he stroked his chin while muttering, “Golden Valley, halberd-bearing what guards, what is all this? Have you heard of it?”
Mu Aotie shook his head. Yu Qing mused, “I am afraid we will need to find someone to ask.”
Nan Zhu immediately widened his eyes, “Young man, do not be impulsive! No, I mean, stop asking around blindly, alright? Look at the mess you made at the Wen family. Almost the whole world knew we went to Shiji Bay. After being servants for so long, still hiding and dodging all the way like silly birds. Thinking about it now, it is just a huge joke.
Hiding for so long on a mountain peak in a remote wilderness, then suddenly being surrounded by over a thousand people, and bloody well three major forces joining hands to encircle us together. What virtue or capability do we have to deserve that? Do you know how bewildered I was then? I have never been so bewildered in my life!
Lao Shiwu, this kind of thing, really cannot have any more wind leaked to the outside. Look, we cannot take that pile of gold sand outside anyway. In Little Cloud Realm, we could only eat a few peaches. The big benefits were all handed over to others. Fine, our strength is not as good as others, our own handling was not secure. We accept this loss in Little Cloud Realm, we accept it! But the Golden Ruins cannot have any more slip-ups. If we hold steady, we will be the wealthiest people in the world. That is the legendary Golden Ruins. Cultivation resources could last us for several lifetimes.”
Yu Qing sighed, “Besides being fat, all you have left is verbosity.”
Smack! Nan Zhu suddenly slapped the table with his palm, right on the assembled jade page document. Dust rose in all directions.
He slowly raised his hand. The jade page document had been smashed into fine crumbs by his single palm strike.
Yu Qing widened his eyes, “You dead fatso, have you gone mad?”
Mu Aotie was also stunned. Such an important thing, just smashed away with one palm?
Nan Zhu, however, was unconcerned. He patted the dust from his palms and spoke calmly, “Look at your inexperienced appearances. Why panic? It is fine. The important parts, we just remember in our hearts. Remember that Golden Valley and the halberd-bearing what guards, that is enough. The rest is not important.
The key is that this thing cannot be kept. If others see this thing, the whole world will explode.
The Golden Ruins, preserving youth, immortality. If those emperors or powerful figures found out, would they not go frantic? If various powers become agitated, annihilating nations would be enough. We probably would not survive either. Even looking at it a few more times is a sin. It cannot be kept!” He reached out and wiped away the crumbs on the table.
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie were utterly speechless.
Seeing this fat fellow about to continue lecturing, Yu Qing quickly raised his hand to stop him, “Stop the verbosity. Fine, you are right, alright? Also, stop dreaming beautiful dreams. Being able to leave Little Cloud Realm alive is the premise for everything. Wipe your own backside. Hurry and fix the trouble caused by that pile of gold sand outside of yours. Everyone continue tidying up. Finish tidying and leave quickly. If we dawdle any longer, dawn will break!”
Mu Aotie casually extinguished the flame.
“Golden Valley, such a conspicuous, such a vulgar place name, should not be hard to find, right? How come I have never heard of it? Do not tell me it is another ancient place name from several thousand years ago?”
Nan Zhu muttered to himself as he walked out the door.
“Shut up! Are you not trying to keep secrets? What are you shouting about blindly?”
Yu Qing behind him cursed loudly, with an impulse to kick him on the backside.