Beipai Tomb Raiders Notes

Chapter 586 Asking for help

At around 10:30 that evening, I drove to Datang Town.

The streets are bustling with young people working in the nearby industrial park. They can be seen chatting and laughing in groups of three or four while eating at roadside stalls.

I thought the bookstore was closed at this time, but I didn't expect the door to be still open. The energy-saving lamps in the store were very bright. From a distance, the two doors looked like the gates of heaven emitting white light.

After locking the car, I put the homemade gun that Ma Dachao got on the back of my waist, then lowered the brim of my hat and walked quickly towards the bookstore.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw Xu Tongshan wearing a pair of reading glasses. He was leaning on the glass counter, studying a large copper coin, with a cup of steaming tea next to him.

"Good evening, Godfather."

"What are you doing here?"

"Godfather, the bookstore usually closes at this time, but it's not closed today. It's obvious that they are waiting for someone. I guess that person is me." I said nervously.

"Oh? I just mentioned that I would adopt you as my adopted son, and you took it seriously?"

I nodded and said yes.

He said calmly, "My subordinates know that I like to collect old copper coins. They sent me a batch the day before yesterday. This one looks very special. I can't figure out its exact age. You are quite knowledgeable in this area, so you might want to take a look."

I had no interest in looking at the copper coins, but I didn't dare to refuse, so I took it and took a look.

This is an old copper coin about four centimeters in diameter, with a warm and thick patina. There is no pattern on the back, but the front is embossed with six three-dimensional Buddha statues of different shapes, some sitting cross-legged, and some with their hands folded. This is an old item, but the overall style looks very strange.

"This is not our native copper coin."

"How to say?"

"This is from a foreign country, probably from Java. It's old, dating back to the early Ming Dynasty here. Every household there had the custom of erecting a pagoda, and this coin was probably used to press down the pagoda back then."

"This is indeed from abroad. I thought I had stumbled upon some rare treasure."

"Although it is not a local copper coin, this kind of coin is very rare. It is estimated that there are no more than thirty pieces in existence." I said.

He casually took off his reading glasses, set them aside, and said, "I was injured in my early years and have some physical defects. Over the years, I have adopted several adopted sons, hoping that they would take over when I was old, but in the end, none of them turned out to be capable. As for you, you came here this time just to cram for some last-minute help."

The middle-aged man in front of me was not good-looking and looked like an ordinary bookstore owner.

The actual situation is that, in both the black and white worlds, only a very few people know how terrifying he is. He is a person of the same level as Brother Tian, ​​but he is very different from Brother Tian. He does not have any of Brother Tian's aura.

I said respectfully, "Yes, I'm in trouble this time, so I'm here to ask for help. But to be honest, I've never seen my parents since I was a child. From the first time I saw you, I felt that you looked a lot like my father, whom I've never met."

After hearing this, the other party narrowed his eyes and said, "The world is changing, and the young are formidable. You are truly shameless."

I immediately clasped my fists and said, "I don't want shame, I want my life!"

"I was almost killed! Godfather, you should have found out some inside information a long time ago! But you have been secretly plotting and hiding it from me! Now something's wrong! I want to survive! Who else can I turn to if not you?"

"Oh? How did you know I knew the inside story? Did your master tell you?"

"No, the boss didn't say anything. I guessed it myself."

"You asked me to bring that pot of flowers back to give to the head of the group. That flower is the red spider lily, also known as Lycoris in ancient times. It's a medicinal herb! The hot spring pool at the foot of East Mountain contains the ingredients of that substance. Lycoris is regularly planted in the hot spring pool by the Jiang family, so you must have already found out about the Jiang family behind this."

"You were thinking that if the boss didn't understand what you wanted to convey after receiving the flowers, you wouldn't cooperate with him."

"Did you come up with these on your own?"

"Yes."

"Yes, you are very thoughtful. I think I should reconsider whether to formally adopt you as my adopted son."

"I asked you to bring the flowers back because I wanted to send a signal to the King, but he knew it earlier than I did, a full month earlier."

"Before this incident, I had no idea such a powerful family existed in the small town of Qiandao Lake, so I spent a lot of time digging for clues. I was shocked to find out that the Jiang family holds a wealth that is probably comparable to the church behind me."

"Not only are they rich, but they also have some incredible people in this family. Unlike those lone warriors, you've truly hit a wall this time."

"Godfather, then you should know where the Jiang family's wealth comes from."

He picked up the cup, blew on it, and took a sip of tea. "It's about that treasure. I didn't expect that the legends that have been around for hundreds of years are actually true."

I said, "It's the rebels' treasure. The number is far more than the nine jars and eighteen pots that are said to be there. I guess it's piled up into a mountain, just like the legendary Silver Frame Mountain in Chun'an."

"That batch of treasures carries a curse. All direct descendants of the village chief's family were born with disabilities, either cerebral palsy, lameness, or blindness."

"Do you believe this kind of talk?"

"I believe."

"I'm a professional at this, and I know that things like this exist in the world. Godfather, have you ever seen a moving Yinzi corpse? Have you ever seen a blue potion that can open a dead person's eyes if you give it a sip?"

He raised his teacup and said, "Didn't Tian Sanjiu's girlfriend drink that kind of potion?"

I was a little surprised that he knew that secret. Could it be that Brother Tian had someone close to him?

Certain memories flashed through my mind, and I said in a panic, "We've discovered certain taboos, but those who brought them out of certain places were the rich and powerful! Like the rulers of the Changchun Society back then, and the Jiang family today! If the rebels' treasure is cursed and we take it, our future will probably be the same as the Jiang family's."

He put his hands behind his head, looked at the roof and said, "I believe what you said. Tian Sanjiu's girlfriend did die, and later she did come back to life."

"Her name isn't Ma Zi, she has a name! Her name is Luo Jiashan!"

"Is it important?"

"It's important! She is Brother Tian's beloved Xiao Luo, and she is Aunt Luo whom I respect very much!"

"Okay, I won't argue with you about these insignificant things. But have you ever seen what your Aunt Luo looks like later?"

"I haven't seen it, have you seen it, godfather?"

He nodded. "I didn't see it myself, but someone described it to me. Your respected Aunt Luo became like a crocodile. Tian Sanjiu locked her in an iron cage. In the dead of night, he would stare at her silently until dawn."

My eyes gradually turned red, and I said, "What the hell is a crocodile? When a person dies, he is still a human being. How can he turn into a fish? You didn't see it with your own eyes, you just heard it from others."

He said, "In the past two years, Tian Sanjiu has been unable to make ends meet, and several of the old people around him have disappeared. If the situation continues to develop like this, he will be on the decline in a few years."

"Brother Tian just took over the Wolf Gang, and his staff has grown a lot, so he is spending more than he earns," I explained.

Xu Tongshan wiped his glasses with a rag, pointed at me and said, "As long as that man is still in Shanxi, the Wolf Gang will never be swallowed up by anyone. From my personal perspective, I have no interest in the North. I don't want their strength to be weakened. There is no competition between him and me, only the lips and the teeth."

"Before, my godson had a conflict with the Fujianese because of that small gang in Qiandao Lake. I knew then that you had a special relationship with him. If you have the chance, please persuade him on my behalf."

"I tried to persuade him two years ago, but it was useless. Aunt Luo is gone, and now there's no one who can make Brother Tian obey."

"Even his two uncles couldn't persuade him?"

"What uncle? What's his name?"

"Tian Yue, Tian Di, haven't you seen it?"

I shook my head and said I had never seen him. Brother Tian never told me that he had two uncles.

Xu Tongshan slowly shook his head: "Then there's nothing we can do. People are most afraid of trapping themselves. It seems I have to plan ahead and make plans for the future."

"Boy, Captain Wang and I have already agreed that we will not sit idly by. Besides, you called me godfather twice. Just settle down in the Tang Dynasty. Those people can't touch you here."