Chapter 74: Main Text Chapter Seventy-Five Gold Fragrant Jade

Main Text Chapter Seventy-Five Gold Fragrant Jade

I was busy looking for a cave opening with airflow, not noticing any smell, when I saw Pangzi standing at the entrance sniffing hard, so I asked: "What smell? The odor in this cave might be the dung of the Hei'e Fu; don't sniff too hard, watch out for poisoning."

Pangzi waved at me and Da Jin Ya: "No, you two come over and smell—it's really damn fragrant; to me it smells just like damn chocolate."

"Chocolate?" Hearing that word, my and Da Jin Ya's worthless stomachs immediately went "gurgle-gurgle-gurgle." How could there be chocolate in this cave? I found it puzzling, but chocolate was an irresistible temptation for the three of us starving wretches; even Da Jin Ya, who had only half a life left, perked up at the word "chocolate," his eyes lighting up. I didn't really want to go over, but my legs kept urging me on, and I took a few worthless steps toward the entrance.

I sniffed the air—there was no chocolate at all—and said to Pangzi: "Are you starving crazy? Or is that the burnt smell of rotting wood from the god temple over there?"

Pangzi said: "How could it be? Get closer—the nearer to the entrance, the stronger this fragrance. Hmm… it's fragrant and sweet. Damn, maybe there's a chocolate cream tree growing in here; let's go in and see if there's anything edible."

Da Jin Ya also smelled it, nodding repeatedly: "Exactly, exactly, it really is chocolate. Lao Hu, hurry and smell—it's coming out of this cave."

Hearing Da Jin Ya say the same, I found it strange, so I stepped closer and took a sniff at the cave mouth. A strong scent of milk mixed with sweet cocoa rushed straight to my head. After smelling this wonderful aroma, my wounds seemed to hurt less, my spirit doubled, my whole body felt limp and comfortable, and I couldn't help exclaiming: "Holy shit, this smells damn good—this aroma… is just like… just like a damn angel's kiss."

The three of them could no longer hold back, lifting their candles and walking into this pitch-black cave. The cave was extremely narrow—only two meters high and three to four meters wide—and the rocks inside were oddly shaped, like the tangled roots of old trees, winding and uneven.

Pangzi, like a fat hunting dog, walked ahead sniffing hard with his nose, seeking the source of that wonderful fragrance, then suddenly pointed at a rock in the cave and said: "It's coming from this." After speaking, he wiped the saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth, almost wanting to pounce and take a few bites.

I set the candle on the edge of the rock and, together with Da Jin Ya and Pangzi, observed it. This large stone resembled a section of a tree trunk, brownish-yellow on the outside, as if coated with a layer of skin paste, with several exposed parts appearing semi-translucent. The stone was covered with cracked, colorful patterns, moist and translucent; when the candlelight shone on it, the patterns seemed to faintly flow, and the rich fragrance emanated from this stone.

Pangzi couldn't resist reaching out to touch it, then placed his finger near his nose and sniffed, saying to me and Da Jin Ya: "Lao Hu, Lao Jin, just a touch with the finger and even the finger turns to chocolate—can this be eaten?"

I had never seen such a strange stone, shaking my head in bewilderment: "Back when I dug pits for years on Kunlun Mountain, I've seen plenty of weird rocks; this looks like a fossilized tree trunk, so it probably isn't edible."

Having been overly frightened and silent for a long time, Da Jin Ya suddenly exclaimed excitedly: "Lao Hu, we've really struck it rich this time—look, isn't this that fragrant jade?"

Pangzi had never heard the term and asked Da Jin Ya: "What? Isn't that the song where Liu Dage's opinions are too biased?"

Da Jin Ya told Pangzi: "Pangzi, what you're referring to is the Chang Xiangyu from Yu opera; I'm talking about this stone, which is fragrant jade, also called gold fragrant jade—it's a treasure."

I asked Da Jin Ya: "Gold fragrant jade—I've heard the saying 'eyes that don't recognize gold fragrant jade, a thousand gold pieces hard to obtain gold fragrant jade.' So this is that kind of stone? I used to think it referred to a beautiful young lady, but having said that, the stone's unique fragrance is absolutely no match for any young woman."

I don't know whether it's the effect of this fragrant jade's wonderful aroma or the sight of money, but the previously listless Da Jin Ya suddenly became spirited and told me and Pangzi: "This item is a royal secret treasure, also once unearthed from tombs; it first appeared in the Qin-Han era, and in ancient times it was rarely seen among the populace, so few people recognize it. Its uses are endless, and the drier the environment, the stronger its fragrance. There once was a poem praising it: 'In the world, no flower has ever spoken; now we see jade producing fragrance; heavenly craftsmanship is hard to fathom, its wonders endless—who can examine them fully?' I myself once owned a piece, dug out from a pot by someone else, but it was pitifully small and cannot compare to this one."

Hearing that it was a treasure, Pangzi hurriedly asked Da Jin Ya: "Old Jin, how much could such a big piece be worth?"

Da Jin Ya replied: "The larger the raw stone of fragrant jade, the more valuable it is; this outer skin is also an extremely precious medicinal ingredient. I estimate that a piece this big, with this quality, is definitely top-grade—at the very least it could be exchanged for an imported small car."

I said to Da Jin Ya: "Mr. Gold, this place is very close to the temple housing that square bronze ding; could this piece of fragrant jade be a burial object?"

Da Jin Ya thought for a moment and told me: "No, I think this is just a natural raw stone. If the outer skin hadn't peeled off a small part, we wouldn't be able to smell it at all. Look at this narrow cave—there's not a trace of artificial chiseling, and the remaining stones on the ground are all twisted like tree roots; I believe these are all naturally formed fossils."

I said: "Looks like it's ownerless. In that case, let's carry it back—who would have thought that trying to plant flowers would fail while casually inserting willows would cause them to grow in rows? Bad luck landing us in an empty tomb, we didn't even dig out half a burial object, but fortunately our ancestral master opened his eyes, so we didn't work in vain; although we suffered many frights this time, we didn't lose out."

Pangzi had been waiting for me to say that, bending over to lift the fragrant jade, but Da Jin Ya quickly stopped him, saying: "Don't hold it like that; find something to wrap it in—if we had some cotton cloth, that would be perfect."

I glanced around—my and Pangzi's bodies were bare naked, our clothes having been burned for light, and Da Jin Ya's pants had been torn off halfway by me; among the three, only he still wore an upper garment whose back was worn through.

We only had a few candles left, and we were all hungry, so we couldn't linger; otherwise we'd want to search nearby for other raw stones or any other fossils.

Seeing that the candle in my hand had burned halfway, I put the candle into the paper lantern, had Da Jin Ya take off his ragged outer coat, and wrapped the fragrant jade as best we could; Pangzi carried it as we retreated from this narrow cave.

When we returned to the large outer cave, we saw that the temple devoted to the human-faced bronze ding had been completely burned to ashes, with only sporadic dark sparks flickering in the charcoal ruins.

In the darkness we could no longer make out our surroundings, and I told Pangzi and Da Jin Ya: "Just now no other Hei'e Fu appeared, but we can't conclude they're all extinct; perhaps their kin were merely scared off by the fire, and now that the blaze has died down, they might still show up, so we mustn't delay any longer—we should quickly find a way out."

Pangzi said: "We can only manage that big ding; bronze shouldn't burn out. Let's go back, eat and drink our fill, bring our gear, and come later to move it. After all those trips overturning pots, we haven't even brought back a single burial object—this would look bad."

Da Jin Ya told Pangzi: "Pangzi, you should just give up on that thing; a human-faced bronze ding probably weighs over a thousand catties, and with us three bare-handed, how could we move it? Besides, even if we brought it back, we couldn't sell it—such items are national treasures, not something ordinary people can afford; only the state can collect them. Better leave it where it is. We've already gotten this huge piece of fragrant jade, which is a windfall, so we shouldn't stir up more trouble."

I and Pangzi both know Da Jin Ya is a mere profiteer, but he's an old hand in the antiquities trade, knowing which antiques and burial objects can be bought and sold; Da Jin Ya keeps a mental ledger. Ding vessels—those brain‑rattling gadgets—are like hot potatoes: no matter how much money you have, they're quick to burn your hands. You may acquire wealth, but you lack the fortune to keep it; even if you earn a lot, in the end it's just a deal that loses your capital, absolutely not worthwhile. So although Pangzi is unwilling and reluctant, he has no choice but to quit.

The three of us, relying on our recent memory, felt our way along the cave walls to the next entrance. I had Pangzi and Da Jin Ya hold their breath, took a small half‑stump of candle from the paper lantern, and aimed it at the opening to test the airflow.

As soon as that half‑stump candle was held at the mouth, its flame immediately tilted sideways away from the cave. I put the candle back into the paper lantern to light it, probed the opening with my hand, and felt no obvious airflow, but the candle's flame leaning showed this passage wasn't a dead end—even if it doesn't connect to the outside, beyond lies a vast space, possibly a tunnel the Hei'e Fu use to go out hunting; as long as air moves, we have a chance to squeeze out of these caves.

Thus I lifted the paper lantern to lead the way, while Pangzi and Da Jin Ya carried the fragrant jade into this cave. Perhaps the fragrance of the fragrant jade truly works wonders on the spirit; although we were still extremely hungry, we felt energetic and clear‑headed. Having obtained the treasure, we were overjoyed, and after squeezing out of the cave we intended to celebrate heartily.

This cave twisted endlessly, uneven in height, with narrow spots barely allowing one person to pass; further on it became even more winding and steep, consisting entirely of slopes at forty‑ to fifty‑degree angles.

As I walked through the cave, I suddenly felt a chilly draft blowing in my face, raising goosebumps on my skin. I called to Pangzi and Da Jin Ya to hurry, thinking we were near the exit, and after taking just a few more steps, the front suddenly brightened—there was an earthen cave connecting to the outside. I poked my head out, saw no one left or right, and the three of us crawled out naked. Just as we emerged, Pangzi behind me suddenly said: "Lao Hu, what's with a human face growing on your back?"/