Chapter 94

Main Text Chapter Ninety-Five Iron Chain

Besides me and Shirley Yang, the militia platoon leader also brought two militiamen into the depths of the cave; we suddenly saw the chain vertically plunging into the pool tremble, and we all instinctively stepped back several paces.

There was no wind in the cave, no ripples in the pool; how could such a heavy chain tremble on its own? Could the thing hanging from the massive chain beneath the pool be a living creature? What kind of creature would need to be bound with such a thick chain?

I glanced at Shirley Yang; she too looked bewildered and shook her head at me. I asked myself I had encountered countless strange things in my life and had seen some oddities, but facing this underground pool and the thick iron chain, I could find no clue. However, since Professor Sun's whereabouts were at stake, the only option was to risk pulling the iron chain up to see what lay below.

At this moment, the militiamen began to grow nervous. Since ancient times, the people of the land of Three Peace have been fierce and bold; even if these militiamen, drawn from local farmers, were faced with enemies armed with live ammunition, they might not retreat, but their superstitious beliefs, ingrained over thousands of years, run deep. Moreover, before descending into the cavern, the villagers had been gossiping endlessly about all sorts of things; now, seeing this strange situation firsthand, the militiamen naturally could not help but suspect spirits and ghosts.

The militia platoon leader said to me, "Chief Qian… no, no… Chief Hu… Chief Hu, is this watery puddle perhaps locking up some monster? We must not disturb it, or else our village will suffer disaster." The other two militiamen also said, "Yeah, yeah, it's probably sealing a Yellow River monster; don't act rashly, lest we bring disaster upon ourselves."

I heard the militiamen speaking to me, my eyes never idle; I had to find some reasons to convince them, otherwise they'd all be scared off, leaving only me and Shirley Yang—what could we accomplish then?

I looked around. Stone Stele Village is a small basin not far from the Yellow River; I've never been wrong about feng shui, so there definitely won't be any noble tombs here. Although the environment is excellent, even call it an immortal's grotto, the groundwater is too abundant—no one would be foolish enough to build a tomb here.

The wide passageway and the stone house at its end don't look like a tomb chamber; I'm only familiar with ancient tombs, not other ancient architecture. However, the stone bed in the stone house is somewhat peculiar. In ancient tombs there are two kinds of stone beds: one for placing the tomb occupant's coffin, called a burial bed; the other for displaying funerary objects, called a spirit platform. The stone bed in the stone house resembles more a spirit platform for placing objects.

This cave has a small pool entrance; reaching here means it's a dead end, with no side passages or hidden tunnels. Professor Sun and another archaeological team member must have entered this cave, yet there's no trace of them—could they have met with some mishap and fallen into the pool?

The cave shows clear signs of artificial excavation and expansion, though its scale is not large. Several thick iron chains pass through the cave ceiling and connect to a winch in the corner; obviously they can be raised and lowered, so the iron chains in the pool can be pulled up. I reached out and touched the chain—it is indeed iron, but its outer layer is coated with anti‑rust paint, giving it a dull, black appearance.

I looked again at the iron chain sinking in the pool; it was still trembling slightly. Such a situation probably wasn't caused by an undercurrent dragging it — there must be something alive down there. Could whatever is tied to the chain be some giant turtle or old dragon? I couldn't possibly tell the militiamen about this; suddenly I recalled the words of the fortune‑telling blind man. That old fellow talked nonsense, but it worked wonders on these villagers, so I might as well fight superstition with superstition — copy his act. Anyway, the urgent thing is to haul whatever's in the pool out and quickly find Professor Sun.

Then, with a determined expression, I said to the militiamen: "Comrades, the moment has come for our country and people to test us. Heads may be cut, blood may flow, but we cannot lose our great, fearless revolutionary spirit. Let's work together and pull that iron chain out of the pool…"

Before I could finish, the militia platoon leader interrupted me: "Chief Lao Hu, my great Chief Lao Hu, we mustn't pull, we absolutely mustn't! This chain is tied to some old monster in the Yellow River — such a tremendous affair we dare not undertake lightly."

To be honest, I wasn't sure either, but I had to appear calm and assume the air of a commander. I said to the militia platoon leader: "Platoon leader comrade, don't you remember what that famous fortune‑teller said? The blind man in your village is a reincarnation of Jiang Taigong, Liu Bowen, and Zhuge Liang — he knows the past eight thousand years and the future five hundred. He said this place is an immortal's grotto, and I think he's right. I've seen this description in ancient texts. Whatever fell into this pool must be the incense burner Laozi used to make elixirs; inside are immortality‑granting, disease‑free divine medicines. We are surely the first to discover these immortals' pills, and according to international convention we should… should…"

Internationally, whoever first discovers something seems to gain some right, but I couldn't recall what it was, so I quickly asked Shirley Yang: "What is that international convention again?"

Shirley Yang said for me: "According to international convention, the first discoverer enjoys the naming right."

Hearing that only naming rights were involved, I went on to the militiamen: "Comrades, do you understand naming rights?" I pointed at one of them: "For example, brother, if your name is Li Dazhuang, then as long as you agree, the elixir we found can be called Dazhuang Pill. Once our nation's scientific workers mass‑produce this elixir and benefit the people, we will have rendered great service to the Party and the people. Most importantly, it's first come, first served — we five were the first to find it, so each of us can try a few pills first; I've decided this myself."

The three militiamen were left dazed by my talk, looking at each other. First, they fully believed the blind man's words when he spoke above; second, they were enamored of the vain glory of establishing merit; third, who wouldn't want a handful of the immortality‑granting elixir? But one concern remained uncleared: if what's hanging below the chain is Laozi's elixir furnace, why does the chain sometimes twitch?

I thought to myself, this is bad; the night is long and dreams many. If I let these militiamen keep guessing, my lie won't hold: "Why does the iron chain move? Well, it moves because… because the immortal energy of the elixir in the furnace is flowing. This kind of pill that grants eternal life and cures all diseases — do you think it's like those black, smelly Chinese medicine pills? Every single elixir possesses spirit; after all, it's not an ordinary mundane thing."

The militiamen nodded repeatedly at my words, finding them reasonable. It seemed the thing tied to the chain wasn't some Yellow River sprite but surely Laozi's elixir furnace; they all rolled up their sleeves, ready to get to work.

The militia platoon leader suddenly thought of something, came to my side, and whispered a few words in my ear. After hearing them, I laughed and said to him: "Platoon leader comrade, rest assured — there's no illness the divine elixir can't cure; your little problem is nothing at all. This elixir specializes in treating impotence, inability to sustain erection, not lasting long, premature ejaculation, thin semen, low volume…"

The two other militiamen standing nearby burst out laughing, making the platoon leader blush a little; he shouted at them: "What the hell are you laughing at, you donkey? Get back to work!"

Shirley Yang felt it was a bit risky; she lowered her voice and said to me: "Lao Hu, I think whatever is tied to the chain in the pool is some living thing — isn't it reckless to just yank it out like that?"

While the militiamen went over to prepare to turn the winch, I said to her: "Do you still not trust me? Rest assured, I have only one life just like you — I wouldn't gamble with our safety. I've examined so many situations and never misjudged. Looking at the feng shui here, I'd stake my head on it: there's certainly no ancient tomb, so no need to worry about zombies. Besides, the natural setting is superb; it's not some deep mountain forest, so there likely aren't any ferocious beasts. Even if there were, the chain holds them and we have rifles for self‑defense — what's there to fear? If Professor Sun is down there and we delay, we'd be jeopardizing his life; of course acting now might already be too late, but let's leave it to fate."

Shirley Yang said: "It's not that I don't trust you; it's that you've never done anything to make me feel at ease. You can't talk right to those villagers, yet you insist on spouting nonsense about immortality‑granting elixirs — I think you're even less reliable than that fortune‑telling blind man. If later we pull up the chain and find no elixir, I'd like to see how you explain it to them."

I said to her: "I don't have the blind man's talents; that old fellow can calculate on his fingers and spout nonsense. Now I have no choice — if I didn't say that, the militiamen wouldn't risk their lives. I see that the winch needs at least three people to turn it; just the two of us can't make it budge. If later there's no elixir, you'll have to help me cover up, so I'm not left alone in an awkward spot."

After the militia platoon leader finished preparations and called me over from the side, Shirley Yang and I stopped talking, planted our torches by the pool, each took up our rifles, pulled the bolts, and waved at the platoon leader: "Let's go."

The militia platoon leader, together with two other militiamen, turned the winch as if drawing water from a well, coiling loop after loop of iron chain onto the drum. Unexpectedly, the mechanical design between the winch and the winch handle was so clever that it didn't actually require three people — just one person using eighty percent of his strength could slowly wind the chain into the winch.

As the iron chain submerged in the pool began to rise, Shirley Yang and I, along with the others, felt our palms sweat with nervous tension. Whether whatever lay below was alive or something else would soon be revealed; our mood rose and fell with the slowly ascending thick chain, our hearts lifting along with it.

After the chain had been wound up ten or so meters, we saw the water part slightly and a dark, heavy object emerge from the pool.

The militia platoon leader shouted: "My ancestors! Chief Lao Hu really had it right — I'm afraid it truly is the furnace where Laozi burned his elixir."