Chapter 174: After the Rest

A Ning's team doctor checked our wounds, gave us anti-inflammatory injections and animal disease vaccines, and cleaned and stitched up the longer tears. Fatty's buttock wound was the most severe, forcing him to eat lying on his stomach.

We were starving. Although food was scarce, their guide said that since there was moving air here, there must be an exit, so we didn't need to worry too much. We ate a lot of sugary food, and as various parts of our bodies regained sensation, the pain got worse and the itches got itchier, making it very uncomfortable.

Third Uncle was still delirious, but his high fever had subsided. Panzi wrapped him in a sleeping bag and kept feeding him water.

The hot spring water was inexhaustible, and we all used it to wash ourselves. The environment here was far from pleasant, but I felt that wiping myself down like this felt like being an immortal.

During that time, I told them everything I had seen without holding anything back. The others listened in silence and made no comments. As for those foreigners, this time they had witnessed the mysterious and sinister side of ancient China; it would probably be hard for them to form any new opinions.

One of the animal experts said that the monkey-like monsters living in the strange birds' mouths might be a kind of ancient parasitic relationship, like the pair of wolves and jackals. Perhaps the strange birds couldn't digest food, and the "mouth monkeys" helped them digest it. The birds lived off the monkeys' feces, which is common in the ocean.

I didn't commit to an opinion. Everything that had happened since entering Cloud Summit Palace came too fast for us to catch our breath. I now felt as if I had been dreaming and didn't want to think about these things anymore. This was probably the so-called "war fatigue syndrome." Many Vietnam veterans, after returning from the battlefield, couldn't muster any energy for anything because they had seen the ultimate of humanity on the battlefield. Many of the lies of a good life were too false for them.

Now that Third Uncle was by my side, I felt an unprecedented sense of security. As soon as the old guy woke up, I could learn the truth about everything. And for now, I had plenty of time.

However, in private I made an agreement with these experts: if we could all get out alive, we would share any progress on this matter via email, hoping that in the future we wouldn't have to be in a competitive race to be first.

We rested and regrouped at the spot for half a day. Panzi took a few people deeper into the crevice to scout ahead, and then we set off again, continuing deeper into the mountain fissure.

The cave expert believed that this fissure should have an exit to the surface; otherwise, there wouldn't be flowing air, and the exit must be a wind gap.

I didn't trust him at first, but after walking for nearly a day, we suddenly found our surroundings familiar. When Fatty opened his mouth wide, pointing at the double-layered murals that had peeled off on one side of the crevice, I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The exit of this fissure turned out to be the very rock crevice we had taken shelter from the blizzard while ascending the mountain, the one sealed with stone blocks.

I saw the daily necessities we had left behind, the shallow hot spring. Panzi also gave a wry smile.

Back then, when we came here in full force, we now looked like defeated troops. The excitement and mystery we felt when looking at the double-layered murals and guessing the secrets of Cloud Summit Palace had turned into bitter irony that couldn't be avoided. And at that time, we never imagined that just a few more kilometers along this crevice would lead us to the Nine-Dragon Corpse-Lifting Coffin. We had gone around such a huge circle and lost so many lives.

It was a tremendous irony. Whether this irony was Wang Zanghai's final surprise left for us, or a huge coincidence even he didn't know about, I couldn't tell.

Afterward, we quickly walked out of the crevice. Everyone saw the sun for the first time in a week and was blinded, unable to open their eyes.

Our food was mostly gone, but we had plenty of water and energy. Going hungry for a day shouldn't be a problem. We set a route, and A Ning used a satellite phone to contact doctors and support, saying someone would meet us on the way.

We followed their team slowly down below the snow line. By the time we encountered the mountain rescue team, we were already outside the village of Yingshan.

Then I remembered Shunzi. He hadn't been able to wait for us, so he must have returned earlier. He had helped a lot and deserved his reward.

During our break, we found time to go to Shunzi's house. After knocking for a long time, an old woman opened the door. She must have been Shunzi's mother, a typical Korean woman.

Afraid that Shunzi might not have told her about taking us into the mountains, we didn't mention much, only saying we were looking for Shunzi. His mother looked at me suspiciously, her expression a bit strange, as if she remembered something but couldn't understand. She asked us, "Are you his comrades?"

I glanced at Fatty, and Fatty glanced back at me. We both suddenly felt a piercing chill. May 12, 1999? Four years ago? This memorial tablet had been erected four years ago, meaning Shunzi had died four years ago. Then who was the person we had met?

His mother silently burned incense and mumbled something in Korean. Then we slipped out quietly, our faces pale. Later, when we inquired, it turned out that Shunzi had died in an avalanche four years ago while on patrol. When I told Panzi and the others, everyone broke out in a cold sweat, not knowing what was going on. Fatty cursed, "Damn it, don't tell me that Shunzi was one of those... friends?"

Panzi waved his hand to tell him not to talk nonsense. Everyone felt a chill; it was unspeakable. Fatty thought for a moment and said to us, "Anyway, we can't figure it out. Let's just pretend it didn't happen. When we're done with the current matters, we'll have time to think about the whole story."

Everyone agreed, and we didn't mention this to A Ning's group.

All the wounded were transported by jeep to the nearest hospital for simple treatment, then sent to the Third Hospital of Jilin University. Third Uncle was diagnosed with complications from severe concussion and wound infection, requiring a long period of recuperation. Fatty and I only had external injuries. From then on, I no longer envied Panzi's sturdy, scar-covered body, because I wasn't much less scarred.

Moreover, although I had no idea about Third Uncle's goals and motives, at least I had brought him back, and I felt a certain pride.

Third Uncle had to stay in the hospital for treatment until his condition stabilized. After about half a month of partying happily in Jilin with Panzi, Fatty, and a few foreigners, we each said our goodbyes. I never saw A Ning again. Apparently, she got nothing this time. She might still have a hurdle to face with the board of directors, but that was none of my business anymore.

I was still thinking that if she got fired, I could use such a hardworking employee; that lazy Wang Meng was really not up to par.

Panzi went back to Changsha to clean up the mess, which would take a lot of energy. We didn't keep in touch much after that. Fatty went back to Panjiayuan in Beijing, saying he needed to rest for a few months. The foreigners each returned to their own countries. I was left alone, taking care of Third Uncle while organizing my thoughts, trying to use the clues I had to make some sense of things. But without Third Uncle's part of the information, I simply couldn't figure out the whole story.

Actually, the puzzles related to Wang Zanghai were already quite clear:

First, Cloud Summit Palace was not built by Wang Zanghai; he renovated it. (But who originally built this huge Shang Dynasty site, and for what purpose?)

Second, Wang Zanghai did not participate in this renovation project voluntarily. Most of the Han craftsmen involved were coerced by the Dongxia people. During the renovation, the chief architect Wang Zanghai began designing escape routes that ran almost across both Xiao Sheng and San Sheng mountains, to avoid being buried alive with the alien Wan Nu King when the underground palace was sealed.

Third, during the renovation of the mausoleum, Wang Zanghai gradually discovered many secrets hidden deep beneath the Dongxia imperial tombs, deep in the Changbai Mountains. (What exactly did he see inside the bronze giant door?)

Fourth, Wang Zanghai recorded these secrets in the Dragon Fish Secret Script, hoping that one day they would be seen by the world.

Fifth, since Dongxia was a small border kingdom with a weak treasury, many of the treasures in Cloud Summit Palace were plundered from other tombs. While directing the Dongxia army in tomb robbing, Wang Zanghai secretly hid the Dragon Fish Secret Script inside these ancient tombs, hoping someone would find them. He placed two copies in total; the last one he hid in his own tomb before his natural death.

Sixth, he built his tomb under the sea to prevent Dongxia descendants from destroying the secret by robbing his tomb. In this, he was as petty as Cao Cao.

Seventh, the people who disappeared from the undersea tomb reappeared in the secret room of Cloud Summit Palace (except for two, all others died. But who were those two? Where did they go? Did they, like Poker-face, enter the bronze door? Why did they go in? What was Third Uncle's purpose in going to Cloud Summit Palace?) Eighth, (the giant bronze ancient tree, the giant bronze dark door, and the hexagonal bells appearing in several places—is there a connection between these bronze objects? They represent a mysterious power—what is it?) I gradually discovered that everything that happened twenty years ago in the undersea tomb was the key.