Chapter 77: Qinling Divine Tree: Copper Rod

I was startled by his shout, and my hand paused involuntarily. In that instant, he charged at me like a madman, ramming me backward. After stumbling back over a dozen steps, I plopped down onto the ground. When I looked at Old Itch again, he had already picked up the copper rod, quickly wrapped it in cloth, and stuffed it into his backpack.

I was really furious. If his charge had been slightly off course, he would have knocked me straight into the campfire. He didn't hesitate at all, just barreled into me, showing that in his mind, my safety wasn't worth as much as a rod. I sat up and cursed him out: "What the hell are you playing at?! What is that thing? Would it kill you to let me take a look?"

Old Itch's answer was infuriating. He was stunned for a moment, then said, "This… this is a family heirloom of ours. Outsiders aren't allowed to touch it."

Hearing that, I could barely contain my anger. I clenched my fists and swallowed my rage. Looking at Old Itch's expression, he was shifty and evasive, as if he really thought such an excuse could get him off the hook.

He saw I wasn't speaking and thought I didn't believe him. He gave an awkward laugh: "Really, I'm not lying. This thing… was passed down to me by my grandmother…"

I couldn't take it anymore and burst out: "Bullshit! What heirloom! Your grandmother buried a treasure in the Qin Mountains and then had you come dig it up? Old Itch, we've been friends since we were kids, bare-assed. You're lying to me like this—what the hell did you take in that mountain lodge to mess up your head?"

As I cursed him, my hand kept pointing at the spot he had just been digging at, making it clear that I had already seen everything he did.

Old Itch's face turned as ugly as possible. After a long pause, he stammered: "You… so you already knew! Old Wu, ah… I'm ashamed. Actually, I didn't want to hide it from you."

I sneered: "What do you mean, 'didn't want to hide it'? If you didn't want to hide it, was I the one forcing you to keep it secret?"

Old Itch scratched his head and said helplessly: "Don't get so angry. Things aren't the way you think. Let me explain slowly."

I was furious inside. I thought, What's there to be different about this kind of thing? The facts are right in front of me. You came into the Qin Mountains clearly with another purpose. You didn't tell me the real situation. Instead, you treated me like some idiot you could just use!

For a moment, I even wanted to turn around and leave, go back that same night, as if I had never met him. But then I thought about it: being so impulsive wouldn't do me any good. Not only might I not find my way back alone, but even if I did, this matter would stick in my craw for at least a few months.

So I said coldly: "Fine! I'll listen to your explanation. But whether it's the same as what I think or not, I'll judge that myself."

Old Itch's face showed an angry expression. He was naturally hot-tempered. The only reason he hadn't talked back after I cursed him was that he knew he was in the wrong. On a normal day, we might have come to blows.

Seeing his expression, I caught a feeling of violence and felt a jolt of caution. I reminded myself not to push him too hard. He had a gun on him, and if he lost his temper, I had no idea what might happen.

He looked at me with a dark expression. It took a long time for him to stabilize his emotions. He took two bottles of liquor from his backpack, tossed one to me, and took a couple of swigs himself before saying: "Old Hu, I thought that after so many years of friendship, nothing could break it. Hearing you talk like that makes me really uncomfortable."

I sensed a hint of sarcasm in his words, which made me even more irritated. I said coldly: "Do you think I'm comfortable? Old Itch, let me tell you, I've never trusted anyone the way I've trusted you. And you, you little shit, using me like that—you're really no good."

He laughed bitterly: "Using you? That's putting it too strongly. Actually, coming back to these Qin Mountains, aside from the money, there was another purpose. That purpose is entirely my personal business. I didn't tell you, that's all. And you call that using you?"

I sneered: "What personal purpose? Digging up a rod here?"

I have a sharp tongue. Though I was thinking I shouldn't push him too hard, the harsh words still slipped out.

Unexpectedly, he nodded very seriously and said: "Yes!"

Hearing that, I sneered: "Why did you have to do it secretly? What couldn't you tell me? Did you think I would fight you for that rod?"

He sat down and was silent for a long time before saying: "It's a long story. That rod was actually taken from that Qing tomb by my Jiangxi cousin. I've already told you about the process last time, but there's one detail I didn't mention. At the time, we tried to move that bronze tree but failed. My cousin insisted it was something special, so he used a diamond saw to cut off one of its branches."

I frowned. People like them were among the lowest-quality grave robbers, and also the most numerous. For a few thousand bucks, destroying a priceless artifact is all too common. I pointed at his backpack and asked: "Are you saying that branch is the thing you just dug up?"

Old Itch nodded and continued: "After my cousin cut that thing off, he carried it on him at all times, treating it like a treasure. He wouldn't even let me look at it, and he said I could have everything else, just let him keep that. I thought he was just overjoyed at the time and didn't pay it much attention. So we kept heading out. At first, my cousin just got a little neurotic, but gradually I found he was becoming more and more unhinged…"

Old Itch paused, then suddenly looked up and asked me: "Old Wu, do you believe in the existence of yin people in this world?"

I was taken aback. It took me a while to remember what "yin people" meant. In old country legends, so-called yin people are those who work for the King of Hell in the mortal world. On the surface, they look like ordinary people—they eat and sleep—but they can talk to ghosts. The only way to identify them is that when they sleep, their shoes are placed under the bed, with the toes pointing inward.

Of course, that's just a legend, with different versions everywhere. I had only ever heard it as a story and never took it seriously. So I shook my head, indicating I didn't know much about it.

Old Itch went on: "My cousin, after he got that bronze tree branch, started acting a little crazy. He kept saying he heard… someone talking next to him. But you know, at the time there were only the two of us. In that godforsaken place, no one else could have been talking. I couldn't hear it, but he could. This got worse and worse. By the time we left the mountains, he could not only hear voices but also see strange shadows. I wanted to take him to a psychiatrist, but he was very superstitious and wouldn't listen to me. He was convinced that the King of Hell had chosen him and turned him into a yin person. What he saw and heard were the lonely ghosts and wild spirits of the living world."

I said: "Auditory and visual hallucinations are signs of severe schizophrenia."

Old Itch smiled and said to me: "Actually, before he went to prison, he was already very abnormal. He often said weird things and would talk to the air. Once in a hotel restaurant, he ordered a table full of food by himself and insisted the waiter bring four sets of utensils, saying he was eating with three friends. But in reality, there was nobody sitting in the other three seats. He chatted away merrily, scaring the waiter half to death."

A chill went down my spine. "Are you saying his schizophrenia was caused by this rod?"

Old Itch said: "I don't know. But during that dig, he and I went everywhere together. I touched everything he touched. Except for that bronze tree branch—I never touched it from start to finish. So I think his schizophrenia has something to do with this rod."

Seeing my doubtful expression, he continued: "When we came back that time, our last stop was this shack. Just like you, I got up to pee in the middle of the night and found my cousin missing. Later I went out to look for him and found him filling in the ground right where I was standing just now."

He paused and asked: "Old Wu, tell me honestly — if I had told you about this from the start, would you have agreed to let me dig this thing up again?"

His question left me speechless. I asked myself the same thing. The answer was obvious: if I had known about this beforehand, not only would I never have touched that rod, I would have never let Old Itch touch it either.

Old Itch took out a cigarette and said with a smile: "I knew your character well, so I snuck out in the middle of the night. I really didn't want to deceive you, but if I had let you know these things, you definitely wouldn't have let me go. Do you understand now?"

I was at a loss for words. It took me a while to say: "Even if what you say makes sense, what you did is still—" I was about to ask why he lied about the pistol, but then I saw him pull out the gun, aim it at his cigarette, and with a click, pull the trigger. A green flame shot out.

He took a couple of puffs, lit his cigarette, and said: "What I did was a bit wrong, but it's not so serious that you have to sentence me to death, is it?"

I had nothing to say. I never expected that in the end, I would be the one left with no arguments. I changed the subject and asked him: "So what are you going to do now? Are you going to take the risk and touch this rod?"

Old Yang showed a very strange expression and said softly: "I don't know. Even though I'm wearing gloves, as soon as my hand touches this rod, I get a special feeling, as if there are more than just the two of us in this shack..."

As he spoke, he took out the rod from his bag, blew on it, and said: "I don't know if wearing gloves has any effect. Maybe I've already been infected. Earlier, when you wanted to take it, I was scared, so I bumped you. If you went crazy, I really wouldn't know how to explain to your family."

He was halfway through his sentence when his expression suddenly froze. His eyes stared straight behind me, and he let out a strange sound from his throat.

I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine, goosebumps all over my body. I whipped my head around, but behind me, there was nothing.

I found it bewildering, turned to look at Old Yang, only to see him grinning mischievously at me. I immediately realized I had been fooled and angrily cursed: "Damn it, you're too damn boring."

Old Yang stood up while laughing and waved at me, saying: "Actually, after my cousin touched this copper rod, he remained normal for a long time. I think it takes a while for this copper rod to take effect."

I said: "You really don't value your life. Even if you prove this thing can drive people mad, what good does it do you? Do you think you'll win a Nobel Prize?"

Old Yang smiled helplessly, took an envelope from his bag, and handed it to me.

I opened it and saw only two lines of writing, very scrawled. I could barely make out the first line — it was his cousin's name. The second line was a vernacular passage: "Ah Xie, whatever you do, don't go back. There's an evil ghost in that tomb!"