PCJ – Chapter 409 The Unfinished Fall of Atang

“Jiaohua, Jiaohua, are you dreaming again?” Liu Qiaoye saw Zhang Jiaohua drenched in sweat and shook him awake. She didn’t want her son to be haunted by that strange dream. The family’s circumstances had improved now, and even if Zhang Jiaohua had lost the abilities of the Meishan Water Master, their lives wouldn’t be that hard. Liu Qiaoye would rather her son lead a normal life than suffer.

Zhang Jiaohua opened his eyes and rubbed his face. “Mother, I dreamt of the old Taoist master again. Last time, he didn’t die. His injuries are slowly healing.”

“Silly child, things in dreams aren’t always true,” Liu Qiaoye said.

“But my dream was real!” Zhang Jiaohua insisted.

“Alright, alright, it’s late already. Get up quickly. I’ll make you breakfast,” Liu Qiaoye said. She smiled as she saw how serious her son looked and gave his nose a little poke.

At noon, Luo Changjun brought a man from Yan Jing. This man was Shang Jiuyuan. Shang Jiuyuan had indeed gotten into a conflict with He Shouye, and he had taken leave to come to Xintian County. It turned out that Shang Jiuyuan and Luo Changjun knew each other. Luo Changjun had once participated in a martial arts competition at the provincial police academy, where he had faced Shang Jiuyuan directly. The two had only become acquainted after their match, and after the competition, they had shared a meal. However, back then, there were no mobile phones, and they didn’t have fixed jobs, so they hadn’t kept in touch. When Shang Jiuyuan came to Xintian County and went to the police station, the officers reported to Luo Changjun, who was surprised to see an old friend. Shang Jiuyuan then explained the situation regarding the tomb-robbing gang led by He Shouye and Long Wuyi, which shocked Luo Changjun.

“He Shouye and Long Wuyi’s criminal intelligence is very high. In every tomb-robbing operation, they never directly participate. For example, this time, they came under the pretense of investing in a film, and the actual tomb-robbing was carried out by their subordinates. If anything goes wrong, they can easily wash their hands of it. This is a trick they often use,” Shang Jiuyuan said.

“Actually, before you came, I had already heard about these two. People said they have the aura of death and a smell of earth, which made them suspicious of being involved in tomb-robbing. It seems the rumors were true,” Luo Changjun said.

“You could tell just by looking at them that they’ve robbed tombs?” Shang Jiuyuan was also surprised.

“Yes. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to meet the person. But I’m sure that once you meet him, you’ll be stunned,” Luo Changjun said.

So, Luo Changjun brought Shang Jiuyuan to Meizi’ao.

Shang Jiuyuan entered Meizi’ao discreetly because if He Shouye or Long Wuyi’s people discovered his whereabouts, it would raise suspicion.

Fortunately, Zhang Jiaohua’s family no longer lived in the village but in the old building of the Meizi’ao Tea Factory. The factory had moved to the county seat. This area was now going to be used as a display site for tourists to show the tea production process. However, it wasn’t open to the public yet, so only villagers came here.

“Changjun, didn’t you say you were going to introduce me to that extraordinary person?” Shang Jiuyuan asked.

Shang Jiuyuan looked at Liu Qiaoye and then at Zhang Jiaohua. No matter how he looked at it, this mother and son didn’t seem like anything special.

“This is the extraordinary person,” Luo Changjun laughed. “Don’t underestimate Jiaohua. Though he’s young, he has great abilities.”

“Brother Luo, don’t praise the child too much. He’s getting more and more cocky,” Liu Qiaoye said, pleased to hear others compliment her son.

“I’m not exaggerating. I’m being honest,” Luo Changjun said.

Shang Jiuyuan stared at Zhang Jiaohua in surprise, as Luo Changjun didn’t look like he was joking.

“Jiuyuan, I’m not lying to you. Jiaohua really has great skills. He is a genuine Meishan Water Master. In Xintian County, the Meishan Water Master has great influence among the people. There is indeed some superstitious element in it, but the powers of the Meishan Water Master are real. Jiaohua is someone who has received the authentic transmission of the Meishan Water Master’s teachings,” Luo Changjun said seriously.

“Little friend, how did you tell that He Shouye and Long Wuyi are tomb robbers?” Shang Jiuyuan asked.

“I don’t know about tomb robbers. I just said that those two have the aura of death, as if they often deal with the dead. They also have a strong earthy smell, probably from frequently digging underground. As for whether they are tomb robbers, I can’t say for sure,” Zhang Jiaohua quickly replied.

“So, how did you tell they have the aura of death?” Shang Jiuyuan asked.

“Dead people have a special aura that ordinary people can’t see, but we Meishan Water Masters can. The longer someone has been dead, the more intense the aura becomes. After decaying, the aura slowly dissipates and is absorbed by the soil. Tomb robbers often encounter bodies that haven’t decayed for many years, or even corpses that have turned into ‘yin’ corpses, whose death aura is very strong. A slight touch can kill an ordinary person, causing a large portion of their body to die. Even if the body decays, the soil absorbs the death aura and leaves a peculiar earthy smell, which sticks to them. Without special treatment, it’s impossible to remove it completely. These people have a very strong death and earthy smell. They must be dealing with such things often. In fact, if you didn’t catch them, they wouldn’t live much longer. Didn’t you notice their faces are much darker than normal people’s?” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Indeed. He Shouye’s health is poor, and he has a lot of ailments. When I was following him, I often saw him going to the hospital. I thought he was just trying to deceive me, but it turns out he really has health issues. Unfortunately, I still haven’t found any evidence of his crimes. Otherwise, I could have put him behind bars,” Shang Jiuyuan said.

Luo Changjun laughed. “Now do you believe I wasn’t lying to you?”

Shang Jiuyuan laughed awkwardly.

“Jiuyuan, He Shouye’s men all know you, so you definitely can’t show yourself in front of them. I’ll arrange for our people in Xintian County to monitor them. You’re familiar with them, so you’ll handle things behind the scenes. Jiaohua can certainly help out. If you need anything, you can ask him. Jiaohua, be very careful. These tomb robbers are ruthless, and they might have guns. Don’t get into direct conflict with them. I don’t want you to play the hero alone. Understand?” Luo Changjun said, worried that Zhang Jiaohua would once again make decisions on his own and take risks.

“Don’t worry. I’m not that reckless. I’ll have Fat Cat handle the surveillance. Fat Cat won’t attract attention. It’s very stealthy,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

Luo Changjun nodded. “Good.”

On a simple, unfinished road, a thick layer of gravel had been laid, and ordinary vehicles could now drive up to the middle of Luoa Ridge. A truck hauled a set of diesel water pumps to Luoa Pond, where several technicians connected the pipes, threw them into the pond, and started the pumps. A huge jet of water shot into the sky, splashing the water from Luoa Pond and spraying it down the mountain. One pump after another started running, and the water level of the pond began to drop rapidly.

“Boss, at this rate, it won’t take long to drain the water from Luoa Pond,” Old Yang said to Long Wuyi.

“Old Yang, you’re very diligent. Thanks for your hard work,” Long Wuyi nodded.

Long Wuyi then turned to He Shouye. “Fourth Brother, since we’ve already found the entrance to the cave, why bother draining the pond? We can just enter through that cave.”

“This pond is no simple matter. Don’t underestimate it. The cave entrance is there, but where does it lead? The water in this pond is coming from that cave. The water has been flowing into the pond nonstop. Can’t you see that the water is not draining anywhere?” He Shouye asked.

“Fourth Brother, are you saying there’s a cave in Luoa Pond?” Long Wuyi looked around the pond. There was indeed not a drop of water flowing out. This pond didn’t look artificially built, because if it had been, there would have been a drainage hole to empty the pond, but there was none here.

He Shouye nodded. “There’s something strange about this pond. I heard that several kids drowned here a few years ago.”

“Drowning a few people is nothing unusual, is it?” Long Wuyi asked, puzzled.

“Nothing usual? Every little kid in this village is in the water every day. How could they drown?” He Shouye said.

“That’s true. So, what’s the cause?” Long Wuyi asked.

“This pond is strange!” He Shouye said firmly.

“Why not let Daoist Xie take a look?” Long Wuyi asked, confused.

“Xie Yunliu isn’t one of us. If we can avoid involving him in certain matters, it’s best we do so. Otherwise, we might get killed without even knowing it. Don’t be fooled by his appearance; this old Taoist is a very dark-hearted person. Anyone who has dealt with him knows he’s like a poisonous snake—cruel and greedy. If it weren’t for the things in that cave, things that only he can handle, why would I cooperate with him?” He Shouye said.

“Fourth Brother, I really admire you. You always have such clever strategies,” Long Wuyi said.

“In our line of work, if you’re not careful, you’ll end up with nothing but bones left,” He Shouye said.

They originally thought it would only take a few hours to drain the water from Luoa Pond, but by evening, the pond still had half a pool of water. It seemed like the water would never be fully drained.

“Boss, this is strange. The water in the pond won’t drain anymore,” Old Yang said.

“It must be connected to an underground water source. Go bring more pumps. I refuse to believe we can’t drain this pond!” Long Wuyi said.