“I’d like to ask you, Boss, who was the one who sold you the mirror back then?”
The old shopkeeper was surprised. He looked at Tang Hao warily.
“Well, I’m not supposed to tell you… Also, it’s been a long time, at least ten years. I can’t remember it too well.”
His tone of voice was ambiguous.
Tang Hao smiled. “How about this, Boss, if you tell me the information, I’ll buy every item in your store.”
The old shopkeeper looked at Tang Hao and smiled. “Don’t shoot your mouth off, kid. My store might be small, but the items can add up to quite a lot. Can you afford to buy everything?”
Tang Hao did not say anything. He took out a card, placed it on the counter, and pushed it toward the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper looked closely at it and his pupils constricted.
‘The Black Gold card from Huaxia Bank!
”This kid is the real deal!’
He furrowed his brows and hesitated for a bit.
“Kid, what do you want this information for? There’s something unnatural about that tomb! I’ve heard from the seller that only two out of the entire group survived the tomb, and they did not find anything amazing.
“The mirror was their only worthwhile haul.”
The shopkeeper touched the black mirror as he spoke. He seemed emotional.
“I’m interested in checking out that tomb myself… as for the risk, you don’t have to worry. It’s modern times now and technology has improved. Things should be a lot safer,” Tang Hao said.
“Well… alright, I’ll tell you then! However, I can’t guarantee if you can find those people though. After all, that was more than ten years ago.
“As for money, I don’t want to fleece you. I’ll just take a hundred thousand or something.”
“Let’s make it two hundred thousand then!” Tang Hao said.
“Alright, two hundred thousand it is!” The shopkeeper said.
He paused for a while. There was a hint of nostalgia on his wrinkled face.
“That person’s name is Chen Abing, and people call him Master Bing. He’s a quite famous dirt-skimmer back then, but he’s unlucky to have met his downfall at that tomb. I’ve heard that he retired after that botched job.
“That’s all I know about what he did. I can give you his last-known address!”
Tang Hao got a piece of paper with Chen Abing’s address from the storekeeper.
He paid the promised fee and left the store.
“Are you going grave-robbing, Brother-in-law?” Qin Gang’s eyes sparkled.
“That’s none of your business!” Tang Hao glared at him.
“Hey, that’s not very nice of you, Brother-in-law! How about I join in the fun?”
“It’s an unnatural tomb. You’ll lose your life there,” Tang Hao huffed.
Qin Gang was intimidated. “It’s that dangerous? Then… I think I’ll skip it!”
“Send me here!” Tang Hao handed Qin Gang the scrap of paper with the address on it.
They arrived at the destination two hours later.
Tang Hao asked around and found out that Chen Abing had passed away a few years ago. He had two sons, and one of them ran a store in the local antique street.
Tang Hao met Chen Abing’s son at the store.
He finally opened his mouth after being paid a lot of money.
“That tomb, you say? Of course, I remember that. My father became depressed because of it. As for its exact location, I’m not too sure. My father never mentioned it either.”
He thought for a while and seemed to remember something. “Right, when I was organizing my father’s mementos, I found a weird piece of paper. It should be a map.
“However, it must have been written in code. Even the most experienced dirt-skimmers I know can’t decipher it. If you want it, I can give it to you.”
He went into the room and soon returned with a piece of brown paper.
The paper was very old and was filled with curious squiggles.
“My father and his gang made this to record the location of the tomb. He was constantly brooding over that tomb up until his death.
“That tomb isn’t normal. My father said that it was a tomb of a deity.”
Tang Hao took the piece of brown paper and studied it for a bit. It was a mundane piece of paper, unlike the scroll he received from Fatty Diao which held a secret meant for cultivators.
He studied it on the way back to Provincial City, but could not understand anything.
“You can pass that to me, Brother-in-law! I know a few people who might be able to figure out something,” Qin Gang said eagerly when they arrived back at Provincial City.
“Really?”
“Of course. My network is pretty extensive.”
“Alright then, I’ll give it to you. Call me if it’s deciphered.”
Tang Hao handed Qin Gang the piece of paper.
A coded message like that would be useless to outsiders. Tang Hao was not in the trade, which was not surprising why he could not figure out anything. He would rather let Qin Gang’s friends try.
“Alright! Don’t worry, Brother-in-law!” Qin Gang took the brown paper and said, “Ah, right! So, are we having any fun tonight?”
Tang Hao rolled his eyes. “You can go yourself!”
After lunch, he asked Qin Gang to send him back to the university.
He went to find Yan’er.
The freshmen had military training classes in the first two weeks of classes. Today was the first day of military training classes, and groups of freshmen in military uniforms could be seen on the field.
Yan’er was also dressed in military training uniform and marching in a formation.
The military training uniform could not cover her beauty.
The boys around her sneaked peeks at her as they marched.
She noticed Tang Hao and messed up her footwork.
The formation became even more chaotic when the other students noticed him.
“Look over there! That person must be Tang Hao. I’ve heard that he’s the most famous student at Z University. He’s a big-timer!”
“I’ve also heard of him. He’s super rich, and I think he’s the chairman of that Haotian Group.”
“Wow, the forums were right. He’s so handsome!”
“Hey, don’t fantasize. He must be here to meet Beauty Queen Shi. Haven’t you heard? They come from the same village, and they have known each other since they were kids.”
“How romantic! Why don’t I get a childhood friend like him?”
The commotion spread to other teams. The instructors were helpless.
The training session ended half an hour later.
“Brother Hao!”
Yan’er quickly walked over to Tang Hao, excitedly waving her arm.
She wiped the sweat off her forehead. Her face was red after exercise.
“How is it? Is it too tough?”
“It’s a little tiring, but I can manage,” Yan’er said with a coy smile.
“That’s good to know… I’m just here to check on you,” Tang Hao said.
He lifted his head and saw three girls waiting for Yan’er. He met them before; they were Yan’er’s dorm mates.
Tang Hao opened his backpack and took out several bags of gifts for them. “Thanks for taking care of this silly girl Yan’er!”
“Wow!” They exclaimed in surprise when they looked inside.
“Thank you, Boss Tang!” One of the girls said.
Tang Hao and Yan’er walked and chatted. He left after sending her to the dorm.
