Xia Lei brought Qian Jun into one of the ship cabins. The first thing that welcomed them beyond the sturdy metal door was Tsukino Kyoko. She had been watching over Xia Lei’s bag, aware of the importance of its contents.
Noticing Xia Lei and Qian Jun, Tsukino Kyoko dutifully stood up and said, “I’ll go watch the door outside.”
Xia Lei returned a slight nod.
Tsukino Kyoko left the cabin and closed the door behind her. While she was genuinely curious about the secrets surrounding the crystal skull, she was not keen to pry. She was content with the way things were now. If Xia Lei had chosen to confide in her, that’d be great. But if he didn’t, it wouldn’t affect anything.
Xia Lei zipped the bag open and brought out the crystal skull.
The ship cabin was located at the bottom level of the cargo ship. The only light source illuminating them was only a regular twenty-five-watt fluorescent lamp. Lighting was scarce but as soon as the crystal skull had emerged out of the bag, the ship cabin immediately felt brighter. It was almost as if the crystal skull had absorbed all the light and reflected it back. It was a pristine white crystal, showcasing crystalline-like properties at the same time.
This was the first time Qian Jun had seen something like this. He gaped at the sight.
“It’s so beautiful.” Qian Jun was emotional.
Xia Lei asked, “Do you think it's a real skull?”
Qian Jun studied it closely. “I’m not sure about that. Professor Mark had studied it for tens of years and looked through piles of information. He said that the crystal skull was a real skull and I believed him. After all, he’s a professional.”
“Back then, my father’s aim was the amber within the sarcophagus and not the crystal skull. Is that right?” Xia Lei tried to confirm.
“I don’t know anything about that. Perhaps that was the case. I’ve told your father the exact coordinates of that mountain. After I was captured, he had all the chance to obtain this crystal skull but he didn’t do so. Based on that, it does seem like his goal wasn’t the crystal skull after all.” Qian Jun answered.
“Did you know that there was a secret tunnel that led into the mountain body? It was sealed by a special kind of wax.”
“Yeah, I was aware of that. That tunnel was found by the person who I instructed to climb up and retrieve the skull. It was indeed sealed by wax to hide it from the general public. Minutes after he found out, he fell to his death. I did tell your father about it and even drew a map,” answered Qian Jun.
Things were finally making sense. No wonder Xia Changhe had left clues for him at the foot of the mountain. If it wasn’t for Qian Jun’s map, there was no way Xia Lei would’ve found the passage.
Despite learning some truth about the situation, Xia Lei was beginning to accumulate more suspicions against his own father. While he himself was a man full of secrets, he was certain that Xia Changhe too had plenty of mystery surrounding him!
Xia Lei mused to himself darkly, “We really should sit down and talk this out next time we see each other. If he continues to hide it from me, I’m not going to let him embrace his grandchildren.”
“Xia Lei, can I…” There was a moment of hesitation. “Can I touch it?”
Xia Lei turned to look at him. “Of course. Go ahead.”
Qian Jun reached over and picked it up.
At that very moment, it glowed brighter and beamed.
Xia Lei gasped, staring at the crystal skull in shock. Qian Jun’s body slumped tensely towards the ground.
“Careful!” Xia Lei frantically reached out an arm to support Qian Jun by his waist and held him up.
The crystal skull slipped from his grip and fell onto the sheets. Thankfully, the layers of soft bedding had saved the crystal skull from any possible damage.
The crystal skull was unscathed but Qian Jun was unconscious. Xia Lei shook his lifeless body twice, garnering no response.
“Boss, what’s going on?” Tsukino Kyoko’s voice rang from outside the door.
Xia Lei answered, “An accident, stay out!”
“Got it. Tell me if you need me,” said Tsukino Kyoko.
Xia Lei had halted Tsukino Kyoko from barging in fearing that Ning Jing fate would replicate itself on the female ninja. He was terribly worried. Xia Lei did not know anything about the crystal skull. What if the skull had possessed the same energy as the ancient alloy box that could drive anyone that came in contact with it insane?!
Dread settled in and Xia Lei found himself fretting over Qian Jun’s wellbeing.
“Hello? Hey, can you hear me? Wake up…” Xia Lei continued to shake Qian Jun’s body but no reactions were produced. He placed Qian Jun back onto the bed and checked his vitals. To his relief, everything was alright.
Qian Jun was breathing smoothly and his pulse rate was regular. The only odd thing was his slower brain activity. All his physiological properties had confirmed that he had not received any damage. Qian Jun had just passed out for no particular reason.
Xia Lei’s gaze landed on the crystal skull.
It laid against the soft sheets, radiant and glistening in silence.
It was hard to believe that it was a human’s skull. If someone had a skull like this, what would their eyes look like? Was it white? Was it blue? Or was it black? What would their skin colour be? Was it as clear and translucent like what he was seeing?
The flurry of thoughts ransacked Xia Lei’s mind. The man lifted the crystal skull and held it firmly. He did not fall unconscious. All he could feel was the coolness against his palms that radiated off the crystal skull.
“Why did Qian Jun fall over just from one touch while I’m alright?” Xia Lei was utterly perplexed. But soon, he remembered Qian Jun’s earlier description. “Qian Jun mentioned that he sent someone up the peak of the pyramid for the crystal skull. But just from one touch, the man had fallen from the top. Was it because he fell unconscious all of a sudden?”
While that was just a guess, it was safe to assume that Qian Jun shared a similar experience. They both had touched the crystal skull and immediately lost consciousness. The only difference was that Qian Jun was lucky to be alive due to a shorter fall while the man had literally plummeted to his death from a great height.
“Why did I not face the same thing? Why… Why did father not insist on Qian Jun bringing away the crystal skull and not do it himself later on despite knowing where it was? Was he already aware of the crystal skull’s properties?” Xia Lei couldn’t help but bring his thoughts deeper.
A few minutes had passed and Qian Jun had yet to regain his consciousness.
Xia Lei’s brain was filled to the brim with confusion. The man shook his skull in an attempt to chase away the thoughts. Eventually, he found the strength to stare at the crystal skull again and activated his X-ray vision.
Last time, he had begun his closer inspection from its right eye socket. Now, Xia Lei decided to switch to another entry point, the top of the skull.
The X-ray vision penetrated through the crystal layer and brought him into its interior. At that split second, Xia Lei’s brain thundered loudly. The force was so immense that it felt like his entire brain was imploding from the inside. But the feeling had left as quickly as it attacked. Following that was the feeling of imprisonment as if Xia Lei had spent one whole month in a dark underground dungeon. Abruptly, the mental environment shifted to somewhere close to the sun. Xia Lei was blinded by the white beams that seemed to come from everywhere!
The entire process was way more painful than the earlier concussion. The sharp pain felt like someone was adamant on running a blade across his brain and eyeballs. Paired with aches along his nerves, his head felt close to exploding.
In the midst of excruciating pain, countless glittering substances made its appearance. They were like the stars that littered a clean night sky, but one could easily describe it as diamond powder. They danced and floated about in his brain. Among the white lights and shimmering powder, a figure appeared. His stature was thin and tall. The man’s back was faced towards Xia Lei, shielding his face away. The feeling of loneliness that wafted off him was immense. A door manifested before him. Upon closer inspection, perhaps a door wasn’t the right word. It looked more like a whirlpool made out of light and powder.
And then he vanished into the whirlpool…
Xia Lei wished to see more but as the retreating back had disappeared into the light, his X-ray vision was forced to a stop with a violent knock.
The X-ray vision ended, leaving Xia Lei to stare at the crystal skull blankly. He looked like he was pondering about complex thoughts but truthfully, his mind was as blank as paper.
“Mm…” A noise rolled out of Qian Jun’s throat.
Xia Lei snapped back to reality. He frantically stuffed the crystal skull back inside his bag and ran over to Qian Jun’s side. “Hey, you alright?”
Qian Jun blinked his eyes open forcefully. “Why… Why am I on your bed?”
Xia Lei was taken aback. What the hell was happening?
Qian Jun supported himself up to sit on the bed. From his movements and agility, there were no signs of discomfort. The man looked disorientated. “Weren’t we on the deck? What happened?”
“You…” Xia Lei was so shocked that he was failing to find words.
Qian Jun shrugged his shoulders and mocked himself, “Sorry, perhaps I’ve been locked away for too long. There’s probably something wrong with my brain.”
“No…” Xia Lei wished to offer him an explanation but he just didn’t know how to put it into words.
“Nevermind, this is my own problem. It’s nothing severe, I can fix this. I’ve already told you all I know, so that’s it from me. I’ll go take a shower and sleep the night away.” With that, Qian Jun left the bed and took his leave.
Xia Lei sent him off with a gaze. While he looked calm, his heart was turbulent and riddled with unprecedented surprise. “The crystal skull interferes with the magnetic force field of modern equipment and it can erase memories? It’s obvious that Qian Jun had lost an hour worth of his memory. He couldn’t even recall anything that happened in this cabin! But… Why…? Why am I spared for its effects?”
At this moment, Tsukino Kyoko entered the cabin with a faint smile. “Boss, we’re about to reach Egypt soon. Do you have any plans for now?”
Her petite body was a front to the vigorous energy hidden within. There was a hint tinged to the curve of her cherry lips. Her mind was not fixated on whatever plan she was talking about, it had more to do with the person who makes the plans.
Alarms were blaring in Xia Lei’s heart. With a tensed scalp, he answered, “Well, I…”
Before he could say anything else, Sa’im’s deep resonating voice interrupted them. It echoed along the empty corridor. “Fuck! This is bad! Boss, come on out! We’ve got trouble!”
Xia Lei quickly dashed out of the cabin.
Tsukino Kyoko felt all of her energy drain out of her body as she slumped down in defeat. Then, with a wave of her arm, a cold silver sheen was dragged along the air. In the blink of an eye, a broom that stood against the wall of the cabin was broken in half.
“Sa’im, this is your damned penis,” hissed Tsukino Kyoko.
