Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Old Thaw stopped speaking after that, and his face contorted in terror. It was clear that the harrowing experience traumatized him and the fear still lingered. Even just thinking about the incident was enough to make him shiver.
Li Du then asked, “A lot of people died. Didn’t anyone come here to investigate the issue?”
“They did,” Old Thaw said as he nodded, “but the investigations were inconclusive. In the past, many people were interested in the news of a jade mine in our town but they never found anything. There’s definitely jade in this mountain, it’s just hidden away by the mountain god.”
The blonde guy licked his lips. “Hey, Old Thaw, is there really a jade mine here? Why don’t we tell the mayor? Let’s go look for the mine, we’ll be rich if we can find some jade!”
Old Thaw side-eyed the teen. “You fool, you think you’ll really become rich if you find jade in the mountain? Besides, so many people have tried but not a single one has found any jade.”
The man was perceptive. If Dena Mountain became a jade mine, the ones who had the most to lose were the residents of Wooku Town.
Li Du probed again, “You said there used to be three towns here? What happened?”
Old Thaw said, “From what I know, there used to be many towns on the stretch along Dena Mountain. However, those had been gradually dwindling for a long time. In the recent past, only three towns remained.
“The last three towns were Palaung Town, Nierkan Town, and our Wooku Town. Some years ago — I’m not sure exactly how long ago — people from Palaung Town said they discovered jade. In the end, their town was wiped out by a landslide.
“After that went Nierkan Town. The elderly people in our town have some recollection of Nierkan Town. That town was ruined after the Japanese invasion. The Japanese set up their barracks and arsenals here. Subsequently, the arsenal mysteriously exploded and the entire town was blown up.
“But from what I know, the disappearance of Nierkan Town also had something to do with jade. The Japanese troops found something on Dena Mountain, and then the town went kaboom…”
Li Du stroked his chin and chuckled. “Seems like the jade mine in Dena Mountain is cursed. Whoever comes into contact with it will die, is that it?”
Old Thaw nodded seriously. “That’s right. A word of advice to you foreigners: don’t go looking for trouble. It’s best you stay far, far away from the jade mine rumored to be on this mountain.”
Young Markelov crossed his arms in front of his chest and said in disdain, “Mountain god? Curses? I don’t buy it. Boss, do you believe this?”
Li Du said, “I didn’t even buy the rumors about the haunted house, so what do you think? Last question, Mr. Old Thaw. The King of Old Hpakant’s son had come up here to mine, yes? Where did he mine?”
Old Thaw stared at him and said, “Oh my, you bold foreigner. You really want to go looking for death, huh?”
Li Du smiled. “Yes, I do.”
The blonde guy interrupted the two, “There’s no point in you going. Even if you find a jade mine, our laws restrict us from contracting jade mines to foreigners.”
Li Du repeated, “I just want to take a look.”
Old Thaw shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know where that place is.”
Li Du chuckled. “You mentioned earlier that you went to help retrieve his corpse, so how could you not know where they opened the mine?”
Old Thaw glared at the two teens but stood his ground. “I don’t know where it is, but there is someone here who does.”
The blonde guy was panicking. “F*ck, Old Thaw, you trying to get us in trouble?”
The other teen blanched and he piped in, “F*cking hell, you mean the stall is right where they opened the mine?”
Old Thaw did not respond to them. Instead, he turned to Li Du and said, “Boss, I’ve already told you everything I know, but I’ll leave you with this warning: there is no jade on Dena Mountain. I’ve lost count of the number of people who have come to this mountain to look for jade, and not a single one of them has become rich. On the contrary, many have lost their lives.”
He turned to leave after he said his piece, got on his bike and rode off.
At that, the blonde guy called out to him, “F*ck, Old Thaw, get back here and clear things up!”
Li Du made no move to chase after the man. He turned to the blonde teen and said, “Let’s go, boy. Bring us to your casino.”
The blood drained from the boy’s face. “Boss, let us live, please.”
Li Du responded, “I’m not a murderer or anything and I have no intentions of harming or killing you, so what do you mean ‘let you live’?”
The teen said with great difficulty, “The boss will beat me to death if I bring you to our stall.”
Li Du assured the boy, “Don’t worry. I’ll have your boss killed first. That way you’ll be safe, right?”
The two teens look even more unnerved. They had no other choice but to drag their motorcycles along as they led the bunch to the stall.
The casino was situated at quite the obscure location. The bunch of them followed the path halfway up the mountain, then passed through a patch of forest and walked downslope. There was no road here, but enough people and vehicles had taken this route to form a path. Tens of motorcycles were hidden in the forest and someone was squatting by them, smoking as he kept an eye on the vehicles. When he saw Li Du and his men, he brandished his Taser and shouted at them, “Who’s there? What do you want?”
The blonde teen called back feebly, “It’s me, Thar Ne Win…”
The pair continued speaking in Burmese. The one guarding the vehicles saw that Li Du and the hulking men behind him were a bunch of foreigners and he was beside himself with fear. He asked, “What are those guys here for?”
Thar Ne Win shook his head and said, “Where’s the boss?”
The man pointed towards the bottom and Thar Ne Win walked over with a grim face. After they cut through the forest, they came face to face with a crudely constructed mine shaft. The sounds of agitated dogs and howling humans echoed through the shaft — it was as if they stepped into a new world. At the sound of barking, Ah Ow became excited. She started barking in response, then turned to wag her tail at Li Du, as if proud of her mimicry.
Some smokers were sitting on the rocks outside the mine shaft. They seemed to be about as old as Thar Ne Win and his friend. They were dressed in t-shirts and jeans and there was an insolent air about them. They were probably here to guard the stall. When they caught sight of Li Du and his men, all of them stood up as one and asked, “Why are you here?”
Li Du kept quiet. He released the little bugs, which flitted about to scope out the place. The area beneath the mine shaft was rather spacious; the rocks had already been leveled and the space was subsequently divided into a few areas. Several people were below, gathered around a pit as they focused on what was happening there. In the pit, there were two gamecocks fighting. In the other areas were several cages covered with black cloth; some of them had gamecocks while other caged vicious dogs like Rottweilers, pit bulls, and tosas. However, this was not what he was after. The little bugs went into the rocks underground to hunt for traces of jade.
The security guards were vigilant as they blocked the group from moving forward. One of them shouted down at the mine, and a burly man with a body full of tattoos and a shiny bald head walked over with his brows knit together. He, too, was taken aback at the sight of Li Du and his entourage. “Hey, what are you doing here? Where are you guys from?”
Li Du did not find any traces of jade, so he gathered his little bugs back and turned to deal with the people at the casino. He smiled at them. “I’m a Chinese merchant and I heard there was a good stall here, so I’m here to take a look.”
