Jin Wantang was a cultured individual, lacking both the courage and physical strength to work in the fields. By the time he entered the mountains, he was barely alive and could not be pushed any further, so he could only stay at the campsite on the ground while the others began searching everywhere. They would occasionally bring things back, most of which were silk manuscripts and bamboo slips, asking him to identify and categorize them. Therefore, he had no idea what the background of the ancient tomb was, and he did not dare to ask. He could only infer some things from the items he was asked to identify.

What he could be certain of was, first, that there seemed to be more than one ancient tomb here. The batches of silk manuscripts and bamboo slips he was asked to identify were in varying states of preservation, and their contents were diverse, including letters, ancient texts, and silk writings. Many of the recipients of the letters had different names, leading him to feel that there must be a vast necropolis here, and that this group was excavating a large number of ancient tombs.

Second, he was the only one in the entire team responsible for classification and authentication, and the items brought to him for examination were mostly ancient texts and documents. It seemed that their ultimate goal might be the ancient texts within this necropolis.

Third, the number of people in the team frequently decreased, and there were often fights in the campsite. From the content of the arguments, it appeared that accidents frequently occurred while they were working, and they were blaming each other and shifting responsibilities.

The restoration and identification of ancient texts was extremely time-consuming, and what he did not expect was that what he thought would take one or two months to complete ended up lasting a full three years. For three years, he had been continuously deciphering those difficult ancient writings, deducing dynasties and purposes, and attempting to translate their meanings. The entire team seemed to be under immense pressure, with almost no communication among them; everyone was silently working hard. He became extremely anxious, his teeth began to fall out, and his weight dropped from 150 pounds to just 70 pounds. If that day had not come, he might have died there.

It wasn’t until the Dragon Boat Festival of the third year that this immense oppression and closed-off lifestyle was suddenly broken. Suddenly, no more ancient texts were delivered to him, and he no longer had to squat in the tent doing those extremely tedious tasks every day.

This sudden liberation was initially hard for him to adapt to, but two days later, his anxiety began to ease. He had time to step out of the tent and wander around the campsite. At that moment, he realized that he was in such a beautiful place.

They were situated in a rare flat area within the mountainous region. If it were near a village, this flat land might have been cultivated into farmland, but now it was filled with towering trees. It was clear that he was far from human habitation, or that transportation here was very inconvenient. Looking out at the distant mountains, he could see four massive connected snow-capped peaks at the end of the sky, shrouded in clouds and mist, pure and flawless. Before the snow-capped mountains lay lush and verdant towering hills. The green was not like the light green of Longjing tea in Jiangnan or the splendid emerald of Beijing’s glazed tiles, but a deep green akin to dark ink. All the colors in the area displayed the vigorous vitality of the flourishing plants.

The air in the mountains was extremely fresh, and he suddenly felt a sense of rebirth, as if experiencing a moment of enlightenment. The darkness he had endured for three years was swept away.

After that, his body gradually recovered, and he began to dare to take an interest in the things around him. He started to regain many normal sensory thoughts and realized that there were no signs of excavation anywhere in the vicinity. The ancient tombs he had speculated about seemed not to exist; even if they did, they were not located on this flat ground. However, the surrounding mountains were very steep, and the likelihood of a large-scale ancient tomb complex appearing in such a rugged landscape was quite low.

With nothing else to do and driven by curiosity, one day he secretly followed a group of people into the mountains. After climbing to the middle of a mountain, the terrain abruptly changed to a vast expanse of bare rock cliffs. The upper part of the mountain seemed as if it had been cut vertically by a knife, erasing all curvature, leaving behind an almost entirely vertical and uneven rock surface. Strange trees grew in the crevices above, and a small waterfall cascaded down from the top of the cliff, splashing onto the crowns of the giant trees below.

Such cliffs often appear by rivers; the famous rock carvings along the Yangtze River are inscribed on these types of cliffs. It was likely that this cliff existed because it used to be part of a riverbed, which had since dried up due to the river changing course. Looking ahead, it indeed stretched for at least several dozen kilometers, with no end in sight.

On these cliffs, he saw countless ropes and cable systems, as if they were the legendary cliffs known for producing bird’s nests, teeming with people. At the same time, he noticed that many ropes were being dismantled, clearly having completed their historical mission. He immediately understood where the so-called ancient tombs and those ancient texts had come from.

The people of Shu were known for their pursuit of the Tao, especially in the Sichuan region where various religions flourished. It was said that many seekers of immortality would respond to celestial summons and, at a certain time, climb the cliffs without any food, only bringing water, in search of a cave or crevice to enter, cutting their ropes and severing their retreat, to undergo their final cultivation. If they were unsuccessful, they would starve to death inside.

Many people used such resolute means to express their determination to transcend and become immortals, particularly on local legendary sacred mountains, which were especially sought after. Most of these individuals would carry ancient texts with them, and over generations, many dynasties’ bones accumulated in these caves. Those ancient texts likely originated from the seekers who climbed these cliffs, discovering them one hole at a time.

Now that some ropes had been removed, it was evident that they had found what they were looking for. However, it seemed they did not intend to leave just yet. What else could they be planning to do?

He observed the parts of the ropes that had not been dismantled but rather reinforced, feeling that there was more to this than just the ancient texts.

Unfortunately, Jin Wantang could not continue his curiosity here; with his skills, he could not climb the cliffs to take a look, nor did he have the courage to ask for specific details. In the following days, he lived quite comfortably, and during this time, he, like some others who suddenly realized things during the period of reform and opening up, began to ponder his own small schemes. He suddenly regretted not having secretly kept a few copies of those damaged ancient texts; even if their condition was poor, they would still be worth a fortune. He was the only one here with an eye for appreciating ancient texts, and it would have been easy to hide away one or two exquisite pieces.

He knew that offending the Old Nine Gates would have serious consequences, but the comfortable life had made his greed fester like a maggot. He regretted it deeply. People often think back and wonder how they should have acted differently; in reality, if he were to go back to that moment, he might still lack the courage to act differently.

However, God gave him a second chance this time. In June of the third year, a major incident occurred. Suddenly, there was a commotion as a large group of people rushed out of the mountains at noon, hurriedly carrying a dozen stretchers, all covered in blood. The camp was thrown into chaos.

Later that evening, a large scroll, nearly soaked in blood, was delivered to Jin Wantang. Three days later, he met for the first time with Old Lady Huo and the other members of the Nine Gates, all of whom wore serious expressions. A group of them began the final authentication work while almost all eyes were on him.

He took just one glance at that large scroll and immediately recognized it; it was the Lu Huang silk book from the Warring States period.