I noticed that Lao Yang’s expression was off, and a strange feeling flashed in my mind. I quickly shouted his name. Lao Yang was startled by me and immediately reacted, shivering and standing still.

We both rushed over and asked him what he was thinking just now.

Lao Yang looked at the tree and then at us, puzzled, and said, “I don’t know. It’s really strange. The moment I saw this tree, it was as if I was compelled, and I suddenly wanted to… climb up.”

Climb up? I looked at Lao Yang skeptically and then glanced up at the tree. I thought to myself, “You’re not a monkey; why would you want to climb just because you see a tree?” I asked him, “Are you perhaps influenced by the imposing presence of this thing? Generally, when people see something tall, they have the urge to climb it.”

Lao Yang shook his head, saying, “I don’t know either.”

Master Liang looked at the bronze tree and said, “This thing is so big; it feels a bit eerie. We should be careful while observing it and try not to touch it.”

Lao Yang nodded in agreement, and I raised my torch and walked toward the base of the bronze giant tree.

Bronze trees are relatively rare artifacts. As far as I remember, they have only been unearthed in Sanxingdui; it seems there are no others. I also learned a bit from documentaries, but the archaeological community has not reached a conclusion about their origins, and there are many theories.

As I got closer, I noticed that the surface of the bronze tree was not smooth; it was covered in totems of double-bodied snakes, symbolizing the divinity of bronze artifacts.

Master Liang observed it for a long time and said to me, “This big fellow is probably a sacrificial vessel, dating back to the Shang or Zhou dynasties. As for its specific use in rituals, it’s too ancient; it’s beyond my knowledge.”

This was quite close to what the old man had told me before coming here. However, the Shang dynasty lasted over six hundred years, and the Zhou dynasty lasted five hundred and twenty-two years, which adds up to more than a thousand years. If we include the Xia dynasty, which lasted over four hundred years, it almost covers half of the recorded history of China. This judgment was practically meaningless.

I asked him if he could be more precise and whether he could determine which specific period of the Shang or Zhou dynasties it belonged to.

Master Liang shrugged and said he couldn’t: “This thing can’t be determined with the naked eye; I can only make guesses. You see the rust color is dark gray; it might be one of the tin bronze, lead-tin bronze, or lead bronze varieties, with the highest probability being from the Western Zhou period, about a fifty percent chance. As for the other fifty percent, I can’t say. You know the rules in our line of work; knowing this much is already pretty good. If I go deeper, I can only make wild guesses.”

In the antiques business, there is a dividing line between dynasties. A large number of antiques were produced after the Song dynasty, and there are fewer items from before the Tang dynasty. As for the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there are almost none. The industry doesn’t have much knowledge about such items, and Master Liang is indeed quite knowledgeable, much more than I am.

After hearing all of this, I still had no clear concept, so I asked, “Then based on the Western Zhou, can you give me an assessment? Theoretically, could the bronze craftsmanship of the Western Zhou period produce something like this?”

Master Liang replied, “I can’t answer that question either. I only know that at that time, bronze artifacts had to be made using ceramic molds. Theoretically, as long as you can make a ceramic mold, it’s possible to cast a finished product. However, this thing is too large; I’m afraid it couldn’t be made using traditional techniques.”

Lao Yang asked him, “Master, do you think this could be a relic of a prehistoric civilization? I read in the newspaper that iron nails have been found in coal mines that are hundreds of millions of years old. This thing is so big; I doubt the ‘people’ back then could have made it, right?”

Master Liang shook his head. “You two young masters, I really don’t think that’s necessarily the case. The period from 1000 BC to the beginning of the Common Era is often referred to as the Age of Miracles in history. Many seemingly impossible things were built during that time, like the Great Wall, the pyramids, the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, and the Tower of Babel. If you say this bronze tree couldn’t have been cast, that’s hard to argue against, considering our ancestors were already able to cast bronze at that time. With a decree from the emperor, the people would work tirelessly for decades, so it’s not impossible.”

Master Liang’s point had some merit, but I wondered if metallurgy was so underdeveloped back then that there could be enough bronze available. Qin Shi Huang only cast twelve golden figures after gathering troops from all over the realm; this tree could probably require enough bronze for hundreds of such figures. Where would all that bronze have come from?

I pondered this for a while but couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation. Instead, I recalled something else. When we were eavesdropping on Li Pipa, we heard him say that the items in this ancient tomb were even better than those in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. However, as we made our way down, we hadn’t seen anything particularly valuable. The only potential treasure here was this bronze tree, but we weren’t scavengers.

Though this tree could certainly keep a hundred scavengers busy for a lifetime…

There must be something written in his “He Mu Ji” that attracted him here. A person like him, who has seen so many treasures, wouldn’t make such remarks without reason; whatever this thing is, it must be extraordinary. But what exactly is it, and where is it in this place?

Logically, this should be the center of the entire ancient tomb or miracle. If there were valuable items, they should be nearby. However, aside from this tree, there was certainly nothing here that someone like Li Pipa would find appealing… Wait… the tree?

I thought for a moment, and suddenly a light bulb went off in my head. I looked up at the tree above me and wondered: Could the thing that attracted him be hidden in this bronze tree?

This enormous bronze tree would have been an incredibly grand project for the ancestors of the Snake Kingdom in ancient times; it could be considered a miracle. It’s likely that their king would place his own tomb in what they believed to be the closest spot to the divine. So, if this is indeed an ancient tomb, the owner’s coffin should be located on the bronze tree, and all the ceremonial vessels should also be on it.

I shared my thoughts with the other two, and they agreed it made sense. I asked them, “Since that’s the case, should we climb up to take a look?”

Old Yang naturally agreed, saying, “We’ve come this far; what’s the big deal about climbing a few steps? There are so many branches up there, it’s just like climbing stairs, and it won’t take much effort.”

I didn’t mind climbing a bit, but Master Liang had just been warmed by the fire and was physically exhausted. If we made him climb the tree, he might end up in serious trouble. If he got stuck halfway, we would have to take care of him, and we really didn’t have the energy for that.

I turned to suggest that he wait for us below while the two of us went up, but I saw Master Liang rubbing his face vigorously and then patting me on the shoulder. “It’s fine, we have to see it through to the end—let’s go take a look!”

I saw the determination in his eyes and knew that I couldn’t persuade him, so there was no need to make any futile attempts. I tightened my backpack, raised my torch, and said to Lao Yang, “Then let’s continue.”

Lao Yang put on the gloves from his bag and was the first to step onto the branches of the bronze tree, starting to climb. Master Liang and I followed his lead, ascending in the order of his footholds.

The branches above were neither too tight nor too sparse, making it quite easy to climb. As Lao Yang climbed, he reminded us to pay attention to our next steps and not to be careless and miss our footing.

With my back against the bronze tree trunk, I could see more clearly. The branches extending out were all cast at the same time as the trunk, with flawless joints and not a single trace of forging. However, what surprised me was that the gap between the two serpents above was quite deep, seemingly carved into the depths of the trunk, and I couldn’t see what was inside the carved groove.

Because we were too focused on our movements, we quickly broke into a sweat and were panting heavily. I looked down and found I couldn’t see the bottom of the pit; all I could see was the faint glow of the fire altar by the door. From this height, it appeared to be an endless abyss.

After climbing for a while, Master Liang was exhausted. I signaled Lao Yang to stop and gestured for him not to rush, allowing Master Liang to take a break.

Master Liang squatted down as if he had been granted amnesty. He was completely worn out, sweating profusely, his legs trembling, and he could barely stand. I sat on a branch, my feet dangling in the air, feeling quite insecure and unable to rest properly.

Seeing that we were too tense, Lao Yang tossed us some rations, telling us to chew on them and said, “You guys can’t keep this up. We’ve still got about a hundred meters to go. With your stamina, we might have to spend the night up in the tree. How about this, Lao Wu, why don’t you tell us a dirty joke to lighten the mood?”

I was too tired to speak and cursed, “Go away! Aren’t you tired? Look at your calves shaking. If you want to tell a dirty joke, you do it. I don’t have the energy for that.”

Lao Yang took a bite of his corn cake and said, “I’ll tell it, but you have to answer me a question first. Lao Wu, if we discover this thing, can we have it named after us if we notify the government?”

I honestly had no idea about that, so I turned to Master Liang, who was panting and waved his hand, “Hey, Lao Yang, have you ever heard of anything being named after people like Wang Ermazi’s Fang Ding or Zhao Tugeng’s Sanjiao Gu? Historically, the discoverers of national treasures have been farmers and construction workers. If you want to name it after them, that would be interesting. It’s not that we look down on the working class, but Chinese names can’t be used like foreign ones. Don’t you think that feels a bit awkward?”

Lao Yang thought for a moment and felt there was some truth to it. He then asked, “Well, at least give me the right to name it, right? Isn’t it the case that whoever discovers an island gets to name it?”

Master Liang replied, “I think there is such a regulation, but I haven’t really researched it.”

I asked Lao Yang, “Why are you asking all this? You haven’t even sorted out your money and you’re already thinking about fame and fortune? Don’t you think it’s obvious that a person wouldn’t just stumble upon a place like this? What do you do, anyway? It’s pretty clear.”

Lao Yang said, “I think this thing is quite interesting. What do you think we should name this big copper pillar? You guys think about it too, so we can have a unified story when we brag in the future.” At that moment, I didn’t want to entertain such boring thoughts anymore, so I replied, “Since you discovered it first, it’s up to you to name it. I’m not in the mood for that.” Lao Yang looked up and said, “As soon as I saw this thing, a phrase flashed in my mind. How about we call this pillar ‘I Love a Piece of Firewood’?” I retorted, “Have you been watching too many low-quality films? ‘I Love a Piece of Firewood’? Do you really think that name won’t get you struck by lightning if you go outside?” Lao Yang laughed at that, and Liang Shiye shook his head in amusement. With that laugh, everyone finally relaxed.

After we finished eating, we regained a lot of strength, and Lao Yang urged us to continue on our way. I lifted my foot and was about to walk when I suddenly noticed something seemed off beneath me. Upon closer inspection, I realized, huh? The fire pit by the door had gone out. Lao Yang frowned and said, “Could it have been blown out by the wind here?” I shook my head and replied, “No way. The flame in that fire pit is so big, it’s definitely more professional than the one I made. It can’t have been blown out by the wind. Something must have happened down there.”

Just as I was thinking this, the entire copper tree shook slightly, as if something had bumped into it. Liang Shiye gasped and quickly asked what was going on. Lao Yang made a shushing gesture to us, then cupped his hands into a horn shape and pressed them against the copper wall. After listening closely, his expression changed dramatically, and he whispered to us, “Damn it, it seems like something is coming up!”