Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Great Treasure

The next evening at dusk, I was in the warehouse counting medicinal herbs when Xiao Hai came to call me, saying the farewell banquet had already been set up in the main hall. I hurried over, only to see Xue Honglou sitting by the table, but no one else was in sight. The atmosphere felt strange, and as I approached, I realized a knife was plunged into Xue Honglou’s chest, half her body stained with dark blood.

I supported her as she whispered two words: “Tang Rong.”

At that moment, I was still willing to forgive any extreme actions by Tang Rong—after all, I had hurt her first. If I divorced her and she stabbed Xue Honglou, then things would be even. I carried Xue Honglou out of the hall toward the stables, intending to hitch a horse and leave. Unexpectedly, all the horses had been poisoned by Tang Rong, and she was holding Xiao Hai hostage, shouting that if I stepped outside, she and Xiao Hai would perish together.

Helpless, I pretended to agree to her demands—to kill Xue Honglou and reconcile with her. In truth, I had long realized that Tang Rong’s dagger was coated with potent poison; there was no cure for Xue Honglou. What I truly wanted was to get close to Tang Rong and kill her with a single strike, avenging Xue Honglou.

Tang Rong believed me and released Xiao Hai, stepping closer. As my knife pierced her heart, she smiled and told me that dying by my hand was the best ending. The two women I loved—who loved me—died on the same day. I also wished to die but could not bear to leave Xiao Hai behind. I endured the pain and lived on alone, raising Xiao Hai and watching him marry and have children.

If the Silver-eyed Death Charm of Guge never appeared again, I thought my life would end quietly, the old troubles forgotten and never spoken of again. Looking back, it was my fault—falling out of love, abandoning my wife and child, how utterly reckless I had been. Today, I am about to die, to end it all and seek the lonely spirits of Xue Honglou and Tang Rong in the afterlife.

These explanations did not satisfy Ding Jun, for the mirror labyrinth beneath the Shi residence and the ‘Vessel of Ten Thousand Worms’ in Si Qin’s eyes all required a reasonable answer.

He no longer pressured Shi Miaoshou, who was barely breathing, gasping like an old bellows.

“What else did Xue Honglou tell you? Half the text from the Heavenly Book—who else knows it? Also—” Miss Xue pressed three questions, suddenly raising her head to look at Ding Jun.

“Want me to stay away?” Ding Jun smiled bitterly and stood, heading left. By experience, as long as he found the narrow path trampled by herb gatherers, he could leave the gorge and return to Torin Town. Of course, this had to wait until daylight; wandering blindly in the dark would only cause trouble.

He had no intention of prying into Miss Xue’s secrets and left temporarily to avoid suspicion.

After thirty steps to the left, he found a narrow path slanting upward—the trail made by the mountain folk. Relieved, he let out a long breath and sat on a rock.

“Tomorrow, back to Torin Temple, give it everything to protect Shi Hai’s child. That will be the greatest gain from this Tibet trip. Even if I fall out with Miss Xue, it cannot be helped,” he silently planned.

Given the balance of power—after ten days of heavy casualties among the Eagle Squad—he was confident in opposing Miss Xue. With Fang Qing and the three members of the Five Poisons Sect’s He family assisting, protecting the unborn child in Si Qin’s womb would not be difficult. Amidst all the upheaval, this was the only good news.

More importantly, he had already deciphered the secret indicated by the Arabic numeral “16” in the Sutra Pavilion and could begin excavation once he returned.

Suddenly, a chorus of wolf howls echoed deeply from the valley, resonating and overlapping.

He calmly thought of how countless ancient secrets lay buried within the vast Tibetan snow mountains, how many famous heroes had been laid to rest there—like the fallen warriors of the Delta Force, leaving behind only small tombstones that recorded their lives.

Suddenly, a shout came from Miss Xue’s direction: “Who is it? Stop him—”

Ding Jun turned to see a swift gray shadow bounding toward the right side of the valley without touching the ground. Without hesitation, he dashed after it and caught up with Miss Xue.

She cried out anxiously, “He’s taken the baby!”

Ding Jun ran further, gauging the terrain, cutting diagonally northwest, sprinting nearly three kilometers along the ridgeline, curving to intercept the pursuer. In complex terrain, speed was secondary; foresight and taking shortcuts to intercept were the marks of a top-tier special forces soldier.

As the shadow approached, Ding Jun sprang from behind a boulder and firmly blocked the path.

“It’s you? Ruan Feng?” he exclaimed in surprise. Ruan Feng should have been lurking near Torin Temple, not coming this way.

“Y-yeah, it’s me... Sorry, meeting again like this...” Ruan Feng panted, seeming physically drained.

“Give me the child,” Ding Jun reached out.

Ruan Feng took a step back, grinning and shaking his head. “No, no, this child is my only bargaining chip now. I can’t just hand him over.”

Within seconds, Miss Xue arrived, forming a pincer with Ding Jun.

“Hey, don’t come any closer! If I lose my temper and kill the child, there'll be no point in fighting!” Ruan Feng warned immediately.

Ding Jun raised his hands calmly, speaking gently: “Ruan Feng, we can talk about whatever you want. Don’t hurt the child.”

Ruan Feng coughed twice and forced a smile. “Yeah... cough... the child’s the most important. Tell me... the secret of the Heavenly Kingdom treasure, and I’ll give the child back.”

Ding Jun asked in return, “You look hurt. What happened?”

Ruan Feng laughed bitterly: “If I weren’t hurt... no matter how many of you surround me, you wouldn’t catch me. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—there are definitely other experts lurking around Torin Town. I was hiding behind the roof of Shi Miaoshou’s neighbor, watching the commotion, when someone ambushed me and stabbed me in the side. Don’t ask... bad luck. I escaped that guy and ran into you lot. Enough talk—tell me the secret of the Heavenly Kingdom treasure, and I’ll let the child go.”

Ding Jun didn’t know the secret, so he looked to Miss Xue.

Her face was pale, her gaze cold and devoid of warmth.

“Speak up!” Ruan Feng shouted.

He held the child with one hand, the other touching above his left hip bone, grimacing in pain. His face was already unpleasantly repulsive, and after doing such a vile thing—using a child as a shield—he looked like a filthy rat hiding in a gutter.

“What is the Heavenly Kingdom treasure?” Miss Xue suddenly asked.

Ding Jun was startled. Ruan Feng shouted again: “Don’t play dumb! Didn’t you just discuss this with Shi Miaoshou? The Heavenly Kingdom treasure is the massive gold left by Wing King Shi Dakai, transported from Sichuan deep into the Great Snow Mountain. Now everyone’s talking about it—you’re pretending not to know?”

The historical tale of Wing King Shi Dakai’s defeat at the Dadu River had spread far and wide, becoming a classic example of a powerful figure brought low. To save his troops, Shi Dakai voluntarily bound himself and marched to the Qing army camp—a fearless act of self-sacrifice never before seen, nor since. According to reliable records, when the Qing army besieged Shi’s camp, they found only arms and a small amount of pay—no gold. Afterwards, they tortured Shi’s men severely and dug deep based on clues, yet failed to find a single ingot of gold.

Therefore, the only answer was that Shi Dakai had long since moved the gold to a secure place, awaiting the Taiping remnants’ resurgence.