Even though Su Jingmo said that Tang Jiaming shouldnât be a threat, in the end, he had seen Su Jingmo, so Qin Cheng should pay more attention from now on.
Since Tang Jiaming was arranged to deal with the cultural relics transported from Ninghua Village to the city; Qin Cheng wasnât able to meet much with Tang Jiaming ever since they talked the night they escaped from the Underground Palace.
Qin Cheng tried to ask Zhang Jun, and other colleagues who were also working in the same area as Tang Jiaming, about him. However, the answer was always the same.
âHe uhm, heâs been busy dealing with the cultural relics. Although, heâs been staying indoors, not like the rest of us who have to get all muddy every day. However, we have more people working outside, and Tang-ge has fewer companions. We have a lot of items that need to be transported to the city, for the recording and processing work. The other day, I even brought the items there personally, and what I saw wasâŠ. tsk tsk tsk.â Zhang Jun thought of what he saw that day, how his colleagues had to lie on the ground since they were extremely tired. âIâm afraid that the ones who have to put together countless porcelain pieces, would end up tiring their eyes to blindness.â
After Zhang Jun said this, he remembered the broken porcelain pieces that Qin Cheng had handed to him. He put down his brush, stood up, and walked over to Qin Cheng. Then, he whispered in his ear: âIâve been sorting out the porcelain pieces you gave me the other day. According to the sentences I was able to read clearly, that porcelain artifact should describe a war.â
After hearing this, Qin Cheng looked around, and when he saw that no one was paying attention to them, he carefully replied, as he dug up the soil with a hand shovel: âWhat does it say?â
âThe sentences arenât complete, but I could see the words â fierce battle â and â 30,000 soldiers â. I think the text is describing a war, but I donât exactly know who is fighting whom, or whether itâs a civil war, or if itâs a war against foreign countries. Iâm afraid I wonât be able to know it clearly until Iâm done with all the porcelain pieces.â
Qin Cheng nodded his head and asked: âThe fragments I gave you may not be from the same porcelain vase. When the wooden beams of the tomb collapsed, the tiles and bricks crushed a lot of objects. I brought out all the porcelain pieces that had characters on them.â
âWell, itâs true that those porcelain fragments donât belong to only one vaseâŠ. but that doesnât change the fact that this porcelain vase is superior in both workmanship and texture. The quality of the porcelain is firm and delicate, the glaze layer is thick and moist. Even if the whole piece is bloody red, it looks warm and moist, just like Jade. Itâs an excellent piece of red glazed porcelain <sup>1</sup> ! Ah, itâs such a pity that itâs brokenâŠ.â
Zhang Jun was extremely interested in porcelain items, and his research on porcelain was superior to Qin Chengâs. When he talks about the broken porcelain vase, his eyes are extremely sad. At this, Qin Cheng couldnât help laughing and shaking his head: âIf itâs broken, then it cannot be mended back to its original appearance, no matter how unfortunate it is. Itâs useless to think otherwise.â
âIs there any other red glazed porcelain inside the tomb?â
âThis red glazed porcelain was placed under the collapsed eaves, at the edge of the tomb. All of them are broken.â
âTsk tsk, what a pity.â Zhang Jun said. Then, he remembered that Qin Cheng will go to Shanxi soon, so he asked: âWhen are you going to Shanxi?â
At noon, even though it was the end of September, the sun was still a bit stinging. Qin Cheng, who was suffering from the 30Âș, took off his hat and used it as a fan. âThe day before yesterday I contacted the taxi driverâs son-in-law I mentioned last time. He said that he might not have time to go to Shanxi for now because of his work, so he will go there on the National Day <sup>2</sup> .â
After Zhang Jun heard that, he nodded his head. âTrue, we may also have 7 days off for the National Day. You can ask Wu Hai to go with you by then.â
âYeah, I told Wu Hai that weâll leave once we finish our work here, on the 30th. If we canât find anything, then we should be back by the 7th or 8th of October. However, if we really find something, we donât know when weâll be back.â
âBy then, you two can say that youâll be taking a long leave. After all, it just so happens to be your third year of postgraduate, so you two can simply say that youâll be taking an internship in Shanxi.â
âIf weâre able to find something, then itâs okay to be absent from our work here for a while.â Qin Cheng replied with a smile. âI hope that we can get good results over there t-â
Qin Chengâs words were cut half-way through because he noticed that Li Guoxian, who saw them whispering to each other, came over: âThere? Where are you going?â
The two of them were extremely shocked by Li Guoxianâs sudden approach, and what he had asked. At that, Qin Cheng turned around and quickly replied to Li Guoxian: âWe were talking about where we will travel during the seven days off weâll get from the National Day.â
âAh, yes.â Li Guoxian agreed. âYou should go out for a while. After all the things happening at the moment, and our heavy work, itâs better to take advantage of this break to relax a little. But, will it be you two alone? Wonât you bring your girlfriends or something?â Li Guoxian narrowed his eyes as he said this to the two young men.
âNonono, Iâm not going.â Zhang Jun replied before Qin Cheng could open his mouth. âIâll be with my girlfriend those days. As for Qin Cheng, well⊠I think he also asked his girlfriend to be with him.â
âOh? I didnât know Qin Cheng had a girlfriend.â Li Guoxian laughed as he patted Qin Chengâs shoulder. âSince youâre busy in Ninghua Village all day long, Iâve been worrying that you wouldnât be able to get a girlfriend. Are you planning to go somewhere fun?â
âYou see, Professor, you donât know him as well as I do. This kid doesnât know how to have fun.â Zhang Junâs words made Qin Cheng extremely speechless: âHe had just started to officially date her two days ago. Iâve even met her, sheâs quite pretty, and her name is Xia Tong.â
Zhang Junâs bragging skills failed to flatter Qin Cheng, but in the end, such nonsense was useful for changing the subject.
Qin Cheng suspected that Li Guoxian knew something they didnât about the tomb. If this suspicion was correct⊠Qin Cheng believed that with Li Guoxianâs knowledge and ability, trying to find some kind of connection between the Ninghua Villageâs Imperial Mausoleum and Shanxi wasnât impossible. After all, Qin Cheng had already met the old taxi driver, who had provided him with an interesting clue, meaning that he now knew that there were antiquities in Shanxi with a similar style to that of Ninghua Villageâs tombâs artifacts.
Li Guoxian has been working as an archeologist for so many years, and he has seen countless antiquities over the years.
Even then, at this point, Qin Cheng still had to hide some things from him.
Li Guoxian was Qin Chengâs mentor, and Qin Cheng used to trust in him. He trusted the man that was a famous and rewarded archeologist in China. However, this time, Qin Cheng couldnât trust him.
When he thought about it more carefully, Li Guoxian hadnât set a single foot inside the tomb until now, meaning that Li Guoxian shouldâve known that this tomb was extremely dangerous from the start. But if that was the case, then why did Li Guoxian let them take the riskâŠ.? Qin Cheng doesnât know what Li Guoxian was thinking, and because of this, he doesnât want to tell him about any of the things he had discovered until now.
People who seem to be kind on the outside, arenât necessarily good.
Those who seem righteous on the outside, arenât necessarily just.
Thatâs what Qin Cheng thinks.
But this was also what Jiang Ping thought at the momentâŠ.
âWhy canât we take care of Ninghua Villageâs case anymore?â Jiang Ping almost gritted his teeth while he spat out these words. âThree lives were lost there! Weâre talking about human lives! Not pet lives!â
When he chased after the two grave robbers until Sichuan, they suddenly disappeared as if they had evaporated. At this, Jiang Ping wanted to retrieve the local video footage, but he was told that without a certificate issued by the Director of Shanxiâs police, he couldnât get a copy of the footage.
He rushed as fast as he could to get back in time, to the point in which he couldnât even wash the mud away from his body, and now his Chief was telling him that they wonât be taking care of the case anymore?!
Director Luo Zhiâan calmly looked at his subordinate, who climbed quite quickly to his current position, but decided to stay as a Deputy Bureau. He then picked up his tea cup, drank it slowly, and said: âYou canât handle this mysterious case anymore. Regardless of the process of the case, or the possible results, it doesnât conform to todayâs values! There were even nonsensical posts on the internet about this case, and Xiao-Lin almost lost her life. Everyone is already on edge! I donât know how this case will turn out, and whether it will keep going on like this or not! Just let those crazy archeologists do whatever they want. If they want to put their lives at risk, can we even stop them?!â
Jiang Ping was extremely surprised to hear such absurd remarks, and replied with amazement: âItâs in line with your values, not to seek justice for the dead?!â
âJiang Ping! Watch your words!â Luo Zhiâan slapped his hand on the table, and said with a harsh tone of voice, he replied: âWhat do you know?! If it werenât because Iâve been tolerating your bad temper until now, you wouldâve been fired a long time ago! Do you really think that those with great abilities can rise to the top on their own? Youâre already 35 or 36 years old, and youâve been a Deputy Bureau for several years! And you havenât been able to surpass me in all these years! Do you even know why?!â
âBecause Iâm not as fucking good as you are at being an ass kisser!â
âYou motherfucker!â Luo Zhiâan was so furious that he angrily dropped his teacup at the glass wall behind Jiang Ping.
âMe? An ass kisser?! If it werenât for me, would you still be able to stay in this Bureau?! If it werenât for me, would people even call you Deputy Bureau Jiang?! Youâre extremely righteous while handling the cases! Even the superiorâs sons wonât dare to arrest the people you put in jail! Do you think that everyone admires you? You donât even know that if I hadnât taken the blame for you, you wouldâve been fired long ago! Youâre so arrogant that you have the audacity to lecture me? Do you really think that I havenât put up with enough crap for you? Do you want some more?â
Luo Zhiâan has gained a lot of weight over the past few years, and he was too angry to care about his appearance. After scolding Jiang Ping for a while, he was out of breath. As he gasped heavily for air, he pointed at the door of the office with his finger: âYou! You get out of here! I thought that you had made some progress, but I didnât know that someone at their 30s wonât be intelligent enough! If it werenât because my superious had given a word for you! How could the three homicides cases get dismissed like this?! The authorities donât want this matter spreading everywhere. Even if you want to become Sun Wukong <sup>3</sup> and go to Heaven, Buddha will be there to stop you!â
Luo Zhiâan words awakened Jiang Ping. Itâs true that Jiang Ping had a bad temper, just as Luo Zhiâan said. It was also true that if not for Luo Zhiâanâs support, he wouldnât have been able to work in the cases he has taken over in the past and even now. That alone would have brought a million reasons for him to lose his job.
Since Luo Zhiâan allowed Jiang Ping to sit at the Deputy Bureauâs position from the very beginning, that meant that Luo Zhiâan approved and recognized his abilities; which allowed him to take all the cases he wanted.
If Jiang Ping were in ancient times, he wouldâve been considered as being kind and knowledgeable.
âIt doesnât matter how you say it, your superiors canât leave this case unresolved! The case is right here! If we simply throw away a homicide case, what will the masses say?!â
Seeing that Jiang Pingâs words werenât as blunt as a moment ago, Luo Zhiâan also softened his tone of voice: âArenât there many unresolved cases already? I guess the upper authorities want to ignore this tricky case and wait for the people to forget about it in a few years. Besides, arenât people nowadays more worried about the economy? Who would agree to waste such a large amount of manpower and material resources on a case that might as well not get investigated at all?â
âBut even if itâs a haunted case, there must be someone deliberately working behind the scenes!â
âIs there someone working behind the scenes? How do you even know that? Do you know it because of your â sixth sense â? Or is it with your years of experience? Without evidence, you canât say shit! Iâm so fucking angry that my head hurts! Alright, thatâs it! Stop talking and get the hell out of here. If I keep listening to you, Iâll end up shooting you!â
Jiang Ping also knew that it was useless to say anything else, so he turned around. He wanted to slam the door as he left, but before he could heavily close the door, Luo Zhiâan stopped him.
âWait!â Luo Zhiâan closed his eyes and rubbed his temples: âIt seems that you havenât taken your annual leave for the past few years, right? So why donât you just take them all right now? Just⊠calm yourself down, and do something you want to do.â
How could Jiang Ping not understand what Luo Zhiâan actually meant? At this, there was only one thing that Jiang Ping wanted to do now! Laugh out loud!
âDonât get in trouble while youâre on vacation.â