He tried to push the ward door open again, but his arms lacked the strength. Cai Qingchong shouldered the door open for him, while Fan Debiao practically dragged his bulky frame to the bedside. Liu Dashao took the opportunity to scrutinize **the old man, growing more astonished the longer he looked. Though his hair was silver-white, it was styled exactly like Da Guoguo’s; though his face was a map of wrinkles and age spots, his contours bore a seven-tenths resemblance to Da Guoguo, looking for all the world like Da Guoguo’s own father. For some unknown reason, he was suddenly reminded of Ge Shuanwa’s aged appearance in Zhang Jiao’s cenotaph. A premonition settled upon him that this must be connected to the Taiping Jing that had so thoroughly entangled him. Where exactly had Da Guoguo gone on this tomb raid that it brought such a monumental disaster down upon him?

Yet, on second thought, Ge Shuanwa had brought it upon himself initially, insisting on practicing that wretched Taiping Jing, which gradually transformed him into this state—neither truly old nor young. But at least that transformation had a process! To see a man in the prime of his life suddenly become an elder of eighty or ninety years—that was utterly inconceivable. No matter what, Liu Dashao, just like Fan Debiao, could not accept that the person before them was Da Guoguo.

“Have the DNA results come back yet?” Liu Dashao asked without looking up.

“They have, and they match,” replied some cocky doctor from somewhere.

Just then, the officer entered. He helped Fan Debiao up from beside the bed. “Gentlemen, my condolences. None of us wished for something like this to happen. But for the subsequent investigation to proceed smoothly, and to uncover the truth behind this matter, I need your full cooperation. This absolutely cannot be leaked.”

Liu Dashao knew perfectly well what should and should not be said in this situation. Da Guoguo being rushed to the military hospital was likely another measure for secrecy. He nodded, managing a bleak smile. “Cause of death?”

“This…” The officer hesitated. “It’s still under investigation!”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?”

The officer coughed lightly. “Let me put it this way: I’ve assigned experts to perform a Carbon-14 test on a single strand of Mr. Zuo’s hair. It confirms death by normal aging…”

“Normal?” Fan Debiao suddenly gave a cold laugh. “Are you trying to fool a child? I’ve only been gone less than a month, and my boss went from a middle-aged man to an old geezer of eighty or ninety. You call that death by normal aging? Go to hell with your bootlicking nonsense…”

“The facts are indeed as stated. Though neither you nor I can readily accept it, you must trust science.” The officer sounded somewhat helpless.

“Science? To hell with your science! Say that one more time, and see if I don’t beat your teeth out all over the floor?”

“Debiao!” Liu Dashao saw Fan Debiao’s temper rising. If he actually started a fight with this high-ranking officer on domestic soil, it would be impossible to smooth over, given both their past records from the Red Era. He quickly called out, halting him.

Fan Debiao froze, saying no more. He gently placed Da Guoguo’s ice-cold hand over the corpse’s chest and just stared in silence.

“Mr. Fan!” The officer maintained excellent composure and was not angered by Fan Debiao’s rough temper. He said, “Your friend’s passing is unfortunate enough, but please don’t curse me; I am telling you the truth. Look here—”

The officer pulled a photograph from his breast pocket and handed it to Liu Dashao, adding, “Mr. Liu, this is where that tour archaeological team met their fate. Look, and you will understand everything!”

Liu Dashao took it. The background of the photo appeared to be a sinister altar. At the three corners of the altar lay three corpses. One of the bodies looked like a mummy millennia old, its skin a dark brown, devoid of muscle, like a skeleton merely sheathed in skin. He examined it closely and noticed an oval, white object next to the mummy, about the size of a person.

Fan Debiao snatched the photo, exclaiming, “What is this white thing?”

“A cocoon!”

“A cocoon? Holy—” Fan Debiao started to curse again, but the officer shrugged, offering a wry smile. “To be precise, it was a white, filamentous substance, oval-shaped, resembling an enlarged silkworm cocoon. The cocoon wall was about ten centimeters thick, soft but incredibly resilient. And this mummy was discovered inside this cocoon.”

“Cause of death?” Cai Qingchong, usually taciturn, spoke up coldly.

“Cause of death is still under investigation!” the officer replied sternly, then added, “When my troops arrived at the scene, the three deceased team members were positioned at the three corners of this triangular area. Each team member died in a different manner.”

“A regularly shaped triangular altar, and different causes of death—what does that mean?” Doubts swirled incessantly in Liu Dashao’s mind. After much thought, he could still make no sense of it.

The only certainty was that Da Guoguo and Jackson, once close friends, would never return. The other two deceased were presumably Uncle Diao’s two loyal and capable subordinates, Zhong Kui and Laoshu. People, one moment laughing heartily, the next gone forever. Life was truly unpredictable. He wondered how Uncle Diao and Wang Feifei were faring. As long as their bodies weren't found, there was still hope. He hoped they had weathered the danger. Liu Dashao knew that if Wang Feifei had gone with Uncle Diao, with the old man’s expertise in traversing the great deserts, they wouldn't be easily eliminated.

“Dashao, any insights?” Fan Debiao looked over with a grave expression.

Liu Dashao shook his head with a bitter smile. “Nothing can be deduced from a single photograph. Everyone died differently, seemingly without connection, yet it happened simultaneously—clearly not the work of human hands. Based on these points alone, it already exceeds the bounds of reason.”

“Here’s the situation: the Chinese government requires the assistance of the three of you. You had best depart for Xinjiang immediately and find whatever is beneficial to the nation.” The officer paused in thought.

“Immediately? Impossible! My boss’s only relatives are gone. He just passed away, and you’re asking me to leave for Xinjiang right now? Damn it, do you have any shred of humanity left?” Fan Debiao exploded in anger.

“Mr. Fan, you’d best weigh family matters against state affairs.” The officer shifted his tone. “Furthermore, I have a full ledger detailing your true identities. Don’t think that just because ten years have passed, no one remembers you. Back during the Cultural Revolution, when you were in a construction team, you deserted without authorization and smuggled yourselves to Hong Kong. If it hadn’t been for that Village Head Tian in Xiushui Village who helped you in a critical moment, coupled with Village Head Zhao from the neighboring village remembering your past kindness after being promoted to Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee and secretly suppressing your case—would your parents still be enjoying their good days? Frankly, even if I were to brand you both as traitors right now, it wouldn't be an unsubstantiated charge!”

“You, this…” Liu Dashao was momentarily speechless. The events of ten years ago were indeed his weak spot.

The officer smiled dismissively. “Now, I'm giving you an opportunity. As long as you help the country complete this mission, I will correct your files, and all past issues will be forgiven. Moreover, I will prepare two brand-new People's Republic of China identification cards for you. How about that? It’s been ten years—don’t you miss your loved ones? Don’t worry, after this matter is settled, I will arrange for them to reunite with you. I will also grant you a professorship in the Archaeology Department at Peking University, along with a special allowance from the State Council, so the two of you can return home in glory. Well, those terms are quite tempting, aren’t they?”

“Fine! I agree, and I hope you keep your promise,” Liu Dashao agreed without hesitation.

“Good, I like straightforward men like Mr. Liu!” The officer smiled. “Actually, we did track down Mr. Zuo—your Da Guoguo—but we didn’t move against him in the end. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because he was a good man.” The officer’s expression was tinged with pain as he spoke. “Even now, I can’t reconcile him with a vicious tomb robber. I was initially curious why someone with Da Guoguo’s wealth relied on his subordinates to scrape together meager medical fees. After the State Security investigation, I found some things at his home.” With that, he opened the folder in his hand and took out a stack of papers, handing them to Liu Dashao.

Upon opening it, Liu Dashao saw numerous honor certificates from Project Hope. He casually flipped one open, and a photograph fell out—a picture of Da Guoguo posing with a group of children, the background being a dilapidated primary school.

The text read: The teachers and students of XX Hope Primary School sincerely thank Mr. Zuo Mingtang.

“There are many more items like this—too many for me to bring along.” The officer seemed unable to control his emotions. “Only after meeting Mr. Zuo in the ward did I learn that for the past decade, his monthly living allowance was only a few dozen yuan, yet the total amount he donated to our country’s Project Hope reached… reached an astonishing ten million!”

“On his deathbed, he said he was an orphan who never studied, so he hoped that Chinese children would not go astray like him and turn to crime. Over the years, he traveled across the land, relying on the Hundred Tombs Scroll to excavate China’s imperial mausoleums. But he swore to me that not a single one of those artifacts was lost abroad—that was the only effort he could make. He also said that rather than letting useless funerary objects remain buried in the yellow earth, it was better to exchange them for hope—a hope that would allow some children to escape the mountains, fulfilling his own aspiration!”

Two streams of hot tears traced paths down Liu Dashao’s cheeks. He suddenly felt that the only good deed he had ever done in his life was saving Da Guoguo’s life at Bodhisattva Mountain. What immense karmic virtue that single act of kindness had accrued! Fan Debiao and Cai Qingchong were already embracing each other, weeping, wishing they could see their boss one last time.

“As someone who has been involved, I believe you understand that the sooner you reach the site, the greater the chance of finding the truth, and perhaps even locating the other two explorers,” the officer stressed. “Moreover, Mr. Zuo’s body cannot be cremated.”

“What do you mean?”

Su Yougui, standing nearby, let out a long sigh, shot Liu Dashao a look, and then shook his head.

The officer stood up and patted Liu Dashao and Fan Debiao’s shoulders sympathetically. “Gentlemen, I won’t hide it from you. Mr. Zuo’s remains must be handled by the military.”

“On what grounds?” Fan Debiao stepped forward and roared.

The officer sighed deeply. “The military needs to conduct research.”

“My boss is already gone, what the hell else do you need to research?”

“I won’t lie to you; when neutrons strike cells at near-light speed, they can accelerate cellular aging. The military suspects that this Mr. Zuo, and the deceased archaeological team members, were pierced through the cells by some form of neutron or even smaller quark energy, causing them to age and die in an extremely short period. But rest assured, we will not perform an autopsy on him; we will only take some tissue samples for research. The military will handle all post-mortem matters; you need not worry. You only need to complete your mission, and we will assign a government liaison to assist your actions.”

“A government liaison?”

“Correct. An outstanding soldier from our People’s Liberation Army, Captain Yang Weidong.”

Liu Dashao nodded. Just sending someone to keep tabs on them; no need to use such flowery language.

“But I don’t get it. Your government has so many talented people; what use are the three of us?”

“Because beneath the Guge ruins lies an unparalleled complex of tombs! Only your capabilities will allow you to enter!”

“A tomb complex?” Liu Dashao felt like laughing, but the sound wouldn’t come. Besides, he was too weary to argue further with the officer. He simply nodded and said, “Alright, I understand. Could you all leave so we can spend some time with our old brother?”

The officer and the doctor exchanged a glance, nodded, and left the ward. Inside, Liu Dashao gazed at Da Guoguo’s aged face, and tears fell silently once more.

They were only woken up the next morning. When they lifted their heads, the same officer was there. The officer let out a long sigh and handed Liu Dashao an object resembling a scroll. “Gentlemen, this is what Mr. Zuo asked me to pass on to you; perhaps it will be useful. Also, he asked you to look for someone named Jia Zhuangyuan. This person’s tomb-raiding skills are unparalleled in the world; he might be a great help to you.”

Liu Dashao nodded. “Then, can I take my girlfriend’s belongings and related documents with me?”

The officer considered, neither immediately agreeing nor outright refusing.

Liu Dashao added, “I know the authorities need to research these materials, but they are also key to this trip. Wang Feifei had a habit of keeping a diary; she certainly recorded things during the expedition. If I don’t have these documents, it will be difficult for me to start the investigation.”

“Done!” The officer nodded. “The military has already backed up those files. Besides, those things are considered your girlfriend’s possessions; you are naturally entitled to keep them.” He then turned to the soldier behind him and said, “Give them to him.”

The soldier acknowledged the order and carefully handed a folder to Liu Dashao with both hands.

Back at the hotel, Liu Dashao took a thorough shower. He recalled that in an environment like Tibet, water resources were extremely scarce; forget bathing, even drinking water had to be conserved. After showering, he took out a canvas bag and placed Wang Feifei’s documents and some photos inside. He changed his clothes and was just contemplating whether to wake up Fan Debiao and Cai Qingchong to study the scroll together when they knocked and entered.