Mayatis confirmed it with absolute certainty: "Two of them, the Golden Eye Silver Beads." He then turned to question Old Li and me, "You mean you two don't know about two Golden Eye Silver Beads?" His tone carried a profound astonishment.

It was I who should have been astonished. It was as if I vaguely recalled Nie Qiong mentioning two Golden Eye Silver Beads previously, but he had said one was given to Sheng Tai, and the other was kept by Laba’s family—though I wasn't sure if the second one had surfaced later. Apparently, Laba had always claimed he only possessed a single Golden Eye Silver Bead, never mentioning a second one. Hence, I had only remembered there being just one.

"I haven't heard anything about it," Old Li said. "I only knew of one."

Mayatis suddenly smiled enigmatically, "Of course, you wouldn't know... Perhaps I misremembered. Perhaps there is only one Golden Eye Silver Bead. You can disregard the vision from just now; who knows what that thing was."

This statement was a clear attempt to cover something up. I stared at Mayatis and gave a cold smile, saying nothing. He was perceptive enough to realize he shouldn't easily speak out of turn to offend us. After a couple of nervous chuckles, he dropped his arrogant demeanor, lowered his gaze subserviently, and stopped posturing.

Since he was being sensible, I decided not to press the issue. I turned to Old Li and recounted the story of Laba’s family acquiring the craftsman from Guge back then. Old Li, upon hearing that the craftsman had made two—one for Sheng Tai and the other for Laba’s household—was greatly perplexed. He asked me, "If the second one was indeed in Laba's family, why did he only have one when Nie Qiong eventually gave it to him? That doesn't add up, does it?"

I had considered this problem too. However, judging by Laba's expression back then, he didn't seem to be concealing anything. He had repeatedly insisted it would have been better not to buy it from Nie Qiong, claiming the acquisition was trouble, and later, only after we accompanied him, did he place it in the bank vault. I had never heard him mention a second one.

"..." Mayatis glanced at Old Li’s and my expressions, seeming about to say something, yet hesitant whether we would be interested in hearing it.

I thought this man was truly somewhat despicable. If you criticized him a bit, and his attitude wasn't perfectly placating, he immediately became servile. "Speak up, what is it you want to say," I asked impatiently.

"You... you... ah... you actually... know nothing at all. How can I explain it..." Mayatis appeared extremely troubled, stammering, "That Nie Qiong you speak of, I know him. I’ve dealt with him, both openly and behind the scenes. Do you really think he sold the Golden Eye Silver Bead to Laba out of genuine gratitude?"

"So there was another reason?" I was momentarily stunned, asking, "Did Nie Qiong have other intentions?"

Mayatis sneered lightly, "Only an idiot like Laba would believe that. At least Xu Zhinuo wouldn't believe it. If it were others..."

I pretended not to catch the underlying mockery in his words and patiently inquired, "Then you know Nie Qiong's true purpose?"

Mayatis snorted through his nose, "How could I not? Every move his family made has been under our surveillance. To tell you the truth, whether the Golden Eye Silver Beads were with him or at Laba's place in Lhasa, it’s the same as being in our own hands—easily accessible."

I waited for him to finish his boasting without betraying any emotion, and only then asked, "Why are you telling us all this? What does it have to do with Nie Qiong's little scheme?"

Mayatis shot me a sidelong glance, then turned his face away. "You really are quite sharp... For generations, Nie Qiong’s family guarded Guge solely waiting for the second Golden Eye Silver Bead so they could open the entrance to the seven-story pagoda, to enter..." Here, he stopped short of saying where they intended to go, immediately pivoting the topic, "After waiting for over a hundred years, they searched every place they could think of, and every person they needed to contact, but still no sign of the second bead. Can Nie Qiong not be anxious? That’s why he took the desperate step of selling the bead to Laba, having him take it to a place as conspicuous as Lhasa. His objective was to wait for the person who held the other bead to reveal themselves automatically. This was a ploy to draw the snake out of its hole. Once that person appeared, they would have a way to obtain both Golden Eye Silver Beads."

My blood boiled hearing this. So, that scoundrel Nie Qiong had been calculating everyone’s moves! No wonder he acted so forthcoming and told us so much the moment we arrived—it was all for his own benefit! I hated being manipulated more than anything! If I ever saw that swine again, peeling his skin off and making him wish he were dead wouldn't be enough to quell my rage.

"The moment you arrived in Lhasa, our people took notice of you... Not just us, Nie Qiong’s informants, and others' spies were already watching you. However, it seems that group of mysterious people was quite protective of you—Luo Lian. Several times, when someone tried to seize you, they were sent away... Otherwise, do you think the Tibetan opera singing girls who appeared at the Tibetan restaurant, the shoe-shining children who showed up when you were waiting for Laba outside the bank, or the beggar who handed the note to Nie Qiong were all mere chance encounters?" Mayatis’s contempt for our lack of awareness was visible to anyone, but this time I didn't lose my temper. What he said was true; I should have noticed those unusual occurrences, but I had genuinely dismissed them as trivial at the time.

I quickly calmed down and asked him in a low voice, "What else do you know?"

Mayatis chuckled, "I also know that the movements of all of Nie Qiong's spies are under the eyes of our people. And I know there is another group that has been watching you from the beginning, especially focused on Luo Lian’s party! But we don't know their origins. They seem very mysterious." He then sneered again, "Do you think Lhasa is what the average tourist sees—bustling, prosperous, and utterly harmonious? With just these three factions secretly monitoring the Golden Eye Silver Beads, any one of them could make a single move... Heh heh heh heh..." He ended with a continuous, cold laugh.

Hearing this made cold sweat break out on my forehead. So there were so many intricate connections at play. I was being inexplicably protected in the shadows, while simultaneously being a target more often than I realized... If those hostile elements had managed to strike, I dared not imagine the consequences.

We had talked for such a long time, and those strange visions had not reappeared at all. I secretly hoped for the vision of the king holding the Golden Eye Silver Beads to appear one more time so I could clearly see exactly how many beads he was holding. That’s why Old Li several times suggested we move on and not linger. I deliberately made excuses to dawdle, hoping the vision would show itself again. However, my wish was in vain; the scene never returned. Old Li was highly wary of the place and urged me to leave quickly, so I had no choice but to move forward.

The area ahead was completely obscure; we had no idea what lay in front of us. Old Li held the compass, stopping every few steps, extremely cautious not to take a wrong turn. I followed behind him, treading as cautiously as if walking on thin ice.

After walking some distance into the unknown, a mound of collapsed earth suddenly appeared ahead, mixed with wooden pillars and bricks and stones, accompanied by a faint smell of gunpowder. I couldn't help but freeze. Could this place have been blown up?

Old Li also turned around, looking at me with a puzzled expression. Not knowing the reason, I turned to look at Mayatis. Mayatis stated, "It should have been blown up. And... it should have been my grandfather and his men who blew it up." Whenever we had questions for him, he always took the opportunity to display his arrogance and his inherent contempt for Chinese people, and it was the same now.

I gave a cold laugh. "Your grandfather and his men had impressive skills to run in here and blow up this meaningless hole." I clearly didn't believe Himmler's subordinates would be so bored as to come and demolish a ruinous cavern.

Old Li chimed in his agreement.

Mayatis immediately lowered his gaze and fell silent again.

I couldn't be bothered to argue with him further. I dismissed the remark and began calculating how to get out. Perhaps this demolished area was an exit; at least the direction of life seemed to be this way—which filled me with immense hope.

So I asked Old Li to light the lamp, and I began searching for an opening. Old Li complied, and easily enough, I found a small hole beneath a pile of crisscrossed wood and broken bricks that a person could squeeze through in a crouch.

"Old Li, come look..." My voice trembled with excitement, "An exit, an exit!"

Old Li bent down, shining the light inside, and didn't see anything unusual. After thinking for a moment, he said, "It might be the exit. But let's not rush... Let Mayatis crawl through first to check."

I agreed with his suggestion. We couldn't be the ones to face every potential danger while Mayatis just waited to reap the benefits.

So I called Mayatis over and told him very amiably that there was an exit here now, and we decided he should go first while we covered the rear.

Mayatis was no fool. Hearing our proposal, he immediately resisted, "What if there's danger? What happens to me?"

I sneered and asked him, "So you think the danger should be ours to face?"

Old Li grimaced and spat twice forcefully onto the ground.

Mayatis was who he was; knowing that Old Li and I were forcing him ahead, if he wanted to resist, he would at least have to deal with both of us. In reality, he absolutely lacked the strength to do so. Therefore, though his expression was ugly, he weighed the pros and cons and finally complied, crawling into the small opening. Before squeezing in, he repeatedly urged us, "If you see anything wrong with me, you absolutely must rescue me."

Old Li and I naturally replied, "Of course, of course."

Mayatis gave us a look of extreme distrust, then bent over and wormed his way into the hole. As soon as he was inside, he stopped after every step, making sure there was no danger before continuing forward. Old Li and I didn't rush him; we let him crawl slowly.

In less than ten minutes, Mayatis successfully crawled through. He turned back and waved to us excitedly, beckoning us to come over. I immediately prepared to crawl through, but Old Li stopped me, signaling to wait and see if Mayatis encountered any trouble.

After a short wait, Mayatis was safe and sound; nothing happened to him. Only then did Old Li tell me to come over as well.

Mayatis looked at us with a smile that couldn't have been brighter, waiting eagerly for us to join him. That smile was indescribably cordial, indescribably gentle.