Dishu was startled when he heard the phrase "Four Great Forbidden Zones," realizing this matter was somehow connected to them. Knowing the Four Great Forbidden Zones were off-limits to tomb robbers, he dared not probe any further. After the founding of New China, Dishu’s diary accidentally fell into the hands of a tomb robber. Reading the diary, the robber learned of the connection and, seeing the words "Yaochi" (Jade Pool), immediately thought of the Heavenly Lake in the Tianshan Mountains. Having been terrified by poverty for too long, he assumed there must be treasure in that celestial pool and quickly gathered several companions to search the Heavenly Lake. At that time, I was just a young shepherd, driving flocks with another shepherd to graze in this area. I needed to relieve myself, and not wanting to defile the sacred snow-capped mountains, I ran off a considerable distance alone. As I reached a thicket of woods, I happened upon that group of tomb robbers. They hadn't spotted me, so I hid and eavesdropped on their conversation, catching everything they said about the matter.

Zhabacuo finished speaking, took another sip of milk tea, and sighed, "Regarding the Four Great Forbidden Zones, apart from what I’ve already told you, this is all I know. I hope it helps you."

The three of us found Zhabacuo’s story utterly bizarre after he finished. Lu Zong suddenly nudged Zhixiong with his elbow and whispered in his ear, "Zhixiong, tell him—there must be an ancient tomb in that Heavenly Lake. That monkey who kicked the bucket, Zhenhai, was probably up there tomb raiding, don't you think?"

Zhixiong shook his head slightly but offered no reply. Instead, he asked Zhabacuo, "Elder, is this truly all you know about the Four Great Forbidden Zones?"

Zhabacuo shook his head firmly. "Truly, nothing else."

After a pause, he added, "Having spoken so much, my old bones are quite tired. If there is nothing else, please forgive me for not being able to keep you company."

Seeing that Zhabacuo intended to see them out, Zhixiong immediately gave him an out. He stood up, stretched, and said, "Then you should rest, Elder. We are tired too, and it’s time to head back to the hotel."

With that, Zhixiong signaled the other two with his eyes. They understood immediately, rose, and bid farewell to Zhabacuo.

By the time we returned to Fukang City and checked into the hotel, it was already afternoon. The three of us ate some Xinjiang specialty dishes and then retreated to our respective rooms to rest.

In the evening, Zhixiong suddenly felt stifled and decided to look for the other two to take a walk. Just as he was about to leave his room, he overheard two people talking in the hallway. "Did you cut that melon?"

"Yes."

"Did you take the Divine Needle?"

"Damn, I forgot!"

"Sigh, you really are..."

The voices trailed off there. Zhixiong was stunned to hear them speaking the lingo of the trade; he immediately suspected the man outside had killed the Zhenhai Monkey who had been shot earlier. The first question, "Did you cut that melon?" meant, "Did you kill that person?" And the following question, "Did you take the Divine Needle?" meant, "Did you remove the Zhenhai Divine Needle from his neck? If the Divine Needle is seen by people in the tomb raiding community, it could cause trouble!"

With this realization, Zhixiong heard a door open in the room next door. Instantly, Zhixiong opened his own door, pretending to clutch his stomach as he stepped into the corridor. With the corner of his eye, Zhixiong glanced over and saw two men preparing to enter the adjacent room. The two men were clearly surprised to see Zhixiong suddenly emerge, and they both stopped by their doorway to look at him.

Zhixiong feigned a look of distress and asked them, "Brothers, do you happen to have any stomach medicine? My stomach is acting up, but I’ve run out of mine."

Hearing his words, their vigilant expressions relaxed. One of the men, who had prominent cheeks, told Zhixiong, "Sorry, we don't have stomach medicine."

Zhixiong then pleaded, "Could one of you possibly go buy some for me? I feel terrible right now, I’ll pay you." The other man, who had a delicate, refined face, was about to step forward but was pulled back by the cheek-bulging man. The latter then said to Zhixiong, "Sorry, we have something very important to attend to. You can use the room phone to call the service staff for help."

Zhixiong smacked his forehead. "Right, I forgot! I'll call right away. Sorry for bothering you."

After Zhixiong spoke, the two men ignored him further and entered their room, slamming the door shut with a loud bang. Seeing this, Zhixiong finally let out a breath. At least they hadn't become suspicious. Confirming which room they were in was now the priority. This group was here to raid the Heavenly Lake, and Zhixiong had learned from Zhabacuo about the golden cloth that fell from the snake’s head, which mentioned the Four Great Forbidden Zones and the Heavenly Lake. If he could get any useful information from this group, it would be invaluable.

Zhixiong crept quietly to the door of their room and pressed his ear against the crack, but all he could hear was the evening news playing loudly on their television. These men were clearly cautious, deliberately boosting the volume to prevent anyone outside from hearing their conversations.

Frustrated, Zhixiong returned to his room. Since eavesdropping from outside was impossible, he figured he would have to find an opportunity to follow them. With that in mind, Zhixiong called Lu Zong and Ge Mei to wish them good night and went to bed early.

The next morning, Zhixiong deliberately put on makeup, affixed a small mustache, donned sunglasses, and used paint to draw a large mole on his face, also changing his hairstyle.

Looking in the mirror, although he looked a bit uglier, he had achieved a complete transformation. As long as those two men didn't recognize him, it would be fine.

To track them, Zhixiong woke up very early. After dressing, he knocked on Lu Zong’s door. Lu Zong was still asleep. Zhixiong heard a voice from inside grumble, "Damn it, which unlucky ghost is disturbing my sleep?" Moments later, the door was opened.

Lu Zong froze when he saw Zhixiong’s appearance, then managed to say, "Zhixiong, what kind of game are you playing, dressing up as a charlatan so early in the morning?"

Lu Zong had seen Zhixiong in this disguise before, so he recognized him immediately. He thought Zhixiong’s look strongly resembled a fortune teller who worked on the road outside Zhixiong’s home, which was why Lu Zong always called him "Charlatan" whenever he adopted this disguise.

Zhixiong briefly told Lu Zong, "Today I’m following a fish. Hurry up and wash up!"

Lu Zong replied, "Got it, got it. Don't you always chase a fish whenever you turn into a charlatan?"

While Lu Zong was washing up, Zhixiong went to knock on Ge Mei’s door. He heard a voice say, "Coming," suggesting the young woman was already awake. When she opened the door, Zhixiong deliberately flashed her a huge, smiling face. "Good morning!" Ge Mei was startled by his appearance, let out a sharp cry, and quickly shut the door, nearly slamming it into Zhixiong’s nose. Zhixiong inwardly mused that her defense mechanisms were too strong, and with a wry smile, he called out to her, "Hey, it’s Zhixiong."

Ge Mei recognized Zhixiong’s voice then and exclaimed in surprise, "Big Brother Zhixiong? You’re out too? Who is that charlatan?"

Zhixiong almost stumbled upon hearing Ge Mei’s comment, wondering why she, too, thought this disguise resembled a fortune teller. Do I really look like one? He touched his fake mustache before telling Ge Mei, "Uh… well… that… I am the charlatan."

Ge Mei said, "Ah? Big Brother Zhixiong, it’s you…"

Zhixiong chuckled. "Hehe, it’s my makeup. Open the door quickly."

Ge Mei finally opened the door. Before Zhixiong could react, she suddenly leaned her small face close to his, examining him intently. Zhixiong stared into her bright, twinkling eyes, his breath catching instantly. Before he could fully appreciate her beautifully moving eyes, her face pulled back, and she burst into laughter. "Big Brother Zhixiong, why the change of attire today? You look quite shifty."

Zhixiong smiled wryly and shook his head. "I need to follow some people today. In any case, hurry up and get ready. I’ll wait for you in Lu Zong’s room."

Afterward, Zhixiong returned to Lu Zong’s room. Lu Zong was currently shaving, whistling a tune. Seeing Zhixiong enter, he asked, "Charlatan, chasing a fish with that outfit today?"

Zhixiong shrugged and then recounted the incident with the two men from the previous night to Lu Zong.

Hearing this, Lu Zong immediately exclaimed, "See, see! I told you there must be an ancient tomb in that Heavenly Lake! Tell me, when are we going down there to haul some treasure?"

Zhixiong waved his hand. "Alright, alright, forget about that place. There are so many ancient tombs in this world, why must you fixate on the Heavenly Lake?" Lu Zong countered, "The best things are underwater. As the King of Tomb Robbers, how can you lack this realization?"

Zhixiong laughed. "Good things require the ability to take them. I see that only Zhenhai, who can overturn rivers and seas, could handle the underwater tombs there. I, Zhixiong, might not manage, and you, Lu Zong, though better at swimming than me, would probably be done for once you get inside."

Lu Zong grabbed a towel and threw it at Zhixiong. "Go away, you stinking charlatan! If Zhixiong goes, I won't take you along! I’ll count every single treasure I pull out right in front of you until you drool!"

Zhixiong caught the towel with a smile and then turned serious. "Okay, hurry up, or the big fish will get away."

Lu Zong said while washing his face, "I know, I know!"

By the time Lu Zong finished washing, Ge Mei was ready too. Once the three of us were prepared, we left the hotel and headed to a small eatery across the street for breakfast while waiting for our 'big fish' to appear. Zhixiong reasoned that this group would most likely come out to raid tombs today. The Zhenhai Monkey and my Zhixiong family shared one thing in common: they always checked the astral configuration before setting out to rob a tomb. Zhixiong had checked the stars last night and confirmed that today was indeed an auspicious day for raiding. If they didn't come out today, they'd have to wait another half a month.

We had just finished a few crepes when Zhixiong spotted the two men from yesterday emerging from the hotel. The three of us quickly resumed our pretense of casual conversation while keeping an eye on their movements.

As soon as the two men left the hotel, they looked around in all directions, then got into a car—presumably one they had rented in advance. Fortunately, Zhixiong had also arranged for a car rental when he woke up this morning. We followed them from a distance and noticed they first entered a restaurant. We waited a moment, then drove over and parked outside the restaurant before going in. Zhixiong’s disguise today bore absolutely no resemblance to his original appearance, so he was certain they wouldn't recognize him. Thus, he and the other two walked in quite naturally.

Upon entering the restaurant, Zhixiong saw the two men heading toward a private booth inside. We first pretended to look around, asking the waiter about the specialties, before following them and taking the booth right next to theirs.

This booth was separated not by solid walls, but by partitions. After ordering our food, we instructed the waiter not to disturb us again. Then, the three of us moved to the partition and gently pressed our ears against it, listening intently. Soon, Zhixiong heard voices from next door.

From the voices, Zhixiong realized there was a third person with them now. First, he heard the voice of the cheek-bulging man, speaking in a low tone: "Old Meng, Xiao Tao cut that melon last night, but he forgot to remove the Divine Needle from the melon. Sigh..."

Then, the voice of the refined-looking man followed: "It was Xiao Tao's first time cutting a melon; he got a bit flustered and forgot."

It seemed the refined-faced man accompanying the cheek-bulging man was named Xiao Tao. A moment later, Zhixiong heard a third person sigh. The cheek-bulging man had called him Old Meng, a name Zhixiong quietly noted. After sighing, Old Meng said, "Forget it. We just need to be extra careful then."