Elder Wu shook his head, saying, "This script is incredibly complex and hard to decipher. Although it incorporates elements of hieroglyphs, the pictograms here are different from ancient Egyptian ones. It's not as simple as drawing a horse to represent a horse; every single character here carries a specialized meaning. Both the Wu family and the Xie family are lineages of tomb raiders. Throughout the generations, we’ve entered numerous ancient tombs, and only a handful of records mention the Wei Kingdom. These records state that the Wei people possessed their own writing system, but they didn't invent it; it was created by the gods. This script was reserved only for use in sacrifices or sorcery, possessing extraordinary power.”

Elder Wu took a sip of tea and continued, "So we initially suspected this was some kind of talisman used by the Wei people. That assumption was correct, but as we kept studying, we discovered a hidden drawing embedded within this inscription. Look here."

He pieced together several fragmented scraps of paper, and we realized that the way the characters were written wasn't strictly horizontal or vertical; instead, they followed a certain curvature.

That curvature was divided into two layers, inner and outer, forming two parallel curves that extended downwards until the point where the paper was torn, leaving us unable to see the complete design.

Elder Wu stroked his smooth chin and remarked, "It's unlikely you'll grasp it just by looking at this. But if you examine it alongside this photograph, you might find a clue."

Elder Wu produced a photograph displaying an object shaped like a human ear. At first, we assumed it was genuinely the ear of some creature, but upon closer inspection, we recognized it as an aerial photograph of a specific location.

It dawned on me then: this was an aerial shot of Lop Nur, once China’s second-largest lake, now entirely desiccated. Fifty years ago, there was water there, but now it was nothing but desert.

Looking at the photograph, then back at the arrangement of the runes, they corresponded strikingly well with the outline of Lop Nur.

"Elder Wu… what is this?" I asked in astonishment.

Elder Wu smiled faintly. "I can guarantee you that your grandfather’s next destination is Lop Nur. Too many clues point there now. Don’t you want to see it for yourself? I’m currently organizing an international expedition to investigate Lop Nur. We’ve been researching for a long time, and the location we are targeting this time is highly likely connected to the Wei Kingdom. Would you like to join us?"

I recalled that the first time I encountered anything related to Lop Nur was in the Wei King's Silk Manuscript, which mentioned that the Great Gui came from a certain lake in Lop Nur. I figured if the Wei King could bring out the Great Gui, he could also bring out this long-necked monster; perhaps that place was their origin. Then Mu Yun mentioned that the specimen of the long-necked monster was connected to Lop Nur. Moreover, this little yellow pamphlet—something Xie Yuting, Grandpa, and Liang Qian all desperately wanted—is also tied to Lop Nur. It seems the next destination really might be Lop Nur.

However, that desolate, isolated desert frontier could be far harsher than the Black Bamboo Valley. Several Chinese scientists had already vanished there; the venture would surely be perilous.

But my grandfather was too important to me. Given how things stood with him, I truly couldn't just ignore it.

I have a peculiar disposition: I would rather die than pretend everything was fine while harboring secrets close to me.

So, after a moment of hesitation, I turned and asked Daxiong, "Are you coming?"

Daxiong chuckled, took a sip of his tea, and replied, "An adventure this interesting is no place for Xiong-ye to be absent. Besides, things are getting tight in Chengdu lately; leaving feels much more comfortable than being constantly watched."

I considered it and realized he had a point. I then looked at Elder Wu and asked, "This time, can I wait outside with the tourists instead of going down with you?"

Elder Wu gave a faint smile. "Certainly, you can."

With that, he rose and walked toward the staircase, not forgetting to say as he left, "Then let's set off now; we shouldn't linger here."

Since he said so, we quickly followed.

But Daxiong had only taken a couple of steps before turning back, his expression distinctly hesitant.

I asked him what was wrong. Daxiong grimaced and whispered to me, "Damn it, this Maofeng tea is over a thousand yuan a bowl. I need to pack up the dregs."

With that, he started to call for the waiter, but I kicked him lightly in the rear and hissed, "Have some backbone!"

Daxiong reluctantly followed me downstairs, while I secretly lifted my cup, drained the last drop of tea, and then hurried after him.

When we reached the ground floor, I was stunned. Sometime while we were upstairs, over a dozen Humvees had pulled up by the roadside, guarded by numerous security personnel—quite an imposing setup.

I noticed all the Humvees bore Beijing license plates, which instantly told me these were "black plate" vehicles, untraceable online. Just then, Daxiong looked at me with a strange expression and asked, "Comrade Xiaochuan, how could you do that? Is that tea sediment still on your mouth?"

I rubbed my mouth awkwardly, annoyed, and snapped, "Why are you talking so much?"

Daxiong wouldn't let up and was about to say more when the man with the small mustache approached us and said, "Let's leave now. We should reach Ruo’ergai by tomorrow morning."

I checked the time; it was past nine in the evening. "Can't we leave first thing tomorrow morning? It's so late, and the roads in northern Sichuan are treacherous."

The man with the mustache pointed to a group of silver-haired individuals across the way and whispered, "See those experts? Our team this time isn't configured for professional tomb robbing. To be precise, we are a middle-aged and elderly archaeological tourism group. We’ll be traveling and doing archaeology concurrently—tourism is the priority, archaeology is secondary. These old folks saw the weather forecast; they say it’s going to rain in Ruo’ergai the day after tomorrow, so tomorrow is the last chance to see the sunrise over the grasslands. That’s why we must depart tonight."

I asked, "But wasn't Elder Wu the organizer? Shouldn't we listen to him?"

[Unidentified Person] patted my shoulder and said, "You don't know the situation. Tomb raiding gets you executed these days, so we must operate under the guise of archaeology. These experts are all reputable figures in the country; we need their credentials as cover."

I froze for a moment and asked [Unidentified Person], "Daxiong and I aren't taking anything from the tombs. Wu is the one doing the robbing. If someone gets shot, it won't be us, right?"

Daxiong laughed heartily. "Comrade Xiaochuan, what are you thinking? Those gold bars in your bag? I put them there. If that stuff gets discovered, they’ll arrest you and shoot you right now. You are already a tomb robber."

I felt utterly ashamed, thinking how I had become a grave robber, and retorted, "I... our team that went into the Black Bamboo Valley was a legitimate expedition team."

Daxiong sighed. "Are you affiliated with the Academy of Sciences? What's your position?"

I was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say.

At this point, [Unidentified Person] smiled slightly. "Alright, alright. In truth, there isn't much difference between a tomb robber and an expert. I imagine your grandfather's room has quite a few antiques, doesn't it? How do you think those were acquired?"

Seeing that I remained silent, he patted my shoulder. "It's not that easy to get executed. Daxiong here just likes to scare people."

As we spoke, a tall, ruddy-faced old man over there clapped his hands and shouted, "Okay, okay! Everyone get in the cars. Let's go!"

Daxiong and I were fortunate enough to be assigned to Elder Wu's vehicle. Elder Wu doesn't drive; the driver is a Uyghur man said to be this expedition's guide.

We sat in the back seat, with one of Elder Wu's assistants, surnamed Wang, who was also quite young.

The car soon started moving. I rolled down the window, watching the great river roaring in the night, feeling the cool river breeze against my ears.