My mind turning, the three of us were newcomers, completely unfamiliar with this county town, so acquiring antiquities nearby would be no easy feat. Old Liu Tou had lived in Gutian for decades; from his speech, it was clear he knew the local area like the back of his hand. Why not have him tell us more about the region—what ancient tombs or artifacts had surfaced? This information would be invaluable to us.

So, I stopped Old Liu Tou from continuing his current narrative. I suggested it was still early, asking Fatty to fetch a few bottles of wine and some snacks so we could invite Old Liu Tou to our room to drink, chat, and learn about the local sights and customs.

Old Liu Tou was a man who loved his drink and company; hearing there was liquor, he promptly agreed with humble reverence.

Fatty grumbled at being sent on an errand again, yet he was tempted by the prospect of wine. He changed into a clean shirt and returned from the small shop outside with two bottles of baijiu and some canned goods.

Outside, the rain continued to fall in a fine drizzle, refusing to cease. We closed the door to our room, used the bed as a makeshift table, and settled in for drinks. Old Liu nearly always had much to say, but after two cups of baijiu, his nose turned red, and his floodgates opened, refusing to close.

Big Gold Tooth inquired, "Master Liu, earlier you mentioned something you saw in the Yellow River. Did you actually witness it? Was it a turtle spirit that had achieved sentience?"

Old Liu shook his head. "Not a turtle spirit. It was actually just a very large fish. I don't know its scientific name, but many locals have seen it and call it the Iron-Headed Dragon King. Boatmen are superstitious; they say it’s a manifestation of the River God. You rarely see it, only when there are major floods."

Fatty exclaimed, "What you're describing sounds truly bizarre. Just how big was this fish?"

Old Liu said, "How big? Let me put it this way: I saw it once by the riverbank. The water rose fast that year and receded just as quickly. Since the Gutian riverbed is shallow, it stranded a half-grown Iron-Headed Dragon King. This was before the liberation. A lot of superstitious folks wanted to return the Dragon King to the river, but before they could act, the Iron-Headed Dragon King breathed its last. People burned incense and prayed along the bank—it was a massive crowd, an unprecedented spectacle. I saw it all because I was there to watch the excitement."

I asked, "Master Liu, could you describe what this fish looked like?"

Old Liu said, "This great fish had seven layers of blue scales. Its head was black, harder than an iron plate. The head alone was as large as the front cabin of a Jiefang truck."

Fatty and I gasped in amazement. That was nearly the size of a small whale. How could such a creature exist in a river? Truly, the world was filled with all sorts of strange things. We pressed further: what happened next? Was the Iron-Headed Dragon King buried? Or eaten?

Old Liu chuckled. "It wasn't a whale, but a fish that size is exceedingly rare. It doesn't appear often—maybe not even once every few decades. It's almost like it achieved sentience. The superstitious ones say it must be the Dragon King himself, otherwise, why give it such a name? I heard that even if you caught one, you had to release it. The meat is too hard and tough; who would dare eat it? That Iron-Headed Dragon King died right there on the bank. It was hot those days, like a furnace. Within a day, it started to rot, stinking to high heaven. You could smell that stench for miles. Such a situation could easily lead to an epidemic among the nearby residents. So, everyone discussed it and decided to cut up the flesh and burn it in a pyre, leaving only the skeleton on the riverbank."

Hearing this, Big Gold Tooth sighed, "Alas, what a waste. If we could get the skeleton of such a strange fish now and display it in a museum, so many people would come to see it."

Old Liu replied, "Isn't that the truth? But back then, no one had the nerve. They were afraid the Dragon King would bring down divine retribution, leading to another great flood."

I inquired, "Master Liu, when you mentioned a place where one could see the Iron-Headed Dragon King fish, were you referring to this one? Could the skeleton of that fish possibly still be preserved after all these years? Is it still lying on that riverbank?"

Old Liu nodded. "That’s right, but it’s not on the riverbank anymore. At the time, to prevent an epidemic, the nearby villagers burned the flesh and internal organs as an offering to the River God. As they were discussing how to dispose of the skeleton, a man from another province arrived—a merchant. This merchant was also quite superstitious. He contributed some money and built a Fish Bone Temple in Longling, not far from here."

Big Gold Tooth asked, "A Fish Bone Temple? We had one in Tianjin too. Was it built using fish bones as beams and the fish head as the door, dedicated to the River God?"

Old Liu said, "Tianjin has one? I hadn't heard of that, but yes, it was quite similar to what you described. That visiting merchant claimed he often traveled by sea and river, frequently taking boats, which is why he funded this temple. The temple wasn't large; it didn't even have a courtyard, just like a regular Dragon King Temple. The framework was made from the fish bones, and the great fish's skull served as the entrance. There was only one shrine hall, housing a clay statue of the Dragon King. When it was newly built, people who fell ill or suffered a drought would go there to burn incense and make vows. It’s funny, but it was truly eerie: not a single prayer ever worked. If people prayed for rain at the Fish Bone Temple, the drier it got. So, not long after, the incense offerings dwindled. The merchant who paid for the construction never appeared again either."

I asked, "Is the Fish Bone Temple still standing?"

Old Liu nodded. "Yes, but it's been abandoned for ages. The clay statue of the Dragon King collapsed within two years. Some people say the merchant who funded it lacked sincerity, or perhaps he did something terribly wicked, and the Dragon King refused his offerings. Furthermore, the Fish Bone Temple is situated deep within a hollow in Longling, making the road difficult. Gradually, no one visited the temple anymore. Many people even forgot it existed. During the Cultural Revolution, even the Red Guards didn't think to go smash the Fish Bone Temple—and even if they had, there wasn't much worth smashing anyway. But the structure and the fish bones remain. You can go take a look if you have the chance."

Fatty cursed with a laugh, "What’s there to see? This very day, the three of us nearly became fish food. I’d rather skip it."

Big Gold Tooth, however, had other ideas. After a brief discussion with me, he decided that after resting up the next day or the day after, we would head to Longling to check out the Fish Bone Temple. Perhaps such a massive fish skeleton could fetch a price, at the very least enough to cover our travel expenses if sold to a natural history museum.

We continued to ply Old Liu Tou with wine, asking if any antiques or ancient tombs had surfaced nearby.

Old Liu was quite drunk, his speech slurred, but alcohol loosened his tongue, and he did indeed reveal some local secrets.

A while ago, several tombs from the Song Dynasty were unearthed near Gutian after being washed out by flooding. However, none were tombs of nobles. Besides a few skeletons that had nearly disintegrated, there were only broken jars and cracked pots.

The most valuable thing ever excavated here was during a drought one year when the Yellow River was nearly dry. While dredging the mud, three enormous iron monkeys were pulled out, each weighing several hundred jin. After removing the rust, they discovered the monkeys were exquisitely carved with smooth, flowing patterns and gilded on the outside. To this day, no one seems to have authenticated what these cast-iron monkeys were used for.

Some say they were meant to suppress demons in the Tang Dynasty; others claim they were offerings to the river. Whether they were eventually sent to a museum or melted down during the Great Leap Forward is unknown.

The most sinister part was that before the three iron monkeys were discovered in the silt, many people dreamt of three white-bearded old men crying, begging to be spared. The story spread, becoming increasingly sensational, with many claiming the three old men were the spirits of the iron monkeys in the river.

That Lunar New Year, everyone in the village with a zodiac sign of the Monkey wore red underpants and tied red sashes, fearing retaliation from the three iron monkey spirits. In the end, nothing major happened nearby, though a few people did suffer misfortunes, but that was attributed to their own recklessness.

The Yellow River holds many strange submerged objects; we had heard tales of these things before. The Iron Ox displayed in the Donghe Museum was placed there to stabilize the river. Back during the late Yuan Dynasty, there were also legends of a one-eyed stone man dredged from the Yellow River during a time of peasant uprisings. A nursery rhyme went something like, Don't say the stone man has one eye, he stirs up rebellion across the Yellow River. That story is likely mere legend and not entirely trustworthy, but it still attests to the ancient mystery of the Yellow River, where countless secrets are likely buried beneath the slurry of river mud.

However, we weren't interested in iron monkeys, iron oxen, or stone men. We repeatedly pressed him for information about nearby tombs and ruins, and who might have antiques for sale.

Old Liu thought for a moment and said, "Oh, so you’re in the antique business. If you had come a few years earlier, you could have had a great haul. Now, most of it has been collected. Not only are private antique dealers collecting, but the government is acquiring items too—more than ten times a year! Even the most numerous artifacts can’t withstand that kind of collecting."

"In the last few years, grave robbing incidents have occurred one after another near Gutian, with many locals getting involved. When the strong autumn winds blow, you just look—the ground is riddled with shafts. You could easily fall into one if you aren't careful walking. The concentrated areas of ancient tombs outside the city have been dug through until they look like sieves."

Old Liu continued, "Since we’re on the topic, I suddenly remembered something I once heard someone mention. I'll offer it as hearsay, and you can take it as you wish. I heard an elder from this area say that there is a Tang Dynasty tomb in Longling. Legend has it that it’s enormous. Many tomb robbers have tried to find it in the last couple of years, but no one has succeeded. The Longling mountains are too dense, and that tomb is said to be buried very deep. It’s even debatable whether it truly exists, as these things are often handed down through years of oral tradition and might not be factual."

"There are countless legends about such tombs in our area, and almost everyone has a slightly different version, with no fixed story. Some say it’s a grand Tang tomb in Longling; others claim it’s from a different dynasty. Regardless, they are all just legends; no one has ever seen it."