I was busy searching for an opening with airflow, paying no mind to any scent, only noticing the fatty standing at the entrance sniffing intently. I asked, "What's that smell? The smell in this cave might be droppings from the Black Louse Spiders; don't sniff too hard, you might get poisoned."

The fatty beckoned to Da Jinya and me: "No, you two come smell this, it’s damn fragrant, it smells like chocolate to me."

"Chocolate?" The moment Da Jinya and I heard that word, our undisciplined stomachs immediately rumbled. How could there be chocolate in this cave? I was bewildered, but chocolate held immense temptation for the three of us who were starving. Even Da Jinya, clinging to half his life, perked up at the mention of "chocolate," his eyes gleaming. I initially didn't want to go over, but my legs seemed to move on their own, shamelessly shuffling a few steps toward the cave entrance.

I sniffed, drawing air through my nose. Where was any chocolate? I told the fatty, "Have you gone mad from hunger? Is that the burnt smell from the decaying wood at the temple over there?"

The fatty retorted, "How could it be? Get closer, the closer you are to the entrance, the stronger this fragrance is. Mmm... fragrant and sweet... damn, is there a cream chocolate tree growing in here? Let’s go in and see if there’s anything edible."

Da Jinya also caught the scent and nodded repeatedly: "That’s right, that’s right, it really is chocolate. Hu Ye, quickly smell it; it’s emanating right from this cave."

Hearing Da Jinya agree, I found it strange, so I moved two steps closer. I stuck my nose right in front of the cave entrance and inhaled—a rich, sweet aroma of milk mixed with cocoa rushed straight to my head. Smelling this marvelous scent, the pain in my wounds seemed to lessen, my spirit soared, every bone and sinew felt relaxed, and all my limbs felt comfortable. I couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn it, this smells incredibly good, this scent... it’s like... it’s like the kiss of an angel."

The three of us could wait no longer. Holding our candles, we stepped into the pitch-black cave. The passage was extremely narrow, barely two meters high and three or four meters wide. The rocks inside were bizarrely shaped, twisting and bulging like the gnarled roots of ancient trees.

The fatty led the way like a large hound, walking ahead and sniffing intensely with his nose, searching for the source of that marvelous fragrance. Suddenly, he pointed at a rock deeper inside the cave: "It’s coming from here." After speaking, he wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, practically wanting to pounce and take a bite.

I placed the candle near the edge of the rock, and Da Jinya, the fatty, and I examined it together. This large stone resembled a section of a tree trunk, brownish-yellow on the outside, as if coated in a layer of sap. Several exposed parts appeared translucent, covered in scattered, colorful, fractured patterns that were dense and clear. Under the candlelight, the textures within the stone seemed to faintly shift. The intense fragrance was emanating from this very stone.

The fatty couldn't resist reaching out to touch it. He brought his finger to his nose and said to Da Jinya and me, "Old Hu, Old Jin, touch it with your finger—even the finger turns chocolatey. Can this thing be eaten?"

I had never seen such a strange stone and shook my head, puzzled. "I spent several years digging pits in the Kunlun Mountains; I've seen plenty of strange rocks. This looks like a fossilized tree trunk; it probably isn't edible."

Having been excessively startled and silent for a long time, Da Jinya suddenly exclaimed with excitement, "Hu Ye, we’ve struck it rich this time! Do you think this might be that Fragrant-Scent Jade?"

The fatty had never heard the term and asked Da Jinya, "What? Isn't that the name of a song about Brother Liu speaking too unfairly?"

Da Jinya said to the fatty, "Fatty, you're thinking of Chang Xiangyu, the Henan opera singer. I’m talking about this stone, the Fragrant-Scent Jade, also known as Golden Fragrant Jade—this is a real treasure."

I asked Da Jinya, "Golden Fragrant Jade? I’ve heard people say, ‘Eyes do not recognize Golden Fragrant Jade; even a thousand pieces of gold cannot buy Golden Fragrant Jade.’ Is this what it is? I always thought it was a very beautiful young lady, but then again, the unique fragrance of this stone is in no way inferior to any young woman."

Perhaps it was the miraculous scent of the Fragrant-Scent Jade, or maybe the sight of potential wealth clouded his judgment, but Da Jinya, who had been listless, suddenly became invigorated. He told the fatty and me, "This thing is a secret treasure of the imperial family. Tomb raiders have unearthed it before in ancient tombs, dating back to the Qin and Han dynasties. It was rare among the common folk in ancient times, so few recognized it. This item has infinite marvelous uses; the drier the environment, the richer its fragrance becomes. There is an ancient poem praising it: The world has never heard flowers speak their mind, yet now we see jade exuding fragrance; Creations of the Heavenly Palace are hard to fathom, to what depths can its wonders be judged? I once acquired a piece myself, dug out by others from a tomb, but it was pitifully small compared to this one..."

When the fatty heard it was a treasure, he quickly asked Da Jinya, "How much could such a large piece of stone be worth, Old Jin?"

Da Jinya replied, "The larger the raw piece of Fragrant-Scent Jade, the more valuable it is. This outer skin is also an extremely precious medicinal ingredient. I estimate that a piece this large, considering its quality, is definitely top-grade. It could fetch the price of at least one imported car."

I said to Da Jinya, "Jin Ye, this place is very close to the temple housing that Man-Faced Bronze Ding. Could this Fragrant-Scent Jade be a burial object (mingqi)?"

Da Jinya considered it for a moment and then told me, "It doesn't seem like it. I think this is just a natural raw stone. If a small part of its outer layer hadn't peeled off, we wouldn't have smelled anything. Look, there are no signs of artificial carving in this narrow passage. Moreover, the other stones on the ground are convoluted and intertwined, looking like tree roots. I think these are all naturally formed fossils."

I said, "It seems this is ownerless. Since that’s the case, let’s carry it back. We tried intentionally to gather flowers but ended up planting willows by accident. Though our luck was bad and we encountered an empty tomb, not finding a single burial object, we were fortunate that our ancestor smiled upon us, ensuring we didn't come back empty-handed. Considering the fright we endured, it wasn’t a loss."

The fatty had been waiting for my approval. He bent down, intending to lift the Fragrant-Scent Jade, but Da Jinya quickly stopped him. He told the fatty, "Don't carry it like that; we need something to wrap it in. If only we had some cotton cloth."

I glanced around. The fatty and I were nearly naked, having used our clothes for light. Da Jinya was missing half of his pants, and among the three of us, he was the only one still wearing a shirt, the back of which was already threadbare.

We only had a few candles left, and we were all starving. We couldn't linger, or we would have searched the vicinity for other raw stones or any other fossils.

Seeing that the candles had burned down by half, I placed the remaining stub into the paper lantern. I told Da Jinya to take off his tattered outer garment and use it to wrap the Fragrant-Scent Jade, which the fatty then carried as we retreated from the narrow cave.

When we returned to the larger cavern outside, the temple that housed the Man-Faced Bronze Ding was completely destroyed, with sporadic embers still flickering among the charred ruins.

In the darkness, we could no longer clearly assess the surroundings. I told the fatty and Da Jinya, "No other Black Louse Spiders appeared during that time, but we cannot assume they are all dead. Perhaps their kin were merely scared off by the fire. Now that the flames are dying down, they might return. We cannot delay any further; we must find a way out as quickly as possible."

The fatty said, "We should just take that great Ding. Bronze shouldn't burn. Let's go back, fill our stomachs, bring our gear, and come back to haul it away. After all this raiding, not bringing back a single burial object would be embarrassing."

Da Jinya said to the fatty, "Fatty, you should give up on that idea. That Man-Faced Ding must weigh at least a thousand catties. How can the three of us move it bare-handed? Furthermore, even if we move it, we can't sell it. That thing is a national treasure; no ordinary person can afford it. Only the state can collect such items. Let's just leave it where it is. We’ve already secured a massive fortune with this piece of Fragrant-Scent Jade; it’s better not to invite more trouble."

The fatty and I both knew Da Jinya was a shrewd businessman, but he was an old hand in the antique trade. He kept a careful ledger regarding which antiques and burial objects could be traded. A ding, an object that could cost someone their head, was a hot potato regardless of the money involved. Gaining wealth at the risk of one's life meant that even greater riches would eventually lead to ruin—it was definitely not a worthwhile business. Thus, even though the fatty was reluctant and unwilling, he had no choice but to drop the idea.

Relying on our memory, the three of us felt along the cave walls and found the next opening. I told the fatty and Da Jinya to hold their breath, took the small remaining piece of candle out of the paper lantern, and held it up to the entrance to test for airflow.

As soon as this small piece of candle was held near the opening, the flame immediately slanted sharply away from the cave, to the side. I placed the candle back into the paper lantern for light and tentatively checked the opening with my hand. I couldn't feel any distinct airflow, but the inclination of the candle flame proved that this opening was not a dead end. Even if it didn't connect directly outside, there must be a huge space behind it—perhaps the passage the "Black Louse Spiders" used for hunting. As long as there was air moving, we had a chance to squeeze out of these caves.

So, I led the way holding the paper lantern, while the fatty and Da Jinya carried the "Fragrant-Scent Jade" and squeezed into this cave. Perhaps the fragrance of the "Fragrant-Scent Jade" truly had a miraculous effect on the spirit. Although we were still terribly hungry, we felt energetic and clear-headed. Having obtained the treasure, all three of us were overjoyed and couldn't wait to get out of the cave so we could celebrate wildly.

This cave was extremely winding, undulating, and uneven, with the narrowest parts allowing only single-file passage. As we went deeper, the cave became more winding and steep, featuring slopes angled at forty to fifty degrees.

As I walked through the cave, I suddenly felt a cool, chilly gust of wind blowing towards me, raising goosebumps all over my body. I urged the fatty and Da Jinya to quicken their pace, sensing we were nearing an exit. After walking a short distance further, sure enough, a light appeared before our eyes—it was a dirt opening leading outside. I stuck my head out first to check that no one was around on either side. The three of us then crawled out, exposing our bodies to the air. Just as I got outside the opening, the fatty behind me suddenly said, "Old Hu, on your back... why is there a human face growing?"