A shadow flashed past. Who was moving so stealthily? I didn't have time to think much, so I crept silently to the doorway, peering out. I saw it immediately. The moon outside was as bright as day, bathing the ground in silver light. A furtive figure was tiptoeing along the path towards the direction of the Guge Kingdom ruins, a bag slung over their shoulder. It was none other than Ah Dong, Ming Shu’s lackey.

I had long suspected Ah Dong was no good—oily-faced, shifty-eyed, and clearly sneaking back into the Guge ruins in the dead of night. There was no need to ask; he was definitely after that Silver-Eyed Buddha statue.

Ah Dong's boss, Ming Shu, was a major thief and wouldn't bother with trifles like that. It couldn't have been Ming Shu who sent him. It was too crowded and conspicuous during the day, so he waited for the cover of night to act. His plan was clever, but nothing comes that easily in this world. Since I ran into him, this scoundrel was due for some bad luck.

Thinking this, I immediately went back, clamped a hand over the Fatty’s mouth, and shook him awake. The Fatty was snoring thunderously, but being muffled, he had no choice but to wake up. Seeing the Fatty’s eyes open, I immediately made a "hush" gesture.

It took the Fatty ten seconds for his brain to finally clear the fog of sleep. He whispered to ask what was happening. I motioned for him to follow me silently out of the room, keeping my eyes on Ah Dong’s retreating figure ahead while I recounted the events to the Fatty.

The Fatty was furious upon hearing this: “Even I, Fatty, felt embarrassed to take that statue, and this bastard dares to get there first? Doesn't he have any sense of public decency? Commander Hu, what should we do? Should we teach him a lesson? How should we deal with this guy—leave him for the vultures in the wilderness, or cut him into pieces and feed him to the scavengers?”

I gave the Fatty a mischievous grin and replied, “We haven’t had a chance to pull any good pranks in the last couple of years. Today is perfect for practicing on this stinking thief. We’ll scare him a little first. And then…” I gestured downwards with my hand, meaning I wanted to knock him out and dump him on the mountain so he’d have to crawl back tomorrow, humiliated. But the Fatty misunderstood and thought I meant we should kill him. He immediately started patting himself down, searching for his paratrooper knife, but since we left in a hurry, he had brought nothing besides his EDC flashlight. The Fatty declared that not having a knife didn't matter; he could crush the guy to death with his backside. But first, he insisted we give him a "study session." With that, he also grinned mischievously.

The more I thought about scaring Ah Dong, the more amusing it seemed, and a surge of wild delight rose in my chest. However, I cautioned the Fatty to take it easy—just teach him a lesson was enough; causing a death would be bad. Furthermore, this was strictly between us; absolutely not a word to anyone else, not even Shirley Yang.

The Fatty nodded repeatedly: “Naturally, we can’t tell him. Otherwise, that American advisory group will accuse us again of not minding our own business. But before we make a move, I need to relieve myself.”

I told him we didn't have time now and suggested we find a spot on the road later. If we didn't hurry up and follow, this bastard would disappear from sight.

Energized by the pursuit, and using the terrifyingly large moon as cover, we shadowed Ah Dong stealthily from behind. Fearing discovery, we didn't dare follow too closely. We tracked him all the way to the base of the hill where the Guge ruins stood.

Ah Dong’s stamina was failing. He had rushed back and forth all day, carrying oxygen tanks for Ming Shu, and was utterly exhausted. Returning stealthily tonight without a break, coupled with considerable psychological pressure, left him gasping for air once he reached the base of the hill. He sat down beneath an earthen wall to rest, clearly intending to catch his breath before heading straight to the ‘Temple of Samsara’ to steal the Silver-Eyed Buddha.

I thought about how long this scoundrel would rest—until the next century perhaps. It would be better if we circled around and set up an ambush beforehand. So, I signaled the Fatty, and we skirted around the side of the ruins, moving ahead of Ah Dong.

Halfway through, we regretted the decision. It turned out that only the main thoroughfares in the ruins of the royal city were passable; the rest of the areas were extremely dilapidated. Moving through the debris of the structures, we sank almost with every step, and we dared not make much noise, making progress excruciatingly slow. Fortunately, we finally found a street and hurried into the Hall of the Guardian Deities.

Before we could admire the titillating Tantric dual cultivation murals again, we heard footsteps approaching from behind. The incoming person’s breathing and steps were heavy—it was clearly Ah Dong. I hadn't expected him to catch up so quickly. Perhaps the time we spent detouring was too long.

The Fatty and I quickly searched the main hall of the ‘Temple of Reincarnation,’ but the hall was empty; there was nowhere to hide. In desperation, we had no choice but to step on the tier of lamps decorating the red pillars and climb up them.

Aside from the one fallen false pillar, the other red columns were still quite sturdy, and their height was manageable; even the Fatty, who suffered from vertigo, could just manage to climb up.

Just as our feet left the ground, Ah Dong crept into the temple hall. The brilliant, snow-white moonlight shone down through several large holes in the roof, illuminating the entire hall like daylight. I made a gesture to the Fatty to remain absolutely still. We both held our breath, deciding to watch what Ah Dong would do first. It would be much more fun to startle him just as he was about to move the statue after all his effort.

The hall was very quiet, save for Ah Dong’s heavy gasping below, his chest rising and falling sharply—he must have been exhausted. He rested for another moment before beginning to move the stones, uncovering the broken wall we had sealed earlier. While working, he sang softly to bolster his courage. The Fatty and I struggled to suppress our laughter on the pillars; we felt like we were about to split our sides. However, Ah Dong’s movements were quite agile; he shifted the bricks and stones silently. Since there were no other people in the hall, he had no need to be so careful, not daring to make a sound while moving things. Unless this was habit—I suspected he was a "Fo Ye," a term used in Beijing for burglars, meaning he was quite skilled in this trade. And a thief doesn't leave empty-handed; he risked coming all this way back just for the Silver-Eyed Buddha.

The broken wall blocking the secret chamber had only been hastily covered by us, so it took no time to clear. The angle of the moonlight shone directly into the opening, making it clearer than in daylight, no flashlight needed.

Ah Dong first knelt reverently at the entrance to the chamber, bowing several times and murmuring words—the usual spiel of thieves: claiming he had an old mother and young children at home, that he was weak and unable to support them, and that he was forced into this line of work, begging the Buddha to be merciful and benevolent, and not to trouble a poor man...

The Fatty couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a sudden laugh, quickly smothering it with his hand. I cursed him inwardly: Why couldn't this idiot hold on a little longer? Now that he was discovered, at most we’d just slap him a couple of times, and where’s the fun in that?

We hid behind the pillars, positioned opposite Ah Dong so he couldn't see us, but we could still hear everything clearly. Hearing a sudden laugh in this ruined city, where the residents had been slaughtered, in the dead of night under the cold moonlight, Ah Dong couldn't help but be terrified. He was so frightened he nearly collapsed to the floor.

Seeing that Ah Dong hadn't seen through the ruse, I breathed a sigh of relief. I noticed that the wooden pillar I was hugging had many splinters caused by dryness. I casually picked a small, hard sliver of wood from the red pillar and tossed it toward a corner behind the pillar, making a slight sound. I immediately held my breath and pressed close to the back of the pillar, daring not to move.

Ah Dong’s attention was indeed drawn away toward the sound from near the pillar, but his courage was lacking. He absolutely refused to go look at what made the noise, instead squatting fearfully where he was, muttering to himself, “It must be a little mouse. Nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be afraid of.” As Ah Dong rambled on, too scared to move, the Fatty and I also dared not easily peek out from behind the pillar, because the moonlight was too bright then; poking out from behind the pillar would expose us completely.

I turned my head to look at the Fatty clinging to the adjacent pillar. In the moonlight, he was grimacing at me, his teeth showing. I knew what he meant: he really couldn’t hold his bladder any longer and was urging me to scare Ah Dong quickly before he soaked his pants.

I waved my hand at the Fatty, asking him to hold on for a few more minutes, but stalling was pointless. I couldn't see what Ah Dong was up to when I suddenly heard the sound of iron chains scraping inside the temple. I had to risk being discovered and peek out from behind the pillar. One look, and I knew things were bad.

Ah Dong had actually summoned his courage and managed to move the Silver-Eyed Buddha statue out. The statue's lotus pedestal was originally locked to the black iron door behind it. I figured he couldn't lift the statue out without heavy tools like a crowbar. But I hadn't expected that this "Fo Ye" of his would be an expert at picking and prying locks; that ancient, heavy lock should have been child’s play for him. In the blink of an eye, he had already undone the chain.

Ah Dong carried the statue out of the secret chamber. But then I heard the sound of iron chains again; it turned out there was an extremely long chain connecting the bottom of the Silver-Eyed Buddha’s lotus seat to the black iron door inside. Ah Dong, blinded by greed at this moment, suddenly forgot his fear. Unable to find the lock mechanism, he pulled violently. Unexpectedly, without using too much force, he managed to yank the iron door in the chamber wide open.

I looked down from behind the pillar. In the moonlight, the black iron door was wide open, but the angle was poor. Even though the moonlight was like water, I could only see the door itself; I couldn't see anything inside. Ah Dong, standing on the floor, could see perfectly inside. Judging by his expression, he seemed to be frozen solid from sheer terror, standing there stunned and motionless.

The Fatty and I exchanged a look, both feeling a chill. Although Ah Dong was timid, what terrifying thing could have scared him so badly that he froze on the spot, unable to move, or even scream?

Then came a thud. We quickly looked down. Ah Dong had fallen to the ground, his eyes wide open, his body stiff—he had been scared to death. Clouds drifted across the sky, causing the moonlight to flicker erratically. In that fluctuating light and shadow, I saw a pale white arm extend out from the black door.