"Every family has its own struggles, Uncle Lei, so don't take it too much to heart," Wang Guan offered in consolation, then asked out of curiosity, "Since you know so much about Old Mr. Song, you must have been quite close with him, right?"

"Not particularly close. He bought antiques from my shop a few times; we just had a few dealings." Lei Yunzhang looked puzzled. "Why, is there something you wanted to ask me?"

"It’s like this, Uncle Lei," Wang Guan said with a smile. "Yesterday, in Old Mr. Song's notebooks, I discovered he mentioned the matter of Zhang Xianzhong's treasure repeatedly..."

Wang Guan fully expected Lei Yunzhang to be shocked by this revelation. He had already prepared an excuse, planning to claim it was mere curiosity driving him to inquire.

To his surprise, Lei Yunzhang didn't even lift his eyes, merely nodding. "Oh, there’s no need to make a fuss about that. Everyone knows Old Mr. Song spent the better part of his life researching the mystery of Zhang Xianzhong's treasure."

"Ah!"

Wang Guan was utterly dumbfounded, realizing belatedly that his mouth was hanging open, a piece of his steamed bun filling having dropped out.

For anyone, believing a secret to be exclusively theirs, only to find out it was common knowledge—that would surely elicit such a reaction.

"Heh, what's so surprising about that?" Lei Yunzhang chuckled lightly. "Think about where we are—Shu territory. For hundreds of years, haven't the legends of Zhang Xianzhong's treasure been known to everyone? Who hasn't been tempted by it? Back when I was young, I joined a group of people digging for treasure along several rivers in Shu."

"Furthermore, the area where Yanting County borders the neighboring Xichong County is precisely where Zhang Xianzhong fell in battle. The zeal to trace Zhang Xianzhong’s resting place is naturally more intense here than anywhere else."

At this moment, Lei Yunzhang felt the creeping sentimentality of age settling upon him, sighing, "Now that I've passed the age of forty and achieved bu huo [forty, without doubt], the youthful fervor I once had is long gone. I must say, I truly admire Old Mr. Song for his unwavering research, day after day, for decades, never giving up."

"Did he make any discoveries?" Wang Guan asked cautiously.

"What discoveries could he make?" Lei Yunzhang shook his head. "It's been centuries. Besides finding some worthless junk like arrowheads, horseshoes, and spearheads, there's been absolutely nothing valuable."

He paused, then grinned mischievously. "Wang Guan, don't you ever wonder why, in recent years, treasure mysteries keep popping up everywhere, almost as common as napa cabbage? Putting aside other places, Shu alone already has three major treasure legends."

Wang Guan thought about it and realized it was true. In the Central Sichuan region, besides the mystery of Zhang Xianzhong's treasure, there was the legend of the Leshan Giant Buddha's treasure, and the myth of the mysterious Golden Cave.

The Leshan Giant Buddha's treasure legend concerned the world-famous seated Maitreya statue on Qiluan Peak, at the eastern foot of Mount Emei. Years ago, an artificially excavated cavity was discovered inside the center of the massive Buddha statue.

The imposing Buddha and its ancient history naturally inspired endless yearning, and coupled with the folk rumor, "A Buddha within a Buddha, the Buddha resides in the heart, the Buddha’s heart holds the treasure," more people believed the great Buddha concealed boundless wealth. The discovery of the artificial cavity at the heart of the statue coincided perfectly with the folklore, naturally drawing intense public interest to uncover its secrets.

In addition, there was the legend of the mysterious Golden Cave.

In the Qutang Gorge's Kuimen, there is a mysterious cavern named the Golden Cave.

Legend says it holds vast amounts of gold and silver treasure, possibly left by Gongsun Shu, who proclaimed himself emperor in Shu during the turbulent period when Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty in the late Western Han.

Regarding the Golden Cave, a more recent theory circulates, suggesting it is the site where the last remnants of the Ba people met their end. The Ba people were descendants of Tai Gao Shi, a leader of the Dongyi tribes, who lived in the region spanning Eastern Sichuan and Western Hubei before the Qin Dynasty.

They constantly battled against the surrounding powerful tribes—Shang, Zhou, Chu, and Qin—and forged an ancient civilization in the Yangtze River basin comparable to the Central Plains culture. Yet, by the Warring States period, the Ba people vanished suddenly.

According to inscriptions written in pictographs, after suffering a crushing defeat in a war, the entire Ba nation, bringing the old and the young, fled into the cave. Upon reaching the river-side entrance, they discovered it was a dead end. They used ochre to inscribe their misfortune for later generations. Ultimately, the entire group perished within the cave, and the Golden Cave became the tomb of the Ba kingdom.

These legends, mystical and marvelous, captured the public imagination intensely.

"Uncle Lei, you mean these treasure rumors are all just creative promotions cooked up by local authorities?" Wang Guan wasn't slow-witted, and with Lei Yunzhang’s prompting, he began to grasp the situation.

"Not entirely," Lei Yunzhang smiled. "Treasure legends have existed since antiquity. What's happening now is merely intentional embellishment and refinement by interested parties. It’s like modern scenic spots—if you don't have some local character, mythological tales, or historical anecdotes, you’d be embarrassed to even mention them..."

Wang Guan nodded in understanding, then sighed lightly. "If that’s the case, then the treasure maps are fake too."

"Treasure maps? What treasure maps?"

Lei Yunzhang only vaguely caught a few words, his expression shifting to one of surprise.

"Huh, could it be that everyone doesn't know about the treasure maps?"

Wang Guan’s heart skipped, but outwardly, he remained composed. "I just found it strange. With so many treasure legends, haven't any treasure maps been passed down?"

"Heh, what treasure maps?" Lei Yunzhang laughed dismissively. "Even if there were maps, they'd most likely be fake. Probably just hoaxes fabricated by some cunning individuals, like those folk rhymes."

Wang Guan strongly agreed; compared to treasure legends, folk rhymes seemed even less credible. After all, Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian, in the section on Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, clearly demonstrated how rumors were manufactured in ancient times.

Of course, if a rebellion failed, it was certainly just gossip. If it succeeded, it transformed into a mysterious prophecy.

Like the prophecies of the Zhou Dynasty: "The mulberry bow and wicker-wicker, shall indeed destroy the Zhou kingdom"; the late Qin period: "He who destroys Qin is the Hu," or "Though Chu has only three households left, Qin shall surely be destroyed by Chu"; the late Eastern Han: "He who replaces Han shall be the one of high stature"; the Sui-Tang era: "The son of peach and plum shall seize the empire"; and the Song Dynasty: "The Inspector becomes the Son of Heaven"...

And so on—countless prophecies that seemed profoundly mysterious and turned out to be perfectly accurate.

However, Wang Guan suspected that, to some extent, these prophecies were merely post hoc rationalizations. Perhaps in any era of unrest and contention for the throne, various prophecies would erupt.

In the end, the successful contender, needing to bolster their divine right to rule, would naturally suppress all other prophecies, preserving only their own.

These were tacitly understood matters among rulers, yet Sima Qian dared to expose them so openly—it was little wonder he met such a tragic end, being castrated.

"Besides," Lei Yunzhang continued, "even if there were treasure maps, what good would they do?"

"Think carefully," he reasoned. "Ancient cities certainly differed from modern ones; they weren't in the same locations. As for mountains, rivers, and the like—they might have been flattened, or their courses changed. Even with a map, finding the original hiding spot might be impossible."

"That’s true."

Wang Guan nodded thoughtfully, but what occupied his mind were those few volumes of Yanting local gazetteers and geographical atlases.

"I think that if there really were any treasures, they’d have been unearthed long ago after all these years. The reason no sound has come out is simply the Chinese habit of quietly amassing wealth without telling others."

Lei Yunzhang concluded his thoughts, took a sip of tea, and then asked, "By the way, I’ll be heading back to Shudu shortly. Will you come with me, or will you stay here for a couple of days to sightsee, as you mentioned yesterday?"

"I’ll stay for a couple of days," Wang Guan replied with a smile. "I came with a companion who is visiting relatives; I’m purely here for leisure. Since I have time, it would be nice to visit the place where Du Fu once lived."

"Suit yourself," Lei Yunzhang chuckled. "Just don't be too disappointed when you get there."

"It doesn't matter much," Wang Guan said casually. "I mainly want to hike, escape the city smog, and breathe some fresh air." He usually held low expectations for historical sites and monuments.

"Then you've come to the right place," Lei Yunzhang said happily. "Yanting has done an excellent job with its greenery; the forest coverage across the entire county exceeds fifty percent. Especially the Highland Forest Park—over a thousand acres of forest, green mountains and clear waters, birds singing and flowers fragrant. It truly qualifies as a natural oxygen bar."

"Then I definitely must see it," Wang Guan said with newfound enthusiasm.

After finishing breakfast, the two returned to the hotel to rest briefly. Lei Yunzhang packed his bags, agreeing to meet Wang Guan again in a few days to exchange notes on antique collecting, before driving back to Shudu.

Watching Lei Yunzhang leave, Wang Guan returned to his room and pulled out the Yanting local gazetteer and geographical atlas from a stack of books, flipping them open. Indeed, both books contained creases and lines marked in ink.

However, the marked locations on the map numbered at least seven or eight. Searching them one by one would consume an immeasurable amount of time and energy. Moreover, when he compared the treasure map on the slip of paper with the topography on the atlas, he truly couldn't find a single matching feature.

Wang Guan frowned deeply, hesitant and undecided. He felt he couldn't possibly spend several months dawdling in Yanting over a treasure map whose authenticity was still in doubt.

After much deliberation, he decided to check the two nearest locations first. If he found nothing, he would temporarily give up and make further plans later.

In truth, Wang Guan knew that his current approach was akin to a headless fly, haphazardly flitting about, making any significant discovery unlikely. His current attempt to rely on luck was merely a way to give himself a reason to finally give up.

Having made his decision, Wang Guan hesitated no longer. He immediately took a vehicle to Phoenix Mountain, the closest peak to the county seat.

.................. Thanks to book friends "Boss Bookworm" and "qinfenglong" for their tips. Please collect and vote with recommendation tickets, your support is greatly appreciated. C