161: Chapter 161 Two jade tablets found in a stone box?

After Uncle Chen finished speaking, the room was quiet for a long while.

The iron pot on the stove was still steaming, and the stewed potatoes were bubbling, but no one picked up their chopsticks.

Zhou Rui glanced at Chen Zhen.

Chen Zhen didn't speak, staring at the map on the table.

Shen Zhiyuan came one last time, thirty years ago, and fell ill after returning.

He said the thing underneath couldn't be dug up, that it should be left to sleep.

And then?

Then he never came to North Mountain again.

It wasn't mentioned in the notes either.

"What was his complexion like when he left?" Chen Zhen asked.

Uncle Chen thought for a moment. "Not good. Ashen. Like he hadn't slept for days."

"Did he go up the mountain that day?"

"He did. He went early in the morning and didn't return until dark. When he came back, he was covered in mud and had an injury on his hand." Uncle Chen pointed to his right hand. "Here, a cut, quite deep. I found a cloth for him to wrap it with, and he said it was fine."

Chen Zhen stared at the location of the pine forest on the map.

What did Shen Zhiyuan dig up that day?

Uncle Chen went back to the stove to stir the pot.

"Where are you staying tonight?"

"We haven't found a place yet," Zhou Rui said.

"Stay here. There are three rooms, we can squeeze in. We'll head into the mountain tomorrow morning." He paused. "Are you really going in? That old man said it couldn't be dug up."

"We'll go take a look, not dig," Chen Zhen said.

Uncle Chen nodded and didn't try to persuade them further.

He walked to the inner room, brought out several quilts, and spread them out on the kang.

The quilts were old but washed clean and folded neatly.

"The rain will stop tomorrow morning. Leave once it stops. There's a stream in the gully, don't drink from it. The water is cold; you'll get diarrhea if you drink it."

He walked out and stopped at the doorway.

"When that old man left, he said something. I didn't understand it at the time, and I haven't figured it out since."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"He said, 'As long as the roots are there, the flowers will bloom again.'"

Uncle Chen pushed the door open and went out.

The sound of the rain grew louder, splashing down on the persimmon tree leaves, making them tremble.

Zhou Rui stared at Chen Zhen's face, as if waiting for something.

Yun Xi leaned against the wall with her eyes closed. But she wasn't asleep; her eyelashes were moving.

"Master," Zhou Rui said softly, "are we still going?"

Chen Zhen folded the map, tucked it into his inner pocket, stood up, and walked to the window.

Rainwater streamed down from the eaves, forming a curtain of water.

The few orange-red fruits on the persimmon tree were swayed by the rain but didn't fall.

As long as the roots are there, the flowers will bloom again. Shen Zhiyuan was talking about that seedling.

If the seedling is there, the flower will bloom again.

He was also talking about the thing underneath.

If the thing is there, it will come again.

"We're going," Chen Zhen said. "Not to dig, just to take a look."

At night, the rain stopped.

Chen Zhen lay on the kang, listening to the sound of water dripping from the eaves—drip, drip—slow, like a clock.

On the adjacent kang, Zhou Rui was already asleep, breathing heavily.

Chen Zhen kept his eyes open, staring at the pitch-black ceiling.

He reached out and pressed his hand to his chest; the four jade plaques were stacked together, warm like a small flame.

As long as the roots are there. The flowers will bloom again.

He closed his eyes.

The next morning, just as it was getting light, Uncle Chen came to knock on the door.

"The rain has stopped. You should be going."

Breakfast was porridge and pickled vegetables.

The porridge was thick, and the pickled vegetables were radish strips, crispy.

Chen Zhen ate two bowls, Zhou Rui ate three, and Yun Xi ate one.

Uncle Chen sat nearby watching them eat, without picking up his own chopsticks.

"Just follow that gully up the mountain. Don't turn onto the side paths. The side paths lead to a cliff, and you can't get across." He pulled a key from his pocket and placed it on the table. "When you come back, if the door isn't locked, just open it. If it's locked, use this."

Chen Zhen took the key.

The three of them put on their packs and headed out. On the persimmon tree at the entrance of the village, those few fruits were still there; the rain had stopped, and water droplets were dripping from the leaves.

Uncle Chen stood at the doorway and did not see them off.

There really was a stream in the gully.

The water wasn't deep, just barely covering their ankles, and it was so clear they could see the stones at the bottom.

The stones were blue-gray and very slippery; one had to be careful when stepping on them. Zhou Rui walked in front, holding a stick to probe the path, stepping firmly with every step.

Yun Xi walked in the middle, and Chen Zhen brought up the rear.

Both sides of the gully were steep slopes covered in shrubs and weeds; the leaves were soaking wet, leaving water on them whenever they brushed against them.

After walking for about an hour, the gully began to steepen, and the path became narrower and narrower.

Zhou Rui stopped and looked back.

"Master, there's a fork up ahead."

Chen Zhen walked forward a few steps and saw a gully to the left and a gully to the right.

The left one was narrow with dense shrubs; the right one was wide with a flat path. Uncle Chen said the side path led to a cliff and couldn't be taken.

"Go left."

Zhou Rui didn't ask questions and turned into the narrow gully on the left.

The shrubs scraped against their pant legs, making a rustling sound.

After walking for about another half hour, the gully came to an end.

Ahead was a pine forest. The trees were very tall, blocking out the sky. The forest was very dark, and the air smelled of pine resin mixed with the scent of damp earth.

Chen Zhen took out the map to look.

Once through the pine forest, they would be there.

The three of them moved through the pine forest; underfoot were thick pine needles, which felt soft and made no sound when stepped on.

The forest was very quiet, with the occasional bird call; it would call once and then stop for a long time.

After walking for more than ten minutes, it brightened up ahead. The forest had come to an end.

Chen Zhen walked out of the pine forest, and the sunlight made him squint.

Ahead was a slope of rubble.

The slope was covered in stones, big and small, stretching from halfway up the mountain all the way to the bottom of the gully.

In the middle of the rubble slope stood a stone stele, leaning crookedly, buried halfway by the rubble.

The stele was carved with runes.

It was exactly the same as the ones in East Mountain, West Mountain, and South City. A core circle with three dots, radial curves, nested geometry, and a peripheral dot matrix.

Chen Zhen walked over, crouched down, and used his hands to clear the rubble and dirt from the surface of the stele.

Zhou Rui caught up. "Is this the rune stone?"

"Yes."

"Is there something underneath?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

He stood up, walked behind the stele, and measured the position with his hand. The stone box should be here.

He took out his folding shovel and began to dig.

Zhou Rui also pulled out a shovel, crouched down beside him, and helped dig.

After digging about half a meter deep, the shovel hit a hard object.

Chen Zhen threw away the shovel and used his hands to scrape away the dirt.

It was a stone box, exactly like the one in South City. He carefully took it out and placed it on the ground.

He opened it.

Inside was a jade plaque.

Milky white, palm-sized, with a smooth surface.

It was exactly the same as the four from North Mountain, West Mountain, South Mountain, and East Mountain.

But this was not the North Mountain jade plaque.

He already had the North Mountain jade plaque.

Chen Zhen picked up the jade plaque and turned it over.

On the back was a character engraved— "North".

He was stunned for a moment.

He had one North Mountain jade plaque in his hand, which he had taken from Shen Zhiyuan's stone box.

Was "North" engraved on the back of that one?

He put down the shovel and took that North Mountain jade plaque out of his Storage Space.

He turned it over; there was no character on the back.

The two jade plaques were placed side-by-side in his palm.

One was engraved with "North", and one was not.

Two jade plaques from one stone box? Impossible.

Chen Zhen put the engraved jade plaque back into the stone box, closed the box, and put it back in its original place.

Then he buried it with soil, piled the stones back, and restored it to its original state.

Shen Zhiyuan said it couldn't be dug up; he had dug it up, but not to take anything.

He stood up and looked at the North Mountain jade plaque without the character.

It was originally here. Shen Zhiyuan had dug it up.

The stone box was empty.

Then who put this engraved one in?

Yun Xi walked over from behind and looked down at the pit that had been filled back in. "What is it?"

"Another jade plaque. One with a character engraved on it."

"Who put it there?"

Chen Zhen thought for a moment.

Shen Zhiyuan wouldn't have put it there.

He had taken the jade plaque; he wouldn't have put a new one in.

Shen Zhiqiu? Had he been here?

He didn't know.

But he knew there was still something underneath North Mountain.

The thing Shen Zhiyuan had sensed was still there.

He crouched down, pressed his hand to the ground, and sent his spiritual energy inside.

At a depth of one point five meters underground, there was a fluctuation of spiritual energy.

It was very strong.

He withdrew his hand and stood up.

No rush.