77: Chapter 77 Palembang: The Guide's Story

When Li Xin arrived in Palembang, it was two in the afternoon. The scorching sun was directly overhead, and the ground was baked hot.

Carrying his old backpack, he hailed a taxi at the airport and gave the address of a small hotel in the old town.

The driver was an enthusiastic middle-aged man who didn't stop talking the entire way, constantly asking him in heavily accented English if he was there for tourism.

"Yes, I heard that the old town of Palembang has a unique charm." Li Xin leaned back against the seat and looked out the window.

"Kuto Gawang?" The driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "That place only has one wall left; there's nothing much to see."

"Is there a tour guide? I would like to find a local guide to show me around."

The driver thought for a moment, then pulled a crumpled business card from the armrest box and handed it over. "Take this. His name is Adi, and he is my nephew. His English is good, and he knows the old town very well. You can look him up; it only costs 200,000 Indonesian Rupiah per day."

200,000 Indonesian Rupiah was less than a hundred RMB. Li Xin took it and said thank you.

The hotel was in a small alley in the old town, located in an old colonial-style building with white walls that had turned yellow.

Li Xin got his room key, went upstairs to shower, and after changing into dry clothes, took out the business card the taxi driver had given him and sent a message to the number on it.

"Mr. Adi, can you show me around the old town tomorrow?"

The reply came quickly. "Hello, yes, I can. However, my fee is 200,000 Indonesian Rupiah per day. Can you accept that?"

"No problem, your uncle already told me that. Alright then, come to my hotel to pick me up at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. I will send you the address later."

"Alright, see you tomorrow." Adi replied immediately.

The next morning, Li Xin was eating breakfast downstairs. He was only halfway through when he saw a young man in his early twenties walk in, carrying a small bag and smiling, revealing two rows of white teeth.

"Are you Mr. Li?"

"You must be Adi, right? Hello." Li Xin replied with a smile.

The two shook hands. Adi then led Li Xin toward the old town.

Adi's English was indeed good; he spoke at a moderate pace but very clearly. He asked, "Brother, what would you like to see?"

Li Xin smiled and said, "Just wandering around, taking some photos along the way. I'm quite interested in old architecture."

"Then I will take you to Kuto Gawang." Adi said, "That is the site of the Sultan's palace, dating back to the seventeenth century."

As they spoke, the two walked toward Kuto Gawang. The streets in the old town were narrow, and most of the old buildings on both sides were two or three stories high. In some places, the plaster had peeled off, revealing the red bricks inside.

Adi walked slowly, talking as he went, telling stories about the history of Palembang, the Sultanate, and the Dutch colonial period.

Li Xin listened, occasionally asking a question or two, like an ordinary tourist interested in history.

When they arrived at Kuto Gawang, only one old city wall remained. It was built of red brick, and its surface was covered with moss and vines. A sign stood in front of the wall, with a brief introduction written in Indonesian and English. A few tourists were taking pictures, chatting and laughing.

Li Xin also raised his camera and took a few photos of the wall. Then he leaned against the wall and took a sip of water.

"Adi, are there any legends about this place? Like about treasure?"

Adi smiled. "Every old place has legends of treasure. Palembang has them too."

"Tell me about it."

Adi pointed to the wall. "The locals believe that the Sultan's treasure is buried beneath this. Gold, gemstones, Chinese porcelain, filling up the underground palace. But no one has ever found it."

"Has anyone looked for it?"

"Yes. Decades ago, the Dutch came with equipment to dig." Adi lowered his voice. "They dug for three days, the tunnel collapsed, and two people were crushed to death. After that, no one dared to dig anymore."

"What happened after that?"

"Later, the Japanese Military came, and Americans came too." Adi shrugged. "They didn't dig up anything. Some say the treasure was moved away long ago; others say it never existed."

Li Xin nodded and didn't ask any further.

He stood by the wall, raised his camera, and took a picture of the river surface in the distance.

Just then, the System popped up a notification in the background.

[Ding... Scan complete. Approximately 25 meters directly below the current location, a large artificial underground space has been discovered. Gold reserves: approximately 82 tons. Type: Gold bricks, gold ingots, gold artifacts, gold Buddhas. Belongs to ownerless historical relics, 100% Extraction possible.]

The expression on Li Xin's face did not change in the slightest.

He put down the camera and turned to Adi. "The lighting here is good. Could you help me take a photo?"

Adi took the camera, stepped back two paces, and snapped a photo of him. Li Xin stood in front of the wall with his hands in his pants pockets, smiling very naturally.

The shutter clicked.

At the same time, the System popped up another notification.

[Extraction complete. Obtained 82 tons of gold, 8 tons of silverware, 300 kilograms of gemstones, 500 pieces of porcelain, 8,000 gold coins, and 80 volumes of ancient books.]

[Cumulative gold refined: 109.6057 tons.]

Li Xin took back the camera and glanced at the photo. "Not bad."

He turned and continued walking forward. Adi followed and asked where he wanted to go next.

"To the riverside, I suppose." Li Xin said, "The Musi River, I heard the scenery there is very nice."

The two walked south along the street. After walking for about twenty minutes, they reached the river. The river was very wide, the current was gentle, and the color was yellowish. Many fishing boats were moored along the bank, with masts packed densely together.

Li Xin stood by the river and raised his camera to take a few photos. The river breeze blew over, carrying a fishy smell.

"Does this river have a story?" He asked.

Adi thought for a moment. "Yes. Have you heard of Srivijaya?"

"That ancient maritime power?"

"Yes. The capital of Srivijaya was right here in Palembang." Adi pointed to the river surface. "Legend has it that when Srivijaya fell, the royal family sank a large amount of gold into the Musi River, fearing it would be seized by enemies. For hundreds of years, fishermen have often fished gold artifacts out of the river."

"Is that true?"

"It's true." Adi lowered his voice. "A few years ago, a fisherman fished out a gold Buddha and sold it for billions of Indonesian Rupiah. Later, the government banned fishing for it, saying it was a cultural relic."

Li Xin nodded and continued walking forward.

He walked along the riverbank for a few hundred meters and stopped at a pier. The pier was built of wood, and some of the planks had already rotted. A few workers were unloading cargo, carrying bags of goods off a boat.

He squatted down, pretending to tie his shoelaces.

[Ding... Scan complete. Approximately 12 meters under the riverbed, a shipwreck site has been discovered. Gold reserves: approximately 6.5 tons. 100% Extraction possible.]

[Extraction complete. Obtained 6.5 tons of gold. Cumulative: 116.1057 tons.]

He stood up and brushed the dust off his pant legs.

"Let's go, let's go see over there." He pointed to a river bend in the distance.

Adi followed, talking about the history of the Musi River as they walked. Li Xin listened, occasionally responding. Along the way, the System chimed more than a dozen times. Shipwrecks under the riverbed, placer gold, and ancient port ruins were taken one after another.

By the time they reached the river bend, the cumulative total had reached 139.6057 tons.

Li Xin stopped, bought a bottle of water by the side of the road, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. Adi also bought a bottle of water nearby, and the two stood in the shade to rest.

"Mr. Li, when you travel alone, do your family members worry?" Adi asked.

"I have no family." Li Xin smiled. "It's free to be alone."

"So you have been to many places?"

"It's alright. I have traveled to a few countries in Southeast Asia."

"Which do you like the most?"

"I like them all." Li Xin screwed the cap back on. "Every place has its own story."

Adi nodded and didn't ask any further.

The two continued walking forward. Li Xin walked in front, and Adi followed behind, occasionally pointing out old buildings along the road and telling the history behind them.

When they reached a fork in the road, an old man was sitting by the side of the road smoking. He looked to be in his sixties, with a face full of wrinkles. He looked up, glanced at Li Xin, then lowered his head and continued smoking.

Li Xin walked past him, took a few steps, then stopped.

"Adi, ask that old man if there are any old buildings nearby."

Adi walked over and chatted with the old man in Indonesian for a few sentences. The old man looked up, glanced at Li Xin, and said a long string of words.

Adi translated, "He said if we go north, there is an old pier built during the Dutch period. It's abandoned now, but the buildings are still there."

"Let's go see it."

The old man suddenly called out to him and said another sentence.

Adi's expression changed slightly.

"What did he say?" Li Xin asked.

Adi hesitated for a moment. "He said… there is something under that pier, and he told you not to go."

"What kind of thing?"

Adi asked the old man a few more questions, then turned his head, his voice dropping very low. "He said that when he was young, he saw a stone gate under the pier. The stone gate was carved with patterns, and cold wind was blowing out from the cracks in the door. He was scared and didn't dare to go in."

Li Xin tapped his fingers lightly on the mineral water bottle.

"What happened later?"

"Later the pier was abandoned, and that place was flooded." Adi said, "The old man said you can't see the stone gate now; it's underwater."

Li Xin nodded, thanked the old man, and continued walking forward.

He went to that pier as well.

He was a tourist now, and it's perfectly normal for a tourist to be interested in a stone gate under an abandoned pier with a mysterious story, right? It's just that after going there, he didn't find anything.

He walked along the river for an hour, took dozens of photos, and listened to Adi tell a dozen stories about history. The System collected over thirty treasures in the background, and the cumulative gold reached 168.3057 tons.

At four in the afternoon, he returned to the hotel.

Lying on the bed, he opened the system panel.

[Cumulative gold refined: 168.3057 tons.]

[Gold required for next upgrade: 500 tons.]

He was still 331.7 tons short.

He closed the panel, took out his phone, and sent a message to Chen Hu. "Help me check the travel information for Sulawesi; I want to go there for a walk."

Chen Hu replied in a second: "Understood. There are hiking routes in Toraja; the scenery is nice, and you can find a local guide."

Li Xin replied with a "Good," then tossed his phone onto the bedside table.

The sky outside the window gradually darkened. From afar came the sound of the evening prayer from the mosque, long and desolate.

He turned over and closed his eyes.

Tomorrow, to Sulawesi.