Merchant of the Underworld

"Master Zhang, Huo Ze is waiting for you at the hotel."

Mr. Huo is in good condition and speaks with great energy. It seems that Huo Ze's health has also recovered.

Sure enough, when we arrived at the hotel, Huo Ze was greeting us at the door. Compared to how he looked the last time I saw him, although he is still a little thin now, his complexion is much rosier.

"My benefactor, you are here!"

Huo Ze regarded me as a savior and held my hand very excitedly.

I smiled and patted his shoulder but didn't say anything else. Today is Li Mazi's special performance, and I won't steal his limelight!

To say that Mr. Huo was really interesting, he actually chose the best hotel in Beijing to celebrate Li Mazi's birthday. Yin Xinyue looked at the brilliantly decorated hotel and whispered to me: "Mr. Huo really gave Li Mazi a lot of face..."

"Remember, everything that money can buy is cheap. For Mr. Huo, the life of a family is priceless, understand?"

I whispered back to her. Mr. Huo was so enthusiastic about us, but he just wanted to use Li Mazi's birthday as a gimmick to win us over so that we could be on call when he was in trouble. There was really no emotion involved.

If you think about it more, Mr. Huo might even make the request at the dinner table. It's impossible to say. So I personally don't like receiving such favors from the rich, but today is a good day for Li Mazi, so I won't say much.

The waiter wearing a cheongsam softly took a group of us to the private room. After ordering the dishes, we started chatting familiarly. The Huo family still thanked me repeatedly, which made me feel embarrassed.

"When you grow up, you must be like your dad. Your dad is a very powerful man!"

Mr. Huo touched Fanfan's head lovingly and stuffed a thick red envelope into Fanfan's hand.

There is no reward for no merit, and I am not like Li Mazi's character who loves money and life. Yin Xinyue would naturally resist, but Mr. Huo insisted not to take it back, so she had to look at me for help.

I was about to say something, but Li Mazi pulled me aside and whispered, "Brother Zhang, I have something to ask you."

Hehe, just borrow flowers to offer to the Buddha, but he still wanted me to help. I waved my hand bitterly.

"Brother, I don't know you yet..."

"This time I'm going to fight upside down, don't say you're not interested!" When Li Mazi said this, his eyes began to shine.

But when I heard that I was going to fight upside down, my heart started to get excited. China is a vast country with rich resources and a long cultural history. Different dynasties have different cultural soils: the blue and white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty, the accessories calligraphy and painting of the Tang Dynasty, the bronzes of the Warring States Period, etc. all fascinate me.

What's more important is that I have never been to the ancient tomb since my debut, and I was even more excited than Li Mazi for a while. What is Li Mazi going to do this time, and which dynasty is his target? Is it the prosperous and glorious Tang Dynasty? Or the Qing Dynasty? Or is it even older than these dynasties?

"How was it; were you moved!"

Li Mazi knows me too well, and I will surrender whenever he mentions anything related to antiques.

"Mazi, tell me where your destination is first. Is the information reliable?" I asked.

Li Mazi looked up and looked around. When he saw that no one was paying attention to us, he whispered: "This time it is absolutely reliable, the ancient tomb of the Han Dynasty!"

I’m going to the Han Dynasty!

After the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty was not as prosperous as the Zhenguan rule in the Tang Dynasty, but the culture of the Han Dynasty was even more fascinating. The cultural relics unearthed in our country about the Han Dynasty have long made me salivate, especially the pair of world-famous Jade Dragon Cups.

"Li Mazi, are you sure it's reliable?"

I asked again. It wasn't that I didn't trust Li Mazi, it was just that the news he gave was so explosive that it was difficult for me to accept it in a short period of time.

"It's absolutely true. I'll tell you in detail after I send my siblings and Fanfan back." Li Mazi replied mysteriously.

After that, Li Mazi and I returned to the dinner table. I drank so much that I even forgot to buy Li Mazi a birthday present for him.

Early the next morning, I was just about to make out with Yin Xinyue, but I was shocked to find that the person next to me was not Xinyue. When I opened my eyes, I saw Li Mazi's fat round face. I was so frightened that I quickly pulled up my pants that were halfway off.

I shook my still aching head, called Yin Xinyue, and learned that she had taken Fanfan to her father-in-law and mother-in-law's place. It seems that our rare vacation is over, and it is difficult enough for the two elders, who also have to take care of our children.

It was already afternoon when Li Mazi woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw me sitting next to him, rolling off the bed to the ground, and asked in horror: "Brother, why are you looking at me like that!"

"Li Mazi, what you said about fighting upside down..."

I stared at Li Mazi, trying to read something from this guy's expression. Unexpectedly, this guy looked at me seriously. It seemed that he wasn't lying to me.

"Your eyes lit up when you saw an ancient object!"

As he spoke, he got up and took out a sealed bag from his pants pocket. I took the bag and opened it, only to see that inside was a small half piece of something that had turned yellow and looked like tissue paper.

But this stuff is made of leather, and it’s not the sebum of ordinary livestock.

While observing, I made a conclusion in my mind, then opened the sealed bag and carefully took out the contents. This small half piece of leather was extremely delicate, and I could feel the texture on it.

If you look closely, you will see lines and two round fishes painted on it. What is this?

Seeing my confusion, Li Mazi said, "Brother, what do you think these lines look like?"

The lines on the skin did not have any regularity, but spread out in waves. As I touched it, my heart suddenly trembled. I looked at Li Mazi and asked in a low voice: "This... this is..."

"You guessed it right, this is an ancient scroll of human skin!" Li Mazi showed a mysterious smile.

Damn it, no wonder the leather is so delicate, it turns out to be made of human skin.

"How about it? I didn't fool you, did I?" Li Mazi lit a cigarette and said while shaking his feet.

"Li Mazi, where did you get this thing?" I asked in confusion.

"I spent a lot of money to buy this!"

"Last time I was hospitalized, the old man who lived next door to me heard that I was an expert in antique appraisal, so he asked his family to send this thing over the next day. When I saw it, his grandma's was a burial chamber Map. Brother, do you think we should give it a try?" Li Mazi said.

After listening to this, I felt that Li Mazi was just unlucky to be able to encounter such a map. But a map is not enough. At the very least, you need to know the general location of the ancient tomb.

So he asked: "Li Mazi, can you see where the map is?"

There is a small seal script on the map. It is difficult to see what is written because of the age. However, based on the shape of the glyph and the thunder cloud pattern next to it, we can judge that it is from the Han Dynasty.

"This is one of the reasons why I brought you back. I looked at you for several days and couldn't see it." Li Mazi said frustratedly.

I didn't say anything anymore, and grabbed the map and observed it carefully. The scene depicted on it was too general, with only a lake and something like a mountain. Moreover, this map was drawn thousands of years ago. God knows whether the ancient tombs were moved to other locations due to the movement of the earth's crust.

"Brother Zhang, can you tell?" Li Mazi asked.

I gave Li Mazi a hard roll of my eyes. I'm not omnipotent. How could I know this? Li Mazi sighed and started smoking again.

Although I know nothing about geography, I can't bear to have friends in this field.

As my brain flashed, I remembered a person!