Beipai Tomb Raiders Notes

Chapter 558: Hainan Drifter

After not seeing each other for a few days, Chaosheng looked a little haggard and had grown a lot of stubble on his chin. After a simple greeting, my attention was drawn to the two men sitting next to Chaosheng.

One of these two people is about forty years old, with an earring on his right ear. He has a simple look and a plain temperament. He is the type who would go unnoticed in a crowd.

The other man had gray hair on his temples and looked to be at least sixty years old. He had a pale face, dark eyes, a short body and agile arms. He was estimated to be less than 1.6 meters tall.

Chaosheng pointed at the two of them and said to me, "I'm glad to have you here. Let me introduce you. This one is Lao Zhang, and this one is the famous Southern Style Drifter himself."

I hurriedly clasped my hands and packed my luggage.

The traveler with a dark complexion and dark eyes looked at me and said something incoherently, but I didn't understand a word he said.

What he spoke was neither Mandarin nor a local dialect. I have traveled to many cities, but I couldn't tell where he was speaking.

At this time, the middle-aged man named Lao Zhang translated: "My uncle means that you northerners have started a water cave business and are cooperating with the southerners. If this gets out in the underworld, people will probably gossip about you."

Chaosheng took over and said, "This matter isn't simply a matter of the North or South. My grandfather and great-grandfather, two members of the Xie family, died here. Others from the Southern faction also met with misfortune here in their early years. I must uncover the secrets here and give them an explanation. Captain Wang and I have reached an agreement that neither of us can accomplish this alone. That's why I brought you two all the way from Hainan."

This drifter seemed to be hard of hearing. The man named Lao Zhang leaned over to his ear and spoke to him loudly in the same language. After listening, he mumbled a few more words.

"My uncle said that such deep water holes are rare in the mainland. It's very difficult to fish anything out. We have to pay extra. Which side of you will pay?"

The leader spoke first: "The money issue is not a problem, we will bear it."

"Have you two been to that place?" I asked.

Chaosheng said, "We only arrived this afternoon and haven't had time to go yet. I've already explained the basic situation. If they dare to take the job, it proves they are confident in going."

We chatted for about another half hour before they suddenly stood up to say goodbye, saying they'd see each other tomorrow afternoon. Their car, a white Citroën hatchback, was parked in the backyard. Only after they left did I dare to ask, "Where does this drifter come from? He's completely incomprehensible, and he looks weird."

The boss took a sip of tea and said, "Yunfeng, this drifter is a member of an ethnic minority. There is a small place called Jingdi Village deep in the mountains of Pingshun County, Changzhi, Shanxi. He originally came from that village."

Chaosheng nodded: "Yes, Piaozike is from the Tanka tribe."

"What tribe?"

Chaosheng looked at me: "The Tanka people, descendants of the ancient Tanka people, look like this. They are born with black faces, blue eyes, and their arms are longer than their legs. And they are also different from us here." Chaosheng pointed to his ribs.

I have never heard of the Tanka people. Is there such a people among the fifty-six ethnic groups?

Chaosheng spent more than ten minutes telling me about the background of this drifter and the village. After listening to him, I lamented that I was not knowledgeable enough.

The Tanka people, the ancient Tanka people, can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty. Some Qin Dynasty documents say: "The Danhu, also known as Lingnan Li Liao in history, are descendants of the Baiyue people."

There are records of this kind of people in the literature of the Jin Dynasty, which roughly describe them as: "Their faces are blackened and their bodies are painted with scales. They are called mermaids, also known as 龍人, 旦人, and 蛋人. They make their home in the water and their rooms in boats, and are forbidden to go ashore all year round."

Up to now, the descendants of the ancient Tanka people in some places in Guangxi and Fujian have long lost the characteristics of their ancestors due to intermarriage and integration. Those who say that they live on the water all year round are mostly performing, because they have suffered serious harm in history. During the Qin Dynasty, they were said to be lowly people and would be killed if they were seen on the shore. Therefore, they could only live on the water for generations and make a living by diving and fishing. Later, after a few hundred years, some ancient Tanka people chose to go ashore because they could not stand that kind of life. Some of them settled in Guangxi and Fujian, and a small part moved to the inland. As for why some ancient Tanka people settled in Shanxi, no one knows.

In Jingdi Village, Pingshun County, Changzhi City, there is a lake in the village and many natural caves on the mountain. This group of people live in the caves. It seems that the road to that place was only opened in 2015. Before that, the only way to get to the outside world from Jingdi Village was a "hanging mountain road" more than ten miles long. The road was hung on the cliff and circled along the sky. It took two generations of villagers decades to build it.

It is isolated from the world and does not welcome outsiders. I heard that some people disappeared inexplicably after going there. Ten years ago, I even heard that the local tourism bureau put up a sign at the foot of the mountain to warn tourists not to enter rashly. With the opening of the road 10 years ago, the situation has improved a lot. Because it has been isolated from the world for thousands of years, it has attracted some adventure enthusiasts and has gradually become a tourist attraction. However, I heard that since the road was opened, the descendants of the ancient Tanka people who originally lived in the caves quietly moved to other places to live. As for where they went... it is unknown. According to Chaosheng, they had their eardrums pierced with a needle at the age of three, could swim alone at the age of five, and could dive and fish alone at the age of eight. As for the diving depth, Chaosheng said:

"The current recorded depth of a cave dive is about 300 meters, and the best descendants of the Tanka people can easily break this record."

At this time, Douyazi said to Chaosheng, "Above 300 meters, you'd have to use a rebreather and supporting decompression equipment. For you and me, maybe 200 meters is the limit. Assuming that water hole in Zukengyuan is 450 meters deep, I have no confidence in this drifter, even if he's a descendant of the Tanka people, because I don't see any professional equipment in his car. Damn... The golden armor, if we salvage it, it would sell for over 10 million, right? If it's confirmed to be from Fang La, it could even fetch over 100 million."

I say you really dare to dream of over 100 million.

Douya was dissatisfied and said, "Why? Didn't you watch the news a while ago? A jar sold for over 200 million. How could the rebel leader's golden armor be sold for less than a broken jar?"

I said, "First of all, the photos are blurry, so we can't be 100% sure it's the Golden Armor. It's also possible that the gold pieces were stacked together. Even if it is, we can't be sure it's Fang La's. The jar you mentioned is Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain, which is safe to sell at auction. If we salvage this thing, we won't put it up for auction unless you want to die."

"Fengzi, you insist on arguing. You're so short-sighted! Is there only one set of golden armor in the abyss? There must be something else!"

Douyazi pointed to the wall behind him, rubbed his hands, and whispered, "If an old monk can fish out a thousand-year-old bubble, what else is impossible? Think big! Mountains of gold and silver, gold and silver ingots! Countless jewels are waiting for us down there."

I rubbed my eyes. Douyazai’s words were very inspiring, but he overlooked a fundamental problem. Even if there were mountains of gold and silver hidden under the abyss, could they all be fished out?

Obviously impossible.

So far, I have only seen the object that is half buried in the mud and "suspected to be golden armor". My goal is to fish it out, unless I can get a submarine. But even if I get a submarine, it is impossible to transport it into that place. I can only dive down by manpower. Now we put all our hopes on this mysterious drifter.

"Boss, Brother Yu hasn't come back yet?"

He nodded his head.

"Yunfeng, how are things going over there?"

I glanced at Chaosheng and whispered, "Jingmen narrowly won."

"What role did you play in this?"

I was stunned. I didn't expect the leader to ask this suddenly.

"I'm not bragging, I played a big role! If I hadn't dragged the crazy Taoist priest until dawn, everyone would have died that night. I also got to know the Master of Jingmen, and we became friends!"

"Haha, Yunfeng, who told you that person is the leader of Jingmen? Would the leader of Jingmen be friends with people like us, the lowest class?"

Seeing that I was stunned, he raised his head, patted my shoulder and said:

"Okay, don't think too much. You haven't slept for two days. Soak your feet later and get some rest."