Chapter 51: Human-Dragon Intertwined Jade Pendant

I do know about the State of Guo. It was an important vassal state during the Western Zhou to Spring and Autumn periods, closely related to the Zhou royal family. Historical records say that Guo Zhong (also known as Guo Shu, a younger brother of King Wen of Zhou) was granted the fiefdom of Guo for his meritorious assistance to King Wu in overthrowing the Shang dynasty. This marked the origin of the State of Guo, which later branched into East Guo, West Guo, and others.

People might not be very familiar with Guo, but one phrase is certainly well known: “When the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold.” It refers to how the State of Jin wanted to annihilate Guo, but there was the State of Yu in between. Jin borrowed passage through Yu’s territory, and Yu foolishly lent the way. After Guo was destroyed, Yu was soon wiped out as well.

The era of this tomb roughly coincides with Guo’s existence, but its location is worlds apart. East Guo was around Xingyang in Henan Province, and West Guo near Qishan and Fengxiang in Shaanxi Province, later moving to Sanmenxia. But this tomb lies in western Yunnan. If the Guo Wuhou was a vassal lord of Guo, why would he travel a thousand miles to build a tomb here? It’s utterly baffling.

I didn’t want to ask Jiang Sheng’er; even if I did, he wouldn’t explain. Old Ou, seeing we were about to move out, hurriedly asked, “Second Master… do you still want to burn the medicinal incense?”

He was being quite thorough. According to Jiang Sheng’er’s plan to herd the chickens into the coop, to prevent Liao Xiaoqin from hiding in the shadows, Old Ou scattered special incense behind us and at every fork in the passageway along the way. We had taken the medicine beforehand and couldn’t smell anything, but those unmedicated would be overwhelmed by the incense’s sharp irritant, forcing anyone hiding out to flee in panic.

Old Ou’s question implied that An Yishou might have been hiding nearby but fled due to the incense’s effect and suddenly attacked. He worried the incense might wake up other ghostly things. Jiang Sheng’er replied, “No need, hurry forward!” He was anxious for good reason.

Previously, both Jiang Sheng’er and Bai Laokui thought Liao Xiaoqin had taken the golden silkworm skin from the tomb, so both factions in Chang City kept an eye on Xu Qingguo, expecting her to come and surrender. But after I was drugged and forced to reveal the truth, they learned the treasure was still inside the Guo Wuhou secret tomb and rushed to seize me. If Liao Xiaoqin had the treasure, he’d barge in to snatch it. If not, she might come to retrieve it herself.

Yet An Yishou’s sudden appearance and the continuous incense trail suggested no sign of Liao Xiaoqin. The old bastard probably assumed she had met some supernatural mishap and the treasure remained in the main chamber. Hence, he adjusted the plan to reach the destination quickly, find the answer, and escape this deadly haunted place.

But this was not what I wanted. Though eager to know my sister-in-law’s fate, it was only eleven o’clock, an hour before the corpse woman’s violent frenzy. No matter what lay ahead, I was unwilling to let that old scoundrel reach the main chamber so soon, nor to let him succeed in taking the treasure.

I glanced over at Fat Dong, who was also frowning at the time. I gave him a look. He understood immediately and spoke up, “Wait!”

They halted. Fat Dong said, “The Taoist just saved you all—bow to me and say thanks!”

Mantis Luo gave a cold glare. “Or what?”

Fat Dong chuckled, “If the Taoist can save you, surely he can also leave you to die. Why not try?”

Mantis Luo clenched his fists and stepped forward, deadly serious. Fat Dong, looking carefree, sat down cross-legged and stretched his neck forward.

“Come on! Either bow and thank me, or take a knife and chop off your head—I'm not leaving!”

I thought they’d argue, but then Jiang Sheng’er smiled and motioned to his men, “Bow to Master Dong and thank him!”

Leading by example, he bowed deeply to Fat Dong. Not only did Mantis Luo and the others freeze, but I was also speechless. The old fox was not only ruthless but flexible! Fearing An Yishou might reappear, Fat Dong’s usefulness meant it was best to indulge him.

Reluctantly, Mantis Luo and the others bowed deeply and said in unison, “Thank you, Master Dong, for saving our lives.”

Fat Dong’s chubby face twisted. “Now, crawl back and rest, you fools!”

After walking a few dozen meters, I squatted down and stopped. Mantis Luo turned and demanded, “What are you doing now?”

Holding the flashlight, I carefully examined the ground and replied flatly, “These dropped from An Yishou’s body. If we don’t figure this out, we won’t even know how we die later.”

“I’m here to get treasure with you, not to die!”

Old Ou scratched his head, “Right, right… we have to check it out!”

There were eight silkworm pupae, about the size of a thumb, gray-black, each apparently containing a pupa inside, still slightly moving. The image of An Yishou covered in these creatures made me deeply uneasy.

Besides the pupae, there was a flat jade pendant about six or seven centimeters wide. Although covered in thick black slime with wriggling thread-like parasites emitting a strong foul stench, the pattern was still discernible.

The carving was done in intaglio, symmetrical, smooth in outline, and simple in style, featuring a human figure topped with a cloud-scroll motif resembling a high priest. Beside him, a dragon’s body coiled and intertwined with the figure, the dragon’s head positioned to the left.

Old Ou’s eyes widened. “This… this is a Han Dynasty Eight-Knife ancient jade? An Yishou is quite extravagant, carrying such a treasure into the tomb!”

Though a top tomb raider, he was naive about antiques. The carving resembled Han Eight-Knife style but was not Han jade. It was a superior Hetian yellow jade pendant with a human-dragon motif.

The cloud-scroll on the head symbolized a shaman; the intertwined human and dragon represented the shaman mastering the dragon to connect heaven and earth—a typical Western Zhou cultural design. A similar jade pendant was unearthed from the Guo Ji tomb at Sanmenxia, bearing a striking resemblance to this one.

In the Western Zhou era, only rulers like Guo Ji or vassal kings of equal rank dared wear such human-dragon jade pendants. This meant An Yishou did not enter the tomb wearing the pendant but took it from the tomb and wore it.

Could the Guo Wuhou’s status have been so high? Was An Yishou’s madness triggered only after acquiring the pendant? It remained a mystery.

This pendant was undoubtedly a priceless treasure, but no one dared to touch it, fearing the black thread-like worms on it might be Lingyu stings or similar, capable of burrowing into the body and turning us into horrors like An Yishou.

Fat Dong’s eyes gleamed at the pendant, reaching to grab it. I glared at him. “You want to become a little worm person?!”

His face twisted in pain; he withdrew his hand and closed his eyes. I turned to Jiang Sheng’er and the others.

“Do I need to explain this to you?”

I intended to stall for time, but Jiang Sheng’er, sly as ever, replied calmly, “If it’s life-threatening, you’ve handled it immediately. If not, no explanation helps—just move on!”

I cursed him silently. We had no choice but to continue following them.

About ten minutes later, we reached an open area surrounded by rubble, its purpose in the tomb unclear.

Suddenly, Xiao Yao’s face flushed slightly. “Brother, I need to go—big business.”

The girl was clever, sensing we were stalling and trying to help buy time.

Jiang Sheng’er glanced back at us, barely restraining his anger. “Five minutes.”

Xiao Yao turned to me, whispering, “Come with me, I’m a little scared.”

I accompanied her to a shadowy corner. She squatted down, glanced at the group in the distance, and took something out, lowering her voice to a whisper.

“Brother, before going into the tomb, Sister Qingguo gave this to me to keep us safe.”

I was deeply surprised. Suddenly, I recalled Xu Qingguo’s intense look at Xiao Yao before leaving and her urging me to remember her kindness.

“What is it?”