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I responded and chased after Little Brother Zhang.

With my character, I had so many reservations about this matter. All of Snake Ancestor’s various actions weren’t in line with my character, so his behavior actually made me very uncomfortable. If it were me, I would definitely follow Iron Chopsticks up the mountain at this time so that I could understand the overall situation and wouldn’t make any rash decisions. I suddenly had a deep understanding of the indecisiveness Gemini must go through all the time (1).

The stone steps on the cliff were very dangerous, but Little Brother Zhang’s skills were at least on par with Poker-Face’s. Even though he was bent over the whole way, he had already run out of the building complex and started running towards the wharf located at the core of the village—the area with the highest concentration of buildings.

All the buildings here were clustered together and connected by the path cut into the cliff, so if the villagers were lurking nearby, we would be completely exposed as we went up. If someone ambushed us, we’d have no other choice but to jump off the cliff. This was also why I didn’t want to take risks, but Snake Ancestor said he’d follow, so he proceeded without any hesitation or ambiguity. Even though I knew it was an illusion, I still felt like my heart was beating erratically.

Despite his determination, Snake Ancestor soon found it difficult to follow. Fortunately, Little Brother Zhang stopped to observe the terrain from time to time, so we could barely keep up. There was a huge six-storied building stretching all the way to the top of the wharf, and it was connected with ten large buildings that must have belonged to ordinary villagers. It seemed to be the place where the tribal leaders discussed matters.

Little Brother Zhang stopped, but instead of entering, he turned to look at me. I could see that the sharp iron piece in his mouth was pressed against his lower lip.

“What are you doing?” Snake Ancestor had finally caught up and instantly became alert as he said, “It’s against the rules to leave the team without authorization.”

“That wasn’t Big Brother Zhang’s whistle. No matter how loud his whistle is, it wouldn’t be so sharp.” Pampered Guy looked at the top of the cliff—it was really hard to call him Little Brother Zhang—and saw that the sun had begun to shift, and the line between sunlight and shadow was slowly moving up.

“How can you be sure?”

“I’m not, but I am sure of one thing. With that guy’s personality, he would never stop and wait for someone. If he found a clue, he would act on it right away.” Pampered Guy said. “Therefore, he would never blow a ghost whistle to remind us of anything. I’m afraid he’s already entered the houzhai by this point.”

“Then who was blowing the whistle?” Snake Ancestor exclaimed. He looked back at the direction we had just come, but could no longer see those people climbing up.

Pampered Guy said, “I know the whistle we agreed on. If it’s not Big Brother Zhang, it must be one of those two people who disappeared in the shuizhai before. The whistle is a lure and should lead to something hostile. I’m afraid Iron Chopsticks is walking into a trap.”

“Then why didn’t you speak up? Do you want them to die?” Snake Ancestor asked. He clenched his teeth, obviously wanting to do something.

Among the lamas (2), this kind of behavior was the most unacceptable, because if they turned against each other in the field, then their places in the business would be eliminated. And this business was too profitable, so if there were no basic credits or inviolable principles, then almost every lama’s return journey would be a disaster.

Pampered Guy narrowed his eyes— he had obviously seen Snake Ancestor clench his teeth—but he didn’t care and looked around before asking, “Do you know who Iron Chopsticks is? His name is Jiutou Yandai. Twenty years ago, he was the White Paper Fan (3) of the caravan here in western Yunnan. The caravan’s been missing for twenty years, but now he’s suddenly appeared here as a lama. His face has changed drastically—he obviously deliberately smashed his facial bones— so if it wasn’t for him smoking that tobacco pipe, I really wouldn’t have recognized him. If this kind of person suddenly came out to work, then the person who asked him to hire the lamas must have offered him more than just money. It was either on his seniors’ orders or has something to do with his retirement. As his name suggests, Jiutou Yandai smokes nine different types of tobacco in his pipe, and each one is used in various strange and secret medicine concoctions. When they’re smoked, they have all kinds of unexpected uses. I’m not sure I want to plot against such a worldly person, and the big guy who follows him is far above you when it comes to skills, so you don’t have to worry about them.”

“Bullshit! How would you know anyone from twenty years ago? How old were you back then?” Snake Ancestor asked. Pampered Guy furtively looked around a few times, and suddenly found a clue.

“Guess.” With that said, he started climbing up one of the nearby building’s stilts. When Snake Ancestor followed him up, he saw a strange mark carved in a hidden spot above the stilt, pointing in one direction.

“Here it is!” Pampered Guy was smiling as he spit out the iron piece and started scraping the mark off. He then said to Snake Ancestor, “You should follow! Come on, let’s go!”

Before he had finished speaking, Snake Ancestor grabbed a letter snake from his waist and threw it. It flew to the cliff where Pampered Guy had gone and bared its fangs to stop him. “You’re not allowed to go. What’s your purpose for joining this operation?”

<Extra 2.15> <Table of Contents><Extra 2.17>

*****

TN Notes:

(1) I think he means like the horoscope kind of Gemini because they’re represented as twins (so like two different personalities in one). Since Wu Xie and Snake Ancestor’s personalities are different and they’re in 1 body right now, he’s saying he understands how being a Gemini feels.

(2) More grave-robber slang from Vol 8 Chapter 5. Remember, lama in this context is someone who goes into the field (aka the tombs) to get the goods.

(3) Person in the gang who provides financial and business advice. Info on Triad structure is here

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