Ya She

Chapter 70 Black Tang Jun

【one】

In his half-awake state, the doctor vaguely heard people arguing.

"...This person is highly suspicious! I've never seen him dressed like this, with such short hair, what kind of behavior is this!" It was a young boy's voice, which sounded lively and agile, but he spoke in an old-fashioned way.

“This kind of clothing seems familiar…” a man’s voice rang out. It should have been a pleasant voice, but strangely, a few syllables were out of tune, making it sound very odd.

"Could it be..." the young man hesitated for a moment, then his voice turned dangerous, "that this person is the tomb keeper?"

The doctor didn't know what the other person meant by "grave keeper," but he could sense the hostility in the boy's words. The doctor strained to open his eyes, only to be met with a thick, gloomy fog overhead.

Huh? Where is he?

"Oh, he's awake." The boy's words were filled with deep regret, made without any attempt to hide it, as if he were afraid the doctor wouldn't notice.

If he didn't wake up, were we supposed to do something to him? The doctor looked in the direction of the voice and felt a chill run down his spine as he was stared at by the boy's sharp, piercing gaze.

This was a boy who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, handsome with thick eyebrows and sharp eyes, but dressed in tattered clothes. His skin was as white as jade, but his exposed wrists and ankles were covered with old, centipede-like scars, winding and hidden in his black robes. When the doctor saw the old scars, he couldn't help but take a second look, out of professional habit.

The direction of the fibrous tissue in this scar was very strange; he had never seen anything like it before. It didn't look like a cut from a sharp weapon, nor did it look like a whipping wound. If he had to describe it, it was more like a deep crack that reached the bone... But how could human skin develop such a crack? What could have caused it?

As the doctor pondered this, he couldn't help but linger his gaze on the other person, especially on the wounds for an extended period. The boy was clearly much more sensitive than others, and upon seeing the doctor's reaction, he was about to explode.

Fortunately, the doctor reacted quickly. He knew, of course, that patients were often very concerned about their physical injuries, and that it was impolite of him to stare at them for so long. He quickly looked away and turned to the young man beside the boy.

This was a young man with long hair, who looked to be around twenty years old. He was wearing an ancient purple robe, and his hair was not tied up. His long bangs covered most of his face, making it impossible to see his expression. Only his slightly pale lips and beautifully shaped jawline were visible.

Both of them were dressed in ancient costumes, which explains why they disliked his modern attire. The doctor propped himself up, dusted off his hands, and finally had time to observe his surroundings.

The doctor adjusted his slightly crooked glasses, looking around at the desolate landscape with a puzzled expression. As far as the eye could see, there was only barren land, and a heavy mist hung overhead, creating an indescribable sense of oppression.

There were no lights, no wind, and no sound; the eerie silence made it hard to breathe.

Where am I? How did he get here? What just happened?
The doctor frowned, recalling the events. Yes, he had met Madam Shi at Tian Guang Market and learned that the boss's friend, Ying, had been taken to the Cloud Elephant Tomb by the villain Zhao Gao, and he and the boss planned to go to the Cloud Elephant Tomb to rescue Ying…

"Is this...the Cloud Elephant Tomb?" There are two people here right now, so the doctor might as well ask.

The two exchanged a strange look, and the boy, who still harbored hostility towards the doctor, smiled eerily and said, "Yes, this is the Cloud Elephant Tomb."

The doctor looked around suspiciously, but couldn't find the boss. Had he gotten separated from him? "Are you looking for someone? No need to look anymore, we only see you." The young man with the slurred speech sounded...
He seemed to see right through the doctor, and said calmly, "This is going to be difficult..."

The doctor scratched his head, instinctively pulled out his phone, and turned on the screen—sure enough, no signal. Despite his wariness of the two people in front of him, he had no choice but to ask them what exactly the Cloud Elephant Tomb was.

The strange-voiced young man said calmly, "'The mountaintop is called a mound, hence the saying that it is built to resemble a mound.' A mound, then, is simply a pile of stones..."
A hill-shaped grave. This is actually a huge grave. "A grave?" the doctor murmured, looking around at the silent, barren earth, utterly disbelieving. Rather than...

Calling this a graveyard is an understatement; it's more like a desolate mountain. "Just like elephants, knowing they're about to die, they go to their graveyard to quietly await their end," the young man said.
He slowed his speech, and although the syllables were still out of sync, there was an inexplicable sense of solemnity in his voice: "All the antiques in the Cloud Elephant Tomb are either waiting to die or about to die. Of course, they will all eventually die."

The question sounded a bit convoluted at first, but the doctor still sensed a certain fatalism in it. After a long while, he finally found his voice, looked at the empty wasteland, and asked hesitantly, "Where...where are the antiques here?"

This time, the boy shrugged and spread his hands, saying, "Things that are dead are naturally buried under the soil!" After saying that, he stared intently at the doctor, his hands unconsciously twitching.

The doctor's lips twitched. This guy really wears his heart on his sleeve! "Wait, I'm not an antique, I'm a person! I'm here to find someone!"

"Yes, yes, that's right, I'm human too." The boy nodded perfunctorily, clearly not believing the doctor's explanation. There was simply no way to communicate with him! The doctor turned his pleading gaze to the young man with the strange speech pattern.

The young man, whose face was obscured, smiled slightly and said, "Since you are looking for someone, you must want to leave this Cloud Elephant Tomb."

The doctor nodded frantically; if the boss couldn't find him here, he'd definitely be waiting for him at the exit.

The young man raised his hand and pointed into the distance, saying, "The way to leave the Cloud Elephant Tomb is simple. It is said that you only need to climb to the top of the Cloud Elephant Tomb to leave this place."

The doctor followed his finger and looked into the distance. There, only a perpetual fog hung in the air.

【two】

The doctor followed the two men, his steps uneven. From their conversation, he learned that the boy was named Tang Jun, and the young man with the strange speech pattern was named Jin Bu.

However... what concerned the doctor was that although he did not see the face of the boss's friend Ying in the water mirror, he knew that Ying was wearing a purple robe and vaguely resembled Jin Bu.

However, to the doctor, all the ancient robes looked pretty much the same, and the colors in the water mirror differed from those in reality, so the doctor couldn't be sure. Fortunately, the two of them shared the same goal: to reach the summit of Cloud Elephant Tomb, giving them plenty of time to observe.

It was only as they walked that the doctor noticed a set of jade pendants hanging from Jin Bu's waist. Whenever he walked faster, the pendants would clink together. The sound should have been clear and melodious, but it carried an indescribable sense of urgency.

The doctor couldn't help but slow down. Jin Bu, who was ahead, seemed to sense this and also slowed down. The rhythm of the jade pendants colliding slowed down, and they only made a sound occasionally.

The doctor stared at the other person's retreating figure and couldn't help but ask, "Did you also just arrive at Cloud Elephant Tomb? What a coincidence!"

The two people in front stopped upon hearing this, turning back to look at the doctor with complicated expressions. Tang Jun snorted coldly and said sarcastically, "There is no sun or moon within the Cloud Elephant Tomb. Since I came here, I have been heading towards the mountaintop. To this day... the mountaintop is still far away."

The doctor wasn't too surprised by this. This was a place the villain had painstakingly lured people in. If it were really a place where you could just walk to the top of the mountain, he might have suspected something fishy. He looked at Jin Bu, wanting to ask if Jin Bu had also been in the Cloud Elephant Tomb for a long time, but he was afraid of being too obvious.

Jin Bu then spoke up, "Are you sure you want to go to the top of the mountain? It is said that it is a road of no return. In the Cloud Elephant Tomb, those who chose to go to the top of the mountain never returned."

The doctor figured that since this person spoke like that, he must have stayed in the Cloud Elephant Tomb for a long time. He thought for a moment before replying, "It's a good thing they haven't come back! It means they've all left the Cloud Elephant Tomb!"

"Indeed, indeed!" Tang Jun agreed with the doctor's point of view and appreciatively cupped his hands in a respectful bow. The doctor hurriedly returned the bow. "You're quite an interesting person. I misunderstood you as a tomb keeper earlier. My apologies, my apologies!" Tang Jun was someone who couldn't hide his feelings.

The man who had just been so critical of the doctor suddenly changed his attitude. "A gravedigger? What does that do?" This was the second time Tang Jun had mentioned the term "gravedigger."
Furthermore, Tang Jun's hostility towards the tomb guardian was truly perplexing. Judging solely from the title "tomb guardian," this person should be the one protecting the Cloud Elephant Tomb! Why would Tang Jun harbor such intense hostility towards him?
This time, Tang Jun walked alongside the doctor, telling him about the tomb keeper as they went.

According to Tang Jun, no one in the Cloud Elephant Tomb has ever seen the true face of the tomb keeper. Some say he is an old man, others say he is a child, some say they saw him as a teenager, and still others say he is actually a beautiful young woman. In short, this tomb keeper...

It is a very mysterious entity. And the task of the tomb guardian is not to protect the antiques within the Cloud Elephant Tomb, but to protect the eternal silence of the Cloud Elephant Tomb.

“Permanent silence?” the doctor repeated, puzzled. At first, he thought Tang Jun had misused the word, saying “silent” instead of “calm,” but he quickly changed his mind.

“That’s right, the tomb keeper is the murderer.” Tang Jun’s handsome face tightened, his sword-like eyebrows furrowing deeply. “I had a friend who was killed by him!”

The doctor was startled by this. Was the tomb keeper so arrogant? What if he found out that the tomb keeper had trespassed into the Cloud Elephant Tomb and executed him on the spot?
"Actually, you can't say the tomb keeper is the murderer," Jin Bu interjected casually as he strolled slowly behind. "This is the tomb of the antiques. The tomb keeper just wanted the antiques, who couldn't rest in peace, to resolve their inner conflicts and sleep forever."

Tang Jun snorted in disagreement, hooked his arm around the doctor's neck, took two quick steps, and lowered his voice, saying, "This Jin Bu, although traveling with me, is very likely the tomb keeper."

The doctor's lips twitched a few times, finding Tang Jun's suspicion that everyone was a tomb guardian rather abnormal. He wiped away a bead of cold sweat and changed the subject, saying, "I see you're all trying to leave the Cloud Elephant Tomb, so how did you all get here?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Jun withdrew his arm and stood up straight. The expression on his handsome face instantly turned cold and stern. He replied stiffly, "I don't know. I opened my eyes one day and found myself here."

"Me too," Jin Bu, who was following behind, replied in the same way.

The doctor pondered their conversation and concluded that the Cloud Elephant Tomb was more like the underworld in human legends. If the antique possessed a spirit, after its body shattered, its spirit would have arrived at the Cloud Elephant Tomb, unaware that it was already dead. The tomb guardians were similar to Ox-Head and Horse-Face, though from the spirit's perspective, they were on the opposite side…

Wait a minute, he was originally a scientific atheist, how did he suddenly start analyzing things so naturally? The doctor tapped his head in frustration.

"I woke up one day and found myself here. So much time has passed that I have no idea how long it has been." Tang Jun emphasized repeatedly, as if he were trying to cover something up.

"Will all antiques eventually end up here?" The doctor pondered his words, trying to find a way to learn more without upsetting Tang Jun.

"That's true for most of the time."

The doctor recalled what Tang Jun had said earlier: that the dead antiques were all buried under the soil. He looked down at the solid ground beneath his feet.
Looking at the sandy soil and the distant, indistinct mountains, he estimated just how large the Cloud Elephant Tomb must be. "The Cloud Elephant Tomb, ah, the burial place of an emperor is a mausoleum, a tomb with a stele is called a grave or a tomb, but a mere mound of yellow earth haphazardly buried is only..."

"It could be called a tomb." This time it was Jin Bu who answered, still walking unhurriedly, the jade pendant on his body jingling rhythmically. "Not most antiques are buried here; many have their own tombs, with people buried with them. The most impressive one is that 'Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion,' a calligraphy scroll, which is said to have been buried with an emperor."

The doctor didn't understand at first, but after pondering Jin Bu's words twice, he finally grasped the meaning. Apparently, from the perspective of antiques, people are actually the burial objects...

"Speaking of which, the 'Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion' might not even have been buried with Emperor Taizong of Tang! Legend has it that Emperor Taizong wanted the 'Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion' to be buried with him, but his son, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, outwardly complied but inwardly defied him and insisted on being buried with it himself. Later, Empress Wu followed suit and did the same thing... The Orchid Pavilion was favored by three emperors, so it must have been a beauty that could topple kingdoms." Jin Bu was very interested in gossip, and his speech was so fast that his strange syllables were almost unrecognizable.

"Superficial," Tang Jun commented dismissively.

"So what if it's superficial? The Lanting Pavilion is popular, that's a fact!" Jin Bu said indignantly. The doctor, for a moment, thought he was seeing a fan standing up for his idol.

【Three】

Their bickering helped alleviate the loneliness of the long journey. Inside the Cloud Elephant Tomb, there was no sun or moon, and the doctor felt neither hunger nor fatigue, but faced with the almost unchanging wilderness scenery, his spirit quickly reached its limit.

He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the sky seemed to have darkened a bit since then. Upon closer inspection, the doctor realized that the fog that had been pressing down on him had settled around him and was becoming increasingly dense over time.

"We're climbing a mountain," Jinbu reminded the doctor when he stopped and looked around in confusion. The doctor thought for a moment, then suddenly understood. The fact that it wasn't clearly a mountain to the naked eye only meant it was extremely large.
A mist had been hanging overhead, but as they climbed, they finally entered it. "Let's go, don't stray too far," Jinbu's voice came from ahead, his figure barely visible. The doctor quickly followed, and after walking for a while, the mist grew thicker, obscuring everything beyond three steps. Humans have an innate fear of the dark, precisely because of the inability to see clearly. In the same environment, day and night...

The feeling was completely different at night, which is why the invention of fire-making by friction was so important... A thought suddenly flashed through the doctor's mind.
After letting go of these chaotic thoughts, he began to feel grateful that Jin Bu was wearing a string of jade pendants. Although he couldn't see Jin Bu, he only needed to follow the tinkling sound of the jade pendants ahead.

After an unknown amount of time, the doctor suddenly heard a rustling sound behind him.

A chill ran from his feet to his head. Tang Jun and Jin Bu were both walking ahead of him, so who was behind him? "Who?" Tang Jun's voice came from not far ahead, and at the same time, the jingling of Jin Bu's jade pendant stopped abruptly.

Clearly, the two of them had also heard the commotion behind them and stopped.

From within the mist, an aged voice rang out: "Oh dear, has anyone... seen my leg...?" The doctor immediately calmed down. What was wrong with the old man's leg? He quickly turned around and took two steps in the direction of the voice.
Through the swirling mist, an old man with a white beard appeared. His hair was completely white, and he looked to be in his seventies or eighties. The doctor glanced casually at his wrinkled face before his gaze moved downwards.

The old man was wearing a long, antique gold robe, and because of the thick fog, the doctor couldn't see the condition of his legs at all.

The doctor apologized and knelt down to touch the old man's legs. The left femur, knee joint, tibia, fibula, and ankle joint were all there, and the right one… the right one was there too!
The doctor also noticed that the elderly man wasn't using a cane, meaning he had no problem walking. So... given his advanced age, could it be Alzheimer's disease?

"Grandpa Shang, you still haven't found your leg?" Jin Bu recognized him and breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, I was too rude." The doctor stood up and apologized. "Haha, it's alright..." Grandpa Shang squinted his small eyes, not finding the unfamiliar young man's immediate reaction...

There was nothing offensive about him touching me; rather, I hadn't been around other people for a long time and actually missed them.

Because the doctor was standing very close to Grandpa Shang, he saw the expression on Grandpa Shang's face and became even more convinced that the old man had Alzheimer's disease.

"You..." Grandpa Shang was lost in thought for a moment, then remembered why he had called them over, and asked in a rambling voice, "Has anyone seen my leg?"

“No, Grandpa Shang, we didn’t see it.” Jin Bu answered patiently, then explained to the bewildered doctor, “Grandpa Shang has been here for a long time, looking for his missing leg.”

"Don't believe it. Shang Jue has been searching for the leg for a long time. We don't know if it's true or not." Tang Jun was indeed wary of everyone. He didn't even lower his voice when he spoke, as if he was deliberately saying it for the other party to hear. "Perhaps he is the tomb keeper, using the excuse of searching for the leg to wander around."

The doctor adjusted his glasses, genuinely feeling sorry for Tang Jun.

However, Shang Jue? Tang Jun? Jin Bu? Aren't there some problems with these names? "Oh, my leg! If you see it, please remember to pick it up for me..." Grandpa Shang Jue trembled.
Wei gave a warning, and slowly turned around under Tang Jun's distrustful gaze.

"Alright, Grandpa Shang, take care." Jin Bu said goodbye to Shang Jue very skillfully, which showed that he often met with Grandpa Shang.

Grandpa Shang responded, but didn't turn around again. Instead, as if he suddenly remembered something, he turned back and asked curiously, "Oh dear, where are you all going?"

“We plan to go to the top of the mountain,” the doctor replied politely. “The top of the mountain? Oh dear, the top of the mountain won’t do! Don’t go any further! The fog will only get thicker!” Shang Jue exclaimed.

He waved his withered hands, speaking exaggeratedly, but seeing that the three remained unmoved, he could only sigh and say, "Oh dear, those who don't heed the advice of their elders will suffer the consequences... Let's go, let's go, good luck to you..."

"My legs... my legs, where are you... come back..."

The three watched as Grandpa Shang Jue left with faltering steps. The mist obscured their view, and Shang Jue quickly disappeared into the mist.

"Is this old man Shang... already senile?" The doctor scratched his head, trying to find a suitable word to describe Shang Jue's Alzheimer's disease.

"Jue is a wine vessel. It has a spout in front, a tail in the back, a cup in the middle, a handle on one side, and three legs at the bottom." Tang Jun said a long string of words with intonation, emphasizing the last two words.

“Three-legged? A noble title? A Shang noble title? A noble title from the Shang Dynasty?” The doctor repeated blankly, each word more incredulous than the last. Could it really be what he thought? “Grandpa Shang always worried about his lost leg. He said that as long as he found his leg, he could sleep forever.”

Jin Bu gazed in the direction Shang Jue had left and sighed deeply. The doctor glanced at Jin Bu, whose long, disheveled hair obscured his expression, making it impossible to discern whether his sigh contained regret or envy.

"I wonder if Shang Jue's leg is really missing or just an act," Tang Jun said indifferently, turning and continuing on his way. Hearing the clinking of jade pendants on Jin Bu's body, the doctor quickly averted his gaze and followed them. Shang Jue… a bronze jue from the Shang Dynasty? This Cloud Elephant Tomb is full of the spirits of antiques… judging from their surnames…

Are they named after dynasties? Then what are Tang Jun and Jin Bu antiques from the Tang and Jin dynasties? Jun... a matter of life and death.

Jun? Bu... is that the purple cloth robe that Jin Bu wore?
One question after another popped into the doctor's mind. He wanted to ask, but he didn't know where to begin.

The fog grew thicker and thicker without anyone noticing, and visibility decreased so much that you could barely see your five fingers by holding your hand up to your eyes.

The doctor stopped in his tracks, realizing he could no longer hear the sound of the jade pendant emanating from Jin Bu. The mist obscured all vision, and the doctor dared not move, unable to discern which direction to take. Suddenly, a flash of light pierced the mist before him; the blinding light made him instinctively close his eyes.

【Four】

Tang Jun was surrounded by deep red flames, the flames greedily licking his entire body. The intense heat did not frighten him at all; instead, it filled him with a deep sense of longing.

Yes, he was born from the ashes in such an environment.

Many, many years ago, he, like his brothers and sisters, was born from the soil, shaped in the hands of craftsmen, and fired in the fire.

His existence was an accident. "Porcelain is not a toy; how can you just apply glaze as you please?" "Father, why not? I'm just adding another color of glaze..."

"Because the two glazes are different in color and composition, their expansion and cooling rates when fired are also different! The porcelain you apply will inevitably crack!"

"...I don't believe it!" "Hmph, you just wait and see."

The familiar conversation echoed in his ears, just like back then. At that time, with his newly awakened intelligence, he couldn't understand it at all, and didn't know that he was born out of necessity.

The foreman in charge wasn't wasting firewood to scold his son. Most of the porcelain in this kiln was fired normally, and only a few pieces had been coated with two layers of glaze by the boy.

At that time, he had just begun to develop a will, enduring the tearing sensation all over his body and listening to the crackling sounds around him, unaware that these sounds were the dying cries of his brothers and sisters.

That day, the kiln fire burned for a full day and night, the flames rising from deep red to bright red, and then to orange-red.

The kiln glowed orange-yellow... then faded, and the temperature inside naturally dropped. After a simple yet reverent opening ceremony, the kiln door was knocked open, and the kiln bricks were removed one by one. Then, he heard a gasp of surprise.

It is a flower-shaped cup with a black glaze and a ring of moon-white patches. Above the patches, sky-blue patterns shimmer faintly. The shapes of the patches and patterns are irregular and asymmetrical, like a mischievous child's casual stroke, yet they have a natural and unadorned elegance.

He became a rare treasure.

Some say that when mixed glazes are fired in a kiln, they produce unexpected colors. This phenomenon, which cannot be controlled by humans, is called kiln transformation.

No matter how many pieces of porcelain with mixed glazes were fired by the foreman and his son, they could never replicate their previous success. He spent a long time in the foreman's hands, and later, with a large sum of money from a wealthy merchant, he was put into a brocade box and left the kiln.

After several years and the changing of dynasties, his existence was no longer a unique one.

Skilled artisans improved their techniques time and again, creating porcelain pieces that resembled his work, but with even more beautiful and captivating colors, such as black glaze with gold spots, white glaze with blue spots, celadon glaze with purple spots, or red spots, etc. The colors were unpredictable, and no two pieces were the same.

This type of porcelain was named "Jun".

Because he was born in the Tang Dynasty and is considered the progenitor of Song Dynasty Jun porcelain, he is known as Tang Jun, and because the cup is black, he is also called Black Tang Jun.

"Even with a fortune of ten thousand pieces of gold, it's not as good as a single piece of Jun porcelain." "Jun porcelain is unparalleled, and its kiln transformation is unique." "Gold has a price, but Jun porcelain is priceless." "An elegant hall without Jun porcelain is not a place to boast of wealth." "One color goes into the kiln, but a myriad of colors come out."... Jun porcelain is sought after by the world, but Tang Jun was hidden deep in the warehouse of a wealthy merchant. It was not discovered by his descendants until many years later. It passed through many hands and was finally given to a general with outstanding military achievements.

The general treasured him like a precious gem, cherishing him dearly. He would take him out to play with every day, and even throw lavish banquets to show off his existence to his friends.

In the illusion, the hall was filled with guests, laughing and joking. Tang Jun stood amidst the flames, coldly staring at the scene, his expression indifferent. Suddenly, he heard a voice of praise.

"This general seems to really like this cup!"

Tang Jun turned his head and saw the young man he had encountered earlier standing beside him, which surprised him slightly. However, he did not show it, but merely curled his lips in a mocking smile and said indifferently, "Just keep reading."

The doctor blinked and secretly touched the flames around him, which he couldn't feel at all. When he woke up, he found a documentary playing in front of him, seemingly about the creation of a black porcelain cup. He was watching it with great interest when he noticed that Tang Jun was also there.

The illusion shifted again, and the general was playing with the black porcelain cup, gazing in fascination at the gradual change of light blue patterns on the moon-white patches under the sunlight, marveling at it.

Suddenly, the black porcelain cup slipped from the general's fingers. Fortunately, the general was agile and, in a flash, bent down and caught the cup before it hit the ground, preventing a tragedy.

"Phew, that was close!" The doctor, as if he were there, also felt a pang of anxiety. Tang Jun let out a cold snort.

Before the doctor could ask him what was wrong, following his gaze, he saw the general staring intently at the black porcelain cup in his hand, his eyes wide with anger and looking terrified.

Indeed, even he was startled just now, let alone the owner.

The doctor had just patted his frightened chest with a sigh when he was shocked to see the general raise the black porcelain cup in his hand and smash it to the ground without any mercy.

"Crack!" The porcelain cup shattered into pieces in an instant, scattering all over the ground.

Sunlight shone on the fragments, making even the gradient of that sky-blue patterns seem to shimmer with disbelief. "This...has the general gone mad?" the doctor exclaimed, jumping up and down in regret. It had almost fallen to the ground, but he hadn't managed to catch it.
Huh? Why did you go and smash the cup?

"Heh, he's just that kind of unpredictable person. It's a pity that my body, forged in the kiln fire, was destroyed by this man..." Tang Jun suddenly saw the image that had haunted his mind for so many years, and he couldn't control his emotions. The surrounding flames seemed to sense his mood, instantly changing from deep red to bright red, and then to orange-red.

Even if the doctor couldn't feel the temperature of the flames rising, he could still detect Tang Jun's mental abnormality from the changes in the color of the flames.

So that's how it is. This is the Cloud Elephant Tomb, the graveyard of antiques. And the young man Tang Jun before us must actually be the black flower-shaped cup in the general's hand! That's Black Tang Jun!

No wonder the boy's body was covered in cracks and scars; it turned out to be marks from broken porcelain!

The doctor didn't know why he had been drawn into Tang Jun's hallucinations, but he knew that Grandpa Shang Jue had warned them not to go any deeper into the fog, probably because he was afraid they would fall into their own inner demons and never be able to get out.

Did those ancient spirits that went to the mountaintop truly leave the Cloud Elephant Tomb, or remain forever in this mysterious place?

In the fog?
Before the doctor could think further, he saw that the color of the flames around him had changed from bright orange to bright yellow, and even Tang Jun's eyes were reflected gold by the flames. The doctor quickly pointed to the illusion and raised his voice, "Look! The general seems to be saying something!"

Tang Jun seemed to be losing his mind, but after being reminded by the doctor, he subconsciously turned his gaze to the illusion.

At this moment, the general in the illusion stood with his hands behind his back and muttered to himself, "Thinking back on my life of military service, I have faced life and death many times and struggled on the edge of life and death, but I have never been afraid."

"Why are you so terrified over such a small cup? Heh, my illustrious reputation cannot be ruined by this! I thought I was playing with this cup, but little did I know, this cup is playing with me!"

The doctor rolled his eyes. The general's logic was truly touching; Tang Jun would have been better off not hearing it at all! Sure enough, the flames around him suddenly surged, gradually spreading towards the illusion. The color of the flames also changed from gold to pale yellow.

The color intensified until it turned white, and it seemed that the white flames were about to devour everything and engulf the entire illusion.

There's no need to guess, I know things aren't going well! The doctor's mind raced, and he kept asking, "Tang Jun, Tang Jun, are you unwilling to accept this? Do you resent him? Do you want to ask him why?"

"Why...why did I encounter such a thing..." Tang Jun's voice came out intermittently from a bright white flame where almost nothing could be seen.

The doctor secretly breathed a sigh of relief; as long as they could communicate, there was still hope.

He steadied himself; the bright white flames, almost silvery-white, stung his eyes, causing him to squint. However, the bright white environment was quite similar to his workspace, giving the doctor a strange sense of familiarity.

Yes, in some ways, Tang Jun was no different from the patients he had encountered before.

The doctor tried to make his voice sound calm and composed as he slowly advised, "Tang Jun, this is all due to natural disasters and man-made calamities. You can't choose your masters, just as patients can't choose not to have a terminal illness... It's all inexplicable..."

The doctor felt increasingly powerless as he spoke. He had witnessed countless births, aging, illnesses, and deaths in the hospital, but each time he faced it, he still felt helpless. He talked about end-of-life care, but in reality, no one but the patient could truly empathize.

The doctor sighed, looking at the general in the hallucination who, despite his stubborn words, still had a solemn expression, and a sentence someone had once said flashed through his mind.

"From love arises sorrow, from love arises fear. If one is free from love, there is neither sorrow nor fear." The doctor repeated each word carefully, his head throbbing as if pricked by needles.

Who was it? Who had said those words to him? A figure seemed to leap out. "From love arises sorrow, from love arises fear..." "If one is free from love, there is neither sorrow nor fear..."

Tang Jun's voice came intermittently from the dazzling white flames. He had recited this Buddhist verse over and over again, and the more he recited it, the more relieved he felt.

The doctor suddenly understood the general's feelings.

The general loved Tang Jun so much that it swayed his very soul. However, the general failed to recognize that this love was a beautiful emotion. Instead, he was bound by Tang Jun's safety because of his deep affection for him, feeling that his love was trapped.

But what happens after he is "free from worry and fear"? Will the general feel free? Or will he regret his decision?

"So that's how it is, I understand now." Tang Jun's voice softened.

The doctor felt heavy-hearted, thinking that Tang Jun was too pitiful, and that his persistence had only been for one reason.

"Speaking of which, it seems I've never asked your name before. What are you?" Tang Jun's voice sounded somewhat near and distant.

"Huh? I'm not an antique, I've already said I'm a person." The doctor sighed helplessly. "You're not an antique? Then how did you get here?" "I can't really explain why." "Heh, so you really are the tomb keeper..."

The doctor, recalling Tang Jun's deep-seated hatred for the tomb keeper, frantically waved his hands. But Tang Jun spoke with an unwavering tone, though his words no longer held any hostility towards the tomb keeper.

The dazzling white flames engulfed the general in the illusion, who was still staring down at the fragments on the ground, leaving only scattered fragments of the Black Tang Jun.

"Thank you, grave keeper."

Before the doctor could offer any further explanation, a faint glow flickered across the pile of black Tang Jun fragments before fading into silence. The fragments lost all their luster; even the most vibrant sky-blue light within them had dimmed.

They came down.

The sand beneath the fragments of the Black Tang Dynasty moved without wind, slowly creating a shallow pit that buried the fragments beneath the sand.

A gust of wind blew by, scattering the dazzling white flames that surrounded the doctor.

The doctor blinked, adjusting to the sudden darkness, before looking around.

The fog had thinned considerably compared to before, and it was still possible to see that the surrounding area was a barren wasteland, but in the distance, amidst the swirling clouds, a towering stone monument could be vaguely seen.

That must be the summit of Yunxiang Tomb.

The doctor looked around; in the mist, there wasn't a soul in sight, nor could he hear the clear, melodious sound of Jin Bu's jade pendant. It felt like a dream.

But deep down he knew that Tang Jun was no longer there.

The doctor looked down at the ground, where there was no trace of burial, and silently mourned for Tang Jun for a while before continuing his journey toward the summit of Yunxiang Tomb.

Today, the Cloud Elephant Tomb remains as silent and still as ever.

【Five】

Lu Zigang was minding the shop at the Silent Shop. He poured out the old tea and planned to brew a new pot.

Tang Yuan took the boss and the doctor to Tianguang Market and should be back soon. Lu Zigang sat at the counter, waiting for the water to boil while taking out his phone to look at today's archaeological news.

"Recently, an ancient tomb from the Ming Dynasty was discovered on the Nanjing Metro Line 6 Phase II, which is currently under construction. To protect the site and cultural relics, the route of Metro Line 6 Phase II may be rerouted..."

Lu Zigang slid his finger down and discovered that the ancient tomb mentioned in the news should be the tomb of a general. In addition to the general's sword, there was also a flower-shaped cup buried in the coffin.

Lu Zigang couldn't resist clicking on the picture out of curiosity and realized why the general liked it so much. It was a black Tang Dynasty Jun ware cup with a flower-shaped rim! Although it looked like it had been broken in the picture, it had been restored to its original state perfectly, with not a single fragment missing, making it of extremely high academic value.

Strange, this general loved this black Tang dynasty porcelain so much, yet he still let it break. Porcelain is truly a very fragile thing...

(End of this chapter)