Chapter Thirty-Three: The Divine Dragon Emerges from the Luo River Bearing the Sacred Diagram

My face was swollen like a mound rising over a grave. While Xiao Lianshan changed the bandages on my arm, his eyes remained fixed on my face. Gu Anqi sat across from us, watching as Yue Qianling flipped irritably through a magazine, glancing at me furtively every now and then.

Yue Leiting had rearranged for more people to come back and protect us. Around the villa, layers upon layers of guards now stood watch. Watching Xiao Lianshan’s clumsy hands, Yue Qianling grew visibly anxious.

“Brother, I was only gone a few days—what happened here? Who beat you up?” Xiao Lianshan finally couldn’t help but ask.

“A mad dog bit me,” I replied irritably, turning my head away.

“You’re the mad dog!” Yue Qianling hurled her magazine at me.

“Qianling, my brother got hurt saving you. How can you still bear to hit him?” Xiao Lianshan asked, as oblivious as ever.

“Qianling, did Yan Hui do something to upset you?” Gu Anqi, quick to read people’s emotions, saw the mixture of anger and heartache on her face. “Brother Yan Hui’s wound on his arm looks deep—almost down to the bone. It must hurt a lot.”

“Anqi, don’t mind him. He brought this on himself.” Though Yue Qianling’s words were sharp, I could see the pain written clearly on her face.

“Brother Yan Hui, it looks like people already know you have the Divine Strategy of Luo Xuan and the Golden Dragon Tortoise,” Gu Anqi said with worried eyes. “If we don’t solve the clues inside soon, who knows what else might happen.”

“Look at all these wounds on me; one heals, another appears. How am I supposed to work on the clues like this?” I complained, sneaking a glance at Yue Qianling. “Ouch, Lianshan, can’t you be gentler? Are you dressing a wound or amputating my arm?”

Yue Qianling had seen enough. She clenched her teeth, grabbed the iodine.

“Lianshan, step aside. I’ll do it. His delicate skin can’t take your rough hands.”

Though her tone was cold, her hands were gentle as she tended to my still-unhealed wound, her heart aching.

“Brother, you can’t just stay home every day. Get out, clear your mind. If you keep brooding like this, you’ll go mad sooner or later.”

“She’s right, Brother Yan Hui. The weather’s nice today—why don’t we go sit in People’s Park?” Gu Anqi chimed in.

I thought it over. Spending every day with Yue Qianling meant even the slightest misstep brought fists or kicks, and I was constantly on edge. At least outside, she wouldn’t be quite so domineering.

People’s Park in Rong City, formerly known as Shaocheng Park, is located on Citang Street, Shaocheng Road, in the city center. With beautiful scenery and convenient transport, it is the largest park in the bustling downtown, the first in Rong City to break down walls and return greenery to the people—a historical, open landscape garden.

Within the park are scenic spots like the Plum Garden, Begonia Garden, Orchid Garden, Bonsai Garden, and a grand artificial mountain. Boating is available on the man-made lake, where an antique-style teahouse stands by the shore. The park’s plaza often hosts various exhibitions and performances, and the chrysanthemum festival and the renowned Heming Tea House are famous far and wide.

People’s Park has always been a beloved place for Rong City residents to enjoy tea, take in the scenery, stroll, relax, and nurture body and mind—a place people linger, reluctant to leave. The park is lush, with flowerbeds and trees forming a canopy of greenery. Xiao Lianshan and I wandered ahead, ambling aimlessly like headless flies.

Gu Anqi picked a teahouse and everyone sat down. Tea-drinking in Rong City is all about comfort and savoring the experience. Since Rong City is famous for bamboo, the chairs in the teahouses are all bamboo recliners—a signature feature—so patrons can lounge or sit as they please. Newspaper vendors, shoeshiners, foot-masseurs, ear cleaners, and sellers of sunflower seeds and tofu pudding wove among the tables, offering an array of services that were themselves a unique spectacle of the city’s teahouses.

As a bowl of tea was placed before me, my eyes were drawn to the side, watching a tea master perform.

His movements—setting the tea boat, arranging the cups—were fluid and practiced. He spun a giant copper kettle with a spout one meter long like a windmill, then brought the spout close to the cup, and with a sharp upward jerk, sent a pillar of boiling water straight into the cup. With a flick of his pinky, he deftly covered the cup—a flawless performance.

Beside him, another copper kettle just off the boil sent up wisps of steam. The tea master ladled water over it, releasing a burst of white mist.

I stood up slowly, my eyes shining with excitement, fixed on the steaming kettle. Under my breath, I repeated the two lines of code Gu Anqi had told me.

“Divine dragon’s golden body, scarlet from ancient times; the hidden tortoise carries the sea, revealing the will of heaven…”

Xiao Lianshan pushed the poured tea toward me. I turned and sat, lost in thought as I gazed at the cup in my hands. A leaf had fallen onto the lid. Suddenly, I smiled, poured all the tea onto the lid, and watched the leaf float in the tea.

“Haha, I’ve got it! I’ve got it!”

Back at home, I hurriedly fetched the Golden Dragon Tortoise. When Yue Qianling and Gu Anqi entered the room, Xiao Lianshan was coming in from the woods outside, arms full of firewood.

“Anqi, my brother’s going to burn the Golden Dragon Tortoise!”

Gu Anqi was startled and opened her mouth to protest, but then saw me, elated, coming down the stairs with the artifact.

“Anqi, good thing you brought us out for tea today. I’ve figured out how to unlock the Golden Dragon Tortoise!”

“Brother Yan Hui, think carefully. If it’s ruined, we’ll lose our only clue to the Ming Tombs,” Gu Anqi said, worried.

“Anqi, do you remember the code for the Golden Dragon Tortoise?”

“Of course: ‘Divine dragon’s golden body, scarlet from ancient times; the hidden tortoise carries the sea, revealing the will of heaven.’” Gu Anqi recited without hesitation.

Xiao Lianshan was already piling the wood onto the kitchen stove. I held the Golden Dragon Tortoise confidently.

“I realized just now, watching the copper kettle redden over the fire in the teahouse, what the first line means. ‘Divine dragon’s golden body, scarlet from ancient times’—the tortoise is said to be made of gold. Scarlet means fire; it needs to be heated until it glows.”

“That’s not certain. If it’s gold, it shines just as brightly in sunlight. Why use fire?” Gu Anqi still hesitated.

I answered calmly, “The dragon tortoise represents Xuanwu, which belongs to earth in the five elements. But it’s made of gold, which belongs to metal. Wood overcomes earth; metal overcomes wood; fire overcomes metal. So, combined with the code, it means we need to burn the Golden Dragon Tortoise.”

“Brother, think it through. If you’re wrong, this could destroy everything,” Xiao Lianshan said, not sounding very sure of himself.

“My father said the Golden Dragon Tortoise contains mechanisms. If not opened the right way, everything inside will self-destruct. Brother Yan Hui, are you sure about burning it?” Gu Anqi asked nervously.

With Gu Anqi and Xiao Lianshan’s doubts, my earlier confidence wavered. After all, this was the only clue to the Ming Tombs. If I was wrong, the legendary treasure would be lost forever beneath the earth.

I sighed, glancing between the artifact in my hand and the fire already burning, torn by indecision.

Without a word, Yue Qianling appeared at my side. Without hesitation, she snatched the Golden Dragon Tortoise and threw it into the flames, a careless smile on her face.

“If you want to burn it, burn it. If it’s ruined, all the better—then my father can stop obsessing over it.”

Before I could react, the roaring fire had already engulfed the Golden Dragon Tortoise. Yue Qianling stood beside me, arms crossed, chin raised—a picture of defiance.

Gu Anqi and Xiao Lianshan stared, dumbfounded. I moved to put out the fire, but suddenly, the Golden Dragon Tortoise in the flames reflected a dazzling light, filling the room with gold.

“Divine dragon’s golden body, scarlet from ancient times!” Gu Anqi murmured in astonishment, gazing around the room.

The fear on my face slowly gave way to a delighted smile. It seemed my deduction was correct.

“Brother Yan Hui, what now? We can’t just keep burning it; the gold will melt,” Gu Anqi said anxiously, her joy quickly turning to worry.

My confidence restored, I used tongs to lift the glowing Golden Dragon Tortoise and looked around the room, finally setting my sights on the large fish tank in the living room.

“Qin Yanhui, don’t even think about it! I’ve raised those fish for years!” Yue Qianling saw the gleam in my eye and knew exactly what I was planning. She had cared for the fish since childhood, changing their water and feeding them herself. Even Yue Leiting couldn’t touch them without her kicking up a fuss.