Back at the hotel, Young Master gave me a look, asking about my results. I was in a great mood, though I had drunk a bit too much, so I let him brew two cups of tea and told him the whole story.

Young Master listened and was puzzled: How could there be such a thing in the Yellow River? Was it sunk there by people? Or built by immortals?

I laughed and said: Since ancient times, all sorts of strange things have been dug up from the Yellow River. Many historical records contain numerous accounts of this—it's not that unusual.

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Note 1: 窨 (yin, fourth tone) means basement or underground sewer.

Part One: The River-Sealing Seal

Chapter Four: Legends of Ancient Relics in the Yellow River

Actually, I have studied the ancient relics in the Yellow River. Many have been salvaged throughout the ages. Based on the circumstances, they can be divided into four types: The first type is above-ground artifacts that, due to the Yellow River, became buried under the river’s sand.

According to historical records, in the three to four thousand years before 1946, the Yellow River faced nearly 1,593 floods, and its course changed dramatically 26 times due to these floods. Over a thousand years ago, Donghua Mountain was not part of the Yellow River’s course but was a stretch of hills. Who knows how many historical sites were buried in the sudden floodwaters when the river changed course. So, in every county along the Yellow River, there are legends of ancient artifacts being salvaged from the river.

The second type is items sunk into the river during various religious rituals. In ancient times, people along the Yellow River tried every possible method to control the floods, including using feng shui secrets to cast iron oxen and iron horses into the surging yellow waters to calm the river. Some of these were never seen again, while others were occasionally fished up by later generations. The third type is shipwrecks. Who knows how many wronged souls lie in the Yellow River’s silt—countless ships have sunk. But since the river only becomes gentle downstream, most large shipwrecks are buried in the lower reaches’ mud and sand. So, what we found here probably isn’t one of those... The fourth type is the most mysterious. In many places, unidentifiable objects have been dug up from the river mud. No one knows what they are, when they sank, or why. For example, before the liberation, in the Gansu section of the Yellow River, a huge iron tree was dug up from the riverbank. They dug more than ten meters deep and still couldn’t reach the bottom. Later, a landlord had people saw the tree, and the next day, all the trees within a ten-mile radius withered overnight.

The stone platform at the bottom of the Yellow River should belong to the last type. But after breaking it open, there was actually a coffin inside. I really hadn’t expected that. If the stone platform was a coffin, could it be that the platform was actually a burial chamber of an ancient tomb?

I drank a bit too much with William Carter that night, so I didn’t talk much with Young Master. We agreed that I’d show him the things I’d acquired the next day, and then I went to bed. Young Master told me that country folk care a lot about immediate profit. Even if they promise to hold something for you, once they get home and think it over, they probably won’t be able to resist and might come back in a week to sell it to someone else. Now that he’s already sold something and knows the price, the chances of making a deal are much higher. So, if I want to get everything, I have to act fast.

Young Master made a lot of sense, and I started to feel anxious. But I had no money and nothing I could do, so I just told him I understood. Back in my room, I kept thinking it over. I wanted to take these things to Shanghai and sell them for a while, find a few good buyers. But I was afraid that, just as Young Master said, by the time I finished selling and came back, William Carter would have sold everything too. I couldn’t make up my mind.

That night, I had a dream. I dreamed of a great river, with William Carter holding a top-quality Warring States hexagonal bronze zun tray, selling it on the opposite bank. I was calling out with money in hand, but the old man just couldn’t hear me. As I kept shouting, someone else came from the other side, took out a five-yuan bill, and was about to buy the bronze tray. I got anxious, panicked, and fell into the river.

I woke up with a start, realizing I’d fallen out of bed. Shaking my head, I thought, damn, what a dream. Maybe it’s a sign from above—I’d better go find William Carter first.

At that moment, the sun was just rising outside, the world still shrouded in a hazy gray, and the room was dim.

I checked my watch—it was already five o’clock. The antique market was about to open. This was the time when the best things—and the most fakes—showed up. I usually didn’t go out this early, but since I was awake, I figured I might as well go take a look, see if I could find a good buyer and sell a few things, then rush back to Linhe County and buy up all of William Carter’s goods.

Thinking this, I threw on my clothes and switched on the fluorescent lamp beside me.

Just as I was about to put on my pants, out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly caught sight of someone crouching in the shadowy corner of my room.

Part One: The River-Sealing Seal

Chapter Five: The Old Man Died

That person was facing the corner, crouched there with a ghostly air. That spot was right in the corner by the cabinet, so I couldn’t see clearly. I’m not a particularly brave person, and seeing someone suddenly appear in the dark room sent a chill through me. My first thought was that I was seeing things, but looking closely, there really was someone there. I thought, that’s it, I’ve run into a ghost.

That was where I’d put the bronze trinkets I’d acquired yesterday. The more I thought about it, the more goosebumps I got. Could these burial objects really be this sinister?