When the incident happened, what era was it? Before the founding of New China. So, this guy is really quite old, huh? But actually, he seems a bit younger than I expected.

The Zhang family members all have long lifespans and special constitutions, so I guess it’s not too surprising.

“You mean, the place was called Ma’an Village back then? Does this place still exist now?” I asked Goldie.

Goldie nodded. “Yes, it does, but if you want to go, I don’t think it’s necessary. Because in this memoir, it says that after they dug up the grave at that time, they didn’t dig any further. They only dug up an iron scorpion, but the memoir doesn’t describe anything after that. The next record is already more than a year later.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Goldie said, “After they dug up that iron scorpion, did they keep digging and find an underground palace? What was written on the iron scorpion? Was there anything suspicious? None of this was recorded. In that year or so, the Ma family went from prosperity to decline—something big must have happened, and it must be related to that scorpion.” He continued, “After that, the whole country was liberated, and the Ma family moved to Nepal.”

“Nepal?”

“Yes, Nepal,” said Goldie. “I just got back from there not long ago. I have their address, and I even saw that iron scorpion at their house. They’re selling it at a low price.”

“You’re not trying to trick me, are you?” I said.

“No,” said Goldie. “If you’re interested in what I’m telling you, why not take a trip? Let’s go abroad together. With me negotiating, I’m sure we can easily get that iron scorpion.”

I thought about it and realized that this was, so far, the only clue related to the past of the Silent Oil Bottle. Maybe I really should go. However, I couldn’t go with Goldie. After doing business for so long, I know people like him are like flies—they only go after eggs with cracks. If he went with me, he’d definitely try to team up with the Ma family to rip me off, and there might be all sorts of other traps waiting for my wallet.

So I set a time with him, but left before he did. I didn’t even tell Little Grace, and just went to Nepal.

However, this time I came back completely empty-handed. Brian Foster’s house in Nepal was huge, but totally empty. It was obvious everything had been moved out. I asked the people around, but they all said they didn’t know where the family had gone.

The Brian Foster family, just like the Zhang family he once visited, disappeared without a trace before I could find them.

I thought maybe this was a big scam that I saw through. I left early, so they weren’t prepared at all. Or maybe, after Edward Carter left, something major happened to them.

I saw through it.

In the end, this search turned into a sightseeing trip. When I realized I couldn’t find anything, I just started eating and drinking to my heart’s content, and even started thinking about, in a wild and fanciful way, developing some business in Nepal.

After some investigation, I found that Nepal’s system wasn’t suitable for me at all. It could only serve as a transit point, and deep down, I didn’t like the idea of national treasures being smuggled out, so I didn’t think much more about it. Of course, I found quite a few antiques there. I didn’t know if they were real or fake, or how much they could fetch in the overseas collectors’ market, but in the midst of all this running around, I actually found traces of the Ma family.

While I was taking stock at a Chinese-owned antique shop, I chatted with the owner about why I was there. That owner had done business with the Ma family—it was obvious the Ma family had sold him quite a few antiques. He told me that whenever he dealt with the Ma family, they would always, intentionally or not, mention a place called Motuo.

So, I went to Motuo, and there I saw something that made me stay for half a year.

藏海花Ⅰ Chapter 7: The Oil Painting of Tibet

It was a strange painting.

At the end of 2010, after returning to China from Nepal, I entered Tibet and spent a week resting at the foot of Mount Kalren.

I didn’t immediately start looking for clues about the Ma family. After all, the journey had been exhausting, and on my partner’s advice, I decided to first deal with all the burdens I’d picked up in Nepal.

I brought back a large number of antique-style ornaments with Tibetan Buddhist features from Nepal, intending to use them as display samples and to try to find the true origins of those pieces of jewelry from the Zhang family’s ancient building. In that place called Motuo, I sorted all the ornaments into three large packages and mailed them to three different addresses in Hangzhou, to lighten my load for the rest of the journey.

There are two kinds of “post offices” in Motuo, because Motuo is a very special place. The mountains are closed off most of the year, making access difficult. In the early days, the official post office here could only receive letters, not send them. It wasn’t until recent years that a small road opened up for mail, but the mail truck only comes once a week.

So, there are also private mail services in the area, which basically means finding someone to take your mail or packages along the way. Among the people coming in and out of Motuo, helping others carry mail or packages is a common thing. Some people act as middlemen and make a bit of money. The “post office” I found was run by such a person. It’s not especially safe, but at least it guarantees some timeliness. As long as someone is leaving Motuo, you can roughly know when the package will reach the outside post office, and after that, it’s more reliable to forward it.