Chapter Fifty-Two: The Golden Casket

“Uncle Master!”
I rushed to the edge of the sand pit, but it was already too late—Grim-Faced Zhang had slowly sunk into the quicksand.
The figure in the black cloak sighed deeply and shook his head. “Once you go in there, you never come back out. Mourn and move on.”
Creak, creak.
As we were still grieving, an odd sound came from within the quicksand pit, reminiscent of a cat sharpening its claws.
The black-cloaked figure paused, looking toward the center of the sand pit, which now seemed to cave in like the neck of an hourglass.
“Hurry, pry up the wooden stick,” he shouted.
We rushed to the stick and pressed down with all our strength, watching as the collapsed area in the center of the sand pit grew larger and larger.
Swish!
Suddenly, from the depression, Grim-Faced Zhang leapt out, using the tip of the stick to propel himself beyond the pit.
“Unnecessary,” he said coldly, glancing at the black-cloaked figure.
He then produced a small golden casket from his hand. It was pure gold, perfectly square, five or six centimeters on each side, divided into a six-by-six cube like a Rubik’s Cube, extremely heavy.
Grim-Faced Zhang handed the golden box to me. I inspected it, twisting it a few times. Indeed, it moved like a Rubik’s Cube but wasn’t very smooth—it took considerable force to turn a section.
“Uncle Master, what is this?”
He looked at me, shook his white hair, and took a cigarette from his pocket, inhaling twice. “You don’t know?”
I shook my head.
“Really, after all these years, I wonder what your master actually taught you,” he mocked.
Feeling awkward, I examined it more closely. The surface was covered in strange, chiseled patterns, entirely enigmatic.
“This piece is probably from the Liao dynasty. It should be something like a ‘Kongming Box’—a puzzle box.”
“Can you open it?” Grim-Faced Zhang asked, taking another drag.
I twisted it repeatedly but could not open it and shook my head.
He snorted coldly, looked at the black-cloaked figure, and said, “We don’t have space to keep so many women. Go wherever you wish, you’re not needed here.”
The black-cloaked figure glanced my way. “Grim-Faced Zhang, take the woman and step aside. I have something to say to him.”
Mengya was startled. “What are you planning?” she asked, shielding me.
I nudged her and gestured. “It’s fine, I’ll talk with her. You all go back first, or else everyone will get suspicious.”

“Can you get back safely on your own?” Mengya asked.
I nodded and waved, “It’s fine.”
“I’ll make sure he gets back safely,” the black-cloaked figure said.
Mengya looked alarmed, clearly dissatisfied with my response, about to protest.
“Go,” Grim-Faced Zhang said coldly. “There will be no problem.”
Mengya glanced at me, but seeing my unwavering resolve, she nodded and turned to leap down the mountain with Grim-Faced Zhang.
I looked at the black-cloaked figure, smiled teasingly, and stepped forward. “Since we embraced in the Ghost Tower, we haven’t met again. Now you’re here for a private rendezvous—still lingering feelings?”
She smiled as well, smoothing the gray hair that spilled from her hood, walking toward me with allure. “I’m not here to reminisce.”
“Now there’s no one else. Take off your hood, let me see who you really are.”
She didn’t move. I slowly reached for her hood, but she blocked my hand. “Don’t do that. You’ll know who I am eventually, but not now.”
I sighed, feeling uneasy. “It’s as if some memory has been erased from me. Can you tell me?”
She waved her hand and hugged me tightly. A mesmerizing scent enveloped her, and she leaned close to my ear, her breath sending shivers through my body. I held her close.
Though she stood nearly one meter seventy, her figure was slender, and the half-visible face beneath the hood hinted at extraordinary beauty.
“Grim-Faced Zhang hasn’t gone far. Don’t speak—just listen.”
I nodded slightly, stunned.
“This time, it’s not just your group planning to steal the Water Coffer from Heavenly Lake. If I told Grim-Faced Zhang, he’d never believe me.” She paused. “There’s a mole in your camp. This golden box must not be shown to anyone. And you’re right—your memory is incomplete. But I promise, I won’t harm you. Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you in secret.”
I gently agreed, stroking her back, feeling like a lover parted, unsure when we’d meet again, an ache in my heart.
She didn’t push away my touch; I thought I saw a smile beneath the black hood. After a long moment, she released her embrace and nudged me. “Enough. I should take you back.”
“Why don’t you come with me?” I smiled.
She said nothing. A few crystalline tears rolled down her face beneath the hood; she wiped them away. “No, no, stop talking. Hold me tight, I’ll take you back.”
I nodded helplessly, walked to the cliff, and hugged her tightly. She leapt off the cliff, and the journey felt like a roller coaster—my vision blurred, my head spun. After five or six minutes, I was back at the camp on level ground.
“He won’t recall anything, will he?”
I opened the tent door and saw Mengya lying alone in her sleeping bag. She sat up as I entered.
“How did it go? What did the black-cloaked figure tell you?”
I didn’t answer, looking around. “Where’s Uncle Master?”

“He slipped off to sleep.”
I closed the tent door and sat in front of Mengya, lowering my voice. “She said there’s a mole in our camp.”
“What?” Mengya looked stunned. “Impossible! Everyone here is from the Jingjiu Sect.”
I couldn’t understand it either. Though I couldn’t convince myself, the black-cloaked figure spoke with such conviction that I had to believe her. Suddenly, a thought flashed in my mind—could the mole be Mengya herself? The idea unsettled me, and I stood up.
“So late—where are you going?” Mengya asked.
“I need to talk to Uncle Master.”
Ignoring Mengya’s protest, I walked out of the tent alone.
Bang, bang, bang… I knocked on Grim-Faced Zhang’s tent.
“Come in.”
I opened the door and saw Grim-Faced Zhang, shirtless, sitting before his sleeping bag and smoking. He was thin but well-built, his abdominal muscles sharply defined, his arms strong. He was unwrapping the bandages around his chest. Were it not for the scar on his mouth, he would surely be the heartthrob of men.
Grim-Faced Zhang gave me a cold glance. “What are you here for? The woman you brought isn’t with me.”
“Uncle Master, I have something to tell you.”
He paused, sized me up, and nodded. “Go on.”
“Don’t let anyone else see the golden box.”
“Why?”
I didn’t answer immediately, thinking for a moment. “What do you think of the black-cloaked figure?”
Grim-Faced Zhang shook his head. “Nothing much. She’s on our side, after all.” He took a drag. “Falling into the quicksand pit was no trouble for me. I went in to see whose side she was really on. If she harmed me, I’d come up and deal with her.”
I thought, though Grim-Faced Zhang was only a few years older than me, his cunning was remarkable.
I nodded. “She said we’re not the only ones eyeing the Water Coffer beneath Heavenly Lake. Most importantly, there’s a mole in our team.”
Grim-Faced Zhang didn’t seem surprised, just nodded.
“She said she’ll help us from the shadows.”
Grim-Faced Zhang took another drag. “Never trust anyone too easily. Women are never to be trusted.”
I nodded, about to take my leave, when chaos erupted outside the tent, cries for help echoing through the camp.