Who's making all that noise? Why is the earth shaking?
"I'm telling you, Tiger, these are all priceless treasures. Spring and Autumn, Warring States, Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing—one hundred sixty-six artifacts. If we get caught, do you think we'll keep our heads?"
"You useless coward, Little Sa, what a disgrace. Now you're scared? Remember what you said when you came begging me for a job? Do you even remember?" Tiger slapped his brother-in-law on the head. He must have had terrible luck for eight generations to end up with such a fool in the family. This guy ate and drank better than him, and now he was sniveling like this. So embarrassing. Tiger used to be a tough guy under Peng, but... Forget it. No point complaining.
"Quit whining. If Peng sees you like this, he'll shoot your balls off."
Hearing that, Little Sa shrank back in fear.
Liangshan Outlaw was a tightly-run organization, strictly layered. These two were just mid-to-lower level guys—the kind who did all the dirty work and took the blame. Their boss, Dong Peng, was an upper-level leader with some real standing. Dong Peng was a shady dealer, able to play both sides. Above Dong Peng was the Assembly Hall—the real core of Liangshan Outlaw.
Only the senior core could speak in the Assembly Hall, which was divided into six departments: the treasury for money, the penal department for punishment, the civil department for internal affairs, the military department for operations, the supervisory department for oversight, and the armory for equipment. Basically, it was like a small imperial court.
Currently, the main boss, Putian Diao Li Yinyang, personally managed the treasury, while strategist Zhiduoxing Wu Nantian was in charge of the military. The main boss's brother, Chachihu Li Leibao, handled civil affairs. Monk Lu Zhi was over the penal department, Thunderfire Qingming ran supervision, and Sick Guansuo Yang Xiong handled equipment. Of these, the treasury and civil departments had been in cahoots for a long time, quietly embezzling funds. They'd lost all their fathers' ideals, now caring only about money.
If Liangshan Outlaw used to be rebels and terrorists, now it was basically a mob company—half a cult. The Assembly Hall's six departments, except for the penal and armory, were all run by rich kids who grew up together, hard to challenge, like a wall.
Dong Peng worked for Chachihu Li Leibao. Lin Long reported to Sick Guansuo Yang Xiong.
Wherever there are people, there's a 'jianghu.' After centuries, this old group had changed in modern society. Liangshan's old rule—"no private hoarding, turn in everything to the treasury, share all profits, advance and retreat together"—had become corrupted by time. In this greedy world, even the villains had changed. Used to be, they wanted to be emperor. Now, they wanted to be emperor and get rich. Being emperor was the long-term goal. Getting rich was for now.
The ship loaded with artifacts sailed on the Pacific, a man-made floating island heading for parts unknown.
In the warehouse, Tiger and his cowardly brother-in-law made their rounds. Suddenly, Tiger stopped in front of a big crate.
"What is it, bro?"
"I heard there's a Terracotta Warrior inside. I've never seen a real one. Go over there. Let's open the lid and see if it looks like the photos."
Hearing there was a Terracotta Warrior, Little Sa perked up—he liked that stuff. And he'd heard this one was different from the rest: the colors were as vivid as new, the only complete painted Terracotta Warrior left.
Eagerly, Little Sa hurried around as they both worked together to pry the box open. Inside stood a painted Terracotta Warrior, almost two meters tall, lifelike and breathtaking.
"Wow, it's really so bright! Damn, is this thing fake?" the younger man said.
"Fake? Are you stupid? Every single treasure here has been authenticated by experts. How could it be fake?"
"Yeah, right, just use that carbon-thirteen test and you'll know how old it is."
"Idiot, it's carbon-fourteen!" Tiger snapped, smacking the back of his head again. "If you don't know, don't talk nonsense. You still have the nerve to say you finished high school? You don't know half as much as me, and I only went to middle school."
This time the younger man lost his balance. With that smack to the back of the head, he slipped right into the box, smacking his forehead against the Terracotta Warrior's forehead.
"Are you crazy? You trying to get us killed?" Tiger reacted fast and yanked his brother-in-law out, pushing him away. He leaned down and checked the statue's head, wiping it carefully with his sleeve before finally letting out a breath. Thank god, the statue wasn't damaged. "If you so much as chip the paint, I won't even wait for Peng to do it—I'll toss you into the sea myself and you can swim home. What the hell, you scared me to death."
Tiger's legs went weak from the scare. He sat on the floor, cursing, eyes closed and breathing hard. That was really close. If anything had happened, both of them would be dead for sure.
"Let go. Listen, go cool off up on deck by yourself and stop getting in the way." Suddenly, Tiger's arm was grabbed by someone. He thought it was his brother-in-law.
But it felt wrong. Too hard, too cold. The younger man on the floor said, "Tiger, who are you talking to?"
Something was off. Tiger opened his eyes and felt his soul half leave his body. Two pitch-black eyes were staring at him, and the smell of dust hit his nose. Focusing, he realized—wasn't this just the painted Terracotta Warrior?
"Ah!" Tiger, even as a mid-level tough, could only manage a short yelp before struggling to get free. But the stone hand was stronger than a pair of handcuffs. No matter how hard he fought, he couldn't break away.
"I'll help you, Tiger!" The younger man, now standing, was terrified but still thought of his sister and brother-in-law. He grabbed a crowbar to try and smash the statue.
Tiger couldn't let him destroy such a priceless relic and quickly shouted, "Stop, don't hit it! Go get help! Go call Peng!"
The younger man snapped out of it—this Terracotta Warrior was worth way more than his own life. He didn't dare smash it. He ran out the door, shouting, "Tiger, I'll be right back. Hang on!"
Tiger couldn't hold on. He felt his soul being sucked away by those black eyes. His thoughts grew fainter and fainter, until he stopped thinking altogether.
Thud—
Tiger became nothing but an empty shell, no soul left inside.
"Two thousand years, two thousand years—" A harsh, dry voice seemed to echo up from hell. "Qin Wang Ying Zheng, in the end, you didn't outlive me. Heh heh, ha ha ha~"
After the mad laughter, the thing sounded lost. Its demon core had stopped turning for a thousand years, and now it craved more souls. Tiger's soul had become food. The thing absorbed all of Tiger's memories, so that's where the "two thousand years" came from. But one soul wasn't enough. It needed more, more, enough to reach true cultivation and rebuild its golden body.
Footsteps approached—the next meal was coming. The Terracotta Warrior's clay didn't crumble. The thing had become a living Terracotta Warrior, walking on its own toward the door, eager for another feast. That last soul had only whetted its appetite.