Zhuang Ning blurted out, “It’s Wang Nan. Wang Nan’s home is in this city. She should be nursing her wounds at home.”

“Do you know her address?” I asked. 

Zhuang Ning shook her head, forcing a smile. “Did you forget already? I’m not welcomed in this dorm room. You can ask someone from the school staff.”

That wasn’t an option. My fake student ID could fool the security guards but not the teachers.

Zhuang Ning said reluctantly after seeing my troubled expression, “All right... Wait for me here, I’ll help you ask around. You should hide in a corner somewhere, standing in front of the girl’s dormitory is plain stupid. They will think you’re a pervert.”

I had always been confident about my looks. How could I turn into a pervert by simply standing here?

Y

oung women were really strange these days!

I shook my head and found a corner to sit down. 

Zhuang Ning returned around half an hour later. Her face was gloomy and her shoulders shivered. “No need to find Wang Nan. She… She also killed herself.”

What?

I asked her, “Did she die like Tang Shuangshuang?” 

“Yeah.” Zhuang Ning nodded. “Exactly the same. They both used stockings to hang themselves. Her mother found her dead in her room.”

That goldfish bracelet has such a formidable power?

Zhuang Ning’s condition wasn’t good, so I didn’t dare to ask more of her. I only advised her to go back to her room to rest. Then, I rushed back to my antique shop. 

I yelled at Li Mazi when I saw that he was in my shop. “I must see Old Yao right away!”

“He only goes to the flea market on Sundays… “

“I can’t wait until then!” I urged. “You must take me to see Old Yao, right now!” 

Li Mazi quickly sensed that something serious had happened, so he immediately went out with me to look.

Usually, it wasn’t easy to find the house of a grave robber. Li Mazi took me to a suburban pier where bungalows had been built close together; garbage was spread all over. Flies, bugs, and mosquitoes were buzzing... It was quite the disgusting sight. Most of the people living in this area were poor and often collected the waste.

Li Mazi took seven or eight turns as he led the way. I blurted out, “Li Mazi, you do have a lot of friends and acquaintances. Some live in villas, driving super expensive cars, and some live in places where even birds don’t bother to poop…”

Li Mazi said, “Little Brother Zhang, you’re not getting it! Although a place like this looks poor and shabby, this is where dragons mingle with fishes. I’m sure many experts live here.” 

We eventually stopped in front of a tattered house. There was a pair of New Years’ red couplets adhered to the door, although the red color had faded after a few months under the sun. It gave a somewhat lonesome look to the house.

Li Mazi didn’t knock on the door. He directly pushed it open and entered inside. “Old Yao, you have visitors! Hurry, prepare good food and wine to receive us properly.”

An old man around sixty years old walked out of the inner room when he heard the noise. He wore a leather jacket that could easily date back to the nineties.

The man’s back was severely hunched, and all of his hair was gray. Wrinkles covered his face together with several scars from knife cuts, and one of his pupils was milky white; it seemed that his eye had gone blind a while back. He looked rather scary at first glance.

Old Yao knew Li Mazi but he didn’t even bat an eye when he saw him. He quietly sat down in his living room. 

The room was permeated by the smell of Chinese medicine. Old Yao definitely lived up to his name.

Li Mazi smiled and approached him. “Old Yao, did you unearth something nice lately? Could you take out your treasures and let us see?”

Old Yao turned his head the other way, ignoring Li Mazi’s request.

Li Mazi was thick-faced. “Old Yao, I only visit you once a year. It’s hard to get here, you know? Do you really have to treat me like this?”

Old Yao nodded. “Yeah.”

Li Mazi became angry. “You old calf, you already forgot the time you asked ME for help?”

I hurried to pull Li Mazi back since he was seething. He looked as if he were about to hit the old man. 

I respectfully said to Old Yao, “Good day, sir. I’m Zhang Jiulin. My family specializes in antique trading. I’ve recently encountered something tricky, so I’m here to ask for some advice.”  

Old Yao shot me a look, looking interested. Then, he patted a stool. “Kid, sit.” 

I found Old Yao amusing. He talked as if people were 

forcing him

, with the words coming out one by one. 

How could a person like him run a vending stall on the street?

“I heard that you dug out a precious item recently. A black jade bracelet with a goldfish carving, right?” I asked. 

Old Yao’s eyes sparkled with caution. However, he still confirmed with a gentle nod.

“Do you still remember the one who bought the bracelet? Her name was Li Xiaoling, a university student. She committed suicide, and later on, her friends either had their lips sewed shut or also ended their lives. I wanted to ask if you knew the origin of the goldfish bracelet.” 

Old Yao frowned, pointing at his wrist. “Dug.”

He meant he had simply found the bracelet in a tomb. He took it from a dead person’s wrist.

I felt embarrassed, since I was reminded of my online searching the other night.

This old man didn’t happen to unearth Ruan Lingyu’s grave, did he?

No, it can’t be. According to the records, Ruan Lingyu’s grave was in Shanghai. However, it was damaged after the Republic of China’s period, and it didn’t survive to our modern days. So, whose tomb would have this goldfish bracelet...? 

Old Yao shot me an assessing glance. He raised a hand, extending four fingers.

What is he saying?

Old Yao could tell that I didn’t understand. He got up and went to his room. A moment later, he returned with a tattered, yellowed book.

One could tell the book was very ancient. I could even perceive the moldy smell of the book from a distance. Old Yao showed me the book while pointing at a specific paragraph.

My eyes followed his finger. It turned out to be an important paragraph. 

“Late years of the Qing dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi’s birthday. Since the Empress liked goldfish, one hundred bathtubs were ordered from the famous ‘Daya House.’ Moreover, her subordinates had purposely dug out black jade and created four bracelets with exquisitely carved goldfish on them. The bracelets were sent to Beijing via horse carriage.” 

“One fish lifts a clover coin, one wraps a clover branch, one spits flowery barbs, and one swallows a flower.

“Empress Dowager Cixi was extremely happy when she saw the four bracelets. She rewarded the courtiers with one thousand silver coins. She adored the bracelets and spent her time admiring them every day. But Empress Dowager Cixi fled the city when the Eight-nation Alliance burned Beijing, and the four goldfish bracelets disappeared ever since. 

“According to legends, the four goldfish bracelets must be together at all times. If they’re separated, their auspicious nature would change into an ominous one!” 

It turned out there were four goldfish bracelets! 

I finally understood the situation. 

I returned the book to Old Yao. He received it and carefully held it close to his chest, just like a priceless treasure. Then, he made a throwing gesture, shaking his head with endless regret and saying, “Crack.”

He meant the goldfish bracelet had cracks when he dug it up, so it wasn’t really valuable.

I was somewhat amazed that I could understand what he meant!