Chapter 15: The Fire Element Causes Chaos and Theft (4)

  Zhang Siye's expression changed slightly, knowing that Mr. Zhou meant these people were extremely powerful and not to be underestimated. Zhang Siye had seen his fair share of storms, so he quickly composed himself and continued, "Please sit down! Please sit down!"

  Yan Jing Tian smiled slightly and sat down.

  Zhang Siye thought to himself: "This Yan Jingtian, he looks like a robust fellow and should be a practitioner's son, but his temperament is quite ordinary and doesn't reveal anything special about him! How strange!"

  Zhang Siye returned to his seat, sat down, and nodded to Deputy Officer Zheng. Who is this Deputy Officer Zheng? His background is not simple either. He is a close aide to Zhang Zuolin, specializing in handling relations with the Japanese Kwantung Army, and can be said to be a key figure in the Northeastern Army!

  Vice Officer Zheng stepped forward and said, "Everyone present should know that some time ago, General Zhang obtained a rare treasure called 'Female Body Jade' with the help of Lieutenant General Iida. This treasure is extremely valuable, and no one else dares to store it, so we had to ask Master Zhang to temporarily keep it for us. At the same time, we also asked Master Zhang to carefully examine the appearance of this Female Body Jade, and indeed, there is a precious fetus inside! This fetus is truly worth a city's value. Tonight is the perfect opportunity to take out the precious fetus from the Female Body Jade. Therefore, I invite everyone here to witness the historic moment of taking out the precious fetus from the Female Body Jade together! General Zhang had wanted to come in person, but unfortunately, he was tied up with urgent matters and couldn't make it. He deeply regrets this." As he spoke, Vice Officer Zheng slightly bowed his head towards Lieutenant General Iida and Professor Ning, who also nodded in response.

  Vice Zheng finished speaking and nodded to Zhang Siye. Zhang Siye laughed and stood up, saying: "Please everyone sit down for a moment! The birth of this female jade treasure cannot be delayed by even a fraction of a second! There's still about half an hour's time, please have some tea and snacks first! I'll go prepare now!"

  Mr. Zhang gave everyone a fist bump and turned to the back room, with Mr. Zhou following closely behind. Mr. Zhang asked, "Mr. Zhou, that person surnamed Yan is quite strange, isn't he?"

  Mr. Zhou said: "Zhang Siye, if you guess, who do you think they are?"

  "Those few people are hiding their true abilities, but General Zhang has them follow him to guard the treasure. I'm going to take a wild guess... they're from the Huo family..."

  Mr. Zhou's expression was serious as he said, "Zhang Siye, they all have a red plaque on their waist, tied with a red belt..."

  "Could it be that he is really from the Huo family?"

  Mr. Zhou nodded and replied, "Eight or nine out of ten."

  Zhang Siye pondered for a moment, stroking his chin and lowering his head in thought, pacing back and forth in the hall.

  Mr. Zhou said: "If it's really a fire family person, they would come here to see the female jade body, and the intentions are not good!"

  "Does the Fire Family look down on the second-rate treasure, Female Body Jade?" Zhang Siye said, "Mr. Zhou, our town's treasured Linglong Mirror is still fine, right?"

  Mr. Zhou said, "No problem, I've already sent someone to check from the moment they came in. All the heavenly locks and earthly seals have been closed, even if they are people of the Fire House, it's not something that can be taken away at will!"

  "Let's wait and see, don't let them think we're on guard until we know their true intentions!" Zhang Siye said, "Damn it, how did Zhang Dashi find them?"

  Mr. Zhou said, "In these twenty years, the four major families of gold, wood, water, and fire have all reappeared in the world, only the earth family has not been seen. The people of the fire family choose a good tree to perch on, maybe they found General Zhang themselves."

  "Alright, Mr. Zhou," said Zhang Siye, "there's no use thinking about it too much now. The time for the Jade Opening Treasure is almost here, let's get ready and not miss the appointed hour."

  The two of them said as they quickly walked towards the back.

  After about half an hour, Mr. Zhou walked quickly into the crowd.

  The man in the hall where everyone was resting stood up and bowed to everyone, saying: "Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come. Please follow me."

  The crowd had been waiting impatiently for a long time, and when they heard Mr. Zhou say so much, they all responded in unison and stood up to follow Mr. Zhou. Deputy Zheng was in the front, followed by the Japanese, then several people from the Northeast Army, and finally Yan Jing Tian and his group.

  This group of people walked through the town's treasure hall, passed a long corridor, and suddenly appeared in front of them was a courtyard. In this courtyard, a circle of tall men with raised torches stood densely around, their eyes fixed straight ahead, like wooden stakes stuck to the ground, not even blinking. Except for the crackling sound of the burning torches, the entire courtyard was almost silent. And what these people were surrounding was a Buddhist temple. The temple's gate was wide open, and inside it was also brightly lit, shining like daylight!

  Zhang Siye came out of the Buddhist hall, clasped his fists together and smiled: "Everyone has waited for a long time!"

  This Fourth Master had also changed into a Taoist robe that was neither Taoist nor Confucian, wearing a white square hat on his head. This outfit would have been scolded as having mental problems if he were strolling on the streets, but in this place, at this time, and under these circumstances, it seemed quite fitting.

  Zheng's deputy may have seen more, and is not surprised. However, Commander Ida, Professor Ning, and others who walked from the front were quiet all around, and didn't see many servants. It felt like just an ordinary wealthy family's courtyard. Until they arrived here, saw this scene, and truly felt like heaven and earth had turned upside down. They were so shocked that they became somewhat numb, for a moment their hands and feet were useless, and they didn't know where to look or how to take another step.

  Fortunately, they were no ordinary people and, after a brief moment of shock, they all came forward.

  Zhang Siye led them into the Buddhist hall, where they saw a large table in the center of the room, covered with white cloth. On top of it lay a half-naked woman. Those who had never seen a female body before couldn't help but exclaim "ah" at the sight. Even the Japanese men, who were used to seeing naked women, furrowed their brows repeatedly.

  Just as Huo Xiao thought, in the solemn and majestic Buddhist hall, under the Dharma eye of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, there was a half-human figure. The female body was crystal clear and lifelike, with complete hair, facial features, skin color, and clothing, just like she could sit up at any moment. At first glance, it looked like a living person, which was almost blasphemous to the Bodhisattva, a fatal blow to the evil sect.

  Zhang Siye knew what everyone was surprised about, smiled and said: "This thing that looks like a female corpse is actually a jade body, made of jade stones with the same color as human skin."

  The old man Zhang walked in front of the female jade statue, carefully examining the face of the jade woman, and continued to say: "The female jade is a treasure, but it's a very ominous and sinister treasure! In the past, when a woman from a wealthy family was pregnant, the fetus had just taken shape, but died in her abdomen, causing her abdomen to become deformed. The woman would suffer for 70 or 80 days, enduring all sorts of hardships, before finally dying in hatred. The face of this female jade statue was carved according to the appearance of that deceased woman. Because she died so miserably, people were afraid that she would turn into a vengeful ghost, so they cremated her body and buried this female jade statue with her ashes. Some families took out the bones of the dead fetus and buried them in the abdomen of the female jade statue. If they encountered good fortune, these bones would attract the jade energy on the surface of the female jade statue, condensing into a ball and transforming into a precious fetus, about half the size of a fist. Therefore, this female jade statue has very deep resentment! It must be placed in front of the Earth Treasure Bodhisattva, with offerings of fruit and snacks every day and night, and children invited to recite scriptures for 49 days before daring to take out the precious fetus, otherwise they would suffer bad luck!"

  Everyone listened to Zhang Siye's explanation and suddenly realized, nodding frequently. Professor Ning Shen praised: "Zhang Siye! Today is really an eye-opener! Zhang Siye indeed has a broad vision!"

  "Come, come," said Zhang Siye with a smile, "I know these are just some shady rumors from the jianghu, tricks of the lower eight classes that can't be revealed in public. No matter how much I know, it's all just petty thievery."

  Mr. Ning smiled and said, "Zhang Siye is being modest. The most profound things in Chinese culture are not known to ordinary people, but are secrets held by emperors, nobles, and powerful officials. I've heard that the Chinese emperor has a treasure of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, the five elements, which is guarded by the five major families..."

  Zhang Siye laughed and interrupted Professor Ning Shen's words: "Haha, in the Qing Dynasty we didn't know many things, now we are in the Republic era, there is no emperor."

  Ning Shen Professor seems to be interested not in the female body, but in Zhang Siye, and continues to ask: "Zhang Siye, do you know that the Qing Emperor has a treasure of the five elements, and there are five big families? I heard that among the people, the five big families are also called the five great bandits."

  Zhang Siye shook his head and sighed, "I really don't understand the things around this old emperor. Oh! The time is almost up, Professor Ning Shen, shall we discuss this matter another time?"

  Professor Ning adjusted his glasses and said, "Alright, alright!"

  Zhang Siye smiled and said: "Please everyone take a step back, try not to make a sound, watch me take out the treasure."

  Everyone responded in unison and took a step back. But to their surprise, the man in gray, Yan Jing Tian, did not retreat. He sniffed his nose and said, "Don't you smell a stench of sweat?"