I Have a Date with a Thousand-year-old Female Corpse
Chapter 562 Clue of the Tomb of King Goujian of Yue_1

Chapter 562: Chapter 562 Clue of the Tomb of King Goujian of Yue_1

Reanimating Hong Xiu had to be put aside for the moment. From his bosom, he took out a porcelain bottle, pouring out a Yuanqi Pill and handing it to Du Xishan.

"What is this?" Looking down at the greenish Returning Yuan Pill in his palm, he brought it close to his nose for a sniff, and a look of sheer bliss immediately spread across his face.

"Eat it and you’ll be able to leave the hospital. I’ve found something very interesting, you’ll definitely be intrigued."

Upon hearing this, Du Xishan immediately popped the Returning Yuan Pill into his mouth, intending to chew, but to his surprise, the pill melted into a stream of liquid and slid slowly down his throat.

In no time, Du Xishan’s originally pale-as-paper complexion gradually turned rosier, making him appear much more spirited.

"Could this be the legendary elixir?"

Incredulously squeezing his fists, Du Xishan hopped out of bed and jumped up and down on the spot.

"This is simply miraculous!"

He was about to speak when you responded, "This Dan Medicine is called the Returning Yuan Pill, and the auction house is pricing it at five hundred thousand for one."

Sucking his cheek, Du Xishan appeared somewhat longing, but soon his attention was drawn by the sandalwood box you suddenly flipped open in your hand.

You opened the sandalwood box, and he hurriedly leaned in, staring intently at the glazed stone inside.

Seeing Du Xishan so focused, you couldn’t help but ask, "What do you think? Can you discern its origin?"

Those who achieve extraordinary accomplishments in a certain field often have one common affliction: they tend to appear disheveled and aloof from worldly affairs, but once confronted with something they’re fond of, they would instantly forget the entire world, immersing themselves in their own space.

He habitually reached for his pocket, but realizing he was wearing a hospital gown, Du Xishan’s hand paused midair, and he asked you, "Did you bring gloves and a magnifying glass?"

"Here they are," you said.

You took some commonly used tools out of the fruit basket.

With gloves on, Du Xishan placed the glazed stone in his palm and observed it through the magnifying glass for a good ten minutes. Then he looked up at you, "Has its age been tested?"

"Its processing time is about two thousand five hundred years old."

"Processing time?" Du Xishan furrowed his brow, "You mean to say, its formation took a long time as well?"

"Yes, at least three hundred years."

There are many titles associated with Du Xishan, but few were the students he truly mentored; you were one of his handful of pupils. Although the two of you didn’t spend much time communicating normally, Du Xishan had a special trust in you.

He did not know what method you used to determine the age of the glazed stone, but he absolutely trusted your judgment.

"Before discussing the time it would take to process, this piece of glazed stone, in my opinion, should be an ornament mounted on an object," Du Xishan pondered. "In ancient China, liuli was second only to jade. Although its status wasn’t as revered as jade, it was still rarer, and such a translucent piece of liuli is truly rare."

Nodding, you said to Du Xishan, "Its core contains the fruit of the Three-Life Fruit."

"The Three-Life Fruit? The one that takes a lifetime to bloom, a lifetime to bear fruit, and a lifetime for the fruit to mature?"

"Yes."

"That’s just something from legends. I didn’t expect it to really exist," Du Xishan said while wearing gloves, meticulously examining the external appearance of the glazed stone. "Using the extremely precious Three-Life Fruit as the core and wrapping it with a layer of liuli, craftily made and from rare raw material—this thing even dates back to the late Spring and Autumn Period over 2,500 years ago. Fascinating, truly fascinating."

Turning to look at you, Du Xishan smiled and said, "Let me test you."

"Pssh, I already know what you’re going to ask," you said before he could even voice the question, already knowing both the question and the answer.

"Oh? Let’s hear it," the other person grinned, looking at you expectantly.

Rolling your eyes, you replied irritably, "You wanted to ask how many lords during the Warring States Period had the capabilities to possess such a thing."

"And the answer?"

"I haven’t even said where this thing came from, have I?"

"According to ancient legends, the Three-Life Fruit was one of the divine items bestowed by The Heavenly Emperor to the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor cherished his second son with Lei Zu, Changyi, and so he gifted the Three-Life Fruit to Changyi. However, Changyi lacked the ability to cultivate the Three-Life Fruit, and thus he left it for his son, Zhuan Xu. As one of the ’Five Emperors,’ Zhuan Xu was also without the inclination to cultivate the Three-Life Fruit and passed it on to his son, Gunzeng—among Zhuan Xu’s twenty-six sons. Gunzeng’s fief was located in Zhuan Xu’s hometown, the Eastern Sea. For his entire life, Gunzeng cultivated the Three-Life Tree. After his death, his son Gunzu inherited it, and after Gunzu, Gun’s father; by the time Gun was born, the Three-Life Fruit had not yet ripened."

"Wow, Lao Du, you even know such obscure mythological stories. Not bad," you teased.

With a glare, Du Xishan shot back at you, "Nonsense, do you think I, a Ph.D. supervisor, spend my time flirting and fooling around like you? I’m thirsty; continue the story yourself."

Without washing it, Du Xishan casually grabbed an apple from the fruit basket and started eating it.

Shrugging, you laughed and said, "Gun spent his life dealing with the floods, and after his failure, Emperor Yao sentenced him to death. Before his death, he expressed a final wish to return home and see his wife once more. When Gun returned home, he found a mature Three-Life Fruit on the tree. He ate the Three-Life Fruit, had relations with his wife, and then had a son, Dayu."

"Yes, that’s correct," Du Xishan nodded. Having finished the apple in his hand, he said to you, "However, Dayu’s time was more than two thousand years apart from the Spring and Autumn Period, which doesn’t fit chronologically."

"Of course it doesn’t fit chronologically, but Dayu had descendants. The Shanhou (Note 1) of Xia, Shaokang, to ensure the continuous offering to the ancestors, commanded his son Wu Yu to go to Kuaiji to oversee the rituals for Dayu. The lineage of Wu Yu blended with the local indigenous people, lasting for over twenty generations. The last generation coincided with the end of the Spring and Autumn Period—the overlord King Goujian of Yue!"

With a smirk, Du Xishan said, "Hmm, not bad, you’ve brought the topic back nicely. So it can be fairly concluded that this piece of glazed stone is related to King Goujian, the dominant ruler of the Spring and Autumn Period. It’s just unclear what exact object it was affixed to, and it’s very likely connected to the still-unsolved mystery of the Tomb of King Goujian of Yue."

"Indeed, it looks like you’ll have to lead a team again, traversing mountains and rivers," you said nonchalantly. "After all, to this day, we’ve yet to discover the true location of King Goujian’s burial site."

With a soft sigh, Du Xishan remarked, "This archaeology, it’s like solving a case. Many historical records, miscellaneous notes, even folklore have left behind countless clues, and we archaeologists have to sort and connect these seemingly chaotic threads. To ordinary people, they honor ancient tombs to remember their ancestors; but what we in the field of archaeology care about is the transmission of culture. Our great China, with its recorded history of over five thousand years, possesses such a rich cultural heritage. This, we must not forget!"

Note 1: The highest ruler of the Xia Dynasty was titled "Hou," which is "Si Fan" (reverse) written backwards. It is equivalent to "Emperor" and "King."

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