Chapter 38

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Future\n“I heard that Mister Zhou sells cultural artifacts in China?”\n

Chen Biaojin didn’t conceal his eagerness when he asked Zhou Luoyang this question.\n

At noon, Zhou Luoyang had invited Chen Biaojin to his room, where the sun spilled in just right. The archaeological magazine which featured him on the cover was spread out on the table, and Chen Biaojin picked it up and began to thumb through it. He hurriedly waved a hand, saying, “I don’t drink alcohol.”\n

“In that case, I can make tea?” Zhou Luoyang offered.\n

Du Jing had been quiet since returning to the room, and he sank down on the couch next to the windows. \n

“Could I implore you to help me look for an item?” Chen Biaojin asked.\n

This is perfect, Zhou Luoyang thought. Since he’s part of the Association for the Protection and Research of Cultural Relics, he’ll probably be able to extend a suitable research invitation to us so we can enter the country.\n

“It’s a Hindu statue,” Chen Biaojin blurted out, forging ahead without waiting for Zhou Luoyang’s response. “We’ve been looking for it for over a year now.”\n

Zhou Luoyang was reminded of the cast iron Shiva statue from the escape room. Jokingly, he asked, “It’s not a statue of Shiva, is it?”\n

“It is!” Chen Biaojin cried, astonished. “It’s precisely Shiva! Has this cast metal statue turned up on the Chinese market recently?”\n

“Uh, is it an artifact that was smuggled into China?”\n

Chen Biaojin nodded and said regretfully, “It’s very important to us.”\n

Zhou Luoyang didn’t ask why a cultural artifact of Vietnam had been smuggled into China. After all, China was one of the countries bordering Vietnam. It wasn’t smart to try to ship cultural artifacts out through customs, obviously. Instead, it was much more common to smuggle them by water or via the tricky land routes along the border.\n

China was incredibly strict about ensuring that its cultural artifacts didn’t leave its borders. If it weren’t, it would have long been emptied of the artifacts left behind throughout its five thousand years of history. Unfortunately for Vietnam and Cambodia, the artifacts from the Khmer Empire, Brahmin dynasties, and Shangshung era were now dispersed across the globe.\n

Naturally, Zhou Luoyang didn’t suspect that the statue in the escape room was a smuggled artifact. After all, you could tell just by the weight of it that it couldn’t be anything but a counterfeit. He sat down across from Chen Biaojin and asked, “What is it made of? What are its dimensions? I can ask around.”\n

Chen Biaojin grabbed a piece of paper and roughly sketched out the sculpture he was after. “The statue’s disappearance is tied to a multinational money laundering case. I’m unable to obtain any more specific details, but I can confirm that it really did enter China…Mister Zhou?”\n

Zhou Luoyang cocked his head sideways and carefully took in the details on that sheet of paper. He looked at Du Jing.\n

Du Jing briefly snapped out of his stupor and slid his eyes over to the paper. His brows furrowed slightly.\n

The size and shape of the Shiva statue were identical to the one in the escape room.\n

“Are cast iron sculptures common to that time period?” Zhou Luoyang asked, puzzled.\n

“Pig iron? No, bronze,” Chen Biaojin answered, equally perplexed. “Why do you ask? Have you seen a similar cast iron sculpture?”\n

Zhou Luoyang thought for a moment and replied, “It’s nothing. I’ll ask about it. If they’re using it to launder money, I doubt they’ll offer it up at an auction. It’ll most likely be handled privately.”\n

“That’s almost certainly the case,” Chen Biaojin agreed.\n

Just then, Du Jing suddenly spoke up. “How much money is it worth?”\n

“It’s priceless,” Zhou Luoyang and Chen Biaojin answered practically in unison.\n

Zhou Luoyang didn’t have many valuable possessions on hand, but he’d certainly seen numerous valuables in the past. His declaration solidified Chen Biaojin’s trust in his expertise.\n

A cultural relic such as this was most likely to appear somewhere like the British Museum’s Southeast Asia or Indian subcontinent exhibit. This was also the reason why Zhou Luoyang was certain it wouldn’t turn up at an official auction.\n

A Shiva statue, money laundering…Zhou Luoyang didn’t know why, but he suddenly drew a connection between this case and the escape room owner: the Southeast Asian organization must have used bitcoin to acquire this bronze statue from black market dealers and sent it to China. By and large, China closely monitored exports, not imports, so the cultural relics of other countries could, for the most part, circulate within China without supervision. There were many smuggling channels leading in from Vietnam; it wasn’t difficult to deceive local customs. \n

Thereafter, one could bring the money over and purchase the statue in a private auction.\n

After getting the money, the escape room owner could exchange it for USD via underground money launderers and leave the country without a hitch. That way, after the statue changed hands in three different countries, no one would be able to trace its origins anymore.\n

“I’ll do my best,” Zhou Luoyang promised.\n

“I heard you deal antiques. You must have many connections,” Chen Biaojin said gratefully. “I’m unable to return the favor. All I can offer is the thanks of an archeologist. I believe that all the people across the globe who love the legacy of this civilization share a common sense of righteousness.”\n

As he spoke, he removed his crumpled hat and bowed to Zhou Luoyang. “If you ever want to tour China’s close neighbor unimpeded, I sincerely and enthusiastically welcome you on behalf of Saigon University…”\n

Zhou Luoyang quickly stood up and shook his hand.\n

At this point, Du Jing quickly rose to his feet as well. \n

Politely, he said, “Truth be told, we were actually planning on doing just that. Now’s as good a time as any, isn’t it?”\n

Zhou Luoyang: “……”\n

“This is too guilt-inducing.”\n

After sending Chen Biaojin off, Zhou Luoyang didn’t even want to talk to Du Jing anymore. “Couldn’t you have brought that up less bluntly?”\n

“Who told you to agree to help him look into that case? This is just great. Now we have something else to worry about.”\n

Zhou Luoyang pressed a hand to his forehead. “All I said was that I’d do my best.”\n

Chen Biaojin was an honest person. After Du Jing said “Now’s as good a time as any,” he awkwardly promised to contact his association to issue an invitation. Du Jing then politely walked him to the door, expressing his hopes that he could fax them a sincere request that very evening.\n

Noticing that Du Jing wasn’t speaking, Zhou Luoyang asked apprehensively, “Did I agree to something I shouldn’t have?”\n

“What?” Du Jing put on his sunglasses and took out his phone. “No, there’s no troubling the young master to personally look into such a trivial affair. Obviously, we’re going to sell the clues to Huang Ting.”\n

Zhou Luoyang: “……”\n

He abruptly realized that Du Jing might have been teasing him. Suddenly, he understood everything.\n

“Ah,” he said, “makes sense.”\n

“Money laundering, curio,” Du Jing said, “it’s all part of his job. Even if it has nothing to do with the owner of the escape room, Huang Ting will be very grateful to you for giving him these results.”\n

“Alright, you’re too smart,” Zhou Luoyang said helplessly.\n

“Thanks for the compliment.” Du Jing looked at his watch and stood. “Time to have afternoon tea with Satanovsky and your sweetheart.”\n

“Your sweetheart,” Zhou Luoyang corrected.\n

“Your sweetheart,” Du Jing replied courteously. He shook out a blazer and helped Zhou Luoyang put it on.\n

Zhou Luoyang straightened his collar, looking at Du Jing’s reflection in the mirror. He turned around and gave him another long look.\n

Du Jing didn’t understand what he was getting at.\n

“Who was the woman we talked to at breakfast? Remember her yet?” Zhou Luoyang asked.\n

“No, I have no memories of her at all.”\n

“I hope that a mini Du Jing won’t pop up in the near future.”\n

“Well, we can’t be certain. Would you be willing to raise a mini Du Jing? We agreed, after all, to live together like two homosexuals.”\n

“I’ll think it over,” Zhou Luoyang said. He and Du Jing exited the room and stepped into the elevator.\n

When the elevator passed through the sixth floor, the Thai woman named Sup just so happened to enter and come face-to-face with them.\n

“Sawasdee khap,” Zhou Luoyang greeted.\n

“Sawasdee kha.”¹ Sup smiled and pressed her palms together, gazing at Du Jing in the reflective walls of the elevator.\n

The sunglasses remained on Du Jing’s face. He never nodded to Sup, not even after they left the elevator.\n

The Peninsula’s afternoon tea room was unusually busy that day, but the Russian businessman had reserved a good table and was now leisurely basking in the sun by the floor-to-ceiling windows with a cigar in his mouth. He waved at Zhou Luoyang from afar.\n

Zhou Luoyang took a seat with a smile, curious to hear what Satanovsky had to say. Du Jing stood behind the couch, loyally pretending to be his bodyguard. But as soon as Zhou Luoyang sat, Satanovsky showed him his wrist.\n

The action revealed a watch: the Eye of Forseti. \n

Zhou Luoyang: “…………”\n

Boisterous laughter followed.\n

The Ukrainian girl spoke. “My boss says it’s his first time seeing another person wearing the Eye of Justice, so he was determined to invite you guys to chat.”\n

Right away, Zhou Luoyang’s eyes darted subconsciously to Du Jing. Du Jing gave him a simple signal to let him know not to be nervous.\n

Satanovsky’s Eye of Forseti was completely identical to Du Jing’s. His even had a sapphire inlaid in the droplet-shaped groove of the clock hand as well.\n

What did that mean?!\n

Did this businessman have the ability to turn back time, too?!\n

Zhou Luoyang’s heart hammered in his chest.\n

Satanovsky plucked the watch off his wrist and beckoned Zhou Luoyang closer. He let loose a long stream of words and gestured with his hand.\n

“It’s stopped,” Du Jing said. “Let me see?”\n

“This was passed down to me from my great-grandfather.” Satanovsky handed the watch to him easily. “And yours? Where did it come from?”\n

Du Jing took out a pair of gloves from his pocket, lifted Zhou Luoyang’s hands, and put them on for him.\n

“It was my great-grandfather’s,” Du Jing said as he stretched out a long, slender finger and gently pushed up his sunglasses.\n

It was my great-grandfather’s, Zhou Luoyang thought. But he soon realized that this was Du Jing’s first test. And the test was fruitful: the Russian businessman didn’t know that this watch possessed any supernatural power. Or maybe—only the watch Du Jing was wearing had the power to turn back time.\n

In any case, he passed it over to Zhou Luoyang.\n

Zhou Luoyang didn’t touch the outer date ring. He simply studied the watch in the sunlight.\n

“What kind of person was your great-grandfather?” Satanovsky asked with interest. “My family used to do business with Chinese people many years ago.”\n

In Chinese, Du Jing gave a made-up name to the Ukranian girl, and a made-up story about his great-grandfather being a businessman. After she interpreted for them, both parties more or less understood what each other was saying.\n

Zhou Luoyang tried to adjust the watch, but he didn’t dare tamper with the Eye of Forseti. \n

“I don’t have what I need here,” he said. “Yes…If I had the tools, and if you visit Wan City…” He passed the watch back to Satanovsky.\n

“You know how to repair watches?” Satanovsky asked, then followed it up with some Russian.\n

“My boss would like to ask you to take the watch with you and try repairing it, if you wouldn’t mind,” explained the Ukranian girl.\n

Zhou Luoyang wanted to tell them that of course he would, but before he could, Du Jing pointed at the face of the watch and asked, “Have you taken it apart before?”\n

“No!” Satanovsky waved his hand in the negative. “It’s very important to me. I wouldn’t dare take it apart just like that.”\n

Zhou Luoyang wanted to look up at Du Jing to solicit his opinion. He wasn’t sure whether he would be able to fix it. But just then, Du Jing did something very daring.\n

He took off his own Eye of Forseti and handed it to Satanovsky. “We can swap.”\n

Satanovsky laughed again and waved, yet he modestly took the watch with both hands. He held it up in the sunlight, carefully looking it over and commenting on it with great feeling.\n

“A true work of art,” the Ukranian girl translated.\n

Zhou Luoyang’s hand trembled from the nerves, and he watched Satanovsky’s every move closely. But Satanovsky’s expression revealed nothing. After looking it over a few times, he handed the watch back to Du Jing.\n

Du Jing took it and put it back on.\n

“My address is on my business card,” Zhou Luoyang said.\n

Satanovsky dangled his cigar from between his fingers and picked up his whiskey glass. “Once you’ve repaired it, give me a call. I’ll compensate you handsomely.”\n

So Zhou Luoyang handed the other Eye of Forseti to Du Jing, who tucked it in the pocket of his suit. Satanovsky squinted at the two of them, before suddenly bursting into laughter again.\n

Unsure of why he was laughing, Zhou Luoyang could only chuckle along with him.\n

Just then, his phone received a text from Chen Biaojin.\n

Du Jing noticed immediately and told Zhou Luoyang, “I’m going to the washroom. I’ll be back soon.”\n

“Go ahead. There’s nothing much for you to do here anyway,” Zhou Luoyang replied cheerfully. Chen Biaojin was fast. He’d obtained an invitation from the research institute in only an hour.\n

At the same time, his misgivings about Satanovsky were quickly dispelled. Though he claimed the watch was “very important,” he handed it over very easily to someone he was meeting for the first time. This made Zhou Luoyang believe that he was not, in fact, a simple person.\n

“I recall hearing from family that it came from Derbent,” Zhou Luoyang said after some thought.\n

Du Jing wasn’t present, and Zhou Luoyang didn’t know what to say. This was the only way he could pick up the conversation.\n

“Ah,” Satanovsky began, “from the Caucasus region. It was brought to Derbent from Switzerland, though. It’s said that it was once the physical vessel of the spirit of Scandinavian religion—Germanic paganism, otherwise known as ancient Norse mythology. In 1890, the Roman Catholic Church commissioned these two watches to be made from the seized relics of Germanic paganism. One was given to the Archbishop of the Orthodox Church, while the other was auctioned off to raise money…”\n

“Wait, wait, wait.” Zhou Luoyang’s brain couldn’t keep up. He never would’ve thought that such a casual remark would elicit so much information! He looked pleadingly at the Ukranian girl, until he finally understood everything through her interpretation.\n

“I see,” he said. “Thank you for teaching me.”\n

He had no time to think about the implicit meaning behind these words. All he could do was focus on remembering them. He would discuss and analyze them with Du Jing later.\n

“Yes,” he said. “So my…my assistant’s great-grandfather bought it in an auction. On the other hand, your great-grandfather…”\n

“Perhaps?” Satanovsky crossed one leg over the other. “It made its way to the tsar. After the October Revolution, it then made its way to my great-grandfather. A soldier who carries a sword into battle…”\n

As he spoke, he leaned forward a little bit, with a mysterious look on his face. “Must fall to the sword.”\n

Zhou Luoyang was mystified. \n

Once again, Satanovsky started laughing.\n

Zhou Luoyang couldn’t quite follow the sequential flow of his words. Presumably, that was a well-known Russian saying, but what did swords have to do with anything?\n

<hr class="wp-block-separator">\nMeanwhile, Du Jing had obtained their invitation letter and cordially expressed his gratitude to Chen Biaojin. He put in his earpiece and headed for the hotel’s office of business services.\n

Du Jing dialed the office back in Wan City. He instructed his coworker, “Turn on the fax machine. I have a fax for you. Take it to the French embassy before five for me.” \n

He stood in front of the fax machine, flattened out the invitation letter, and fed it into the machine.\n

Sup followed Du Jing into the business wing, appearing before him once again.\n

“Do you have time after tonight’s auction to grab a drink?” Sup asked him, smiling.\n

“Maybe, if I’m not busy.” Du Jing covered the watch on his left wrist with his right hand.\n

“I’m sure you won’t be busy.”\n

“I really don’t know you.”\n

Sup smiled. “Then maybe you’ll get to know me after tonight? I’m in room 616. Don’t forget.”\n

Du Jing put on his sunglasses and sized her up haughtily. “Wait for me.”\n

Sup chuckled. “I most certainly will.”\n

<hr class="wp-block-separator">\nBy the time Du Jing returned to the tea room, Zhou Luoyang had already finished discussing the watch with Satanovsky, and the two of them, along with Lin Di, were chatting cheerfully at the door. Du Jing reconsidered his next move—he walked straight towards them, coming to stand behind Zhou Luoyang.\n

Lin Di was speaking. “…He works with us in Wan City. Mister Zhou’s grandfather had an impressive reputation among us industry insiders…Hello, you are…?”\n

“My assistant,” Zhou Luoyang hurried to finish. His heart skipped a beat. This wasn’t good. But, as if Lin Di didn’t know Du Jing at all, she only spared him a glance, before returning to her conversation with Satanovsky.\n

After some simple small talk, everyone went their separate ways. Zhou Luoyang told Lin Di, “I need to borrow some tools for clock repair. Could you ask around for me?”\n

There would be no small amount of clocks appearing at the auction. Though Lin Di didn’t know why Zhou Luoyang was asking for tools to repair a clock, she readily agreed to help. “I’ll have someone send some up to you later.”\n

“It’d be best if you could find a mini X-ray scanner,” Zhou Luoyang added. “A set. I brought my own computer.” \n

Lin Di smiled. “Boss Zhou doesn’t forget about work even while abroad. What a model worker. We’re sitting together this evening. Remember to not be late.”\n

Zhou Luoyang nodded. After returning to their room, Du Jing asked, “What did you talk about?”\n

Zhou Luoyang repeated what he’d learned. The only thing that didn’t appear to be quite right to him was Satanovsky’s final sentence. It seemed to speak volumes—it felt like a warning.\n

Du Jing gently massaged his temples and removed his sunglasses.\n

“You shouldn’t have left. I couldn’t figure out what he meant,” Zhou Luoyang said.\n

It was all too complicated. Everything seemed fine, but Zhou Luoyang had a niggling feeling that something was wrong, and he trusted that Du Jing shared his sentiments.\n

“The depressive episode is messing with my judgement,” Du Jing said, wrinkling his brow. “I haven’t recovered completely yet. Maybe I really am not suited to this kind of work…”\n

“No, no,” Zhou Luoyang quickly denied. “Think carefully. You’ll be able to figure it out, Du Jing. I’m sure of it.”\n

Du Jing was a bit jittery. He sat down. \n

Zhou Luoyang continued, “I’ve always had faith in you. Let’s forget about Sup for now, but the secret surrounding the Eye of Forseti is extremely important to us. I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out.”\n

Du Jing held up a hand, signaling for Zhou Luoyang to wait a moment, and returned to his thoughts. It was as if Zhou Luoyang’s encouragement had allowed him to gradually get back in the zone.\n

“What’s strangest to me about all this isn’t Sup or what Satanovsky said, but rather: why would someone bring a broken watch with him everywhere he goes?” Du Jing said.\n

Zhou Luoyang hadn’t even thought of that, but now that Du Jing pointed it out, he, too, suddenly found it strange.\n

“Because it was left behind by his great-grandfather?” he suggested. “So he brings it with him no matter where he goes?”\n

Du Jing shook his head. “Would you constantly carry around the mechanical watch your great-grandfather gave you, however meaningful it may be?”\n

The answer was obvious: he wouldn’t.\n

“Maybe it’s akin to a lucky coin?”\n

“Would you give your lucky coin to just anyone?”\n

Wordlessly, Zhou Luoyang paced around the room. Du Jing took out the watch and set it on the table.\n

“Are you sure he didn’t secretly swap them?” Zhou Luoyang asked. “It wouldn’t be easy, but he could have made a fake.”\n

Du Jing picked up his sunglasses, gently pinching the bridge of the frame, and held them up in front of Zhou Luoyang so he could see through them.\n

Zhou Luoyang understood immediately—these sunglasses were special. No wonder Du Jing always had them on! With them, he could clearly see the world through an infrared filter. If Satanovsky had intended to secretly swap the watches, Du Jing would’ve noticed right away.\n

Du Jing gently pushed the bridge of the frame with his other hand, and the world instantly went back to normal.\n

“It’s like that Russian could predict that I would come to this auction,” Zhou Luoyang mused.\n

“No,” Du Jing corrected. “He isn’t clairvoyant. He didn’t know he would run into us at the auction. The only explanation is that he carries it with him at all times, searching the world for someone who can fix it. It’s that simple.”\n

At the same time, the doorbell rang. Zhou Luoyang said, “We’ll get our answer very soon.”\n

But Du Jing moved in front of Zhou Luoyang, shielding him, and looked out through the peephole. Only after making sure it was a Sotheby’s employee standing outside did he open the door and let them in.\n

The employee had brought a full set of equipment, and they had Zhou Luoyang sign some papers saying he agreed to pay for any damages. Once the employee left, Zhou Luoyang opened the small box. Inside it was a full set of clock repair tools, even more exhaustive than his own set back at Chang’an.\n

There was also a miniature X-ray scanner used specifically to check for defects in devices.\n

“Are you nervous?” Zhou Luoyang asked Du Jing.\n

Du Jing removed his watch and handed it to Zhou Luoyang.\n

Zhou Luoyang placed Satanovsky’s Eye of Forseti on the viewing platform, turned on the scanner, connected it to Bluetooth, and began scanning.\n

“You should’ve bought one of these sooner,” Du Jing remarked.\n

“They cost over five million each,” Zhou Luoyang informed him. “I wouldn’t be worth that much if you sold me.”\n

“That depends on who you’re being sold to,” Du Jing said, deadpan.\n

“Those who are interested can’t afford me.” A smile tugged at the corners of Zhou Luoyang’s mouth. He looked at the laptop screen, pressed enter, and recorded the scans of Satanovsky’s Eye of Forseti. The screen displayed densely packed gears, springs, and parts as fine as works of nature. They tessellated around each other, inseparably close, like a grand, static mechanical city.\n

“Where’s the defect?” Du Jing asked. “I don’t understand what I’m looking at.”\n

Zhou Luoyang studied the scans for a moment without answering. He switched Satanovsky’s watch for Du Jing’s, adjusted the X-ray scanner, and began to scan again.\n

Now, Du Jing understood without needing Zhou Luoyang to provide an explanation.\n

The scan of Du Jing’s watch showed a fuzzy ring of light. This meant that the scanner hadn’t been able to pick up on anything.\n

“The X-rays were blocked,” Zhou Luoyang murmured. “This wristwatch was manufactured in 1890. Röntgen discovered X-radiation in 1895. X-ray machines were invented soon after.”\n

The room was quiet.\n

“I suspect this is not a product of Earth’s civilizations,” Zhou Luoyang said quietly.\n

“For a moment there, I thought you were going to say something revolutionary.”\n

Zhou Luoyang: “……”\n

<hr class="wp-block-separator">\nFootnotes:\n

<ol>When romanizing, I chose to have Zhou Luoyang use the Thai greeting for men and Sup the greeting for women because I felt it would be odd otherwise, but it should be noted that the Chinese transcription of the Thai greeting is the same for both of them. [Back]</ol>\n<hr class="wp-block-separator">\nTranslated by beansprout. Edited by opal.\n

<hr class="wp-block-separator">\nheads up: if you’re reading this on any platform that isn’t beansprouttranslates[.]wordpress[.]com or chickengege[.]org, please reconsider. you’re most likely missing out on a lot of important footnotes, links, and formatting, such as page breaks and italics, which would improve your reading experience considerably. i don’t even run ads on my own site!\n

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