Chapter 5: The Vatican Manuscript

  Xiao nodded and continued slowly: "In the smallest country on this earth, which is the Vatican, how small is it? It's almost only three-fifths the size of the Forbidden City in Beijing. A country can't even build a palace without going to another country..."

  Yang Cangcang tilted her head and said impatiently: "Get to the point!"

  Xiao Lao puffed out his cheeks and said: "Guang Guang, you're not learning well. I'm explaining this to you for your knowledge. This ancient Indian manuscript is kept in the Vatican, written entirely in Greek sacred language, with a few pages of unknown script at the end that no one has been able to translate to this day. I reckon it's the ancient language of the five nations. The academic world calls this manuscript the 'Vatican City Ancient Copy'. There's a prophecy inside that says there will be five generations of humans on Earth. The first generation was a giant, not from here but from heaven, and they were destroyed by hunger. The second generation was destroyed by a massive fire, the third generation lived on the continent of Mu in the Pacific Ocean and was destroyed by infighting. Later came the fourth generation, which was at the stage of sun and water, and their civilization was destroyed by a massive flood that shook the heavens. And we are the fifth generation."

  "What does it then foretell of the destruction of the fifth generation of humanity?" I asked eagerly.

  Xiao Lao nodded slightly, seeming reluctant to speak, and took a deep breath. "Destroyed at Gui Yu..."

  "I think there's a mythical element to this. Did the previous generations of humans really exist? Were they all destroyed like this?" Fu Ma asked.

  "Whether it exists or not, we can't verify anymore. But I want to say that the fourth generation of humans closest to us, whether in Eastern or Western ancient myths, there are legends about the Great Flood. The Western Noah's Ark, the Eastern Yu the Great controlling the waters, which means we have reason to believe that this massive flood should be real. Within our organization, there is more detailed information about this matter. We speculate that the Blue People are the fourth generation of humans."

  I furrowed my brow and asked: "Isn't it said that the people of Blue Rain have divine powers? Their civilization is also very prosperous, how did they not escape the great calamity of the flood?"

  "Even the most powerful humans cannot withstand the shock of mighty natural forces." Xiao Lao sighed, "Moreover, this is just our speculation. We know almost nothing about the fourth generation or the Blue Light people. To us, they are almost like gods."

  Everyone fell silent for a moment, and Yang Cangcang rolled her eyes and said: "I heard my ancestors tell me similar things before. It turned out that the world was ruled by the Longbo tribe, who were giants, and now they are almost extinct. They also mentioned Gui Yun, saying that it is related to the survival of our clan, so we will cooperate with Director Zhou to explore the Western Regions."

  "It's said that the Blue Clan has two treasures, which only royalty can access. One is the Heart of Return, which can freely open the Return Void. The other is Shān Tóng, a mysterious metal that can store a person's memories and spiritual energy. This box... " Xiao Lao's hands kept fiddling with the box, "If it's really made of Shān Tóng, then maybe the Blue Clan is indeed the legendary fourth generation of humanity. Then the prophecy of the fifth generation of humanity..."

  "By the way, I've been wanting to ask, what was it that we heard in that mortuary before? Was Mother Director just a director of one of the sub-bureaus of the Hidden Bureau? How many sub-bureaus does the Hidden Bureau have?" This question has been bothering me, and our conversation hasn't mentioned Old Three at all, as if everyone is reluctant to bring him up.

  "There are seven regional bureaus, namely East China, South China, Central China, North China, Northwest China, Southwest China and Northeast China, with the headquarters located in Beijing. The relationship between each bureau is very subtle." said Xiao Lao.

  "Are you all from the North China Branch?" Yang Cangcang asked.

  Fu Ma nodded and said: "Except for Karamay, he is a guide sent by the Northwest Branch Bureau. Otherwise, he would not have died, and was disguised as the mother bureau chief."

  "Director Mu killed Karamay, which proves that the director of the Northwest Branch should not be a person from the Mingyun Sect. If we go to the Northwest Branch to expose him and directly report to headquarters, let the Hidden Bureau help us fight against the Mingyun Sect together." I suggested.

  "This...” Xiao Lao paused, “The Northwest Branch is indeed in Urumqi. I came here a few years ago, but I don't know if it's feasible now. The internal situation of the Bureau is complex and it's hard to guarantee which one is a Mingyun Sect member. If we rashly look for them, our identities might be exposed. What if we're pursued by the Mingyun Sect disciples? It won't be good for us. Zi Han hasn't recovered yet, Fu Ma has injuries, and we still need to protect that girl... I'm afraid it's difficult for us to confront them for the time being."

  "Let's try, anyway we have to go to the street tomorrow to buy some necessities for Qipan Mountain. If we are chased and killed, we will set off immediately." Fu Ma agreed, everyone nodded, it was late, and everyone went to sleep.

  I and Fu Ma lived in a room, Xiao Lao and Wu Zi Han were in another. Before going to sleep, Wu Zi Han kept glancing at Yang Can Can's bedroom door. I was too tired and didn't know what happened afterwards, vaguely fell asleep. This is after leaving the desert, for the first time I could sleep soundly without worrying about what would happen tomorrow or which teammate might have an accident.

  When I woke up, it was almost noon. I stretched my waist and asked with half-closed sleepy eyes, "Brother Ma, when did you wake up?"

  "Just woke up, don't know if I'll have to sleep on the streets again today, will get out of bed later."

  The kitchen is filled with the aroma of rice, I guess Yang Cangcang has gotten up to cook. The smell is so enticing that I'm actually a bit hungry now. "Cangcang really has the air of a virtuous wife and good mother, unfortunately, it seems like Zihan brothers are..." I sighed.

  "Emotions can't be forced, just like Ah Long..." As soon as he said this, Fu Ma saw my expression change and paused for a moment, "You're still blaming him?"

  "Ah..." I sighed, "It's not that, just like Xiao Lao said, people have different aspirations. I just can't understand why you say Karamay is his foster father, yet he could give up on his brother because of the corpse poison..."

  "I remember Director Zheng telling you, what you see may not be the truth, many things need to be explored by yourself. Maybe Ah Long has his own difficulties too, we are not him." Fu Ma got up and started tidying up the bed, outside came Yang Cangcang's shouting voice: "You two pigs want to sleep until when, hurry up and get up for breakfast, I still have to serve you, truly a lady's body with a servant's fate."

  I quickly jumped out of bed, I didn't dare to provoke this lady. As soon as I left the bedroom door, the fragrance hit my nose and my saliva almost flowed to the ground. Yang Cangcang made sugar vinegar ribs and boiled fish, which were all my favorite dishes. Hongtian was still sleeping soundly, Wu Zihan sat quietly on the edge of Hongtian's bed, watching silently. Xiao Lao was busy in the kitchen helping out, I also hurried to join in, otherwise, if I ate too much later, Yang Cangcang would say again that I only eat and don't work. Before long, the dishes were all laid out on the table.

  Yang Cangcang entered the house and looked at Hongtian, who was still in a daze, and asked Wu Zihan: "Is it okay for her to sleep like this every day? She doesn't even eat, but her breathing is quite even."

  Wu Zihan said without raising his head: "It's nothing, she has come out of the Guiyun, but her soul is not fully awake yet."

  "She's not eating, you have to eat anyway. You can't just watch her and do nothing." Yang Cangcang said discontentedly, pulling Wu Zihan towards the dining hall.

  We were eating and discussing how to get to the Northwest Branch Bureau, Xiao Lao had a big piece of pork ribs stuffed in his mouth, and said vaguely: "The Northwest Branch Bureau is hidden underground in a restaurant in the city center, we need to order a specific dish, after finishing the meal and paying the bill, he will lead us to the branch bureau downstairs."

  Because the fish was eaten too hastily, it seemed like a bone got stuck in my throat. I coughed twice and said: "How come you're like secret agents, do you have any passwords? Like 'the earth shakes, high mountains and rivers, a thousand years of beautiful scenery'?"

  Xiao Lao gave me a glance and said, "We need to go to the store first to buy some essentials, such as rope, food, flashlights, cold medicine, and other frequently used items that are must-haves when going out."

  We actually finished all the dishes, even the soup was used to cook rice. Yang Cangcang said we were starving ghosts reborn. Wu Zihan carried Hongtian on his back, and we headed towards the store to buy everything, preparing for our next adventure...