At Black Tiger Mountain, six people flagged down a dilapidated van and offered the driver double the fare to take them to the nearest village to Razor Pass.
Once they boarded, the driver lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and started the engine. The van belched out clouds of black smoke, jolted a few times as if waking from a deep sleep, and then finally moved forward.
According to the driver, it was about twenty miles to the village, and from there, a thirty-minute walk would take them to the excavation site of the Western Xia Treasury at Razor Pass.
If Leo were driving his BMW, it would take less than ten minutes, but in this van, it felt like they were moving at a snail’s pace. What pained Leo more than the van’s slow speed was the constant bumping, as if they were on a ship in rough seas. The van’s rear end kept bouncing, throwing Leo up from his seat repeatedly.
Whether it was the road or the van’s poor suspension, Leo lost count of how many times he felt weightless after just a few miles. Desperately searching for a seatbelt buckle on his worn-out seat, he soon realized that only the driver, Domingo, and Christine had seatbelts.
Leo consoled himself with the thought that at least he hadn’t eaten an in-flight meal. When they finally arrived, Leo’s legs wobbled as he clutched the seatback and got off the van. Christine and Domingo were also shaken and needed a long rest to recover.
At the village entrance, there were only a few low walls and a shaky sign that read “Blackwind Gulch.” According to the driver, it was still a half-hour walk to Razor Pass. They needed to ask the locals for directions.
Domingo should have known the way, but she usually had a driver take her directly to Razor Pass. This was her first time in Blackwind Gulch, so she waited for Leo to ask for directions.
Leo and Christine entered Blackwind Gulch. The village was small; after a few minutes of walking, they reached the other end, passing only a few dozen houses without seeing anyone.
Just then, Leo noticed a child emerging from a low house. The child, around five or six years old, wore an adorable tiger-head hat. Leo approached and crouched down to ask, “Little one, do you know where the adults are?”
The child replied in a local dialect that Leo couldn’t understand. He turned to Christine for help, but she shrugged, indicating she couldn’t understand either.
This was troublesome; it was just a child who probably wouldn’t understand them either. Suddenly, they heard a commotion nearby. Leo stood up and looked in that direction.
“Shall we check it out?” Christine suggested. Leo said goodbye to the child and walked toward the noise.
As they got closer, they heard several people speaking in the local dialect. Turning a corner, they saw a pond about half an acre in size surrounded by dozens of villagers. It seemed like everyone in Blackwind Gulch had come out.
Leo and Christine’s attire marked them as outsiders, drawing curious looks from the villagers. Due to the excavation of the Western Xia Treasury at Razor Pass, this usually unnoticed village had recently seen many treasure hunters passing through, though their numbers had dwindled due to lack of success.
A middle-aged man approached them. He wore an old green military uniform with many patches but kept it clean.
“Who are you? What are you here for?” he asked.
“Uncle, we’re heading to Razor Pass and need directions,” Leo replied.
“Razor Pass? Are you here to dig up that Western Xia Treasury too?” The man’s face darkened.
“Yes, we’re going to the Western Xia Treasury…” Christine began, but the man cut her off angrily.
“Everyone, come here! These people are here to dig up the Western Xia Treasury too!”
The villagers quickly surrounded them, some wielding sickles and shovels menacingly. Leo and Christine huddled together, unsure why they had angered these villagers.
Leo wondered if there was something wrong with Blackwind Gulch. “Is there a problem with us going to the Western Xia Treasury?” he asked cautiously.
“You can go wherever you want, but digging up that treasury has caused our pond’s water level to drop by half! That’s not okay!” The middle-aged man pointed angrily at the pond.
The villagers echoed his sentiments loudly in their dialects. A stout woman waved her sickle as if to emphasize her point, making Christine shrink back in fear.
Leo and Christine looked at the pond and saw a clear waterline around its edge. The water level had dropped by one or two meters. The pond was deep enough that its bottom wasn’t visible despite the drop.
On the opposite bank were several arch-shaped stones covered in moss that had been revealed by the receding water. “Uncle, isn’t it normal for water levels to rise and fall? What does this have to do with us going to the Western Xia Treasury?” Leo asked in confusion.
The middle-aged man explained patiently, knowing outsiders wouldn’t understand Blackwind Gulch’s situation. “Our pond is no ordinary pond,” he said proudly. “Its water level never changes, whether it rains or there’s a drought.”
“Really?” Leo was surprised.
“Our ancestors have always revered this pond as a treasure. Whenever we face difficulties, we come here to pray,” the man continued. “But ever since they started excavating at Razor Pass, our pond’s water level has been dropping continuously. In just a month, it’s gone down nearly two meters! If this continues, won’t it dry up?” He spoke with anger and frustration.