Chapter 1563 Really Big Ants (1/2)
Li Du immediately questioned the mayor, ”Then what are those?”
”They are…” the mayor began as if he had steeled himself to come clean, but then seemed to have caught himself. He opened and shut his mouth a few times before saying, ”This is a family heirloom, passed down from my grandfather's grandfather!”
Li Du patted the man's shoulder and said, ”I'm really sorry, mayor. What happened just now was quite unexpected. Perhaps someone was out for me and I ended up inadvertently involving you in this mess.”
Maung Kyaw Zin was not listening to Li Du. He looked dejectedly at the stove and pot that had been shattered into pieces, murmuring something unintelligible under his breath. Because he was speaking so softly, Li Du could not properly hear his words.
There was nothing much to be said, really. The food seemed to taste like wax to him and he left immediately after eating without even packing up his things, looking forlorn. Li Du felt bad for the man but was convinced that Maung Kyaw Zin had brought the stove set up for a reason. He did what he had to do to survive, so he did not feel that he had done something wrong.
Seeing Maung Kyaw Zin walk straight into the little forest without turning back even once, Li Du asked, ”Hey, mayor, don't you want your stove and pot? You might be able to use the set if you get it fixed.”
Maung Kyaw Zin did not respond. He staggered into the forest and eventually disappeared. Li Du retrieved the pieces of the stove set to hand over to his wife. He then spoke to her in Burmese, ”Why don't you bring these back?”
She shook his head and said, ”I can't touch this. No one other than my husband is allowed to touch it, so just leave it here for the time being.”
Li Du had no reason to go against her instructions. He felt some sort of evil energy from the stove set, so he packed it up and left it some distance away from their campsite.
The Markelov brothers helped the mayor's wife and daughter bring the cutlery and utensils down the mountain. By the time they made their way back up, night had already fallen. Li Du asked the pair, ”Did you go to the mayor's house?”
”We did.”
”Did you notice anything unusual?”
Young Markelov said, ”Nothing unusual, but the house was empty. The mayor wasn't home, but we're not sure where he went.”
Li Du nodded. ”Alright, then. Go to bed early, everyone. Set up a roster for sentry duty and keep your guns close to you at all times.”
After a while, the engineer strolled over and said to Li Du, ”Boss Li, there's something I'd like to discuss with you.”
”Sure.” Li Du smiled at him.
The engineer rubbed his hands together and said with great constraint, ”Well, the guys and I, we didn't know you were planning to start a mine in Dena Mountain. We've heard about the legendary curse of the jade on Dena Mountain, so, we hope you understand, but we're not really keen on finishing that—”
The man seemed like he was genuinely struggling to get his words out, so Li Du took pity on him and finished his sentence for him. ”You guys don't want to work here anymore, and you want to settle your salary so you can leave, am I right?”
The engineer's face colored with embarrassment and he nodded in acknowledgment. ”That's right. Technically we shouldn't be doing this, since you're Master Pao's honored guest, b-but, the Dena Mountain is kind of cursed.”
Li Du gestured for the man to sit before speaking. ”Let's have a chat. What do you mean when you say the mountain is cursed? Are you referring to the fact that everyone who comes looking for jade ends up dying mysteriously?”
The engineer shook his head. ”No, not to that extent. The issue isn't in looking for the jade, it's in working on the mountain. That's the more pressing issue.”
Li Du asked, ”But why weren't you afraid before this?”
The engineer blinked at Li Du, obviously at a loss for words.