Underground - Chapter 3

Julian was slightly shocked to hear the back half of my question. His pupils widened and his hand on the cup flinched undetectably. There was definitely more to the incident, and my best friend held the clues.

 

He took another drink before answering with a slightly unnatural tone, “Why would I know anything about that person? He was probably just a kind passerby popping in at the right place, on the right time.” Julian was obviously obscuring me from his complete knowledge on the matter, which made me quite uneasy. He seemed unwilling to discuss the subject further, so I switched the conversation onto another topic. I made a mental note to return to this peculiar yet disturbing incidence later.

 

Julian seemed almost thankful when I asked about his recent excursion to China. The atmosphere around us eased as he began recounting details such as the delicious traditional cuisine, majestic mountain ranges and lush forests, and the appealing girls in the region. It seemed that the accommodation of the crew was in an isolated village somewhere in the Qinling primitive forests, which in turn was smacked in the dead center of the nation. The village lived quite primitively �" the people depended on hunting, fishing, and gathering natural vegetation to sustain themselves. These villagers did, however, possess modern technology such as poaching guns to aid them in these practices. It was a nice “get-back-to-nature” trip, according to Julian.

 

Everything was proceeding quite successfully, and the project in that area might be finished by the end of the month if things continued to work out. I gave him hearty congratulations and continued listening to what Julian had to say.

 

“Things were going incredibly well; the crew and actors were doing a fantastic job, the deadlines were being met, the villagers were happy with what we brought for them…” Julian finished the last bit of his coffee before continuing, “Then the government randomly sent in construction workers to improve the village’s drainage system to prevent the flooding that occurs in the area. Thy sealed off a section of the forest for their construction, but it didn’t bother the filming.”

 

“The construction crew didn’t have much interaction with our people other than greeting each other when they met in the village. Weeks went on with work and nothing really special happened, until one day…” Julian was getting quite excited at this point, “When we returned to the village at dusk, there appeared to be a quarrel between the chief and the head government official.”

 

Julian was quite curious about what had happened, but his crew told him that it was probably a minor conflict the two had in the beginning of the drainage project. I noted that the relationship between the chief and the representative was not the most benign, for there seemed to be a lot of controversy in where the tunnels should be dug.

 

The confrontation lasted for quite a while before both sides retreated angrily to their residences. It appeared that the government’s team was given some sort of warning by the chief that once infringed upon will cause the eviction of the construction crew. Tormented by curiosity on the disagreement, Julian called upon the translator of their crew and demanded for information on the quarrel.

 

The middle-aged translator was not a part of the company, but temporarily hired by the team from the closest city to facilitate communication in the area. The man seemed uncomfortable speaking on the topic and claimed that both the chief and the government official informed him to stay mute on the discussion to Julian. With the equanimity of an experienced businessman, the nineteen-year-old pre-CEO placed an obese stack of hundred dollar bills onto the table in front of the man.

 

Losing all discomfort, the translator grinned covetously, grabbed the cash and started counting with a depraved glitter in his eyes. Julian coughed to get the man’s attention, and the translator immediately spilt out all the information he heard that evening.

 

Julian had a magnificent memory, for he almost recited the translator’s explanation word for word. I shall briefly summarize it for the sake of efficiency.

 

That day, the state’s workers set out deeper into the forest to continue digging and clearing out space for the drainage pipes. They were half way to the river (to which the water would flow when there is an overwhelming amount of precipitation) when the shovels hit a block. Their first guess was an inconveniently placed; but upon hitting the solid again, an unusual resonance was heard.

 

Could it have been a hollow rock? Duty acted as a veil for curiosity as these workers dug up the obstacle. The object was somewhat rectangular, with most of its body obscured by mud, dirt, and decaying tree roots. Tints of green were still visible at certain places. It was about a meter in height, twenty centimeters in width and thirty in length.

 

With a dull “thud”, the three workers in the channel heaved the “rock” onto the higher ground, where the rest of the team anxiously waited. A runner was instantly sent to inform the leader of their discovery, while some began carefully stripping off the mud which shielded much of the object from view.

 

By the time the messenger returned with the government official, the chief and some villagers behind his heels, some features of the “rock” could already be distinguished; the article took a fairly constant shade of green, with intricate spirals lining the top and bottom and exotic figures carved around the body. There were no openings to this article, which explained why an echo was created when the shovels contacted its shell.

 

Solely from its description, one probably would have guessed that this “rock” was actually an artifact; it was, in fact, a bronze contraption dating back to the first dynasties of China. At the sight of this treasure, the official was overwhelmed with excitement at the thought of discovering an object of national value; while the village elder blanched at the sight of the article and immediately demanded it to be returned to its resting place. The chief also commanded the team to change their plans and not return anywhere within a half-mile perimeter of the artefact. Trespassing would mean expulsion of the government team.

 

The representative detested the very idea of burying the artefact, and more importantly, the possible fame and glory for its discovery back under soil. He withheld the article to be reburied for the moment and arranged for a negotiation with the chief back in the village.

 

The negotiation obviously did not go well, for the chief firmly stood his ground and refused to take in any persuasion the official was desperately trying to enforce. It soon transformed from a peaceful discussion into an unfriendly quarrel. That was exactly when Julian and his crew returned from the day’s filming. Matters were laid to rest for the night, and no more about the bronze article was discussed.

 

“That was all for then; the construction course was revised to satisfy the village elder, and they got right down to work.” Julian clasped his hands together and chuckled, “The government had pretty bad luck; only two days into their new plan, they hit something else pretty far from the bronze artifact.”

 

“What, another bronze object?” I smirked at the thought of the village chief’s reaction.

 

“Nope Salmon! They discovered a pit;” Julian leaned in and regarded me with a mischievous sparkle in his glowing eyes, “A pit full of heads!”