I ran. The few surprised monks I almost drove into quickly scattered to prevent getting knocked down. In the few seconds it took to gain back my balance, the others had caught up with me. Yang Guo grabbed me by my arm and turned me towards him.

"Calm down." He said, his voice, for once, sounding dead serious.

"Yang Guo... I-"

"You've just realized something."

I nodded, still trembling but trying to keep the maniac look off my face. I could see my wide eyed reflection in his eyes though.

"Hey- what happened?" Chen Shing panted, skidding to a stop beside us with Le ge following. I glanced at them, then looked back at Yang Guo. Not knowing how to begin. We both stared at each other.

"Is anyone going to explain what the matter is?" Li ge asked curiously.

"The chamber...." I whispered.

Yang Guo gazed at me for a span of time, then  blinked. "Come." He said, taking me by arm and guiding me towards the building holding the scrolls. I was thankful. I needed time to process what flashed through my brain while he led the way, bowing to the monks that stood guard and escorting me through the door, past the outer chambers to the one where the scrolls still lay neatly on their respective shelves.

"Can you ask them to shut the door?" I spoke quietly. Li ge nodded and doubled back.

The windowless chamber looked just as we left it. Scrolls arranged neatly on the shelves from which most of the dust had been carefully removed by us. White light from a single portable electric lamp illuminated everything except the shadows it created.

"Um... we should count them again. Just to be sure." Chen Shing muttered.

But this time, I wasn't paying attention to the scrolls. I could feel Yang Guo's steady eyes on me. It was, in a way, comforting. His presence calmed me down. And so, I stood there, slowly sweeping my eyes over the place with a new awareness.

"He drugged us, but stole nothing." I began, then paused. They didn't interrupt, sensing the seriousness. "He came and went." I continued, starting to step slowly, along the nearest shelf, letting my hand glide over the wood and the bamboo. "But couldn't find what he was looking for." My fingers stroked the rocks in the wall.  "He had enough time to make sure that what he was after was not here. But he still comes back." I turned to look at Yang Guo. His keen face looked back. "He comes back again and again." I said, my voice low in an attempt to calm myself. "He's pretty sure that what he wants is right here. So why doesn't he take it?"

I saw comprehension dawn on his face, parting his lips, making his eyes widen slightly.

"Alexandra- do you mean..." Li ge said slowly.

I nodded at him. "What if... it's right here, but hidden from our eyes?" I half whispered.

I hoped that I was not about to lose my head. If there was a secret inside this secret chamber, I had no way of knowing where. Till now, we had traversed around the room at least a hundred times. The walls were smooth, without any chink. Nor were there any markings. Not even on the wall behind the statue of Buddha.

Li ge sighed. "Well, let's begin."

°°°

The first one to give up was Chen Shing. He flopped down on the floor with a groan. "Three hours and nothing."

I looked around, disappointment starting to cloud my mind. Was my hunch wrong? I rubbed my tired neck.

"Why don't you take a break Alexandra?" Yang Guo said. "You've been going nonstop."

I smiled at him. "Were you observing me all the time instead of searching?" I whispered to him. He grinned.

"If I say yes... what do I get?" He asked mischievously.

"A knuckle perhaps?" I chuckled, but then sighed.  I was tired.

"Go." He said, gently giving me a push. "Sit near the wall for now. Drugged sleep doesn't bring much rest I'm afraid. It has no restorative benefits."

"You must read a lot I think." I observed.

"Nope. Practical experience."

I raised my eyebrows and he smiled.

"A story for another time." He said. "Go sit down for now.  Do you want me to bring you some water?"

I shook my head and walked over to Chen Shin. Sliding down the wall, I tilted my head back, realizing that I was more tired than I thought. We watched Yang Guo and Li ge continue to lift scrolls and touch and probe the walls behind the shelves, their bright flashlights failing to show anything other than hard stone.

"Do you really think there's anything more to be discovered here?" Chen Shing muttered.

"I thought it was a brilliant flash of an idea." I sighed. "If this fails, then I don't know why we are getting the unwanted medical treatment."

"There's not even a raised bump or any marking that we can try." Li ge said, continuing to feel the walls. "The entire room is bare of any sort of carving or anything like that except the Buddha statue in the middle."

"We went round the room at least eight times." Chen Shing sighed, closing his eyes. Yang Guo still kept going.

I watched him as I rested, choosing to pass my time admiring those broad shoulders and the fine back rather than napping. I wondered if he was aware that his shirt was damp. And that it stuck, in patches, to those muscles that flexed, following his movements, as he raised and lowered his arms, or stretched them, knocking on the stones or just feeling them... Those fingers slid slowly over the rough surface... his palms stood in danger of getting more calluses than they already had. They would do much better sliding over skin. My skin was soft. Much better...

Beep beep beep I chided my mind to get back to reality. Wait- shit. Don't bend down like that-, my eyes widened at his bu- backside. I groaned.

"What happened?" Chen Shing turned to me.

"Huh?" I jumped at his voice. He looked concerned.

"Why are you moaning like that?" He asked. "Are you in pain? Should I take you to your rooms?"

"No. I'm alright. It's nothing."

"Are you sure? Alexandra, you should take care of yourself. It hasn't been even a day since you were drugged." He raised a hand to feel my forehead. "Your face is red. You aren't having a fever are you?"

I pushed his hand away. Heaven help me. That moan had been audible. My eyes automatically flew towards him, hoping he hadn't heard, only to see him walk towards me. This time, I made sure that the groan was mental rather than verbal. Mental indeed. 'That's what I was', went on my mind, till he knelt in front of me.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

It was official by now. He calmed me down. I nodded. Yang Guo wasn't very sure since, I guess, my face was still a little pink, but he let it go. Instead, he sat down next to me, shoulders brushing. Heat rose from the point of contact and spread. I hesitated, then decided to damn the shyness, reaching out and threading my fingers through his. His own fingers curled around mine, holding tight.

We sat there quietly, just enjoying the silence. The only thing marring the peace being the failure to find out the reason behind our thief's multiple visits. His thumb stroked warm patterns on my hand, keeping my irritation at bay.

I leaned my head to rest it against the wall, gazing at the Buddha statue on its pedestal, behind which Le ge was still exploring. The poor guy had been shut here for too long. My mind went to those cultivation stories where stone statues would acquire power, having received worship for generations. Old things held power. It was easier these days with advanced carving and sculpting tools, but the ancient age sculptors still managed to create pieces that withstood centuries. Like this venerable one. Hidden away from eyes, guarding the treasures it sat amidst.

It was beautiful. The sculptor be praised. He will never be known. My gaze admired the flow of the simple robes that draped over his body simply, his posture calm and serene, as he sat in lotus position. Even those tight curls had been chiseled in beautiful rings. I was amused to see one of the curls just out a bit. Lol. How did the artist not correct it? How did it even escape the eye of the one who commissioned it? Imagine having wayward hair while meditating 😆

That curl drew my eyes like a magnet. Like an odd anomaly in an otherwise perfect creation. I could not escape it. My brain automatically doing an autocorrect of the Buddha image as it should be. And the mistake irritated me, giving rise to an urge to get up and break it off.

"You're frowning."

I realized that I was staring at the statue, as if hypnotized. I stared at Yang Guo and he stared back, the little crease between his brows getting deeper as my eyes grew wider.

Our last bet?

Untangling my hand from Yang Guo's, I got up and walked over to the statue. He followed.

The ring was just like the rest of them, but, instead of lying flat on the Ushnisha, the bun like protuberance on top of the statue, it stood out, raised. I ran a finger over the swirl, feeling the cool surface. I checked the whole head. None of the other curls were like that. Except... on the opposite side, my fingers ran over a raised bump. Tiny, but a protrusion nevertheless.

I glanced at Yang Guo who was frowning. He glanced back at me. "That's not normal is it?" He asked.

"Nope." I said. "Guys, come and check this out please?"

"What?" Li ge asked, coming around the pedestal.

Chen Shing joined us with a laugh. "Well, what do you know... Buddha has a hairpin." He snorted.

"A hairpin..." Yang Guo uttered.

"There have been Buddha statues with shaved heads, bald ones and with Ushnisha. It is the thirty-second of the 32 major marks of the Buddha, depicted as a fleshy or cranial protuberance at the top of his head, or in some cases, as a flame that ascends from the middle of this protuberance.." Li ge said, frowning. "But none have hair pins. It's not very Buddhist."

"Yes. I've never seen one either." Yang Guo spoke.

"Hair is often used as a metaphor for human being's illusion or ignorance, so called the 'weeds of ignorance', thus, cutting the hairs implies symbolically getting rid of ignorance." I said. The scribe in me making an appearance. "Thus cutting and shaving the hair represent a sort of determination to keep the body and the mind clean and then to attain enlightenment and save all beings."

"There have been cases where the hair in the Buddha heads are neither shaved nor long, representing the life between the extremes of indulgence and mortification." Chen Shing spoke up, for once serious.   "The iconography of Buddha is not typically meant for representing the Buddha in his physical form but to depict the Buddha's knowledge and awareness he acquired after attaining enlightenment. These depictions vary from style to style and on the basis of the region of origin. However, one of the few characteristics that is not changed regardless of the style of the region of origin is the Buddha hair in various Buddha statues and Buddha head statues along with the ushnisha or the third eye of the Buddha."

"What exactly is its significance?" Yang Guo asked.

"Ushnisha? Some say it depicts regalness and the supreme power of the Buddha's enlightenment." I explained. "As a flame it is said to represent spiritual energy. A few stories even narrate how a few passing snails saw him meditate and climbed on his head to keep him cool. When he woke up, he found his head covered with more than a hundred snails who had sacrificed their lives so that he could continue on his path to enlightenment. Those snails were hailed as martyrs."

"But there never have been hairpins..." I whispered, my hand reaching out to touch it again.

Sketch by @medicstoriesdrasas

I felt it, solid and sturdy. Then, offering up a silent prayer,  grasped it between my fingers, and tried to twist it.

I felt it move a little, but otherwise not budging. That didn't deter me though. Hope rose again, and I put both hands to it, attempting to twist and move it. I could feel it getting a bit loose, gradually separating from the years of accumulated dirt in the crevices. But it still sat there, lodged stubbornly.

"Let me try." Yang Guo said.

I moved to let him come forward. Yang Guo's efforts were stronger. Within a minute we could visibly see the pin move, dislodging the dirt, but it still couldn't be turned.

"Wait," I suddenly said, "Try pulling."

He heeded and pulled. It slid out suddenly in his hand, leaving a hole on the side of the bun.

Several things happened at once.

The round chamber echoed with the muted clang from the statue. As if something, freed, dropped down on something. It was immediately followed by a rumbling from the floor that vibrated beneath our feet and continued towards one corner, the wall of which suddenly shook out a huge billow of dust, setting us coughing.

Through watering eyes, I saw it. A hole in the wall. And a bound bundle inside.

"Whoa!"

We looked quite the sight. I saw my delighted smile reflected on their faces, eyes shining brightly from the face powdered with dust. That made us burst out laughing.

We laughed and laughed for a couple of minutes. It was heady, the joy of discovering a lost treasure. Well... we still had to determine if it was a boon or a bane, but still. We found it first ! Note that down!

"Our names are going to go down in history."  Chen Shing cheered, grinning widely.

"Alexandra's you mean." Li ge laughed. "She's the one who thought it up."

"Aww... let me have a teenie weenie bit of the fame na?" Chen Shing pleaded, chuckling hard, trying to control his mirth.

"Yeah yeah. Sure." I laughed, patting his shoulder, "If it turns out to be a concoction, we'd be trying it out on you. Deal?"

"No deal !"

Another bout of laughter followed before Yang Guo, still chuckling, took my hand and pulled me towards the hole in the wall. The others followed.

"Hmm..."

The thick black cloth of the bundle looked old but surprisingly well preserved. Yang Guo reached out to take it, but suddenly I held his hand. He looked at me questioningly.

"What's the matter?"

"Well..." I hesitated. "I've never come across things like these, but... seeing as someone went to quite some trouble to hide it- I'm really wary of touching anything carelessly. What if there's poison on the cloth or something?"

"Er... is that very likely?" Li ge asked, scratching his chin thoughtfully at the innocent looking bundle.

"Well, we'll never know if we don't try." Yang Guo said, and grabbed.

"Hey! Wait-" But he had already taken it in his hands.

We watched him with wide eyes as he turned it in his hand and moved it up and down, testing its weight. He looked at us. "Well," he grinned. "I'm still alive."

I gave his back a ringing smack.

"OUCH!" He yelled, almost dropping the bundle. He glared at me and I glared back.

"You deserved that."  I said, daring him to deny. He pouted.

"Okay. I'm sorry." He said sheepishly. "But it's determined right? It's safe."

"Er..." We turned to behold my two companions staring at us.

"Since when have you two become so chummy?" Chen Shing asked conversationally.

"Will 'get a room' be appropriate here?" Li ge asked him.

"Technically we are in a room-"

"So 'get out of the room'?"

"Or let us get out of the room-"

"I have a letter opener with me here." I said, also conversationally. That shut them up.

Yang Guo laughed again.  "Let's concentrate here a bit." He said.  "Come near the lamp."

We followed him and sat down in a circle, the bundle on the floor in the middle. I reached out but Gu Yin stopped me.

"Let me." He said and proceeded to open the bundle.

I suppressed the smile I felt about to break on my face. He attempts to keep me safe from the unknown, not escaping me. He glanced up for a moment, eyes twinkling at me.However, this wasn't the time to be inattentive. The layers were slowly peeled back to reveal what was inside. We looked at it in silence.

A jiǎndú *. In other words, a bamboo scroll like those on the shelves around us. Neatly folded in a three layered stack.

This time, Yang Guo didn't stop me when I reached for it. Between us three from the Library, we unfolded the scroll and held it, spread out. Yang Guo quietly watched us pour over it.

"Dark wood, engraved with tiny ancient logographic script. Hanzi." Li ge spoke.

"This looks like a list of some sort." I pointed out.

"Ingredients?" Chen Shing suggested.

"Could be." I muttered. "But for what?"

"These are herbs." Chen Shing said suddenly. "Used in ancient medicines. But there are quite a few I don't know."

"Look..." Li ge pointed out a series of pictures in the section in his hands.

The first few depicted men in different poses, clearly ailing. Some with unnatural growth on their bodies and others showed them vomiting... perhaps blood. The pics definitely were gruesome.

Gradually, down the list, the men were depicted as drinking from a bowl. These were followed by pictures of healthy bodies.

"I am no biologist." Li ge said slowly. We looked up. "But some of these herbs... or rather, the extracts from them, are used for terminally ill patients."

"How do you know?" I asked, amazed.

"One of my aunts had cancer." He replied. "She was my favorite. Practically raised me. I had to become a half doctor to take care of her round the clock. So I did some reading. That was when I came across the ingredients of meds. I didn't go deep but I recognise a few here." He pointed out a few.

"Wow." I whispered suddenly, my eyes frozen over a tiny symbol etched at a corner.

"What?" Chen Shing asked.

"Xian*... " I whispered.

Time stood still as we stared at each other. There we were... sitting shocked, gripping at the scroll, trying to attempt to hold on to our rational thinking that seemed to have fled. If this was what we thought it was... but was that even possible? But if it was... this was huge.

"Alexandra?" Yang Guo called quietly. I realisd that I had even forgotten him.  I turned to look at him and found him equally frozen, staring at the scroll. He understood too.

"Immortality?" I whispered, what crawled down my back? Thrill or chill? "Impossible...?"

"Or possible?" Li ge's voice quivered.

"Let's be sensible." I tried to get a grip on my fleeing wits. "It doesn't always refer to a person or similar entity having a long life or being immortal. In Daoist philosophy it can mean spiritually immortal. Which can mean anything."

"Chances are less likely for that. Herbs don't bring spiritual enlightenment."

"Unless they are drugs." Chen Shing quipped. We snorted. That lessened the shock a bit.

"In Chinese mythology, wizard, magician,  shaman, sorcerer... In popular Chinese literature, genie, elf, fairy, nymph..." Li ge suggested.

"There's another." I said quietly. All three of them listened.

"In Chinese alchemy... alchemist; one who seeks the elixir of life; one who practices longevity techniques."

"..."

"In other words," I said, "This might actually be an elixir of life. A cure to practically any of the common terminal illnesses that we haven't been able to figure out the cure of."

The scrolls were not heavy, but we felt the weight of the knowledge it held, the thrill still coursing through us.

"If this gets stolen," Li ge whispered, "It will bring in trillions. Not to mention the medicine that will make the possessor the king of the world. "

Right at that moment a cheerfully loud voice cut the stupor.

"That's what everyone dreams of innit?"

We turned at the voice speaking in fluent English to find a glock trained at us.

"Thank you gentlemen, lady. Now, if you please, I'd like you to hand that scroll over."

______________________________________

* jiǎndú - Bamboo and wooden slips (: 简牍; : 簡牘; : jiǎndú) were the main media for writing documents in China before the widespread during the first two centuries AD. (Silk was occasionally used, for example in the , but was prohibitively expensive for most documents.)The long, narrow strips of wood or bamboo typically carry a single column of brush-written text each, with space for several tens of visually complex ancient Chinese characters. Each strip of wood or bamboo is said to be as long as a chopstick and as wide as two. For longer texts, many slips were sewn together with hemp, silk, or leather and used to make a kind of folding book, called jiance or jiandu.

* Xian - (Taoism) Xian (Chinese: 仙/仚/僊; pinyin: xiān; Wade–Giles: hsien) refers to a person or similar entity having a long life or being immortal. The concept of xian has different implications dependent upon the specific context: philosophical, religious, mythological, or other symbolic or cultural occurrence. In Chinese alchemist; one who seeks the elixier of life; one who practices longevity techniques or by extension alchemical, dietary, or qigong methods for attaining immortality.