I had never heard the Legend of the "Ni'er Society," a Tomb Robber group; it was the first time I'd heard of it in my life. However, Fatty and I had vaguely heard of the "Yi Guan Dao" sect they mentioned. People from this Taoist sect specialized in Alchemy, using the genitals of young boys as medicinal guides. They were suppressed and ceased to exist after Liberation. Hearing Fourth Aunt speak so convincingly, I knew she wasn't just making things up for fun.
As far as the eye could see in these deep mountains and old forests were only desolate peaks. Having the opportunity to listen to the elders recount history, from the Three Sovereigns to the Five Emperors, was absolutely a major form of entertainment for us. Moreover, Fatty and I, along with the others, had personally seen Corpse Remains dressed and styled like the bandits of the "Ni'er Society" in the cellar beneath the Yellow Great Immortal Temple, which only deepened our curiosity. We immediately begged Fourth Aunt to tell us in detail about the "Ni'er Society."
But Fourth Aunt didn't know much about the "Ni'er Society" either. She only told us what she knew, which were all old stories from before Liberation. The Northeast was very chaotic back then; bandits in the mountains were as numerous as ox hair. I won't mention the major Bandit Groups like "Zhe Le Tian," but there were also many scattered bandits, operating in groups of three or five, robbing and looting homes, and also those who kidnapped for ransom tickets—specifically, young women about to be married. Since the kidnapped person couldn't stay overnight, the groom's family would certainly call off the marriage, so the ransom family had to quickly gather the money for a same-day ransom, hence the name "kidnapping for quick ransom tickets." The Leader of the "Ni'er Society" was once such a scattered bandit who kidnapped for ransom. Not only that, but he had also studied Sorcery in a Taoist sect and was rumored to possess the Skill of burrowing into the Earth. Even if he committed a crime, the authorities couldn't catch him. Perhaps in reality, he was just part of an engineering unit like the "Digging Army," skilled at digging Tunnels, but no outsider knew the specifics; it was all guesswork. Later, he discovered that excavating Ancient Tombs could bring Unexpected wealth, so he started a business dealing with Dead People.
As he dug more Graves, his reputation grew. He took on many apprentices, forming a Bandit Group among the bandits. They then adopted a Reputation. Because their work involved digging earth and mud, both he and most of his apprentices came from poor backgrounds as mud-diggers in River channels. Success in this line of work depended on Skill, and to seek good fortune, they emphasized the character for "Society" (Yes, *huì*). Thus, their Reputation was established as the "Ni'er Society" (Mud Society).
The "Ni'er Society" rose during the late Qing Dynasty. Nominally organized around a master-apprentice Door and Gate structure, in reality, it was identical to the organizational structure of the "Four Pillars and Eight Beams" within Bandit Groups. They consistently committed evil deeds and were ruthless. Never mind Dead People; they had harmed many local people in the mountains as well. However, the government repeatedly failed to suppress them, and over several decades, they managed to commit Tomb Robbery on quite a few Ancient Tombs. Later on, they became even more blatant. Because many old Graves contained Corpse Transformations, or the Tomb Master's body was preserved with Mercury, they would drag the Tomb Master's Corpse Remains out of the Grave using Hemp rope to collect the jade beads supposedly in the ancient corpse's mouth. They would hang the skeletal remains upside down on a crooked-neck tree to drain the Mercury, and then proceed to pry open the mouth and search the intestines. Sometimes, the Ancient Tomb was very close to a populated Village, yet they would still operate openly with torches, or do such things in broad daylight without any restraint. No one in this business failed to gain Unexpected wealth, so every one of these men possessed real weapons, and absolutely no one dared to interfere with them.
After they dug open the Tombs and looted all the Valuable items inside, they left behind a Messy scene of broken coffins and mutilated corpses. The common people who saw it could only sigh. Those Ancient Corpses had suffered the worst luck imaginable, being tormented like that after death; the sight was truly unbearable.
This Bandit Group, the "Ni'er Society," frequented the Deep Mountains of the Lesser and Greater Khingan Mountains. In these mountains and ranges, any Ancient Tomb or Grave marked by a Broken Stele and an earthen mound that could be found, they would find a way to dig it open and Steal the Secret Weapon inside. Because they were constantly engaged in this illicit trade, they were guilty and superstitious, so they had many superstitious practices. They dressed entirely in black to reduce the Yang energy of Living People while working. Ancient Tombs were places long accumulated with Yin darkness, and it was always taboo to leave the Yang energy of a Living Person inside. Furthermore, they practiced warding off evil: their hat pins, socks, and belts were all bright red, dyed entirely with pig's blood.
Not many people can still recount their deeds now; after all, those are old stories from Decades ago. The reason Fourth Aunt knew so clearly was that before Liberation, her own older brother was captured by the bandits of the "Ni'er Society" and forced to work as a Coolie, sifting mud and washing earth during the digging of Graves. He finally managed to Escape from death and break free from the bandit lair, recounting some of his experiences inside to her.
According to Fourth Aunt's brother's recollection, the Leader of the "Ni'er Society" once led his entire Bandit Group to dig many holes around "Tuan Shanzi." Finally, behind a Yellow Weasel Grave, they dug up a Yellow Great Immortal Temple cellar. They intended to find a treasure through a Secret passage inside the temple, but they ended up angering the Great Immortal, costing several lives. However, the "Ni'er Society" wasn't easily deterred. One plan failed, so they tried another, and in the end, they succeeded. From the Secret passage beneath the temple, they dug out a chest adorned with Gold Inlay and inlaid jade.
After the bandits of the "Ni'er Society" succeeded, the local villagers who had been captured to help dig the holes were all dragged into the Mountain Ravine and silenced. Fourth Aunt's brother was shot through and through; the bullet passed right through him. He managed to crawl out of the Pile of dead bodies, clinging to life. After returning to the Village, his gunshot wound never truly healed, and coupled with the extreme fright, he didn't last more than a few years before he died. As for the whereabouts of that large chest the "Ni'er Society" excavated from the Yellow Great Immortal Temple, and what treasure it contained, no one ever knew. Furthermore, after that incident, the "Ni'er Society" vanished from the Deep Mountains, and no one ever saw that Bandit Group again. They must have received their retribution and died without a burial place.
Fatty and I listened with rapt attention. What was hidden inside the Yellow Great Immortal Temple that was worth the "Ni'er Society" going to such lengths for? Where did they take that chest? And what was the final fate of those bandits from the "Ni'er Society"? Our curiosity was intense; we desperately wanted to get to the bottom of the matter, otherwise, we wouldn't be able to sleep soundly at night. But Fourth Aunt only knew this much, and even the authenticity of this information couldn't be guaranteed. When her brother returned to the Village after being shot, he was barely clinging to life, and what he said was rambling and incoherent. Who knew if what he said was reliable?
Seeing that there was nothing more to inquire about, Fatty and I reluctantly went back to Carving tomb bricks. At that time, promoting new customs and converting desolate graves into fertile fields was encouraged. Since cremation was still impractical in many remote areas, earth burial was still practiced, but it was vastly different from the old society. First, burials were simple; second, they were buried deep—twenty feet into the Earth—without raising an earthen mound. Crops could still be planted over the Grave site.
However, in our Deep Mountains, the population was sparse, so there was no need to worry about the area for graves versus farmland. We just leveled some Desolate Graves and Ancient Tombs, using the Tomb Bricks as building material. But these Tomb Bricks were extremely difficult to carve. These Blue Bricks had been permeated by the Corpse Odor from the Ancient Tombs, a stench that was unbearable up close. Even after years, it hadn't dissipated. After carving and smoothing them, we still had to mix them with Lime using Liquor to remove the strange smell.