A respected judge who went on an adventure to hunt for treasure in the wilderness—nine out of ten people wouldn't believe it if they heard.
Such an unreliable venture did not match his status at all.
But he enjoyed it, as it was a way to escape the burden of heavy cases.
Of course, it's not that he disliked his job as a judge, but the job was stressful, and he needed a way to vent his emotions.
It was like the positive and negative poles of a battery, both were essential.
"Listen, Luke, I need your help,"
"No problem, I can provide you with food and lodging. You don't have to worry about supplies and can continue your treasure hunt," Luke was generous.
"I'm not talking about that. I don't have many vacation days left. I love adventuring, but I also have to be responsible for my work.
I hope to find this treasure during my vacation; otherwise, when I take another break, the treasure will definitely be found by someone else.
I hope you can join me in searching for the treasure."
"Hehe, searching for treasure sounds interesting. I used to fantasize about such things when I was a kid.
But, I don't have any experience in this. You've got the wrong person."
"I haven't made a mistake. I trust my own judgment. You can help me."
Walker reached for his backpack, rummaged through it to find a pouch, opened the pouch, and handed a brownish-yellow piece of leather to Luke, "Take a look."
"May I see it?" Luke was surprised, not expecting Walker to make such a move.
"Go ahead, if the treasure were easy to find, I wouldn't be asking for your help."
Luke wiped his hands and took the brownish-yellow leather, the size of an A4 paper, very thin, "What material is this? It feels very soft."
"Calfskin, I have a similar leather belt, very comfortable."
Luke vigorously rubbed the treasure map and smelled it before starting to examine the designs. The map outlined in black ink featured a lake at the bottom left corner surrounded by forests, with varying terrain elevations and a sun in the top right corner.
In the bottom right corner, there were several lines of text,
'Hey, buddy, do you want to find my treasure?
The treasure is stored in a brown wooden box.
I believe that if you are diligent, you will be able to find it.
"This is a treasure map, why doesn't it mark the specific location of the treasure?"
"Is this why I still haven't found the treasure?"
Luke carefully observed the terrain on the treasure map, "This map seems incomplete, although one side features a lake and the other side forests, but the area is too vast, it's hard to pinpoint a specific area."
"You're right, that's also why I sought you out, I suspect this is only part of the treasure map, which is why I can't locate the exact spot of the treasure."
Luke had a vague guess about the other's thoughts, "You want my help in finding the complete map."
"Exactly, haven't you met another Treasure Hunter? Maybe if we combine our maps, we could have a whole one."
"That's simple, I can tell you the direction of her camp."
"No, no, no, treasure hunting isn't as easy as you think. In fact, I've noticed the presence of other Treasure Hunters, but I've never directly contacted them before. I don't know them, nor do I trust them. Even if I am sincere about cooperating, they may not treat me genuinely.
I need a strong ally."
"You want me to facilitate your cooperation and ensure fairness in the partnership."
"Yes, more precisely, I hope you also become one of the treasure's owners. I'm willing to share a part of the treasure with you.
Only by sharing can we gain more."
"Even if you're willing, would the other Treasure Hunter agree?"
"If she agrees, then we will hunt for treasure together, and it's fun to meet some interesting friends during our adventure.
If she's not willing, we'll just exchange maps. She searches hers, and we search ours."
"It's she." Luke reminded.
"The Treasure Hunter is a woman?"
"I've met quite a few Treasure Hunters, and not many of them are women."
"Now you've met one."
"No, I haven't decided yet. I came here to relax, I don't want to get too tired."
"Come on, young people should have a spirit of adventure. How is your way of vacationing any different from that of a seventy-year-old geezer?
Adventure itself is a great way to relax. Just try it once, and you'll definitely like it.
You can treat it like a game.
Just like me, it's not the treasure that matters the most, but rather the anticipation, novelty, and excitement of the treasure hunting process.
There's no better way to vacation than this.
Treasure, treasure, treasure, say it three times with me. Aren't you excited at all?"
If Luke said he wasn't interested in the treasure at all, that would definitely be a lie. He asked, "Do you know what the treasure is?"
"I don't know. Isn't an unknown treasure even more exciting?"
"Is the treasure's owner Forest Finn?"
"Yes, have you heard of him?"
"No, I don't follow much of this kind of news."
Walker said, "Forest Finn's father was a math teacher who loved outdoor activities. Finn often followed his father on various adventures, so he grew to love outdoor adventure sports.
As an adult, Finn opened an art gallery where he reportedly achieved sales of ten million US dollars in the eighties.