Zhang Fan did not possess the sixteen-character Yin-Yang Feng Shui secret technique, but he believed that finding the entrance to the Tang King's tomb should not be difficult.

There are many ways to solve this problem, and it doesn't necessarily have to be the same as tomb raiding. For example, we can use the geological monitoring radar carried by the satellite in the geosynchronous orbit of Xiliang Star to scan the underground structure west of Lingshan.

But the outcome was unexpected.

The Tang Dynasty Mausoleum is located in Meishuangping, in the middle of Qinglongjian. The dense streams and high humidity cause the sky above the mausoleum to be shrouded in clouds and mist all day long, making it difficult to see clearly with optical telescopes.

The mountains surrounding the Tang Dynasty imperial tombs are rich in magnetite and other metallic elements, which creates a magnetic field. Electromagnetic interference is particularly strong in the area, and radar scans from orbiting satellites show a square mosaic pattern here.

This is interesting. If it were a naturally occurring electromagnetic phenomenon caused by the mountain, the shape of the image shouldn't be so regular.

From a technical standpoint, erecting four electromagnetic interference transmission towers around the tomb could achieve the same effect, but the problem is that Xiliang Star doesn't have these modern facilities.

Emerging from the dense fog of the primeval forest, four stone statues, each ten feet tall, stand around the Tang Dynasty Mausoleum, like four guards protecting the royal tomb.

“Those are the guardian beasts of the mausoleum.” Qiu Wanlan pointed to the four stone statues shrouded in thick fog and introduced them as they walked. “The four guardian beasts stand in the east, west, south and north of the Tang Dynasty Mausoleum. They have animal heads and human bodies, and hold divine weapons to protect the mausoleum.”

"The one to the east with a monkey's head and a human body, holding a golden cudgel, is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven."

"The one in the west has a pig's head and a human body, holding a nine-toothed rake, and is called Marshal Tianpeng."

"The one in the south has a fish head and a human body, and holds a demon-slaying staff. He is known as the Curtain-Rolling General."

"The one to the north with a horse's head and a human body, holding a silver spear, is the third prince of the Dragon King."

"Pfft, hahaha—" Zhang Fan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What are you laughing at?" Qiu Wanlan looked at Zhang Fan with a puzzled expression. "What's so funny? I'm in the royal mausoleum, a very serious place, talking about very serious things."

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about something happy." Zhang Fan looked at the guardian beasts of the tomb and couldn't help but chuckle.

Looking at the four stone statues, Zhang Fan could roughly guess how the square mosaic was formed.

The Tang Dynasty Mausoleum is a small, round hill standing in the center of Meishuangping. Zhang Fan examined the surrounding soil and concluded that the hill was likely filled with rammed earth during the construction of the mausoleum. Therefore, the interior of the hill must be hollow. The question is, where is the entrance?

The closer you get to the Tang Dynasty imperial tombs, the more fresh soil is unearthed around them.

"The thieves are too rampant!" Qiu Wanlan said angrily. "This whole road is full of potholes, there's not a single good spot!"

Unlike the royal tombs in the eastern suburbs, the Tang royal tombs were not guarded by tomb keepers. Even with the legends of yaksha demons, many people still took the risk, since some people were more afraid of the poor ghost.

“These pits aren’t deep, and none of them have been dug through.” Zhang Fan glanced at the pits and walked away. “They either gave up halfway through or were forced to give up.”

What does "being forced to give up" mean?

"Something made them give up."

"What is it? You're trying to scare me again."

"Haha." Zhang Fan laughed, "Let's find a place to camp outside, maybe we'll see the Yaksha ghost that my second aunt mentioned tonight."

"You're planning to stay here overnight?" Qiu Wanlan was startled. "Didn't you just come to take a look and leave? This is a rule left by our ancestors; we must leave the Tang King's Mausoleum before sunset!"

What can you see just by looking outside?

Zhang Fan spotted a tomb raider's hole ahead, dark and bottomless, clearly very deep. This was it! He put down his backpack and took out a rope from inside.

What are you going to do?

“Since we’re already here, of course we should go down and take a look.” Zhang Fan tied one end of the rope around his waist and the other end to a tree about the size of a bowl next to him.

"You, you, you're going down?" Qiu Wanlan said in a panic.

"You wait here, I'll go down and take a look and then come back up," Zhang Fan said, before crawling his lower body into the hole.

The tunnel was less than half a meter wide; a person crawling inside couldn't move their hands and feet freely and could only move like an insect.

Zhang Fan put the backpack under his feet and pushed it forward slowly. He felt like a dung beetle pushing a dump in a hole.

In such a narrow place, ropes are actually unnecessary, but ropes are not meant for going down into holes anyway.

“If I’m still not out by the time this incense burns out, pull me up.” Zhang Fan poked his head out of the tunnel and stuck an incense stick into the side of the hole.

"You need to come out soon!" Qiu Wanlan squatted cautiously by the cave. Although she was afraid of being alone, she was even more afraid of ghosts. It was absolutely impossible for her to crawl into the tomb.

Zhang Fan lit the kerosene lamp hanging on his backpack.

Although this kerosene lamp is small, it is very exquisitely made. It is wrapped in multiple layers of round glass spheres with ventilation holes distributed on the spheres. It cannot be extinguished by the wind, and no matter how the lamp body is rotated, the wick inside will always face upwards. As long as there is enough oil, it can burn continuously.

A birdcage hung on the other side of the backpack, and the little bird chirped loudly inside the cave. This little guy was Zhang Fan's trailblazer; if the lights went out and the bird stopped chirping, he would leave immediately.

"Can you talk to me?" Qiu Wanlan's voice came from above the entrance of the tunnel. Because the tunnel was winding, it was dark except for a small area illuminated by the kerosene lamp.

"Say something, let me know you're still here!" Zhang Fan heard Qiu Wanlan's louder voice from above, and at the same time, his waist tightened.

"I'm here, don't pull the rope!" Zhang Fan was embarrassed. It hadn't even been a minute since he came down, but that incense stick would have been burning for at least half an hour.

"Then say something. How am I supposed to know you're here if you don't say anything?"

"What do you want me to say?" Zhang Fan was speechless.

"Then just say whatever you see."

"I didn't see anything; I haven't even reached the bottom of the cave yet."

"Then you can tell me a story."

"..."

The tunnel was deep enough that Zhang Fan suspected it might lead directly to the underground palace of the Tang Dynasty imperial tombs. That would be good, as it would save him the time of searching for the entrance to the underground palace.

The problem is that the work of a tomb raider is truly inhuman; he got to experience it for himself.

The tunnel was so narrow that you could only spread your elbow out halfway, wriggling around like an earthworm in your intestines.

The tomb robbers' tunnel wasn't vertical; it was sloping and curved, allowing people inside to slowly slide down using their own weight. If they successfully stole artifacts from the tomb, they could prop them up in front of them and slowly push themselves out like dung beetles.

As far as the eye could see, Zhang Fan could only see a small section of the tunnel ahead, illuminated by the small kerosene lamp. He could only rely on his sense of touch to feel the soil around him constantly moving upwards, knowing that he was going downhill.

Darkness rapidly closed in from behind, instantly filling the space he had just passed through. Zhang Fan tried closing his eyes, and for a moment he even had the illusion that he was actually climbing upwards.

Inside the tunnel, one's sense of space and time can easily become disordered, and a sense of oppression that is hard to understand on the ground can creep in. If someone has claustrophobia, they might go crazy here.

What did you see?

"What did you see?"

"What?"

He had no idea how long he had been climbing when he began to hear echoes from inside the pit. It sounded like several female voices were talking to him at the same time.

"I saw a large, carved red coffin."

"A long-haired woman wearing a red headscarf and a red wedding dress..."

"He was smiling at me, his hand resting on the big red coffin..."

silence.

"ah!"

A scream.

"You, you, you, hurry up and get up here!" Zhang Fan saw the rope around his waist being quickly pulled away.

"Oh no! Where did the rope go? Did a female ghost kidnap you?!"

"I won't come down to save you! I'm terrified of ghosts!" Qiu Wanlan's voice trembled with tears. "I told you not to go down, but you insisted. Now look what happened, I've lost a nephew, boohoo..."

"I have to go now. Next time I come to pay my respects at the royal tomb, I'll add an extra pair of incense and candles for you, sob sob..."

"I'm not dead yet," Zhang Fan said somewhat irritably. "The rope wasn't long enough, so I untied it myself."

There was no coffin or woman in red in the cave.

"You dare scare me?" Qiu Wanlan's angry voice echoed from above. "Come up here! Let's see if I'll beat you to death!"

"Didn't you ask me to tell a story? Then I'll continue telling ghost stories..."

"I won't listen! I won't listen! I won't listen!" Qiu Wanlan squatted at the entrance of the cave, covering her ears.

"Then just wait up there. When you cry, it sounds like a bunch of women are crying to me. You're scarier than a ghost story, okay?"

"I think I can see the bottom of the cave. I'll talk to you when I come out."