Two days later, in the early morning.

Thump!

A gunshot rang out through the jungle, followed by a mournful cry of a deer.

"Hit!"

Seeing that Sasha, who was lying in ambush in the grass, had knocked over a sika deer, Song Laosan rushed up wearing a straw hat and stabbed the sika deer in the neck, ending its suffering.

Sasha then came out, offered a brief prayer for the deer's carcass, and began skinning and butchering it. Pointing to the nearby mountain, he said, "After breakfast, we should start climbing. This is the highest peak in the vicinity. Everyone, work hard, and we should be able to reach the summit by noon."

To avoid attracting wild animals with the smell of blood, we quickly moved away after taking the meat, washed it clean in a nearby pond, and gathered around the edge of the campfire.

When I was at home, I used to enjoy watching survival videos, especially at night when I saw the contestants grilling meat, I would order some late-night snacks.

But once the meat was put into their mouths, it was extremely difficult to swallow. It was not only fishy and tough, but also had a fishy, ​​unpleasant smell from not being castrated.

I pinched my nose and swallowed the meat in my mouth, then asked Sasha, "Mr. Sasha, if we reach the top of the mountain but don't find our target, what should we do next?"

Sasha cut off a piece of meat with a knife and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing it heartily: "Let's head east. There's a big river over there. Let's make a simple raft and drift down. We should be able to see people before dark."

Zhou Peng had developed a low-grade fever due to his injuries. Even though he was wrapped in a roe deer skin, his face was still pale and he was constantly sweating profusely. "To be honest, I really hope that we can get back to the city as soon as possible after we have nothing to show for it. Otherwise, I am really worried that I will die here."

Sasha couldn't understand what we were saying. After filling his stomach, he poured the water he had prepared onto the fire and said, "That's enough, everyone, let's go into the mountains."

I got up and stretched, then took a deep breath while looking at the towering mountain in front of me.

Without any technological assistance, locating the Hu Shahu Tomb from a high vantage point is the only way we can find it.

I went to great lengths to find this tomb.

First, he argued with Mr. Leng in Beijing, then rushed to Luoyang to get involved in the business dispute between the Su and Qing families, then risked imprisonment to smuggle himself across the border, and then barely escaped death to enter the jungle.

Looking back, it all feels like a dream.

Whether the hardships I have endured were worthwhile will soon be revealed on this mountain.

...

I was terrified as I walked up the mountain.

Not only because the mountain is steep and one could easily fall off a cliff, but also because it is covered with snake holes.

The snake tide I encountered in India left me with a strong psychological trauma. Fortunately, the weather hadn't fully warmed up yet, and there were almost no snakes to be seen on the mountain.

Although Sasha said we could reach the summit by noon, after five or six days of hard work, everyone, covered in injuries, was exhausted.

It took us a full ten and a half hours to climb this mountain, and we finally reached the summit at dusk.

The setting sun melts into gold, and the evening clouds merge like jade.

The moment I stood on the rocky summit, my view suddenly opened up, and the terrain stretching for dozens of kilometers around me was laid out before me in the glow of the setting sun.

"Damn it! All that effort was for nothing!"

Song Laosan stood on the mountaintop and looked around, his face already pale: "All I can see are lush green plants. There's no quarry in sight. Xiao Duan... what are you up to?"

I squatted down behind Song Laosan and drew a Bagua pattern on the ground with a twig. I also stretched out my finger to compare the directions, and then drew another one.

In no time, I had drawn seven or eight patterns on the ground.

Song Laosan sniffed: "Xiao Duan, it's getting dark, we need to find a suitable campsite as soon as possible. What are you looking at here?"

“The mountain and water form the case mountain, but I fear the Mingtang (bright hall) is too narrow. Although the mountain and water embrace it like a face, the waves beat and the wind blows, and the cliffs are cold.”

I stretched out my hands and pointed to the mountain peaks on both sides, saying, "Enter the mountain to find the water source, climb the cave to see the bright hall. The terrain here is like a thousand chariots and a treasure chest. If nothing unexpected happens, the quarry is on one of these two mountains, but it's on the side that's away from us."

Song Laosan's eyes lit up: "Is there a way to further determine the location?"

"It doesn't matter anymore, because Hu Shahu's tomb isn't on those two mountains, it's on that one!"

I pointed to the mountains further away: "A thousand feet represents the momentum, a hundred feet represents the form. Form is the view up close, momentum is the view from afar. The mountain shapes on our left and right sides are like a thousand chariots, indicating a terrain like huge waves, rising and falling, layer upon layer of peaks. In the tomb, a thousand chariots represent dukes and marquises."

The two towering mountains here stand opposite each other, like ancient gatekeepers guarding the mountain pass. With two generals guarding the gate, the emperor will surely follow! The three dragon veins here combine to form a shape resembling a gold ingot, its momentum like ten thousand horses galloping down from the sky—the very throne of the emperor. Therefore, I analyze that the tomb at the quarry is merely a secondary burial site for Hu Shahu. The distant mountain range shaped like a helmet is the true main site. In feng shui terms, placing the tomb in this location ensures the eternal prosperity of the nation!

The monkey looked in the direction I was pointing and saw that the distant mountain looked like a steamed bun. It wrinkled its nose and said, "This doesn't make sense, does it? In the past, the burial tombs that have been excavated have all appeared as burial complexes, and they are very close to each other. But the mountain you are pointing to is at least tens of kilometers away from here. How can there be burial tombs that far apart?"

"Your understanding is not wrong, and it's not entirely accurate to say that these two tombs are burial tombs for the deceased. Although the people buried in these two tombs were buried with the deceased, their significance lies in guarding the terrain and changing the feng shui, rather than being buried with them for eternal rest!"

Looking at the terrain between the three dragon veins, I couldn't help but marvel: "The terrain between these three tombs is like a series of houses, with little undulation, lush vegetation, and abundant water. In ancient times, it would have been a feng shui treasure land suitable for establishing a government and founding a country! If Hu Shahu had really rebelled back then, he would have moved the capital here. And looking at the location of his tomb, it is truly mysterious! Although Hu Shahu was fickle and a traitor who murdered his emperor, the feng shui master who helped him choose the site was a top-notch master!"

"Damn it! I was so focused on finding the quarry that I forgot you're also a feng shui master!"

Old Song slapped his thigh, his face beaming with joy: "According to your logic, doesn't that mean we don't need to search for the quarry anymore, but can just go directly to the main peak and achieve our goal?"

"From the perspective of terrain, this statement is valid. The mountains and rivers here are beautiful, and the terrain is clear, making it an auspicious burial site!"

I nodded: "But I'm also worried about something else, which is that the terrain here is too clear. If Qu Ruilin finds this place, he'll probably come to the same conclusion as me!"