In a sheltered valley on the ridge, Monkey and I sat by the campfire, ready to set off.
After a period of contact, my relationship with Wei Shengnan has improved, but the person who is most enthusiastic towards me in the team is not him, but Song Laosan.
As our departure drew near, Song Laosan approached our campfire and offered me a cigarette: "Xiao Duan, the tomb we're going to enter can be designed using Li Chunfeng's blueprints. Are you nervous?"
Relying on my experience entering Li Fan's tomb, I smiled fearlessly and said, "There's nothing to be nervous about. There's no difference between doing it once and a hundred times. It's just a matter of whether you're skilled or not."
Monkey was a very curious person, and he also had a good impression of Song Laosan. When Song Laosan offered him a cigarette, Monkey smiled and said, "Third Master, I've read some information about tomb raiding. I know that tomb raiders are divided into two factions, North and South, and ten major circles. Do we belong to the South faction or the North faction, and which circle do we belong to?"
Song Laosan exhaled a smoke ring: "No money!"
monkey:"???"
Not only were the monkeys curious, but I also looked at Song Laosan.
He laughed and said, "Tomb raiding is not a business that can be done locally. It requires traveling all over the country. It is inevitable that you will run into each other. Forming gangs is mainly for mutual support. When fellow members meet, they will be lenient with each other. When enemies meet, it also lets them know that they have support behind them. So the two factions are further divided into ten circles, which is also the case."
Of course, because of regional differences, people have different experiences and methods. And the so-called "schools" are just for show, designed to scare laymen and prevent them from taking away their jobs.
The four schools have a long history and have accumulated a wealth of experience. Regardless of whether it's the Southern or Northern school, we adopt whatever works best and do whatever is convenient. However, this approach of not associating with external factions is unique in this industry. Both the Northern and Southern schools accuse us of being unruly and untrained, and they are very hostile towards us.
I threw the cigarette butt into the campfire and picked up the dagger and wood again: "I think our ancestor made the right decision. Tomb raiding is a dangerous job. Being too bound by factions is like playing with your life."
“Yes! We share the same opinion on this matter.” Seeing my gesture, Song Laosan pointed with his chin: “What are you doing?”
“A dagger!” I gestured to the prototype in my hand: “I don’t have a Dragon-Subduing Wooden Sword, so I’ll carve a small one, something is better than nothing.”
Song Laosan was speechless: "Why wear the Dragon-Subduing Wood? Don't you have something better?"
"Better?" I was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
Old Song pulled on the rope around my neck, revealing the broken jade pendant: "You don't know what this is?"
I pointed to the red string around Song Laosan's neck: "You have a Warring States period dragon-patterned jade pendant too!"
Do you know whose it is?
This question stumped me: "I only know that it is a keepsake passed down from my great-grandfather's generation, but I really don't know its origin."
Old Song said arrogantly, "This jade pendant belongs to Bai Qi, the God of Slaughter! Legend has it that when Bai Qi went to the underworld, the Ten Kings of Hell personally greeted him! With something so full of killing intent, are you afraid that wandering ghosts can get close to you?"
"Bai Qi?"
When I heard this name, I was somewhat surprised: "Isn't this dragon-patterned pendant something only royalty can use? How could Bai Qi possibly have it?"
"Although your Duan family is known as the Judge of the Ghost Eyes, you are still too green, just like Zhao Kuo who only talked about war on paper."
Song Laosan glanced at me sideways: "In the Zhou Dynasty, pearls and jade were used as ornaments, which not only distinguished social ranks and indicated status, but also regulated behavior, etiquette, and even speech. A gentleman never parted with his jade, which was a sign of good manners! But during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the social order collapsed, and the various states were constantly at war. It was inconvenient to carry pearls and jade pendants. The Qin state was the first to eliminate pearls and jade as social symbols and replace them with seals and ribbons. At that time, dragon-patterned jade could no longer represent social class!"
Looking at the jade pendant in my hand, I suddenly felt the weight of history.
I never imagined that nearly three thousand years later, I would still have all the connections with a historical figure like Bai Qi, and even be holding the same things.
Perhaps this is the charm of antiques!
Hearing our conversation, the monkey scoffed and said, "So you all have protective charms, while I'm all empty-handed! If I encounter a ghost, won't I just be waiting for it to grab me? I heard a ghost story when I was little, that evil ghosts can pull a person's intestines out of their anus after grabbing them!"
"Evil spirits aren't like enemas; why would they stare at your asshole for no reason!" I shaped the palm-sized wooden sword into shape, took off the jade pendant, and handed it to the monkey: "If you're worried, wear this one!"
"Alright! Thank you, Young Master Duan!" The monkey grinned. "I'm not afraid of ghosts or gods, I just haven't handled many genuine items and want to wear one to experience the thrill!"
While we were chatting, I saw Qu Ruilin and Xu Hu each put on a travel bag and stand up with Monkey: "It's almost time, let's go!"
...
The branch that Monkey and I were going to was more than ten kilometers away from the camp, so we set off before nine o'clock.
At midnight, Monkey and I successfully reached the branch and climbed to the highest point.
Because there was no moon tonight, the entire valley was pitch black.
Wearing night-vision goggles, the monkey looked at the complex terrain around it, completely bewildered, and asked me, "Young Master Duan, this place is full of small ravines. Where are we supposed to find that foreign monk's tomb?"
"Dragons on flat land are buried at high places, while dragons on mountains are buried at the foot of mountains. The tomb we are looking for should be located at the top of the mountain. There are twenty-eight constellations, with seven constellations in each of the four directions: east, south, west, and north. We are looking for the Horn constellation of the Azure Dragon in the east, which is the dragon head that was suppressed by the Dragon-Slaying Platform."
I used my compass to determine the direction, aligning due north with the Big Dipper, and after finding the Azure Dragon constellation, I pointed to a mountain peak opposite: "Let's go take a look over there!"
Most people believe that burial involves placing the tomb in the mountains, but this is a misconception. The ancients viewed an entire mountain as their burial site, like a grave mound.
What I need to do now is find the corresponding mountain peak, and then, based on the comparison of celestial phenomena, see if that place is suitable for burial.
But as we walked, the monkey and I realized something was wrong.
From our vantage point, we were only about 700 or 800 meters away from the opposite hilltop.
But after we went down the hillside, we walked for almost half an hour, but we still couldn't see any more hillsides ahead.
I glanced at my watch. There was less than half an hour left until midnight. If I couldn't get there within the allotted time, I would have to wait until the first day of the following month to determine my location.
As I was looking down at the time, the monkey glanced around and asked, "Young Master Duan, is it foggy in our valley?"
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