Seeing my interest in the half-copper coin in his hand, the monkey looked at me with shining eyes: "Young Master Duan, have I struck gold? Can this be traded for a BMW?"
I asked impatiently, "What do you mean, 'can you exchange it'?! Tell me where you found it!"
The monkey pointed to the mountain path we had just walked along: "It's right by the roadside behind us."
I shone my flashlight on the mountain path and then on the mountain wall next to it, and suddenly it dawned on me: "Judging from the rust, this copper coin must have been buried underground for a long time and shouldn't be on the surface... Brother Shark, you said that the half stone carving we found in the village before was washed down by a flood. Has there ever been a major earthquake or anything like that in Suzhou's history?"
"Suzhou isn't in an earthquake zone, and I haven't been home for many years, so I really don't know. In my memory, there was an earthquake of magnitude 5 or higher sometime in the 90s." Shark seemed to have guessed something: "I'll have someone check for you as soon as possible!"
"No need, I think I've already found the tomb!"
I walked to the foot of the mountain and shone my flashlight on the mountain wall beside the path: "When I was observing the terrain before, I felt like there was a piece of flesh missing here. Now I think it must be because of an earthquake or crustal movement that the terrain here has changed, causing the tombs to be buried deeper!"
"No one has ever come up with this idea before." After hearing my analysis, Shark's tone became excited: "I'll immediately send workers over to tear this mountain apart!"
"No, we don't know what kind of traps are in the tomb. If we use external force to break it, it will be troublesome once the traps are triggered."
I waved my hand to stop the shark: "We need to first climb down a rope from the top of the mountain, then use a Luoyang shovel to dig soil horizontally on the cliff and observe the changes in the soil layers."
The monkey felt that I was being a bit too cautious: "Young Master Duan, if the ancient tomb here is really buried underground because of the earthquake, as you say, the traps would probably have been triggered long ago, wouldn't they?"
I replied earnestly, “Don’t underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. In feudal dynasties, those who could build large tombs were all high-ranking officials, generals, and kings. The anti-theft measures inside represented the pinnacle of technology at that time. In addition to feng shui layout, these tombs were also built according to the principles of Qimen Dunjia, using mechanisms and spiritual arts to prevent theft.”
The monkey scoffed, "It's just a grave, how did this get involved with the spirit world?"
I lit a cigarette: "I know this sounds far-fetched, but according to historical records, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, there was a military governor named Wen Tao who led troops stationed in Guanzhong during the Later Liang Dynasty. The eighteen imperial tombs of the Tang Dynasty were located within his jurisdiction. During the Tang Dynasty, elaborate burials were common, and Wen Tao coveted the treasures of the eighteen imperial tombs, so he carried out large-scale looting!"
Wen Tao's nephew, Zheng Xuansu, accompanied him into Zhaoling Mausoleum. According to Zheng Xuansu's dictated account, compiled in *Jiangnan Yuzai*, Wen Tao obtained countless treasures in Zhaoling, including five gold boxes containing calligraphy by Zhong Yao and Wang Xizhi, among which was the *Lanting Preface*, considered the finest example of running script calligraphy in the world.
The monkey grinned: "So, Wen Tao is our senior?"
I remained noncommittal: “As a notorious tomb raider in history, Wen Tao excavated seventeen imperial tombs, including the Zhaoling Mausoleum of Emperor Taizong of Tang, over a period of seven years. Among the tombs, only the Qianling Mausoleum, where Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu Zetian were buried together, was not looted.”
The monkey became interested: "Why? Is it because Wen Tao was transferred? Or did he fail to find Qianling?"
"No, because he encountered a supernatural event while excavating the Qianling Mausoleum. In order to plunder the Qianling Mausoleum, Wen Tao mobilized tens of thousands of troops. As soon as these people went up the mountain, a storm broke out, with sand and stones flying everywhere. The soldiers couldn't even distinguish between day and night. But as soon as these people left, the sky immediately cleared up."
I continued, "Wen Tao started out as a tomb raider and also knew some feng shui and geomancy. He wasn't discouraged by his failure, so he cast a divination and chose an auspicious day to prepare to plunder Qianling again. This time, they successfully found the entrance to Qianling and some of them went inside."
As soon as these people entered the tomb passage, a strange thing happened: the pitch-black passage was suddenly illuminated. Before they could run out, the stone door of the tomb slammed shut, and the lights went out, sealing them inside forever. From then on, Wen Tao completely gave up the idea of entering Qianling Mausoleum.
The story I'm telling isn't a legend, but a record in the History of the Five Dynasties. It also contains the line, "Only the Qianling Mausoleum cannot be disturbed by wind and rain!" To this day, the Qianling Mausoleum, located in Xianyang, Shaanxi, is the only one of the eighteen Tang Dynasty mausoleums that has never been successfully looted!
The shark didn't believe this: "There aren't electric lights in the tomb, how could it have been lit?"
"I feel that there is likely a large amount of white phosphorus or methane in Qianling Mausoleum. When it comes into contact with air, it will burn. Once the oxygen is gone, the lights will naturally go out."
I shared my guess and continued to explain, "This record is enough to illustrate the ingenuity of the mechanisms in Qianling. If we were to encounter a tomb like this, and we were to dig open the tomb passage, even if we were not injured, the contents inside would probably be burned to ashes!"
Seeing that I had explained the problem from a scientific perspective, the shark handed the initiative to me: "Mr. Duan, what do you think we should do?"
I wasn't being presumptuous: "I only know how to determine the location of a tomb by observing the aura. Although I know some basic knowledge about earth-dividing swords and Luoyang shovels, I have never actually used them. Drilling holes horizontally is also very difficult. It would be safer to have a professional do this."
Shark readily agreed: "Sure, I'll handle this! The third group only came down the mountain at noon today, they shouldn't have left Yangzhou yet. I'll have my subordinates bring them back immediately to cooperate with your work!"
The Wei family took the matter of the Tang Dynasty tomb at Shuangfeng Mountain very seriously. Less than two hours later, Shark arrived at the mountaintop with a man around forty years old and introduced him to me: "Mr. Duan, let me introduce you. This is Ma Zhenhong, the famous 'Tiger of the Earth' from the Central Plains! Mr. Ma, this is Duan Shenxing from Fengtian!"
I shook hands with Ma Zhenhong and felt the calluses on his palm, knowing he was an expert: "Hello Mr. Ma, I'll leave the rest to you!"
"Brother Duan, you're too kind. I've been in this business for most of my life. Although I've made mistakes sometimes, I've rarely been as embarrassed as I am this time. It's an honor to meet you today, and it will also let me know how I stumbled!"
After I explained the situation, Ma Zhenhong tied a rope around his waist and then threw down more than a dozen ropes with empty bags attached, tying the other end to a tree on the mountaintop: "In order to prevent tomb robbers, the ancients would specially design a series of cliff tombs built on cliffs. I was fortunate enough to see one! These ropes are all numbered. When I call out a number, you pull that rope!"
Because the Changwei Group has already booked the entire mountain, we don't have to worry about being exposed, so we can work with a lot of freedom and openness.
Shark and Monkey were responsible for pulling the rope to adjust Ma Zhenhong's height, while I stood on the cliff, holding up an outdoor camping lamp to provide him with light.
Ma Zhenhong was clearly a master. Even when suspended in mid-air and unable to gain any leverage, he could still drive the Luoyang shovel into the cross-section of the mountain. Moreover, he would put the extracted soil into different bags and have us pull it up.
About an hour later, Ma Zhenhong filled the last bag and asked us to pull him up so we could start checking them one by one. When he saw the soil sample in the third bag, he looked up and gave me a thumbs up: "Brother Duan, your geomancy skills are simply amazing! I dug up some potting soil! There really is a tomb in these mountains!"
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