Upon hearing my words, the old man replied without hesitation, "Young man, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! We invited you to help us, not to sabotage us! Our operation tonight is meticulously planned. We must raise the corpse within the specified time. If you delay our schedule, some things will be in vain."
"Your name is Uncle Kang, right?"
I smiled at the old man: "I have no ill intentions, but since I'm here to help, I should naturally help you do things perfectly! I absolutely don't mean to cause trouble!"
The old man wasn't an overbearing person. Seeing my sincere expression, he frowned and a hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes: "You just said that if we exhume the corpse according to the location I chose, the plan will fail, right?"
I nodded: "Yes!"
The old man sized me up and asked, "You know about feng shui?"
I nodded again: "I know a little."
The old man glanced at the moonlit mountain peak again and said in a deep voice, "Surrounded by mountains on both sides, with the moon shining above, half of the mountain is lush and green, and the other half is barren. This is a prime location, and it's even a sandy place! I don't understand why you say my choice was wrong."
"The dragon that reverses has Ghost Mountain, Ghost Mountain drags its feet and circles behind. Knowing the back, you can know the ghost, and knowing the ghost, you can know the official."
I recited a mnemonic and explained, "What you just said is all correct. This mountain is indeed surrounded by mountains and has a high elevation. It is the mountain with the best feng shui in this mountain range! But it is not a sandy land. It is because a large amount of rammed earth was used when the tomb was sealed and it was compacted, which is why the plants did not grow well."
If what Xu Le said is a necessary condition for the formation of zombies, then we certainly won't find anything in this tomb, or rather, we'll only find a skeleton, which isn't enough to turn into a zombie, right?
The old man raised an eyebrow: "You mean, we can't find the mummified body in this grave?"
“Exactly! Since we’re looking for a corpse with yin energy or a mummified body, we should naturally choose a place with poor feng shui and heavy yin energy. Although this mountain receives plenty of moonlight, it also receives plenty of sunlight! The probability of a mummified body forming in such a place with excellent feng shui is extremely low! Moreover, the mountain is covered with lush vegetation, so the tomb won’t be too dry, making the probability of a mummified body forming extremely small.”
I paused for a moment, then added, "Furthermore, the fact that the hillside in front is so barren indicates that this tomb is quite large. With our manpower, without equipment, let alone before 1 a.m., even if we work until 1 p.m. tomorrow, it's uncertain whether we can even break through the top."
After listening to my explanation, the old man took out a cigarette case from his pocket and offered me a cigarette: "Judging from what you've said, you seem to know something about tomb raiding."
The monkey chimed in from the side, "If we're talking about Ma Xian, we're no match for him, but when it comes to tomb raiding, all of you combined wouldn't be a tenth as good as him!"
I tilted my head slightly: "Monkey, don't talk nonsense."
The monkey pursed its lips: "I was holding back on saying all this!"
Xu Le glanced at me, then turned his gaze to the old man: "Uncle Kang, this..."
“I used to study feng shui and helped people find auspicious burial sites, but I have never robbed a tomb, so I really don’t know what’s underneath the tomb. Moreover, the people who come to me are all ordinary people, unlike the high-ranking officials and nobles of ancient times, so I don’t know much about the structure of ancient tombs.”
The old man smiled at me: "The old immortal sent you to help because he must have deduced that you could be of help to us. Young man, we're pressed for time, so let's not beat around the bush! Do you think we still have any hope of finding a usable corpse today?"
"It's right across from us."
I pointed to the mountain range directly opposite: "If there is a ghost mountain in the mountain range, it will turn back and be safe in the wide open space in front. Wherever there is a large mountain and a large bend in the river, there must be a king or nobleman living there. There is a tomb at the bend of the valley in front. There are many pebbles in this valley, which means that there must have been a large river a long time ago. The open space where the river bends is the tomb we are looking for."
Xu Le looked at me with a skeptical expression: "You said the tombs in the mountains across the way won't dry out, so the place you chose will have mummies?"
"From a feng shui perspective, the water dragon entering the valley here is a sign of fire demons causing trouble, a very ominous sign. From a scientific perspective, the lush vegetation on the opposite mountain peaks indicates that the soil moisture content is very high! And the riverbed in the valley is dry and there is no standing water, indicating that the ground is very dry."
After answering Xu Le's question, I added, "Of course, this is just my personal suggestion. If you insist on going to the mountain that Uncle Kang mentioned, we will do as he said."
“We’ve gathered here to get things done, not to compete. But I’m certainly not as good as you at feng shui. Since there are experts here, how could I presume to be presumptuous?”
The old man turned his gaze to Xu Le: "Just do as he says."
Xu Le looked at me with newfound respect, and his attitude softened: "Then please lead the way."
I stood on the hillside and observed the terrain before asking the monkey, "Did you bring all your equipment?"
"Don't worry, how could I forget my livelihood!"
The monkey patted his travel bag: "Didn't we say we were looking for ancient statues? I don't know if they're buried, so I brought everything with me."
I saw the monkeys had gathered all the things and were walking at the very front of the group, following the valley to the bend in the river.
I surveyed the terrain of the open area ahead, adjusted my orientation with a compass, drew a mark on the ground with a knife, and said to the monkey, "Drill probing holes along this mark, one every two meters."
The monkey nodded and began assembling the Luoyang shovel: "How deep should the probe hole be?"
I thought about it for a moment: "The Xingan Mountains are the dragon vein of the Qing Dynasty. Burying oneself in the dragon vein is called locking the dragon nail! In ancient times, whenever a new dynasty was established, the ruler would send a master to empty and fill the tombs in the dragon vein!"
Those who could ride dragons were mostly members of the imperial family! Qing Dynasty tombs were generally three feet and three inches off the ground, which, including the burial mound, is about three meters. Since this area used to be a riverbed, the surface would most likely be covered with a layer of sand. Let's say six meters; at that height, we could definitely find something.
Xu Le interjected, "What if they don't find anything?"
"There are too many ancient dynasties in our country. Most of the tombs with good feng shui have been occupied by the wealthy. But this place is the location of the dragon vein. Although the terrain is good, I can't say for sure whether there are any tombs here."
Seeing that the monkey had already assembled the Luoyang shovel, I lit a cigarette and waited: "My friend works very fast. We'll see the results in half an hour at most."
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