At noon, the sun hung high in the sky.
The tree canopy shatters the sunlight, leaving dappled light and shadow in the dense forest.
On the second day after entering Xishan, at noon, our group stood in front of a cylindrical structure covered with vines and gazed at it.
With two swift strokes, Ivan severed the vines and tore it down, saying to us, "I was looking for firewood when I mistook this pillar for a dead tree trunk. I later discovered it was made of stone with patterns on it, so I called you over."
Over time, most of the inscriptions on the stone pillars have become blurred, but you can still vaguely see obvious carving marks. The gullies are filled with silt, and the patterns include horses and dogs, as well as some carvings that are barely recognizable as characters.
Song Laosan turned on his flashlight and shone it on the writing on the pillar: "This script is so strange. It looks a bit like Mongolian and a bit like Chinese characters. Could it be the Jurchen script used by the Jin Dynasty?"
"Perhaps."
I examined it for a long time but still couldn't figure out what was written on it. After thinking for a moment, I said, "Everyone, lend a hand, dig up the soil underneath it, and knock this pillar down."
The monkey looked at me incredulously: "Young Master Duan, are you kidding me? This pillar looks like it weighs at least a ton. You're not planning to smash it and take it away, are you?"
“I do intend to destroy this pillar, but I don’t want to take it with me.” As I spoke, I started to work. “Back in India, Wei Shengnan even knew the ancient script. Who knows if she can read what’s on this? The cleaner we destroy the traces, the less likely they are to find the tomb.”
Song Laosan was skeptical of this claim: "You and Qu Ruilin are both feng shui masters, especially the Qu family, who are known for their ability to 'see the earth' and excavate tombs from flat ground.' Do you think this method would work on him?"
"it works!"
Without hesitation, I replied, "The Jin Dynasty is over a thousand years old. Although the general distribution of this mountain range hasn't changed, the rivers, soil layers, and vegetation have undergone significant changes. When we were looking out from this vantage point, I noticed that many places in this mountain range are suitable for burial, but the locations clash. Ancient feng shui masters wouldn't commit such a major taboo, so it can only mean that the terrain here has changed. It's a pity we don't know what's written on this pillar, otherwise things would be much easier."
“If it’s inconvenient for us, we certainly can’t let Wei Shengnan and the others have it easy either.” Song Laosan instantly understood what I meant: “What should we do next?”
"There are many suitable places for burial on this mountain, but there are only five locations at most suitable for burying Hu Shahu, and they are all close to each other, all near the top of the mountain."
I paused for a moment: "We've already checked one. If we keep walking along the pillar, we should be able to find another location this afternoon."
Upon hearing this, Song Laosan raised his shovel and smashed it against the pillar: "Then what are we waiting for? Everyone lend a hand and get back to work!"
"ah!"
At this moment, Zhou Peng suddenly shouted and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
I was startled by Zhou Peng's shout and turned to look at him: "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing! I think I just saw something in the woods." Zhou Peng pointed blankly at the bushes in front of him. "It was just a flash, nothing could move that fast. I must have imagined it."
"You guys keep working, I'll go check it out."
Despite what he said, Song Laosan still carried his gun and walked over. He didn't return until we knocked down the pillar: "There are indeed footprints in the woods ahead. They were left by a feline. Judging from their size, they look like a leopard."
As he spoke, Song Laosan winked at me, implying that he hadn't seen anything and was only saying this to appease Zhou Peng.
"Ah, yes! Leopards are very fast, it's normal for them to flash by in the bushes. Let's go, everyone, let's continue!"
I covered the stone pillar with the cut branches and then called for everyone to continue on their way.
Ever since Zhou Peng caused that scene yesterday morning, he's been acting strangely, always saying he can see weird things. We weren't sure what was going on with him, so we just kept talking to him.
We are currently at the summit of Xishan Mountain, and burial in such terrain necessitates choosing a high vantage point.
This means that the tomb of King Husha Huze, which everyone has been searching for so hard, is actually very close to me, buried right under our feet.
After traveling for about three hours, the monkey suddenly pointed to the hillside ahead: "Young Master Duan, look, there's another stone pillar over there!"
I surveyed the terrain and my face lit up with joy: "We've arrived. Judging from the topography, this is a suitable place for burial."
"Does that mean we've found the place?"
The monkey looked at me excitedly: "The location we checked this morning was just an empty space with nothing in it. Then we came across a stone pillar halfway there, and now there's another one here. Young Master Duan, do you think this thing might be used for location tracking?"
"Logically speaking, given the scale of Hu Shahu's tomb, there should be above-ground structures. The fact that this stone pillar can stand here indicates that the above-ground structures were not buried deep, but there are no traces of them here, which is really strange."
Although I was completely baffled, seeing the stone pillar that had stood there for who knows how many years, I quickly made a decision: "Let's go take a look!"
"etc."
Old Song stopped me and started cutting branches with his knife: "Everyone, get some branches, weave them into a raft and tie it to your feet. Don't damage that stone pillar."
The monkey scratched its head: "Why?"
I understood Song Laosan's intention and started chopping tree branches: "Third Master is misleading Wei Shengnan and the others. If they also find this place through the Earth Eye and see the footprints all over the ground and the destroyed stone pillars, wouldn't that be the same as us telling them that there is nothing here?"
The pillar in front of us is similar to the ones we saw before, with many abstract patterns and characters from unknown dynasties carved on it.
After surveying the area, Song Laosan came over and shook his head at me: "As you said, there are no traces of ancient buildings around, not even a single man-made stone."
"Perhaps this tomb only has one underground chamber?"
The monkey sat down on the ground and patted the earth beneath him: "Isn't it said that Hu Shahu was a traitor who was killed by his own men? He murdered the emperor and usurped the country, and his infamy is notorious. He must have been afraid that someone would dig up his grave after he died. Without any buildings on the ground, it's safer to bury him without a mound or trees."
Mound tombs only appeared in the late Spring and Autumn Period and gradually became widespread during the Warring States Period.
"No mound, no tree" refers to a tomb that has neither a mound nor a tree as a marker. This is the basic principle of Western Zhou tombs. This burial custom has always made it difficult for archaeologists to find clues to Zhou tombs. Unless you have a master like Qu Ruilin who has a keen eye for the earth, or even someone like my Duan family with a mountain-crossing mirror, it is very difficult to find Western Zhou tombs on plains without mountains.
Although I felt the monkey's explanation was a bit far-fetched, I glanced at the stone pillar in front of me and still poked a hole in the ground with the stick in my hand: "Give me the Luoyang shovel, let's dig a test trench here and check the soil!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com