Chapter 95: The Strange Mausoleum

The Great Buddha is enshrined upon the Lingyun Mountains. With the dragon vein suppressed, a true dragon lair should be impossible; furthermore, the surrounding feng shui is unremarkable. After examining the area with great focus for a long time, my gaze finally settled on the Buddha’s half-closed eyes. Following the line of his sight, I saw a wide expanse of farmland across from the Buddha, framed perfectly by the rolling mountains that circled the open ground.

I had the boat moored at the bank. After disembarking, I walked steadily in the direction the Buddha’s eyes were fixed. The Buddha faced west, and as I trekked westward, crossing the fields, I discovered a tributary of the Qingyi River winding through the landscape. The further I went, the more excited I became, my pace gradually quickening. Behind me, Qiu Nuo and Yue Qianling did not understand what I was searching for, but neither of them dared to ask.

I finally stopped at a clearing encircled by the tributary. Stunned, I stared at the slow-moving water. This tributary should have flowed eastward to join the Qingyi River, but the terrain here was peculiar; a massive boulder stood in the center of the current, forcing the water to strike it and recoil, looping back to create a reverse flow.

Pointing at the tributary, I said with great excitement, "There is a saying in feng shui: where the water winds and flows back, and the mountain configuration reverses, it is surely the place where a true dragon reveals itself to the world! Look, this is exactly what the ancient texts call a 'winding water return'!"

"I've told you already, no emperor has ever emerged from this place. Stop guessing blindly," Yue Qianling said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, these things are naturally formed, baseless phenomena. I don't believe you can conjure an emperor out of thin air."

I ignored her and looked around, walking toward a low, muddy puddle. The water inside looked somewhat turbid. As I crouched by the edge, touching the soil, I suddenly heard someone shouting from behind.

"Who are you people? What are you doing in the crop fields? If you're looking for the Great Buddha, you're in the wrong place—you're going the completely wrong direction!"

I turned to see an old man dressed for farming, carrying a hoe, standing behind us.

"Grandpa, since this place is so close to the river, it should be convenient to draw water for irrigation. Why dig a pit to store water?" I asked with a grin.

"Who would dig a pit for water when they don't have to? We lack for nothing here except for water, but don't you see the river on three sides?" the old man said with annoyance. "This pit has been here since I was a child. The strange thing is, the water inside flows in from the Qingyi River, but it's useless for crops. Whatever you water with it, the crops die. We've filled it in several times, but before long, the water just bubbles up again."

Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but laugh. I pulled Yue Qianling and Qiu Nuo aside and whispered, "You two find a place to stay. I’m going back immediately to bring Liu Hao and the others here."

"Why are you going back for Liu Hao?" Yue Qianling asked, puzzled.

"To excavate a tomb!"

"A tomb?!" both women exclaimed in unison.

"Why are you shouting so loud? Do you want the whole world to know?" I tilted my head, grinning at Yue Qianling. "You were right, I really am going to conjure an emperor for you right here!"

...

Anything that can be solved with money is not a problem.

The water pit I intended to excavate was in an open, flat area with no cover; it would be easily spotted by anyone, day or night. However, Yue Leiting managed to set up large greenhouses over fifty meters of farmland centered on the pit in less than a day. The old farmer was right—this place lacked everything, but it certainly lacked money. Yue Leiting was always generous, and with Huo Qian’s silver tongue, after a single meal, the surrounding fields were rented out.

Yue Qianling remained skeptical. From the moment we drained the pit to the start of the digging, she stood nearby, watching. Seven or eight meters down, there was still no sign of anything. I caught her expression becoming smug, knowing she was waiting to see me make a fool of myself.

"Clang!"

A crisp sound echoed as a hoe struck stone, bringing everyone to a sudden halt.

"Boss! There’s something underneath!" Liu Hao jumped down, clearing away the soil with excitement.

Yue Qianling still couldn't believe her eyes. She jumped into the pit and grabbed a handful of the deepest soil; it was a fine, greyish-red powder mixed with white dust. The stone slab we had just struck was over seven meters wide. There was no doubt; this was indeed a tomb. But judging by the scale and style, it was unlike anything she had ever seen.

Yue Qianling asked in astonishment how I knew a tomb was here.

I explained: First, the feng shui was that of a "True Dragon Lair," a rarity. If ancestors were buried here, their descendants would surely produce an emperor. Such a perfect site would never be left empty.

Second, the pit had existed for a long time. Given the low-lying terrain, if the water were simply from the Qingyi River, it should have seeped into the soil to join the underground water table; it would not have gathered in a permanent pit. The fact that it existed here and nowhere else proved that the water could not seep through. Waterproofing is the primary concern for a tomb, so I was certain there was a solid structure beneath the soil.

Third, the old farmer said the water killed the crops. If it were natural groundwater, it wouldn't be toxic. The water in the pit was significantly more turbid than the river; tomb preservation often involves layers of lime, which must have leached into the water, making it toxic to crops. Combining these three points, I was certain a tomb lay beneath.

My explanation was airtight, and Yue Qianling could find no reason to argue. Still, she said defiantly, "Regardless of its scale or construction, this tomb seems ordinary. Even if your blind guess was right, I still want to see how you're going to conjure an emperor for me."

The stone slab was pried open, revealing a dark, long passageway. Liu Hao led the way with a flashlight, followed by Yue Leiting and me, with Qiu Nuo and Yue Qianling cautiously bringing up the rear. Yue Leiting strictly forbade anyone else from entering.

Liu Hao soon found the extinguished eternal lamps and lit them. The tomb was instantly illuminated. Facing north, the tomb featured a straight "spirit path" after the passageway, lined with thirty-two pairs of solemn and imposing stone statues. At the southern end stood two massive stone steles carried by tortoises, though they were entirely blank. Finally, we reached the main hall.

Yue Qianling had participated in many archaeological digs, but this was her first time seeing a tomb like this, both in terms of furnishings and layout. The main hall was a massive semi-circular room. Ordinarily, there should have been side chambers for burial goods, but there were none.

Instead, arranged in a line within the semi-circular hall were several strange objects:

A mound of earth, about half a meter high.

A row of carved red sorghum stalks; upon closer inspection, they were made of exquisite red coral, crafted with such masterful skill that they looked indistinguishable from the real thing.

In the center, a shoulder pole made of pure gold.

A jade carp, rendered so lifelike it seemed ready to swim.

A square block of white jade "tofu" resting on an intricately carved wooden stand.

"Boss, I’ve dug up quite a few tombs, but... what kind of tomb is this?" Liu Hao asked, bewildered.

Yue Leiting rubbed his buzz cut, looking disappointed. "Damn it, I must be having bad luck this year. I run into several large tombs, and they’re either empty or filled with weird junk. Who the hell built this place? I went through all this trouble for these pieces of trash."

Yue Qianling, well-versed in archaeology, was also at a loss. She turned to me, her expression sour. "Well? Go ahead. Conjure me an emperor."

I had remained silent since entering, examining the semi-circular hall with meticulous care. Inside, I felt a faint sense of shock.

"Qianling, don't underestimate this tomb. This discovery alone is enough to make you a legend in the archaeological world. And Leiting, these aren't 'pieces of trash.' Every single one is a priceless treasure, or rather, they are beyond any monetary value."

Hearing this, Yue Leiting’s eyes widened as he looked back at the items, asking in surprise, "Are these things significant?"

"I’d love to hear what kind of story you can spin," Yue Qianling said with a scoff, pouting.

"Do you know what this is?" I asked, pointing to the mound of earth with a serious expression.

"It’s just a pile of dirt. Or is it gold dust?" she retorted.

"This is the Golden Throne Hall!"

"The... Golden Throne Hall!" Yue Qianling burst into laughter. "I never realized you had such a vivid imagination. People say 'calling a deer a horse' to describe deception, but you can turn dirt into gold! I’ve heard that those with high cultivation can turn stone into gold—it seems your cultivation is quite high, ha ha!"

I walked around the mound and smiled. "There was once a young child who led the other village children in games. On a mound of earth, they built a 'Golden Throne Hall' using clods of dirt. They began to play a game of emperor. When the child sat on the mound, the other children would bow and shout 'Long live the Emperor!' The child sat perfectly still, unharmed. But when another child played the role of emperor, every time the first child bowed to him, that child would fall off the mound. This story is called 'The Mound Claims the Orphan'."

As I finished, Qiu Nuo leaned in and looked closely. The mound, which had seemed randomly piled, did indeed resemble a chair. Yue Leiting and Liu Hao were amazed, and even Yue Qianling couldn't help but urge me to continue.

"One of the children, hurt from falling, shouted at the first child, 'What kind of bird-brained emperor are you? When I grow up, I’ll overthrow you!' At that moment, the child on the mound shouted, 'How bold! Drag him away and behead him!' Two children dragged him into a sorghum field, and using a sorghum leaf, they sliced his neck. Blood splattered onto the sorghum stalks. This story is called 'The Sorghum Leaf Execution'."

Yue Qianling looked back at the row of red coral sorghum stalks, speechless. Just like the story, the items were placed exactly as they appeared in the legend. Yue Qianling looked at the tomb again, feeling a growing sense of wonder.

"Then what happened?" Yue Leiting asked impatiently.

"When the child was about eleven or twelve, he fell asleep while herding cattle. He lay with his limbs spread out like the character for 'big' (大), and he rested his head on a shoulder pole, which together formed the character for 'heaven' (天). A master passed by and tried to wake him, but as the boy turned, he moved the shoulder pole to his waist and hugged his head with his arms, forming the character for 'son' (子). The master was stunned—was this not the future Son of Heaven?"

"So that’s what the golden shoulder pole means," Qiu Nuo whispered to herself.

"And the carp? What does the carp mean?" Yue Qianling pressed.

"When the child's parents were alive, they worked for a feng shui master. The master wanted his own descendants to prosper and set up a 'Carp Leaping over the Dragon Gate' formation. He believed that if one caught a carp in a salt pond on the day of Jiazi, the pregnant woman who ate the fish head would bear a true Dragon Son. The master succeeded and caught a red carp in the salt pond, but his daughter-in-law despised the fish head and threw it to the child's mother. By a twist of fate, the child's mother conceived the true Son of Heaven," I recounted softly.