Chapter Twelve: The Six Paths of No Return

Wei Yong smiled pleasantly, shaking his head incessantly as his fingers began to tap a rhythmic beat on his knees.

"You are mistaken again. It is not that I want you to rob the Qianling Mausoleum; it is that you must go yourself. It has nothing to do with me. Of course... you could choose not to go."

Wei Yong's final two dry chuckles rang clearly in my ears. I understood the subtext better than anyone; he had already told me the consequences of refusing, and this time, I had to shoulder the entire burden of responsibility alone.

"Wu Zetian was the only female emperor in history, which shows just how intense her craving for power was. The Imperial Seal, the only object that could prove her sovereign status, must have been buried with her in the tomb," Wei Yong said, his smile fading as he spoke calmly. "More importantly, the Qianling Mausoleum remains perfectly preserved to this day, never having been looted. If you manage to get inside, you will surely have some unexpected gains."

I took a deep breath and said quietly, "Secretary Wei, I know you are powerful and influential. The Qianling Mausoleum is a historical site with countless tourists, and even at night, it is heavily guarded. Not to mention robbing a tomb, even approaching it is difficult. Furthermore, an imperial mausoleum is massive in scale; even if one were to attempt a robbery, it is not something that could be finished in a day or two. Therefore, I have a suggestion."

"You want me to step in and organize an archaeological team to survey and excavate the Qianling Mausoleum, so that in broad daylight, you might find a chance to slip inside, right?" Wei Yong had already guessed my intention and asked with a slight smile.

I nodded.

"That is impossible!" Wei Yong rejected the idea flatly. "The world is at peace, in a golden age; who would go digging up the ancestral graves of others? Even if I agreed, those above me would surely consider it taboo; there is such a thing as karma. Secondly, archaeological excavations are done by the book; who knows how many years it would take for them to actually reach the inner chambers? I lack nothing, but time is the one thing I cannot afford to waste."

"If you won't help with anything, yet you demand I enter the Qianling Mausoleum, that is simply an impossibility."

Wei Yong paused for a moment, then pulled a few blueprints from his briefcase and handed them to me.

"Actually, it is not that I won't help. You will understand once you look at these. The state once conducted a survey of the Qianling Mausoleum. What you are holding is the infrared underground survey map of the site. Look closely, can you find a single point of alignment on this map?"

On the infrared map, one could clearly see the general outline of the Qianling Mausoleum on Mount Liang, but just as Wei Yong said, there was not a single point of structural alignment throughout the entire site.

"Any large-scale tomb, especially an imperial one, has a structure that is more or less the same: a main chamber, a rear chamber, side chambers, a spirit path, and finally, the rammed earth and sealing layers. Yet, on this map, there is absolutely no trace of such architectural structures," Wei Yong told me with a serious expression. "There have been plenty of people with designs on Qianling throughout the dynasties, but why has it remained perfectly preserved until now? It is not that no one wanted to get in, but that no one could."

"Looking at this map, there is simply no entrance to the Qianling Mausoleum!" I said, nodding.

"Since it is a mausoleum, it cannot be without an entrance. It is just that Wu Zetian was calculating and hid it very cleverly. However, I suspect that if anyone can find that entrance, that person is surely you."

"Why are you so certain I can find it?"

"Wu Zetian was a firm believer in Feng Shui. The location of the Qianling Mausoleum was chosen by Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng together; Wu Zetian being laid to rest here must have a deeper meaning," Wei Yong glanced at me and said nonchalantly. "Your mastery of metaphysics is profound. You even found the secret imperial tomb where Zhu Yuanzhang buried his parents' remains without any effort; I suspect the Qianling Mausoleum will be no different."

***

I tucked the blueprints away and stepped out of the car, watching Wei Yong’s vehicle vanish into the rain. The torrential downpour hitting my body felt inexplicably painful; Wei Yong had, as always, left me no room for choice.

When I returned to the hotel, I was soaked to the bone. Yue Qianling had learned from Liu Hao that I had vanished after leaving the sewers and, fearing something had gone wrong, had been waiting in a state of agitation. When they saw me return, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

I changed my clothes, came out of the room, and sat on the sofa, recounting every detail of my meeting with Wei Yong.

"Rob the Qianling Mausoleum?!" Liu Hao took a long time to react. "This guy named Wei is too unreasonable. He talks as if it's simple. Even we wouldn't dare try to rob Qianling. During the Republican era, the warlord Sun Lianzhong deployed an army of 400,000 to rob it, and they didn't use hoes or shovels, but machine guns and cannons. They dug for days and still couldn't get in. Asking us to go in is just a joke."

"The Qianling Mausoleum and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor are the two imperial tombs that have never been breached. In fact, based on its construction, the tomb itself is an insurmountable barrier. Robbing it is simply impossible," Qiu Nuo added, shaking his head.

"Since it's a tomb, isn't it all buried in dirt? Even if it's an imperial tomb, why can't it be dug into?" Gu Anqi asked, confused.

"There are records of the Qianling Mausoleum in the *Book of Burials*. One passage says: 'The mysterious gate of Qianling is sealed with stone; the gaps in the stone are fused with molten iron to secure the interior!'" I rubbed my temples, feeling weary.

"What does that mean?" Gu Anqi didn't quite understand.

"Don't speak in riddles. Anqi, let me explain," Yue Qianling, who studied archaeology, was naturally well-versed in the Qianling Mausoleum. "According to current knowledge, after the coffin was placed, the tomb passage was sealed with rectangular stone slabs. They used 4,100 slabs across 39 layers. Each slab was one meter long and half a meter wide. The slabs were locked together horizontally with iron waist-bolts and connected vertically with iron rods, making them immovable. Then, they sprinkled stone powder into the gaps and poured in molten tin and iron. Once it cooled, it became a single, solid mass."

I nodded and took over, speaking seriously.

"Finally, they rammed gray earth on top, making those 4,100 slabs a monolithic structure. You can imagine its durability. Between the tomb passage and the corridor, there is a hundred-ton white marble stone gate, and behind it lie all sorts of lethal, ingenious traps and hidden weapons. Even with modern weaponry, one could hardly enter without destroying the mausoleum."

Gu Anqi listened, dumbfounded, and stammered, "Just digging through that passage would probably take years!"

"That's a small matter. Our territory is in Rongcheng; running to Jingzhao to rob the Qianling Mausoleum is crossing the line. Even for the sake of Uncle Gu, if the local gangs in Jingzhao found out, it would be a major breach of conduct. They would cut our hands off!" Liu Hao added, still shaken.

"Qin Yanhui, are you even a man? He's just some official; why are you so afraid of him? Go tell him we're not doing it. Let him find someone else. It's just a Ming tomb; I really don't care for it!" Yue Qianling, who had been bottling up her anger, couldn't take it anymore and stood up to shout.

"Yanhui, I don't blame Qianling for saying that. Honestly, ever since you and Brother Ting met this guy, I've noticed Brother Ting acting timid and you hesitating at every turn. I really don't know what kind of power this guy has," Liu Hao complained.

"I am afraid of him!"

I said this with such gravity that everyone in the room froze, especially Yue Qianling. Looking at her reaction, I could guess what she was thinking. I was the type of person who wouldn't flinch even with a blade at my throat; even in the casino facing Shen Jiangchuan and Shen Xiang, when the situation was dire, I hadn't frowned. Yet, now they had heard those three words from me.

"Why are you afraid of an official? Brother Ting sent me here to do the dirty work. I'll take some men tonight and finish this guy off. Don't worry, I guarantee there won't be a trace left," Liu Hao sat down beside me, the intent to kill already rising.

"Killing Wei Yong would be great, of course, and I wouldn't stop you, but... you can't kill him."

"Can't kill him?! Ha, what a joke. I don't believe he isn't human. A knife goes in and blood comes out; I want to see how many lives this Wei Yong has."

"Actually, you hit the nail on the head. Wei Yong really isn't human!"

"What time do you think it is? You're still in the mood for jokes? I don't agree with violence, but I don't want to be controlled by this guy either. It's better to make things clear with him," Yue Qianling said indignantly.

"You all know I have some understanding of metaphysics and destiny. I can usually calculate something about any person or event. While I wouldn't dare claim to foresee everything, I am at least never completely passive," I sighed helplessly. "But I cannot calculate Wei Yong. I can't read his fate at all. The only thing I can see from his physiognomy is that this man was once a formidable, arrogant figure who dominated his era, and in the future, he will wield absolute power over the world."

"If you say you can't calculate his fate, how do you know what he will become?" Yue Qianling challenged, unconvinced.

"I once asked Aunt Lan to cast a hexagram for Wei Yong. The result was inconceivable: 'Beyond the Three Realms, outside the Six Paths.' It means this person does not exist within the Heaven, Earth, or Human realms, and is not part of the cycle of reincarnation," I said after a long silence, my tone heavy with meaning. "From the hexagram, Wei Yong is no ordinary person. To this day, I still don't know his true origins."

"I don't understand that stuff. I only know that Wei Yong has flesh and blood; he's a person. Is there anything a person can't handle?" Liu Hao shouted.

"And if you can't handle him? With his current power and ability, he could easily deal with anyone. Lianshan and I could just walk away, but could Brother Ting? Could you?" I said, glancing at Yue Qianling beside me, leaving the rest unsaid.

Yue Qianling lowered her head silently. Perhaps she was beginning to understand why I was afraid of Wei Yong. It wasn't Wei Yong himself I feared; it was the thought of him harming the defenseless people around me, including her.

"But... this isn't a solution either, is it?" Yue Qianling said with resignation.

"It's not that there's no way. I can't calculate Wei Yong now, but perhaps once I find the Ming tombs, I will know how to deal with him!" I smiled enigmatically and stood up to head to my room.

"Where are you going? You haven't finished!"

"Get some rest early. We have a big task tomorrow."

"What task?"

"Going to take a look at the Qianling Mausoleum!"