El beso inolvidable de Ghost Lips

Capítulo 11

No one knows where Liu went or what happened there during those three months, but since then, Liu has started digging up other people's graves for no reason, as if he is looking for something.

Section 38: Chapter Nineteen Stealing (3)

Legend has it that after returning, Liu Qu issued an edict to begin constructing his mausoleum, conscripting approximately 50,000 artisans and 30,000 soldiers. These men then vanished without a trace, their whereabouts unknown. However, it is speculated that the mausoleum might be located in the very place Liu Qu had disappeared to, because some scholars have studied the map and believe that the terrain depicted on it resembles "three dragons spitting pearls," a geomantically auspicious location for building an imperial mausoleum, perfectly suited to Liu Qu's status.

Hearing this, and seeing the professors' annotations above, I began to understand the whole story, and my face turned pale.

It's actually quite easy to deduce that Liu's dream of the patterned map was a lie. It wasn't something he dreamed of, but rather a rubbing he made from the Zhenhe Dragon Coffin. At that time, it was probably after the events recorded in the "Yellow River Chronicle." Perhaps in despair, he eventually received guidance from some master or had an epiphany and discovered the secret of the pattern.

However, there were no satellites or nationwide maps in that era, so even if he knew it was a map, he wouldn't know where it represented. So he sent out official documents asking others to help him identify the location. As a result, one of his concubines discovered the location represented by the map.

Liu must have gone to that place, and something must have happened there.

I remembered the thought I had when I came here, and I realized why this document was the key. According to Wang Ruonan, Liu Qu's lifespan was not long, but he did not die young. If someone who touches a coffin is bound to die within a certain period of time, how could Liu Qu have lived for so long?

Unless, of course, this guy somehow manages to survive.

Based on the time and the urgency with which Liu set off, this method is likely related to the location marked on the map. He may have survived because he went there.

According to the novel, Old Bian might have assumed the map carved on the coffin marked the location of the Guangchuan King's tomb, unaware that Liu Qu had already lost his throne before his death. Of course, it's also quite possible that after arriving there, the Guangchuan King, for some special reason, actually built his tomb in that location.

I rubbed my temples and told them my thoughts. The young master nodded and said, "I think the same way. Look, the records above match the 'Yellow River Chronicle' very well, which proves the authenticity of the legend in the 'Yellow River Chronicle.' It seems that this matter is indeed true. Let's set the date and wait for the day to come."

Wang Ruonan asked, "Then, do we also need to go to that place to be saved? Where is that place? Did Liu really build his tomb there?"

I shook my head and said I didn't know, but I would definitely go and take a look.

The young master said, "But we don't know where the 'King Guangchuan's Tomb' is. The terrain has changed in different places now, and we don't have nearly enough time to find it."

Wang Ruonan said, "Don't worry, it's not difficult. Among Liu Qu's concubines, only Zhaoxin has any influence. We just need to find some information, look at Zhaoxin's ancestral home, and compare the years to find out what kind of place it is."

The young master said, "You make it sound so easy. If you get it wrong, we're finished."

I said, "Now we just have to take it one step at a time. Rather than doing nothing and waiting to die, at least this way we still have a chance."

The young master knew I was referring to the only solution and said, "Alright, let's go back and prepare. I'll do whatever you say."

I glanced at the girl and said, "You're coming with us this time too. Be prepared, this might not be as easy as you think."

The girl nodded very seriously, and that was the end of it.

The dumplings arrived, and we devoured them in a few bites. Then we went back and spent ages researching. We discovered that Zhaoxin's ancestral home was in Wuqi County, Hebei Province, which was part of Liu Qu's fiefdom. We found a map of that area and compared it to the section of the map Lao Bian had drawn. Because we had the ancient Yellow River channel (which differs from the current course) as a reference, we immediately discovered that there was indeed a place with a very similar shape to the map we had. Based on this, we determined that our destination was probably Shatianxiakou Town, about 100 kilometers away from Wuqi County.

Looking at the map there, I discovered that although the course of the ancient Yellow River has changed somewhat over the past few thousand years, most of the mountain ranges still maintain a certain orientation. The mountains there are very high, so they have not been damaged by any engineering projects.

Transportation to Shatianxiakou Town is inconvenient. When we asked at the station, we learned that it would take two days by bus. We simply didn't have the time to waste like that. After thinking for a moment, the young master said, "Don't panic, I have another idea. I have a friend who works at the train station. Let's go find him and see if we can think of a solution on the train."

His friend, Liu Gang, told us about our situation. Liu Gang said there was no direct train to that place, but we could transfer. He thought for a moment and said, "Here's what we'll do: if you really want to get there quickly, you can get on my train. There's a section where the train makes many turns and travels slowly. You can jump off there. There's a cliff there, and below that is a ferry crossing. You can then cross by water. If you go now, it will only take four hours a day to get there."

When I heard that, I was so happy and quickly thanked him. He said, "Don't thank me, I was just helping a friend."

Chapter Twenty: Zhanjiang

He got us some tickets, we boarded the train, and soon it started moving.

The train was packed with people, the carriages were full of luggage, and the air smelled terrible. Some people were even sleeping under the seats.

He found us good seats, settled us in, and then went to do his inspection. I sat on the bus feeling uneasy, exhausted, but unable to sleep. I felt terrible.

The train started moving quickly, and as it picked up speed, I felt a wave of nausea and discomfort, a feeling I couldn't quite describe.

I was excited all the way here and didn't feel much fear. But now that I've calmed down, all sorts of thoughts are coming to mind. I'm thinking about what if I make the wrong judgment, or what if I can't find it at all?

Seeing that I was preoccupied, the girl grabbed my hand and said, "Old Xu, don't worry, it's nothing. At worst, it's just a matter of life and death. If things really don't work out, the three of us will go together."

The young master said, "Hey, we haven't even started yet, don't be so pessimistic. Let's think of something else."

I nodded and patted the two of them on the shoulder. As for the young master, he was alright, but as for Wang Ruonan, I wasn't familiar with her. Our group just ended up in this mess together, which seems to be a kind of fate.

I couldn't rest properly at this point, so I took out the documents and said, "Let's take another look and see what else we can find out."

We didn't pay attention to where the train was going or what mountains it passed over. The train sped along the railway along the Yellow River, with beautiful scenery along the way. The distant mountain ranges undulated and stretched endlessly, and the canopy of the forest covered my view. Sometimes we could even see huge trees by the railway. These mountains are all branches of the Kunlun Mountains. They are not high in altitude, but the terrain is very steep. I hardly saw any man-made buildings on the mountains. If Lao Bian had mistakenly thought that "Liu Qu's Tomb" was in these mountains, we would probably be dead.

Two hours later, we had arrived in another province. I was getting a little sleepy when Lao Liu came to find us and said that we would be there in an hour and that we should get ready.

I nodded, thinking to myself that I had always wanted to learn from the railway guerrilla team, and this time I finally got to do it.

Suddenly, the train braked sharply, and we were all thrown forward. The girl threw herself into my arms, giving me quite a jolt. A chorus of curses filled the carriage.

I stood up and looked out the window, and it turned out that the emergency brake had been applied.

After passing Zhanjiang, the train suddenly braked for some unknown reason and stopped at the entrance of the Maoziling tunnel. Passengers eagerly leaned out of the windows to see what was happening ahead, but unfortunately, the moon was obscured by dark clouds, and everything in front and behind was hazy, as if they were in a mysterious world.

After waiting for more than ten minutes with the train still not departing, the passengers began to lose their temper and started cursing. The young master, also impatient, said to Liu Gang, "I'm telling you, you damn train police officer, are you just eating for free? Aren't you going to go and investigate for us two superiors? Are you waiting for the people to revolt?"

Liu Gang didn't know what was going on ahead, and the passageway was crowded with people, so he had to open the train door and shout towards the front. He heard voices from the carriages ahead, but no one knew what had happened.

I thought something was strange. Normally, there would be two announcements in the car when the car makes an emergency stop, but we didn't hear them. The young master and I were chatting and joking around, so we might have missed them. But Wang Ruonan is very observant, so she wouldn't have overlooked such an important announcement.

That being said, at the very least, the train shouldn't have stopped at the tunnel entrance. There's only one railway line here, and trains to Shouguang, Beijing, Harbin, Xi'an, and Urumqi all pass through here. If they wait any longer, they'll delay a business deal.

Liu Gang sensed something was wrong and told us to sit down while he went to check the front of the car. The young master, who couldn't sit still, insisted on joining us. He said his legs hadn't been able to stretch out properly on the way here, and this would be a good opportunity to move around and get some fresh air.

We jumped off the train. Liu Gang, holding a large flashlight, walked along the tracks to the front of the train and found that the mountainside in front of us had collapsed, and something was pressing on the tracks. We went forward to check and found a large number of dead branches that had fallen from the mountainside, wrapped in rocks and mud. It looked like a small mudslide.

The young master nudged him from behind and whispered, "Liu Gang, how's it going? Report to the commander, with the place collapsed like this, can the train still run?"

Liu Gang shook his head and said, "Screw you, it's collapsed like this, it's a major accident. We need to report to the railway bureau immediately. This is a troublesome matter, and it probably won't be cleaned up in a day."

I cursed inwardly. Every minute of our lives is precious, how can we waste a whole day? I quickly asked him, what about the passengers on the bus?

Liu Gang said, "Either we get out of the car and walk to the town ahead, then wait for the rescue vehicle there, or we wait in the car. There's food on the vehicle anyway."

I looked up at the mountain. The pitch-black, towering cliffs resembled the sharp teeth of a ferocious beast. Gray smoke billowed around, but it was only faintly visible. There seemed to be a few lights flickering in a mountain gully, and I wondered who was there.

I did the math, and realizing that waiting a whole day would be just as time-consuming as taking a car, it wasn't worth it. So I asked Liu Gang, "How long would it take to walk to that ferry crossing you mentioned?"

Liu Gang calculated for a moment and said, "It will probably take four hours, if the mountain path is easy to walk."

I turned to the young master and said, "We don't have time to waste with Old Liu here. Let's get out of here."

Liu Gang found it strange: "What's wrong with you three? Are you in such a hurry to be reincarnated or something?"

The young master said, "That's for sure. If we don't hurry, we might really be reincarnated."

Back on the bus, Liu Gang announced the news, and the bus erupted in chaos. Some shouted for refunds, while others cursed. Liu Gang, used to this kind of scene, told them, "Those who want refunds, go to the front and find the conductor. I don't give refunds here."

Those guys immediately rushed off to get to the job, heading straight for the front of the train. I laughed and said, "You're pretty cunning, aren't you? You just pushed this onto your train commander?"

"It's his business who asked him to earn an extra 5.4 yuan a month," Liu Gang said. "I should pack my things quickly while I have the chance, otherwise, once the conductor gives the order that no one can get off the train, we won't be able to leave."

We picked up our luggage and were about to get off when suddenly a middle-aged man with yellow teeth in the seat behind us called out, "Wait a minute, everyone."

When I saw that I didn't recognize him, I thought he had mistaken me for someone else, so I ignored him, clasped my hands in a fist salute to Liu Gang, and said, "Brother, I'm off now, thank you." With that, I jumped off the train with the young master and the others. Liu Gang pointed out the direction to me, and we ran there quickly.

I had only run a few steps when someone called out from behind, "Wait a minute, everyone!"

I turned around and saw that the man with yellow teeth was carrying his own luggage and had followed us. The young master looked puzzled and asked, "What does this guy want?"

I said, "Ignore him. There are people from all over the country here, and a lot of them are scammers. Let's go our separate ways."

We ignored his calls, but he trotted up to us and said, "Are you guys deaf? Or what's wrong? Why aren't you responding?"

The young master said, "What are you doing? We don't know you, why should we bother with you?"

Upon hearing this, the man with yellow teeth chuckled and said, "I understand you, but sometimes it's a good thing when someone calls you. You should at least answer. I'm alone, and there are three of you. I can't hold you back or crush you. What are you afraid of me for?" As he spoke, he handed over a cigarette.

The young master was a heavy smoker, and as soon as he saw the cigarette, he couldn't resist taking it. He tapped it in his palm, and then Yellow Teeth handed it back to me. I asked Yellow Teeth, "Don't try that on me. Just tell me what you want."

The man with the yellow teeth said, "I overheard you talking in the car just now. Aren't you going to that Shatian Gorge ahead? I also have urgent business to attend to there, and I was thinking it's not safe to walk the mountain path alone. It just so happens that you're going there too, so I was thinking of asking if you could join me."

Looking at him, I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth, but he was alone and couldn't do anything to the three of us, so I relaxed and said, "Alright, we were worried about getting lost, so we'll follow you, brother."

"Of course, of course," he nodded hurriedly. He even offered to help me carry my things. The girl was very cunning; she immediately handed him the things and sweetly called him "Second Master."

We followed the railway first. There were shoulders along the railway, which were relatively flat, so we were able to walk fairly well. However, there were too many turns on the mountain road, and we also had to go through tunnels. The tunnels were pitch black, and you can't imagine what it was like.

Four hours passed quickly, and soon we saw lights ahead; we had arrived at the village.

We were really lucky to have Yellow Teeth leading the way, which allowed us to finish this section so quickly. He led us through many side paths and avoided the dangerous sections, but in the pitch black, we still had no idea where we were.

We followed Huang Ya into the village. He asked if we had a place to sleep and suggested we stay at his place. I said no, a small guesthouse would be fine. He replied, "What's the point? If there were a guesthouse, I wouldn't have taken you to my house. You haven't seen how poor everyone is within miles of here. If you don't come to my house, you'll have to sleep on the streets."

I glanced at my watch and realized there was nothing I could do; it was the middle of the night. If we didn't sleep all night, we wouldn't be able to do anything tomorrow.

So I went to Huang Ya's house. He was a scoundrel; his wife had died, but he had a daughter. He asked his daughter to cook me some side dishes and then opened a few bottles of wine.

We hadn't eaten all night and were starving, so we didn't hold back and started eating.

While we ate, we chatted and inquired about things in their area. Whether it's collecting antiques or tomb raiding, scouting is very important; it's almost become a habit.

Yellow Teeth was quite talkative, and after a few drinks, he became more talkative, recounting many things, but I didn't glean any information related to Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan. I only knew that we were very close to Shatian Gorge Town, less than an hour's boat ride away. Seeing that we weren't locals, Yellow Teeth asked us what we were doing in that small village.

I thought to myself, "How should I put this?" So I said, "My siblings and I have come to look for our ancestral graves. Our hometown is in this area. Later, the Kuomintang conscripted men, and my father was one of them. He revolted during the Huaihai Campaign and settled in Suzhou after liberation. But our ancestral graves are here. Now that my father is getting old, he wants to return to his roots, so he sent us to take a look." I then asked him which cemetery in Shatianxiakou Town generally has the best feng shui.

The man with yellow teeth shook his head and said that he had heard of places with good feng shui in their area, but he didn't know exactly what those places were. He wasn't in this line of work, and these days things are sensitive, so he didn't dare to say too much.

After saying that, he seemed to remember something and added, "If you really want to find a place with good feng shui, you have to go to Peacock Mountain. You can go a bit deeper into the mountains there and take a look. The scenery is beautiful, but whether the feng shui is good or not, we don't know. But you have to be careful. There are many wild animals this season, the mountain paths are difficult to walk, and you might encounter tomb raiders."

I was taken aback. What does "tomb raiding" mean?

With yellow teeth snarling, he smiled mysteriously and said, "Really? You're from Hedong Prefecture, and you don't even know what tomb raiding is? Don't pretend."

The young master said to me, "Grave raiding is tomb robbing, it's what you call 'snakehead' (a derogatory term for a thief or robber)."

I said "Oh," thinking to myself, "So there are quite a few names for tomb raiders."

Upon hearing this, Yellow Teeth realized I genuinely didn't know, and asked, "Sir, you're not from this area, are you?"

I said, "We're from Shanxi."

He said, "You don't know, the terrain over there is not suitable for burial, it's different from the north. It's not strange here. Look at these mountains, further in, there are many ancient tombs. They were basically untouched during the Cultural Revolution, but now people are starting to dig them up again."

When I heard this, I realized this guy seemed quite knowledgeable. Although we also deal in antiques, tomb raiding is a different field, and we're not professionals in it, so I asked, "You seem to know a lot about it? Have you done any research?"

"I wouldn't call it research," he said with a smile, "I just know a little bit about it."

I gave the young master a wink and asked him if any major relics had been unearthed in this area.

I judge that the place shown on the map is unlikely to be just an empty space. There must be some ancient man-made structures or a cave there. Since King Guangchuan may have built a tomb here, this place may have already been discovered.

Huang Ya glanced at us and said, "I don't know about that, but I heard from the elders in my family that there are some ancient tombs in Peacock Mountain. In the summer, you often hear the sound of tombs being blasted, probably because the feng shui of that place is very good. However, it's not easy to go there. Legend has it that the largest ancient tomb is submerged in a deep pool, where there is a dragon, and you absolutely cannot go down there."

The young master asked, "Is this legend true? Where did you hear it, brother?"

Seeing that we actually believed him, Huang Ya laughed loudly, "Oh dear! You're from out of town, don't you even know where you are? Really, these kinds of ancient tomb legends are everywhere, every place has them. Just listen to them for now."

Huang Ya was tired after finishing his drink, so he bowed and said he was going to sleep. He and his daughter would sleep in one room, while the three of us would sleep in the living room. After watching Huang Ya go into his room, I immediately discussed it with the young master and the others. We decided to go to Peacock Mountain tomorrow. The place the map pointed to must be in the mountains, and it might be the ancient tomb Huang Ya mentioned, the Guangchuan King's Mausoleum. As long as we get to that area, with the map we have and my rudimentary feng shui knowledge, the chances of finding it will be much higher.