King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 184

If it weren't for the Sino-Japanese War and the Nanjing Massacre, we might have been able to embrace this small, neighboring country with open arms, just like the Chinese during the Tang Dynasty, placing all the islanders under the vast protection of China. However, this is now an unimaginable myth.

As the walls turned into piles of construction debris, Xiao Keleng's mood remained low, and she had no appetite. She had asked me the same question more than ten times: "Mr. Feng, what do you expect us to get?"

In fact, the answer was already written in her eyes: "A pile of garbage, a huge pile of garbage."

If this was a wrong decision, I'm willing to bear all the blame. The diagram of the "Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sparrow Killing Formation" still sits on the coffee table, with a cup on each of the four corners. The layout and proportions of the formation can be found in many ancient feng shui books, and Xiao Keleng and I know it by heart. She has already contacted another company specializing in water conservancy projects, and they will move into the villa tonight or tomorrow to start the construction of the irrigation canals.

The tycoon and Xiao Yan did not reappear; they were probably at the Water Mist Villa, keeping a close eye on the movement of the 1.5 billion US dollars.

At 2 p.m. sharp, the workers finished their task 20 minutes ahead of schedule, cleaning up the foundation of the main building.

Demolishing a villa is far easier than building it. As I stood on the flat foundation of the main building, a strange sadness suddenly filled my heart. Perhaps back then, my elder brother stood on this empty wasteland, planning to build the villa, alone—no, or perhaps with the twin sisters "Blue Demon" and "Blue Princess" that the scalpel had mentioned by his side. What was he searching for? Traversing the earth and exploring ancient tombs from north to south, it was definitely not simply for money and treasure.

The workers sat in twos and threes on the withered grass, a few of them, particularly curious, constantly glancing this way. The personnel in the watchtower, still awaiting evacuation orders, leaned against the railing, chatting and whistling idly. Xiao Keleng sat silently in the waterside pavilion; in this situation, she must have felt the same sense of frustration as I did.

Next, I should dig the foundation and build the "Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sparrow Killing Formation" to fulfill Guan Baoling's long-cherished wish. Throughout the entire Hokkaido trip, almost all the unusual events revolved around Guan Baoling. If she hadn't rashly barged in, there wouldn't have been a direct conflict between me and the Japanese; if she hadn't disappeared in the middle of the night, there wouldn't have been the ninja raid and the intervention of the Sharpshooter Society… So many "ifs" are related to her, right up to this point, as we demolish buildings and build canals.

"Was I wrong?" I paced on the foundation for almost an hour, finally stopping at the spot where the bathroom used to be. Guan Baoling's mysterious disappearance began here, and to this day, I clearly remember the immense shock that incident brought me, and I will never forget it.

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

I heard some strange noises and immediately looked up, glancing around. I'd been lost in thought for so long that my mind felt numb, almost completely blank.

"Gurgle gurgle..." The sound was right under my feet. I instinctively jumped back, like a weary traveler in the desert who had accidentally stepped on the tail of a rattlesnake.

“Mr. Feng—” Xiao Ke called out to me from afar, probably noticing my unusual behavior.

I glanced up at the setting sun, and a familiar, mysterious sense of déjà vu crept in, for I heard the sound of bubbles again. Without a doubt, this was the same sound I'd heard when I first arrived at Xunfu Garden, and it would be accompanied by Guan Baoling's mysterious disappearance.

Xiao Keleng quickly ran over and stood beside me: "Mr. Feng, you look terrible, what's wrong?"

I tried my best to suppress my excitement: "Xiao Xiao, I heard the sound of bubbles coming from underground." Intuitively, the sound of bubbles came from the ground about a meter away in front of me, but there was only a large patch of broken concrete. The workers had already cleared away the debris and dust, and the gray-black concrete was clean, with no gaps or holes on the surface.

Xiao Keleng leaned down and looked, shaking his head helplessly: "Is it a hallucination? This place looks perfectly normal."

The bubbling continued, but she seemed oblivious, unable to hear anything. I scratched my ears hard a couple of times; the gurgling sound from the deep water reminded me of the white bubbles that formed the oracle in the "Well of Spirits"—"Could there be an infinitely deep, strange well beneath this villa?"

"Xiao Xiao, get the workers to dig down. I need to know what's buried underground, quick!" I shouted stubbornly, trusting that my intuition was right.

As long as there's money to be made, the workers don't care what they have to do; digging holes is their specialty. Half an hour later, a large pit, two meters in diameter and one and a half meters deep, appeared in front of me. After digging through the fifty-centimeter-thick concrete floor, underneath was ordinary black soil, no different from the soil on the fertile plains of Hokkaido.

I jumped into the pit, knelt on the ground, and pressed my ear against the earthy-smelling soil. The sound of bubbles came from below, sometimes near, sometimes far, as if they were rising continuously from the deep water.

"It's right down there, keep digging, keep digging—"

The workers looked at each other, seemingly thinking I was crazy.

Xiao Ke smiled bitterly and silently took out a stack of banknotes, waving them in the air. These were more effective than any slogan; the workers immediately resumed digging with renewed vigor. Finally, when the pit reached a depth of three meters, one of the workers' shovels made a crisp clang—the sound of iron striking an iron plate.

Everyone perked up and quickened their pace. Soon, a dark iron plate appeared at the bottom of the pit. It made a clanging sound when tapped. However, the edge of the iron plate was buried in the soil, so the area must have been very large, and the thickness must have been at least ten centimeters.

I jumped into the pit without hesitation, grabbed a shovel, and started hammering at the iron plate. Then I looked up at Xiao Ke and shouted, "Xiao, arrange for a light excavator to come over immediately. I suspect this iron plate is at least fifty centimeters thick and extends for more than fifteen meters square." My professional knowledge told me that there was a space hidden under the iron plate, which was the real secret of Xunfuyuan Villa.

Before Xiao Keleng could even make a call, I ordered again, "Send the X-ray inspection vehicle over. I want to see what's hidden down there."

The excavating workers retreated, and a testing worker named "Xinshan" jumped down, holding a gray testing rod in his hand, his face full of astonishment and curiosity. According to common sense, the maximum distance for X-ray detection is about fifteen meters underground, and when the power of the X-ray generator is adjusted to the limit, it can even detect metallic materials up to forty meters underground.

Therefore, I understand Xinshan's astonishment; their machines should have detected the presence of the iron plate much earlier.

He pressed the red button on the probe's handle, and an LCD window next to it immediately lit up, displaying a series of Arabic numerals that kept changing, but always hovering between zero and five. Xinshan's baby face grew increasingly astonished, until finally he couldn't help but whisper, "Impossible! There's a large metal plate right in front of us, yet the probe shows no metal elements detected. Does that mean the plate absorbs zero radiation?"

The people on top of the pit were watching us nervously. After twenty minutes of probing, Xinshan stopped his further actions in surprise, staring at me with wide eyes: "Mr. Feng, the machine is intact. I can only say that the X-rays cannot detect this metal plate because they cannot change the speed and attenuation of the X-rays. Therefore, the machine cannot sense its existence and cannot know what is behind the metal plate. It's like a wall, blocking our detection route."

The situation he described should only occur when the rays encounter a lead plate more than ten centimeters thick, but the area under his feet cannot be described as a lead plate in any way.

“I’ve been in this profession for over four years, and this is the first time I’ve encountered something like this. Even if it’s a lead plate, it should show that the radiation is being shielded or absorbed, and at least one of the yellow and red lights should be on, but nothing is showing up.” Xinshan squatted down, took out a sharp knife, and scraped it a few times on the iron plate, making a strange “crunching” sound.

He looked up and smiled wryly again: "See that? A special catalyst was added to the blade of this knife during forging, making it so sharp that it can freely engrave words on a copper plate. Even the finest steel should be scratched by it, but you can't see anything. I dare say this is an extremely rare metal plate. Mr. Feng, this discovery is enough to make you famous throughout the world."

Sure enough, after he scratched it a dozen times, not even the slightest scratch was left on the iron plate. This was just like the sapphire crystal dial of a Swiss watch, which will never wear out.

Xinshan and I returned to the surface, where a wheeled excavator had already driven in. Everyone spread out; the machine's digging speed would be ten times that of the workers, and soon we would be able to dig out the iron plate and bring it back to the light of day.

"There's nothing under the iron plate?" Xiao Ke's face turned ashen. She and the scalpel had paid a hefty price to explore the secrets beneath the villa, but now it seemed it had all been in vain. It wasn't that there were no secrets beneath the villa, but rather that the methods of exploration were completely ineffective.

"It's empty." Among the materials I've seen, there were structural drawings of villas drawn by professional architects. Now, thinking back, the main building's hall, bathrooms, and staircase form a square whole, with sides of nine meters. The second floor, built on top of that, with its bedrooms, living room, study, and staircase, is also a square, which can be seen as two identical nine-square grids.

"Mr. Feng, what do you think lies beneath the iron plate? A monster's lair or an underground treasure vault?" With the mysterious events involving the Fang Demon preceding him, Xiao Keleng couldn't help but turn pale at the mere mention of it. Humans are born with a fear of mysterious underground spaces, always perceiving them as the most unsettling factors.

I answered honestly, "I don't know, it's hard to imagine right now, but with the excavator here, we'll get the answer soon. In my estimation, it might be equal to the projected area of the second floor."

Fortunately, neither crane had left. According to my estimation, the weight of that iron plate must have been enormous, and it was necessary to use cranes to move it.

As the excavator dug out more and more soil, the workers gasped in astonishment every half meter the iron plate expanded outwards. Finally, an hour later, they found its edge. Just as I had predicted, it was a nine-meter square, encompassing the nine-square grid.

"A huge iron plate, nine meters long and nine meters wide? Unbelievable!" Xiao Ke exclaimed, but the 50-centimeter thickness of the iron plate made her expression change drastically again. Such a large object was buried beneath the main building. If the scalpel were still around, it would pale in comparison. She regretted her previous exploration work, realizing it was futile and always contrary to the truth.

No one knew what lay beneath the iron plate. All the workers' eyes burned with a fanatical, greedy light, as if lifting the plate would reveal a treasure trove of gold, silver, and jewels. They stared expectantly at Xiao Keleng and me in the water pavilion, hoping for the order to "move the iron plate" would be given as soon as possible.

I poured out the remaining tea from the glass teapot, warmed the teapot and cups with hot water, and then added a spoonful of premium Longjing tea.

"Mr. Feng, should we remove the iron plate now?" Xiao Ke asked anxiously, watching my slow movements.

The water in the kettle boiled, making a strange "whooshing" sound. I turned it off to stop the boiling and let the water settle, then smiled and asked, "It's been silent under the main building for so many years, why rush it? Xiao, what do you think is down there? Ominous or auspicious?"

The dark green tea leaves slowly unfurled in the water, changing color like an old tree blossoming, or perhaps more like newly opened buds, each second bringing a new transformation. After discarding the first infusion, I poured in boiling water a second time. My mood, like this pot of fine tea, was calm and peaceful, undisturbed.

I also hope to see the secret beneath the iron plate soon. Everyone has curiosity, but once the mystery is revealed, the outcome is unpredictable, so we really need to be very careful.

"Mr. Feng, should we call in some more members of the Sharpshooter Society as preparations?" Xiao Keleng gripped the walkie-talkie. If some kind of monster was lurking below, then a heavy weaponry setup would certainly be necessary. The problem was that the iron plate was buried so deep; even if there were monsters, wouldn't they need to climb out to breathe?

At this moment, Xiao Keleng was completely flustered and could no longer help me consider the bigger picture. I had to rely on my own wisdom to decide the right or wrong next step. Therefore, the calmer I was when making the decision, the more likely it was to be correct.

“Xiao Xiao, after you finish this cup of tea, let’s go take a look at that iron plate. Perhaps it’s hollow underneath too. In ancient times, when people built houses, there were also ‘empty cave’ and ‘sky pavilion’ styles, which were used to overcome certain defects in the land. I believe that Master Yang Tian’s wisdom is ‘unprecedented and unparalleled’, and every decision he makes is extremely meaningful.”

The bluish-green tea in the glass resembled a piece of warm, lustrous jade, carrying an intoxicating aroma, but it held no interest for Xiao Keleng. Her mind was entirely focused on the strange iron plate, and she couldn't relax for a moment. The gap between her and Su Lun was not small; I could see her obvious shortcomings in almost every aspect of their actions.

Considering the ominous aspect, could it be that the eldest brother constructed this perilous "Nine-Headed Bird Struggling for Life" arrangement to suppress something? First, he sealed it with an iron plate, then used a structure similar to the "Heaven-Turning Seal" to further suppress it, ensuring that thing could never rise again. If this is the case, removing the iron plate would be like the fisherman in One Thousand and One Nights uncorking King Solomon's jar—it would only release a demon that would wreak havoc on humanity.

As I smelled the aroma of the famous tea, my mind was boiling like a pot.

Time ticked by, and everyone in the courtyard was waiting for my command. This feeling of being the center of attention made me extremely uncomfortable.

"Xiao Xiao, have you heard the story of 'The Fisherman and the Devil'?" I asked, knowing the answer already.

Xiao Ke nodded with a cold, ashen face, her nervousness deepening.

"I want to say that if we don't find any talismans, seals, or special warnings on the iron plate, we should move it immediately. If this leads to any bad consequences, I will take full responsibility. If I... am in danger, Xiao Xiao, tell Su Lun that we will always be the best of family." At that moment, Su Lun was all I could think about. When a crisis came, I only wanted her by my side, not anyone else, including Guan Baoling.

Xiao Ke's cold eyes suddenly lit up again: "Mr. Feng, you care about Sister Su Lun the most, don't you?"

This is a difficult question to answer. Perhaps no man on Earth could give an accurate answer, no matter who he is. A great philosopher once said: "Feelings are like a pear that has been eaten; only the one who tastes it knows how it tastes. But no one, whether sage or poor, can only know the previous pear and cannot predict the next one. This is the eternal paradox of life."

To know who you truly care about most, you can only wait until the moment of your death. Therefore, this is a profound question that requires a lifetime to ponder.

I stood up and extended my hand to Xiao Keleng: "Come on, let's put aside the other problems and work together to solve this big problem."

All the Japanese held their breath, watching Xiao Keleng and me every move. They longed to see the secret beneath the iron plate, but dared not get too close, standing five steps away from the edge of the pit, as if blocked by an invisible warning line, like a large group of foolish ants looking at a jar of honey but unable to enter.

We climbed down the makeshift wooden ladder into the pit, where the iron plate was right beneath our feet.

Xiao Ke took three deep breaths: "Mr. Feng, I'm ready."

We walked around the edge of the iron plate and observed it carefully. There were no graphic markings on its surface, and the cut surfaces were neat and tidy. With our common sense, we could not tell whether it was cast or cut.

"This thing doesn't seem to be common. Could it be something from Earth?" I muttered to myself. After hundreds of years of development, machining technology can be said to have reached the limit of human wisdom. The casting process leaves a "blunt" surface on the iron plate, while the cutting process leaves a "sharp" surface. No matter how much you polish it, you can still see the cutting marks.

The surface of this iron plate is so smooth that if it weren't for its matte finish, it could almost be used as a mirror.

Xiao Ke shrugged: "If its only purpose is to cover up, then processing it to such a smooth finish is meaningless, right?"

I suddenly realized that no matter how quick Xiao Keleng's thinking was, it was still stuck at the benchmark of "earthling thinking" and could not break through this barrier.

"Xiao Xiao, why don't you think about it? Apart from lead plates, what other metal facades on Earth can escape detection by rays? Since we don't know its elemental composition, how can we know that its formation process is not like this? The most likely reason for the conclusion that it cannot be detected by rays is that it is like a crystal, and rays can pass through it without any obstruction, entering, exiting, and returning countless times without any attenuation."

This is my conclusion after much thought, but so far no metal resembling a sheet of iron has been discovered on Earth. The idea of a "crystal-like metal" is even more absurd.

As we talked, we simultaneously searched the surface of the iron plate, but found no special markings. However, Xiao Keleng's expression remained unpredictable, her mood extremely bad, all because of my "crystal" theory.

As the sun began to set, we stopped in the very center of the metal plate, which is the core position of the nine-square grid.

"Mr. Feng, can you move it now?" Xiao Ke's cold voice was filled with exhaustion.

Dusk is approaching, and working late into the night tonight is inevitable.

I nodded and smiled at her, "Xiao, cheer up. The secret we're about to uncover will shock the Japanese. This will be another successful collaboration between the Chinese and Koreans in over fifty years since their victory against American aggression." These words, which could have been a joke, suddenly turned Xiao Ke's expression cold. I realized my mistake. She was indeed Korean, but at this moment, she felt only hatred, not love, for her country. It was that powerful regime that had destroyed her family, scattering everyone across the country.

"I'm sorry," I apologized immediately.

Xiao Ke shook his head, took the lead in climbing the wooden ladder, and left the deep pit.

As the crane began its hooking action, the workers needed to continue digging at the hooking point to allow the hook to extend under the iron plate. I discovered that beneath the iron plate was a stone structure, a milky-white stone, the exact same color as the one on the "Tower of the Dead."

Thirty minutes later, just before the sun had completely set, the two cranes were ready, one on each side.

I stood on that high-powered crane, waved the small red flag in my hand downwards, and the hoisting process officially began.

The Truth of the Sixth Tomb of the Gods

— Chapter 6 — The Sparrow Slaughter Formation Under the Iron Plate —

The moment of truth had finally arrived. All the Japanese workers craned their necks, their eyes glued to the spot revealed after the iron plate was moved aside, suddenly looking like a flock of dumbfounded geese with their necks choked. Beneath the iron plate, shimmering water reflected, followed by a chilling aura that sent shivers down their spines.

The iron plate was moved as a whole and landed on the concrete road in front of the main building. Even the crane driver jumped out of the cab out of curiosity and climbed onto the boom to take a look.

Xiao Ke called out coldly, "Mr. Feng—"

Suddenly, all sounds in the courtyard fell silent, everyone stunned into silence by the eerie scene under the iron plate.

It was a nine-meter square well, in the center of which was a sparrow in flight, shaped like a bird with outstretched wings, constructed of milky-white stone. Its head pointed due north, and on either side of its pointed beak was carved a lotus flower, the left one blue and the right one pink. A brass compass, half a meter in diameter, was inlaid in the tail section, gleaming with a deep, dark luster.

The red flag in my hand slowly fell, my fingers stiffened terribly from excessive tension, unable to grasp anything.

"Ah, what is this? What is this..." The workers crowded forward, standing at the edge of the pit and peering down. The enormous sparrow shape occupied half of the deep well, the rest of the area filled with turquoise water, the surface of which was level with the well's edge.

The sun has set, and the afterglow of the sunset shines obliquely on the water, making the shimmering light as brilliant and alluring as leaping golden waves.

I took a deep breath and turned to look into the pavilion. The blueprint was still on the coffee table, but there was no need to worry about it now, because under the iron plate was a perfectly standard "Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sparrow Killing Formation." I had to admit that things were getting increasingly bizarre. There had actually been such a strange formation under the main building for a long time, which coincided with the oracle in the "Well of Spirits," and it was covered by a special iron plate, unknown to anyone.

What exactly is the eldest brother planning? Could it be that he foresaw the tycoon's illness fifteen years in advance and then presciently constructed the formations expressed in the oracle? Everything is too strange, completely beyond human imagination—

I jumped off the crane and slowly walked forward. The workers automatically moved aside to let me pass.

The well wall is about half a meter wide. The sparrow's beak, tail, and wings connect to the center points of the four sides of the well wall, naturally dividing the well into four unconnected water areas. The entire surface of the sculpture is very flat with smooth curves. When viewed from above, the image of the sparrow is vividly portrayed, and it is an aggressive sparrow in full flight, seemingly launching a fierce attack on something with the momentum of a tsunami.

"The Vermilion Bird flies high and fast, signifying war, slaughter, massacre, and destruction." — This is the commentary on the "Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Vermilion Bird Killing Formation".

The direction the sparrow flew was towards the Fengge Temple in Zhoushan, where the "arrow through the heart" trap was set. The life-or-death struggle between the sparrow and the arrow was unpredictable, and victory or defeat was only a matter of moments.