Великий божественный суд династии Цин

Глава 20

Back at the hotel, we carefully organized our findings from the past few days and reported the discovery of the expedition team's remains in the mountain cave to the local police. After cooperating with the local police to remove the remains and belongings from the mountain, we planned to leave and return to Hangzhou. Just as we were tidying up our room and preparing to check out, I suddenly noticed the wallet in my desk drawer. This wallet belonged to Tang Zhengyang, the man who had accidentally bumped into me at the donkey meat restaurant. I had taken it with me and decided to return it to him at "Guyunxuan" restaurant.

38. Black Bird Heart Lock

I showed the wallet to Dunzi, and he understood what I meant. He said, "I'll go with you, so you don't get lost in this unfamiliar place. I'll go tell Jenny and the others not to check out yet, and to wait until we get back." I nodded, stuffed the wallet into my pocket, and headed with Dunzi towards Jenny and Abao's room next door. But when I told Dunzi we were going to find the person who had returned the wallet, Jenny and Abao both insisted on coming along, saying they could stroll around the streets and avoid being bored in their room. It seemed the past few days of trouble hadn't worn them out enough. So the four of us went to the end of the street at the address Tang Zhengyang, the owner of the wallet, had given us, to look for the shop called "Guyunxuan."

The street was bustling with people, but as we reached the end, we noticed it was less lively than the beginning, perhaps because it was more secluded. There were fewer pedestrians, and only a few shops remained open, making it seem rather quiet. However, this environment was definitely a tranquil oasis amidst the hustle and bustle, possessing a unique charm. Among the few shops, we immediately spotted one with a sign that read "Gu Yun Xuan" (Ancient Charm Pavilion). The sign was made of wood, with black background and gold lettering, bordered with a gold thunder pattern, giving it a very antique and dignified feel. The shop's decor also featured a uniform antique-style wooden structure, perfectly complementing the signboard and exuding a refined elegance.

Upon entering the shop, we found it wasn't very large, perhaps only ten square meters, but it was arranged neatly and in a classic, antique style. At the far end of the shop were four carved Ming and Qing dynasty screens, separating the inner and outer areas. Outside the screens was a row of counters. The counters displayed various antiques and curios, clearly indicating it was an antique shop. At that moment, there wasn't a single customer in the shop; only a person who appeared to be the shopkeeper was sitting with his back to us at an eight-immortal table behind the counters, fiddling with something. Even the sound of our footsteps entering didn't elicit a response from him.

"Shopkeeper, I need to ask you about someone," I said, standing by the counter. Hearing someone speak, he turned around. When he turned his face, we realized it was none other than Tang Zhengyang, the one we were looking for. He looked at the four of us, and seemed to immediately remember us, quickly smiling and saying, "Oh, it's you four! Please sit down, please sit down. I'm so sorry about last time." "It's nothing, don't mention last time. We came here specifically to return something to you," I replied with a smile, taking the wallet from my pocket. "Look, isn't this yours?" Tang Zhengyang looked very pleased when he saw the wallet in my hand. He quickly said, "Yes, yes, this wallet is mine." He then took the wallet from my hand. He opened the old photograph inside and said thoughtfully, "Although there's no money in it, this photograph is very important to me." He paused for a moment, then continued, "I'm an orphan. My parents died when I was young, and my grandfather raised me. This photograph is the only one my parents left behind." After hearing his words, we were all speechless, never expecting that this young man had such an unfortunate background.

After a while, seeing everyone was silent, he suddenly realized something and quickly said with a smile, "Hehe, sorry, why did I bring this up? Oh, thank you so much, you even went out of your way to bring me the photo of your wallet." "Oh, it's nothing, it's not far anyway. We were just strolling around and picked up your wallet that you dropped on the ground while we were at it," I replied with a smile. I should have brought it to you much earlier, but unfortunately, we had some urgent business to attend to.

"It's necessary. That's why it's been delayed until today." "It's alright, it's alright. There's no rush. Hehe." Tang Zhengyang replied. Just then, Dunzi, looking at the antiques and funerary objects in the shop, smiled and said, "Boss Tang, I didn't expect we'd be in the same business. I see you have quite a few good things here." Hearing Dunzi say this, Tang Zhengyang immediately replied, "Oh, really? That's quite a coincidence. May I ask where you made your fortune, brother?" "Hangzhou. I also set up an antique trading business to make a living. By the way, if Boss Tang ever has any items he likes to sell, feel free to let me know." Dunzi said, handing over a business card.

And so, the two of them began to discuss business with great enthusiasm. Jenny, Ah Bao, and I, however, weren't as keen on these antique business matters, so we casually wandered around the shop, looking at the various antiques and artifacts displayed in the counters. Perhaps because Xi'an is close to Xianyang, the capital of the Qin Dynasty, I noticed that a considerable portion of the items on display dated back to the pre-Qin period. Among these items, a carefully packaged wooden box, placed prominently in the counter, caught my attention. This copper lock wasn't large, about the length of two finger joints and the width of one. Although it had developed patina, the black bird pattern carved on the two protruding copper plates on the lock face was still clearly visible. It looked remarkably similar to the copper lock on the jade box we had unexpectedly found in the Jiulong Mountain cave. Therefore, I couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Tang, could you take this lock out and let me see it?"

Tang Zhengyang was engrossed in a lively conversation with Dunzi when I called him, snapping him out of his reverie. Seeing us admiring the antiques in his shop, he quickly came over, opened the counter, and brought out the bronze lock along with its wooden box. As he handed it to me, he explained, “Brother, you have a good eye. This Xuan Bird Heart-Connecting Lock, made during the pre-Qin period, is our shop’s prized possession.” Tang Zhengyang looked at the lock and continued, “Last time I bumped into you, it was because I was rushing to get a few things that caught my eye, and I almost lost my life. In the end, I didn’t get the rest of the goods, only this bronze lock. Later, I consulted some experts and learned that this lock was a court item from the pre-Qin period. During the Qin Dynasty, it was only used exclusively in the Xianyang Palace, making it extremely rare. One characteristic of this type of lock is that it doesn’t have a key.” To open this lock, one must precisely rotate the two black birds on the lock face; too much or too little rotation will prevent it from opening. Even more remarkable is the ceramic core inside the bronze lock, filled with phosphorus powder. Normally, because the phosphorus powder is sealed within the ceramic core and isolated from air, it remains undetectable. However, if someone attempts to pry open the lock due to its inability to open it, the ceramic core containing the phosphorus powder will crack, releasing the powder. Upon contact with air, the phosphorus powder will spontaneously combust, rapidly burning the valuable items locked in the box or chest to ashes. Because of its extremely robust security features, it was a type of lock used in the Qin Dynasty court to secure highly confidential items.

Thirty-nine, Cold Pool Tomb

After hearing Tang Zhengyang's explanation, I secretly rejoiced. Thankfully, I hadn't impulsively pried open the copper lock on the jade box. Otherwise, if the crucial clues hidden inside had been burned, our efforts might have been in vain. Hearing Tang Zhengyang's explanation, Dunzi seemed to have become interested in the small copper lock as well, and asked, "So how did you get this lock?" Just as Tang Zhengyang was about to answer, a Western-style antique clock in his shop struck twelve times. He checked the time and said with a smile, "Oh dear, it's getting late. Haven't you all had lunch yet? Let's go get some braised donkey meat. I'll tell you all about it while we eat." Dunzi was even more delighted at the mention of food and replied with a smile, "Great! Let's go now!" So Tang Zhengyang locked the shop and led us towards the donkey meat shop we'd visited before.

We arrived at the restaurant, found a corner seat, ordered food and drinks, and then Tang Zhengyang began to continue his conversation. It turned out that Tang Zhengyang's ancestors had been poor families in this Qin Chuan region for generations. By his grandfather's generation, due to extreme poverty, they had no choice but to take up the job of tomb raiding. This work involved constantly venturing into ancient tombs and dealing with corpses and artifacts; the yin energy was too strong, and the work was extremely dangerous. His father had been injured by the thousand-year-old yin energy in an ancient tomb and died. At that time, Tang Zhengyang's mother was six months pregnant and had been depressed ever since her husband's death. She died shortly after giving birth to Tang Zhengyang. From then on, Tang Zhengyang's grandfather acted as both father and mother, raising Tang Zhengyang with great difficulty. Because his grandfather decided to pass on this craft to Tang Zhengyang, he named him Zhengyang, hoping that he could suppress the evil spirits in the grave with righteousness and restrain the yin spirits on the corpse with yang energy.

Because this craft had been passed down to Tang Zhengyang as the third generation, he had accumulated considerable experience and learned many valuable skills under his grandfather's tutelage, eventually becoming a well-known figure among the local tomb raiders. One day, Tang Zhengyang was tending to his shop as usual when suddenly someone burst in. Tang Zhengyang recognized him as Liu Erzhu, a fellow tomb raider he knew well. After entering, Liu Erzhu quietly told Tang Zhengyang that he had recently discovered an ancient tomb on the outskirts of Yongcheng and wanted to go with Tang Zhengyang to loot some artifacts. Tang Zhengyang, hearing there was something to be found, readily agreed. So the two of them, armed with digging tools like shovels and crowbars, rushed to the tomb that very night.

By the time they reached the wasteland, it was already dark. Tang Zhengyang saw that he was facing a fairly flat plain, covered with knee-high weeds. A few bare, crooked trees stood sparsely in the distance, looking rather eerie. At this moment, Liu Erzhu pointed to a small earthen mound in front of them and said that he had scouted the area a couple of days ago; there was rammed earth about three or four meters below the mound, covering a considerable area, which should be a large tomb. Tang Zhengyang looked at the surrounding environment. He found that it was open on all sides, with several large mountains standing nearby, indeed a good location for a burial site.

Seeing that it was getting late, the two men, based on their years of experience in geomancy, found the best spot to dig a tunnel and quickly began digging with the whirlwind shovels they had brought. These whirlwind shovels, like the famous Luoyang shovels, were invented by tomb raiders in Henan. This type of shovel has three blades, mounted on the head like a propeller. It rotates and digs the soil very quickly. In less than the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, they reached the solid layer of rammed earth. The two men put away their whirlwind shovels, which were used for loosening soil, and switched to hand shovels to continue digging. But after digging for a short while, they felt the surrounding temperature getting lower and lower. As they dug deeper, a distinct chill emanated from the iron handles of their hand shovels. They looked at each other, feeling something was amiss, so they took candles and peered into the rammed earth pit they had dug. They discovered that a thin layer of white frost had formed inside. It was summer, after all. While it was true that nights in the wild were cooler than days, it shouldn't be enough to cause frost on the ground. This completely confused the two of them. Was there something strange about this tomb? Should they dig or not? After discussing it for a long time, they finally decided to continue digging. Such large tombs weren't easy to find; there were bound to be many valuable artifacts inside. It would be a shame to give up so easily. However, just to be on the safe side, they asked Tang Zhengyang to go back to the city and get a few more black donkey hooves for warding off evil spirits, just in case. That's why the incident later happened—Tang Zhengyang and I bumped into each other at the donkey meat shop.

It was late at night when Tang Zhengyang returned to the ancient tomb with a pile of black donkey hooves in his arms. The occasional hooting of night birds added to the eerie atmosphere. Meanwhile, Liu Erzhu, inside the tomb raider's tunnel, had almost completely dug through the thick layer of rammed earth, revealing a grayish-blue brick wall. Fearing that digging beyond this wall and entering the tomb passage might lead to encounters with something unclean, Liu Erzhu dared not continue digging and instead squatted inside the tunnel waiting for Tang Zhengyang's return. The two stuffed the pile of bloody black donkey hooves into their tool bags before continuing to break down the brick wall.

At this moment, a thick layer of white frost covered the blue brick tomb wall, and gusts of biting cold air violently rushed towards the two men. They had been digging tombs for so many years, but they had never seen such an eerie ancient tomb, and couldn't help but be more cautious. After a few hammer blows, the blue brick tomb wall cracked open with a "crash," creating a hole the size of a bowl. A white, cold air mixed with the foul, putrid stench of decay from within the tomb quickly rushed out. "Could we have unearthed an ancient icehouse?" Liu Erzhu said doubtfully, looking at the cold air constantly rising from the crack in the brick wall. The two men dared not enter immediately. Instead, they squatted outside, smoked a cigarette, and waited for the foul, putrid stench to dissipate before widening the opening and then crawling into the tomb one by one.

The tomb chamber wasn't very large, only about twenty square meters, but the temperature inside was extremely low, making the two of them shiver. Following ancestral customs, Tang Zhengyang lit a candle in the southeast corner of the chamber before using a pre-prepared torch to survey the surroundings. The tomb's structure was very simple, lacking complex passageways and side chambers; it was just a single, isolated chamber. A large wooden coffin sat in the center. Beside it were two wooden boxes, presumably containing burial goods. Aside from these, the ground around the chamber was devoid of any other notable objects, only scattered fragments of pottery and earthenware. Strangely, however, within this relatively small chamber was a spring the size of a water vat, constantly emitting white, cold steam. The large coffin was placed next to this spring.

“No wonder it’s so cold here; there’s a natural air conditioner right here,” Liu Erzhu muttered, squatting beside the spring. Seeing the spring, Tang Zhengyang suddenly recalled his grandfather telling him about a type of burial site called a “Cold Pool Tomb” in the feng shui tradition of tombs and graves. Corpses placed in such tombs could be preserved intact, remaining uncorrupted for a thousand years. However, to create such a tomb, one must find a spring called a cold spring. This cold spring seeps directly from the permafrost layer underground, forming a pool of extremely low temperature beneath the surface. Only by building a tomb around such a pool can one create a “Cold Pool Tomb.” Because these cold springs are very rare and located underground, they are difficult to find. Without the guidance of a feng shui master, it’s impossible to create such a tomb. Therefore, generally only emperors and dukes had this privilege, being buried in such a “Cold Pool Tomb” after death.

After Tang Zhengyang told Liu Erzhu about it, Liu Erzhu pondered for a moment and then said, "That's strange. Judging from the structure of this tomb, the tomb owner wasn't a very wealthy or powerful person; at most, he was considered middle class at the time. How could he have had the power and ability to hire a feng shui master to find such a rare burial site for him?" "I don't know either. Maybe he was just lucky and chose a burial site with a cold spring right below it," Tang Zhengyang said with a smile. However, not long after, his expression suddenly changed. Liu Erzhu noticed this subtle change and quickly asked, "What's wrong? Is something amiss?" "I remember my grandfather telling me that besides preserving the body for a thousand years, this kind of 'cold pool tomb' has another function." "What function?" Liu Erzhu asked eagerly. "This kind of 'cold pool tomb' also has the ability to seal corpses and extinguish evil spirits, freezing up corpses that have turned into zombies in time, keeping them obediently in the tomb and preventing them from causing harm to the world." Tang Zhengyang said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

40. Female frozen corpse

Liu Yizhu was taken aback by Tang Zhengyang's eerie words and stared at him, speechless for a long time. When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, "Zhengyang, don't try to be mysterious. I don't believe we're so unlucky as to encounter a corpse monster right after retrieving the black donkey hoof. I'd rather believe the first reason you mentioned—that the tomb's owner was incredibly lucky and accidentally unearthed this cold spring." "I hope so," Tang Zhengyang replied, looking at Liu Yizhu. "By the way, whatever the reason, let's hurry up and grab a few things before leaving. I feel a chill in this place; just staying here makes me uneasy."

So, the two men stuck their torches into a nearby earthenware jar, and then used crowbars to pry open the two wooden boxes placed next to the coffin. Perhaps because of their age, the boards of the two wooden boxes were already somewhat moldy and rotten, so it didn't take much effort for them to lift the lids. Inside, they found many everyday utensils such as bottles and jars, mostly bronze and pottery. There were also some bamboo slips and silk books, but most of them were rotten and broken, and very few were in good condition. After fiddling around for a while and only managing to take a few bronze cups and pottery jars, the two men were quite dissatisfied. So, they each began to have their own ideas about the coffin.

Liu Erzhu frowned as he looked at the two broken pottery jars in his hands. "They said it belonged to the middle class, but now I think it wasn't even that. Such a big tomb and so little stuff? This trip is a huge loss." "Yeah, I'm quite surprised too. The quantity of burial goods in this tomb doesn't seem to match its size," Tang Zhengyang replied. Liu Erzhu turned to look at the coffin behind him and tentatively asked, "Should we open the coffin and take a look?" Tang Zhengyang hesitated. "I'm afraid that's not a good idea. What if there really is a monster that has turned into a zombie inside? Opening the coffin now would be suicide!" "You really believe in that kind of superstition? Then this whole trip would be a waste! What are you afraid of? We brought so many black donkey hooves; even if there really is a monster, we don't need to be afraid. Besides, we're not even sure if there's a monster in here." With that, Liu Erzhu stood up, eager to try. After hearing Liu Erzhu's words, Tang Zhengyang felt that what he said made sense. They couldn't just leave empty-handed without even seeing the monster; it would be too embarrassing to say that. After thinking it over, the two finally decided to open the coffin and take a look.

Having made up their minds, and estimating that it was getting late, the two quickly grabbed crowbars, inserted them into the sealed outer coffin, and began to pry it open with all their might. The coffin appeared to be made of high-quality wood, lacquered in black, but now it was white due to a thick layer of frost covering it. They were only focused on opening the coffin as soon as possible, taking the funerary objects, and leaving quickly, so they didn't have time to properly examine the coffin before them. With their strenuous prying, accompanied by a series of "clack-clack-clack" sounds, the heavy outer coffin lid gradually separated from the outer coffin. After prying open a gap about four fingers wide, Liu Erzhu mustered his courage, held up a torch, and shone it inside, hoping to see if there were any interesting items. But upon looking inside, he discovered that it was already covered with a thin layer of white, frozen ice, making it impossible to discern anything. "Well? Did you see anything?" Tang Zhengyang asked curiously. "It's all ice. Frozen like ice cream, you can't see what's inside at all," Liu Erzhu said angrily. "Let's just lift the lid off completely, there's nothing to worry about. It's definitely not some monster in there, otherwise we could have lifted the coffin lid now, if it wanted to come out it would have already come out." Tang Zhengyang thought Liu Erzhu's words made sense, so he gradually became bolder. The two of them used crowbars to work on the coffin for a long time, and finally managed to move the outer coffin lid, which was more than five fingers wide. By the light of the torch, the two of them saw that the inside of the outer coffin was indeed frozen, forming a huge block of ice. After wiping away the thin layer of white frost on the outside of the ice, they saw that there was an inner coffin, slightly smaller than the outer coffin, frozen inside the transparent ice. "What bad luck today. If we want to borrow one or two artifacts, we'll have to break this block of thousand-year-old ice first," Liu Erzhu said, taking out the shovel he'd originally used for digging. He began smashing it against the ice with all his might. Then, Tang Zhengyang also took out his tools to help. The two of them worked on the exceptionally solid block of ice for a long time, finally managing to chip away at it bit by bit, revealing the exquisitely crafted nanmu coffin inside.

Upon seeing the nanmu coffin, Liu Erzhu immediately became interested and said, "I told you we should open it and take a look. Look, all the good stuff is hidden inside. This nanmu coffin alone must have been worth a lot of money back then." Before Tang Zhengyang could speak, he grabbed a crowbar from the ground and continued prying at the inner coffin. Tang Zhengyang didn't say anything more and picked up the crowbar to join in.

Because the inner coffin lid was much thinner and lighter than the outer coffin, it was indeed easier to pry open. Coupled with the fact that victory was in sight, the two men were particularly energetic. In less than the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, with a "bang," they completely lifted the inner coffin lid. At the same time, they felt a sudden chill wash over them. The cold penetrated to their very bones and pierced their hearts. The two men shivered from the sudden chill, and Liu Erzhu even sneezed several times towards the coffin.

Then, the two men, shivering and clutching their bodies, peered into the coffin with their torches. Inside, too, was a block of millennia-old ice, frozen inside a corpse. Though pale, it seemed remarkably well-preserved. The deceased was a woman, appearing to be in her twenties or thirties, lying peacefully in the coffin. She wore a phoenix headdress and a phoenix robe, her arms crossed over her chest. Beneath her crossed hands, she held a small wooden box, about half the size of a magazine and two or three centimeters thick. Around her, besides a few jade discs and jade tablets, there were no other objects.

41. Enchanting Face

This infuriated Liu Erzhu. The two of them had spent so much time and energy, and had been on tenterhooks for so long, only to find that the burial goods in the tomb were pitifully few. However, he noticed that the wooden box under the female corpse's hand was exquisitely crafted, and seemed like something worthwhile. So he picked up his shovel and continued to break through the layer of ice, trying to retrieve the wooden box. But at this moment, Tang Zhengyang vaguely sensed something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She simply stood by, watching Liu Erzhu diligently smashing the ice, trying to figure out what the problem was.

Not long after, Liu Erzhu broke through the ice and took out the wooden box. Just as he was examining it closely, a muffled breathing sound suddenly came from inside the coffin. This sound quickly drew their attention. Tang Zhengyang looked and saw that the frozen female corpse had somehow opened its eyes and was staring intently at the wooden box. A thought immediately flashed through Tang Zhengyang's mind—the corpse had turned into a zombie! At this thought, his heart began to pound wildly, faster and faster. Before the frozen female corpse could react, Tang Zhengyang pulled several black donkey hooves from his pocket and stuffed them into the corpse's mouth. But to his surprise, the frozen female corpse's mouth was also filled with ice, completely stuffing it full, and the black donkey hooves couldn't fit in at all.

Seeing that the black donkey hoof was no longer effective, and the female corpse was gradually regaining consciousness, the two men didn't even have time to collect the tools they had left on the ground or the bags containing other funerary objects. They dropped the black donkey hoof, quickly turned around, and prepared to escape from the tomb through the hole. But as soon as they turned, the torches in their hands suddenly went out, leaving only the candle they had lit earlier in the southeast corner of the tomb chamber still flickering faintly.

Logically speaking, this thousand-year-old female corpse had been frozen in this icy tomb for so long, so how could she suddenly awaken now? Tang Zhengyang pondered for a while. Suddenly, he remembered Liu Erzhu's sneeze earlier. He had heard his grandfather say that those strange corpses and evil spirits suppressed by talismans and magical artifacts were most afraid of being touched by yang energy. Once they were touched by yang energy, they would suddenly awaken. And Liu Erzhu's sneeze had, precisely, sprayed a breath of yang energy onto this thousand-year-old frozen female corpse, thus awakening her.

Thinking of this, Tang Zhengyang felt a surge of fear, and a cold sweat broke out all over his body. In the darkness, he suddenly saw something. The candle in the southeast corner of the tomb, its originally fiery red light, had suddenly turned a ghostly green. Beside this candlelight, a pale, bloodless face appeared before them in the green glow. Two pupil-less eyes, like a terrifying, grotesque face, stared straight at them. Because the light was too dim, they couldn't see the body beneath its face; it seemed as if the terrifying, grotesque face was half-floating in the air. Tang Zhengyang focused his gaze and realized that the face was none other than the frozen corpse from the previously frozen coffin. The two were completely baffled. The frozen corpse had been lying perfectly fine in the coffin, so how could it have suddenly appeared in front of them in the short time it had been turned around, without any apparent movement?

Upon seeing this, the two felt a chill run down their spines. They dared not take another step forward. The thousand-year-old frozen corpse, having been frozen by frost for centuries, was brimming with boundless, chilling energy. Now, it stood before them, blocking their path to escape the tomb. Waves of icy energy surged towards them. They dared not advance rashly, their eyes fixed on the pale, alluring face before them, frozen in place. The standoff lasted for about a minute. Suddenly, the pale, alluring face frowned, its eyes widened, and a violent blast of cold air swept towards them. Instinctively, the two retreated. However, they were blocked after only two steps by the large coffin behind them. Tang Zhengyang felt something blocking his path and turned around. In the dim candlelight, he could vaguely make out that it was the coffin from the tomb. However, as he turned around, he saw the frozen corpse in the coffin, its eyes still wide open, lying motionless. Looking back, the pale, eerie face was slowly approaching them. And this face was exactly the same as the bloodless face of the frozen corpse in the coffin. Could it be that two twin sisters were buried in this cemetery? But when they came earlier, they clearly only saw one corpse. Tang Zhengyang couldn't understand what was going on, and this only made him and his companions more panicked.

As the terrifying, alluring face drew closer, closing to within two or three meters of them, in a moment of desperation, Liu Erzhu hurled the wooden box he had been holding at the bizarre face. The box struck the pale, alluring face as if it had hit thin air, causing no damage whatsoever. Instead, it passed directly through the center of the face and slammed heavily onto the ground. Due to prolonged freezing, the wooden box had become extremely fragile, and it shattered upon impact. Then, a burst of light appeared on the ground; the fragments of the box had spontaneously combusted.

As the wooden box burned, the white face suddenly revealed an even more terrifying and ferocious expression, as if it had lost its temper. Filled with rage, it swiftly lunged at the two men. Caught off guard by this sudden attack, the two men had no choice but to dodge to the left and right. But at that moment, they saw the face before them suddenly change. Its features rapidly separated; the two eyes gradually split into four, and the nose and mouth simultaneously multiplied into two. Then, the demonic face rapidly expanded like a cotton candy, and after reaching a certain size, it split in two, becoming two identical demonic faces, each continuing to pursue the two men.

Terrified by the series of sudden changes, Tang Zhengyang's legs went weak, and he involuntarily slipped and fell to the ground. After a chilling blast of air, one of the demonic faces appeared before him, its purplish-black lips parting to reveal two rows of yellowish-brown teeth, ready to bite down on Tang Zhengyang. In desperation, Tang Zhengyang frantically grabbed at the ground, finally finding something round and hard, and hurled it with all his might at the demonic face. The blow landed squarely in its gaping maw. In that instant, the demonic face abruptly stopped its advance, letting out a piercing scream that tore at the heart, before transforming into a cloud of white, cold air and vanishing into the darkness.

When Tang Zhengyang came to his senses, he realized that what he had just thrown were the black donkey hooves that had fallen to the ground earlier. Initially, because the frozen female corpse's mouth was filled with ice, the black donkey hooves couldn't fit inside and were therefore useless. But this time, because the alluring face happened to have its mouth open and empty, the black donkey hoofs worked perfectly when they were dropped into its mouth.

Having figured everything out, Tang Zhengyang mustered some courage and felt more confident. Seeing that Liu Erzhu was still being chased by the other demonic face, he quickly shouted, "Zhuzi, quickly use the black donkey hooves on the ground to deal with it!" Hearing Tang Zhengyang's words, Liu Erzhu immediately bent down, grabbed a few black donkey hooves, and threw them at the demonic face beside him. However, perhaps due to his nervousness, he missed several times. Just as the demonic face was about to cling to him, Liu Erzhu screamed in alarm. In a flash, a dark shadow appeared before his eyes, followed by a shriek from the demonic face, which suddenly turned into a cloud of white, cold air and vanished before Liu Erzhu's eyes. Only then did Liu Erzhu realize that the dark shadow was Tang Zhengyang. Seeing Liu Erzhu in such a precarious situation, he quickly grabbed two black donkey hooves, rushed to Liu Erzhu's side, and stuffed the hooves into the demonic face's mouth, thus rescuing Liu Erzhu from the predicament.

After dealing with the two pale, ghostly figures that had suddenly appeared, they realized they were completely soaked. The chill of the tomb made them shiver uncontrollably, barely able to stand. Supporting each other, they struggled to make their way towards the entrance of the tomb. When they were about four or five meters from the entrance, they suddenly heard a "whoosh" from behind. Turning around, they saw a jet of cold water suddenly shoot out from the icy pool beside the coffin, forming a column that shot towards their backs like a water dragon.

Upon seeing this, Tang Zhengyang quickly pushed Liu Erzhu aside and simultaneously dodged to the other side. With a "whoosh," the jet of water rushed to the entrance of the tunnel in front of them, instantly forming a solid ice wall that sealed the entrance completely, blocking their path. Seeing their only escape route blocked, the two were filled with terror. But before they could react, two more jets of water surged from the icy spring, splashing towards their positions. In that instant, disregarding their extreme fatigue and fear, they quickly dodged the incoming water. Wherever the water struck, thick ice quickly formed, just like before. Before the two could even catch their breath, four more jets of cold spring water gushed forth from the icy pool, splashing towards them once more. Tang Zhengyang realized the situation was deteriorating rapidly; his escape route was blocked, and the number of water jets from the pool was increasing exponentially. He knew he could only hide for a short time, not forever. He gradually lost all will to live.

42. Team Soul Embryo

Four more jets of icy spring water, like dragons and swords, were hurtling towards Tang Zhengyang. Exhausted, Tang Zhengyang gradually gave up dodging and was about to close his eyes and accept his fate. Suddenly, he heard Liu Erzhu shout, "Zhengyang, if this keeps up, we're both doomed! Do you think this icy spring might be the work of that frozen female corpse in the coffin?" Tang Zhengyang thought this made perfect sense, and then his eyes lit up when he saw a coffin lid in front of him. He immediately had an idea. He quickly dodged the oncoming jets of water, shouting, "I reckon it's probably like that. Shoot the horse before the rider, capture the king before the thief. Let's try to seal this icy pool with the coffin lid first!"

So, the two dodged left and right, slowly approaching the coffin. They lifted the coffin lid, which had been discarded on the ground, and slammed it over the not-so-large cold spring pool, temporarily sealing it off. Then, they piled on the lid all sorts of broken burial objects, finally suppressing the continuously gushing jet of cold spring water. Then, fearing further complications, they picked up the shovels they had previously discarded and ran towards the coffin. The frozen female corpse inside remained motionless, only the frost on her body seemed thicker than before. Her pupil-less eyes still stared intently at them, her gaze seeming to penetrate their very being.

However, Tang Zhengyang had already spent some time in the tomb and had fought against the frozen female corpse for a while. He was no longer as afraid of the frozen corpse as before, so when he saw the pale and terrifying face again, he was not as frightened as before. Together with Liu Erzhu, they raised their shovels high and shoveled down hard towards the head of the frozen female corpse in the coffin. After two loud "crack" sounds, both of them felt their hands holding the shovels go numb from the impact. It turned out that this thousand-year-old frozen female corpse had long been frozen harder than rock. When the shovels hit her hard, they only splashed up some ice shards. They couldn't hurt her at all. At this moment, the coffin lid covering the cold pool began to bounce incessantly, obviously being impacted by the cold spring water below. It looked like it was about to be lifted by the increasingly strong force.

At this critical moment, Tang Zhengyang stepped on the two extinguished torches they had previously discarded on the ground, and an idea suddenly struck him. He pulled a lighter from his pocket and said to Liu Erzhu, "Erzhu, quickly find some rags and scraps of wood. Let's burn it. Let's see what it can do then." Liu Erzhu nodded and quickly ran to the side, gathering the tattered silk scrolls and bamboo slips. He carried them to the coffin. Perhaps because the frozen female corpse inside the coffin also sensed her danger, she became even more restless. This could be sensed from the increasingly rapid thumping sounds coming from the coffin lid above the icy pool.

Then, Tang Zhengyang lit his lighter with a "click," intending to ignite the pile of bamboo and silk scrolls, but a sudden gust of cold wind extinguished the flame. He tried again, but the flame was again blown out by the wind shortly after it ignited. He repeated this several times, each time failing to successfully ignite the pile of bamboo and silk scroll fragments. Just then, a loud crash came from behind. The coffin lid, which was about to be covered by the icy pool, finally cracked under the relentless impact of the cold spring. A thin stream of water gushed out from the crack. Some droplets splashed onto Tang Zhengyang and Liu Erzhu's clothes, quickly condensing into tiny ice crystals.

Seeing the situation was turning sour again, Liu Erzhu cried out anxiously, "Zhengyang, think of something quick! Burning it with fire probably won't work!" Tang Zhengyang looked at the cold spring and pool, suddenly remembering something his grandfather had told him. When digging for gold, one inevitably encounters evil spirits. At such times, one must not panic, but carefully observe the layout of the tomb. The evil spirits in these tombs are usually caused by the unnatural, sudden death of the deceased, accumulating resentment within the corpse. Furthermore, the tomb's construction incorporates yin-gathering elements in its feng shui layout, causing the cold, yin energy and resentment to combine and form various evil entities. If one can find a way to break the yin eye in the tomb and block the evil entrance, it is very likely to dispel most of the evil spirits appearing within.

Thinking this, Tang Zhengyang carefully surveyed the surroundings of the tomb chamber, using his ancestral feng shui techniques to examine its layout. He discovered that this cold pool tomb was actually a "reunion of souls" formation. This formation uses several objects within the tomb chamber to correspond to key parts of the deceased's body, allowing the deceased's resentment to control any object within the tomb chamber as if it were their own body, thus attacking anyone who intrudes. Tang Zhengyang immediately identified the corresponding objects in the tomb chamber for the various parts of the frozen female corpse. It turned out that the southeast corner of the tomb chamber was designed to correspond to the frozen female corpse's eyes, so lighting candles there was equivalent to opening the eyes of this thousand-year-old frozen corpse. Furthermore, the coffin was the brain, the cold pool the heart, the tomb entrance the mouth, and the various funerary objects the internal organs. The location of the "yin eye" was the cold pool symbolizing the heart, and the "evil gate" was the candle burning in the southeast corner.

Knowing all this, Tang Zhengyang said to Liu Erzhu, "Take a black donkey hoof and go to the candle. When I yell 'Do it!', use the donkey hoof to extinguish the candle, then run to the entrance of the tomb and wait for me." Liu Erzhu nodded upon hearing Tang Zhengyang's instructions, then picked up a black donkey hoof from the ground and ran to the southeast corner of the tomb. Seeing that Liu Erzhu was in position, Tang Zhengyang also picked up a black donkey hoof from the ground. Braving the danger of being sprayed by the small stream of cold water, he ran to the edge of the cold pool. Taking advantage of the intervals between the gushing and stopping of the spring water, he seized the opportunity and quickly stuffed the black donkey hoof into the crack in the coffin lid, shouting, "Do it!" As soon as he finished speaking, a slight sound was heard, and everything went completely dark.

43. Opening the Jade Box

At the same time, a sudden gust of cold wind swept through the tomb, followed by bursts of firelight emerging from beneath the coffin. Tang Zhengyang, disregarding the cause, simply ran towards the direction of the tomb robber's tunnel he had previously scouted.

Just as they were about to reach the entrance of the tunnel, Tang Zhengyang suddenly stepped on something, slipped, and fell forward. Fortunately, he didn't fall directly to the ground, but instead landed squarely on top of Liu Erzhu, who was waiting there. Liu Erzhu quickly grabbed Tang Zhengyang's hand and steadied him. After Tang Zhengyang and Liu Erzhu steadied themselves, Tang Zhengyang felt around on the ground and realized he had stepped on a copper lock. He reached out to throw it away, but at that moment, there was a "crack," and the ice wall that had been frozen over the entrance to the tunnel beside them suddenly shattered. Seeing that the passage was now open, Tang Zhengyang didn't bother to throw anything away anymore. Clutching the copper lock, he and Liu Erzhu crawled into the tunnel. As the two crawled out, they heard mournful cries like ghosts howling and wolves howling coming from the tomb behind them. When they finally managed to crawl out of the tomb, there was a loud "boom" and the earthen mound in front of them collapsed, sealing the tomb's hole in front of them.

After surviving this life-or-death ordeal, Tang Zhengyang and Liu Erzhu barely managed to escape. Although they had both expended considerable effort and thought, they not only found nothing but also nearly lost their lives. Therefore, their spirits were at their lowest point after leaving the tomb. But they had no one to blame but themselves for their bad luck.

However, to their surprise, the only artifact they brought back from the ancient tomb—the bronze lock—was unanimously identified by several authoritative experts as a special item used in the Qin Dynasty court, known as the "Black Bird Heart-Connecting Lock." This type of lock is exquisitely designed, uniquely shaped, and extremely rare, possessing high collectible value. This news cheered them up again. They temporarily placed the bronze lock in the most prominent position in Tang Zhengyang's antique shop, hoping it would be spotted by a discerning person and fetch a good price.

“It’s a pity,” Tang Zhengyang said regretfully. “This bronze lock was broken by Liu Erzhu when it was in the ‘Cold Pool Tomb.’ The ceramic core inside cracked, and the leaking phosphorus powder burned the wooden box containing the lock and its contents. Otherwise, if we could have obtained this complete wooden box with the lock still inside, it might have been even more valuable.” After hearing Tang Zhengyang’s explanation, we learned the origin of the bronze lock in his possession. "So, the brass lock you have is damaged?" I asked. "If it were a complete lock, would you have a way to open it?" Tang Zhengyang hesitated slightly upon hearing my question, then said, "I think so. Last time, to find out the age of this brass lock, I specifically sought out an expert on ancient locks. After he told me about the lock, he also taught me how to open this type of lock. After returning, I studied the lock carefully. If I were given the same lock now, I think I could open it if I spent a little more time." Hearing Tang Zhengyang's words, I was naturally very happy.

So I said to him, "Brother Zhengyang, perhaps it really is fate; we never expected such a coincidence. We do have a box with the 'Mysterious Bird Heart-Connecting Lock' you mentioned. If you can really help us open it, it would be a huge help." Tang Zhengyang initially thought we were joking, so he didn't take it seriously. But when he saw how serious our expressions were, he began to believe me. He said, "No problem. Let's go see the wooden box." He then quickly paid the bill and followed us back to our hotel.

When we presented the jade box with the copper lock to Tang Zhengyang in the hotel room, his eyes widened immediately. After carefully examining the lock, Tang Zhengyang nodded and said to us, "That's right, it's not a fake. It's exactly the same as the lock in my shop." "Then, are you confident you can open it?" I asked. Tang Zhengyang looked at the lock and replied, "Give me some time. I need to go back and prepare some tools. I'll come back tomorrow morning to help you unlock it." "Alright, then we'll wait for you here," I said with a smile.

Afterwards, Tang Zhengyang said goodbye and left the hotel to prepare lock-picking tools. The four of us stayed quietly in the room, continuing to ponder. We were all speculating about what important item was inside the jade box. It was placed in the stone tablet cave on Jiulong Mountain, so could it be related to these stone tablets that could decipher the "Ghost Domain Inscription"? All the questions could only be answered after Tang Zhengyang helped us open the jade box. So, during the wait for the next day, time seemed to pass too slowly, and we didn't even get a good night's sleep.

The next day, Tang Zhengyang arrived early, bringing with him several steel wires of varying lengths and thicknesses, along with several iron pieces of different shapes—tools he had apparently made overnight. He then began carefully examining the copper lock embedded in the jade box. He worked tirelessly, sometimes gently scraping away the patina with the iron pieces, sometimes manipulating the two copper pieces with the black bird pattern with the steel wire, and sometimes cautiously turning them. He worked for a long time, sweat pouring down his forehead. Tang Zhengyang had previously told us that this kind of 'Black Bird Heart Lock' could easily leak phosphorus powder from the lock core if opened by external force, potentially burning the very important items inside the box. Therefore, watching Tang Zhengyang unlock the lock, the four of us were extremely nervous, fearing that we might accidentally burn the contents of the jade box.

About three hours later, perhaps at the most crucial moment of unlocking, Tang Zhengyang's movements slowed down, even his breathing became very subtle. He turned the black bird-shaped copper plate on the lock with his hand while using a steel wire to probe the gaps between the plates. After about two or three minutes, we suddenly heard a faint "click," and then we saw the previously serious expression on Tang Zhengyang's face quickly relax, followed by a long sigh of relief, and then he said with a smile, "It's open."

Upon hearing Tang Zhengyang's words, we were overjoyed and eager to see what important thing was inside the jade box. So I gently opened the lid with both hands, and inside was a well-preserved silk scroll. I took the scroll out and, as a token of my gratitude, presented the jade box to Tang Zhengyang. He was initially surprised to receive such a valuable gift and tried his best to refuse, but after our repeated requests, he finally accepted it, then bid us farewell and left. Before leaving, he told us to come to him if we ever needed his help again.

After Tang Zhengyang left, we carefully unrolled the silk scroll. The text on the scroll was written in seal script; although the ink had faded somewhat, the content was still legible. It read:

The emperor established the nation, and his descendants were called kings.

He quelled rebellions, his power shook the four corners of the earth, and his martial spirit was upright and righteous.

Rong Chen received the imperial edict and, in a short time, destroyed the six violent and powerful states.

In the twenty-sixth year, he was recommended for a high title, and his filial piety was evident.

Located east of the Si River, it not only secured a burial site but also acquired the Nine Tripods.

Cha Ding's writings, deciphering the profound scriptures, and hearing celestial sounds.

The stele, carved on a bronze tripod, was erected in the dragon's lair to terrify all evil.

The Scripture Repository in Liyuan protects the dragon's body, awaiting its three incarnations.

On the day the cave was completed, this silk scroll was written to commemorate it.

We read it word by word, and only after finishing did we realize that the silk scroll contained information about the "inscribed stone tablets" in the Jiulong Mountain caves. According to the scroll, after unifying the six kingdoms, Qin Shi Huang obtained the "Burial Land Mystery Scripture" and nine large tripods in the Sishui area of Shandong. He deciphered the "ghostly inscriptions" on the "Burial Land Mystery Scripture" by following the inscriptions on the tripods, and obtained the secret to achieving immortality. Therefore, he carved nine stone tablets according to the inscriptions on the tripods and erected them in the Jiulong Mountain caves to ward off evil spirits. He also hid the "Burial Land Mystery Scripture" in the Lishan Mausoleum to protect Qin Shi Huang's body, awaiting his three reincarnations. Only then did we realize that these inscribed stone tablets were actually erected by Qin Shi Huang himself.

After reading the silk scroll, Dunzi asked, "Why does this silk scroll mention the Si River? Is it the place we visited last time?" I laughed and said, "This Si River is in Shandong Province, not the poisonous fog river we went to." I paused and continued, "According to historical records, when Qin Shi Huang toured the east, he went there and ordered people to retrieve the nine giant tripods, symbols of the Zhou Dynasty's unification of the country, which had been lost in the Si River. However, official history records that Qin Shi Huang did not ultimately retrieve the nine tripods; only some unofficial histories say that he did. Comparing this silk scroll with the unofficial histories, it seems that the official history is not entirely reliable."

44. Deciphering the Profound Scriptures

“So, does that mean the First Emperor had already solved the mystery of immortality in the ‘Burial Ground Mystery Scripture’? Logically, he should have been able to obtain immortality according to the punishments described in the scripture. But didn’t the historical records say that the First Emperor died suddenly in Shaqiu during his eastern tour? Later, Prime Minister Li Si concealed this news to stabilize the army’s morale, and used abalone to cover up the stench of his rotting body in the summer.” Jenny asked doubtfully after hearing my words. Dunzi echoed Jenny’s words, “Right, isn’t it said that obtaining immortality means escaping reincarnation? But why does this silk scroll also record ‘awaiting three generations’ and such? That doesn’t seem to make sense.” “Yes, there are indeed many things that are difficult to understand at present. Everything can only be known after the contents of the ‘Burial Ground Mystery Scripture’ are deciphered.”

I lowered my head and pondered for a moment, then said, "Since this silk scroll mentions Qin Shi Huang and the Lishan Mausoleum, I'm afraid the next clue might be related to Qin Shi Huang and his mausoleum." "The Lishan Mausoleum is mentioned? Where is it? I don't see it," Dunzi asked, glancing at the silk scroll a few more times. "Didn't you see the words 'Liyuan' (藏经丽园)? Archaeologists have found some funerary objects with the words 'Liyuan' written on them in the excavated burial chambers of the Lishan Mausoleum. This shows that the Lishan Mausoleum was indeed called 'Liyuan' at that time. So the 'Liyuan' on this silk scroll should refer to the Qin Mausoleum at Lishan," Jenny patiently explained to Dunzi. So I continued, "Since that's the case, let's not rush back for now. Let me call my old classmate Hua Yang and ask how the translation of the 'Ghost Domain Inscriptions' on those 'Inscribed Stone Tablets' photos is going." Everyone agreed with my decision and decided to stay in Xi'an for the time being.

Then I contacted Huayang by phone. Huayang sounded very excited on the phone. He said, "Dude, where did you get such amazing skills? Where did you find these stone tablets? It's incredible! You know, Professor Cheng was so excited when he saw these photos and materials that he forgot to eat and immediately started translating them. So far, he has translated the 'Ghost Domain Inscriptions' on seven stone tablets, and only one is left to be completed. I estimate that he can finish it in the next couple of days." "That's great! Once you've finished translating them all, send me a copy of the translated table," I replied happily.

Two days later, I received an email from Hua Yang. Attached to the email was a table comparing the translated "Ghost Domain Inscriptions" with contemporary Chinese characters, which Professor Cheng and his team had completed. With this complete table, everyone was overjoyed and eagerly gathered in the hotel room to open the "Burial Land Mystic Scripture" and translate it word by word. After finishing the translation, we realized that this scripture mainly explained three aspects: Heaven, Earth, and Man. The Heavenly Scroll mainly discussed the method of deciphering celestial secrets, saying that after obtaining this method, one could understand past, present, and future events, command the wind and rain, and control celestial affairs. The Earthly Scroll mainly discussed the art of dominating the world, saying that after mastering this art, one could summon heroes, annihilate enemy states, and unify the world. The Manly Scroll mainly discussed the path to immortality, saying that after comprehending this path, one could obtain an incorruptible body, and after three reincarnations, escape the mortal world and enter the Pure Land of Eternal Life. Upon further examination, we discovered that the fragment we possessed was incomplete, consisting only of the first half of the entire Xuanjing (Mysterious Classic), thus its content was incomplete. The sections on Heaven, Earth, and Man each only contain the first half of their respective parts.

I carefully read through the translated text of the Xuanjing several times, and felt that the methods for deciphering celestial secrets mentioned in the Heavenly Scroll, which emphasize the laws governing the operation and transformation of heaven and earth, can be summarized as nothing more than the unpredictable nature of "change." This is very similar to the "principles of change" highlighted in the *I Ching*, my country's first ancient and mysterious book. Could it be that the "principles of change" in the *I Ching* were derived from the content of this Heavenly Scroll? Then I read the content of the Earthly Scroll and discovered that its methods for dominating the world are closely related to the strategies of diplomacy and the methods of emperors expounded in *Guiguzi*. Finally, when I carefully read the content of the Human Scroll, I found that its descriptions of the path to immortality, the principles of reincarnation, the method of breaking the cycle of rebirth, and the explanation of the intermediate state (bardo) and the Pure Land of eternal life seemed to have a strong connection with my understanding of Tibetan Buddhism's Tantric tradition.

Because we have always been focused on unraveling the mystery of immortality in the Xuanjing, we are not particularly interested in the content about gaining knowledge of heavenly secrets and dominating a region. So we set aside the Heaven and Earth volumes and focused on studying the Human volume of the Xuanjing.

The first part of the "Human Scroll" describes a mysterious universe. Within this spacetime world called the "Central Dharma," many independent sub-spacetimes exist, known as the "Bardo." These Bardo worlds are scattered randomly throughout the larger Central Dharma world. Our current spacetime is one of these Bardo worlds. After each person experiences three lifetimes of reincarnation, they enter three different Bardo worlds. Normally, these Bardo worlds are independent. However, by following certain methods, people can retain memories of their past lives after reincarnation and enter the intersection of these three Bardo worlds through a ritual. At this intersection, because the three timelines of the three Bardo worlds intersect perpendicularly, the time vectors cancel each other out, becoming zero. Therefore, the concept of time disappears at this intersection. This creates a special space without the concept of time, thus forming a unique world of immortality. The "Human Scroll" then records some mysterious ritual methods, but because our knowledge of witchcraft is limited, and because our copy of the "Burial Ground Mystic Scripture" is only the first half, missing the second half, we don't fully understand these contents.

After reading the translated Xuanjing scroll, Dunzi asked with a belly full of doubt, "Is this the legendary method to escape the mortal world and obtain immortality? I only seem to understand it. Can this theory really grant immortality?" "Moreover, it only describes the theory; the actual operation process is still unknown," Abao said with a hint of disappointment. I looked at the Xuanjing, pondered for a while, and then said, "Isn't it all clearly explained in the silk manuscript? Qin Shi Huang deciphered all the contents of the Xuanjing. To obtain immortality, it seems he must have followed the special method described in the Xuanjing. If we really want to understand all this, it seems we really need to study the First Emperor and his Lishan Mausoleum." "Really? You mean, this time we have to find a way to go to the First Emperor's mausoleum? I heard it's full of traps and contains a lot of mercury; it might be difficult to get in."