Tomb raiding: Intercepting Yin Xinyue and building a family of immortals

Su Chen smiled confidently and spoke.

"In my opinion, it's not a grave, not a tomb, and certainly not a mausoleum!"

"what is that?"

Old Wu was stunned for a moment, then asked subconsciously.

Not only Wu Laogou, but the others also looked at Su Chen with puzzled expressions.

The spring water seeping from the rock face carried the smell of dew from a coffin.

This indicates that there must be a coffin and a tomb nearby.

If it's not a tomb or mausoleum, what else could it be?

Su Chen did not answer directly, but instead pointed to the crooked mountain range map on the ground with the firewood in his hand.

"Look, this is the general mountain range of Biaozi Ridge. Can you tell what this range resembles?"

Upon seeing this, Wu Jizong quickly snatched the torch from Wu Laogou's hand and held it close to his face.

He bent down, observed carefully for a while, and asked somewhat uncertainly, "This looks like... a tiger?"

"That's right, it's a tiger. In Feng Shui, this is called 'White Tiger Lying at the Gate.' There's a saying: 'Better a Green Dragon soaring a thousand feet high than a White Tiger crossing even a single head.' Usually, this kind of mountain range is chosen by military generals, especially fierce and malevolent ones. This is because such warriors killed too many people in their lives, violating the harmony of heaven. After death, they fear being haunted by ghosts, so they choose 'White Tiger Lying at the Gate' to protect their main tomb!"

Su Chen's words left the Wu family stunned, giving them the impression that he wasn't very bright.

Fortunately, Old Wu was a seasoned veteran. Although he didn't understand the intricacies of the game, he was determined to win and nodded slightly, saying, "Not bad, young brother, it seems you've mastered the true art of tomb raiding."

After saying that, he tapped Wu Jizong with his pipe and scolded, "Did you hear that? This is called 'White Tiger Crouching at the Gate'!"

"This……"

Wu Jizong looked aggrieved, thinking to himself, "You old man aren't exactly ignorant either!"

However, considering it was his own father, Wu Jizong could only accept his dissatisfaction.

He quickly changed the subject, looking at Su Chen and asking, "Brother Su, after all this talk, what level is that tomb, and where is it?"

Su Chen smiled and gently tapped the white tiger's head with a piece of firewood.

"This is where we are now. In feng shui, this place is called the Four Pillars White Tiger Sha. There is a saying in feng shui for houses: 'White Tiger penetrating the hall, family ruin and death!' This means that the White Tiger terrain should never be directly facing the house, and the same applies to ancestral graves!"

"The White Tiger must be located in the west of the ancestral grave so that it can turn the evil into protection, ensuring the safety of the grave and the well-being of future generations."

After saying that, Su Chen used firewood to lightly draw a circle in the lower left corner of the White Tiger Mountain map.

"If there is a large tomb at Biaozi Ridge, it must be located here."

Upon hearing these words, the four members of the Wu family were immediately convinced.

Wu Jizong, in particular, said with admiration, "Brother Su, you're amazing! To tell you the truth, we only found out about a large tomb in Biaozi Ridge by chance from an ancient book. The approximate location is exactly where you circled."

Old Wu continued, "Northern tomb raiding relies on burial scriptures and feng shui secrets. Southern tomb raiding relies on boldness and numbers. But in any case, being able to witness the feng shui secrets of the tomb raiding lineage today makes this trip worthwhile."

Old Wu's words were not just modesty, because the profession of tomb raiding originated in the north.

Even in the earliest Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the south where Changsha was located was still in a semi-developed state, with many small states.

Such as the ancient Dian Kingdom, the Baiyue Kingdom...

It wasn't until the Qin and Han dynasties unified the country that these small border states, such as ancient Dian, ancient Shu, and Baiyue, were completely conquered and incorporated into the Central Plains.

Furthermore, among the Nine Gates, the most skilled tomb raider is undoubtedly the Zhang family branch represented by Zhang Qishan.

But don't forget, the Zhang family were originally from the north, and they were from the lineage of the Faqiu (a type of tomb raiding)!

The remaining families, like the Huo family, either had hundreds of people digging graves and excavating mountains.

Or they might act like the Wu family, where the whole family goes out together when they make a move.

but……

After a moment of reflection, Wu Jizong pressed on, "Brother Su, you still haven't said whether there's a tomb near the cave."

"Yes and no!"

"Huh, what does that mean? I don't quite understand."

Su Chen pointed with the firewood in his hand to the mountain range, which was the White Tiger's Head, their current location.

"As I just mentioned, this place is called the Four Pillars White Tiger Sha, the most dangerous location in the entire White Tiger Crouching Gate. So this isn't a tomb, but... a sacrificial pit!"

"Sacrificial pit?"

Inside the cave, everyone was startled by the sound.

The tradition of human sacrifice has existed since ancient times.

During the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu Qizhen, on his deathbed, told his crown prince, "I cannot bear to use people for burial. This practice should end with me, and future generations should not repeat it."

The inhumane practice of funerary sacrifice, which had persisted for thousands of years, was finally abolished.

Despite the various faults of the Emperor, he at least abolished human sacrifice, which can be considered a good deed he did before his death.

of course!

Before the Ming Dynasty, the practice of human sacrifice was widespread, especially before the Warring States period.

Hundreds of slaves were often buried alive with the dead, and countless captives and livestock were used as sacrifices.

Later generations excavated a large tomb from the Yin-Shang period and found a record-breaking 3,600 human sacrifices and 3,600 livestock.

These slaves, who were buried alive with their hands tied behind their backs, were kneeling facing the main burial chamber before being beheaded.

If there were sacrificial pits, the methods were even more cruel. Usually, a group of prisoners would be killed, a layer of soil would be used to cover the pit, and then another group would be killed and buried again!

The ritual was not considered complete until the large pit that had been dug was filled.

Here's another little-known fact!

During the Yin and Shang dynasties, human sacrifice was common. This involved capturing prisoners and using them as sacrifices to the heavens.

Moreover, each time, thousands of prisoners were used for sacrifices.

During the reign of Emperor Xin, who later became King Zhou of Shang.

He actually felt that prisoners were also resources, and it would be a waste to kill them for nothing. It would be better to let them work the land and become his subjects.

Therefore, on the one hand, he conquered the Eastern Yi and expanded his territory.

On the other side, when prisoners were captured, no sacrifices were performed; instead, palaces were built as a substitute.

This was the earliest idea to abolish human sacrifice, and also the earliest policy of territorial expansion.

Domestically, King Zhou of Shang felt that the power of the vassal kings was too great, so he imposed restrictions on them.

but……

This matter touched upon the interests of the vassal states. After discussing it, the vassal states said, "No way! This is cutting off our source of income! We'll rebel against it!"

Therefore, under the leadership of King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, a group of feudal lords rose up against the Shang dynasty.

One of the proclamations against Di Xin was that Di Xin had killed too few people in his sacrifices. He pointed out that Wu Ding had killed thousands of prisoners to offer sacrifices to the heavens, while Di Xin had only killed a few dozen. Therefore, they were going to rebel against him.

Don't find it unbelievable; this was indeed one of the charges against Emperor Xin when the feudal lords attacked him.

A few years later, the Shang Dynasty collapsed and the Zhou Dynasty came to power.

However, after the reigns of King Wen and King Wu of Zhou, they realized that human sacrifice still had to be abolished. With so many people killed every year, who would farm, who would raise horses, and who would join the army?

After decades of effort and gradual progress, human sacrifice was finally abolished during the regency of the Duke of Zhou.

Because of this incident, Duke Zhou became a model of a famous minister.

Cao Cao even wrote a famous poem, the last two lines of which are: "The Duke of Zhou spat out his food to welcome guests, and the world turned to him."

The Duke of Zhou mentioned here refers to Duke Dan of Zhou, the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou (Ji Chang) and the uncle of King Cheng of Zhou, who served as regent for seven years!

It's funny, but Di Xin wanted to abolish human sacrifice, which led to him becoming King Zhou of Shang, and he's been cursed for thousands of years.

Decades later, the Duke of Zhou abolished human sacrifices, but this led to the Duke of Zhou spitting out his food to welcome guests, and the people turned to him.

If Emperor Xin knew this from beyond the grave, he would probably be so angry he'd vomit blood.

Closer to home!

Su Chen nodded slightly.

"The location is inauspicious and cannot be a burial tomb. The only explanation is a sacrificial pit! However, it's too late now. We should be able to find the exact location by taking a walk around the area tomorrow."