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

"Lieutenant Zhang!"

Zhang Rishan understood and immediately waved.

Before long, two young men quickly arrived at the entrance of the cave.

These two young men from the Zhang family were about fifteen or sixteen years old.

Despite his young age, he is extremely agile, a skilled fighter trained from childhood according to the Zhang family's training model in Northeast China.

Su Chen noticed that the index and middle fingers of the two men were unusually long, significantly longer than those of ordinary people, and the same was true for Zhang Qishan and his adjutant!

This is the Zhang family's unique "tomb raiding finger" technique, which trains finger dexterity from a young age to retrieve funerary objects and treasures from ancient tombs and decipher various complex mechanisms.

The two Zhang fellows lowered the rope ladder, grabbed flashlights, and crawled into the hole.

After about half an incense stick's time, the two returned to the ground and shook their heads at Zhang Qishan.

"There were no secret passages or mechanisms; it was just a temple. No clues were found on the golden Buddha statue either."

Zhang Qishan frowned upon hearing this. The demonic monk Yao Guangxiao had gone to such great lengths to cast the golden Buddha statue; there must be some secret behind it.

After thinking it over for a long time, Zhang Qishan turned to look at the dozens of men behind him and said in a deep voice, "We don't have enough manpower, and there's no time to call for more people now. Bao Dongha, I want the people from Pingyun Village to help us thoroughly excavate this ancient temple buried underground. Everyone who comes to help will receive five coins a day, plus a meal."

Five coins a day, plus a meal?

If I keep working like this for a month, wouldn't I be able to earn three silver dollars!

Upon hearing this, Bao Dongha's eyes lit up.

For the Miao people of Pingyun Village, the only way to make money is to hunt wild animals in the mountains.

But last year's famine caused the animals in Guanyin Mountain to have long since retreated to deeper, more remote forests, blocking this path.

Making money is even more difficult.

Not to mention, grain prices are so high!

Han Chinese refugees were everywhere, and the Miao people were not much better off.

Thinking of this, Bao Dongha quickly looked at Zhang Qishan and asked for confirmation, "Are there really five large coins?"

Wu Jizong laughed heartily.

"Brother Baodong, you can go without worry. When it comes to money, the Zhang family is one of the wealthiest in Changsha City. You won't be shortchanged on your wages!"

Hearing this assurance, Bao Dongha's worries vanished, and he quickly patted his chest, saying, "Don't worry, I'll go find people right away! How many do you need?"

"Three or five hundred is not too little, one or two thousand is not too much."

Looking at the golden Buddha statue on the ground, Wu Jizong figured that even if there was nothing else below, just this one Ming Dynasty white marble Buddha statue alone would be enough to make the investment worthwhile.

Without saying a word, Bao Dongha immediately ran out as fast as he could, as if his legs were on a motor.

After waiting for most of the day, a large group of Miao people came over, carrying hoes and shovels.

Bao Dongha rallied his troops, or rather, lured by the promise of five large coins a day, attracting many able-bodied men not only from Pingyun Village but also from several surrounding villages.

Zhang Qishan accepted all comers without hesitation, and had his adjutant set up a table to record their names.

Then, they ordered people to start digging!

They are determined to bring the ancient underground temple back to light.

Seeing the bustling activity outside the Guanyin Temple, Su Renxiu couldn't help but purse his lips and mutter, "Clan leader, their work is far too sloppy..."

Su Renxiu had gone down to the Lishan Ancient Tomb with Su Chen once, and he looked down on this method of brute force with a large number of people.

Su Chen smiled faintly, his gaze passing over the bustling Miao people and landing on the mountains behind Chentangpo.

He stared at it for a long time, then suddenly frowned.

"No, this terrain... seems to resemble a dragon's aura in a sacred cave..."

The Immortal's Cave?

Su Renxiu was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "Clan leader, what is the 'Divine Immortal Cave Earth Dragon Halo'?"

"The so-called Immortal's Burial Site is a top-grade feng shui treasure land. Legend has it that being buried in an Immortal's Burial Site will allow one to ascend to immortality."

"Furthermore, even the best burial sites are graded. The highest grade is the Water Dragon Halo, which is extremely rare and requires the perfect combination of favorable timing and location."

"This medium-grade one is called Earth Dragon Halo. It is also rare, but it does not require favorable timing or location. It only needs to suppress the earth's energy."

"The lowest grade is called Mountain Dragon Halo. There are seventy-two famous mountains in the world, and every mountain has a Mountain Dragon Halo. However, most Mountain Dragon Halos will change their location over time and are only suitable for living people to cultivate, not for burying the dead."

Unbeknownst to them, Wu Jizong and Zhang Qishan were also drawn in by Su Chen's words.

The former, in particular, couldn't help but slap his thigh after hearing Su Chen's words.

"Yes, yes, I've heard of the Mountain Dragon Aura. Back when we were in Xieling, my brother told me that ancient reclusive masters all lived in the mountains and were called mountain people. Actually, they used something to cultivate. I never knew there was such a saying..."

Zhang Qishan asked, "Brother Su, you said Chentangpo is a sacred burial site with a dragon's aura, so where is the great tomb?"

"It's not Chentangpo, but the mountains behind Chentangpo..."

Su Chen pointed to the mountains on the distant horizon, then called Bao Dongha over.

The latter looked in the direction he pointed and immediately said as if reciting a familiar story: "That's Jiugong Peak, which is more than forty miles away from here by mountain road."

"More than forty miles..."

Zhang Qishan pondered for a moment, then quickly said, "Brother Su, now that we've discovered the Immortal's Cave, why don't we go explore it ourselves? We'll leave this to Lieutenant Zhang. If we don't find the tomb at Nine Palaces Peak, we can come back later."

"also."

Su Chen was just doing his job for money and wanted to find the tomb as soon as possible, get it done, and leave.

……

After making some preparations, the group, along with seven or eight companions and their guide Bao Dongha, set off on time the next morning.

For the next ten miles or so, we were still on the outskirts of Guanyin Mountain, but as we went deeper in, the forest became denser and denser, and someone had to clear the way ahead.

Even Baodongha, who is familiar with the terrain, has to stop from time to time to use the surrounding terrain to determine its location.

After walking for most of the day, the group finally arrived at the foot of Jiugong Peak near dusk.

Looking at the Jiugong Peak, which pierces the clouds and is over a thousand meters high, Zhang Qishan frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Let's rest for the night and go into the mountain again tomorrow."

As soon as he gave the order, Zhang's men immediately set up camp and handled everything in an orderly manner, just like an army on the march.

Seeing this, Su Chen couldn't help but admire him in his heart, thinking that after returning from the north, he would also train such a fellow in his family.

If there's a real shortage of manpower, then spend money to hire some ordinary workers.

Some tombs in this world of tomb raiding can be taken down by just three to five people, but some tombs, such as mine tombs and bottle mountain tombs, are different.

Without hundreds or thousands of subordinates, even a few people can only sigh in despair at the grave.

Outside the tent by the campfire, Wu Jizong couldn't contain his curiosity and pulled Bao Dongha aside to ask about the situation at Jiugong Peak.

But no matter how many times he was asked, Bao Dongha couldn't give him a clear answer.

"Jiugong Peak is just Jiugong Peak, there's nothing special about it. In my opinion, it's no different from any other mountain!"

Su Chen thought for a moment and then asked in a different way.

"Are there any legends about Jiugong Peak in the local Miao villages?"

"No, we named Jiugong Peak; it didn't even have a name originally!"

Halfway through his sentence, Bao Dongha seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Oh right, I remember now. About ten years ago, before my father passed away, I went hunting in the mountains with him and saw a fire dragon burning the mountain at Jiugong Peak. Would you consider that a strange place?"

"A fire dragon burning the mountain?"