Chapter 98

According to legend, after Emperor Wu of Han, some adepts and Confucian scholars merged, producing apocryphal texts, using Yin-Yang and the Five Elements to explain Confucian classics.

Wang Mang and Emperor Guangwu of Han both utilized it and proclaimed themselves emperors; Emperor Guangwu even formally announced the apocryphal texts to the world, making them official canon,

Others absorbed the teachings of Huang-Lao and Buddhism, promoting omens, auspicious and inauspicious divinations, prayers for blessings and averting calamities, and karmic retribution, becoming pioneers of Daoism.

"These arcane arts also merged with other schools, enriching cultural diversity, so some things cannot be simply dismissed."

Everyone couldn't help but become somewhat engrossed, saying, "Looking at it this way, these arcane arts aren't entirely bad; the key is to use them on the proper path."

Arcane arts have been used by some to feign mysticism, bringing disaster, but that doesn't mean they have no merits; the key lies in how they are used.

Professor Zhang agreed, saying, "That's quite right."

"But Professor, you've said all this and still haven't told us who the tomb's occupant actually is."

As the group talked, the vehicle was nearing its destination, and Professor Zhang gazed at the scenery outside the window.

Not far off, the mountains were lush and verdant, the azure sky hung low, presenting a tranquil scene that already left people feeling refreshed and delighted.

"Don't worry, you'll find out soon."

Professor Zhang didn't continue, almost killing everyone's appetite, and the archaeological team grew even more eager.

The group descended the mountain road, still needing to trek part of the mountain path; after a brief rest, they gathered their gear and set out.

Leading the way were the police, along with archaeological members who had previously scouted the route.

Stepping into the deep woods, the light instantly grew dim; dense vegetation and leaves blocking the sky made it feel as if they had entered an ancient forest.

Dappled sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, countless dust motes dancing, making the place ever more serene and peaceful.

The soft earth gave off a distinctive odor, mixed with the fragrance of greenery, occasional insect chirps and bird calls; judging by the vegetation, this hill indeed has good feng shui.

"The tomb is likely in that southeastern area, about another hour and a half's walk."

Professor Zhang, being somewhat older, couldn't keep up with the youngsters; his forehead was already beaded with fine sweat, and his breathing grew a little short.

Someone in the team worried about his condition and asked with concern, "Professor, are you all right? Do you want to rest?"

Professor Zhang waved a hand, saying, "Don't worry, I can still hold on."

At that moment, a glint in the corner of his eye seemed to catch something, and he suddenly stopped.

The archaeological team thought he was feeling unwell and asked, "Professor, what's wrong?"

"Look at these traces; it seems someone had been here before."

Following Professor Zhang's gaze, they indeed saw that the dry twigs bore marks of human trampling, and beside them was a shallow footprint.

"I recall there are a few villages nearby; perhaps it was villagers who came up the mountain earlier."

Several other team members also nodded, saying, "Yes, when I went up the mountain before, it was villagers who led me here."

If it were villagers, that would be fine; although there is a tomb nearby, only professionals could pinpoint its exact location.

But if it were tomb robbers, it would probably be troublesome.

The group quickly determined the tomb's location and began preparing for excavation; archaeology differs from tomb robbing, so the methods will differ as well.

Tomb robbers dig small clandestine holes to avoid detection, but the archaeological team is an official institution, following set procedures step by step.

Therefore, their entry point will differ greatly from the robbers' hole, which lies to the northwest.

However, after confirming the tomb's location, they entered from directly above, which happened to be the opposite direction from the robbers' hole, so they had not yet detected its existence.

This time the team numbered many; besides the police, there were about twenty‑plus people, and they brought plenty of advanced tools and equipment, so the tomb entrance was quickly opened.

The full size of the tomb is still uncertain, so the archaeological team plans to expand and explore simultaneously, which also saves time.

"Professor, we can go down into the tomb now."

Hearing this, Professor Zhang immediately rose, saying, "All right, let's move."

In the Han dynasty, tomb styles could be classified as palace‑type, standard, square, rectangular, and other varieties; the one before us is a palace‑type tomb.

Generally modeled after the appearance and scale of a temple, it is divided into front and side sections; the front has two watchtowers, the side four guardian towers, and the top a lofty spirit hall, giving a solemn and reverent impression.

After the archaeological team entered, they found that the burial goods inside the tomb were scarce.

The patterns carved on the surrounding tomb walls are rich in mythological color.

Speaking of the mural before the archaeological team's eyes, three great mountains are entwined with clouds and mist, cranes fly about, pavilions and terraces are faintly visible, and on the opposite bank many people are shown paying homage.

"This should be the three immortal mountains—Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou."

Ancient texts record: "These three divine mountains lie in the Bohai Sea, not far from people; when disaster approaches, the wind drives boats away. Those who have reached them find all the immortals and the elixir of immortality there."

Moreover, the mural shows an adept‑clad person concocting elixirs, with many people kneeling around, presumably seeking medicine.

Furthermore, the mural depicts someone setting up an altar and even attempting to summon wind and rain, clearly indicating these are adepts.

Most of the tomb paintings depict not immortals but various adepts appearing, displaying their wondrous abilities.

Although the paintings have faded over the years, judging from the images and the figures' actions, it's not hard to guess what they were doing.

Around the burial chamber are many bronze vessels and ceramics, bottles and jars, and even some strange implements, likely all used as containers.

"It seems the tomb's occupant also loved alchemy; otherwise he wouldn't have collected so many bottles and utensils, even using them as burial goods and bringing them into the tomb."

Professor Zhang nodded and said, "Not bad; the tomb's occupant is indeed a renowned Daoist adept from the late Eastern Han—Zuo Ci."

Zuo Ci, courtesy name Yuanfang, a native of Lujiang, who called himself Wujiao Xiansheng, was a famous Daoist adept of the late Eastern Han.

In his youth he dwelt on Mount Tianzhu, studying the art of alchemy; he understood the Five Classics, was versed in astrology and calendrical science, knew the six Jia, and legend says he could command ghosts and spirits, having his meals prepared while seated; the Book of the Later Han says he possessed divine ways from a young age.

There are many rumors about Zuo Ci.

As recorded in the Taiping Yulan quoting the Zhenkao: "During the Jian'an era of the Han, Zuo Ci heard that Mount Gougou was in Jinling and connected to Emei and Luofu, so he measured and compared them. After fasting and purifying himself for three months, he ascended this mountain and gained entry to its gate. Mao Jun bestowed upon him three kinds of divine fungi, and having commenced the rite, he said: 'The incense-bearing fairy maiden descends to guard those who fast and purify.'"

Moreover, Zuo Ci was also the teacher of the renowned Daoist adept Ge Xuan; he left behind many alchemy formula texts and considerable insights, exerting a profound influence on later generations.

Opinions of this person have been both praise and blame in later ages, but in his later years he once told Ge Xian Gong that he intended to go to Mount Huo to refine the Nine-turn Elixir, after which his whereabouts became unknown.

Some say Zuo Ci died of old age in the mountains, others say he was pursued and killed, while still others claim he attained the Dao and rode away on a crane; of course these are all accounts from wild histories, and their veracity cannot be ascertained.

But no matter how one speaks of it, Zuo Ci's influence on later generations is still considerable, yet detailed records of his later life are scarce, and some of them are exaggerated.

"It seems that Zuo Ci himself is full of mystical and illusory color; could it be that he really possesses some genuine ability?"

Professor Zhang laughed and shook his head. "Actually, no. Back then, folk magic was prevalent; anyone who performed a little trick, similar to sleight-of-hand magic, could easily get away with it."

"Moreover, transportation and communication were underdeveloped back then, which caused information to be blocked; passing it back and forth made it easy to exaggerate."

"Perhaps he did have some real achievement in alchemy, but in fact, a large part of those miraculous legends were later fabrications or exaggerations."

The others nodded, thinking that made sense; from ancient times to now, how many people have sought the Dao, yet no one has ever succeeded.

"But having said that, Zuo Ci's status and position back then should have been decent; given his abilities, he could have lived comfortably, so why are there so few burial objects in his tomb?"

"Could it be that he also detached himself from worldly desires and didn't care about those ceremonial specifications?"

Professor Zhang also felt doubt rising in his eyes; he accidentally touched the wall painting beside him, as if sensing something was off.

Professor Zhang reached out and looked; the dust on this small patch of wall painting was not as much as the surrounding areas, forming a stark contrast.

The tomb chamber's environment is uniform everywhere; why is there less dust here?

Unless there is only one possibility…

That someone had already come here before and accidentally touched it!

Professor Zhang's face suddenly changed; "Hurry to the main chamber and take a look."

The archaeological team's advance was not fast, because the surrounding wall paintings were relatively well preserved, so most of their attention was drawn here, and their steps slowed.

Seeing Professor Zhang's hurried expression, the others quickly asked, "Professor, what's wrong?"

Professor Zhang's expression grim, "I suspect someone has already been here before, and it's very likely tomb robbers."

Everyone was startled at once and hurriedly followed his steps.

Upon arriving at the main chamber, logically the burial objects should be the most numerous here, yet what they saw was still very few.

Moreover, most of what remains are large bronze vessels and porcelain, the kind that are difficult to move.

Given Zuo Ci's character, there should have been many scriptures and classics, but the books surviving in the tomb chamber are pitifully few.

Professor Zhang's earlier speculation turned out to be correct.

"Someone had already entered the tomb before us; quickly notify the outside police and have them search the mountain with all their strength!"

Ancient tombs are important cultural relics for studying ancient society; the artifacts inside represent the history imprinted by a long-standing civilization.

Archaeologists use this to supplement or enrich history, whereas tomb robbing interferes with and damages archaeological work, which they deeply loathe and severely crack down on.

Even taking the artifacts out to sell constitutes a major loss for the state.

Professor Zhang panted heavily, his face turning somewhat pale.

The others hurried forward to support him, saying, "Professor, don't get agitated; with the police present, even if there really are tomb robbers, they will surely help us recover the lost artifacts."

Professor Zhang worried, "Hopefully that will be the case."

He had originally held a faint hope in his heart, but upon seeing that robber tunnel, even that last shred of hope was shattered.

"According to the soil conditions around the robber tunnel, this tunnel hasn't existed long; even if the tomb robbers took the artifacts, they still can't sell them for now. We have already notified the colleagues at the Traffic Management Bureau to strictly guard the checkpoint and also carry out a nearby search." The police fed back the survey results to Professor Zhang.

"Police comrade, please make sure you retrieve those artifacts; they are very important to the research institute."

"Don't worry, Professor Zhang, we will definitely give it our all."

The artifacts inside Zuo Ci's tomb still have great research value, perfectly filling some gaps in the Eastern Han period; some of the scriptures and classics have a profound influence on later generations, and some are even unique copies.

The archaeological team conducted tomb exploration while anxiously awaiting news from the police.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the police also divided into several squads, with the squad leader still being Sun Zhenbang.

Because he has handled several cases in this area before and is very familiar with the surroundings, the entire operation is placed under his responsibility.

"Let's take the ancient tomb as the center and launch a carpet‑style search."

"There are several roads down the mountain; we will split into multiple groups to search along the way, looking for any traces of tomb robbers, and the villages down below are also key targets to check for suspicious individuals."

The police quickly sprang into action, with the Forensics Unit leading the team, carefully patrolling the mountains, fearing that some tomb robbers might have buried part of the artifacts here, to retrieve them later after the wind dies down.

Because visibility was good during the day, the police soon made a new discovery.

"Strange, why are there so many footprints here? Team Leader Sun, come over and take a look."

Sun Zhenbang looked at the chaotic footprints on the ground and the countless trampled twigs and fallen leaves, as if many animals had passed through here.

"The soil around these prints is still relatively moist; it seems they were formed not long ago."

"The key is that these footprints vary in size, indicating that the animals involved are of different kinds."

"So the question arises: at the same time, why would so many large and small animals suddenly pass through here?"

Sun Zhenbang's intuition told him that something out of the ordinary must have happened here, and recalling the strange occurrences that have previously appeared on this mountain.

"Could it be that this time too——"

He shook his head, again feeling it unlikely.

Sun Zhenbang pondered for a moment, "Let's go down the mountain to have a look, search for clues, and inquire whether there have been any suspicious persons recently."

Saying that, Sun Zhenbang led the people away, "Others, continue searching on the mountain."

The group moved quickly, and before long they returned to the mountain base.

Upon entering Longyuan Village, a villager saw Sun Zhenbang's arrival and naturally greeted him, "Officer Sun has come; what case is it this time? It couldn't possibly involve our village again, could it?"

After all, Sun Zhenbang is an old acquaintance; he has come several times before and has become a familiar face among the villagers.

"This time it has nothing to do with your village; we're just here to investigate whether there have been any suspicious persons or abnormal circumstances lately."

The villager shook his head, "Officer Sun, you know our village is tiny; hardly any outsiders come here, and if any did, we would surely notice."

It seems the tomb robbers never stayed in this village; Sun Zhenbang saw no useful information and was about to leave when a villager suddenly called out to him.

"Wait, Officer Sun, if we're talking about abnormal matters, I don't know whether this counts."

"It's that a few days ago, many animals suddenly rushed into the village, circled around, and then ran off, fortunately causing no casualties to people or livestock."

Sun Zhenbang recalled seeing those large and small animal footprints on the mountain.

He felt there was a mysterious connection between the two incidents.

He couldn't help but ask, "Could it be that those animals were frightened or stimulated, causing them to run down from the mountain?"

Villagers scratched their heads, indicating they didn't know either, "Then we just don't know, but everyone says these animals are acting under the Mountain God's orders."

Again related to the Mountain God...

Sun Zhenbang frowned, but eventually still picked up his phone and called the mountain staff: "Following the beast tracks, we'll search and see if we can find any useful clues."

……

Meanwhile, the Police on the mountain, after receiving Sun Zhenbang's order, began to use the beast tracks as a tracking point and launched a carpet‑style search.

As expected, following these tracks, they actually discovered several footprints resembling human ones.

"It's very likely these were left by the grave robbers."

With a lead in sight, the Police searched even more meticulously.

Xie Yixuan happened to be among them, searching along the southeast direction.

Here the trees are dense, the broad leaves easily block the view; he pushed aside the obstructing shrubs and faintly saw an unknown object lying not far away.

At first he thought it was just a stone or a piece of dead branch, Xie Yixuan didn't pay attention, but as he approached he suddenly realized the object's outline was clearly a human shape!

Xie Yixuan approached dubiously; his black hair stood out starkly against the green leaves, and a deathly pale face suddenly burst into his view!

Xie Yixuan's face changed, and he quickly shouted, "Quick! A male corpse has been found here!"

Others soon heard the news and rushed over, then together they approached the corpse and examined it carefully.

Not long after, a group of police officers had a preliminary determination.

Around the corpse lay many scattered items, mostly antiquities; they were undoubtedly what the grave robbers they were pursuing had left behind.

However, according to the police's initial speculation, the grave robbers were likely already down the mountain, yet no one expected to find their corpses here.

Afterwards, the police took this corpse as the center point and expanded the search outward; soon they found several accomplices in the nearby woods, without exception, all lifeless—dead beyond death!

Looking around, the ground marks were chaotic, with many trampled dry branches and leaves, just like the earlier traces, as if a large number of beasts had passed through.

The police could not yet determine whether they died before or after the beasts.

But regardless of which case, there were actually no beast bite marks on the bodies, which is genuinely strange.

Moreover, the corpses' surfaces were intact, with no obvious wounds, only a mark on the chest.

Could they not have been poisoned to death?

At the same time, Sun Zhenbang received the news and rushed over, glanced at the corpses, and immediately ordered, "Hurry and take these bodies to the forensics department for examination, and also collect these artifacts and send them to the archaeological team to verify whether they are indeed these."

……

Meanwhile, Professor Zhang learned that the tomb chamber had already been looted by grave robbers; his subsequent work could be said to be completely lacking enthusiasm, and he seemed absent‑minded.

"Professor, rest assured, the police comrades also said that the grave robbers probably didn't transport the artifacts out."

"Moreover, the tomb chamber still has parts not fully surveyed; even if they took things away, it probably wouldn't be much."

Professor Zhang sighed, "That's what they say, but what if? Had I known, I would have set out a few days earlier; I don't know which link leaked the news."

He was so angry he beat his chest and stamped his feet, but saying these now is of no use.

While the archaeological team anxiously waited, new news quickly came back.

"Professor Zhang, the police say they've captured the grave robbers!"

Professor Zhang stared wide‑mouthed, then became overjoyed, "So fast!"

It's barely been an hour, and the police have already apprehended the suspects—such speed is truly astonishing.

For a moment, everyone's hearts, which had been hanging in their throats, finally settled.

"Great, have those artifacts been recovered as well?"

"Thanks to the police comrades; otherwise we would have suffered a major loss."

Having received the accurate answer, the archaeological team and others rejoiced, yet they failed to notice that the messengers from the police looked somewhat odd.

"Is there anything else, police comrades?"

That police officer shook his head, said nothing more for the moment, and merely said, "These are the artifacts found on the grave robbers; please, Professor, verify them."

Professor Zhang and the others were deeply grateful, "Thank you, police comrades, for your hard work."

Looking at these artifacts, the archaeological team felt as if they were beholding a precious treasure regained; Professor Zhang was now full of vigor and immediately began checking and verifying them.

"I was wondering why the burial goods in the tomb chamber were so few; now I know the reason."

It can be confirmed that these are the missing portion of the burial goods; the grave robbers took the important, easily portable parts.

However, just as everyone was relieved, Professor Zhang's face looked somewhat grim, his brows furrowed, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Other members of the archaeological team were curious, "Professor Zhang, now that the artifacts have been recovered, why do you still look worried?"

Looking at this pile of artifacts, Professor Zhang shook his head, "No, according to the records, Zuoci possessed a vast collection of books; yet the number of scriptures and classics we have now still doesn't match."

Even adding the fragments that survived in the tomb chamber, it still feels as if something is missing.

"Could it be that he never brought those books into the tomb as burial goods? After all, we still don't know how many books were originally in the tomb chamber."

"Yes, we haven't finished surveying the whole tomb chamber yet; perhaps some books and burial companions are still in other tomb chambers."

"Your point makes sense, but there's another matter: Zuoci was obsessed with alchemy, thus he treasured those implements, once having contemporary craftsmen cast a cauldron in hopes of refining immortal elixir to attain the Dao and become an immortal."

"It is said that Zuoci once obtained a piece of extraterrestrial meteorite, which he considered a heavenly gift, and subsequently used it to cast the cauldron."

"In his later years he told Ge Xian Gong that he intended to go to Mount Huo to refine the Nine‑turn Elixir; at the time there were rumors that Zuoci, using this cauldron, produced immortal elixir and eventually succeeded in attaining the Dao, riding a crane away."

"Numerous miraculous attributes endowed this cauldron with a legendary hue."

"Although later generations have no way to verify, one thing can be certain: given Zuoci's fondness for the cauldron, it must certainly have been brought by him into the tomb."

Professor Zhang paused in tone, "But now, in the tomb chamber, we haven't seen this cauldron."

Professor Zhang cannot determine the exact number of books, but this cauldron definitely exists.

"So you mean that some books and a cauldron have vanished without a trace?"

Professor Zhang nodded, "Moreover, judging by the dust in this tomb chamber, some places show traces of where objects were placed, but now they are gone—clearly a mismatch."

The police certainly could not have pocketed these items.

Since they're not inside the tomb chamber, they must have been taken out by grave robbers; maybe they're hidden somewhere, so the police haven't found them.

"No, I still have to go back to the police once more; I must get these things back."

"Maybe those cunning grave robbers buried them in the mountains!"

(End of chapter)