Chapter 163: Bodhisattva Visage, Thunderbolt Vajra

"What kind of tomb counts as a major tomb?"

"At the very least, it has to be an official's... never mind which dynasty, as long as it's an official's tomb!"

Recalling the conversation between Chen Peng and He Zhigang in his mind, Lin Sicheng raised his head and squinted at the sun.

Why, even though he knew for a fact that the Zhang Anshi Tomb was in this area, could he not find it no matter what?

Because it was not easy to find.

During the Han Dynasty, there was an emphasis on the unity of heaven and man, and burial was based on Watching Stars. Looking at the "trend" only meant looking at the general situation—only observing the reliance of the mountain ranges and the winding of the water currents.

To put it simply: the Nine Dragons Encircling the City (the nine mountains surrounding it) and the Eight Waters Encircling the Outer City (the eight rivers outside the city)—within this, all were auspicious sites; one could be buried anywhere.

Even if one could locate it based on astrology, for two full millennia, the celestial bodies had been constantly moving, and their relative positions had been constantly changing.

Never mind the Star Chart of the Han Dynasty; even comparing the Star Chart of the Song Dynasty with the present, there were significant misalignments.

Lin Sicheng could at most, based on the Four Symbols guarding the Han Dynasty astrology, conclude that the Zhang Anshi Tomb was in the White Tiger Position of Duling, namely the area around Bei Wangli Village and Nan Wangli Village on Fengqi Yuan.

But with an area of nearly ten square kilometers, such a large range, how was he supposed to find it?

He could only find more relevant Cultural Relics, then flip through historical records, and deduce it bit by bit.

But after finally narrowing it down to within one square kilometer, a "work cannot stop until a major tomb is unearthed" order came down?

If a major tomb is unearthed, work can stop, right?

Very well.

Han Dynasty tombs are hard to find, and even Tang Dynasty ones are a bit difficult; the difficulty of Song Dynasty ones is not too great, though it requires some time.

But surely he couldn't fail to find a tomb from the Ming or Qing Dynasties?

It had only been a few hundred years; even if the astrology and terrain had changed, how drastically could they have changed?

And if Xijing had nothing else, it had plenty of tombs...

"Zeng~"

The tripod was stuck into the soil, the drawing board was clipped on top, and the tracing paper was pinned down. Lin Sicheng worked with both hands, drawing incessantly with a "swish, swish, swish."

From a distance, he looked just like a student from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts sketching on the hilltop.

Zhao Xiuneng stood by, occasionally handing over an eraser or sharpening a pencil. Sometimes, when Lin Sicheng hit a snag, Zhao Xiuneng would even help flip through books.

Chen Peng and He Zhigang looked at each other in dismay.

Lin Sicheng said he was looking for an official's tomb, yet he had started drawing pictures?

They also knew that what Lin Sicheng was drawing were Feng Shui charts, and they believed in it a little, too. At the very least, they knew that many involved in Grave-robbing used astrology and Feng Shui to find tombs. They hadn't caught just one or two of them.

These two were just wondering: would there be enough time?

The place was only so big; the people certainly couldn't run away, and the Cultural Relics couldn't be transported out. The problem was that Yu Dahai had already started having his lackeys prepare explosives, which meant they were about to start moving goods in large quantities.

Moving goods meant smashing tomb walls, opening coffins, and, more importantly, dismantling large artifacts.

For example, the Bronze Chariot and Horses, the Bronze Tripod, and the Huangtang Tizou (a tomb chamber built by stacking cypress beams, bestowed by the emperor).

By then, even if they caught everyone and executed them all, these heavy treasures could not be recovered.

The two felt it would be better to use the clumsy method Chen Peng had mentioned: it wasn't as if they could only stop work by finding a major tomb, right?

Lose some things today, have a fight tomorrow, cause some trouble the day after... report a case every two hours; he'd have to stop even if he didn't want to... then send people to surround the place and search it inch by inch.

In a flash, the two looked at each other and went back up the slope.

It was still the same phoenix as before, but while the previous one was just a sketch, at most having a prototype, now it had feathers and a crest, surrounded by auspicious clouds.

But it was very strange; the feathers were not of a uniform size. On the 16-mo drawing paper, the large feathers were as big as leaves, while the small ones were like match heads.

Furthermore, their shapes varied—some round, some flat, some long, some short. Yet, looking at it, it felt very harmonious.

Chen Peng took a glance: "Where is this?"

Lin Sicheng didn't even lift his head: "Fengqi Yuan!"

Fengqi Yuan looks like this?

Chen Peng looked at another one that had already been drawn and clipped to the side: this time it had become a winding, twisting crouching dragon.

But it was much the same as the previous one: the scales were large and small, of various shapes, and even the four claws were not the same size.

Chen Peng pointed: "Where is this?"

"Weiqu Town!"

This one looked even less like it...

"What do the scales on it represent?"

Lin Sicheng was concise: "Feng Shui formations!"

Chen Peng's eyes widened: "What?"

Turning his head to look again, there were at least two or three hundred scales on it. And how big was the whole of Weiqu Town?

Lin Sicheng glanced at him, pointed to the largest scale on the dragon's nose bridge, and then pointed down the slope:

"Director Chen, this scale is the current Institute; when it was built, over three hundred and forty Tang Dynasty Wei Clan tombs were excavated here!"

Withdrawing his hand, he pointed to the two dragon feet behind: "This is Qingliang Slope north of Weiqu; from the founding of the nation until now, over one hundred and twenty Wei Clan tombs from the Northern Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty have been discovered.

And this was only discovered while digging canals, leveling ground, and organizing fields; there hasn't been large-scale development yet. I estimate the total should be over five hundred..."

He then pointed to the front left foot: "This is Han Jiawan Village, right next to Nan Wangli. Over twenty Wei Clan tombs from the Sixteen Kingdoms period have been discovered one after another by villagers... come a little further west, this is Shangta Slope (Village), also farmland, also Wei Clan tombs. Though there are fewer here; so far, only eight have been discovered..."

Chen Peng was stunned.

Just the Wei Clan, just in the period from the Northern Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, in Weiqu Town alone, there were actually over a thousand Wei Clan tombs?

And what about the other dynasties?

He Zhigang did know that the name Weiqu Town came from the ancestral land of the Wei Clan, and there must be quite a few graves. But he had never calculated it in detail; there were actually this many?

He thought for a moment and pointed to a spot a little south of the scale on the dragon's head—that is, the area where Lin Sicheng concluded the Rong'an Xianzhu and the Zhang Anshi Tomb were located: "How about here? Is the Feng Shui good?"

"Better, and there are even more tombs."

Lin Sicheng nodded heavily, "In the Tang Dynasty, this place was known as the Dragon's Forehead, where a Prince was buried, but it was robbed by Huang Chao... In the Song Dynasty, this terrain was called 'Scroll Pearl Pavilion', in the Ming Dynasty, it was referred to as the 'Incense Burner Case', and in the Qing Dynasty, it was called 'Kuixing Upside Down'... But no matter what it's called, it is a prime piece of Feng Shui land! To put it bluntly, there are many, many tombs here..."

Chen Peng looked down the slope: "How many?"

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "Tomb against tomb, person squeezing person... Two tombs stacked on top of each other is just the norm; there are probably quite a few with three layers. But it depends on the size, and whether they are official tombs..."

Chen Peng's eyes lit up: "Little Lin, if you want to find a large tomb, how many days do you need?"

How many days?

Lin Sicheng paused: "One night!"

Chen Peng and He Zhigang exchanged a look: In that case, wouldn't it be a day earlier than the time Chen Peng had planned to use his underhanded tactics?

Because he had to arrange reliable people and also privately tip off the bureau chief...

But Lin Sicheng only needed one night; even if he didn't find it tomorrow, it wouldn't hinder Chen Peng from using his underhanded tactics...

The two nodded, didn't disturb him further, and walked down the slope on tiptoe.

By about two in the afternoon, Lin Sicheng finished his work, returned to the hotel, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

At dawn, he appeared on the top of the slope again, right on time.

Several large rechargeable lamps illuminated the top of the slope brightly.

Lin Sicheng sat on a folding chair, occasionally observing the stars, occasionally flipping through books, and occasionally drawing a few strokes.

The more he drew, the smaller the outline of the terrain represented became: Fengqi Yuan, Weiqu Town, Nanli Wang, Beili Wang, Fenghuangzui, Huangzipo...

Zhao Xiuneng and his two sons stood by, occasionally looking at the books Lin Sicheng was flipping through, and occasionally exchanging glances.

Their pupils revealed an undisguisable shock and suspicion.

They knew the books, and had flipped through them too:

The first was "Guanzhong Mausoleum Records," written by Qi Guangzong, who served as Shaanxi Education Commissioner during the Ming Dynasty and later rose to the rank of Crown Prince's Grand Guardian and Minister of the Ministry of War.

The second was "Guanzhong Scenic Sites Illustrated Records," written by Bi Yuan, who served as Shaanxi Governor during the Qing Dynasty and rose to the rank of Crown Prince's Grand Guardian and Huguang Viceroy.

These two books had always been in circulation, and printed copies exist even now. The tombs recorded in the books are indeed numerous, and many peers have used these two books to find tombs, such as Yu Dahai and Gao Zhengang. But most of them are imperial mausoleums and attendant tombs; one might have the life to find them, but not the life to dig them...

Besides that, there has always been a rumor among the people that, in addition to imperial mausoleums, these two books also recorded the "Nine Plains Burial Secret Records," which supposedly clearly documented every official and large tomb in Xijing from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Not only were there detailed geographical records, but there were also clear geographical diagrams.

The problem is, no one has ever seen this so-called secret record.

And as for the two books Lin Sicheng was flipping through, why did they have both diagrams and "records"?

Looking closely at the content: Song Dynasty Fan Clan Tomb, Song Dynasty Shaanxi Salt Transport Commissioner and Ministry of Revenue Secretary Fan Shi, buried eighteen li southeast of the county seat (Chang'an County)... with four attendant tombs of his descendants below it!

The Salt Transport Commissioner is a rank five official; at first glance, it doesn't seem large. But in the Song Dynasty, where a small county magistrate was only rank nine, rank five was already a high official. And eighteen li south of the city is just about here.

But the problem is, the three of them had worn out the "Mausoleum Records" and "Scenic Sites Illustrated Records," and had never seen such a record in the books.

No matter what, Zhao Xiuneng was a well-known local powerhouse in Guanzhong, and he had never heard of any Northern Song Dynasty Fan Clan tomb in Xijing.

So where did the content in Lin Sicheng's book come from?

Zhao Xiuneng endured and endured, but in the end, he couldn't hold back: "Boss Lin, is this the Nine Plains Secret Records from the Guanzhong Mausoleum Records?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the government redacted them, deleting all the small tombs and leaving only the imperial mausoleums and attendant tombs, so the versions circulating among the people are incomplete.

This is a reprint of an ancient engraving found at the Provincial Museum. It is complete, but what is recorded inside isn't necessarily accurate, and it's ambiguous: for example, it says southeast of the county seat, but doesn't say at what degree southeast. So I have to rely on Feng Shui techniques to deduce it, and I also have to watch the stars and draw diagrams!"

Zhao Xiuneng nodded and pointed again: "Then what about this, this Northern Song Dynasty Fan Clan tomb?"

Lin Sicheng paused: "This one is recorded more accurately; you can find it just by drawing a diagram. But don't dig it, and don't spread it around!"

With my hundreds of millions in assets, would I be bored enough to dig this?

Besides, as for this diagram of yours, let alone letting me draw it, I can't even understand it when I look at it...

Zhao Xiuneng pursed his lips and said nothing, but his eyes were glowing: If Lin Sicheng went grave-robbing, relying on this book and that Feng Shui technique of his that made his head spin just looking at it, he could become a multi-millionaire in a year or two at most.

Don't believe it?

How much can one piece of Song Porcelain sell for? A rank five official's tomb, four attendant tombs—how much would there be in total inside?

This one alone would be worth over a hundred million... For Lin Sicheng to be able to firmly resist not taking the crooked path, how much willpower must that take?

No wonder the old lady said: That child has righteous energy in him and wisdom in his eyes.

Zhao Xiuneng asked: What is wisdom?

The old lady: The face of a Bodhisattva, the thunderbolt of a Vajra...

He didn't draw for long; at about three o'clock, Lin Sicheng packed up his things.

Zhao Xiuneng glanced at the diagram: "Boss Lin, not looking anymore?"

"Not looking anymore!" Lin Sicheng nodded, "That's enough!"

Zhao Xiuneng thought for a moment: "Just one Northern Song rank five tomb, that's not quite enough, right!"

"That one was just incidental, it's not here!" Lin Sicheng smiled, "Don't worry, there are two royal tombs; that's enough!"

Zhao Xiuneng was stunned, his heart skipping a beat: Royal tombs... Is Yu Dahai finished?

You melon-headed fool, your ancestral grave is emitting bad luck (meaning you're in for big trouble), who couldn't you have provoked?

The old lady was right after all: The face of a Bodhisattva, the thunderbolt of a Vajra.

You send me two Marquis tombs, then I'll send you two royal tombs; it's just right...