Chapter 333

The trade of tomb robbing has existed since ancient times.

It can be said that the moment funeral customs were formed, tomb robbers also emerged, entangled with each other for thousands of years.

The oldest record in history is the robbing of King Tang's tomb.

Such behavior is naturally not advocated.

Especially those in power, who want thick burials but don't want to be dug out and exposed after death, so since the Pre-Qin period, it has been stipulated that "thieves shall be punished" and "grave robbers shall be executed."

The "Tang Code" even stipulated: "If one climbs the mausoleum without reason, it is the same as entering the Great Temple and committing a crime."

Anyway, even getting close will get you killed.

This is the significance of the existence of the tomb-guarding army; those who trespass will be killed!

However, everything is in vain.

Li Yan's good friend, Zhao Donkey, once told him about this trade.

Tomb robbers are not divided into factions like the Mojin or Fachiu, but are divided according to the class they belong to.

The top layer is naturally the royal family and nobility.

Liu Qu, King of Guangchuan in the Western Han Dynasty, was arrogant and extravagant, and loved tomb robbing the most, digging countless ancient tombs...

Cao Cao was the most professional, setting up "Fachiu General" and "Mojin Captain" in the army, digging tombs everywhere for military expenses...

The Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom also gathered a bunch of scoundrels from the martial world, robbing many Great Song imperial tombs and the tombs of famous ministers clean...

In times of chaos, there are even fewer scruples.

Dong Zhuo entered Chang'an and robbed the Maoling tomb, which had been visited by the Red Eyebrows, again. Lu Bu even dragged out Han Wu Di of Han's bones to expose them to the sun...

Huang Chao took action, only liking to pick the heavyweight ones. One was to imitate Xiang Yu in digging the First Emperor's tomb, the second was to learn from the Red Eyebrows and Dong Zhuo in digging Han Wu Di's Maoling, and the third was to dig the Qianling tomb.

There wasn't much treasure, but he left behind a foul reputation.

Wen Tao dug up most of the eighteen tombs in Guanzhong, triggering the mechanisms left by the Fangxian Dao, causing zombies and ghosts to run rampant in Guanzhong, a piece of turmoil.

Whether it is the royal family or warlords, they usually mobilize the masses, act openly, and don't care about the consequences at all. No mechanism can stop them.

This second class is some forces in the martial world.

They are usually green forest bandits, roaring in the mountains and forests, but if they find a hidden large tomb, they will definitely not let it go.

If it is in peaceful times, those who take action will usually be more secretive, or in groups of three or five, or forming organizations, just afraid of being caught by the imperial court.

And the lowest are some small folk thieves, robbing the tombs of wealthy merchants to support their families.

Of course, this trade is also quite dangerous.

Not only do they have to face the laws of the imperial court and tomb guards, but also various mechanisms and evil ghosts underground. Few get a good end.

As soon as Li Yan entered the inn, he discovered the trickiness.

Whether it was the wealthy merchant or the troupe of martial artists, everyone had a smell of soil and corpse on them. They were old hands who often went down into tombs and had organizations.

And looking at the situation, there were two groups of people.

I'm afraid they received some news and gathered here.

And the most famous one nearby is naturally the Chu King's tomb on Longquan Mountain, but there is a tomb-guarding army there, and they are very familiar with the methods of tomb robbing.

With these people, they still couldn't get in.

If it were on weekdays, Li Yan wouldn't bother to pay attention to these grave-diggers, but the situation was different now.

There really was something strange near Liangzi Lake.

The sunken county town in the lake, the secret fight between the Tang Dynasty's mysterious soldiers, the strange events in the Book of Jin, the corpse of the unknown foreign monk...

Li Yan inexplicably had a feeling that these things should be related.

Dong dong dong!

Just then, a knock on the door sounded.

It was the waiter who brought a tray of wine and dishes into the room, full of flattery: "A few guests, there is nothing good in this small country shop. Don't dislike it."

While speaking, he put down the tray.

It was just simple roast chicken, roast fish, seasonal side dishes, a large plate of steamed buns, and a pot of old yellow wine.

Li Yan nodded slightly and asked casually: "Waiter, we are going to visit friends. Is there a village nearby called Baihewan?"

A trace of surprise clearly flashed in the waiter's eyes, and he smiled: "Baihewan is indeed not far, just walk another ten miles or so to the east. Guests... are you also going there?"

"Oh?"

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, took out some scattered silver, and placed it on the table: "You have something in your words..."

"The guest is joking."

The waiter put away the tray calmly, had already taken the silver, and whispered: "I don't know anything, I'm just curious that the guests at the two tables below are also asking about Baihewan."

Having said that, he smiled, neither leaving nor speaking.

Li Yan laughed dumbly, took out another two taels of silver, and threw it over casually: "You are quite shrewd. Tell me what's going on."

The waiter hurriedly took it and whispered: "Baihewan is not a big village. The Bai clan has lived there for generations. They don't show off on weekdays. Most of the villagers are peddlers who walk the streets and alleys."

"But just a while ago, some young people from the Miao village gathered to cause chaos, calling themselves the Jiangxia Barbarians, destroying kiln sites everywhere and killing people for blood sacrifice."

"They ran to Baihewan. Unexpectedly, there were quite a few martial artists in the Bai clan who beat the demons away, but many clansmen also died."

"They just finished the funeral a few days ago, and the two waves below also arrived today. That's all I know..."

"Hmm, don't mention us to anyone."

"Don't worry, I understand."

After asking, the waiter went out and closed the door by the way.

"There is a problem with Baihewan."

Lu San said very affirmatively.

"Of course there is a problem."

Li Yan picked up the yellow wine and poured it, whispering: "Those Bai family members were clearly killed by wild beasts, but they pushed it onto the Jiangxia Barbarians. There must be something they don't want people to see."

"Let's not rush to Baihewan. Keep a close eye on these people. They must know something."

Lu San didn't talk nonsense and looked at Rat One and Rat Two who were squatting on the ground gnawing on steamed buns.

The two rats were eating happily, but seeing Lu San's gaze, they had to reluctantly put down the buns and scrambled onto the roof beam in a few moves.

In the inn, there is naturally no shortage of rats.

Especially since this inn has been around for a long time, the rat holes in the wall cracks are accessible in all directions. As Rat One and Rat Two squeaked, they all poked their heads out.

Some guarded the corners of the guest rooms, and others crawled through the ground holes to the outside of the inn, hiding in the grass to monitor.

This is the reason for the cooperation between Li Yan and Lu San.

With Lu San, the reconnaissance ability suddenly exploded, and when fighting, Li Yan could launch a frontal assault, and Lu San could assist from the side, enough to cope with most complex situations.

Strangely, the two groups of people in the inn hall didn't rush to leave after eating, but each asked for a room to stay, and didn't even talk to each other.

Unknowingly, the night grew deeper.

In the room, Lu San huddled beside Wu Ba, muttering, teaching him to speak human language very patiently.

As for Li Yan, he sat at the table, took out a piece of brocade from his arms, and carefully looked at the patterns on it.

This was something Shen Jinghong wrote for him.

Hearing the other party say he had learned ghost book sword fighting, Li Yan took it to heart. He had no interest in the military secret text of sword fighting, but he couldn't miss the ghost book.

In the Mystic Sect, there are also ghost books.

It is a kind of secret language similar to oracle bone script, which was popular among wizards since the Xia Dynasty, also known as "Tian" script, commonly used for sacrificial communication with ghosts and gods, and has incredible magical uses.

To this day, many dharma lineages still use this secret script.

And the ghost book in front of him clearly had a problem.

According to Shen Jinghong, the origin of this book was also very strange. During the Xuan Yuan Jia years of the Song Dynasty, someone was struck to death by lightning in Jingkou, leaving four characters on his arm after death, "killed by karma," which was called a ghost book by calligraphers.

But Li Yan knew that this statement was a bit wrong.

Looking closely at these patterns, they were clearly fork marks left by lightning, but they formed square and upright large characters, a bit like ancient seal script.

Looking at its origin, it had nothing to do with the Yin Division, but rather more like the Mystic Sect's thunder method.

After all, some thunder method talismans are also observed from the traces of lightning strikes.

But being able to form characters still made him suspicious.

Since there is a Yin Division and Netherworld in this world, there must be a Heavenly Court. Could it be the influence of Heavenly Court power?

Unfortunately, the ghost book mentioned by Shen Jinghong only had these four characters.

Even if he wanted to study it, he couldn't comprehend anything.

However, he could indeed pay more attention in the future.

After all, thunder method is also his foundation.

"Squeak squeak!"

!.

Just then, Rat One suddenly stood up and squeaked twice.

Lu San whispered: "Two people went out."

Li Yan understood immediately, pinched the dharma formula, and flicked his little finger. A paper man flew out from the leather bag at his waist, spun in the air, and flew into the night sky through the window and door cracks.

At the same time, Li Yan also closed his eyes.

The paper man drifted silently into the sky above the inn, and Li Yan also saw the two people who left.

One was the merchant,

The other was the old man with the fishing drum on his back.

The two jumped out of their respective room windows, grabbed the soil cracks in the wall with both hands, their figures agile, jumping to the ground like wall-climbing geckos.

After they landed, they looked at each other first, then looked at the room where Li Yan was, saw the candlelight and shadows, and then turned and left, running toward the nearby dense forest.

And in the night sky, the paper man followed closely.

The two entered the dense forest one after another, clearly prepared, separated by a few meters, and exchanged a set of secret codes.

"So it's Chen Sanye from Yuzhou."

The middle-aged man dressed as a merchant bowed slightly, smiling without warmth: "Our trade cannot see the light. Since we have met, we must make things clear to avoid misunderstandings. What do you think?"

The old man also said indifferently: "Wang Laobie from Xiangzhou, I have also heard of you. You are quite good at dividing gold and setting points..."

The conversation between the two was all heard by Li Yan.

Zhao Donkey once said that if tomb robbers in the martial world must be divided into factions, there are generally three types.

The first one is naturally the lineage of exploring the mysterious.

These people are descendants of Pre-Qin alchemists, with secret inheritance, entering various ancient tombs, one is to find treasures, and the other is to find the elixir of immortality.

The remaining two are the southern and northern factions.

People from the northern faction mostly come from Shanzhou and Yuzhou, good at using Lu Ban rulers and Luoyang shovels to judge good and bad luck and crack mechanisms.

And people from the southern faction are better at dividing gold and setting points using feng shui techniques.

The two factions merge with each other, but basically have their own housekeeping skills.

Tomb robbers also have their own rules.

Sometimes they don't even trust their own people, let alone outsiders. When two groups of people encounter the same target, they must clarify the situation.

These two were clearly the leaders of both sides. After a stalemate for a while, Wang Laobie, who was disguised as a merchant, shook his head and said: "Chen Sanye, you are a senior in the martial world, so I will speak directly."

"We came here this time, entrusted by someone?"

"What a coincidence."

The old man with the fishing drum on his back also said: "I was also entrusted by someone. I guess our employer is the same family."

"Bai family!"

The two spoke at the same time, and then frowned.

A trace of murderous intent flashed in Wang Laobie's eyes, and he snorted coldly: "Does this Bai family not understand the rules? Chen Sanye, why don't we teach them how to behave?"

Chen Sanye was thoughtful and said: "Since they can suddenly find us, they are not amateurs. I'm afraid they want us to cooperate."

"Oh?"

Wang Laobie became interested. After a little hesitation, he took out an object from his arms, which was half a gilded bronze plate.

And Chen Sanye frowned and also took out half a gilded bronze plate from his arms, saying in a deep voice: "If it weren't for this, I wouldn't have come. Brother Wang, take a look!"

Having said that, he threw it out casually.

Wang Laobie caught it, put the two bronze plates together, and chanted: "Great Tang Anping King Wu..."

"It's Wu Youxu!"

The old man Chen Sanye was thoughtful: "When Wu Hou was in power, the Wu family had power over the world. It is rumored that this person 'had ambition and conduct when young, and was indifferent and had few desires.' He once disguised himself and sold divination in Chang'an, which was extremely accurate."

"This person was highly valued by Wu Hou, was named King of Anping, and served as Honglu Shaoqing and General of Qianniu Guard, but he didn't like the struggle in the court and went into seclusion in Mount Song, which is considered an alternative of the Wu family."

"Alternative of the Wu family?"

Wang Laobie sneered: "I've lived half my life and haven't seen many people who don't love power. I've been to several tombs of so-called honest officials, and they are even more luxurious than ordinary people!"

"This Wu Youxu is probably the same. Could it be his tomb?"

The old man Chen Sanye frowned: "I don't know. It is rumored that he was buried in Mount Song and never came to Ezhou. I'm afraid there is a problem."

Wang Laobie's face also became solemn: "His family had someone die, I guess they have already gone in and couldn't succeed, so they called us."

Having said that, he threw the half bronze plate back.

"Sanye, it seems to be a big fire hole. Revealing it to outsiders is probably not well-intentioned. We must be careful, don't be set up!"

The old man caught it and smiled: "Easy to say, just pretend not to know, and then deliberately look displeased, and then..."

The words were not explained, but both knew the meaning. They bowed to each other, looked at the night, and returned to the inn.

Whoosh~

After they left, the paper man spontaneously ignited.

Li Yan in the inn also opened his eyes, a bit strange: "Sure enough, it's tomb robbing, and it's a royal tomb..."

Having said that, he recounted what he saw.

Lu San asked: "What should we do?"

Li Yan smiled: "Let's not move first. Tomorrow, wait for them to enter the village, find the location of the tomb, and see the situation."

"If there are no accidents, there are tomb-guarding beasts inside. If it really is 'Tanyan', we will take action to capture it!"

The next day, just before dawn.

The two groups of people left the inn one after another.

Not long after they left, Li Yan and the other two also left the inn, but they walked along the mountain ridges and dense forests nearby, far away from the mountain road.

In the sky, a few birds temporarily summoned by Lu San circled back and forth, always monitoring the movements of the two groups of people.

I saw them walk for more than ten miles and arrive at a small village by the lake, where they were immediately stopped, asked a few questions, and were led into it.

Li Yan and the other two were not in a hurry, waiting in the nearby mountain forest.

Suddenly, Lu San said: "Someone is coming again, I've seen them at the Shen residence!"

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yan came to the mountain ridge and looked down through the branches.

I saw two people coming on the mountain road. Besides an old Daoist, there was also a young man in gorgeous clothes.

This person was Shen Jingcan of the Shen family!

(End of chapter)