Chapter 50

Zhongdu is very close to Pingyao County, so when they saw that it was getting late, Qin Cheng and Wu Hai decided to find a place to stay in Pingyao County. Then, they ate something random, and went to sleep. The next morning, the two of them set out for Zhongdu.

Even though Zhongdu is a township, because of its location being close to Pingyao County, it has developed quite well. Qin Cheng took the topographic map of Pingyao and carefully recalled the map indicating the mountain mausoleum that Su Jingmo had drawn for him, and delineated the hills and mountains on Pingyao’s topographic map. He then delineated the mountain range 2km to the north of Zhongdu.

Although it’s not as consistent as Su Jingmo’s description, this may be because the small peaks were flattened to build villages and towns.

Those who study archeology will certainly learn the theory of Feng Shui, and read the ancient scriptures. In terms of Feng Shui, people often say: “Go to the mountain to find the mouth of the water, and climb the cave to see the Ming Tang ¹ .” Which means that when a Feng Shui master enters a mountain looking for a cemetery, he should first see where the water comes from, and where it goes. At the same time, he must pay attention to what kind of water there’s inside the cave in front of the Ming Tang. Even though the country is dominated by atheism, so far, Chinese people attach great importance to Feng Shui, not to mention the ancients who believed in the fate of heaven.

As the saying goes: “The mountains are in charge of people, water, and money”, meaning that when choosing a cemetery, the quality of the water around the cemetery dominates the wealth of future generations, while the quality of the ‘sand’ around the cemetery dominates the prosperity of future generations. Therefore, if the place where the water comes is more broad, it indicates that the wealth of future generations will be good, and if there are layers of mountains blocking where the water goes, it indicates that the future generations will be able to keep their wealth. The mouth of the water is like the gate of people’s homes, if the water goes in the direction of two towering mountains, and the water flows between both mountains, it’s called ‘two mountains with one water’, and the water represents wealth. When it’s caught between two mountains, stopping the flow of the water, it means that the sentient being is unwilling to let the wealth flow away. Such a cemetery belongs to the land of great wealth, and future generations will be very rich and powerful.

“The Dragon is inside the cave, hidden from the wind and water. The mountains and rivers are sentient beings, and these landscapes are only there for my use. The Imperial mountain and the Imperial water must meet, so that the Ming Tang can be perfect. If the Ming Tang is perfect, then the cave will be as well.”

What Qin Cheng and Wu Hai were looking for was the intersection between an Imperial mountain and Imperial water. When they looked for that intersection, the water should be blocked by mountains.

It’s even more difficult to determine which of the thousands of mountain peaks is most likely to be the Mausoleum.

While observing and climbing another mountain, Qin Cheng slightly gasped for breath, and said: “I only have a superficial knowledge about Feng Shui, so I don’t know much about astrology broken points.”

Wu Hai, who was walking behind Qin Cheng for three or four hours, was also quite tired, so he simply shouted: “Let’s rest for a while, I’m really tired!”

There weren’t many people walking along the mountain road, which was why there were many overgrown weeds. As Wu Hai said that, he found a relatively flat ground, and sat down. Then he took off his hat using it as a fan while he looked through the gap between the trees. It was noon already, when the sun shines on top, and an occasional little breeze swept by, gently moving the yellow leaves, giving a rhythmic sound. Wu Hai squinted his eyes, and frowned: “It’s October already, but it’s still so hot.”

In fact, Qin Cheng was also covered in sweat, so he also sat aside, under the shadow of the trees, and took a water bottle from his backpack, taking out a few mouthfuls. The sound of drinking filled his mouth, feeling how the cold water went to his stomach, making him feel a bit more comfortable. “Yeah, let’s rest for a while. When we went to the top of the mountains, we simply took a general look, and then we went down again, going for the next one. We don’t have a plan either, and neither of us is familiar with this place, so we should go ask the locals to show us the way.”

Wu Hai nodded and laughed: “It’s true that those who aren’t familiar with the land, in case something happens, what will they do if they get lost? It’s better to find a local who’s familiar with the road. Otherwise, how will we find such a large mountain?” Even though they haven’t reached the top of the mountain yet, they were in the middle of the mountain, so the field of vision was broad. As Wu Hai looked at the mountains in the distance, he sighed: “Some time ago, I saw in the news that a grave robbing organization in Jilin Province was caught. They said that the leader of the grave robbing gang was an expert who could determine the location of ancient tombs by looking at rivers, mountains, and astrology, without the need of a compass. Now, when I think about it, I’m really 1% of him, because I’m unable to find a tomb, even if I had the necessary equipment.”

“Indeed. In every archeological work, we wait for others to find something before we go there to dig. This is the first time I have to personally look for a tomb.” Qin Cheng shook his head and laughed: “It’s only when I come to find a tomb by myself that I realize that I should’ve studied land identification rather than archeology.”

If Su Jingmo hadn’t told him the general direction, Qin Cheng wouldn’t have been able to find this place. As his heart was filled with feelings, Qin Cheng took out a pen and paper to describe the landscape in front of him. Wu Hai took a look, and then stood up to look around the mountain peaks. After a while, he suddenly said: “Hey, according to the Feng Shui theory, I think the mountain over there is a good piece of land.”

When Qin Cheng heard this, he put away the pen and paper and walked next to Wu Hai: “Which one?”

“Over there.” Wu Hai pointed to the right. “Look this way, two o’clock. The direction of the water is in harmony with the land, and the direction opposite the mountain is open and wide, but the water flow over there is blocked by other mountains.”

Qin Cheng carefully observed for a while, and nodded: “Did you bring a compass?”

“I’m not a Feng Shui master, why would I remember to bring a compass?”

Qin Cheng remembered that Su Jingmo told him that his father’s Mausoleum was facing a broad mountain peak, and that the mountain resembled a crouching tiger. According to what he said at that time, even though it was a Feng Shui precious land, the mountain peak resembling a crouching tiger was located at the back. Because, at that time, it just so happened that Great Xu was fighting with the strong barbarians in the North, which foreshadowed Great Xu’s back to be a fierce tiger. But this ended up as an ill omen. When the Ministers found out that this was a problem, once Su Jingmo’s father died, the Imperial tomb had long been built, and they didn’t know if he should be buried there or not. Su Jingmo, who ascended the throne at the time, only said: “Zhen will choose the Imperial Mausoleum facing the North of the former Emperor to be Zhen’s Mausoleum.”

The crouching tiger mountain in the North wasn’t a message for the barbarians, it was because the son of the former Emperor was buried there. The Ministers understood the meaning of this, and buried the former Emperor in his Imperial Mausoleum, facing the crouching tiger mountain.

However, why Su Jingmo ended up buried in Xi’an, Ninghua Village, was unknown.

When he thought about this, Qin Cheng looked at Wu Hai and said: “I think that we’d better go down and find a local to ask him to lead the way.”

“Alright, let’s find someone that can show us the way.” Wu Hai pointed to a small village at the foot of the mountain adjacent to the river. “Or we could also ask there, that village is the closest to the mountain, so they must know.”

Qin Cheng nodded: “Yeah.”

However, even though the mountain looked close, it was 2 or 3km away. In addition to this, the mountain road wasn’t easy to walk by, so it took them more than an hour to arrive at that village.

The village wasn’t large, and the traffic was also bad. Coupled with the lack of tourism, this village should be the poorest village in Zhongdu, because there were around 20 to 30 households. Almost half of them were wooden tile houses, and some of them looked decades old. A small number of families have built small bungalows.

It could be estimated that the village didn’t have any outsiders coming and going. Qin Cheng and Wu Hai, who were carrying large travel bags, wearing hiking shoes and clothes, and holding equipment cameras, looked very conspicuous among the group of farmers. Many farmers came to them to ask them what they were doing, looking very enthusiastic.

“Ah, we’re two students. We’re looking around during the holidays and decided to come this way.”

“Ah, come to play, huh? Then what are you doing with such things if you come to have fun?”

Originally, Qin Cheng and Wu Hai’s purpose of coming here wasn’t simple, and if others knew that they were archeologists, it would bring a lot of trouble. So, Qin Cheng replied: “Oh, we’re majoring in geography, and we wanted to take advantage of the National Day to see if there are any coalfields in this area.”

“You came here to see if there are coalfields in our village?” A thin man, who looked around 35 or 36 years old, wearing a yellowish vest, picked up a load of grass, and smiled. “If only we had gold here! We could become the second Datong in Shanxi, and then we’ll be rich!”

Wu Hai looked at Qin Cheng, who had just lied, and looked at the man, replying with a smile on his face: “Yes, Shanxi is indeed quite rich in coal resources.”

While the three were talking for a while, the man’s wife shouted to him, telling him to hurry back for dinner. The man waved his hand at his wife not far away, turned his head, and said enthusiastically: “I see you’re not from Zhongdu. It’s already noon, so if you don’t dislike it, you two can come to my house for a light meal. There aren’t any restaurants here.”

Qin Cheng and Wu Hai looked at each other, nodded, and smiled: “Then we’ll trouble you.”

“Hey, what trouble?! Our village has nothing but hospitality! Ah, by the way, my surname is Tang, my name is Jie, how are you two called?”

“My name is Qin Cheng, and he’s my classmate, Wu Hai.”

The man surnamed Tang’s home was also a wooden house that looked decades old. Even though the home had some electronic devices, they looked old as well.

The farmers are hospitable, so when they saw there were some guests, they killed a chicken to entertain them. The three of them drank some wine and chatted about the day while eating.

“There are few people living in our village, and many young people have gone to work in Zhejiang. Leaving us, people in their 30s and older, behind.”

“Tang-dage, are everyone here surnamed Tang?”

“Where?” The man took a sip of wine and laughed: “There are more than a dozen households surnamed Yue at the other end of the river. While on our side, there are some scattered families with scattered surnames. There are three families surnamed Tang, three families surnamed Liu, and Qi, Zhang, Luo, Zhuo. The Yue family is the biggest, and every time there’s time to vote for the village’s chief… ah, it’s always the Yue family! Ah, it’s like they’re suppressing our families!”

“So, Tang-dage, you moved here from another place?” Since there are so many Yue family members in this village, then there should’ve been only Yue family members here before.

“No, no, no.” When he said this, Tang Jie sounded hateful: “Our Tang family was the original inhabitants of this place for so many years! It’s just that the Tang family isn’t united, so most of them don’t want to live in this valley…. ah…. if we were more united, how could be so easily suppressed by the foreign Yue family?”

“Many years?” When he heard Tang Jie say this, Qin Cheng thought. “How many years has your family been here?”

Tang Jie drank almost all the wine, and his face looked red: “I don’t know much about this, I guess the older generation may know…”

✨Extra Chapter thanks to Ko-fi✨ [1/4]

I’m finally able to update the extra chapters ◡̈⋆ⓎⒶⓎ!(*´∇`)ﾉ

Oh? ? Tang family? Tang? That’s suspicious…

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(∩´∀`∩)

Footnotes

<ol><b>明堂</b> <b>míng táng</b> ; In Feng Shui, Ming Tang is the area in front of the gate of the Yang Residence, or in front of the Yin Residence, is where the earth’s qi converges. The Ming Tang is a clean wide space, perfect to gather qi, and its purpose is to promote good fortune and avoid evil.</ol>