Chapter 17 1
After coming out of the cave, the three people felt like they had lived two lives. The danger they had just experienced made them realize the complexity and horror of the Hengwang Mausoleum, but it also aroused their curiosity about the Hengwang Mausoleum.
After the three people climbed out from the gap at the top of the cave entrance, they sat down on the rocks and didn't want to move. They didn't feel tired when they were in the cave, but after coming out, they relaxed and suddenly became exhausted , as if they had just finished the Long March.
Gao Hongjin opened the lid of the kettle, drank two sips of water, and let out a long sigh: "It's better to be under the sun. Damn, I almost couldn't get out."
Gao Hongjin's words also reminded Mu Linfeng, and he said to the two people: "After we take a break, we have to block this cave entrance. It will be troublesome if someone goes in and can't get out."
Wen Yinqiu said with lingering fear: "Yes, if it weren't for someone like Brother Mu who is proficient in the Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams, ordinary people who accidentally entered that place would never be able to get out..."
Wen Yinqiu seemed to have thought of something when she said this. She looked at Mu Linfeng from the side and asked, "Brother Mu, you said that the outside of the Hengwang Mausoleum is so complicated, so what is it like inside? Could it be that there are traps at every step?"
Mu Linfeng pondered for a moment, then slowly said: "This issue is also mentioned in the tomb-viewing notes left by my ancestors. The specifications and designs of ancient tombs are strictly regulated. Only the emperor's tombs have things like mechanisms and traps. The mechanisms are generally set in the corridors leading to the underground palace, and they disappear after reaching the underground palace. But I feel that the setting of the Hengwang Mausoleum may be different from other tombs..."
Gao Hongjin also seemed very interested in this topic: "Lin Feng, what is the difference between the Hengwang Mausoleum and other mausoleums?"
"It's hard to say now. I have a feeling that there may be an underground city under this mountain, and its scale is beyond our imagination."
As soon as Mu Linfeng finished speaking, Wen Yinqiu shouted excitedly: "Great, I've heard that there are underground cities in several European countries. If an underground city is discovered in China, it will definitely make a world sensation...Brother Mu, can I use a camera to film the underground city?"
"This is just my guess. It's hard to say what the specific situation is. And this underworld city is not quite the same as the underground city you imagined..."
"I believe in Brother Mu's guess." Wen Yinqiu stood up and urged, "Let's act quickly. I can't wait any longer. I really want to see what the underground city looks like..."
The three men blocked the entrance of the cave with stones again, and then prepared to return to Jiushan Village to replenish food and water, especially the battery of the lighting lamp had been exhausted and needed to be recharged.
It was already evening when they returned to Jiushan Village. The three of them planned to rest in the village for one night and then look for the airway leading to the underground palace tomorrow.
The village was small and there was no hotel, so Gao Hongjin talked to the school teacher and borrowed a classroom to rest in. When he came, he planned to spend the night in the wild, so he brought a tent and a sleeping bag. The classroom was much better than the wild, and the desks put together made a good bed.
The only private teacher in the school was very enthusiastic. He brought them boiled water, gave his bed in the office to Wen Yinqiu, and rode his motorcycle home.
After a whole day of hard work, the three of them were tired. After eating something, Mu Linfeng and Gao Hongjin got into their sleeping bags and began to rest.
Gao Hongjin started snoring less than two minutes after he lay down, and his snoring was as loud as thunder. Mu Linfeng's mind was full of the scene he encountered in the cave, and he couldn't fall asleep for a while, so he simply got up, put on his shoes and walked out of the classroom.
The bright moonlight covered the small mountain village with a silver coat, revealing peace in the tranquility. Except for the occasional barking of a dog, the whole mountain village seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep. No matter how colorful the outside world was, the people in the mountain village still lived peacefully, maintaining the habit of working from sunrise to sunset.
Mu Linfeng stood in the middle of the small playground, looking at the dark mountains behind the village, wondering where he should go to find the airway of Hengwang Mausoleum tomorrow. He believed that the airway was somewhere on the mountain in front of him, but Mu Linfeng was unsure whether he could find the airway. In many cases, such things are hard to come by.
Suddenly, Mu Linfeng heard light footsteps behind him. He didn't need to look back, he knew by intuition that the person coming was Wen Yinqiu. In fact, he was also longing for Wen Yinqiu to appear in his heart, and he believed that Wen Yinqiu could also sense his expectations.
Under the quiet moonlight, there is a beloved girl to chat with, which is the romantic scene that every man dreams of. The quiet mountain village, the beautiful night, and the favorite girl, just thinking about it makes people intoxicated.
"Brother Mu, why haven't you rested yet?"
Wen Yinqiu's sweet voice sounded like the most beautiful song in the world to Mu Linfeng. The itchy flesh in his heart seemed to be brushed by soft hair and trembled slightly.
Mu Linfeng turned around, looked at Wen Yinqiu with eager eyes and said, "Xiao Wen, I suddenly wondered, at this moment, in this place, what would it feel like if I could hear you playing the music of High Mountains and Flowing Water on the Hengwang Qin?"
"Haha, I didn't expect that Brother Mu would have such a refined taste as to think of listening to the zither."
"Just now I was looking at Dafo Mountain under the moonlight, and for some reason I thought of the song "High Mountains and Flowing Waters" that you played. To be honest, ever since I heard your playing of the guqin, it's really like what Confucius said, 'I don't know the taste of meat in March...'"
"Haha...Brother, is my piano playing really that attractive?"
Wen Yinqiu's calling of "Big Brother" made Mu Linfeng feel numb inside. The title of "Big Brother Mu" changed to "Big Brother" indicating that their relationship had become closer.
"From the sound of your zither, I can understand why your mother wanted to play the Hengwang zither. Now I feel the power of music. It is really haunting."
Wen Yinqiu stared at Mu Linfeng with fiery eyes and said emotionally: "It is said that it is difficult to find a soulmate. Having a soulmate like you is enough for my life."
Mu Linfeng heard the hidden meaning in Wen Yinqiu's words, and he said excitedly: "Xiao Wen, even if I have to go through fire and water, I will help you find the Hengwangqin."
"I believe you can do it. Let's go for a walk outside." As he spoke, Wen Yinqiu naturally put his arm around Mu Linfeng's arm, leaned against him, and walked towards the school gate.
Wen Yinqiu asked as they walked: "Lin Feng, where do you think we should go to find the Qi path of Hengwang Mausoleum tomorrow?"
In just a few minutes, the relationship between the two people quickly became closer like a triple jump. The change from "Brother Mu" to "Lin Feng" was not just a reduction in the number of words, it meant that Wen Yinqiu already regarded Mu Linfeng as his closest person.
No matter what purpose Wen Yinqiu had in approaching Mu Linfeng, her affection for Mu Linfeng came from the bottom of her heart. When a person has some kind of emotion in his heart, the other person can feel it without even words or actions, so Mu Linfeng strongly felt the burning emotion in Wen Yinqiu's heart.
Some people worry that love comes too quickly, and believe that it will not be solid if it comes too quickly. In fact, love between men and women does not require time or reason. No one can be completely sure about the future, especially love, so just grasp the present. Mu Linfeng has always believed this.
Seeing that Mu Linfeng didn't answer her question, Wen Yinqiu shook his arm and said softly, "What are you thinking about? I'm asking you a question."
Mu Linfeng said hurriedly: "Oh, I...I was just thinking about this problem."
In fact, Wen Yinqiu knew very well that this question was difficult for Mu Linfeng to answer. If he knew where the airway of Hengwang Mausoleum was, he would not have to look for it at all and could just go there directly.
Wen Yinqiu seemed to be asking Mu Linfeng, but also seemed to be talking to himself: "I can't understand why no one knows that the Hengwang Mausoleum is down there. This mountain is only more than ten kilometers away from Qingzhou City?"
"This is not surprising. In ancient times, many celebrities, especially emperors, were buried in secret. They were even buried in the middle of the night to avoid being seen by others. The first person to adopt the secret burial method was Zhao Tuo, the King of Nanyue. He should be the first emperor to be buried in secret. After his death, countless tomb robbers could not find where he was buried."
"So King Heng also adopted secret burial?" Wen Yinqiu asked curiously.
Mu Linfeng secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead. After Wen Yinqiu hugged his arms, Mu Linfeng broke out in sweat. He didn't know whether it was because of nervousness or excitement. Now that he was talking, he felt a little more relaxed.
"Not only was Prince Heng buried in secret, but the princesses and princes of Prince Heng's mansion were also buried in secret. Because the funerals in Prince Heng's mansion were all presided over by our Mu family, this was recorded in the notes of our ancestors. The funerals of the five generations of Prince Heng were all held in the middle of the night, so no one knows where Prince Heng was buried..."
"Oh, no wonder no one knows that the real Hengwang Mausoleum is here."
Mu Linfeng went on to say: "In order to prevent their tombs from being discovered and robbed, many people in ancient times not only adopted the method of secret burial, but also built 'false tombs'. The earliest false tombs appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period. It is said that after Confucius died, his disciples built five false tombs. However, the one with the most fake tombs was Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period. When Cao Cao was buried, all the gates of Yecheng were opened, and a total of 72 coffins were carried out from the four gates of the southeast, northwest, and northeast at the same time. A total of 72 tombs were built, so Cao Cao's real tomb has become an eternal mystery. For thousands of years, there have been countless tomb robbers, but no one has found Cao Cao's real tomb..."
After hearing what Mu Linfeng said, Wen Yinqiu said with a smile: "King Heng also built a fake tomb to deceive people, causing me to make a wasted trip."
"Yes, that is indeed the Xu Family of King Heng. Whenever a secret burial is adopted, a Xu Family is usually built to confuse tomb robbers."
As they talked, the two of them unknowingly came to the outside of the village. Jiushan Village was located halfway up the mountain, so the whole village was in a stair-like shape, getting higher as you go back. The height difference of the whole village was at least several dozen meters. They could see the whole picture of Jiushan Village from where they were.
Mu Linfeng pointed to the stone mill under an old persimmon tree and said, "Sit here."
Wen Yinqiu had lived abroad since she was a child and had never seen a stone mill. She looked at the huge cylindrical stone curiously and asked, "What is this thing used for? It looks like a huge stone drum."
Mu Linfeng sat beside the stone trough under the stone mill, patted the thick stone mill with his hand and said: "This thing is called 'mill' in the local area. Decades ago, when there was no electricity in the village, food was crushed into powder with this thing, and then made into dry food..."
Wen Yinqiu sat down next to Mu Linfeng, looking at the miles-long mountains and exclaimed: "The mountain is the mausoleum. Although the King of Heng is only a vassal king, the mausoleum is no less imposing than some emperors' mausoleums."
"Yes, not only is the mausoleum of Prince Heng larger than that of many emperors in history, but he is also very famous. There is even a description of Prince Heng in the Dream of the Red Chamber."
Wen Yinqiu said with great interest: "Really? I haven't read Dream of the Red Chamber. Please tell me about it."
Mu Linfeng smiled and said, "From the fact that King Heng was able to personally make the famous King Heng Qin, it can be seen that he must be a versatile, elegant and refined person..."
"Well, he must be a scholar and a skilled craftsman, otherwise he would not have been able to make the Hengwang Qin that is famous throughout China." Wen Yinqiu said in agreement.
Mu Linfeng felt that Wen Yinqiu did not understand the meaning of his words, so he smiled and said, "Haha, elegant people are often romantic. In the 78th chapter of A Dream of Red Mansions, there is a tragic love story between King Heng and Lin Siniang. I don't know which generation of King Heng it was. This King Heng was fond of martial arts, and he was also romantic and lustful. He had many concubines, so he formed an army of women. King Heng had a favorite concubine named Lin Siniang. This Lin Siniang was both beautiful and skilled in martial arts. King Heng loved her very much, so he ordered Siniang to lead all the concubines and called her 'general'. Later, the Yellow Turban Army rose up in rebellion in Shandong, and the chaos spread to Qingzhou. After King Heng was killed, the civil and military officials of Qingzhou planned to surrender the city, but were opposed by Lin Siniang. She led the women's army to attack the enemy at night, but was finally defeated and died on the battlefield..."
As Mu Linfeng was talking, he inadvertently looked up at the mountain on the left. However, he was stunned when he saw a cloud of mist floating on the top of the mountain. The bottom of the cloud was in the shape of a line, as if it was connected to a part of the mountain.
Seeing this, Mu Linfeng stood up and stood on the stone mill, staring at the mountain, examining it carefully.
After seeing Mu Linfeng's strange behavior, Wen Yinqiu also looked in the direction he was looking. In his field of vision, except for the dark outline of the mountains, Wen Yinqiu saw nothing, so he asked in confusion: "What are you looking at?"
The entire Big Buddha Head Mountain is composed of nine peaks. Mu Linfeng pointed to a peak in the middle and said, "Pay attention to the peak in the middle. You can't see it from here. If you look at it from the Tuoshan Buddha Worship Platform, this peak should be the bridge of the giant Buddha's nose. There is a ball of water vapor gathering at the position of the nostril..."
Wen Yinqiu looked in the direction of Mu Linfeng's finger. She could vaguely see the mountain that Mu Linfeng mentioned, but she couldn't see any water vapor: "I... I didn't see anything..."
Mu Linfeng turned around and jumped off the millstone, then pulled Wen Yinqiu and ran into the village.
"You look so anxious. What happened?" Wen Yinqiu asked in surprise.
"Hurry back and take your equipment with us. Let's go up the mountain overnight. I found the aura of King Heng's Mausoleum..."
The two of them ran back to the elementary school and went to get their own things.
Mu Linfeng walked into the rest classroom. Gao Hongjin was still sleeping. Mu Linfeng patted him and said loudly, "Wake up, it's dawn."
Gao Hongjin suddenly sat up, looked around, and found that it was still pitch black outside the window. He asked dazedly, "What time is it? Is it still dark outside?"
"It's not even twelve o'clock yet, hehe..."
"Fuck, are you kidding me?" Gao Hongjin said angrily.
Mu Linfeng said as he packed his things: "I'm not kidding you, I found the aura of King Heng's Mausoleum, we need to hurry up the mountain."
Hearing that the airway had been discovered, Gao Hongjin immediately jumped down from his desk, "Really? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
The two of them hurriedly packed their travel backpacks. When they came out of the classroom, Wen Yinqiu was already waiting in the yard. The three of them hurried towards the mountain behind the village.
Two hours later, the three of them climbed up the ridge in the middle of the Big Buddha Mountain. After arriving here, Mu Linfeng discovered that the peak that formed the Big Buddha's nose was steeper than what he saw at the foot of the mountain. What he saw at the Buddha worship platform was only one side. When he came to the ridge, he could see that the peak had traces of being chiseled by people. The cliffs twenty or thirty meters high were very smooth, and there was almost no place to climb.
Looking up along the rock wall, there are two circular holes at a height of more than ten meters. From below, the diameter of the holes is about two meters. A cloud of mist-like water vapor is floating in front of the holes, which is very obvious under the moonlight.
Wen Yinqiu pointed at the mist above his head and said excitedly: "I saw it. Did you mean this mist when you were at the foot of the mountain?"
Gao Hongjin looked up and asked in confusion: "Lin Feng, what can this fog indicate?"
Mu Linfeng said softly: "This shows that this cave is a rock cave that leads directly to the bottom of the mountain. Because the temperature at the bottom of the mountain is low, the cold air below condenses into mist when it meets the warm air outside the cave. This kind of mist is only possible at night. It will disappear when the temperature rises during the day..."
Wen Yinqiu patted Mu Linfeng's arm and said, "I didn't expect you to study the environment and climate."
"In fact, this is necessary common sense for special forces..." Mu Linfeng said while observing the condition of the cliff. He was looking for a climbing route.
After determining the climbing position, Mu Linfeng slung the rope he brought over his shoulder, and then said to Gao Hongjin and Wen Yinqiu: "I'll go up first, and I'll drop the rope later. After you get the equipment up, you can climb up using the rope."
The mountain looked particularly steep under the night sky, and it felt like it was about to press down on him. Gao Hongjin said with some concern: "Lin Feng, can you wait until daybreak before going up? It would be troublesome if something happened in the dark."
