Chapter 1 My Life as a Corpse Fisherman

Led by Yellow-haired Xiaoming, we continued to move deeper into the ancient Shu tomb.

Although Lao Wei made a crutch for Xiaoming, the guy had a sprained ankle, so he still walked with a limp.

Jiang Yongguang didn't push him too hard. After all, Haizi was still a person. Even though he had gone astray for a while, he couldn't be treated like a slave.

As we walked, Jiang Yongguang took out a crystal-clear jade pendant from his pocket and examined it repeatedly. I glanced at it and recognized it as the cultural relic that had been seized from Xiaoming.

I saw that the jade pendant was lustrous and beautifully carved, so I couldn't help but take a closer look.

Lao Wei and Xiao Liang also gathered around.

The dragon-patterned jade pendant was square, and it seemed to be carved from Hetian white jade. The five-clawed golden dragon carved on it was both lifelike and majestic.

Jiang Yongguang marveled at it and said, "If I'm not mistaken, this should be a dragon-patterned square white jade pendant, right?"

Lao Wei immediately nodded and said, "Dayong has a good eye. That's right, this thing should be worn on a belt. Judging from the craftsmanship and patterns, this is probably something from the imperial family."

"Something from the imperial family?" I couldn't help but ask.

Lao Wei said, "That's right. Look at the pattern on this jade pendant, the five-clawed golden dragon. Not just anyone is qualified to enjoy that. The Ming Dynasty had a strict hierarchical system, and no accessories could exceed the rules. That is to say, one could not exceed one's own level and enjoy privileges."

Jiang Yongguang immediately said, "Lao Wei is right. I remember that ordinary officials in the Ming Dynasty could only carve *chilong* on their accessories, right?"

"Yes." Lao Wei nodded and said, "A *chilong* is a dragon without horns, which can be regarded as a slightly lower-level dragon. Only descendants of the Zhu family above the rank of prince were qualified to use this kind of five-clawed golden dragon."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Goodness, doesn't this mean that the owner of this Ming tomb was a prince of the Ming Dynasty?"

Xiao Liang also said in shock, "So, the thing we found is actually a princely tomb? But I haven't heard of any Ming Dynasty princes building their tombs by the Mamu River."

Faced with our questions, Lao Wei explained, "It may not necessarily be a prince. Actually, there is another possibility, that is, this dragon-patterned jade pendant was bestowed on the tomb owner by the emperor. In this case, even if the tomb owner was not a Ming Dynasty prince, he would still be qualified to enjoy this level of jade pendant."

"I see..." We all said that we had learned something new.

At this time, Jiang Yongguang suddenly poked Xiaoming's shoulder and asked, "By the way, you guys have been tomb raiding for so long. Have you figured out whose tomb this is?"

Xiaoming quickly replied with a smile, "I really don't know about this, but my *zhiguo de* (mastermind) speculated that this is very likely the tomb of Liu Bowen, a founding hero of the Ming Dynasty!"

Hearing this, I couldn't help but laugh in my heart, "If your *zhiguo de* (mastermind) had taken a look at the gold ingots in the vermilion boxes, he wouldn't have said such a ridiculous thing. The gold ingots buried with him were from the Yongle period, so how could the person buried be Liu Bowen, who had already passed away in the Hongwu period?"

But after thinking about it, I guessed that Yang Guo and the others probably didn't have time to look at these boxes of gold ingots before they were scared out of their wits by the White-Clad Fairy.

Therefore, it was understandable that Yang Guo mistakenly thought that this ancient tomb was Liu Bowen's tomb.

Jiang Yongguang didn't rush to refute him, but asked, "Why did your *zhiguo de* (mastermind) say that this ancient tomb is Liu Bowen's tomb?"

Xiaoming said with a smile, "Officers, have you heard the story of Liu Bowen cutting off the dragon veins of the world? Legend has it that after Zhu Yuanzhang seized the world, he asked Liu Bowen..."

"Stop, stop, stop, we've all heard it." Before Xiaoming could start telling the story, Jiang Yongguang hurriedly interrupted him.

"Oh, you've heard it? That's good! Then I'll save my breath." Xiaoming said shamelessly, "My *zhiguo de* (mastermind) said that Liu Bowen must have come here to cut off the dragon veins back then and discovered this treasure trove of feng shui. He had the idea of seizing it and stealing the millennium fortune of the ancient Shu king. That's why he built his own *yinzhai* (tomb) on top of the ancient Shu tomb, so that he could live in it after death."

Jiang Yongguang couldn't help but question, "But don't forget, Liu Bowen's tomb is clearly in Jiangnan, and there are still ruins there now."

Xiaoming smiled disdainfully, "Who knows if the Liu Bowen tomb in Jiangnan is real or fake? Liu Bowen was so smart that he could completely use a fake corpse to deceive the world."

What he said was indeed not unreasonable. If the gold ingots in the vermilion boxes hadn't completely denied this possibility, I might have been convinced by him.

However, the irrefutable evidence of the inscriptions on the gold ingots ruled out the possibility that the tomb owner was Liu Bowen, so this statement was clearly untenable.

Then, on second thought, if it was possible for Liu Bowen to use a fake corpse to deceive the world, then wouldn't Yao Guangxiao, the Black-robed Prime Minister under the Yongle Emperor, also play such a trick?

The owner of this Ming tomb could never be Liu Bowen, so could it be Yao Guangxiao?

With such doubts, we followed Yellow-haired Xiaoming and continued to walk deeper into the ancient tomb.

Although the upper two levels of the Ming tomb were already very grand, they were nothing compared to the ancient Shu tomb on this lower level.

The scale of this ancient Shu tomb was not inferior to the tombs on the Tuo River and the Yazi River. In fact, the passages here were even more intricate and complex, and walking through them was like walking through a maze.

Yellow-haired Xiaoming was quite reliable. He not only led us to find Yang Guo's tomb raiding gang, but also explained to us the cultural relics they had discovered.

Along the tomb chambers we passed, he introduced them one by one, "There are two bronze sacred trees in this tomb chamber, but my *zhiguo de* (mastermind) said that this thing is not easy to move out, and it's very hot to handle. Even if we move it out, it won't be easy to sell. We might be targeted by the authorities, so he doesn't recommend we move it..."

When we reached the next tomb chamber, Xiaoming said again, "There is a bronze round-mouthed *fangzun* (square vessel) in here. The shoulders of the *fangzun* are decorated with bird patterns and bird and animal carvings, and it is very well preserved. When *zhiguo de* (mastermind) saw this *zun*, his eyes lit up and he said that we must find a way to transport this thing out. As long as we get this treasure out, the brothers will have no worries about food and drink for at least ten years."

Jiang Yongguang sneered, "Hehe, you even dare to sell a round-mouthed *fangzun*? I think you will indeed have no worries about food and drink for ten years. No, not ten years, you'll have no worries about food and drink for the rest of your life. You'll be sent in to spend your whole life in prison."

When Xiaoming heard this, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat and quickly said, "Officer, we were just talking. We didn't even touch this round-mouthed *fangzun*. If you don't believe me, look, it's still in the tomb chamber. You can't convict us for this, right!"

Jiang Yongguang snorted coldly.

Xiaoming quickly changed the subject and pointed to the tomb chamber in front of him, saying, "The tomb chamber in front is even more exciting. In addition to a few bronze *zun* and bronze *lei*, there are also two boxes of ivory! I took a look and they are quite well preserved!"

"Ivory?" I couldn't help but ask after hearing this, "Was it already popular to collect ivory more than four thousand years ago?"

"Of course." Xiao Liang said to me, "Ivory was already a very precious treasure at that time. Don't underestimate the communication between the ancient Shu people and the world. Shells produced in the Indian Ocean have also been found in the sacrificial pits of Sanxingdui. That is to say, more than four thousand years ago, our ancestors had already traded with foreign friends from the Indian Ocean coast!"