In the village, countless people stared at the clothes salvaged from the well.
"Village chief, how is it? Did anyone drown?" a woman asked with concern.
"Not yet. However, these clothes look rather familiar," the village chief mused, staring at the garments and falling into thought.
Gradually, the village chief's eyes lit up. "Hey? Aren't these Comrade Zhang's clothes?"
At this, the villagers instantly realized. "It really is Comrade Zhang's clothes. How did they end up here?"
A buzz of discussion erupted. Seeing Zhang Tian's four-cornered underwear, some women even blushed.
"Achoo! Achoo!"
Zhang Tian, sitting on a snowmobile, sneezed several times in a row.
"Boss, are you catching a cold?" Hu Bayi asked with concern.
Zhang Tian waved his hand, "Impossible. We are all cultivators, superior beings. How could we possibly catch a cold?" He didn't think much of it as he spoke.
"It's so cold! I told you, this place can freeze a fox into an ice fox," the little fox whimpered, rolling into a ball as a gust of wind blew past.
"Didn't you eat so many elixirs? Why are you still afraid of the cold?" Zhang Tian shot it a look.
"Tuantuan didn't cultivate. Tuantuan just stayed in the ancient tomb," the little fox said plaintively.
Despite swallowing so many elixirs, this creature was still a foolish fox.
As they advanced, on the snowmobile behind them, Xie Yuchen slowly rubbed his eyes. He had gotten onto the vehicle groggily with Hu Bayi. Now, he was gradually waking up.
Looking at the vehicle ahead, Xie Yuchen seemed to see a little white fox. Suddenly, the "tender" scene from that night flashed through his mind.
"No, why is there a fox? Am I still dreaming?" Xie Yuchen frowned slightly, his expression serious.
"Master Hua, are you awake? How was it? Did you sleep comfortably with Old Hu last night?" Fatty asked curiously, blinking his eyes.
Xie Yuchen rubbed his eyes again and ignored Fatty. "A fox? Why is that fox here?" Upon clearly seeing that it was indeed a fox, Xie Yuchen was stunned, his mouth twitching as he muttered to himself. Was that night truly not a dream?
"Oh, you mean it? The boss's pet," Fatty said casually. Here, only the little fox could rival him in terms of cuteness.
"Little Master Zhang's pet?" Xie Yuchen's gaze turned to Zhang Tian's back, his eyes holding a hint of peculiarity. Just how many creatures did this Zhang Tian keep?
They traveled in silence. After passing through Pengyue Gully, Hu Bayi's compass began to spin. Hu Bayi's eyes lit up.
"Xunlong Fanjin looks at the mountain range,"
"Every mountain is a pass,"
"If the pass has a thousand locks,"
"Then a king or marquis must reside in this mountain!"
Hu Bayi recited slowly, and Zhang Tian's gaze also turned serious. The sound of Hu Bayi's words sent a jolt through Xie Yuchen. He looked at Hu Bayi. Even though he, who knew nothing of tomb raiding, was deeply impressed by his words. "Every mountain is a pass." After leaving Pengyue Gully, the endless mountains behind them, wouldn't they naturally form a series of passes?
Thinking of this, Xie Yuchen's perception of Hu Bayi changed. So, the person he had been sleeping with under the same roof was actually a strategist, a contemporary Zhuge Liang! Thinking about sharing a room with Hu Bayi and not having asked about tomb exploration, Xie Yuchen felt a pang of regret.
"Old Hu, I find the terrain of Qingfeng Mountain rather unique," Zhang Tian suddenly said, his voice heavy.
"Mm, there's a high probability of a grand tomb," Hu Bayi nodded earnestly.
Zhang Tian looked back at Pengyue Gully and slowly said, "This Pengyue Gully is like the entrance gate to Qingfeng Mountain. Only by passing through the mountain gate of Pengyue Gully will one reach Qingfeng Mountain. And Qingfeng Mountain itself is a succession of layered mountains, one after another. I wonder what grand tomb is being protected here!" Zhang Tian spoke slowly. To have the Pengyue Gully, where princes and princesses resided, serve as the mountain gate, the occupant was likely no ordinary person.
"Boss, do you remember Qingfeng Temple? I think we should not descend into the tomb for now. Let's find Qingfeng Temple first," Hu Bayi suggested. "If we return the peach wood sword, we might earn their appreciation, and perhaps glean some information."
Zhang Tian fell into thought. Honestly, Hu Bayi's approach was quite good. "But why would Qingfeng Temple be willing to tell us about the tomb? Moreover, I'm worried they might act against us," Zhang Tian remained somewhat suspicious.
Hu Bayi thought for a moment. "Boss, do you remember what that old man said? Back then, Qingfeng Mountain was rampant with demons, which is why the Daoist priests went there. This indicates they still possess a righteous heart," Hu Bayi said. Zhang Tian stroked Tuantuan's head. "This is not impossible, but human hearts are complex. Perhaps they are after the ancient tomb? The Ban Shan Daoists, after all, are a sect of tomb robbers," Zhang Tian said. Hu Bayi also fell silent.
After a long while, "Forget it. Let's see if we can find it. If we can, great. If not, we'll have to explore the tomb ourselves," Zhang Tian took a deep breath and said unhurriedly. These things would depend on fate. Hu Bayi nodded. Gradually, after the wolf dogs passed through a mountain range, the snowmobiles slowly came to a halt. On a small hillside, Zhang Tian and the others looked into the distance. It was the mountain forests to the northeast. The snow was white and seemed to stretch endlessly, with many pine trees, giving it a white and green appearance.
"Boss, these mountains are so deep and white!" Fatty stood beside them, a backpack slung over his shoulder, containing food.
"So many mountains, Little Master Zhang. Do these mountains represent anything?" Xie Yuchen asked curiously. He now only wished to learn more about ancient tombs.
"Look, the direction of this mountain range is very unique."
"The ancients said, 'Do not bury in side mountains.'"
"'Do not bury in steep mountains.'"
"'Do not bury in bare mountains.'"
"But look, its four corners, east, west, north, and south, are not only bare but also steep, and on the side. What does this mean?" Zhang Tian pointed to the distant, cloud-shrouded mountain range and asked with a smile.
Xie Yuchen looked for a long time. "I don't understand," he replied honestly, with a genuine desire to learn. Seeing the young master of the Xie family in the manner of a student, Zhang Tian found it quite amusing. After this tomb raid, he would likely have a deeper understanding of Xie Yuchen.
"Old Hu, you tell him," Zhang Tian said.
Hu Bayi spoke, "Previously, people said not to bury in so many mountains, but many overlooked a problem. China's land is inherently limited, and the population is large. If you don't bury here, where else can you bury?"
"These four corners were deliberately designed by the tomb owner. Making the four corners appear as broken or difficult mountains was to enhance the feng shui of the central area. See, with the protection of these four corners, and the vegetation and mountain formations within, it creates the illusion of a coiled dragon."
"Beneath this, there might not be just one dragon vein, possibly two or three!" Hu Bayi exclaimed. Xie Yuchen listened, somewhat bewildered. Fatty gloated from the side. "Heh heh, Little Hua Hua, look, you're not as smart as Fatty." Fatty said triumphantly.
"A tomb of this scale must belong to an emperor," Hu Bayi said, his eyes alight with excitement as he surveyed the scene.
"Perhaps it's the Underworld," Zhang Tian joked, but a sense of unease settled in his heart. This place, by all appearances, exuded a chilling aura.