The Unorthodox Tomb Raider

"It really is! Such a big fish bone! I have to go over and take a good look at it, and pay my respects to the Dragon King."

Fang Yun smiled and replied, then turned his gaze to the surrounding mountains.

The surrounding mountains are barren, without any barriers or protection, and appear lifeless and lacking any distinct mountain shapes or terrain.

But above, clouds and rainbows form a blanket, below, there is a peaceful place to rest and store, and the earth holds a naturally occurring spring.

As long as the Yellow River remains intact, the tributaries will continuously fill the springs here, ensuring the springs remain stable below and rise to the surface like clouds, thus preserving this hidden spring as long-lived as the Yellow River.

Those who are unfamiliar with water and wind will never find such a treasure land; they will only regard it as a barren and desolate place and avoid it at all costs.

"Alright, we've arrived at Fishbone Temple. You can go straight back now."

"We'll head straight back once we've had our fun, you don't need to lead the way."

Fang Yun then took out a few more silver coins and handed them to the guide, before telling him to leave.

"Alright, gentlemen, be careful, there are plenty of pits around here."

The guide carefully tucked the silver coin into his pocket and then happily departed.

Judging from the expression on his face, this place was quite dangerous, and he was unwilling to stay any longer.

After the guide left, Partridge Whistle glanced at the Fishbone Temple and said thoughtfully.

"Brother Fang, although I am not knowledgeable about profound feng shui, I do have some understanding of it."

“The temple was built to benefit the local people, but this place is so remote, deep in the mountains, and lacks any sense of integrity or righteousness. Perhaps the purpose of building a temple here is not to pray to gods and Buddhas?”

He joined the Mountain Moving Sect at the age of thirteen and gained extensive knowledge and experience.

This remote and utterly devoid of any positive energy, Fishbone Temple, made him think of a possibility.

That means this temple was built by tomb raiders to cover their tracks, with the real purpose of excavating the tomb beneath it!

Buying land...murder...fabricating supernatural tales...

He had seen many similar things before.

Upon hearing Partridge Whistle's words, Fang Yun nodded and said, "That's right... just as you thought."

"This temple was built to deceive people."

"Because beneath that fishbone temple lies a great tomb!"

"Li Chunfeng's Tomb!" Partridge Whistle's eyes flashed, and his gaze toward the Fishbone Temple became even more intense.

Fang Yun smiled and, without saying a word, went down the earthen slope and climbed up the mountain path toward the Fishbone Temple, with the others following behind.

Before long, the group of four entered the Fishbone Temple.

The temple was filled with dust and smelled musty; it was unclear how long it had been since anyone had come to offer incense.

Without Fang Yun even lifting a finger, the experienced Partridge Whistle simply strolled around the temple and found the entrance to the tomb hidden behind the stone platform at the foot of the Dragon King statue.

While waiting for the tunnel to air out, Partridge Whistle felt a pang of doubt and asked Fang Yun:

"Brother Fang, how did you determine that this is Li Chunfeng's tomb without using the art of locating auspicious burial sites?"

"Since someone has been to this tomb, it may already be an empty tomb."

"This matter...is a long story."

Fang Yun was taken aback, then explained in a low voice, "The tomb we're looking for is right beneath this temple, there's no mistake."

"Actually, I didn't discover Li Chunfeng's tomb myself. It was discovered by another tomb raider, who was Zhang Sanye's second disciple and was known as the Golden Abacus!"

“Two years ago, I met him along the Yellow River. At that time, Shaanxi was suffering from famine, and cries of agony were everywhere. So he decided to build a large tomb to help the refugees.”

"According to him, there is a large Tang Dynasty tomb hidden in Fengxiang County, Shaanxi Province. It is very likely the tomb of Li Chunfeng. After we parted ways, he went to Fengxiang County alone to search for the tomb."

"But after that... I never heard from him again... He must have gone into the tomb and never came out again."

At this point, Fang Yun straightened his expression and said:

“He came from a merchant family and always dressed like a wealthy merchant when he traveled the world, so this Fishbone Temple must have been built by him, specifically for the tomb of Li Chunfeng below.”

"I see!"

After listening to Fang Yun's explanation, Partridge Whistle suddenly understood, and then his expression hardened.

“Zhang Sanye’s personal disciple is definitely not lacking in ability.”

"Even he couldn't do anything about this tomb. This tomb might really be Li Chunfeng's tomb. It just so happens that this place is also Li Chunfeng's hometown. It's only natural for people to return to their roots."

"In that case, we must be extremely careful when we enter the tomb!"

Chapter Fifty-One: The Hidden Tomb

After waiting for a while, the four prepared their weapons and equipment, covered their faces with masks, and then climbed down the tunnel one by one.

As usual, Partridge Whistle was eager and took the lead, with Fang Yun bringing up the rear, and Old Yangren and Hua in the middle.

"Daxia Longque..."

As Fang Yun climbed down the tunnel, he smiled with anticipation.

I wonder what the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow is like, and whether it's the kind of ring-pommel sword recorded in history.

Judging from the task rewards, the items given by the system may not be the same as those in history, nor may they exist in this world or this era.

He had been waiting for a long time for a cold weapon that could be used in a tomb.

"Stop! There's a side tunnel!"

Not long after entering the cave, Partridge Whistle let out a low cry, turned around, and said:

"There are three tunnels ahead, all of similar size, which should all be the work of that senior tomb raider."

"Of the three tomb raiders' tunnels, only one should lead to the tomb. I'll go ahead and explore first. You can wait here for me."

After leaving behind two sentences, Partridge Whistle crawled into one of the three tomb raiding tunnels.

About a minute later, Partridge Whistle returned with a strange expression.

"Senior brother, is there something wrong with this cave?"

Seeing that Partridge Whistle's expression was off, the old foreigner asked in confusion.

Partridge Whistle opened his mouth, then shook his head and said, "It's a dead end. We'll talk about it later. I'll find out the real tomb-raiding tunnel first."

After saying that, Partridge Whistle disappeared into another tomb raider's hole.

Not long after, Partridge Whistle returned, this time with a somewhat solemn expression on his face.

"We've explored two dead ends; this last one should be the tomb robber's tunnel leading to the burial site."

"Senior brother?"

The old foreigner looked puzzled, glanced at the two tomb raiders' tunnels that Partridge Whistle had explored earlier, and then followed Partridge Whistle to climb into the last tomb raiders' tunnel. Hua and Fang Yun followed suit.

.............

The tunnel was steep and downward, leading into the loess hill behind the Fishbone Temple. It was quite a long journey, and it took the four of them a minute or two to reach the exit of the tunnel.

The four people emerged from the cave one after another.

At this point, the group had already entered the heart of the Loess Mountain.

Looking around, the interior of this mountain is full of hollows, carved out into a honeycomb-like mountain.

Looking up, you can even see several pits that lead straight down to the ground, bringing sunlight down into them.

"Brother Fang!"

At this moment, Partridge Whistle walked up to Fang Yun, his expression solemn.

"The two tunnels I explored earlier were dead ends, and they were dug from the bottom up. They were blocked by stone slabs halfway through."

"The stone slab is engraved with cloud and thunder patterns and coiled dragon patterns... These patterns were most commonly used in the Western Zhou Dynasty..."

"I intended to push the stone slab aside, but when I placed my hand on it, I could vaguely feel the slab moving!"

"Move? Senior brother, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"Could it be a trap inside the tomb?"

Upon hearing this, both the old foreigner and Hua asked in surprise.

“The stone slab was indeed moving, there’s no mistake about that. But it’s common for tombs to have mechanisms. What I’m wondering is, Li Chunfeng was a Tang dynasty person, so why are there Western Zhou dynasty patterns in his tomb?”

After saying that, Partridge Whistle looked somewhat conflicted. He wasn't afraid of any traps or mechanisms, but rather that he was afraid of making a wasted trip and entering the wrong tomb.

In that case, the search for the Muchen Pearl will be much slower.

Upon hearing this, Fang Yun nodded thoughtfully.

The Western Zhou tomb was propelled by an underground spring within its walls...

"Regarding the Western Zhou Dynasty patterns you mentioned, I have some guesses in my mind, but I still need to confirm them. I will explain them to you later once I have confirmed them."

"The layout here is perhaps similar to that of Ping Mountain."

"I see!"

Hearing Fang Yun's words, Partridge Whistle took a deep breath. If the situation here was similar to that of Bottle Mountain, then he could understand.

Since ancient times, tombs have served as protective barriers, and there have been many instances of two tombs being connected or one tomb being usurped by another.