Daomu Biji Volume 8 Chapter 17

Leather Bag was really a little kid. So young in fact, that when the others were preparing, he was playing by the lake. Pan Zi said: “All the people in this line of work have their own equipment. He doesn't have to go down, so naturally he doesn't have to prepare anything.  Moreover, if he's so arrogant, he must have a unique skill, otherwise he'd die immediately.”

Xiao Hua's things were obviously very well organized and he had been studying the “belly map.” I watched Pan Zi busying himself everywhere and thought of his words, which made me upset.

Pan Zi's words were an accusation, and although I was uncomfortable hearing them, I knew he was right.  A true leader must consider all people equally.

However, I wasn't a real leader, I was just a fake. I wanted to refute him at that time, but the last thing he said to me made me realize that I was a coward.

Indeed, I chose this road myself, and I couldn't use anything as an excuse. Right now, no one would say “no, not yet” when I eagerly said “let's hurry down.” The only person who could say this sentence, Uncle Three, was no longer here. I had taken his place.

I could imagine what it looked like in the past, and I suddenly realized that when Uncle Three said “no” or nodded with a cold face and said “we can try,” his heart could never relax. I used to think that it was so simple to say those words, but it seems that many things can't be truly realized without experiencing them myself.

Soon, Xiao Hua began to mobilize and I saw him clapping his hands to gather the people preparing their equipment.

In the process of building a team, all the core information would be disclosed to the members before they went underground. Iron chopsticks use this method to prevent them from getting greedy or divulging it to others.

Xiao Hua was a talented performer and obviously didn't have my worries.  When I was still enjoying a simple life, he was accustomed to the things that I was struggling with now. I watched him chatting with those people and arrange everything with ease like an actor before a performance. I was a little envious and sour.

“You can't usually see the difference, but when you look at it through the reflection, it's very obvious.” I walked over in order to hear better and saw him pointing across the lake.

Everything around the lake was shrouded in moonlight and when I carefully looked, I saw that the cliffs around me were reversed in the reflection. I could see the ups and downs of the mountain chain along the opposite lake.

“It's amazing that there's an extremely rare ancient building hidden in these mountains, which is said to be the mass grave of the Zhang family.  The feng shui here is quite special, showing a pattern of a group of immortals holding the moon and inhaling the wind and drinking the dew.  If you look at the mountains over there, the trees are swaying, but the lake is calm and there isn't even a stir. This shows that if the wind blows in the wrong direction, it can't touch the lake.  It's recorded in ancient books that there were probably dragons in the water. The mountains by the lake are the back of the dragon and the ancient building is built on that. It's a bit ferocious. “

“The dragon certainly wasn't there. We didn't see so much as a fart when we dove down before, only the giant salamander.”  I said.  When the others saw me coming, they immediately made way for me and all nodded and said, “Hello, Master Three.”

I motioned them to ignore me and Xiao Hua continued: “According to ancient books, there are two kinds of lakes that are likely to have dragons. The first is calm because it's bottomless, and the second is calm because it passes through the sea.  In fact, if you think about it yourself, the calmness indicates that the lake is quiet, and the absence of wind and waves indicates that the bottom of the lake is connected with underground rivers. These are all factors that allow the lake to have big fish. The so-called dragon may be a very big fish.”

One of the guys asked, “Why is it ferocious? Is there bad feng shui here?”

“It's not bad. Generally feng shui pays particular attention to where it lies in relation to Qingyuan. Most are found on the ridge and rely on mountains, taking water veins as the spiritual breath in order to live forever. However, if this ancient building really exists and is fixed on the back of the dragon and the feng shui pulse point is broken, it's equivalent to a tumor. “

“You mean this dragon vein…”

“Probably already dead.”  Xiao Hua said, “So it's no wonder that the Zhang family has the habit of moving graves. Their mass graves on top of the dragon's vein tap the bone to absorb the essence, and suck up the dragon's qi in exchange.”

“Then why?  What are the benefits of this pattern? “

Xiao Hua shook his head: “It's not very good.  There is only one good thing to say, but if that's the case, we have to strike with an exceedingly strong spirit." He frowned and turned to ask me, “Master Three, is it too late to quit?”

I was speechless at his strange joke and he laughed when he saw that I had no reaction.  Pan Zi said, “Master Hua, where did you end the joke? Was it the first half?  The brothers came here to make a fortune. You can't scare us. “

Everyone burst out laughing. At this moment, Leather Bag came up from the lake and said to us, “Gentlemen, I was thinking about one thing when I was in the water just now. I think you should consider it before going down, because your speculation may be wrong.”

We paused, and Xiao Hua asked, “Oh, young master, what did you think of?”

Leather Bag spread out his hand, which was full of small stones he had taken from the water. Obviously, he wanted to go back to play after he finished speaking.

“You suggest that the Zhang family has the habit of mass burial and the tombs are not closed but open. Later generations can enter the tombs for burial many times after death, right?”

We nodded and he said: “Let's assume that the Zhang family and the ancient building are in the mountain. Their ancient tombs were used many times and the family's dead were buried in those tombs.  Don't you think this is actually quite a waste of people and money? Carrying a coffin from far away and walking through the mountain road from the outside to come in once or twice is ok, but in the past thousand years, not just one or two people died. Such a big family would have at least a dozen dead.  If there were frequent and mysterious strangers in the village, there would certainly be some legends left behind.  But in Banai, we hadn't heard any legends, which seems unrealistic. Don't you think it's strange?”

“Do you mean that Zhang Jialou is an open tomb, and we're wrong to speculate that the dead were buried?”  One of the guys asked.

“No, we clearly saw evidence of open tombs in Sichuan. Such a sophisticated design is definitely not for fun.  Hence, the open tomb must be right." Xiao Hua said.

“I didn't say that the bosses were wrong. I meant that it was very strange.”

I have to admit that what he said was very reasonable and I can't help but be impressed with this boy. No wonder he was the most expensive one in the new generation.

“In fact, this might not necessarily be the case.” Xiao Hua said, “There may be some legends over time, but they didn't survive because this village is located in a disputed area that's seen violence throughout history. There have been wars here, people in this village may have been slaughtered and died, and then people from other places filled in again. “

“Even so, the village was never slaughtered in the past hundred years.  From Agui's generation to the present, there are at least four generations. In this period of time, it's reasonable that the Zhang family should be gathered in the village. “

We all frowned.  This is really strange, and I wondered, did the Zhang family completely decline in the past four generations?  Or is it that no one died?

“We might not have heard any legends, but they still exist. The latest legend is still very recent and we've been discussing it." After staying silent for a long time, Xiao Hua suddenly said this.

“What is it?”

“An archaeological team with iron blocks,” said Xiao Hua, “is just such a 'legend'."

I didn't understand at first, but then I broke out in a cold sweat.  I touched my face: “Interesting. Is that so? “

Pan Zi didn't understand: “Boss, I don't read many books. Can you stop playing charades?”

I said to Pan Zi: “The legend of Banai that we are most familiar with is about the archaeological team. We're thinking about it the wrong way. Combining what Xiao Hua said, along with this strange area, the archaeological team may have come here for a totally different reason than what we originally thought.”

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Chapter end