C87 The Dragon Vein

"A mystery that's remained unsolved for over sixteen hundred years? An earth-shattering secret? Where is this ancient tomb?" I asked, astonished.

Second Master Lei gave a cryptic smile, pointed at the map, and said, "You should be quite familiar with this place. Take a closer look."

I glanced down at the map, but it wasn't the usual kind with village and street names that we're accustomed to. Instead, it was a topographical map, depicting mountains, hills, plains, rivers, lakes, forests, swamps, and various other landforms. At first, I was a bit lost and didn't recognize anything.

Puzzled, I looked up at Second Master Lei. With a slight smile, he pointed with his pencil to a large mountain, then to a river, and a mountain range...

Suddenly, it clicked, and I cried out in realization, "This... Isn't this Short Mountain, right next to our village? And this is the Weak Water River by West River Village, and this here is... Yin Spirit Mountain, which I visited not so long ago!"

"Exactly, the ancient tomb is located in this region. Now, take a look at this," Second Master Lei said as he traced a winding line on the map with his pencil.

I followed the line from Yin Spirit Mountain along a sprawling mountain range, passing a deserted village beneath Yin Spirit Mountain, through Ox Village adjacent to ours, past Pingshan Village, and ending atop the mountain in West River Village.

"Changsheng, what does this line remind you of?" Second Master Lei inquired.

"Could it be a snake?" I ventured.

Second Master Lei let out a wry smile, picked up his pen, and added a few strokes to the line. In an instant, I grasped what he was illustrating!

I gasped in amazement, "It's a dragon! Could this be a dragon vein?"

Second Master Lei nodded affirmatively, "Indeed. If you were to observe this entire mountain range from a helicopter, you'd be even more astounded! It resembles a vivid, serpentine dragon, as if a celestial dragon had descended to earth, shaping this mountain range."

"If this is indeed a dragon vein, then could this ancient tomb be the resting place of an emperor?" I exclaimed, stunned.

Second Master Lei, with his arms folded and holding an agate walnut, glanced at the map and scoffed, "A tomb of an emperor? This 'emperor' is not acknowledged by our Chinese nation. Changsheng, have you ever heard of Murong Chui, the Emperor of Later Yan?"

Murong Chui? That's a tough one for me. I haven't even finished high school, and most of my classical Chinese history knowledge comes from my dad. I've only heard of Murong Fu, 'Beiqiao Feng in the north, Murong in the south,'" I said with a chuckle.

Second Master Lei cracked a smile and continued, "Though Murong Fu from 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' is a fictional character, the kingdom he sought to restore was indeed the Later Yan, founded by Murong Chui during the era of the Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms."

"So, are we headed to the tomb of Emperor Murong Chui of Later Yan?" I inquired.

Second Master Lei nodded, "Exactly. Historical records suggest that Murong Chui's tomb might be in Dingzhou. After his death, it's said that his coffin was transported back to the Murong Xianbei's stronghold in Liaoxi's Dragon City for burial. Some archaeologists believe his tomb, Xuanping Ling, is within today's Lingyuan area of Xuzhou. There are a variety of theories, and to this day, the official location of Murong Chui's tomb remains unconfirmed. This mystery suggests that there's a significant secret within his tomb that he didn't want the world to discover."

"Second Uncle Lei, please spare me the history lesson and just tell me what this secret is," I implored, my impatience growing.

But Second Master Lei didn't answer my question. Instead, he posed one of his own, "Changsheng, you may not know Murong Chui, but surely you've heard of the darkest, most brutal chapter in our nation's history—the chaos of the Five Barbarians?"

"My father told me about it. During the Period of the Eight Princes, the Hu tribes took advantage of the chaos to invade from the north. They slaughtered men on sight, and women were captured and violated. Human flesh was consumed as rations, and the Han were referred to as 'two-legged sheep.' Cities were decimated, with a hundred thousand slain, leaving corpses strewn everywhere and heads hanging from trees... The Han people nearly faced extinction then!" I exclaimed, my voice laced with anger.

Second Master Lei nodded solemnly, "Back then, the Han people from the north were fleeing southward in droves. It's said that a hundred thousand civilians escaped from Ye city, heading south. But the strange thing is, once they reached Xuzhou, they vanished without a trace."

"Vanished?" I asked, astonished.

"Yes, a hundred thousand people disappeared overnight! To this day, no expert or scholar, domestic or international, has been able to solve this mystery," Second Master Lei said, locking eyes with me.

Upon hearing this, I suddenly realized and quickly inquired, "Second Uncle Lei, are you suggesting that the solution to this unsolved mystery of over sixteen hundred years lies within Murong Chui's tomb?"

To my surprise, Second Master Lei gave a wry smile and shook his head. He told me, "Why would the seven of us risk everything to break into Murong Chui's mausoleum for a secret that holds no financial benefit? That would make our brush with death hardly worth it."

"But... then what was your reason?" I pressed, my curiosity piqued.