Longling, when viewed from a larger perspective, is a branch of the Qinling Mountains. On a smaller scale, it consists of numerous scattered earth mounds. Each mound is close to the next, creating a landscape with significant height differences. The mounds are eroded by rain and strong winds, resulting in many deep ravines. In some areas, the outer layer of soil appears solid, but it collapses underfoot, revealing hidden sinkholes. Although the straight-line distance between two mounds seems short, it takes a long detour to walk from one to the other.
This place is relatively unknown and lacks a unified name. People living near the Gulan County refer to this area as Longling. However, the local villagers call it Panshepo, means Snake Coiling Slope.
While Panshepo may not sound as grand as Longling, it more accurately describes the terrain and landscape of the area, making it a more vivid and relatable name.
Early in the morning, Fatty, Big Gold Tooth, and I left Gulan at nine o’clock. We took a car wherever we could, and when the road was impassable, we walked on foot. By the time we reached Longling, it was already getting dark.
At the foot of Longling, there was a small village with about twenty households. With nightfall approaching, finding the Fishbone Temple would be difficult. The mountain paths were treacherous, and we didn’t want to risk falling into a ravine. So, we decided to stay overnight in the village and deal with everything in the morning.
We approached a nearby house at the village entrance and explained our situation to the owner. We mentioned that we were traveling and had missed our chance to find a place to stay. We offered to pay a little for the night.
The owners were an elderly couple who looked puzzled at the sight of our large backpacks and the two lively white geese we had with us. They wondered what we were up to.
Fatty quickly put on a friendly smile and said, “Sir, Ma’am, we’re here to visit an old comrade from the army. We passed through here and missed our lodging. You see, it’s not easy for anyone traveling; we can’t carry our homes with us, can we? Could you please help us find a room for the three of us? Here’s twenty yuan for your trouble.” Without waiting for their response, he handed the money to the couple.
Seeing that we didn’t seem like bad people, the elderly couple agreed and offered us a room that appeared to have been unused for several years.
Noticing a water bucket and a yoke in the yard, Fatty turned to me and said, “Old Hu, go fetch two big buckets of water.”
I was puzzled and asked, “Why do we need water? Don’t you have some in your flask?”
Fatty said, “When the People’s Liberation Army stays at a villager’s home, they always fill the family’s water tank and clean the yard or fix the roof.”
I replied, “You talk too much. I’m not familiar with this place. How would I know where the well is? If I wander around in the dark and get lost, what then? Besides, I’ll ask them about the local situation later. Just keep your mouth shut; the less you say, the better. Remember, too many words can lead to mistakes.”
Just then, the elderly couple brought us some fried eggs and two flatbreads into the room.
I thanked them repeatedly and, while eating, tried to get closer to the hosts by asking who used to live in this room.
To my surprise, both the old man and woman started to cry. This room had belonged to their only son. Ten years ago, he went into Panshepo to find a lost lamb, and he never returned. The villagers searched for three or four days but found no trace of him. They believed he must have fallen into a sinkhole or gotten lost in the mountain’s caves. Their only son was gone, leaving them without anyone to care for them in their old age. Over the years, they had relied on the kindness of their neighbors to get by.
Hearing this, Fatty and I felt a pang of sadness and gave them some extra money. The elderly couple expressed their gratitude, saying they had met good people.
I asked more about the area, but the couple said there were no ancient tombs from the Tang Dynasty in Panshepo. They only heard the older generation mention a large Western Zhou tomb, which was said to be haunted. People claimed that even during the day, they encountered ghosts while walking on the slope. Those who got lost in the ravines were lucky if someone found them; the unlucky ones would perish inside.
The locals referred to this area as “Panshepo,” meaning the roads were complex and easy to get lost in. Longling Mysterious Cave referred to the interconnected caves in the mountains, which formed a natural maze.
As for the old site of the Fishbone Temple, it still existed but had been abandoned for decades. If you went out of the village and crossed a couple of ridges, you would find a deep ravine at the end of which lay the temple. When it was built, the merchants who funded it claimed it was a good Feng Shui spot, and that the Dragon King Temple would ensure good weather. However, after the temple was built, nothing changed; if it was going to rain, it would rain, and if not, there would be droughts for years. Offering incense and sacrifices proved useless, so the temple’s worship dwindled, and few people visited anymore.
I said, “We were almost capsized by the Dragon King while crossing the Yellow River, so we were curious to see the Fishbone Temple and the Iron-Headed Dragon King’s bones.”
The elderly couple said it was fine for us to visit the Fishbone Temple, but warned us not to venture too deep into Panshepo. Even locals could easily get lost, let alone three outsiders like us.
I nodded in thanks, and by this time, we had nearly finished eating. I started to help clean up, carrying the dishes outside. As I walked through the yard, Big Gold Tooth suddenly whispered to me, “Old Hu, there are some good things in this yard!”
I turned to look, and Big Gold Tooth pointed at a large stone in the yard. “That’s a stele; it’s been here for a long time.”
I nodded in acknowledgment and helped finish cleaning up the dishes. The elderly couple went to their room to sleep, while the three of us pretended to smoke and chat in the yard, secretly observing the stele that Big Gold Tooth had mentioned.
If it weren’t for Big Gold Tooth’s keen eyes, we might never have noticed that this rectangular stele was heavily worn down. It had several deep grooves in the middle, likely used for tying up livestock.
The stele was only half intact, with a broken beast head at the top. The inscriptions and patterns had long faded, and without the beast head, it was hard to tell it was a stele at all.
Fatty asked Big Gold Tooth, “Is this what you call a good thing? It might have been valuable once, but now it’s just a big rock. Look at how worn it is; it must have been here for years.”
Big Gold Tooth, puffing on his cigarette, replied, “Fatty, I’m not saying this stele is worth anything now. It’s definitely lost its value, with just half a beast head left. Even its research value is probably gone, which is a shame. But don’t forget, our ancestors were also tomb raiders. The reason I say this is a good thing is that just from this half beast head, I can conclude that there must be a Tang Dynasty tomb in Longling. As for the exact location, we’ll have to see what Old Hu can do tomorrow.”
I reached out and touched the beast head on the stele, asking Big Gold Tooth, “Are you saying this is a tombstone?”
Big Gold Tooth replied, “You could call it a tombstone. Even though the beast head is damaged, I can still tell it’s a Le Yi (some animal like Lynx). During the Tang Dynasty, the country was strong, and they built their tombs in the mountains, using the mountains as burial sites. There were also corresponding structures on the surface, like stone steles and statues, stone camels, and stone guardian beasts, symbolizing the protection of the tomb. The Le Yi is a auspicious beast that typically rests on steles. Legend has it that it’s a spiritual beast from the West, known for its beautiful voice, like celestial music. This suggests that the stele likely contains praises and commendations. There would be a pair of Le Yi steles every mile for eighteen miles in front of the tomb, and this one is the second pair.”
I said, “Master Jin, even if you don’t understand Feng Shui, your knowledge of ancient history and culture is beyond me. Let’s not discuss this in the yard; let’s go inside and plan.”
We returned to the room to continue our discussion. Now that we were at the edge of Longling, the clues suggested that there was definitely an ancient tomb here. However, whether it belonged to the Tang Dynasty or the Western Zhou was a bit contradictory.
From the stele, it was undoubtedly a Tang Dynasty tomb, which aligned with what Old Liu had said at the guesthouse in Gulan. But why did the local villagers say there was a Western Zhou tomb in the mountains?
Big Gold Tooth asked me, “Do you think it’s possible that within a single Feng Shui vein, there could be multiple burial sites?”
I replied, “That is possible, but an entire vein can’t all be good places. Each burial site has its own value, and the best locations usually only allow for one tomb. However, it’s also possible that both dynasties could have chosen the same auspicious site.”
I advised Fatty and Big Gold Tooth to rest well tonight. Tomorrow morning, whether it was Longling or Panshepo, we would go and take a look. Additionally, there might be many undiscovered antiques in the village, so we should check with the locals on our way back.