From Old Liu’s words, I sensed something unusual. A merchant had funded the construction of a Fishbone Temple in Longling to worship the Dragon King. It struck me as odd—why build a Dragon King Temple in the mountains, far from the river?
According to Old Liu, the Fishbone Temple was quite small, which made it even stranger. Why go through all that trouble for such a tiny temple? Was there really some Feng Shui spot in Longling that made it suitable for a temple?
Then Old Liu mentioned that there was a large ancient tomb from the Tang Dynasty hidden in Longling, which added to the mystery. I couldn’t help but smirk. Maybe the one who funded the temple was actually a fellow tomb raider. Building the temple could be a cover for digging a secret passage to the tomb below to find treasures.
But one thing puzzled me: if the terrain in Longling was so treacherous and rarely visited, why go through all this trouble?
Then it hit me. The tomb must be very deep, and digging a passage to the underworld would take time. He probably chose the location but knew it would take a while. By spending time in Longling, he risked being spotted by locals, so he built the Fishbone Temple to divert attention. Even if someone passed by, they wouldn’t suspect a thing. Clever move.
However, to confirm all this, I needed to visit Longling myself. I wondered if that fake merchant had found the legendary tomb. Regardless, I wanted to check out the Fishbone Temple.
I asked Old Liu for detailed directions to Longling and about the local terrain.
Old Liu said, “The Fishbone Temple is on the edge of Longling. If you want to see it, that’s fine, but remember, don’t venture deep into Longling. The terrain is extremely dangerous, with many hidden sinkholes that you can’t see from the surface. The ground looks solid, but it can collapse underfoot, and once you fall in, you won’t be able to climb out. They say there are underground caves that are very twisted and complex. Locals call those caves the Longling Mysterious Cave, which is even harder to navigate than a labyrinth. What’s worse is that people say those caves are haunted. Take my advice: don’t go in.”
Old Liu recounted a story about five geologists who went to explore the caves in Longling and ended up missing. The locals spread rumors that they encountered ghostly walls in Longling. It’s been over two years, and no one has seen or heard from them since.
I thanked him repeatedly, saying, “We’re just going to check out the Fishbone Temple and see the Iron-Head Dragon King’s bones. We have no intention of wandering into the wilds of Longling. You can rest easy.”
After Old Liu returned home drunk, I closed the door and secretly discussed with Fatty and Big Gold Tooth. We decided we had to explore the Longling Mysterious Cave to see if we could find something valuable. Even if the ancient tomb had been looted, we might still uncover a few treasures in the nearby villages. That way, our trip to Shaanxi wouldn’t be in vain.
Fatty asked me, “Old Hu, how confident are we this time? We can’t end up like last time in Wild Man Valley, where we worked hard and nearly lost our lives, only to come back with two broken tiles that weren’t even jade.”
I replied, “I can’t say I’m very confident this time either. It’s just that I’ve heard there’s a big tomb in Longling that no one has found yet. I can’t help but feel excited. Maybe luck will be on our side, and we can make a big score, which would help me pay back that American girl and save me from embarrassment. But whether the ancient tomb in Longling has survived all these years is another question. I suspect that the merchant who funded the Fishbone Temple before the liberation was likely a skilled tomb raider. He probably built the temple to dig a secret passage into the tomb. If he succeeded, we’d have no hope left. Anyway, we should prepare well and see what we find when we get there.”
Big Gold Tooth was excited to hear about the romb raiding. He had been eager to join this line of work for a long time, but he suffered from asthma every spring and had never participated in a real treasure hunt. The tomb raiders he knew were just amateurs digging randomly in the countryside, and they rarely found anything valuable. Big Gold Tooth was itching to take part in a big job, but he never had the chance. Now, at the end of summer, his allergic asthma was less likely to act up, and with me and Fatty, two experienced tomb raiders, he felt more confident.
Still, I advised him to stay outside and keep watch while Fatty and I went into the tomb. It was better to have someone on the surface in case anything went wrong.
I made some plans. I didn’t expect to find a big tomb on this trip. First, we were in the interior, and second, most ancient tombs had already been dug up.
I was surprised to learn that there might be a Tang Dynasty tomb in Longling. We hadn’t brought many tools with us. I always carried a military shovel, which could be used for both defense and digging, but I had lost one in the Yellow River, leaving only Fatty’s with us.
In the underground caves, we also needed sufficient lighting. We had three Wolf Eye flashlights. These were German-made, with a range of thirty meters and a strong beam that could even be used as a weapon. If we encountered wild animals or enemies, shining the light in their eyes could temporarily blind them.
The Wolf Eyes were advanced equipment provided by Shirley Yang during our trip to the Xinjiang desert. When she returned home, she gave me most of the leftover gear, and I accepted it without hesitation. After all, I owed her a lot of money and even owed her my life after she saved me once. With so many debts, adding one more wouldn’t matter.
What worried me most was that we didn’t have gas masks, just a few simple ones. It was hard to find proper gas masks in this ancient city. Previous tomb raiders had passed down old methods to avoid air poisoning. The first was to keep a birdcage, which we had used in Wild Man Valley. The second was to use candles, an essential tool for tomb raiders. As long as there were no chemical gases, the simple masks would suffice.
I made a list for Fatty to buy supplies nearby. He was to get everything he could, and if he couldn’t find something, we’d figure it out later.
We needed two large geese, and I emphasized that they had to be alive; otherwise, Fatty might come back with roasted goose.
We also needed candles, ropes, fire hooks, gloves, canned food, jerky, and liquor. I asked him to check if there was a detailed map of the area at the post office and to buy some chocolate for extra energy. We had most of the other supplies already.
Fatty asked, “Is there anywhere to buy a gun? What if we need one? I don’t feel brave without a gun in hand.”
I replied, “There aren’t any wild animals around here, so we don’t need a gun. If we do encounter something, a military shovel will be enough. If we were near the border or in a remote area, we could find hunters to buy guns from, but it’s hard to get firearms in the interior. Besides, we’re just planning; things might change. The ancient tomb in the Longling Mysterious Cave might have already been emptied.”
Big Gold Tooth nodded, “What Old Hu says makes sense. I heard from Old Liu that there are many underground caves in Longling, typical karst terrain. This geological structure often has earthquake zones. If there really is a Tang Dynasty tomb, who knows what changes have happened over the years? We should prepare thoroughly but not get our hopes too high.”
I suddenly remembered that Shaanxi has many burial grounds. What if we encountered a zombie? Just thinking about it made me want to give Big Gold Tooth a good smack for almost getting us killed with those two fake Mojin talismans he had given us.
Seeing me bring it up, Big Gold Tooth could only smile sheepishly and explain again, “Old Hu, Fatty, please don’t be angry. I didn’t know at the time. My old man used to wear a talisman like that, and nothing ever happened to him. I think it’s all in the mind. If you two had never seen a real talisman and kept believing mine was genuine, you wouldn’t be so lacking in confidence now. Let’s find a way to get two real ones; I’ll cover the cost. Although talismans are ancient, they can still be obtained with some effort.”
I chuckled and said, “Then it’s up to you, Master Jin, to help us get two real ones. Honestly, without that thing, I feel uneasy about tomb raiding. If we lack confidence while working, that’s more dangerous than anything else.”
With our plans set, we all went to rest. After days of travel and a few drinks, we slept until the next afternoon. Fatty and Big Gold Tooth went out to buy supplies, while I sought out Old Liu to gather more information about the Longling Mysterious Cave.
However, Old Liu repeated what he had said the night before. There were many legends about the Longling Mysterious Cave in this area, but they were mostly vague and unreliable, with very few concrete details. Others were the same; whenever Longling Mysterious Cave was mentioned, people turned pale, speaking of vengeful spirits and ghosts. Unless absolutely necessary, few dared to venture into that area.
Seeing that I couldn’t get any more information, I decided to stop asking. We spent another day in the ancient city, and following Old Liu’s directions, we carried two large geese in a bamboo basket and set off for the Fishbone Temple in Longling.