Fatty saw that Big Gold Tooth was backing out of letting us kill the geese, so he asked, “Old Jin, why are you changing your mind again? Didn’t we just agree on this?”
Big Gold Tooth told me to put down my knife for a moment and said to both me and Fatty, “Old Hu, Fatty, don’t take it the wrong way. I just suddenly remembered something that seems really important.”
I replied, “That’s just how I am. If something pops into my head, I act on it without thinking. If I’ve done something wrong, just let me know.”
Big Gold Tooth said, “Well, let me think about how to explain this. I’m a bit flustered, so I need to organize my thoughts.”
Fatty and I had been stuck in this ancient tomb for a while. Although we weren’t as dizzy and panicked as we were at first, we were starting to feel restless and wanted to get out of there. Just when we thought we had a plan and were about to act, Big Gold Tooth suddenly stopped us. We were frustrated but had to hold back and listen to him.
After a moment, Big Gold Tooth continued, “I’ve been thinking. If we’re really trapped in a ghost tomb from the Western Zhou period, it might be because we brought live geese with us. Geese are sensitive and alert, which could have disturbed the ghost tomb…”
Fatty, getting impatient, interrupted, “Old Jin, you’ve been rambling on. What are you really trying to say?”
I told Fatty to let Big Gold Tooth finish. If we could escape, it didn’t matter if we had to wait a little longer.
Big Gold Tooth went on, “If we kill the two geese, there won’t be any livestock in this tomb. Maybe the ghost tomb will disappear. But have you thought about where we are right now? This endless stone staircase is part of the ghost tomb. That means there shouldn’t be stairs here. Before the ghost tomb appeared, this might have just been dirt and rock inside the mountain, or maybe even a cave.”
I understood what Big Gold Tooth meant: “You’re saying if we kill the geese here and the ghost tomb disappears, we could end up outside the Tang Dynasty tomb and get trapped again, maybe even buried alive.”
Big Gold Tooth nodded, “Exactly. Also, have you considered that the ghosts in the Western Zhou tomb might not all be here? It seems like only part of them is, and they overlap with the Tang Dynasty tomb. This staircase is the edge of the ghost tomb, with no clear boundary. Its borders might be in a chaotic state, and we can’t tell if it’s expanding or shrinking. If we kill the geese…”
Thanks to Big Gold Tooth’s warning, I realized the danger we were in. I said, “You’re right, Master Jin. We should find a way back to the Underworld Hall of the Tang tomb, secure a safe spot near the hall or the entrance, and then deal with these troublesome geese.”
But saying it was easier than doing it. The stone staircase repeated every twenty-three steps, seeming endless. Once we started on it, we couldn’t find an end, whether we went up or down.
After discussing with Big Gold Tooth and Fatty for a while, we couldn’t come up with a solution. We couldn’t just close our eyes and roll down.
This seemingly ordinary stone staircase from the Western Zhou tomb was tougher to deal with than any ghost. If we encountered a zombie, we could fight for our lives. But this staircase couldn’t be broken or moved, and standing still wasn’t an option. The feeling of helplessness filled me; this was true terror.
Just when we were at a loss, Big Gold Tooth thought of a plan. We weren’t sure if it would work, but desperate times call for desperate measures. We needed to confirm if every twenty-three steps had a crescent-shaped gap on the edge. We counted as we went down and confirmed it after five segments.
Once we were sure, we followed the plan. Each of us held a candle. I chose a step with a crescent-shaped gap to stand on, lit my candle, and then Big Gold Tooth and Fatty continued down, stopping when they could still see the light from my candle. The second person would then light their candle, and the third would keep going.
The success of this plan depended on the staircase not being too long. If there were only twenty-three steps and we could maintain our line of sight while exceeding that length, we might just make it back to the Underworld Hall below.
However, after we tried the plan, we found it completely unworkable. The ancient tomb’s stone staircase, which seemed to have no end, was not only an endless loop but also shrouded in an unusually thick darkness. This darkness wasn’t just the absence of light; it felt like a heavy fog enveloping us from above, below, and all around.
Even with candles lit, we could only see about five or six steps ahead. Beyond that, the candlelight was swallowed by the darkness. This reminded me of the Ghost Cave in Xinjiang, and I never expected to encounter that nightmarish darkness again in the Longling tomb. Just thinking about it made me shiver, as if the companions who died in Xinjiang were lurking in the shadows, watching my every move.
Even the Wolf Eye flashlight, which had a range of thirty-five meters, could only illuminate six steps. Beyond that, it was pitch black; not only could we not see far ahead, but those far away couldn’t see the light from the flashlight or the candles either.
With only three of us, we could only explore a distance of twelve steps, while the stone staircase in this Western Zhou tomb had at least twenty-three steps. So, this approach was futile.
Feeling helpless, we gathered in one spot, lit a candle, and turned off all the flashlights. Fatty took out his water bottle and took a few swigs, seemingly trying to fill his stomach, but the more he drank, the hungrier he felt, cursing the damn stone staircase.
I noticed something was off; there was a strong smell of alcohol coming from Fatty’s water bottle. I asked him, “Did you fill your bottle with liquor? Damn it, I told you to bring water, not booze. If you get drunk, we’ll have to carry you out.”
Fatty dodged the question, saying, “Old Hu, a little drink is just to boost our courage, right? How about this: you and Old Jin light a candle every six steps, and I’ll just run down…”
I shot down Fatty’s plan: “That kind of reckless bravery is useless. Doing that would be like throwing your life away. We can’t lose contact with each other; as long as we stick together, we have a chance to escape. If we split up, we’ll only make things harder for ourselves. Back in the army, we were always taught not to scatter. Splitting up means collapse and defeat. We shouldn’t choose to break away unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
Fatty replied, “Come on, we’re not at that point yet, are we? It feels like there’s no way out, no door to escape. Besides, splitting up doesn’t necessarily mean collapse; it’s about preserving the revolutionary spark.”
I snapped, “In a place like this, preserving what spark? When trouble hits, scattering is just a guerrilla tactic.”
Big Gold Tooth, worried we’d start arguing, quickly intervened, “Gentlemen, this isn’t the time to debate military theory. We really shouldn’t split up. Besides, we need a way to break out, and right now… sigh… we can’t afford to be alone.”
It felt like the laws of physics had lost their meaning on this stone staircase. I sighed and thought about sitting down to rest. As I did, something poked me in the waist. I reached down and realized it was the long rope I had tied around me. I felt a surge of excitement and said to Fatty and Big Gold Tooth, “I’ve got it! How did I not think of the rope? Damn it, we’ve been muddled. We have hundreds of meters of rope among us. Even if this staircase is long, it should be enough for several loops!”
On this endless stone staircase, the long rope felt like a lifeline. Fatty and Big Gold Tooth were thrilled and quickly helped me. We connected the ropes we had using our teeth, working by the light of the candle.
I looked at the long rope we had tied together and said to Fatty and Big Gold Tooth, “This rope should be more than enough. We can’t stay here any longer; we need to move quickly.”
Fatty stood in place, lit a candle, and securely tied the rope around his waist. He stood on a step with a crescent-shaped gap, which would make it easier to reference as we moved. I had no idea if this would work, but it was our last shot. Just as I was about to set off, Fatty suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Old Hu, what if the rope breaks? Be careful! We still have a lot of money left to spend; it’s not time for heroics yet. If things go south, just come back quickly. Don’t be a hero.”
I said to Fatty, “You should be careful too. If the rope suddenly snaps while I’m down there, don’t pull it back. Just let it stay as it is; otherwise, if you pull it away, I won’t be able to find my way back.”
I thought for a moment and added, “Fatty, don’t move from your spot. Big Gold Tooth and I will go down. If we manage to get out of this damn staircase, we’ll pull you up with the rope.”
Fatty replied, “No problem! You two just focus on getting out. If there’s any danger, just blow the whistle. I can pull you both back with one arm!”
As long as the rope connecting us three was long enough to cover more than twenty-three steps, we should be able to break free from this endless staircase. Excited at the prospect of escape, Fatty stayed behind while Big Gold Tooth and I began to descend, holding onto the rope.
With each step down, I glanced back at the candlelight where Fatty was. When I reached the sixth step, I had Big Gold Tooth stay behind so he would remain within Fatty’s line of sight, providing some reassurance. After all, Big Gold Tooth was used to a life of comfort and hadn’t faced such life-and-death challenges before. If he couldn’t see his companions, he might panic and act irrationally.
At the sixth step, Big Gold Tooth lit a candle, checked the rope tied around his waist, and handed me the remaining length of the rope, waiting at that step.
I told Big Gold Tooth, “I’ll keep going down until I reach the end of the staircase. If I can get past these twenty-three steps, I’ll tug the rope three times. You’ll then let Fatty know, and he can follow the rope down to join us.”
Big Gold Tooth assured me, “Don’t worry, Old Hu. I may not be much use, but I won’t take this lightly. I’ll stay here and wait for your good news.”
Seeing his determination, I nodded, holding the coils of rope as I continued down the stone steps, letting out more rope with each step.
When I got to within twelve steps of Fatty, I looked at the large bundle of rope in my hands. I knew it was enough, but I still instinctively counted the distance. There was just over half left, so we had plenty of rope.
I silently counted the steps, knowing that once I passed twenty-three, I could return to the Underworld Hall. Could I really make it back? Suddenly, I felt uncertain again.
The darkness ahead was endless, and the further I went, the faster my heart raced. I feared that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. But having come this far, I had to push on.
Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three—the crescent mark appeared again on the steps, but there was still no end in sight. It was truly bizarre. I steeled myself and continued, determined to keep going until the rope ran out.
The rope in my hands grew shorter, and I felt a sense of dread. I was ready to turn back when I suddenly saw a glimmer of light below. I hurried down, and the closer I got, the more surprised I became. There stood a person below, their broad back facing me, a candle flickering at their feet. The light I had seen was coming from that candle.
It was unmistakably Fatty, standing on tiptoe, peering down. Realizing it was indeed him, I felt a wave of despair wash over me. It seemed this plan had failed as well. I walked over and slapped Fatty on the back, saying, “Alright, stop looking! I, have returned!”
Fatty, caught off guard, jumped in surprise and tumbled down the stairs. I quickly reached out to grab his arm, but he was too heavy. I managed to catch his sleeve, but it tore away instead of stopping him.
Fortunately, Fatty was quick on his feet and only rolled down two steps before stopping. He looked up in surprise when he saw me coming from behind and exclaimed, “Old Hu, how the hell did you come down from up there? This is terrifying! You should’ve said something!”
I replied, “Don’t be so jumpy. You’re not a little girl. You’re tough enough; a little scare won’t hurt you.”
I sat down on the steps and untied the rope from my waist. “It’s no use. It seems we were right; this staircase is the chaotic edge of the ghost tomb, and the laws of space don’t apply here. Let’s pull Big Gold Tooth up and come up with another plan.”
Fatty tugged on the rope and pulled Big Gold Tooth up, explaining everything that had happened. Big Gold Tooth looked dejected after hearing the story. I said to both of them, “Even though there’s a saying that one burst of energy leads to a decline, we’re not at the point of despair yet. While we still have the strength to move, let’s think of another way. If we wait a few more hours and can’t move from hunger, we’ll just be waiting to die.”
Mentioning hunger made Fatty’s eyes light up. He grabbed a large goose by the neck and said, “Well, it’s not that bad. If we really run out of options, we still have two roasted geese to eat. Since you and Old Jin said we can’t kill them on the stairs, we can eat one now and save the other for later when we reach the Underworld Hall.”
I replied, “But we don’t have any firewood. How are we supposed to cook it? Are you planning to eat it raw?”
Fatty wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and said, “What’s wrong with eating it raw? Didn’t ancient people eat raw meat? If we get really hungry, who cares if it’s raw or cooked?”
I said, “Only primitive people eat raw meat. You should hold on a bit longer. If we can’t get out, you can eat it raw later. Besides, it hasn’t even been six or seven hours since you had that meal at the Fishbone Temple.”
Big Gold Tooth, looking glum, said to me, “Old Hu, are we really done for this time? We’ve tried every trick in the book, but we’re still stuck on these twenty-something steps. This is just bad luck.”
I wanted to comfort Fatty and Big Gold Tooth, but the words wouldn’t come out. I was feeling just as anxious and needed some reassurance myself. This damn twenty-three-step staircase was driving me crazy!
“Twenty-three, twenty-three.” That number felt familiar. I reached out and touched the crescent-shaped groove on the steps, feeling like I had just grabbed onto a piece of driftwood while struggling in a vast ocean.
Fatty wanted to discuss how to eat the two geese again, but I didn’t want him to interrupt my thoughts. I made a shushing gesture and continued to dig through my memories.
Suddenly, I slapped my thigh, startling both Big Gold Tooth and Fatty. I exclaimed, “Damn it! We’ve been fooled by this ghost staircase! This isn’t some ghostly wall or chaotic edge of the tomb. This is a mechanism in the Western Zhou tomb, a bizarre trap designed using the principles of the I Ching!”
Since my time in the army, I had been studying the remnants of my family’s secret texts alongside the I Ching. The theory goes that the initial Tai Chi gives rise to the two forms, which then lead to the four images, and so on. This is how people are divided into eastern and western positions, and how the eight trigrams are derived from the eight directions of nature.
At that time, I was just using these studies to pass the monotonous hours in the military. One of the characters in “The Secret Art of Yin-Yang Feng-Shui in Sixteen Characters” is “Dun (escape),” which refers to the traps in ancient tombs. Since ancient times, the I Ching has been highly regarded in China, and the layout of tombs often relies on these principles. I had studied this in detail, and now I recalled that this twenty-three-step staircase is likely called the “Xuanhun Ladder.” This design principle has been lost for thousands of years, and many mathematicians and scientists have been fascinated by it. Some believe it’s a form of numerical hypnosis, intentionally leaving behind marks or numerical information to confuse travelers. Mathematicians think it’s a complex numerical model; while it looks like a single staircase, it actually has many paths. The crescent mark is a trap, indicating a gradual deviation from the path. The steps and stone walls might have been coated with an ancient formula—paint that absorbs light—making it even harder to discern direction. Once you focus on marks like this, you can easily make logical errors, thinking you’re moving in a straight line when you’re actually veering off course, ending up lost in circles. The small height difference between the steps might have been designed to create an illusion of elevation.
It’s like the Eight Formation Array from the Three Kingdoms period, where just a few stones could trap someone with no way out. If that could be so complex with just eight characters, imagine how intricate it could be with the sixteen characters from the Western Zhou period, which were even more mysterious.
This “Xuanhun Ladder,” which seems incredibly complex by modern standards, was well understood during the Western Zhou period, when divination and numerical calculations were popular. The ruling class had complete mastery over these secrets, akin to today’s top state secrets.
The Xuanhun Ladder might not always have twenty-three steps, but you could derive the number of steps to escape based on that figure.
I never expected there would be such a formidable trap in this Western Zhou ghost tomb. If tomb raiders didn’t understand this principle and stumbled onto this staircase, they would undoubtedly be trapped to death. But this was exactly the challenge I was looking for; let’s see what I, Old Hu, can do today.
I didn’t have time to explain all the intricacies to Big Gold Tooth and Fatty; I just told them to follow my lead. I began to arrange some rubble into an eight-trigram formation, using the principles from the “Dun (escape)” section of “The Secret Art of Yin-Yang Feng-Shui in Sixteen Characters,” trying to calculate the steps based on the twenty-three. However, the I Ching and its trigrams are incredibly complex, and I lacked the talent for it. Although I understood some principles, I couldn’t calculate anything.
My head was spinning from trying to figure it out, and the more I thought, the more confused I became. I realized I wasn’t cut out for this. I was feeling anxious, and no one could help me. Fatty was good at counting money, and while Big Gold Tooth was sharp in business, he wasn’t skilled in calculations.
Finally, I said to Fatty and Big Gold Tooth, “Let’s not overthink this. Since we know the principle of the Xuanhun Ladder relies on changes in elevation to make us go in circles, we can handle it. I think we should just roll down directly.”
Fatty said, “Old Hu, weren’t you just confident you could calculate it? Why are you changing your mind now? Is your brain not working? I’ve been saying we should roll down. But what if we can’t reach the end? Can you guarantee that rolling down will work?”
I replied, “Yeah, weren’t you planning to roll down just a moment ago? Now you’re having second thoughts? Rolling down is the way to victory; trust me on this.”
At that moment, the candle beside us burned down to the end. The small candles we bought from Gulan only last about an hour. Big Gold Tooth, afraid of the dark, quickly pulled out another candle to light it, but then suddenly said, “Hey, Old Hu, I just remembered something.”
Fatty interjected, “Old Jin, why do you always do this? If you have something to say, just say it all at once. Stop with the suspense!”
Big Gold Tooth said, “I was really scared today, and it took me a while to get my head straight. I’ve heard my old man talk about traps like this before, but they were a bit different. It was a straight path, like a maze. No matter how you looked at it from inside, it seemed like a single path, but it actually twisted and turned in circles. I also know an old guy who isn’t a tomb raider, but he has an ancient book from the Sui Dynasty called ‘The Divine Craft Manual.’ I wanted to buy it, but he didn’t sell it. I’ve seen that book, and it mentions these underground maze paths. There’s even a map that looks like the number 8 twisted around itself. I wonder if this maze is similar to the Xuanhun Ladder we’re on now?”
I replied to Big Gold Tooth, “I know about those maze paths too; they work on a similar principle. But every place is different, shaped by its own terrain. The size and form can vary, and you need to be able to interpret the hexagrams to find your way out. The problem is, we can’t figure that out.”
Big Gold Tooth said, “I haven’t heard of the Xuanhun Ladder, but I heard that old man say that these maze paths were rarely used after the Zhou Dynasty because the way to solve them is very simple. They can’t trap people at all.”
Fatty and I didn’t pay much attention to Big Gold Tooth’s words. How could we solve such a complicated maze?
Big Gold Tooth continued, “Actually, it’s not hard to figure out. These places use reference points to trick you. They leave marks at intervals, and once you notice a mark, you can easily get lost. If you just walk blindly with your eyes closed, you might actually find your way out.”
Fatty exclaimed, “Wow, that’s a real wake-up call! If we just walk down without counting the steps or looking for marks, we might just bump our way out.”
But I thought this method was completely unworkable. What Big Gold Tooth suggested was a foolish approach. The height of the steps has its own mysteries, and relying on instinct wouldn’t work. We still didn’t know how long this Xuanhun Ladder was, and after all the time we spent going up and down, how could we possibly find our way out with our eyes closed?
But damn it, was there really no way out? Frustrated, I punched the nearby stone wall and suddenly realized something. Right! This Xuanhun Ladder is designed to deal with solo tomb raider. Since we have three people, we can’t use length, but we can use width!
I shared my idea with Big Gold Tooth and Fatty, and they both nodded in agreement. It was indeed a good plan. Since the steps are over ten meters wide, if one person stands in the middle focusing on the crescent-shaped marks on the ground, they might not notice the walls on either side and could easily be led astray. If they stick to one wall, they could still get caught in the 8-shaped path and lose their sense of direction.
However, if all three of us light candles and line up horizontally, keeping a safe distance between us, we can communicate after each step. This way, we can slowly make our way down. Whenever we reach a fork, we can mark the entire staircase, and after a few hours, there’s no way we wouldn’t find our way out.
So, we followed the plan, drew a rough map, and marked each level of the steps. If we encountered a fork, we made clear marks. Sure enough, after a short while, we found a hidden fork in the path. We made obvious large marks on the steps and recorded them on the map before continuing. We kept walking and stopping, and our map grew larger and larger, resembling a giant butterfly wing.
The Xuanhun Ladder was cleverly designed using natural caves and wasn’t actually that big. If a large group came through, the Xuanhun Ladder wouldn’t be much of a problem. But with just one or two people, it’s easy to get trapped if they don’t pay attention to the width. Unless they have enough lighting equipment to place candles on every step, just looking for the crescent-shaped marks would lead to disaster. Plus, the steps were made of very hard material, making it difficult to create new marks without sharp tools.
Although the steps were gray, they were clearly coated with some secret material that absorbed light. Thinking about the wisdom of ancient Chinese people is truly impressive; it’s hard not to admire it.
In fact, there were many such secret formulas and materials in ancient China, but they were monopolized by the royal family and nobles. They weren’t used to improve the lives of the people, like building roads or bridges, but rather to solidify their own power or design tombs for the royal family. Back then, having access
In ancient China, there were many such secret formulas and materials, but they were monopolized by the royal family and the nobility. Instead of being used for public works like building roads and bridges to improve the lives of the people, these secrets were employed to solidify their own power or to design tombs that protected the royal family. At that time, possessing these secrets was a privilege reserved for only a select few.
Based on the scale of things, after we had drawn about two-thirds of the map, we finally reached a point where there were no more steps beneath us. We had returned to the Underworld Hall, and the stone coffin with a human face still stood quietly in the southeast corner.
I checked my watch. We had been struggling on the Xuanhun Ladder for four and a half hours, and it was now around three in the afternoon. Since our last meal at nine in the morning, we hadn’t eaten anything, and my stomach was growling. I had thought we would just grab some items in the Underworld Hall and leave, but who would have guessed we’d face so many twists and turns, including stumbling upon a ghost tomb from the Western Zhou period?
This experience really exposed our blind optimism. We can’t afford to take on such unprepared ventures again. While it’s true that our military tradition values fighting without preparation, this approach clearly doesn’t work in tomb raiding. In battle, courage and wisdom are key, but in tomb raiding, what matters more are a clear mind, rich experience, perfect skills, quality equipment, and thorough preparation—none of these can be missing.
The central tomb brick in the Underworld Hall had been removed and piled to the side, revealing the entrance to the tomb we had come through. Below, it had transformed into a passage leading from the bottom of the ancient Western Zhou tomb to the burial pit.
The surroundings of the Underworld Hall were pitch black. Out of habit, I lit a candle in the southeast corner, but it was the last one we had brought into the tomb. The small flame burned straight, casting a tiny light in the eerie underground palace. Though the light was dim, it brought a sense of reassurance.
The three of us looked at the candle on the ground and let out a sigh of relief. Surviving this ordeal made us feel triumphant, and we couldn’t help but laugh together. I said to Big Gold Tooth and Fatty, “See? In the end, it all comes down to my skills, right? A place like this can’t trap us.”
Fatty replied, “Hey, don’t forget about the contributions of me and Old Jin! If it were just you, would you have made it down here? You’re getting a bit too full of yourself.”
I shot back, “I’m like an ivy plant, and you two are the fruits hanging from it. The stronger the vine, the bigger the fruit.”
Big Gold Tooth chuckled, “Old Hu, you’re pulling out songs from the commune days now!”
I laughed heartily, but then suddenly felt something was missing, and my laughter faded.
Where did the two big white geese go? I had rushed away from the Xuanhun Ladder and hadn’t paid attention. I asked Fatty, “Weren’t you supposed to be holding onto them? Where did they go? Did you leave them on the Xuanhun Ladder?”
Fatty swore, “I absolutely brought them back to the Underworld Hall! I just got a bit too excited and let go for a second. Damn it, where could they have gone in that blink of an eye? They shouldn’t have gone too far. Let’s split up and look for them; if they wander off too far, it’ll be hard to catch them.”
If the two missing geese were still in the Underworld Hall, it would be tough to find them. If they had made it to the grand and magnificent front hall, it would be even harder. We were short on people and didn’t have any large lighting equipment, so searching in the dark would be a challenge.
Without the geese, we couldn’t escape the ghost tomb’s confines. The Underworld Hall was so large; where could they have gone? Just as we were about to start searching, we suddenly heard a strange noise coming from the stone coffin with the human face. The sound echoed eerily in the empty, silent underground palace, making it particularly jarring.