As we continued up the flagstone path, my gaze remained fixed on the mounds of graves littering the hillside, wrestling with what common thread bound them together. Approaching another unmarked mound closely, a sudden clarity struck me; I had finally found the shared characteristic: every single grave faced Mount Zhuque, which meant they all faced due east.

I stopped Elder Chen, who had been chattering ahead of me, and asked, "Do your family know why all these graves face Mount Zhuque?"

Elder Chen turned back and replied, "That should be easy to explain. Firstly, according to the saying, 'houses face the hollow, graves face the fortress,' since this area is a gentle slope facing Mount Zhuque, and burials traditionally prefer the protection of a green hill behind them, with no other peaks in front, where else should they face but Mount Zhuque? Secondly, our Tujia people have always held a custom of revering the East—it's where the sun rises, so revering the East is essentially revering the sun. The dead naturally cannot be an exception."

Although the explanation sounded logical, somehow it didn't entirely convince me.

"This is the Tusi Imperial Mausoleum," Elder Chen said, pointing to a uniquely shaped tomb after we walked a little further.

This mausoleum was truly magnificent and exquisite, unparalleled in Xi Du. Although built entirely of the finest local stone, it looked more like a temporary palace designed to imitate wooden architecture: a doulou and sansheng style double-eaved structure, complete with carved lattice windows, eaves, barrel tiles, and stone doors that could be opened and closed. The coin patterns in the window openings, the floral carvings on the ceiling, and the small, anciently crafted stone Qilin beasts were all finely detailed. The tomb was divided into three sections: front, middle, and rear. The front was a small trapezoidal terrace paved entirely with stone, flanked by walls featuring relief carvings. The middle was the burial hall corridor, with eight stone doors on the front wall of the hall. The rear housed the resting chambers, four rooms side-by-side, each containing a sarcophagus bed and also eight stone doors. The eaves columns and dougong brackets were all carved with various geometric patterns, flowers, and reliefs of birds and beasts. The interior of the burial chambers was completely empty, devoid of any coffins or burial goods.

The location of the Imperial Mausoleum was on the high slope at the eastern rear corner of the Tusi Imperial City ruins, and its main gate also faced Mount Zhuque.

"This Imperial Mausoleum isn't from the Tan Cheng period either?" I recalled Elder Chen mentioning that the Tan Cheng period was the most brilliant era in the four hundred years of the Tangya Tusi history. This mausoleum, standing out among the surrounding graves, was uniquely grand, used costly materials, and building it with the manpower, resources, and wealth available at that time should not have been difficult.

Elder Chen replied, "This... I don't know. As long as I can remember, no one has ever said it was a Tan Cheng tomb, nor have I ever seen any coffins or anything like that inside."

I cautiously approached the stone gate of the mausoleum, rested my hand on it, and peered inside. The interior was spotlessly clean, the stone slabs engraved with exquisite animals and flowers wiped clear. A faint, cool, damp scent emanated from the chamber. The other three chambers were the same: no sign of coffins or any accompanying grave goods, leaving me to wonder if the four rooms were originally built this way, or if grave robbers had stripped them bare later.

"I sweep these chambers almost every day. It's a provincial cultural relic, and we descendants have the responsibility and obligation to protect it so that more people can learn about this history and pay respects to our Tujia ancestors," Elder Chen added.

Man Niao, who had been watching from a distance, stood on tiptoe and pointed to another grave behind the Imperial Mausoleum. "Who is buried in that one?"

Elder Chen answered, "That is the tomb of Lady Mo. Come, let's go take a look."

The tomb of Lady Mo was not far to the left behind the Tusi Imperial Mausoleum. On the massive tombstone was an inscription carved vertically in sunken characters: "Tomb of the Illustrious Late Wife, Imperial-Granted General of Martial Prowess, Madam Tan of Qin City, née Mo." Below the left side of the inscription were the characters, "Erected on an Auspicious Day in the Late Summer of the Gengwu Year of the Chongzhen Reign of the Great Ming Dynasty." In front of the stele stood a small stone archway, flanked on either side by a drum-shaped stone pillar.

"This is the only tomb among the many graves in the Imperial City that has an inscription. The date of erection and the erector are clearly recorded, so we can be certain this is the tomb of Lady Mo," Elder Chen explained. "Then... aren't you afraid someone will rob her resting place?" Tan Ping'er asked curiously. I had vaguely noticed during this time that her expression had remained unusually calm, completely lacking the tension she had shown on the journey here, which struck me as strange.

"Heh heh, Lady Mo is the most respected person among the Tangya Tujia people. Who would have the heart to desecrate her grave? It is said that she was extremely frugal in life, deeply understood her servants, and was tolerant and kind to her maids and serving girls. According to our local belief, any grave robber who damages the tomb of such a person will surely suffer divine retribution and meet a bad end. Moreover, although most of the Qin clan descendants were relocated from Tangya during the Gaitu Guiliu period, a few still remain. Even without the care of the Qin descendants, we outsiders would do everything possible to protect it and prevent grave robbers from digging and destroying it."

Seeing the solemn expression on Elder Chen's weather-beaten face and hearing his resolute tone, I nodded inwardly.

However, a strange thought began to form in my mind: why did only Lady Mo's tomb have such detailed inscription? Was it because she was a woman? Did women in the Tusi dynasty truly hold such low status that their tombs contained no valuable grave goods? Yet, Elder Chen had implied that in the hearts of the Tujia people, her status surpassed even that of her husband, General of Martial Prowess Qin Cheng. Logically, a saintly figure like her should have been buried with numerous accompaniments and in a highly concealed location, not displayed so conspicuously with a marked stone tablet like this.

Aside from the strange feeling associated with the Huanhou Temple, this was another place that filled me with doubt. Of course, the fact that every single grave faced Mount Zhuque also sparked some inexplicable associations. Likewise, Lady Mo's grave faced Mount Zhuque in the East.

"Let's go to Mount Xuanwu to see the last famous spot—the Couple Fir Trees," Elder Chen suggested.

The Couple Fir Trees stood atop Mount Xuanwu. We quickly reached them by following the winding flagstone path. What met our eyes were two fir trees standing side-by-side, incredibly tall, straight, and verdant. Each tree looked like it would require four people linking hands to encircle its trunk. "Legend says these two firs were planted personally by Lady Mo during the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty, making them over 380 years old now. Each tree is forty-four meters tall with a canopy spread of two hundred and twenty-five square meters. The branches of the two trees intertwine, like a couple holding hands in affection, hence they are called the Couple Fir Trees. The Couple Fir Trees became a symbol of the honorable position of the Tusi's wife in the Tangya Tusi reign, also reflecting Madam Tian's deep devotion to her husband, Qin Ding." Elder Chen explained, pointing to the trees.

Looking at the tall, imposing Couple Fir Trees before me, a new, peculiar sensation arose in my mind: the Blood Soul Tablet involved the love, desire, and enmity between the Tujia ancestor Linjun and a woman. The Couple Fir Trees heralded the loyal love between Lady Mo and Tusi Wang Qin Cheng. And I, Man Yingying, an ordinary Tujia descendant thousands of years later, found myself connected, through a Blood Soul Tablet, four cryptic verses, and the character '' (Earth/Tujia), to a beautiful mixed-race woman of unknown parentage, with whom I was developing nascent affections. So... was there some inevitable link between these three pairs of men and women?

At that moment, the sky began to drizzle, and the world became dim and cold. In the hazy mist and rain, I stood on the summit of Mount Xuanwu, surveying the clearly visible ruins of the Tusi Imperial City, searching for the faint outlines of crumbling walls and broken ramparts, gazing at the numerous large and small graves scattered across Mount Xuanwu. Everything before me felt like a frozen historical tableau, offering only fragmented montage shots. The original intention, "To unravel the Blood Soul, seek Qin Cheng," had vanished without a trace, and none of my burning questions were answered.

The green hills loomed faintly, the clear water murmured, seeming to tell me something, yet saying nothing at all.

The "Gang of Four" exchanged glances and smiled wryly, a silent understanding passing between them that their optimism before arriving at the Tusi Imperial City had been misplaced. Hua'er, meanwhile, had evidently wandered off somewhere to socialize and was nowhere in sight.

Elder Chen noticed the strange expressions on our faces and asked curiously, "You haven't just come to the Tusi Imperial City for sightseeing, have you? Is there something else you're looking into?" Without waiting for our reply, Elder Chen enthusiastically continued, "Well, the rain is getting heavier now. If you don't mind, why don't you come to my home for a while? Perhaps I can help you. Didn't you say that Miss Tan here has come to trace her ancestry? Go over your story carefully; maybe I can offer some leads. What do you say?"