The Fatty grinned, "If we aren't afraid of ghosts leading us astray, what else is there to fear? Just tell us. Even if we die, at least we'll be informed ghosts; the King of Hell won't even accept confused ones."

I turned to Fatty and Big Gold Tooth, "I’m worried you two won't grasp it. What I'm about to say is just my deduction based on the phenomena we've encountered. I think this is the explanation, so tell me if it makes sense."

Fatty and Big Gold Tooth waited for me to lay out my thoughts, but instead of rushing, I first posed a question to Big Gold Tooth, "Master Jin, that incomplete stone stele we saw in the village near Snake Coil Slope, the palace maid mural in the Underworld Hall, and that grand underground palace in the front hall—all solidly date back to the Tang Dynasty, right? We couldn't possibly be mistaken about that?"

Big Gold Tooth nodded emphatically, "Absolutely, absolutely all Tang Dynasty artifacts. The craftsmanship, the structure, the figures and clothing in those murals—if they weren't Tang Dynasty, I'd gouge out my eyeballs and use them as stepping stones. However, that being said, still..."

Having received confirmation from Big Gold Tooth, I cut him off, "But in the middle of this Tang Dynasty tomb, we suddenly encounter a stone sarcophagus from the Western Zhou, a tomb passage painted with Western Zhou rock art, and halfway up a looter's tunnel, the outer wall of a Western Zhou tomb just appears out of nowhere."

Big Gold Tooth and Fatty spoke in unison, "Exactly! Isn't that seeing a ghost?"

I replied, "Let's not dismiss the supernatural just yet. Maybe we did see a ghost this time, but it’s a rather special kind."

Big Gold Tooth asked, "Special? Master Hu, are you talking about the tomb owner's ghost? Tang or Western Zhou?"

I waved my hand dismissively, "Neither. Perhaps my terminology is imprecise, but I truly don't know how else to describe it. Calling it a ghost isn't entirely appropriate because I've heard many people discuss this—it’s not superstition, but rather a unique physical phenomenon. Many experts and scholars study it, and they don't even have a proper term yet. I think 'apparition' or 'phantom' might be more fitting."

Fatty asked, "Aren't ghosts and apparitions the same thing? Old Hu, whose apparition are you referring to?"

I addressed both Fatty and Big Gold Tooth, "Whose apparition? I believe it’s the apparition of a Western Zhou tomb—not the kind of ghost that’s the soul of a dead person, but the Western Zhou tomb itself is the apparition. It’s what’s rumored in the Grave Robber trade as a 'Phantom Mound,' clinging to this abandoned Tang mausoleum."

Big Gold Tooth started to grasp the concept, the more he thought about it, the more sense it made, and he nodded repeatedly. Big Gold Tooth said, "Legends speak of phantom towers, phantom ships, phantom carriages—maybe what we've stumbled upon is truly a Phantom Tomb."

Fatty, however, became more confused the more he listened and asked what I and Big Gold Tooth were saying and if we could use language easier to understand.

Big Gold Tooth explained to Fatty, "After years in the antique business, I firmly believe in one principle: exquisite objects accumulate the countless efforts of master craftsmen. Over long ages, they gain a kind of sentience, or spirit. Once that object is destroyed and gone from the world, perhaps its very soul remains. It's like those luxury cruise ships. Even after they sink and have been at the bottom of the sea for years, sometimes crew members report seeing the ship still sailing the ocean surface. Perhaps what the crew sees is merely the ghost of that ship."

Fatty exclaimed, "So that’s it! Then I was quite prescient. When I first saw that stone sarcophagus, I said maybe the thing had been around so long it had gained sentience—you two are something else; I was being perfectly clear back then, and you didn't catch on. I have no patience for you two blockheads."

Big Gold Tooth chimed in, "Hearing Master Hu bring that up, I truly think it’s possible. A relative of ours from Hunan once came to Beijing's Fengtai district and stayed at the Xinyuan Guesthouse. His room number was 303. It was late, past midnight, and he was nearly falling asleep. Dazed, he headed to the third floor. When he came up the stairs, 303 was right in front of him, the door slightly ajar. Without thinking much, he pushed it open, saw a cup of hot water on the table, took a couple of sips, lay down on the bed, and slept. The next morning, he was awakened to find himself asleep on the third-floor landing."

Fatty asked, "Old Jin, are you saying your relative encountered a phantom building?"

Big Gold Tooth confirmed, "Yes. The guesthouse staff asked him why he was sleeping on the stairs. When he recounted what happened, at first they thought he sleepwalked. But Room 303 was locked, nothing inside had been touched, and the bedding wasn't even turned down. He was just totally confused about how he ended up outside. Later, when he returned to Fengtai and stayed at the same Xinyuan Guesthouse, he heard in passing that the place had burned down once and was rebuilt exactly as it was, only slightly larger. Even the room numbers were the same. A few times every year, guests clearly enter their rooms but wake up outside, but since there are no injuries or accidents, nobody made a fuss about it. My relative mentioned it purely as a piece of gossip, and I never paid it much mind. Now, it seems we’ve run into a Phantom Tomb."

Big Gold Tooth then said to me, "Master Hu, you saw things quickly. I was so panicked my mind went blank. Even if I racked my brain and doubled it, I wouldn't have thought of any of this."

I sighed, "I’m ashamed to admit it, but I only arrived at this conclusion because I was cornered. My head is throbbing now too. I've considered every possibility, and I believe we've encountered a Phantom Mound. Otherwise, how could two tombs overlap like this?"

Two dynasties, two eras, both coveting the same auspicious piece of Feng Shui terrain—such a situation can happen, especially with this layout featuring an Nei Zang Yuan (Hidden Hollow), truly a rare and superb vein of treasure.

Once this crucial point was understood, the rest of the problems began to resolve themselves. This Nei Zang Yuan treasure spot in Longling was likely coveted back in the Western Zhou period. While they didn't have the rich, specific Feng Shui theories of the Tang Dynasty, the ultimate state of harmony between Heaven and Man has been humanity's ultimate goal since the dawn of man.

A certain royal of the Western Zhou was buried here, interred in a human-faced stone sarcophagus. The tomb structure was similar to what we saw: a massive outer wall surrounding the structure, divided into three levels. The bottom level held numerous burial goods, which, given the era, would primarily be livestock, animals, and vessels. The middle level contained the human-faced stone sarcophagus holding the tomb master. Apart from that, nothing else—even a few important personal burial items would be inside the sarcophagus with the body. The third level was the entrance connecting to the passage. The stone steps we are on now are located between the upper and middle levels.

This tomb master, interred within the human-faced stone sarcophagus, should have rested here for a thousand years. However, at some point before the Tang Dynasty, for reasons we cannot know—perhaps war, perhaps tomb robbing, or even political strife—this tomb was utterly destroyed.

Later, during the Tang Dynasty, master Feng Shui practitioners setting the site for the imperial family also took a liking to this Nei Zang Yuan treasure spot in Longling. They began constructing a mausoleum here for an important female member of the royal family.

Yet, halfway through construction, they discovered this Nei Zang Yuan—a place previously used long, long ago. Abandoning an imperial mausoleum mid-construction was extremely inauspicious. First, it was a waste of manpower and resources; all the labor, capital, and materials already expended were lost. Second, moving the tomb was considered interference by the previous occupant.

More ominous than these factors was the concept of Yi Xue Liang Mu (One Spot, Two Tombs). Even if the earlier tomb was believed to be gone, this situation was taboo. Even executing the Feng Shui master and his entire clan might not avert the calamity. Most likely, the official overseeing the construction and the Feng Shui master colluded, fabricating some baseless story to fool the Emperor, thus convincing him to fund a new mausoleum elsewhere.

The human-faced stone sarcophagus that suddenly appeared, the tomb walls adorned with rock art, and the massive stones blocking the looter's tunnel—all of this was the long-destroyed Western Zhou tomb, the ghost of that tomb suddenly manifesting.

Big Gold Tooth agreed wholeheartedly with my analysis but couldn't reconcile one point: "Since this long-destroyed Phantom Mound exists here, why did it only appear when the Tang mausoleum was nearly complete, and why did it manifest the moment we entered the tunnel? Isn't that too much of a coincidence?"

Big Gold Tooth hit on a critical difficulty. If this point couldn't be understood, our hypothesis would be invalid. No matter how unlucky we were, it couldn't be this coincidental—a 'mound ghost' that is either never present or appears intermittently, yet it popped up the moment we stepped in.

Logically, the so-called 'Phantom Mound,' while tangible and visible, is not a physical entity but some form of residual energy field persisting in the world. It shouldn't be constantly present; it should manifest incrementally, layer by layer. We don't know if the entire Western Zhou tomb will eventually appear, or only half of it, or even less.

I told Big Gold Tooth, "This place is the head of the dragon vein, and an Nei Zang Yuan—it's peerless, hoarding wind and gathering qi. This great Western Zhou tomb amplified the vital energy (sheng qi). Because of the terrain, the qi gathered inside, achieving Quan Qi (Total Qi). This qi is the primordial clear energy that gives birth to heaven and earth and all things; it is the source of all things. This qi is one form of that primordial clear energy. A tomb built in such a top-tier treasure spot would absorb spiritual energy (ling qi). Thus, even after destruction, though its form is lost, it remains contained within the qi currents of the auspicious spot. That’s not strange. What’s strange is why this Phantom Mound appeared now. In other words, is it normally absent, and did we trigger something, or do something special, that caused it to suddenly materialize?"

Big Gold Tooth urged, "Go on, Master Hu. All the signs we've seen indicate that after the Western Zhou tomb was destroyed, three groups visited this site. Two of those groups were Grave Robbers, including us. Although separated by decades, both groups encountered this Phantom Mound and were trapped by it. Then there was the earliest group: the people who built the Tang tomb. They were certainly a large contingent; constructing an imperial mausoleum to that extent is no small feat. They were nearly finished when they discovered the Phantom Mound. Why didn't they notice it during the construction process beforehand?"

I nodded, "Exactly. Regardless of the order, they must have done something special that drew out the Phantom Mound. But we didn't do anything, did we? We had barely crawled halfway into the tunnel when the stone wall behind us suddenly appeared and blocked the path."

Big Gold Tooth pondered deeply, "This Western Zhou tomb must have been completely demolished, not a single brick or stone left. The builders of the Tang tomb probably assumed this was just a massive natural cavern—both a good Feng Shui spot and saving them the trouble of digging through rock. They must have discovered the Phantom Mound later. The Grave Robbers who dug the tunnel at Fish Bone Temple, including the three of us, must have all done one identical thing that provoked the Phantom Mound to appear. But what could that thing be?"

I said to Big Gold Tooth, "Don't fret. Since we have a starting point, I think that by finding the root cause, we might be able to make the Phantom Mound disappear. The people who built the Tang Mausoleum and those who dug the tunnel at Fish Bone Temple might have realized this after finding the Phantom Mound. That's why they were able to leave. Let's all think hard."

Fatty suggested, "In my view, we should use the process of elimination. Things that ancient people could do, we can also do. We should consider those first. Anything modern—the ancients couldn't have had it, so we can rule it out and save ourselves the brainpower."

I was surprised at Fatty's rare moment of rationality. "Alright, Little Fatty! I thought you good-for-nothing only cared about eating and drinking, but you actually came up with the damned process of elimination?"

Fatty laughed, "It's all from being hungry! I think when people get desperately hungry, their minds get sharp. When I'm eating, my brain works the worst, damn it."

Big Gold Tooth added, "We can narrow the scope further. The Tang tomb builders found the Phantom Mound when the project was almost finished. We were trapped the moment we entered the tunnel."

Fatty scoffed, "With your level of skill, you two are still going into tombs? You really have pig brains. Let me give you a hint: something the ancients used, and we use too. What else could it be? It's obvious—candles!"

"Candles?" I thought of it too, but perhaps it wasn't just candles. Did ancient people work in a cave without any light source? Wouldn't candles be used frequently, wherever they were?

Although I didn't know the specifics of the Tang Dynasty tomb construction, it’s impossible that they wouldn't use candles until the very end of the project. There must be some other reason. However, the candle itself is quite common to us. Perhaps there was some Tang Dynasty tradition against lighting candles during the construction of large mausoleums? That defies logic; there couldn't be such a bizarre regulation. If such a rule existed, my inherited, incomplete book would certainly have mentioned it.

Just as we were racking our brains, eliminating possibilities one by one, Fatty’s two large white geese suddenly started fighting. Fatty cursed, "Damn it, you two feathered beasts, what's the ruckus? I’ll roast you both later!" The two geese squabbled fiercely, completely ignoring Fatty's threats.

Fatty found it amusing and said to Big Gold Tooth and me with a smile, "Old Hu, Old Jin, have you ever seen this? I've seen cockfights, but now an impromptu goose fight. Geese can be this aggressive too."

Seeing the two white geese Fatty was holding struck me like a flash of lightning in the dark. I turned to Fatty and said, "Goose... goose..."

Fatty quoted poetry, "Honk, honk, honk, white feathers float on green water, red paddles churn clear ripples."

I quickly corrected him, "No, no, I mean, how could I not have thought of geese? Do you know what they must do when the underground palace of an ancient tomb is nearly complete? They must sacrifice three animals to heaven and bind three fowl to earth."

Big Gold Tooth gasped, "Ah, Master Hu, are you saying the two geese we brought led the Phantom Mound out?"

I exclaimed, "Yes! How could I not have thought of it? I imagine the Grave Robbers who dug the tunnel at Fish Bone Temple, after reaching the underground palace, must have used the old tomb raiding method to test the air quality in the Underworld Hall—using live poultry to check the air. They must have brought chickens, ducks, or geese inside, and that’s when they were trapped by the Phantom Mound!"

When ancient tombs were being built, after the underground palace structure was finished, they would slaughter three livestock and tether five fowl within the tomb. This was done to invite the spirits near the tomb to depart and to request that heaven bestow peace upon the site, allowing the tomb master to rest undisturbed.

This practice is known as: "Three Beasts for Heaven, Three Fowl for Earth." Simultaneously offering the heads of pigs, cattle, and sheep was a grand ceremony, meant to transmit information to the heavens, while the three fowl were offerings to the earth-dwelling spirits. Fowl and livestock could solidify the residual qi of the true auspicious spot, which is why fowl and livestock were always buried in the sacrificial pits according to the principle of aligning with the stars and terrestrial veins.

Big Gold Tooth elaborated, "The wild counterpart is the wild goose, and the domestic is the goose. The goose among the three fowl is said to possess the most spirituality. Legends claim geese can see ghosts. Perhaps it was our unintentional act of bringing geese into the tunnel that disturbed this Western Zhou Phantom Mound."

I grabbed one of the white geese, pulled out my paratrooper knife, and decided to test the theory regardless. I raised the knife, intending to slice the goose’s throat.

Big Gold Tooth suddenly seemed to recall something and hastily pressed down on my hand, "Wait, Master Hu, I just realized—we were wrong."