Deep within the Taklamakan Desert lay the "Zaghrama Mountains," whose black ridges concealed countless secrets. Perhaps the name itself held a clue, as Zaghrama in the ancient Uyghur tongue meant "mystery," though some interpreted it as "Sacred Mountain." In any event, the mortals living around Zaghrama found it nearly impossible to penetrate its mysteries.

In ancient times, an unnamed tribe, one that once fostered figures revered as "Sages," lived there—let us call them the Zaghrama Tribe. These people had migrated from the distant European continent and lived in isolation among the Zaghrama Mountains for untold years, until they accidentally uncovered the bottomless "Ghost Cave" within the mountain's belly. The tribe's shaman told them that deep in the ancient East lay a colossal eye of golden jade capable of seeing the Ghost Cave's truth. So, they imitated it, crafting a similar jade eye to offer sacrifice to the Ghost Cave. From that moment, misfortune descended upon the tribe.

Afterward, the Zaghrama Tribe was utterly forsaken, plagued by ceaseless disaster. The Sage, who served as their leader, believed this was intrinsically linked to the Ghost Cave. Once the gateway to catastrophe was opened, it would be impossible to close. To escape this terrible fate, they were forced to abandon the homeland they had inhabited for so long, migrating toward the distant East and gradually assimilating into the civilization of the Central Plains.

What exactly was this "disaster"? From a modern perspective, it might be described as a virus, an infection contracted by gazing into the eye of the cave. Anyone who had looked directly into the Ghost Cave would, after a period, develop red, eyeball-shaped scars on their body that would never fade.

Those afflicted with these red scars would find the iron content in their blood gradually diminishing after the age of forty. Blood flows red because of the iron it contains; if that iron slowly vanished, the blood would gradually thicken, reducing the oxygen supplied to the brain, making breathing increasingly difficult, until, at the moment of death, the blood had turned entirely yellow.

This agonizing process would last for ten years. Their descendants, though no longer bearing the red scars, would still suffer from iron-deficiency anemia, ultimately expiring in extreme torment just as their ancestors did. Because, unlike the later people of Jingjue, the majority of the tribe had seen the Ghost Cave with their own eyes, they had no choice but to abandon their ancestral lands.

After migrating to the Central Plains, through generations of observation, they discovered a pattern: the farther they moved from the Ghost Cave, the later the onset of the illness. But regardless, the symptom persisted, causing untold suffering with every passing generation until death. No words could adequately describe the agony of blood turning into a thick, yellow coagulation.

To find a means to break this curse, every member of the tribe exhausted all possibilities. After many years, reaching the Song Dynasty, they finally found a crucial clue: a massive bronze Ding cauldron unearthed from the silt of the lower Yellow River, a product of the mid-Shang Dynasty.

This Ding was deep-bellied with a concave bottom, supported by four imposing legs, solemn and weighty, and intricately cast with cicada patterns. The Ding was a vital ritual vessel in ancient times, especially during the Bronze Age, when control over bronze ore rested entirely with the government; the level of bronze smelting technology marked the strength of a nation. Emperors cast Ding cauldrons to sacrifice to Heaven and Earth and their ancestors, casting inscriptions upon them to report important matters to the celestial and terrestrial powers. Furthermore, items bestowed upon vassal lords, nobles, and meritorious officials were often represented by bronze, and recipients, eager to commemorate such great honor, would commission objects made from the gifted bronze to mark these significant contemporary events.

The descendants of the Zaghrama Tribe discovered precisely such a bronze Ding recording a momentous event. The thirty-second ruler of the Shang Dynasty, Wu Ding, had once obtained a jade eyeball stained crimson with golden cinnabar. This jade eyeball was allegedly found in a collapsed mountain peak, alongside a crimson robe.

King Wu Ding believed this ancient jade eye was left behind by the immortalized Yellow Emperor, deeming it incomparably precious, and named it the "Dust Pearl" (Chen Zhu). He consequently commanded a Ding to be cast in commemoration. The inscriptions on the bronze cauldron were limited to this mention, providing no further information. (The Dust Pearl, the Dust-Averting Pearl, and the Scarlet Elixir—Chi Dan—are three divine pearls of China appearing repeatedly in historical records. The Dust Pearl was fashioned from a mysterious jade-like material, rumored to have been obtained by the Yellow Emperor during a heavenly sacrifice. Legend suggests it was later used as an offering with Emperor Wu of Han, but after the destruction of the Mao Mausoleum by farmers, its whereabouts remain unknown. The Dust-Averting Pearl may be the world's earliest discovered radioactive material; it was found in Shaanxi, but vanished amid a violent frenzy of looting upon its discovery. The Scarlet Elixir is the most legendary, said to originate from the Three Divine Mountains, possessing the miraculous power of complete physical transformation. It was perpetually guarded in the imperial palace, lost at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty.)

Many descendants of the Zaghrama Tribe were skilled in divination. Through their scrying, they concluded that this ancient jade eyeball, stained with golden cinnabar, was the Eye of a Celestial Being. Only by using this ancient jade eye to worship the Ghost Cave could the catastrophe brought about by their ancient shaman's attempt to use the fabricated jade eye to pry into the Ghost Cave's secrets be counteracted. This ancient jade, once possessed by Wu Ding, had passed through many hands during the chaos of war and was now most likely interred in the underground palace of some royal noble's tomb, serving as a funerary object. However, the scope of their divination was limited, and they could not ascertain its precise location.

By this time, the Zaghrama Tribe had dwindled from five thousand people upon migration to the interior to just over a thousand. They had long been assimilated by Han civilization, even adopting Han surnames. To escape the shackles of their agonizing illness, they were compelled to scatter across various regions, searching for the "Dust Pearl" in ancient tombs. These individuals formed one branch of the four major tomb raiding systems of that era.

Historically, professional tomb robbers were divided into four major factions based on their methods: Faqiu, Mojin, Banshan, and Xieling. The descendants of the Zaghrama Tribe mostly learned the "Banshan Fen Jia Technique" and typically disguised themselves as Taoist priests, calling themselves "Banshan Daoists."

The "Banshan Daoist" differed greatly from the "Mojin Captain," as indicated by their titles. "Banshan" employed a broad, trumpet-style raiding method, relying primarily on brute external force, whereas "Mojin" focused more intensely on technical precision.

The "Banshan Daoists" from the Zaghrama lineage searched countless ancient tombs over the ensuing years, their leads breaking and reconnecting endlessly...

Through this relentless, hedge-like search, the "Dust Pearl" remained elusive. As time slipped by, the "Banshan Technique" gradually waned, and its practitioners diminished. By the Republican Era, only one young "Banshan Daoist" remained in the entire nation. This man was the most famous grave robber in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, renowned throughout the land for his unparalleled mastery of ventriloquism, earning him the nickname "Pheasant Quail Whistle" (Zhe Gu Shao). In time, everyone forgot his given name, referring to him only as "Zhe Gu Shao." He was skilled in Qinggong (lightness skill) and excelled at deciphering the mechanisms within ancient tombs. Furthermore, his marksmanship was legendary; he held a high reputation not only among tomb raiders but also within the martial underworld.

"Zhe Gu Shao," adhering strictly to his ancestors' instructions and following the sporadic clues, tirelessly pursued the whereabouts of the "Dust Pearl." He finally narrowed his focus to a certain treasure cave belonging to the Western Xia kingdom. Legend held that this cave was not far from the ruined Black Water City of the ancient Western Xia. It was originally constructed as the mausoleum for a high-ranking Western Xia minister. However, when the Western Xia was annihilated by the Mongols, the prince or minister never had the chance to be interred. Consequently, the critical treasures from his palace were hidden within, possibly including the "Dust Pearl." Yet, there was no mound of earth above ground, making it exceedingly difficult to locate.

"Zhe Gu Shao," a "Banshan Daoist," lacked knowledge of Feng Shui or astral divination, making it technically impossible for him to locate the treasure cave using his own skills. By this time, his surviving kinsmen were few. If the "Dust Pearl" could not be found, this ancient tribal bloodline might face extinction. Witnessing the grotesque agony of his dying relatives, "Zhe Gu Shao" was forced to seek help from the "Mojin Captains," who excelled at Feng Shui techniques for discerning the precise burial location (Fen Jin Ding Xue).

However, the nation was in chaos. The four major factions—Faqiu, Mojin, Banshan, and Xieling—had nearly all lost their lineages. Perhaps only "Zhe Gu Shao" still understood the entirety of the "Banshan Technique." The Faqiu and Xieling factions had vanished centuries earlier.

The number of active "Mojin Captains" was also small; counting them up, there were fewer than ten across the entire country. In that era, tomb raiding activities were dominated by "Official Raids" led by warlords or by private "Scattered Raiders."

"Zhe Gu Shao" went to great lengths to find a former Mojin Captain who had since taken Buddhist vows. He begged the monk to teach him the secret arts of Fen Jin Ding Xue. This monk's dharma name was "Liao" over "Chen" (Liaochen). Elder Liaochen had once been a Mojin Captain and had raided many great tombs, but in his later years, having seen through the vanity of the world, he became a monk.

Master Liaochen advised "Zhe Gu Shao," saying, "Everything in this world comes to an end; people burden themselves with vexations. The Buddha is the freest, accepting it all with a mere smile. Why can't the Benefactor see past it? This old monk was once a Mojin Captain. Although most of what I acquired was used for the benefit of the people, in quiet reflection now, my heart finds no peace. If those precious funerary objects are exposed to the light of day, how much more ruthless struggle and bloodshed will the world see? Funerary objects, whether used by oneself or sold for charity, are never good. In short, this business of raiding tombs has accumulated too much negative karma..."

Helplessly, "Zhe Gu Shao" laid out the true situation. Hearing the reason, Master Liaochen's compassion stirred, and he prepared to impart the standard operational procedures of the "Mojin" school to "Zhe Gu Shao." However, according to tradition, "Zhe Gu Shao" first had to submit a "Life-Pledge Statement" (Tou Ming Zhuang) before he could be awarded the Mojin Talisman.

Grave robbing activities had always been conducted in darkness; regardless of the motivation, they could not be exposed. Therefore, the rules were not to be trifled with. Master Liaochen told "Zhe Gu Shao," "When I became a monk here, I noticed an ancient tomb nearby that has never been raided. Its location is ten li northwest of the temple, in a desolate stretch of barren hills. There is a half-buried, nameless stele there; beneath it lies a tomb dating back to the Southern Song Dynasty. Only that half-ruined stele remains visible above ground. Below the stone is the tomb passage. The tomb is remote and has never been robbed, but its placement for the crucial acupoint was poor—shaped like a broken sword. Tonight, follow my instructions: enter that tomb and retrieve the primary burial garments of the deceased as your Life-Pledge Statement. Whether you succeed in bringing them back safely depends on whether the Ancestor favors your skill."

Afterward, Master Liaochen provided "Zhe Gu Shao" with a set of tools—all standard equipment for a "Mojin Captain"—and instructed him to strictly observe all the internal rules of the Mojin school. "Mojin" was the most technically oriented of the raiding schools and possessed the longest history; many common industry colloquialisms and secrets originated from the mouths of Mojin Captains. For example, tomb robbers today all say they are "tomb-raiding craftsmen," but why do they call tomb raiding "Dumping the Dou" (Dao Dou)? Few can explain it. This term originally stemmed from the Mojin Captains' vivid description of the raiding process. Most grand Chinese tombs, apart from those carved into mountainsides, have an earth mound above them. Take the Qin Mausoleum as an example: the shape of the mound resembles a Dou (an ancient unit measure for grain), inverted and placed on the ground. The subterranean palace containing the funerary objects is inside the Dou. The simplest way to retrieve the objects was to flip the Dou over and open it—hence, "Dumping the Dou."

Hearing Elder Liaochen's explanations regarding such lore and various taboos—which the Banshan Daoists, with their lack of elaborate formalities, had never encountered—"Zhe Gu Shao" felt a profound sense of sudden enlightenment.

Elder Liaochen’s final, repeated admonition concerned the rules for raiding: light a candle in the southeast corner of the tomb chamber; once the flame is steady, proceed to open the coffin and search for artifacts; if the light flickers out, retreat immediately. Furthermore, never take superfluous items, never damage the coffin, only enter and exit a single tomb chamber once, and always try to backfill the entry shaft upon departure...

"Zhe Gu Shao" found the half-ruined stele of the Southern Song tomb that night. Twilight was deepening; dark clouds drifted across the sky, the moon intermittently visible through the swirling mass. The night wind stirred the dry leaves in the forest, sounding like the wail of malevolent spirits.

At this moment, "Zhe Gu Shao" did not employ his "Banshan Fen Jia Technique" but instead followed Master Liaochen's guidance, using the methods of a Mojin Captain to carve a straight shaft directly into the burial chamber.

He prepared his ink line, corpse-binding rope, Yin-probing claw, candles, corpse-softening incense, black donkey hoof charms, and glutinous rice. After swallowing a "Red Cinnabar Marvelous Heart Pill" to repel corpse qi, he cocked the firing pin of his German Model 1910 "Box Cannon" pistol and tucked it into his sash. He then covered his mouth and nose with a damp cloth.

Master Liaochen had said the tomb's formation was chaotic, the vital energy perverse, shaped like a broken sword and poised like an overturned chest. In such a standard malignant configuration, a reanimation of the corpse (Shi Bian) might occur. However, "Zhe Gu Shao" was a veteran of a hundred battles; no matter how perilous the ancient tomb, it was no match for him. The spirits, ghosts, walking corpses (Zongzi), Yin malevolence, black malevolence, and white malevolence within these tombs—he had dealt with no fewer than eighty, if not a hundred, in recent years.

"Zhe Gu Shao" thought to himself, This is Elder Liaochen testing my courage and skill. I absolutely cannot tarnish the renowned name of Zhe Gu Shao in the raiding profession. Having completed his preparations, he glanced up at the hazy moon, held his horse lantern, took a deep breath, and slipped into the raiding shaft.

With agile movements, "Zhe Gu Shao" soon reached the main burial chamber. The tomb was not large, and the height was severely limited, creating an oppressive atmosphere. Funerary objects were piled on the ground. "Zhe Gu Shao" paid no heed to the trivial burial goods. Upon entering, he located the southeast corner of the chamber and lit a candle. He then turned to examine the tomb owner's coffin. He found no outer Guo (casket), only a Guan (inner coffin)—a bronze and gold coffin. The entire vessel was made of bronze. In all his years of grave raiding, this was the first such coffin he had encountered; he had only heard of them. These bronze and gold coffins were specially made to prevent the corpse from rising (Zha Shi). The fact that this specific bronze and gold coffin was used suggested that the deceased may have already shown signs of corpse reanimation before burial.

Yet, "Zhe Gu Shao" was highly skilled and bold. Using the Yin-probing claw, he pried open the heavy lid. Inside lay a woman, her face preserved as if alive, appearing to be around thirty years old—a noblewoman. Her ribs were slightly distended, indicating she held preservation pearls in her mouth. Her hair was adorned with numerous gold and silver ornaments.

A layer of burial shroud covered her. Judging by the upper body, the female corpse wore nine layers of primary burial garments. He only needed to remove the outermost layer to satisfy his commission. "Zhe Gu Shao" climbed over into the coffin, took out the corpse-binding rope, wrapped it twice around his own body, tying a knot at his chest, and fashioned the other end into a loop resembling one used for hanging, which he slipped over the female corpse's neck.

"Zhe Gu Shao" held his breath and leaned into the coffin, face-to-face with the deceased. He lit a stick of corpse-softening incense inside the coffin; this incense could quickly soften a stiffened body. He casually placed it beside the Southern Song woman's face and sat back onto her lap, adjusting the length of the corpse-binding rope. Straightening his back, the woman's body was simultaneously pulled upright by the tension of the rope around her neck.

(The Mojin Captain tied one end of the corpse-binding rope around his chest and the other into a loop around the corpse's neck to make the body sit upright, allowing him to use both hands to remove the clothing. Since the Mojin Captain sat astride the body, the standing corpse would be slightly shorter than him. Thus, the rope was wrapped around the chest, and the loop secured around the neck to maintain a level line. Later, this technique trickled down to common bandits, but without full understanding. The common bandits used ordinary rope, not one inked, and they failed to grasp the correct knotting method, often looping the rope around their own neck like the corpse's end. Many met their demise foolishly due to this improper method.)

"Zhe Gu Shao" used the rope to pull the female corpse upright. Just as he reached to undo the outermost burial shroud, he suddenly felt a blast of chilling wind behind him. He turned back, and saw the flame of the candle in the tomb's southeast corner fluttering erratically, seemingly on the verge of extinguishing at any moment. "Zhe Gu Shao," currently tethered to the corpse by the rope, cursed inwardly, Damn it, seeing the candle about to fail. It seemed he would not be able to take the "Grand Burial Garment." However, the corpse directly in front of him suddenly opened its mouth, and a dark, purplish bead dropped out from between her tightly closed lips.