The ancient banyan tree, entangled and riddled with holes, usually depended on the red fleshy cords growing from the jade coffin for support. Now, having lost its anchor and with nearly half its canopy smashed by the C-shaped transport plane, it was severely top-heavy. A mighty surge from the colossal creature underground caused it to crash over sideways with a deafening roar.

The jade coffin inside the tree, which I had utterly destroyed with the Thompson submachine gun, tumbled to the ground as well. All the blood in the coffin had drained away, leaving only the corpse of the stark-naked, white-bearded old man, and the skinned Xiong python that had been parasitically attached to the coffin-lord's body. These two bodies, one human and one serpentine, completely entangled, rolled out of the ruined jade coffin and instantly began to transform, turning into a pile of charred, withered charcoal in less than three seconds.

There was not a breath of wind in the jungle; otherwise, even a gentle breeze might have swept the severely oxidized remains of this man and python into a cloud of black dust.

Unsure what might emerge from the west, we all retreated a few steps. I chambered a round and aimed the muzzle toward the base of the tree, ready to unleash a full burst no matter what appeared. Fatty had already pulled out his butane torch from his backpack, intending to enact a scene of burning down an entire encampment.

Shirley Yang, standing beside us, pressed down on my gun barrel: "Don't rush into action... It looks like a stone statue. Let's get a clearer look first."

We watched as the roots of the old banyan tree slowly detached themselves from the soil. The canopies of these two ancient trees were exceptionally rare in this forest, yet the roots extending underground were more than three times the size of the canopies. The upheaval caused by all these roots and stems pulling free from the earth was immense. The jungle floor seemed to split open into a huge, gaping black mouth. Suddenly, the heavens and earth trembled, the ominous clouds grew heavier and lower, rolling directly down onto the forest. The thunder had lost all boundaries, merging into one continuous, booming roar.

As the old trees collapsed, a colossal stone figure rose from the earth—[the character with three bei radicals stacked, and the character with the shi radical on top of three bei radicals]—bearing a short stele on its back. This creature was far larger than anything the three of us had ever witnessed in our lives; estimating roughly, it must have weighed no less than several thousand jin. The roots of the old banyan tree were wrapped around it, suggesting it had been deliberately pressed beneath the tree.

The creature raised its head high, its tortoise tail curved, its four feet planted firmly on the ground in a crouching posture. Its prominent carapace formed a cloud-seat, upon which the short stele stood erect. A plume of black vapor rose from beneath it, shooting straight toward the sky before gradually dissipating. The dark clouds overhead dispersed along with it. By this time, the surrounding air was saturated with the sharp smell of ozone left after a thunderstorm.

We watched from a distance until the ground had settled completely and we were certain there was no further danger. Only then did we approach for a closer look. Fatty wondered aloud, "Old Hu, this thing is huge. Even when we were touring the Dai Temple in Tai'an, we never saw anything this big. Even hauling this ancient artifact from several thousand years ago back would be difficult, but it’s definitely a treasure."

I laughed, "Little Fatty, I notice your aesthetic sense leans a bit toward the German Nazis—anything big is automatically good. Even if you managed to haul something this massive back, no one would want to buy it. Who has enough space in their home to accommodate it?"

Fatty scoffed dismissively. "You truly don't understand the current economic climate. It's a shame you claim descent from a prominent family. I suspect your grandfather's generation were just unsophisticated, land-rich bumpkins. In this world today, even though two-thirds of the working masses haven't achieved liberation, there are still one-third who are wealthy. Those rich people have plenty of mansions. A few thousand mu of prime farmland is nothing—can't they spare a little space for this? Don't believe me? Ask that American girl—her estate in California is so vast it would terrify you. All the housing for our entire Corps-level high-ranking officials combined wouldn't match the size of their backyard."

I was genuinely shocked and quickly asked Shirley Yang, "Is that true? That sounds incredibly exaggerated. If Fatty is right, your backyard could host two world wars..."

Before Shirley Yang could reply, Fatty cut in, "How could that be false? Their ancestors have been dealing in antiquities for generations, digging up countless tombs. Snatching a few items here and there is enough for the people of a Third World country to work toward for half a year. Old Hu, you're just a country bumpkin. As that bastard Da Jinya used to say, there are people who specialize in collecting these things. Isn't there an old saying? Touch the head, pick up gold; touch the tail, live to eighty-nine. This is the most auspicious item. Having one of these sitting in your house—that’s really 'Mom's third son riding a motorcycle'—it's unparalleled."

I couldn't help but laugh, "You listen to Da Jinya spin yarns. I helped him write those lines last year. Forget digging, he wouldn't even get a 'chicken feather' from those two sentences. These are specifically used to cheat foreigners at the gambling tables. If you don't believe me, go touch its head. Then you won't need to go digging tombs with me anymore; you can just take a stroll every day, stretch your back, and bend over to pick up a nugget of gold."

Fatty was momentarily stunned by my retort, then cursed, "I thought those old phrases sounded terribly tacky. Damn it, you made them up?"

Shirley Yang ignored the bickering between Fatty and me, concentrating instead on examining the huge stone creature, trying to figure out exactly how it emerged from beneath the tree. After studying it several times, she turned to us and said, "Stop arguing. This isn't a [unknown creature name] at all... it's a Jiaotu bearing a stele, which just looks very similar."

Fatty, clueless, asked, "I only know about Salt and Pepper Chicken Nuggets; I don't know which restaurant this Jiaotu thing is from..."

However, I knew a little about Jiaotu. But isn't Jiaotu associated with bearing inscriptions? I told Shirley Yang, "I have a habit of never being modest in front of ignorant people like Fatty. I'm actually quite familiar with these things. As far as I know, the Dragon has nine sons, each different: [unknown character], [unknown character], Jiaotu, each in their own right. Jiaotu is used to guard gates. I think this stone beast should resemble an old tortoise."

Shirley Yang nodded, "That's correct. The shape of this stone beast does resemble the mythical creature that bears inscriptions. But look at its overall round sculptural technique; the patterns on the carapace are clear, yet its four claws are uniquely sharp, like keen weapons, and its mouth is full of sharp teeth. These features align with the characteristics of Jiaotu. It's just that, due to regional cultural differences in the ancient Dian Kingdom, this Jiaotu is quite different from those found in the Central Plains."

As Shirley Yang finished speaking, she took out the photographs Professor Sun had taken, showing us the six beasts from the Heavenly King's sacrificial ceremony. One of them bore a striking resemblance to this stone Jiaotu. I compared them closely and indeed, this Jiaotu also had a round sphere on its head, which had been obscured earlier by scattered roots.

Shirley Yang continued, "Ancient texts record that Jiaotu loves to close up and serves to guard residences and ward off evil. The main reason I deduce this is a Jiaotu is the short stele on its back. This is no ordinary stone tablet; it might be the tomb registry for the Heavenly King's mausoleum. The function of this Jiaotu is primarily to suppress the evil energy around the King's tomb. It would be buried on the periphery after the mausoleum was completed, much like a groundbreaking ceremony in modern architecture."

All three of us climbed onto the creature's carapace and used our collapsible knives to gently scrape away the mud on the registry stele. The carved text and patterns gradually emerged. It seemed Shirley Yang was correct. Fatty and I had certainly shown our ignorance today and would have to regain face later.

Shirley Yang meticulously photographed every inscription on the stone tablet, then made rubbings. The information on this registry was vast, far exceeding our expectations. It detailed the entire process of constructing the Heavenly King's tomb, even including records of the subsidiary burial grounds. However, the language was archaic; some characters were familiar to me, while others were completely unknown, requiring Shirley Yang to explain them. The three of us proceeded to read it sentence by sentence.

The registry first stated that the ancient Dian Kingdom comprised the three commanderies established by Qin Shi Huang. During the late Qin period when Chu and Han rose up and the realm descended into chaos, the leaders of these three commanderies adopted a policy of isolation, sealing off communication and traffic with the north and establishing themselves as an independent nation. Later, when the Han Dynasty secured the empire, it was constantly threatened by the Xiongnu from the north and was too preoccupied to deal with the Dian Kingdom.

Toward the end of the ancient Dian Kingdom, pressure from the northern Han Empire intensified, the state affairs deteriorated, and the mandate of heaven shifted. Emperor Wu of Han demanded the mythical artifact from antiquity, the "Muchen Pearl." This caused a fierce rift within the country. The Heavenly King took the genuine "Muchen Pearl" and separated from the Dian Kingdom, traveling far into the towering mountains and dense forests of western Dian. The remaining Dian King could only offer an "Imitation Pearl" to Emperor Wu of Han.

Upon reading this, Shirley Yang couldn't contain her excitement: "The biggest question I had is finally clarified. Because the Maoling Mausoleum, where Emperor Wu of Han was buried in history, was dug out completely by peasant armies, and the "Muchen Pearl" buried within fell into the human world. This history does not align well with the timeline of the Heavenly King's tomb. It turns out the Maoling only contained an imitation pearl."

The registry continued: The "Muchen Pearl" was said to be the phoenix transformed by the Earth Mother. Since the Shang and Zhou dynasties, it was believed that one could cultivate immortality through this divine artifact, achieving complete bodily transformation. However, it could only exert its effect in a specific location. King Wen of Zhou had meticulously recorded these details in the Heavenly Book.

However, these secrets were always held by the ruling class. Almost all monarchs dreamed of achieving immortality, eternal life, and securing their dynasty for ten thousand years, so they exhausted every effort to decipher the secret of the "Muchen Pearl." During the late Qin period, this divine artifact ended up in southern Dian. The Heavenly King left the kingdom precisely because he couldn't bear to part with this "Muchen Pearl," intending to find a place in the mountains to cultivate immortality. The location of the Heavenly King's tomb was chosen because geomancers considered it a celestial dwelling.

The Heavenly King's tomb took a total of twenty-seven years to construct, maintaining a workforce of around one hundred thousand people—almost the strength of the entire nation. In addition to slaves, there were many local Yi tribesmen...

Upon reading this far, we were all speechless. It turned out the Heavenly King had spent his entire life focused on building his mausoleum, aiming to achieve immortal separation from the body within a "Water Dragon Gyre" after death. This was somewhat hard to believe. We had gathered considerable lore regarding the "Muchen Pearl," but still lacked definitive content. As for whether the Heavenly King achieved immortality after death, the registry contained no record. This mystery would likely only be solved when we managed to penetrate the Heavenly King's tomb.

The registry only recorded the process of building the Heavenly King's tomb; there was not a single word about the subterranean palace, the layout of the royal tomb, or the entrance to the tomb passage.

Secondly, it documented the situation of the subsidiary burials. Beyond the sacrificial pits and peripheral facilities, the true subsidiary burial consisted of only one High Priest. After the Heavenly King was interred, two ancient banyan trees capable of altering the geomantic layout were brought from a deep valley. First, the tomb registry stele was buried underground, and the ancient trees were planted above it. Then, a giant python, which had been fed with human effigies, was captured. This python was depicted in the registry as a Green Dragon, an extremely fierce and brutal beast native to the area around Shelong Mountain. Once the giant python had consumed enough human effigies, it would fall into a deep sleep. At that moment, its hide was swiftly flayed, and it was sealed alive in the coffin along with the High Priest. The python flesh, the human body, the gengmu coffin base, and the ancient tree would gradually merge into one, allowing the physical body to remain incorruptible for a long time.

Because the jade coffin was damaged, this altered geomantic structure was broken, allowing the terrestrial energy suppressed for thousands of years to vent. The thunderstorms and black clouds were manifestations of changes in the earth's pulse, which consequently pushed the buried tomb registry stele to the surface.

Finally, the registry stele contained some descriptions praising the king's virtues, none of which were particularly useful. Fatty was slightly disappointed that there was no record of the rare treasures buried within the Heavenly King's tomb. In my view, however, this information was more than sufficient for us to locate our target. Since we understood the local geomantic layout, we could pinpoint the location with a compass; even if we couldn't find the Snake River, we could certainly locate the target tomb.

Seeing that there was no more content worth reading, I began packing up. I hadn't slept for a day and a night; I was exhausted and weary. Today, we must strive to find the entrance to the ravine as soon as possible so we can get some proper rest.

When Shirley Yang saw Fatty and me preparing to pack up and leave, she said, "Don't rush. There's more writing on the back of the tomb registry stele. Let's check it to make sure we haven't missed anything."

I resigned myself to turning to the other side to see what else was written on the back. Shirley Yang had already scraped away the mud. We crowded closer and were struck dumb by what we saw: the entire back surface of the tomb registry stele was a bas-relief carving—a majestic, magnificent palace of overwhelming grandeur, suspended above the rainbow-colored clouds in the sky. Could it be that the Heavenly King's tomb was actually built in the heavens?