Chapter 13: The Great Qing Dragon Vein

In the eyes of Boss Zhou and the others, Cheng Xiangru, a boy with little worldly experience and limited education, should be a complete novice in all respects except for the basics of eating, drinking, and other bodily functions.

Yet, it was precisely this underdog, whom they all expected to lag behind, who suddenly stepped forward when even Chen Shangke failed to pinpoint the tomb’s location. Cheng analyzed the situation with such clarity and insight that his words sounded even more mystical and convincing than those of Chen Shangke, a renowned feng shui master from Lingnan.

But what truly astonished them went beyond that!

Chen Shangke was the first to regain his composure. He hurriedly enlarged the area Cheng Xiangru had indicated as the "Dragon's Head" and was stunned to see the glaring inscription “Qingfuling” within that region.

Qingfuling is one of the Three Tombs beyond the Passes, the very resting place of Nurhaci!

Although it is now a well-known imperial mausoleum developed as a tourist site, accurately pinpointing it on a map is no simple task.

Chen Shangke rubbed his face, feeling as if he might have had too much to drink. “Xiao Cheng, have you ever been to Qingfuling?”

“No... no,” Cheng Xiangru shook his head slightly, his expression serious, not one of deceit.

Chen Shangke exchanged a glance with Boss Zhou, and in their eyes, they both saw shock.

Boss Zhou nodded toward the computer screen. Chen Shangke quickly scrolled out to a broader view of the map and then zoomed in on the second location Cheng had pointed out.

This time, the name that caught their attention was “Hetu Ala Ancient City.”

Boss Zhou’s breath quickened involuntarily. “What’s this place? It doesn’t look far from here.”

Chen Shangke licked his dry lips, a twitch at the corner of his mouth. “This is the ancient city founded by Nurhaci, the first emperor of the Qing dynasty. It can be considered the birthplace of the Qing. It’s indeed close—less than twenty kilometers away and less than half an hour’s drive.”

Now, looking at Cheng Xiangru, Chen Shangke felt as if he were staring at a monster. He even secretly wondered: Could this boy be playing the fool to conceal his true abilities?

“Wait, zoom in here!” Boss Zhou’s tone rose several degrees as he pointed to a spot not far from Hetu Ala Ancient City.

Chen Shangke quickly dragged the map to enlarge that location further.

It was Qingyongling!

Chen Shangke explained, “Qingyongling, like Qingzhaoling, is also one of the Three Tombs beyond the Passes. Several of Nurhaci’s ancestors are buried there. Legend has it that Nurhaci’s grandfather was defeated by other tribes and fled here. To conceal his identity, he temporarily placed his father’s ashes in a large elm tree. The tree is said to be entwined by a true dragon, whose branches wrapped tightly around the urn, making it impossible to retrieve. Some feng shui masters say the elm is a divine tree, guarded by a real dragon and protected by twelve dragon ridges. If the ancestors are buried here, twelve emperors would descend from his lineage.”

Boss Zhou was surprised. “That legend is intriguing. The Qing dynasty did have twelve emperors.”

Chen Shangke smiled mysteriously. “Those are surely fabrications by later generations. I’ve heard archaeologists tested the mounds at Qingyongling and found them to be ordinary earth mounds with no remains inside.”

“No remains?” Boss Zhou frowned deeply, analyzing in a low voice. “I found it odd just now. Back then, many wanted to destroy the Qing dynasty. Building a royal ancestral tomb in such an obvious place would be like openly revealing the Qing’s dragon vein. It seems Qingyongling is merely a false tomb. The real one must be elsewhere…”

At this, Boss Zhou’s eyes suddenly widened. “Could it be that Zhifeng and his group came here aiming for the true dragon vein of the Qing?”

Though this theory seemed incredible, it better explained why Cheng Zhifeng’s group risked their lives trekking into the vast, snowy mountains of the northeast during winter.

“No, that can’t be right! Even if Zhifeng’s group found the true dragon vein, there’s no need to come now. They could wait a few months for the weather to warm and the frozen ground to thaw before venturing here…”

Boss Zhou paced the room with his hands behind his back, sometimes stopping as if solving a puzzle, sometimes shaking his head as if rejecting his own deductions.

Cheng Xiangru hung his head, also lost deep in thought.

Chen Shangke watched Cheng’s profile from the side, his gaze hazy, lips tightly pressed, as if lost in a memory.

“Wait…” Boss Zhou suddenly stopped and stared wide-eyed. “Could it be that not only Zhifeng’s group but another team has also discovered the true location of the Qing dragon vein?”

Cheng Xiangru lifted his head sharply, having come to the same realization.

If another group had also found the true dragon vein and sought to plunder it, they would inevitably be in fierce competition with Zhifeng’s gang.

Then all of Zhifeng’s reckless actions made perfect sense!

If so…

Boss Zhou gritted his teeth. “This is bad! Zhifeng’s group is in danger!”

When the same ancient tomb is targeted simultaneously by rival tomb raiders, it is inevitable that bloodshed will ensue.

As the saying goes, men die for wealth as birds die for food. Tomb robbers risk their lives, defying law, morality, and ethics, all for the chance of sudden fortune.

From the clues so far, Zhifeng’s group must be racing against another team, which explains why they plunged into the northeast mountains in the dead of winter.

If the other tomb raiders arrive around the same time, the two groups will confront each other head-on, turning those remote mountains into a battlefield littered with lost souls.

Boss Zhou made a decisive decision. At first light the next day, they would set out to the area Cheng Xiangru had indicated to find Zhifeng’s group.

Chen Shangke marked the spot clearly on the map according to Cheng’s instructions, then tucked his laptop under his arm and went to his room to sleep.

Boss Zhou opened the door for ventilation, moved a chair outside, and sat smoking cigarette after cigarette, seemingly unwilling to fill Cheng Xiangru’s room with smoke and disturb his rest.

But Cheng tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. His mind was a chaotic mess, as if he had thought a lot and yet nothing at all.

After an unknown stretch of time, he heard faint sounds of a door closing and lights going out. He thought Boss Zhou had gone to bed, but when he turned over and opened his eyes, he saw Boss Zhou sitting by the bedside, watching him.

“You’re not asleep?” Boss Zhou asked, his tired smile tinged with the acrid smell of smoke.

Cheng sat up, leaning against the headboard. “Uncle Zhou, what kind of man is my father, really?”

“He?” Boss Zhou pondered a moment before shaking his head. “Don’t think too much. You’ll understand when you see him. Get some rest now. Starting tomorrow, the next few days won’t be easy.”

“Okay.” Cheng nodded, lay back down, turned over, forcing himself to close his eyes and empty both mind and heart.

After another unknown time, he finally fell asleep.

But it felt as though barely moments had passed before Boss Zhou woke him again.

It was just past five in the morning, and outside, darkness still blanketed the world.

They quickly settled their bill with the still groggy innkeeper, then braved the biting wind mixed with snowflakes, cleared frost from the car windows, and drove out of the county toward the dark, mysterious mountains, leaving two long trails in the snow.

No one noticed that, hidden in a shadowy corner, a pair of bright eyes watched the car fade into the distance.

Until the vehicle became nothing more than two distant points of light, the owner of those eyes vanished without a trace.