Eastern Tomb Expedition Chronicles

Chapter 5: Digging Down

That evening, four more people trickled into the inn—three men and one woman. The woman, in her thirties, was responsible for our logistics. She had a playful laugh and a black mole under her eye, earning her the nickname "One Mole." I later heard that One Mole aimed to sleep with a hundred men before turning forty. "Oh, look, a newcomer, but isn't he a bit too young? I wonder how 'small' he is down there..." One Mole said with a grin as she looked at me. "Enough, Little Red, don't scare him. The kid's young but has potential. Give him a couple of years; he might turn out well," Wang, the leader, defended me. The three men were brothers, all surnamed Sun—eldest brother Sun, second brother Sun, and third brother Sun. Wang mentioned that the second and third Sun brothers were well-known in the trade for their skill with a Luoyang shovel and had a special technique for exploring deep soil layers, especially useful for large pits. The eldest brother juggled dual roles, scouting and selling; he seemed steady and trustworthy at first glance. Only later did I realize that those who appear the most honest often have the sharpest wits, always aware of their surroundings and ready to handle emergencies.

In the southwest of Shunde Summit Park, there's a small valley called Moth Mountain. The boss said the big pit was halfway up Moth Mountain. I once asked him, "Boss, how do you know there's a big pit halfway up?" He blew a smoke ring, squinted his eyes, and told me, "Yunfeng, the lock splits the mountain, clearly dividing the sides. Where the high mountains and flat lands meet, that’s where you find the pit buried." At the time, it sounded like gibberish to me. It was only after memorizing the burial scriptures and receiving his dragon-vein spotting experience that I understood his cryptic phrases truly highlighted the geomantic advantages of Moth Mountain. That night, just after 1 AM, we, carrying large bags, reached halfway up Moth Mountain. Standing by an old fir tree, the boss stamped his foot excitedly and said, "Second, Third, this is it. Let’s take a sample to taste the saltiness. If there’s rock, bring out the needle!" Second brother Sun nodded and pressed a small walkie-talkie on his shoulder: "Big brother, time to eat, no guests around, right?" The walkie-talkie’s red light blinked on, and the deep voice of eldest brother Sun came through, "All calm, start cooking." Knowing we were alone, a gleam of excitement passed through second brother Sun’s eyes. He took off his backpack, pulled out a small stick and a curved half-moon shovel. Wang told me, "Yunfeng, these are our tools for 'eating.' Times are progressing, and we must keep up. The Luoyang shovel is now made in sections that fit into a bag, completely inconspicuous." Click, click, click, second brother Sun skillfully assembled the Luoyang shovel, which extended over eight meters. "Second brother, it’s a deep pit. Is this length enough? I have more in my bag," third brother Sun asked. "No rush, third brother. Any longer and it’d be unwieldy. We’re just sampling the soil structure first, tasting the saltiness." "Yunfeng, come here, help me steady it," second brother Sun called me over.I hurried over to help him stabilize the Luoyang shovel. After doing so, second brother Sun unzipped his pants, pulled out his "little brother," and began to urinate right in front of me. After he finished, he shivered and zipped up his pants. Crouching down, he scrutinized the spot where he had urinated and then frowned, "No good, there's rock underneath, we need to find another spot to dig."

"Little Yunfeng, do it right where you're standing, take a leak now." Although I didn't understand, I did as told and began to urinate. "Heh, young ones sure are fiery, so energetic! Look at that yellow stream," second brother Sun chuckled. He watched the ground where I urinated for two minutes, then nodded, "This is the spot, fewer stones below, let’s get to work!" He had immense strength; a single shovel thrust could go down ten centimeters, continuously bringing up soil.

As we dug deeper, I noticed the soil color turning darker, almost black. I asked, "Second brother, look, the soil’s turning black, have we reached the bottom?" "Not yet, this black soil isn’t what we want, it's just decomposed tree roots, useless." The hole grew deeper. "Damn, impressive, we're running out of rod, third brother, extend it!" With the rods extended, the Luoyang shovel delved deeper. An hour later, the shovel brought up a layer of white soil, under which was a hint of blue soil.

Second brother Sun sniffed the soil and suddenly got excited. "s**t! Boss Wang! Yunfeng here is a lucky star! Haven’t seen such a big pit in two years!" "A shovel hit the rammed earth layer, white clay mixed with blue clay!" "It might be a Western Zhou noble or a minor lord!" "We're about to strike it rich!" "Shush! Second brother, keep it down," third brother Sun cautioned with a frown. But second brother Sun waved dismissively, "It's been years since we've seen blue with white, hoping it's a fresh grave."

A fresh grave means that the tomb had not been looted before, fresh for the taking, which could mean a fortune if found. Boss Wang whispered, "It’s all luck; even if it’s a leftover, if there’s still something inside, this trip wasn’t in vain." "What if there's a Four Sheep Square Zun or a Bronze Lei from the Western Zhou inside?" "Haha, Boss Wang, always the dreamer. If we really found that, we wouldn’t dare to sell it, we’d be investigated to death." After saying this, second brother Sun pressed the walkie-talkie, "Big brother, Boss Wang thinks there’s a Four Sheep Square Zun in this tomb, do you have a way to deal with it?" The red light on the walkie-talkie blinked, and a burst of static came through. "Square Zun my ass! I don’t want to get shot, just keep digging!"

The Sun brothers were renowned in their line of work for their genuine skill. From a single shovel’s worth of soil structure, they could roughly sketch out the situation beneath. Due to the age of the tomb, collapses were common; blindly digging straight to the main chamber was nearly impossible, often missing the burial goods entirely. Thus, the safest method was to follow the tomb passage downwards and then decide whether to head for the side chambers or the main chamber.

Second and third brothers teamed up, and as the cyclone shovel dug deeper, it was my turn to work. My job was to scatter the soil, but not just any soil—digging a ten-meter-deep tomb would produce more dirt than I could handle. Soil that matched the surrounding color was scattered on-site, almost unnoticeable. My task was to scatter the soil from the rammed layers, the white and blue soil. Because the clay mixed with the soil created a stark color difference, I had to disperse this part around, leaving no trace on-site. People farmed all over the mountainside, and we couldn’t just dump the distinctively colored soil anywhere; it had to be piled up and dealt with as dawn approached.