Chapter 131: Map of the Mausoleum Mountain Range

After entering the quarters, everyone went to find rooms to rest. The right side of the third floor was for the women, while the left side and the second floor were for the men. Hu Geming got his wish and shared a room with Zhang Qinglin. Had Hu Geming not been sent by Bai Suishan to protect him, and had there been a shortage of rooms, Zhang Qinglin would rather have died than share a room with him.

Their room was chosen on the second floor, right next to the hallway window on the right. Hu Geming said that if any situation arose at night, they could escape through the hallway window.

Zhang Qinglin could not fathom Hu Geming's eccentric ways; he was merely repulsed by the man's filthy and foul-smelling appearance, which was truly unbearable, and urged him to wash up and change clothes immediately. Just as they finished tidying up, around eight o'clock, a loud loudspeaker blared. A man claiming to be the leader of the expedition team instructed everyone to go to the first floor for dinner.

Food had been prepared on a large wooden table on the first floor. Zhang Qinglin, carrying his backpack, looked down from the second-floor hallway as the others lazily emerged from their rooms. Bai Weiwei walked down from the third floor.

Bai Weiwei approached Zhang Qinglin and asked softly, "Hey, who exactly is that person ahead of you? Why is he following you everywhere?"

From Bai Weiwei's question, it seemed she still did not know who Hu Geming was; her father had not told her, and she probably knew nothing of the other matters either. With so many people around at the moment, he could not tell her directly who Hu Geming was, as doing so would expose his own identity.

Glancing downstairs at Hu Geming, who was already seated at the table and eating, Zhang Qinglin shook his head and said, "A boiler worker. There were no other rooms left, so he ended up sharing mine."

"A boiler worker?"

At that moment, someone at the wooden table raised a question: "Hey, we've already arrived in Xi'an, but we still haven't been told the specific destination of this expedition. What are we actually here to do?"

"Exactly."

"That's right!"

A few others joined in the uproar.

The expedition leader stepped up to the large wooden table with a solemn expression and shouted sternly, "Shut up! If you still want to stay with the expedition team, shut your mouths and eat. Your tasks will be assigned tomorrow when we arrive at the location."

After speaking with a fierce expression, the expedition leader strode up to Zhang Qinglin and told him to follow.

Knowing that Zhao Chu must want to see him, Zhang Qinglin followed the expedition leader out the door and got into a vehicle waiting outside.

Just as he was about to close the car door, Bai Weiwei ran up, only to be blocked by two subordinates standing in front of the door. Bai Weiwei glared at the expedition leader.

"I am Zhao Chu's younger sister. If you don't want to be chewed out, don't stop me."

The expedition leader's expression changed. He took out his phone, dialed a number, and turned to walk into a dim corner nearby.

Moments later, he walked back, waved at the two men, and said, "Miss Bai, I didn't know it was you. Please forgive me. Go ahead!"

The expedition leader did not accompany them; the driver was a man in a black suit.

In the blink of an eye, the car drove into an industrial yard. Two men standing at the entrance of a single-story brick house in front led Zhang Qinglin and Bai Weiwei inside.

At the very back of this large single-story house, a leisure area had been partitioned off. Zhao Chu was currently sitting on a sofa with one leg crossed over the other, smoking his cigar and watching an intense boxing match in the ring opposite him.

Standing behind him was an older man with graying hair and black-rimmed glasses. His face did not appear aged, and his eyes were sharp and intelligent.

Seeing Zhang Qinglin and Bai Weiwei walk in, Zhao Chu immediately signaled the two boxers to stop, and they left the ring.

Zhao Chu stepped forward and said with a smile, "It seems this event is quite attractive, even drawing our little family beauty here. Weiwei, if you wanted to come, you should have just told me. Why squeeze onto a bus with those roughnecks? My brother could have arranged a nice place for you. But now, Mr. Zhang and I have some business to discuss."

With a look of disdain, Bai Weiwei glared at him, then noticed Zhao Chu exchange a glance with his subordinate behind him.

"A place to stay won't be necessary. You don't need to avoid me when discussing matters; since I followed you here, I already know a thing or two," Bai Weiwei said as she walked along the edge of the boxing ring.

"Alright, alright. Stay if you want to stay!"

Zhao Chu walked over to the large table behind the sofa and unfolded the previously prepared River-Crossing State Map upon it.

He instructed Zhang Qinglin to take out his map and notebook for the bespectacled man beside him to inspect.

Seeing the painted silk scroll once more, Zhang Qinglin felt a deep surge of emotion. After all, this painting had originally been entrusted to him by Wu Chengan's grandmother, yet he had managed to lose it.

Back in Siyue County, they had already revealed the mountain ranges hidden within the silk painting, and Zhang Qinglin still remembered the crude method they had used then.

Lifting his head to look at Zhao Chu, he asked, "So the hidden map hasn't been uncovered yet? I thought Young Master Zhao had already made all the preparations."

Standing nearby, Bai Weiwei examined the scroll closely. For someone with a passion for collecting antiques, ancient paintings were among her favorites, and she kept her head lowered, studying it earnestly.

"So Mr. Zhang knows the method to reveal the map? That's wonderful, please go ahead!" Zhao Chu exhaled a puff of smoke and said.

"I do know the method, but I must see my friend first. Otherwise, I won't tell you."

Bai Weiwei's eyes flickered. She straightened up and walked to Zhang Qinglin's side.

Stepping sideways to a standing desk against the wall, Zhao Chu picked up the desk telephone and made a call to his men. Not long after he hung up, the door was pushed open.

Cheng Che and Chi Tan were escorted in under the guard of several men. Seeing the two of them, Zhang Qinglin felt a wave of intense emotion. A smile involuntarily surfaced on his face as he hurried over.

"Old Zhang, you're finally here! I was afraid I'd never see you again."

Chi Tan also cried out in grievance and distress from the side, her face covered in bruises.

Just as Zhang Qinglin exchanged a single sentence with Cheng Che, Zhao Chu's men dragged Cheng Che and Chi Tan away. Zhang Qinglin shouted to Cheng Che, "Don't worry, I will get you out of here. Take care of Chi Tan."

Standing by the large table, Zhao Chu turned slightly toward Zhang Qinglin and said, "Mr. Zhang has seen his friend now, so let's begin quickly."

With a cold and fierce gaze, Zhang Qinglin clenched his fists, turned around in deep anger, and snapped, "You actually laid hands on them! Isn't it going too far to treat them like this?"

"That matter was the work of my subordinates; I had no knowledge of it. However, I have already warned them not to treat Mr. Zhang's friends this way. This time, your friends will definitely be treated well," Zhao Chu's expression shifted slightly as he removed the cigarette from his mouth and said slowly.

Zhang Qinglin saw the bespectacled man lean close to Zhao Chu and whisper, "There's no problem this time."

Calmly nodding, Zhao Chu replied, "I will issue the instructions. Mr. Zhang can rest assured."

Subsequently, Zhang Qinglin had them prepare a bowl of clear water, a sheet of white paper, and a pen.

Before everything was fully prepared, Zhang Qinglin asked Bai Weiwei a question: "Weiwei, have you ever studied ancient paintings from the Tang Dynasty? I heard that the River-Crossing State Map was also created during the Tang Dynasty, belonging to the same period as the Eight Steeds of the Upper Tang, yet its painting style is completely different from that of Han Gan, the artist of the Eight Steeds.

"Because Han Gan excelled at painting horses and was not particularly skilled in landscapes, he could not paint such blue-and-green scenery shrouded in mist, resembling a celestial realm.

"This River-Crossing State Map was previously soaked in rain, so the inscription and seals are no longer legible. I want to know which Tang Dynasty painter created it."

This question genuinely stumped Bai Weiwei. Despite having read numerous ancient texts and visited many museum exhibitions of cultural relics, she truly had not paid attention to works in this particular style.

Gazing at the blurred inscription and seal over there, Bai Weiwei shook her head.

"This was painted by Li Zhaodao, the son of Prince Pengguo Li Sixun of the Tang Dynasty," the bespectacled man adjusted his glasses and said.

At that moment, the items requested by Zhang Qinglin were brought over. Following Wanqing's previous method, he began pouring water from the top of the painting downward.

With Bai Weiwei's help, he carefully executed the process step by step.

He unfolded the map of the western region of Fengcheng's mountain ranges presented on the Eight Steeds of the Upper Tang and placed it on the table, then pieced it together with the map of eastern Fengcheng revealed by the River-Crossing State Map. A complete map of the mountain ranges thus unfolded before Zhang Qinglin's eyes.

Looking at the mountain range map, Zhang Qinglin said to Zhao Chu, "I've pieced the mountain map together. Can you release my friend now?"

Zhao Chu walked over, swept his gaze across the scribbled lines on the white paper on the table, and glanced at the bespectacled man beside him.

Shaking his head, the bespectacled man said, "Such brushwork is truly beyond Liang's comprehension. Young Master Zhao, I'm afraid finding the location of Emperor Gaozong's mausoleum will still require taking this young brother along!"

With a sidelong glance at Zhang Qinglin, Zhao Chu made his intentions clear. At that moment, Zhang Qinglin understood: because his drawn lines were wildly cursive, it was no wonder they could not make heads or tails of them.

Bai Weiwei had long since realized that they would never let Zhang Qinglin off so easily, but she refused to let them have things entirely their own way. She stepped up to Zhang Qinglin's side, glared at Zhao Chu, and demanded, "The task is done, why won't you let them go? You are breaking your word! Just what do you want?"

"Nothing much. Since they joined the expedition team, of course they should return to it to continue the adventure. There's even a bonus at the end—why not? Men, escort the lady and Brother Zhang back!"

"Zhao Chu, you..." Bai Weiwei left in a huff.

By the time they were sent back to their quarters, it was already the dead of night, and most of the building's lights were extinguished. Bai Weiwei returned to her room. Upon reaching his own doorway, Zhang Qinglin discovered that someone had placed a bowl of food at his threshold. Puzzled, he picked it up and entered the room.

Although he possessed the complete mountain range map, Zhang Qinglin had not drawn the distribution map of Emperor Gaozong's underground tomb palace. He had memorized the entire complex structural layout precisely to guard against them.

As for the exact location of Emperor Gaozong's true mausoleum, the mountain range map indicated it was in Xianyang.

Xianyang lay in the heartland of the Eight Hundred Li Qinchuan in Shaanxi, with the Wei River flowing to the south and Mount Zong stretching along the north; the terrain possessed both mountain and river facing the sunny side.

Furthermore, Xianyang itself was the cradle of historical and cultural currents and an important birthplace of Qin and Han culture.

With beautiful scenery, distinct four seasons, abundant produce, and outstanding people, Xianyang was also the starting point of the ancient Silk Road.

Therefore, to find Emperor Gaozong's mausoleum, one had to arrive in Xianyang, observe the direction based on the mountain ranges, the orientation of the Five Elements and Yin-Yang, and the transformation of Feng Shui before drawing a conclusion to determine the exact location.

...

The next day, Zhang Qinglin set out carrying minimal equipment and supplies. Their main force was divided into two groups: one group, led by the expedition team leader, went to Hanzhong to explore the legendary sinkholes.

The other group consisted of Zhang Qinglin's party plus a ten-member team led by the man surnamed Liang, heading to Xianyang to explore Liang Mountain in Qian County.

The man surnamed Liang had arrived that morning when they boarded the vehicles. His appearance left Zhang Qinglin in a very passive position; he informed Zhang Qinglin that Zhao Chu had already taken Cheng Che and the others on the road to Xianyang.

After arriving in Xianyang, all the routes for ascending the mountain would be arranged by Zhang Qinglin.

Once they found the exact location, Cheng Che and Chi Tan would be released. If Zhang Qinglin tried any tricks, Cheng Che and the others would be thrown off the mountaintop.