A Frightening Experience at Qianling Mausoleum

In the late night of the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the Xilan Highway was like a sleeping giant beast. There were no pedestrians on the road, and vehicles were as scarce as the morning stars.

In the distance, two glaring car headlights sliced through the night like sharp blades. Under the moonlight that was as gentle as water, a SUV sped towards the direction of Qianling Mausoleum at full speed.

At a bend, the car lights suddenly went out. The SUV turned into a lush meadow like a ghost and stopped quietly.

"Boss, we're here," the thin middle-aged man sitting in the co-pilot seat turned his head and whispered towards the back seat.

In the back seat, a middle-aged man with a gentlemanly demeanor was resting his eyes. Upon hearing the words from the co-pilot, he was silent for a moment, then slowly opened his eyes and uttered, "Let's get started!" Although his words were firm, there was a faint trace of almost imperceptible fear, making everyone in the car feel a chill down their spines.

The one called "boss" was Lin Yuxuan, the general manager of a construction group from Shanghai. The thin man in the co-pilot seat was Chen Yu, who was originally a small staff member in a cultural relics unit in Xi'an. The driver, Wang Qiang, and Zhang Feng in the back seat were Lin Yuxuan's bodyguards and assistants.

Half a year ago, Lin Yuxuan was sitting comfortably in the large chair in the chairman's office of the group company, leisurely sipping tea, and the scene of the afternoon cultural relics auction was still playing back in his mind. Exquisitely beautiful antiques were being auctioned off at sky-high prices one by one, and this scene deeply shocked him. Lin Yuxuan only had a junior high school education. Starting as an ordinary bricklayer, after more than a decade of hard work, he finally took the position of the chairman of the small construction company where he used to work. The small company had also transformed into a well-known large group.

After achieving success and fame, Lin Yuxuan always felt a sense of inexplicable loss in his heart. Having dropped out of school due to poverty in his early years, although he could frequently enter the upper-class social circles in Shanghai with his wealth, he always felt that behind the forced smiles of others, there was contempt for his educational background. On the surface, everyone greeted him with a smile, but in their hearts, they regarded him as a nouveau riche.

That antique auction made Lin Yuxuan come up with the idea of collecting cultural relics. He hoped to enhance his image in the eyes of others through this.

After that, during many collection processes, Lin Yuxuan spent a large amount of money but bought a lot of counterfeits. However, after all these setbacks, he gradually became an expert in antiques. He longed to collect a batch of genuine cultural relics that had never appeared in the cultural relics market and gain the envious glances of others.

Wang Qiang, who had been involved in the underground cultural relics market in Shanghai, and Zhang Feng, who had been dealing in cultural relics after being discharged from the army, became familiar with Lin Yuxuan and won his trust. They entered his construction group and served as a driver and a bodyguard respectively.

During a casual chat, Zhang Feng saw through Lin Yuxuan's thoughts and smiled mysteriously, "Mr. Lin, if you want to get something rare that's not on the market, why buy it from others?"

Lin Yuxuan was taken aback, and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes. "Zhang Feng, what's your idea? Hurry up and tell me!"

Zhang Feng looked around warily, closed the office door tightly, and lowered his voice, saying, "Mr. Lin, I have a comrade-in-arms in the army who returned to Xi'an after being discharged and is now a small staff member in a local cultural relics unit. He often says that there are treasures everywhere there. Farmers may dig out treasures just by casually digging the ground, and they can become millionaires overnight. Those newly unearthed items are all unique and valuable goods!"

"Do you mean... tomb raiding?" Lin Yuxuan asked in a low voice in surprise.

Zhang Feng put his index finger on his lips and whispered, "That's right, Mr. Lin. If you want to get rare treasures, tomb raiding is a shortcut. There are countless imperial tombs and ancient tombs in Xi'an. If you dig up any one of them, the things inside are worth a fortune. It all depends on whether you have the guts."

Lin Yuxuan pondered for a moment and then sneered, "Let's do it! There's nothing I, Lin Yuxuan, don't dare to do."

So, Zhang Feng got in touch with his comrade-in-arms Chen Yu, who worked in a cultural relics management office in Xi'an. Lin Yuxuan offered a generous annual salary, and Chen Yu resigned from his job and became a full-time appraiser of cultural relics for Lin Yuxuan and also kept an eye on the information about tombs in Xi'an.

After months of preparation, Chen Yu taught Zhang Feng and Wang Qiang how to explore tombs and how to skillfully use the "Luoyang shovel" to dig holes for tomb raiding.

A few days ago, Chen Yu learned from local cultural relics dealers that there were seventeen accompanying tombs scattered around Qianling Mausoleum, and the location of the Princess Yiyang's Tomb had been identified. After Chen Yu reported it, Lin Yuxuan spent a large sum of money to buy the clue. That's how the four of them started the journey in the car at the beginning, with the trunk full of tomb raiding tools, and rushed to Qianling Mausoleum under the cover of night.

The four of them got out of the car, took out the tools from the trunk, and led by Chen Yu, they stealthily sneaked towards the main peak of Liangshan Mountain where Qianling Mausoleum was located.

The tomb raiding route was carefully planned by Chen Yu over three days. He would rather take a detour than risk being caught by various inspections.

When they arrived at the southeast slope of the main peak of Liangshan Mountain according to the planned route, the sky suddenly darkened. Everyone looked up and saw that the originally round and bright moon had been quickly engulfed by a dark cloud that seemed to have drifted in from nowhere.

In the blink of an eye, there was no more moonlight, and it was as dark as ink all around. On this desolate mountain, everyone couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts. Suddenly, they were surprised to find that each other's faces looked extremely pale in the darkness. It turned out that just now the night sky was clear and the bright moon was shining, but now they were plunged into complete darkness. A strong bolt of lightning flashed, illuminating four bloodless faces.

Then, a deafening thunderclap exploded not far away. The four of them were so startled that they involuntarily collapsed to the ground. The sky immediately poured down with a torrential rain. The cold rain hit Chen Yu's face, and he suddenly woke up and shouted, "Run with me quickly! This place is really eerie!"

The four of them ran in a panic. Suddenly, they all stopped at the same time, looking at each other in dismay, but they couldn't figure out what was wrong.

After a creepy silence, they came to their senses. At this moment, the night sky was still clear, and the moonlight was still bright. Except for their soaking wet clothes, the dark clouds, raindrops, lightning, and thunder seemed to have never existed.

"Could it be... is there really a ghost in this world?" Lin Yuxuan trembled, not knowing whether he was asking himself or the others.

Wang Qiang scanned around in fear. Except for the dark shadows of the trees on the mountain, there was nothing unusual. His voice trembled as he said, "Mr. Lin, today is the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the Ghost Festival! Was that strange phenomenon just now an encounter with a ghost?"

After Wang Qiang finished speaking, all four of them fell silent. It was Lin Yuxuan's idea to choose today for tomb raiding. He had never believed in ghosts and gods. He thought that on the Ghost Festival, people were busy with sacrifices, and there were fewer people at night, and the full moon night was also convenient for their actions.

Unexpectedly, they encountered such a strange thing, and a chill welled up from the bottom of their hearts. Chen Yu opened the package, took out a few pieces of prepared paper money, and scattered them into the air, mumbling something to himself.

After Chen Yu finished his actions, the other three people all looked at Lin Yuxuan, their eyes full of the intention to back out. Lin Yuxuan naturally understood what everyone was thinking. However, his spirit of starting from scratch, his strong desire for cultural relics, and the large amount of money and energy he had invested in this tomb raiding made him overcome his fear. He made up his mind that he must dig open the Princess Yiyang's Tomb and obtain the rare cultural relics he had been longing for.

Lin Yuxuan composed himself and said in a steady and authoritative tone, "Brothers, that was just a local climate change in the mountain area. There are no ghosts or gods. Everything is fine now. Let's proceed according to the original plan. After we succeed, we'll divide the treasures equally. Then you'll be worried about having too much money to spend."

Upon hearing this, everyone was tempted. As if they had forgotten the terrifying scene just now, they all 齐声 said that they were willing to follow Mr. Lin.

Chen Yu opened the package, took out a map, carefully examined it by the light of a military flashlight, and then used a compass to determine the direction. Wang Qiang beside him also took out a handheld GPS locator. After the two carefully checked, they confirmed the direction.

Led by Chen Yu, the four of them continued to make their way towards the Princess Yiyang's Tomb.