adminThe origins of Qimen Dunjia date back more than 4,600 years, nearly as long as the recorded history of China. The first person to use Qimen Dunjia in the world was our ancestor, the Yellow Emperor. It has been passed down through the generations, and you can see that almost every military strategist or military leader has some knowledge of it. However, by the Han Dynasty, Qimen Dunjia was no longer a complete system. After the Yellow Emperor passed it to Huangshi Laoren, this bird-like figure simplified and summarized it, making it difficult for later generations to understand what he was actually saying.
My understanding of Qimen Dunjia mainly comes from my second uncle (not my third uncle), and although I don’t know much, when Zhang Qiling mentioned it, I wasn’t as bewildered as Fatty, who seemed to be listening to something incomprehensible. Originally, Qimen Dunjia had 4,320 configurations, but by the time it reached the Yellow Emperor, he could only comprehend 1,080 of them. During Zhang Liang’s time, there were 72 configurations, and now, my second uncle has整理出来的 only 42 configurations, which is already quite rare. Only 18 configurations are widely circulated in the world; the others were accidentally discovered by my third uncle in a Han tomb.
Although Qimen Dunjia is profound, it is essentially a blend of military strategy and fate theory. Using it to set up formations is like utilizing its residual heat. The Qimen Dunjia formation, also known as the Eight Formations, is divided into eight gates: the Open Gate, the Rest Gate, the Life Gate, the Death Gate, the Surprise Gate, the Injury Gate, the Blocking Gate, and the Scene Gate. The Life Gate represents life, while the Death Gate represents death. Entering any of the other gates reveals the eight gates again, and this cycle continues.
The eight hidden doors discovered by Zhang Qiling naturally brought to mind the concept of Qimen Dunjia. These hidden doors are very narrow, allowing only one person to pass sideways. The area is shrouded in mist, and outside there is a possibly rotating brick door that can be opened with a push. Once inside, the active door closes automatically, and without touching anything, it is impossible to tell that there is anything unusual about this place.
Zhang Qiling felt a bit remorseful about his carelessness. He is not a reckless person, but he had been too eager for quick results. All the strange and clever techniques in the world pride themselves on being small and precise, but this one was the opposite, being large and comprehensive, which made it difficult for him to guard against.
He returned to the stele and shared his findings with everyone, causing an uproar. This knowledge is very profound, and having just gone through the Cultural Revolution, how could they possibly understand it? Wen Jin pondered for a moment and suddenly said, “Just now, Sanxing’s behavior was so strange, as if possessed by a female ghost. Could it be that this ghost is the owner of this tomb? The hidden door he just entered—could it be the Life Gate?”
Zhang Qiling noticed the sparkle in her eyes, as if she had thought of something, and asked her, “Did you come up with something?”
Wen Jin asked him to follow her, then turned to the stele, half-kneeled like Sanxing, and began to comb her hair. Her figure was exceptionally good, and this posture was very charming, causing several men to be mesmerized. After combing a few strokes, she modestly turned her head, and as she did, she suddenly shivered and exclaimed, “I found it!”
As soon as everyone heard this, they rushed over to the stone tablet, looking around but seeing nothing after a long time. Wen Jin said, “No, you have to do it like me, kneel here to see it!” Zhang Qi Ling seemed to have a moment of realization and quickly knelt down. Wen Jin pressed down on his shoulder and said, “You’re too tall; lower a bit more. You can’t look straight at it; you have to look sideways and focus on your temple.”
Zhang Qi Ling found it amusing and mimicked her, brushing his hair back and then giving a very feminine glance. Suddenly, he saw his reflection in the stone tablet, where there were three faint, interlinked fish shapes at his temple, very blurry. When he moved his head slightly, he discovered that if he changed the angle even a little, they would immediately disappear.
He exclaimed, finally understanding what it meant to have fate. He couldn’t help but curse inwardly, thinking that only a beauty-conscious woman, coincidentally kneeling in front of this stone tablet to fix her hair, could possibly see this mark. Moreover, being too tall or too short wouldn’t work either. Fortunately, Wen Jin observed carefully; otherwise, this big man would never have found this secret no matter how hard he tried. (I also realized it at once, but then again, was the owner of this tomb some kind of pervert?)
He focused intently on the fish and noticed that the mark was slowly moving. It seemed that there was a mechanism inside the stone tablet that rotated at the same speed as the pool’s walls, and the position of this mark was always aligned with what was called the “Heavenly Gate.” Thinking of this, he quickly asked Wen Jin to keep an eye on it while he turned on a flashlight and ran to the pool’s edge, locating the hidden doors one by one. When he reached the third hidden door, Wen Jin saw the mark overlap with the flashlight beam and shouted, “This is it!”
Everyone cheered, and even Zhang Qi Ling couldn’t help but clench his fist in excitement. He pushed open the hidden door and was the first to step inside. It was a very narrow passage that led further in. This time, Zhang Qi Ling was very careful. He first touched the walls around him to ensure there were no other mechanisms before calling the others in.
The passage was also constructed from green oak slabs, only wide enough for one person; two slightly plump individuals wouldn’t be able to pass through. Zhang Qi Ling, with the flashlight, led the way. Looking ahead, he noticed that the darkness mixed with the color of the green oak stone created an eerie, dim green hue, almost like a color from the underworld. He focused all his attention, walking very cautiously, stopping for a long time at any strange sounds. At this point, he had completely become the spiritual leader of the group; everyone obeyed him, and no one dared to say a word of nonsense.
They walked for about the time it takes to smoke half a cigarette, and it was pitch black all around. Zhang Qiling felt as if the entire universe consisted only of the few of them, and he began to feel uneasy. At that moment, the pathway started to incline upwards. Following the slope, he looked up and discovered a faint light appearing in the distance, a dim yellow glow reminiscent of the setting sun. It wasn’t very bright, but it was warm. Zhang Qiling realized that this was where they were headed. He called out to the others and took a few steps, merging them into one big leap towards the light, which seemed to come closer and closer. Suddenly, the ground leveled out, and the entire world appeared to be enveloped in a golden radiance. He quickly squinted to see better and couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, nearly dropping to his knees.
Before them stood a massive square room. It was not just large; it exuded an extreme sense of dominance. The atmosphere of the entire structure could only be described as magnificent, almost evoking an impulse to kneel.
On each side of the room were ten solid pillars made of golden silk nanmu wood, too large for three people to encircle, resembling the supporting pillars of the ends of the earth. The entire room was constructed from yellow clay bricks, measuring about ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) in width, with intricately carved beams and painted eaves above. There were ten five-clawed golden dragons depicted, radiating an extreme brilliance. At the nearly ten-meter-high treasure dome, a map of fifty stars was embedded, with each star being a dazzling luminous pearl, roughly the size of a goose egg, emitting a soft yellow glow. In each corner of the room stood a large mirror, reflecting light back and forth; although not very bright, it was enough to illuminate the entire space.
What surprised them the most, however, was the enormous stone platform in the center of the room. Zhang Qiling immediately recognized it: the platform featured a grand model of a palace. Although it was just a model, it included everything from dragon towers to flowing streams, and it was truly spectacular.
Zhang Qiling ran over, excitedly circling around it several times. He quickly understood that this was a model of the Heavenly Palace. He had never believed that such an outrageous palace would exist in this ancient tomb, so he didn’t feel disappointed. However, the mystery in his heart deepened. It seemed that Wang Canghai had really built a Heavenly Palace; but where was this palace? Could it really be in the sky?
This discovery was astonishing, and everyone was excited, shouting and cheering. A few of the boys playfully lifted Huo Ling onto the stone platform. Huo Ling, grinning as she steadied herself, suddenly let out a scream and jumped down, exclaiming, “There’s a dead person up there!”
Zhang Qiling was startled and quickly jumped up to take a look. In the center of the model was a circular jade garden. Inside the garden, on a stone seat, sat a completely shriveled corpse, its clothes in tatters, revealing a blackened torso. This was a very rare example of a seated mummified body, naturally preserved very well. With a dab of gold powder, it could be placed in a temple for worship. The corpse had one hand pointing to the sky and the other to the ground, and like other golden bodies, its hair and nails continued to grow after death. The nails, in particular, had grown almost as long as the fingers, which looked somewhat unsettling.
He leaped in front of the dry corpse without hesitation, first examining its mouth and finding nothing inside. Then he pried open its armpit and pressed down along the way. Wen Jin also jumped up and watched closely. She quickly leaped to his back and whispered, “Zhang Qiling, what exactly is your background? How do you know about tomb raiding?”
Zhang Qiling glanced at her but did not answer. Wen Jin got angry, grabbing his hand and saying, “You are clearly a tomb raider; otherwise, you wouldn’t be so calm in an ancient tomb. What is your purpose in following us?”
Zhang Qiling made a gesture for her to be quiet and pointed at the corpse, saying, “This is not important; look!” As he spoke, he stripped off the corpse’s clothing, revealing a very long scar on its abdomen, extending from the last rib on the left to the dantian. He pressed on the corpse’s belly first, then grabbed Wen Jin’s hand and pressed it down as well. She shivered; indeed, something was clearly hidden inside the corpse’s belly.
Zhang Qiling raised his head, still unsure whether to take the object out. If this person had hidden something in their belly until death, it meant that the item was extremely important to them. Alternatively, it could also be a test set by the deceased. His principle was to never damage a corpse for the sake of treasures in an ancient tomb. After a long internal struggle, he glanced at Wen Jin again. Being from the Northern school, she naturally valued righteousness. She shook her head and said, “Taking what is not yours will surely incur divine retribution.”
Zhang Qiling sighed and decided to give up. He took a step back and bowed his head to the corpse. When he raised it again, he suddenly noticed that something was off with the corpse. He looked left and right, and then gasped in shock; the dry corpse was actually wearing a strange smile.
