That evening at the inn, four more people arrived one after another—three men and one woman in total.
The woman was in charge of our logistics. She was in her thirties, with a somewhat flirtatious smile and a dark mole under her eye. In the trade, she went by the nickname "Mole." Later, I heard that her goal was to bed a hundred men before she turned forty.
"Oh my, new blood! This one's so young. I wonder if he's just as 'little' down there..." Mole said, looking at me with a sly grin.
"Alright, alright, Hong'er, don't scare him. This kid's young but sharp. With a couple of years of training, he might just make something of himself," Boss Wang stepped in to defuse the situation.
The three men were brothers, all surnamed Sun. In order of age, they were Sun the Eldest, Sun the Second, and Sun the Third.
Boss Wang mentioned that Sun the Second and Sun the Third were quite renowned in the field. They could work a Luoyang shovel with incredible skill and even mastered a unique technique of probing soil with flying needles. They were especially experienced in exploring deep pits.
Sun Laoda held two roles: lookout and seller. My first impression of him was that he was steady and honest. It was only later that I realized the more honest someone appears on the surface, the sharper they tend to be—observant, alert, and capable of handling emergencies if they arise.
To the southwest of Shunde's Shunfeng Mountain Park, there's a small valley locally known as Fei'e Mountain. Old Patou told me that the large pit was located halfway up the mountainside.
At the time, I asked him, "Patou, how did you know there's a large pit halfway up the mountain?"
Old Patou blew a smoke ring, narrowed his eyes, and said to me, "Yunfeng, 'Locks bar horizontally, clearly dwelling on both sides; on high mountains, flat land burials, the great pit lies in the center.'"
Back then, I was completely baffled, feeling as though Old Patou was reciting a tongue twister—I couldn't make sense of it at all.
It wasn't until later, after I'd memorized the Burial Classic and Old Patou passed on his experience in locating dragon veins and burial sites, that I finally understood. Those four short lines from Old Patou perfectly captured the feng shui advantages of Fei'e Mountain.
That night, a little past one in the morning, a few of us, carrying large backpacks, arrived halfway up Feie Mountain.
Looking at an old fir tree, Old Pa stomped his foot and said excitedly, "Second Brother, Third Brother, right here! Let's take a sample first to see how it tastes. If there's something solid, we'll start drilling!"
Sun Lao'er nodded. He pressed the small walkie-talkie on his shoulder and said, "Boss, we're getting ready to eat. Are there any guests around?"
The red light on the walkie-talkie lit up, and Sun Lao'da's deep voice came through, "All calm. Start the cooking."
Knowing that no one was around, a flicker of excitement flashed in Sun Lao'er's eyes.
He took off his backpack and pulled out a short rod from it, followed by a curved half-round shovel.
Old Pa Wang said to me, "Yunfeng, this is our tool for making a living. Times are advancing, and we've got to keep up. The Luoyang shovel is made in detachable sections—once it's in the bag, no one can tell what it is."
Click, click, click. Sun Lao'er expertly assembled the Luoyang shovel. When put together, the shovel was very long, over eight meters.
"Second Brother, this is a deep pit. Is that length enough? If not, I've got more in my bag," Sun Lao'san asked.
"Old Third, don't panic. If it gets too long to handle, we'll just take a look at the soil structure below first and test the waters," said Second Brother.
"Yunfeng, come over and help me hold this," Second Brother Sun waved me over.
I hurried over to help him steady the Luoyang shovel. Then, Second Brother Sun undid his pants, pulled out his little brother right in front of me, and started releasing a steady stream.
After finishing, he shuddered and tucked himself back in.
Squatting down, Second Brother Sun stared at the damp spot for a moment before furrowing his brow. "No good, there are rocks underneath. We need to find another spot to dig."
"Little Yunfeng, right where you're standing—let out some water there now."
Though confused, I did as instructed and started relieving myself.
"Heh," Second Brother Sun chuckled. "You youngsters are full of fire, so energetic! See how yellow this piss is?"
He watched the damp ground for about two minutes, then nodded. "This is the spot. Fewer rocks underneath. Let's get to work!"
His arms were incredibly strong—each thrust of the shovel went down ten centimeters, and the Luoyang shovel continuously brought up soil.
After digging about halfway, I noticed the color of the soil had changed, becoming somewhat black.
I asked, "Second Brother, look quickly—the mud has turned black. Does that mean we've hit the bottom?"
"Far from it. This kind of black soil isn't what we're after. It's just a layer of decomposed tree roots—useless."
The hole grew deeper as they probed further.
"Damn, this is insane! The rod's not long enough, Lao San! Extend it!"
As the rod was extended, the Luoyang spade continued to dig downward.
An hour later, the spade brought up a layer of white soil, beneath which was a layer of bluish soil.
Sun Lao'er sniffed the soil and suddenly became wildly excited.
"Shit! Boss Wang! This kid Yunfeng is a lucky charm! It's been years since I've seen a pit like this!"
"Hit the compacted layer in one go—white paste soil right next to blue paste soil!"
"Either it's a noble tomb from the Western Zhou Dynasty or a minor feudal lord's tomb!"
"We're gonna strike it rich!"
"Shh! Second Brother, keep your voice down," Sun Lao San frowned and reminded him.
But Sun Lao'er waved him off dismissively. "It's just that I haven't seen blue beneath white in years. Let's hope it's a 'new pot'."
"New pot" meant the tomb had never been looted before—it was fresh. Only then could they make a fortune in one go.
The old boss said quietly, "That's all up to luck. Even if it's a 'leftover pot,' as long as there are a few valuable pieces inside, this trip won't be in vain."
"And this is a Western Zhou pit—what if we find something like a Square Zun with Four Goats or a Bronze Lei Vessel?"
"Hah! Old Boss, you sure know how to dream. If we really found treasures like that, we wouldn't dare sell them—we'd be investigated to death." After saying this, Sun Lao'er pressed the intercom and asked, "Lao Da, the eye boss says there might be a Square Zun with Four Goats in this tomb. Do you have a way to move it?"
As soon as the walkie-talkie's red light lit up, a burst of static came through.
"Fang Zun my ass! I don't wanna get shot—hurry up and get to work!"
The Sun brothers were well-known in the underworld, and it was all thanks to their real skills. With just one shovelful of soil, they could roughly visualize the situation in the pit below.
Because the tomb was so ancient, collapses were common in such places. Trying to dig a straight line to the main burial chamber with your eyes closed was basically a fantasy. There was a good chance you'd end up digging farther and farther off course, ultimately missing the burial goods entirely.
So, the safest method was to dig along the top of the tomb passage first, then decide whether to head for the side chamber or the main chamber.
With the second and third brothers working together and the whirlwind shovel in action, it was time for me to step in and do my job.
My task was to scatter the soil, but not just any soil. If I had to carry all the dirt from a more-than-ten-meter-deep tunnel, there was no way I'd manage.
The soil that matched the color of the surrounding earth was basically scattered on the spot, leaving almost no trace. What I was responsible for dispersing was the soil dug up from the compacted layers—the white and blue-ish earth.
Because the blue and white clay was mixed with the surrounding soil, the color difference was too obvious. So, I had to scatter this particular soil around, making sure not to leave a single trace behind.
With farmland all over these mountains, I couldn't just carelessly toss aside the blue and white soil brought up by the whirlwind shovel. It had to be piled to the side first and dealt with just before dawn.