had a four-tiered coffin, princes and dukes had a three-tiered coffin, officials and scholars had a one-tiered coffin. For those in lower ranks, only coffins were allowed after death, no coffins were..."Boom! Boom!"

As soon as Hong Jie finished speaking, at that moment...

We suddenly heard rumbles of thunder overhead, very clearly.

The south is known for its frequent rainfall and minimal snowfall. In Shunde, where I currently am, it's the transition season between spring and summer. Thunderstorms are common occurrences. As I listened to the rumbling thunder overhead, my attention turned to a large earthenware jar placed in the corner of the tent wall.

There was still half a tank of water in the large tank, very clear. It was probably for Researcher An and his team to use for washing up on a daily basis.

"Look at me, staring blankly into the fish tank without blinking. Hongjie whispered, "Yunfeng, you don't want to..."

I looked away and saw Hongjie nod, pointing to the sky above. "It's raining with thunder now, a dead horse should be treated as a living one," she said. "I want to give it a try. If this works, maybe we can find a way out."

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"But..." Hong Jie hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.

I understand Sister Hong's thoughts. She probably thinks that I'm not capable of this, and because I look young, I haven't mentioned my experience in this area before.

Actually, the methods I mentioned might be unfamiliar to ordinary people. However, they were commonly practiced in the past during tomb robbing expeditions.

It is said in old tales of grave-robbing, that in the north, they emphasized looking, listening, asking, and feeling (望聞問切), while in the south, they focused on smelling, probing, searching, and striking (嗅查探打).

There are some similarities between the two, but upon closer inspection, there are still differences.

To look at mountains, one should not be content with flatness. "Looking" means to gaze upon the entire mountain range's terrain and its contours. Ancient people placed a much greater emphasis on geomancy (yin-yang) than modern individuals do. Those in the field can immediately discern particularly auspicious feng shui locations at a glance.

Besides looking, there are some other little tricks. For example, if someone went to a rural village and saw a field of crops, all the crops were growing well except for one patch in the middle which was stunted and wilted. A tomb robber could immediately tell that this spot likely hid an ancient tomb. Ancient tombs often contain layers of clay and tamped earth, which hinder the crops' absorption of rainwater, causing them to grow poorly. This is what we call "望" (wang).

Before talking about smell, let's talk about asking and cutting.

Asking around, inquiring from elderly villagers who have lived in the village for generations, offering them some good cigarettes and listening to their stories and legends about the place often yields valuable information.

The tomb of Liang Zhuangwang, the ninth son of Emperor Hongxi of the Ming Dynasty, was discovered through information gleaned from an old man in Liang Village by a band of grave robbers.

"To "cut" is to feel the pulse, and in the Northern School it's divided into upper and lower cuts. Upper cut means the point of entry, which is where grave robbers studied from which position they could dig down directly to the main burial chamber underground. This corresponds to the meaning of reaching the root of the illness."

The term "xia qie" refers to opening a coffin inside a tomb. There are specific rules to follow when doing so. If the remains of the deceased are still present, one should begin by touching the spiritual instruments from the head, then proceed from the head to the back orifice, and finally to the feet.

Last of all, this smell, the "smell" means to listen, to listen for sounds. This is the way I want to use to find the exit.

I want to use this method because months ago, I was chatting with [name] and [he/she] told me about it. At the time, I was very moved by it, but because I hadn't been in the industry for long, I didn't have the opportunity to try it.

He said that using his method was no longer effective because he was getting old. To improve the accuracy of this method, one's ears had to be good, which depended on natural talent.

Tell me about this: some people can move their ears up and down. If someone tells them to, these people are perfect for tomb robbing. On the other hand, there are others who no matter how hard they try, their ears just won't budge. Tell your head that these people don't have the natural talent and can't use this trick.

When I heard that, I was so happy because my ears could do more than just move!

As long as I furrow my brow and exert a little effort, I can control the movement of my ears up, down, left, and right. And I can even control them individually! If I want my left ear to move, it does. If I want my right ear to move, it does!

Amazing, isn't itve""I don't care!" Li Jing argued unreasonably, "If you don't tell me what you're doing, if you don't tell me where you're going, I'll report you!"Well, I guess this trip wasn't worth it. I should ha...