Chapter 7: You are too shallow; you still need to settle!

Inside the ancient tomb.

Zhou Cheng looked at Zhou Zeyi with hopeful eyes. "Third Uncle, you truly are an expert!"

"Can you open it?"

Terry chimed in from the side, "Don't be ridiculous! Third Master is a master of mechanical contraptions. This is as easy as pie for him."

Unexpectedly, no sooner had he finished speaking than Zhou Zeyi let out a long sigh. The expressions of the three men shifted slightly.

Zhou Zeyi shook his head. "There are sixty-four hexagrams, and each one is unique. Even if we know which hexagram opens the lock, precisely resetting it is a major challenge."

Terry frowned. "Wait, so we're screwed?"

Zhou Zeyi nodded. "There is basically no chance of opening it in a short amount of time."

The group fell into a sudden silence. They hadn't expected the mechanisms on this stone door to be so layered and complex.

Before long, however, the tall, thin man suddenly spoke up. "Third Master, I have a way."

Zhou Zeyi gave him a cool look. "Since when did you know anything about mechanical arts?"

Zhou Cheng also looked at the tall man with curiosity. The man simply pulled a stick of dynamite from his pack and pointed to a circular hole on the bronze Bagua dial. "It fits perfectly! Precision blasting! One explosion, and it’ll be open in an instant."

Zhou Zeyi: "..."

Terry frowned. "Again?"

The tall man insisted, "There was white phosphorus on the stone door before, but now that it's gone, we can blast away with confidence! Don't say this bronze dial can't be opened—even if it could, imagine how many brain cells we'd burn trying!"

The two men remained silent. Zhou Zeyi gritted his teeth, looking conflicted. "This is a rare, precious artifact. If we blow it up, future generations will never have the chance to see it again!"

But the tall man retorted, "Third Master, I know that. But we are tomb raiders; this is how we make a living. Protecting artifacts is a job for the experts. If we try to protect this dial, we’re the ones who will end up dead! You are the Third Master of Shacheng—you make the call!"

Zhou Zeyi heard this, gritted his teeth, and cast one last reluctant glance at the bronze dial. "Blow it up."

"Pfft!"

In the livestream, Zhang Xuan spat out a mouthful of water. "Blowing it up again? How are these Southerners even more reckless than the Northerners? They're forcing my hand!"

He had wanted to observe their methods, but the result was a huge disappointment.

The audience in the livestream burst into laughter. These tomb raiders were really driving Zhang Xuan crazy. Yet, everyone could tell that Zhang Xuan was genuinely trying to protect the relics; otherwise, he wouldn't care if they blew the tomb to pieces or not. Even though the audience was just there for the spectacle, they held a natural pride for the cultural treasures left by their ancestors. How could they watch idly as tomb raiders destroyed them?

Gifts flooded the screen. Zhang Xuan closed his eyes, turned on his microphone, and said in a stern tone, "Alright, let me handle it."

Inside the tomb, upon hearing Zhang Xuan's voice, Zhou Zeyi’s grave expression instantly turned to one of surprise. "This is the Zhou Yi Bagua! There are sixty-four hexagrams, all different. Is Brother Zhang sure he can open it?"

Zhang Xuan’s voice carried a hint of exasperation. "It’s the Pre-Heaven Bagua."

Zhou Zeyi: "What?"

Zhang Xuan sighed, his voice rising slightly. "This isn't the Zhou Yi Bagua; it's the Pre-Heaven Bagua. You're right that there are sixty-four hexagrams, but not every one of them is applicable here."

In his previous life, he had been well-versed in Bagua and physiognomy. In this life, the other volume of the *Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret Technique* he had obtained contained detailed interpretations of both the Pre-Heaven and Post-Heaven Bagua. He couldn't be wrong!

When he said this, Zhou Zeyi looked truly shocked. "But... the Zhou Yi Bagua was created by King Wen and flourished during the Zhou Dynasty! Since this is the tomb of a Western Zhou emperor, how could the hexagrams be the Pre-Heaven variety?"

Terry and the others were completely lost, unable to join the conversation.

Hearing this, Zhang Xuan sighed. "Brother, it seems your Third Uncle is only half-learned. Knowing half the truth is worse than knowing nothing at all!"

Zhou Zeyi’s face flushed red. Had it been anyone else, he would have exploded with rage, but this was Zhang Xuan, who had saved them multiple times. He had to hold his tongue.

Zhou Cheng whispered, "Ahem, there are so many people in the livestream, Brother Zhang. Please give Third Uncle some face. Those hundred 'Fireworks' gifts earlier were sent by him."

Zhang Xuan: "..."

"Just kidding, don't take it to heart! Ahem! Here is the deal: the Pre-Heaven Bagua and the Post-Heaven Bagua—also known as the Zhou Yi Bagua—both use the eight characters like Qian, Kan, Kun, and Li to represent directions. However, they differ significantly in their arrangement and purpose. The Pre-Heaven Bagua, also called the Fuxi Bagua, was created by Fuxi based on the Luo River map on the turtle's back; it studies the relationships between all things in the universe. The Post-Heaven Bagua, or the Zhou Yi Bagua, was created by King Wen and studies the mysteries of humanity and medicine. In short, divination and feng shui rely on the Pre-Heaven; humanity, traditional medicine, and the I Ching rely on the Post-Heaven."

Zhou Cheng looked amazed. "I read books about this before, but I’d forgotten most of it. Hearing you explain it, it all comes back to me."

Zhou Zeyi looked at the eight directions on the Bagua dial in surprise and realized that the arrangement was indeed different from the Bagua he was familiar with. He hadn't noticed it at all a moment ago. He took a deep breath and muttered, "Heaven, Earth, Man, Yin, Yang... The ancient tomb is buried between the realms of Yin and Yang, and the gate is the threshold that divides them. It is indeed most appropriate to use the Pre-Heaven Bagua here! I have been enlightened!"

He quickly asked Zhang Xuan, "Brother Zhang’s insight is truly extraordinary! Could you tell me how to open it?"

The tall man, Terry, and Zhou Cheng all pricked up their ears. But they saw Zhang Xuan looking surprised. "Huh? You just said the tomb is buried between the realms of Yin and Yang, and the gate is the divider. You’ve already stated the answer; I thought you knew!"

Zhou Zeyi’s eyes widened, still looking a bit dazed. "Does that have anything to do with the opening method?"

Zhang Xuan replied, "Of course! Yin and Yang represent life and death, and among the sixty-four hexagrams, there are also the hexagrams for Life and Death! If I’m not mistaken, the password to open the stone door lies between those two!"

Zhou Zeyi was shocked. "It can't be that simple, can it?"

Zhang Xuan frowned. "Simple? Do you even hear yourself?"

Zhou Zeyi scratched his head. "Anyone could think of the Life and Death hexagrams, right? If the password were anything else, then it would truly be impossible to open!"

After saying this, he noticed Zhang Xuan leaning back in his chair and starting to drink water. Zhou Cheng sensed something was off. "Brother Zhang... what’s wrong?"

Zhang Xuan: "..."

"Tell your Third Uncle, once he gets out of this tomb, he should stop tomb raiding."

Zhou Cheng: "Huh? Why?"

Zhang Xuan: "He’s too shallow. He needs a few more years of seasoning."

Zhou Cheng: "..."