Chapter 23: Deciphering the Four Secret Phrases!

Office.

Yang Yuming held the phone, a look of astonishment crossing his face. "Professor Shen, you've deciphered those four secret phrases already?"

He looked surprised and instinctively checked the time. Barely over an hour had passed—could this Professor Shen really be that fast?

Although Professor Shen was a senior professor at Yenching University, surely he couldn't be proficient to this extent?

Of course, if he truly had deciphered them, it would save Yang Yuming a great deal of trouble.

Right now, Zhang Xuan was like a ticking time bomb to him. If Zhang Xuan's reputation collapsed, Yang Yuming would inevitably face disciplinary action alongside him!

"Director Yang, don't get me wrong. When I say deciphered, I mean a preliminary interpretation."

"It hasn't been completely decoded yet."

Yang Yuming recovered his composure, pulling out a notebook and a pen. "Oh, go ahead then. I'm taking notes."

On the other end, Professor Shen said, "Three thousand zhang of yellow sand, thunder strikes the Abode of Immortals, ghost Buddhas chant the burial sutra, heaven-bestowed snake-cypress rice!"

"Let me explain my understanding of each one by one; perhaps it can provide Director Yang with some inspiration!"

"The first line, 'Three thousand zhang of yellow sand,' is clearly descriptive. With no verbs present, I believe it describes a geographical feature!"

"It should be located in the northwestern region of our country."

Yang Yuming was stunned. "The northwestern region?"

"Could the Warring States tomb be in the northwest?"

"But the northwest spans thousands of kilometers. Can we narrow it down?"

Professor Shen chuckled. "There's no way to be certain of that; we can only tell it's in the northwest."

"Listen to my continued analysis."

Yang Yuming put his pen down. "Please go on!"

Professor Shen: "Thunder strikes the Abode of Immortals. 'Thunder strikes' is the verb, and 'Abode of Immortals' is the noun. Literally understood, it means lightning strikes a place called the Abode of Immortals."

Yang Yuming wore a peculiar expression. "Lightning striking the Abode of Immortals?"

"Could it mean that there's a thunderstorm at the location of the Warring States tomb?"

"And is the Abode of Immortals actually the Warring States tomb?"

Professor Shen replied, "I'm not sure about that. I am only responsible for the interpretation; how to connect it to reality is up to Director Yang."

"An event like lightning striking a specific place doesn't happen every day. Normally, you might not encounter it once in decades."

"Therefore, this should represent a specific point in time."

Yang Yuming blinked, picked up his pen again, and wrote down 'Location' and 'Time' on the paper.

"Please continue."

Professor Shen: "Next is 'Ghost Buddhas chant the burial sutra'."

"I looked up some materials just now. Ghost Buddhas are also known as dead Buddhas; they are deities abandoned by the Buddha."

"Worshipping regular Buddhas can bring blessings, but paying homage to ghost Buddhas will only surround one with resentment."

"In terms of appearance, ghost Buddhas are also distinctly different from ordinary Buddha statues."

"Ordinary Buddha statues generally have downcast eyes and benevolent facial expressions."

"However, ghost Buddhas are not like that. They typically feature wide-open eyes, either hollow or with a fierce gaze, and their facial expressions are extremely exaggerated."

"Roaring, laughing, or smiling eerily—things of that nature."

Yang Yuming blinked. "So ghost Buddhas actually exist?"

"And what is chanting the burial sutra?"

"Is it reciting scriptures?"

Professor Shen continued, "Yes!"

"The burial sutra is a type of Buddhist scripture used to deliver souls of the departed and dispel disasters and grievances."

"Regardless of whether the ghost Buddha is chanting the Buddhist burial sutra mentioned here, even if it were, a ghost Buddha is still a statue. How could it possibly chant scriptures?"

"That is the point I haven't quite figured out."

Yang Yuming's expression grew even more puzzled. "How strange. The Western Zhou tomb we saw earlier didn't have any ghost Buddha statues."

"Could they be further ahead?"

Professor Shen asked, "What?"

Yang Yuming replied, "Nothing. Please go on."

"The final line is 'Heaven-bestowed snake-cypress rice!'"

Professor Shen: "Yes!"

"The term 'heaven-bestowed' is not unfamiliar to me. In the ancient West, there were high priests who allegedly possessed the ability to communicate with deities; this capability was known as a divine bestowal."

" Relying on this bestowed ability, they spread the will of the gods and preached to their followers!"

"I imagine this 'heaven-bestowed' refers to some kind of special ability."

"As for 'snake-cypress rice,' I haven't been able to find any documentation on it yet, and it's difficult to interpret its exact meaning."

Yang Yuming's eyes lit up. He looked at the words on his notepad and recited, "Location, time, human action, ability xx!"

"Connecting it all together: at a certain location in the northwest, when lightning strikes the underground palace, one can enter the Warring States tomb. Furthermore, inside the tomb, one will encounter ghost Buddhas chanting the burial sutra, and finally attain a heaven-bestowed ability..."

"Hiss!"

"That actually sounds somewhat plausible..."

Hearing this, Professor Shen agreed, "Indeed!"

"It's just that complete information is still lacking; otherwise, it could definitely be cracked!"

Yang Yuming blinked. "Thank you for your hard work, Professor Shen."

"I'll compile the notes for now. Please notify me promptly if you make any new discoveries."

With that, he hung up the phone and redirected his gaze to the livestream on his computer screen.

He had analyzed it earlier: this tomb robber, Third Master, had also seen those four secret phrases.

And he had successfully located the Warring States tomb based on those phrases!

Clearly, his analytical direction shared with Professor Shen was correct!

Those four secret phrases were the mnemonic formula for finding the Warring States tomb!

It was just that the ghost Buddha chanting scriptures and the heaven-bestowed snake-cypress rice hadn't appeared yet.

If they appeared later on, his deduction would be fully confirmed.

Moreover, the information deduced thus far was already enough to be useful!

He picked up his phone and dialed a number.

A moment later, Fang Youcai's voice came through: "Duty room of the Qingzhou Network Information Security Monitoring Brigade."

Yang Yuming: "Commander Fang, hello. I am Yang Yuming from the Museum."

"I need to trouble you with a favor."

"Help me check the northwest region for any locations that have experienced thunderstorm weather within the last three days."

Fang Youcai: "Certainly, Director Yang!"

"May I ask why you're looking into this?"

"The most important thing in preserving a corpse is sealing the resentment trapped within!"

"As you can all see."

"This coffin, treated with pine oil, can block corrosion from insects, rodents, air, and moisture."

"Yet, relying solely on these is still not enough to seal the resentment inside the coffin!"

"There must be something else hidden within the groove beneath the coffin lid!"

"Look for it!"

Zhang Xuan's voice echoed within the ancient tomb.

Zhou Zeyin's heart gave a jolt as his fingers felt along the coffin toward the groove at the lower edge.

Before long, he indeed felt what seemed like a ring of metal sealing strips.

The texture was as cold as ice.

Moreover, it seemed to be engraved with rather intricate patterns.

Noticing Zhou Zeyin's strange expression, Terry asked in surprise, "Did you really find something?"

Seeing Zhou Zeyin nod, the three of them were greatly startled.

They were standing right beside the coffin, yet they hadn't detected anything in the groove beneath the lid at all.

Yet Zhang Xuan knew such intricate details from behind a screen!

Such insight was truly mind-boggling!

"Third Master, what is it?" asked the tall, thin man in astonishment.

However, Zhou Zeyin shook his head. After groping around the perimeter of the coffin once more, he suddenly said in surprise:

"It's like a metal strip serving as an edge seal. It has very fine and continuous patterns carved onto it, and it feels as cold as ice!"

"And is it completely sealed shut?"