Chapter 159: The Mausoleum of First Emperor Qin

Cai Wenji watched Fang Nian as he walked and spoke eloquently, feeling a slight shock in her heart. This was the first time she had ever felt this way—the first time she felt that someone could be so immensely knowledgeable, and that everything he said was so refreshing, making Cai Wenji feel extremely comfortable.

"This person is truly extraordinary..."

After walking through about three streets, Fang Nian and the others discovered signs of movement on the ground, marked by numerous footprints. Fang Nian squatted down to examine them closely and realized that the prints were not from the military boots worn by soldiers. After looking more closely and identifying them, a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Cai Wenji asked Fang Nian, "What are you smirking about?"

The corners of Fang Nian's mouth turned up slightly, a flash of joy in his eyes as he said, "Mr. Jia Xu and the others have also entered, and they are right inside these residential houses."

Cai Wenji was startled, joy flashing in her eyes as well, though she still wore a skeptical look. "You say these footprints belong to Mr. Jia Xu and the others? How can I not tell? Could you be mistaken?"

Fang Nian waved his hand dismissively and then pointed to a heart-shaped mark in the center of one of the footprints. "Do you see this mark? This shape is a mark I made on Zhou Cang's shoes yesterday. Zhou Cang didn't even know I had tampered with his shoes."

Cai Wenji was taken aback, but she quickly understood and looked at Fang Nian. "I never expected you to have such sly tricks up your sleeve."

Fang Nian spread his hands helplessly. "What can I do? When traveling out in the world, one must be extremely careful. I suppose you could say I had the foresight? Instead of praising me, you're here criticizing me. Isn't that a bit harsh, friend?"

Cai Wenji rolled her eyes heavily at Fang Nian before following after him.

Soon, Fang Nian and the others discovered deeper traces of footprints in front of an ancient wooden house, so they lowered their bodies and mimicked bird calls twice. Shortly after, Zhou Cang, who heard the bird calls, walked out. The moment he saw Fang Nian and Cai Wenji, he was so excited that tears almost welled up in his eyes.

"Brother Fang..."

However, before Zhou Cang could finish his sentence, Fang Nian clamped a hand over Zhou Cang's mouth, his eyes wide with alarm. "Keep your voice down! Didn't Mr. Wenhe tell you there are other people around here?"

Reminded by Fang Nian, Zhou Cang finally remembered the instructions Jia Xu had given him earlier. He obediently covered his mouth and made no more sound.

Entering the house, Fang Nian met Jia Xu, Chen Deng, and Zhang Liao. Seeing that they were all safe and sound, Fang Nian finally set his mind at ease.

After chatting for a while, Fang Nian learned that the underground waterways were extremely complex, and the paths leading to the underground city were not limited to the one Fang Nian and Cai Wenji had taken. Jia Xu and the others had descended via a different route. Compared to the dangers Fang Nian faced, their journey had been much easier, largely thanks to Jia Xu's wisdom, allowing them to avoid most hardships.

Of course, Jia Xu and the others had also heard Fang Nian's theory about this tomb, and each of them was immensely shocked.

Jia Xu wore an even more excited expression as he looked up and asked Fang Nian, "Are you saying that this city was built using that willow-red wood method? In other words, it is highly likely that this was ordered to be built by Qin Shi Huang when he was constructing the Great Wall? This completely aligns with the dating of the materials used for the city walls, and it also explains why the tomb's owner had the authority to undertake such a massive project that would have required tens of thousands of people to complete."

Zhou Cang looked astonished, his voice trembling slightly as he spoke. "You mean to say... this place is the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin?"

None of them stated it outright, but in their hearts, they all nodded in agreement. Yet, upon receiving this news, the most shocked person was none other than Fang Nian. As a modern person, he naturally had the most authoritative understanding of the First Emperor's Mausoleum.

The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang is the tomb of Ying Zheng, the first emperor in Chinese history. It is among China's first batch of World Cultural Heritage sites, the first batch of major historical and cultural sites protected at the national level, a national 5A-level tourist attraction, and is located at the northern foot of Mount Lishan.

Constructed from the first year of King Zheng of Qin (247 BC) to the second year of Qin Er Shi (208 BC), the mausoleum took 39 years to build. It was the first imperial tomb in Chinese history to be grand in scale and impeccably designed.

It features inner and outer rammed-earth city walls, symbolizing the imperial city and palace city of the capital Xianyang. The burial mound is located in the southern part of the inner city, shaped like an inverted dou (a traditional measuring vessel), currently standing 51 meters tall with a base perimeter of over 1,700 meters. According to historical records, various palaces were built within the mausoleum, displaying numerous exotic treasures.

Surrounding the mausoleum are a large number of burial pits and tombs of different shapes and varying contents, with over 400 discovered so far, including the terracotta warrior pits known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World."

The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang is one of the largest, most structurally peculiar, and content-rich imperial tombs in the world. It fully demonstrates the artistic talents of the ancient Han Chinese working people from over 2,000 years ago and is the pride and precious treasure of the Chinese nation.

On March 4, 1961, the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang was announced by the State Council as one of the first batches of national key cultural relics protection units. In December 1987, the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and the Terracotta Warriors pits were approved by UNESCO for inclusion on the World Heritage List.

In Fang Nian's memory, in the summer of 210 BC, the First Emperor, Ying Zheng of Qin, passed away. His remains were buried in an extremely grand mausoleum, the construction of which had begun during his lifetime.

The project spanned 39 years, and at its peak, it employed over 700,000 workers, equivalent to one-tenth of the country's total population at the time.

This was the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. It stood on the Western Bank, complete with terracotta warriors, historical sites, and countless legends.

According to archaeologists, the underground palace of this imperial tomb had suffered from fires and plundering. However, if that were truly the case, the funerary objects within the tomb passages should have been destroyed first.

Yet, based on the cultural relics unearthed to date, no traces of fire or plundering have been found, which indirectly indicates that the underground palace has never experienced fire or looting.

Furthermore, it has now been confirmed that a massive amount of mercury exists within the underground palace. Had anyone excavated or robbed the underground palace, the mercury would have completely evaporated. Therefore, all these phenomena indicate that the probability of the First Emperor's mausoleum being robbed is very low.

This suggested that in the real world, the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang had still not been excavated, meaning it remained buried even deeper beneath the Western Bank.

Yet, if this place was the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, then where was the ruin on the Western Bank, and who was buried beneath those dozens of tons of mercury?

And if the person buried beneath those dozens of tons of mercury was indeed Qin Shi Huang, then who was buried here?

For a moment, Fang Nian felt a bit confused. He knew he was currently inside a hunting ground. Everything before his eyes might simply be an illusion created by the architect, designed solely to deceive the hunters.

Yet, deep down, Fang Nian had a lingering sensation that this matter was not nearly that simple, and what was hidden beneath it all was terrifying.