Chapter Ninety-Four: The True Dragon's Lair (Setting Out at Dawn~~~~~)

From my calculations, the Leshan Giant Buddha was constructed in the early Tang dynasty, while the clues left in the Celestial Master's Cave on Mount Qingcheng clearly date back to the Ming dynasty. The chronological gap between these two clues is so vast that it’s difficult for me to connect them immediately.

Yue Qianling has participated in numerous archaeological excavations, but these were always after discoveries were made by others. This is the first time she has had to piece together clues bit by bit like we are doing today, so she was overjoyed, practically dancing with excitement.

The Leshan Giant Buddha isn’t far from Rongcheng. After leaving Mount Qingcheng, we rushed there overnight. By the time we stood at the foot of the Buddha, it was already dawn. Yue Qianling had specially rented a fishing boat. Gazing at the giant Buddha from the riverside offered a unique and majestic view.

The Leshan Giant Buddha is located on the east bank of the Min River beside Lingyun Temple, where the Dadu River, Qingyi River, and Min River converge.

The Buddha was carved starting in the first year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang dynasty and was completed in the nineteenth year of the Zhenyuan era, taking about ninety years. On the cliffs beside the Buddha and along the mountain paths, there are many stone niches with sculptures, mostly masterpieces from the High Tang period. To the right of Lingyun Temple stands Lingbao Peak, where a thirteen-story brick pagoda remains, resembling the Small Wild Goose Pagoda in style. To the left of the temple, a solitary peak rises from the river called Wuyou, where the Qin dynasty carved the Leshan cliff, and the Wuyou Temple was established in the Tang dynasty.

Yue Qianling recited these facts as if they were precious treasures. If this were a tourist trip, having an archaeology student as a guide would indeed be wonderful, but none of this sparked even the slightest interest in me.

The clues pointed to the Leshan Giant Buddha, but this Buddha is itself a mountain, and the mountain is a Buddha; the clue was far too vague. At least Mount Qingcheng had the Western Sichuan Tian Cang Map to guide us. Now I looked up at the solemn Buddha across the river, utterly at a loss.

“The Buddha was built in the early Tang dynasty, but the clues we found date to the Ming dynasty. Actually, it makes sense—this Buddha is magnificent. Even through the dynastic changes, all emperors revered Buddhism and would never destroy such a statue. So it’s easy for clues left on the Buddha to survive,” Qiu Nuo said calmly.

“That’s unlikely!” Yue Qianling said with certainty, without hesitation. “The rocks on both sides of the Buddha are red sandstone, a porous and easily weathered stone. Over nearly thirteen hundred years, it has suffered natural erosion and human damage, leaving the Buddha’s body pockmarked and unrecognizable.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Looking at the current Buddha, it’s clear it has been restored. If the clues from the Ming Tombs were really on the Buddha, they would have long been destroyed. Besides, the Ming Tombs are so important—leaving clues in such a heavily trafficked tourist spot would be far too careless.”

“But the clues from the Celestial Master’s Cave point here. This mountain is enormous. To thoroughly survey every part would take at least a year or two,” Qiu Nuo said somewhat disappointedly.

“One or two years...” I gave a helpless, bitter smile. “If we search blindly without any leads, it might not be one or two years—it could take a lifetime just to circle around this Buddha.”

The early morning sun slowly rose in the east, its light filtering through the thin mist like smoke. The entire Buddha was bathed in a golden glow, a halo encircling it. Its reflection in the river was as solemn and majestic as the Buddha’s radiance itself.

I was momentarily stunned, then quickly raised my head to look around again. The furrow in my brow gradually loosened.

“Did you discover something?” Qiu Nuo asked, curious about my expression.

“Why was this Buddha built?” I muttered, answering my own question rather than hers.

“I know this. According to Tang and Ming records, the Buddha’s carving was initiated by the monk Haitong, who dwelt in a hut on Lingyun Mountain. In ancient times, this was where the three rivers—Min, Qingyi, and Dadu—converged at the foot of Lingyun Mountain. The water’s force here was fierce, and each summer floods would batter the cliffside, often causing shipwrecks and loss of life. Haitong vowed to carve the Maitreya Buddha into the cliff, hoping to rely on boundless spiritual power to reduce the water’s fury and eternally quell the storms,” Yue Qianling explained.

“It’s a form of spiritual solace, essentially for flood control,” Qiu Nuo nodded in agreement.

I focused intently on the Buddha and its surroundings. After a long silence, I shook my head with a significant smile.

“I’m afraid it’s not just about flood control.”

“Then... why?” Qiu Nuo and Yue Qianling asked almost in unison.

“Qianling, you said the Min, Qingyi, and Dadu rivers converge at Lingyun Mountain. In feng shui, water governs wealth, and wherever three rivers meet is a place of great prosperity. The mountain’s shape, running west to east, has Qixia Peak proudly pointing to the sky, symbolizing a dragon soaring to the heavens. Below, the three rivers converge, stirring winds and clouds as the dragon steps on them, charging straight into the skies. The mountain range stretches endlessly, and the rivers flow without end. This... this is a dragon vein!”

“Dragon vein?!” Yue Qianling stared at me in disbelief. After a moment, she said, “But... no emperor has ever come from here, have they?”

I looked up at the Buddha across the river and smiled faintly.

“Of course not. With this Buddha here, how could the dragon ever ascend to the heavens?”

“You mean this Buddha isn’t for flood control, but to suppress the dragon vein!” Qiu Nuo seemed to understand.

I nodded, smiling with satisfaction.

“The Buddha was built in the early Tang dynasty, positioned right on Qixia Peak—the dragon’s head. With the Buddha seated at the dragon’s head, the dragon cannot raise its head, let alone ascend. Every sunrise, sunlight shines behind the Buddha like a halo of Buddha light. The Buddha’s eyes are half-closed, watching the river day and night without rest, guarding this dragon vein constantly. As long as the Buddha stands, the dragon vein can never soar to the heavens!”

“That’s odd. Historical records say the Buddha was built spontaneously by the people. If this is a dragon vein, why would they build a Buddha to suppress it?” Yue Qianling asked with puzzlement.

“Do you really think this Buddha was built spontaneously by the people?” I asked, smiling meaningfully.

“The dragon vein produces emperors. The Buddha was built in the early Tang dynasty, when Emperor Taizong Li Shimin already ruled the land. Since there was already an emperor...” Qiu Nuo suddenly realized, looking up in shock. “This Buddha was built under the instruction of Emperor Li Shimin himself. The greatest beneficiary of suppressing the dragon vein was him!”

“To arrange such a sophisticated and vast feng shui scheme, only an emperor with such resources and manpower could do it. Besides, don’t forget Li Shimin had two masters of the occult, Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang, by his side. If I’m right, this Buddha was likely the masterpiece of these two sages!” I said, taking a deep breath and smiling.

Yue Qianling blinked in confusion after hearing my words.

“If Li Shimin was already emperor, and this dragon vein suddenly appeared, the whole realm was his—why wouldn’t he simply destroy the dragon vein? It would have been easier and less troublesome than carving a giant Buddha on the mountain.”

“Destroying a dragon vein is a loss of yin virtue. Of course, if the Tang dynasty was threatened, Li Shimin would have acted without hesitation. But this dragon vein is extraordinarily wondrous. I suspect Li Shimin didn’t dare destroy it, not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t!” I smiled and replied.

“Why not?” Qiu Nuo asked.

“This goes back to the feng shui of the Li family’s rise,” I said, sitting at the boat’s edge and starting slowly. “Tracing the ancestral dragon vein of the Tang dynasty’s founding emperor Li Yuan, we must mention Longxi. The Li family were nobles of Longxi, from the famous general Li Guang of the Han dynasty to Li Yuan’s eighth-generation ancestor Li Gao. The Li family lived in Longxi for generations.”

“This dragon vein has nothing to do with the Li family’s feng shui. Why are you going so far back?” Yue Qianling asked impatiently.

Qiu Nuo smiled gently and calmly said, “Who else is as versed in feng shui as Yan Hui? Since we’re talking about the Li family’s rise through feng shui, there must be a purpose. Let’s quietly listen to him.”

“Longxi lies in the heart of the Loess Plateau along the Hexi Corridor. The Wei River flows through it, bordered by Lanzhou in the west and the ancient capital Chang’an in the east. This region connects the Central Plains to the Western Regions. Longxi commands both energy and strategic position, possessing the spirit of dragons and tigers. The Li family prospered here, nourished by this auspicious land, and their dragon energy began to manifest,” I said calmly.

“The Li family held such prime feng shui territory; no wonder they rose to prominence. The later era of the Zhenguan reign was surely due to this feng shui,” Qiu Nuo nodded.

“The Li family’s feng shui was indeed excellent, but there was one flaw—surely Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang also noticed this,” I added.

“That’s impossible! They were emperors; how could there be anything wrong?” Yue Qianling pouted.

“The mountain forms the dragon’s power, the water is its blood. Therefore, a dragon vein depends on both mountain and water. Since ancient times, places embraced by mountains and water are feng shui treasures.”

“Mountains embracing water...” Qiu Nuo suddenly exclaimed excitedly, “It lacks water!”

I nodded confidently.

“Qiu Nuo is right! This dragon vein lacks water, so when the Li family took the throne and established their capital at Chang’an, it wasn’t a random choice—it was because of this water!”

“The Eight Waters surround Chang’an!” Qiu Nuo blurted out. “They are the Wei, Jing, Feng, Lao, Guo, Hao, Chan, and Ba rivers. These flow around Chang’an, all belonging to the Yellow River system. Of these, the Wei River flows into the Yellow River, while the other seven flow into the Wei.”

“The Li family leveraged these Eight Waters to consolidate their kingdom...” I was interrupted by Yue Qianling.

“Wait, what does the Li family using the Eight Waters have to do with this Buddha?” she asked.

“Which is bigger, a river or a stream?” I countered.

“Rivers, rivers, of course rivers!” Yue Qianling answered dismissively.

“The Li family’s dragon vein lacked water and had to rely on water to prosper. Here, three great rivers converge and the dragon vein extends. If the Li family lost this water source, they would fail. I’m sure Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng knew this well. Moreover, this dragon vein is separated by the Qinling Mountains and does not threaten the Li family’s realm. So they built the Buddha here to suppress the dragon vein—neither destroying it nor allowing it to develop.”

Qiu Nuo and Yue Qianling were both surprised. A Buddha standing for over a thousand years concealed such little-known secrets. Yet Qiu Nuo was far from happy. After some thought, she hesitated before speaking.

“Yan Hui, even if this Buddha was built to suppress the dragon vein, that was in the Tang dynasty. The clues we have are from the Ming dynasty. How could they be related?”

“That’s the part I haven’t figured out yet, but there is one thing that puzzles me,” I said.

“What puzzles you?”

“Although the Buddha suppresses the dragon vein, if you look at the terrain opposite the Buddha, there is a vast, flat plain—a spacious Ming Tang, flanked by twin peaks, with the Azure Dragon and White Tiger subdued, the Buddha at its back, and myriad Buddhas paying homage. The three rivers flow endlessly. Though the dragon vein cannot raise its head, after hundreds of years of changes, this place must harbor the ‘True Dragon’s Lair.’”

“True Dragon’s Lair?” Yue Qianling frowned. “What is a True Dragon’s Lair?”

“Simply put, it’s a place nearby where if ancestors are buried, a future emperor will surely arise!” I answered decisively.