147: The black waters surge on, but where are the imperial tombs now?

As the RV rounded a bend in the mountain road, the full view of the Kuergan River unfolded before their eyes without warning.

Wang Dalong instinctively stepped on the brakes.

"Holy shit..." He squeezed those two words out of his throat, sitting frozen in the driver's seat.

The scene before them completely overturned their perception of what a "river" was.

This was no river; it was clearly a surging, yellow-brown ocean. In early spring, the massive snowmelt from the high mountains had converged into a terrifying flash flood. The turbid torrent, carrying silt and broken logs, rushed downstream with thunderous force, crashing against the banks and kicking up waves several meters high, emitting a deafening roar. The riverbed had expanded to a terrifying width, almost overflowing onto the highway beneath their feet.

"Is this the 'Black Water' of the 'Source of Black Water'?" Wang Dalong's face turned pale as he looked at the rushing flood. "This water volume is too damn terrifying! Who would build a tomb in a place like this? Do they think it wouldn't be washed away fast enough?"

Lin Feng's expression was also somewhat solemn.

The scene before them was indeed far removed from the "tranquility" an imperial mausoleum should have. When ancient emperors chose their burial sites, they prioritized "storing wind and gathering Qi," and the most taboo thing was this kind of violent flooding.

Could he have miscalculated?

He suppressed the doubts in his heart and said in a deep voice, "Keep driving. Let's head upstream along the highway to the forest park and take a look."

The RV restarted and headed upstream along the winding highway.

The highway leading to the forest park was exceptionally well-built, with smooth asphalt all the way. Along the road, they could even see many signs saying "Entering scenic area ahead, slow down."

As Wang Dalong drove, he switched into complaining mode.

"Brother Feng, I feel like this expedition is a bit off."

"Look at this road, look at these signs, and there's a visitor center ahead. Are we here for archaeology or a spring outing?"

"If we film this and put it out, won't the fans call us clickbaiters? 'Shocking! Outing in an RV leads to accidental discovery of the Mausoleum of Genghis Khan!' We'd definitely lose followers!"

Lin Feng ignored his complaints, his gaze fixed outside the window.

Soon, they reached the end of the road—the parking lot of the Kuergan River National Forest Park.

Because it was early in the season and due to the flash floods, the entire park was deserted. Only their massive RV stood in the vast parking lot, looking particularly out of place.

The two got out of the car and walked to the riverbank.

This was the source area of the Kuergan River as marked on the map. It was a wide river valley with steep slopes covered in spruce and larch on both sides. The scenery was indeed magnificent, but no matter how one looked at it, it didn't seem like a place that could hide an imperial mausoleum. The valley terrain was open and visible at a glance, and the entire valley floor showed signs of being submerged by seasonal floods.

"It's over, Brother Feng, a wasted trip." Wang Dalong flopped down onto a rock, dejected. "Forget hiding a tomb here, it'd be hard to hide a mouse. Could that Astronomical Official have been writing nonsense before he died, just to screw over future generations?"

Lin Feng didn't speak. He walked around the parking lot, observing the surrounding terrain. His brow had been tightly furrowed from start to finish.

The sky gradually grew dark.

Night in the mountains came quickly and suddenly. The temperature plummeted, and the whole world fell into a dead silence, save for the distant roar of the river, like the restless breathing of an ancient behemoth.

The two returned to the warmth of the RV, where Wang Dalong cooked a steaming pot of instant noodles with double portions of ham sausage.

After dinner, Wang Dalong crawled into his sleeping bag early; the fatigue of the journey made him fall asleep quickly.

Lin Feng, however, had no desire to sleep.

He took out the copper scroll fragment wrapped in layers of cloth again and carefully pieced it together on the table. Then, he opened his tablet and pulled up a professional-grade star chart software.

"'The dragon rises from Taibai, hiding in the lou mansion... On the Day of Gengshen, where the canis major points, with the bi star as a guide, it falls on the sunny side of the Golden Mountain, returning to the Source of Black Water.'"

Once more, he whispered that prophecy.

The scene during the day had made him doubt his previous deduction.

But now, in the dead of night where all was silent, looking at the ancient copper scroll before him and the modern star chart on the screen, a new idea, like a bolt of lightning, pierced through the fog in his mind.

"Returning to the Source of Black Water..." he murmured to himself. "'Returning to' does not equal 'being at'!"

Could that Astronomical Official have meant not that the mausoleum was at the source of the black water, but that the route to find it began at the source?

This was a starting point! A reference!

His breathing quickened.

He immediately adjusted the star chart on his tablet to the day Genghis Khan passed away—August 25, 1227 AD, the Year of Dinghai, the Month of Wushen, and the Day of Gengshen according to the sexagenary cycle.

He locked the coordinates to their current location—the source of the Kuergan River.

"Where the canis major points..."

His fingers slid rapidly across the screen as he found the canis major asterism within the Orion constellation. Looking out from this specific location on that specific night, the direction the canis major pointed... Lin Feng stood up abruptly, walked to the porthole on the side of the RV, and pulled back the curtain.

By the window was the ink-black silhouette of the mountains.

His gaze went past the roaring Kuergan River, past the parking lot, and into the deep mountains in another direction, perpendicular to the river valley.

There were no roads there, no lights—only endless darkness and primeval forest.

He returned to the table, picked up the walkie-talkie, and pressed the talk button.

"Dalong."

The sleeping Wang Dalong was startled awake and responded groggily, "Huh? What's up, Brother Feng? Is it an earthquake?"

Lin Feng's voice came through the walkie-talkie, clear and resolute.

"This isn't the end yet. The real destination is still some distance from here."

"The copper scroll isn't pointing to the riverside."

He turned his head, his eyes burning as he looked out at the bottomless darkness outside the window.

"Its true location... is in there."