After paying his respects, Hu Xiaotian went with Zhan Peng to the forest grounds behind Falling Cloud Mountain, where he met Liang Yinghao. Liang Yinghao was quite surprised to see him arrive so soon, and the men went into the grounds' wooden cabin.
Liang Yinghao brought out the tunnel excavation plans and showed them to Hu Xiaotian. Tapping the tunnel leading toward the Imperial Mausoleum, he sighed. "They really spared no expense on this mausoleum. My lord, do you know what we encountered after tunneling fifteen li toward it from here?"
Hu Xiaotian smiled. "Don't tell me it was bronze walls and iron ramparts?"
Liang Yinghao nodded. "Exactly-bronze walls and iron ramparts. They enclosed it with enormous rocks and poured molten bronze into the gaps. Our brothers endured a thousand hardships to chisel through more than a zhang of rock. We thought we could break through the outer wall, only to find a solid bronze wall behind it. We were still thirty li from the Imperial Mausoleum. I've never seen such a sturdy fortress, nor a construction project on such a vast scale."
Hu Xiaotian said, "What if you dig downward?"
Liang Yinghao said, "The foundations run extremely deep. Our brothers dug down more than ten zhang along the bronze wall and still couldn't find the bottom. We'd also reached the area patrolled by the Mausoleum Guard, so we didn't dare make too much of a disturbance."
Hu Xiaotian and Zhan Peng exchanged a glance, both struck speechless.
Liang Yinghao said, "Now I'm interested in this mausoleum too. That foolish emperor exhausted the people and squandered their wealth, emptying the treasury and sinking most of Great Kang's riches into this mausoleum. If we could dig a passage inside and steal all its treasures, we'd be carrying out Heaven's justice."
Hu