The car drove for nearly two hours in the mountains.
Finally, they arrived at the hinterland of the Dabie Mountains, outside a huge, narrow natural canyon.
"This is Shanxia Town. Look at the two canyons on the left and right. Don't they look like two great dragons?" Huang Jian pointed to the entrance of Shanxia Town and asked.
"There are mountain dragons on both sides, with dragon energy for every hundred paces. Dragon gods in the mountains do not descend to the water, and dragon gods in the water do not ascend the mountains." Li Zhonglou surveyed the magnificent scenery, marveling, "What a great place!"
He had no expertise in Feng Shui, which was due to his master's teachings.
Lin Zhendong studied Plum Blossom Divination and the Great Way of Heaven and Earth, and always disdained the minor art of Feng Shui. Naturally, he would not let Li Zhonglou get involved.
However, in his past life, he had encountered countless extraordinary individuals, including those who were proficient in Yang Gong's Feng Shui Heavenly Secret.
He had once shown him a Feng Shui example called "Zheng Shen Ling Shen" from a picture.
It was precisely the case of two canyons enclosing a clear pool by the roadside at the foot of the mountains, situated in the "Ling Shen" position.
According to Yang Gong Feng Shui, regardless of the width of the water surface or the length of the source, as long as it was not filled in and remained low, it could be considered an auspicious and fortunate place.
This location perfectly met this Feng Shui requirement.
No wonder Huang Jian brought them to Shanxia Town instead of his cousin Tian Lingli's place.
Such a place should be rich with noble tombs.
As the car drove into the canyon, it opened up to a breathtaking view.
Below was a steep drop, and beyond that, a village with an ancient style, red bricks, and black tiles, appeared before them.
It was laid out in a well-organized and orderly manner.
From a distance, it exuded a sense of ancient and profound history. There wasn't a single modern villa to disrupt the harmony.
It was unclear whether the residents were unwilling to build there, or if everyone tacitly agreed not to spoil this harmonious scenery.
Outside the village were terraced fields. There were no crops in them this season, making them look bare.
But it didn't give a feeling of desolation and indifference.
Instead, a snow-capped peak in the distance, faintly visible, resembled a heavenly sanctuary, inspiring awe.
"Wow, it's so beautiful! I didn't even know my hometown had such a nice place!" Tian Lingli exclaimed, recording a video with her phone.
She planned to show her hometown to her livestream audience after they left.
She had never imagined that within the boundaries of her hometown county, she could see canyons, snow-capped mountains, and ancient villages.
Compared to the overwhelming promotions of commercialized tourist attractions outside, this naturally formed scenic beauty, without any embellishment, appeared incredibly precious.
"This road hasn't been open for long, only about two or three years. It's normal that you haven't been here since you've been away." Huang Jian explained, "Everyone is busy making money now. Forget about you, how many people in the county would bother coming to such a place?"
"Shanxia Town is very unique; there aren't even two shops. It's said that the government originally planned to develop this into a tourist attraction."
"But for some reason, they later gave up."
The car slowly descended the slope and drove into the town.
The old houses along the main road had been converted into shops. After all, this was a society driven by economics, and it was unrealistic to expect everything to remain untouched.
However, except for a barbershop and a grocery store that were still open, all the other shops were tightly shut.
Only a few elderly people, bundled in cotton coats, were sitting outside chatting.
The place was sparsely populated.
Seeing their car arrive and stop to chat, they all looked into the car with curiosity.
"This place, I heard they opened something called 'Huang Shen' (Yellow God), but they can't make money, so the young people don't want to stay here. It's mostly left-behind elderly people," Huang Jian sighed, seemingly regretting that such a beautiful place had no visitors.
Li Zhonglou replied with a smile, "It's only natural. The Feng Shui here is of the highest quality for Yin earth, benefiting the deceased."
"Living people here, of course, will find themselves in dire straits. Except for the elderly who need the earth's energy in their twilight years, it would be strange for young people to be able to stay here."
"And precisely because there are no young people, information is not developed, and there's a possibility that good things are left behind."
"Check if your phones still have a signal?"
At his question, Zhou Yacheng immediately took out his phone. Before he and Tian Lingli could answer, Huang Jian said, "Don't bother checking. There's no signal. Once you enter that canyon, the signal is cut off."
"Even China Mobile can't make a call here, and the internet can't be brought in. It's already a miracle that there's electricity."
Creak!
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Zhonglou hit the brakes and stopped by the roadside.
"What's wrong? Brother..." Zhou Yacheng leaned over and asked.
"Wait in the car. Huang Jian and I will go down and take a look." Li Zhonglou gave Huang Jian a meaningful look, indicating that he had spotted something good.
The latter immediately became excited and opened the car door.
The two of them, under the gaze of the elderly people, walked towards a closed shop.
On a concrete drainage ditch, a slab of blue stone was placed.
It was covered with slippery green moss.
Next to the bluestone slab, a dark stone sculpture of a small lion was also placed.
"You're not interested in this, are you? It doesn't look very old." Huang Jian touched the small lion and shook his head, saying, "Although people don't come here often, it shouldn't be placed by the roadside."
"It's this," Li Zhonglou pointed at the small stone lion but gently tapped the bluestone slab with his toe, a smile appearing on his lips.
He hadn't seen it clearly from the car. Now, looking closely from down here, he had a good idea.
Beneath the green moss on the stone slab, many carvings were hidden. They had been eroded by wind and frost for many years, making them indistinct.
But in Li Zhonglou's eyes, it was a rare treasure.
Who said that an appraisal competition must involve valuable items? Any item with age, origin, or significance would suffice.
"You're a local. Help me ask if this stone lion is for sale?" Li Zhonglou retracted his foot and said softly.
Huang Jian gave a knowing expression, got out of the car, and shouted to the elderly people in the local dialect, "Uncle and Auntie, is anyone home at your place?"
"What is it?" An old man, looking seventy or eighty years old, rolled up his sleeves and got up to ask.
"Is this small stone lion at your door for sale?" Huang Jian continued to ask.
With this shout, several elderly people curiously stood up and followed.
"You want to buy this lion? My son made it. He's not home, so I don't know..." The old man's cloudy eyes shifted, and he walked over pretending to be casual.
Huang Jian immediately took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket and handed them out one by one, "We just think this thing is nice and looks old, so we want to buy it."
"How much do you think is reasonable? We're all neighbors. Please do us a favor."
The old men and women accepted the cigarettes, and their faces broke into smiles.
It seemed that because Huang Jian had the local accent, their guard lowered considerably.
After thinking for a moment, the old man held out a hand, "Five hundred yuan. If you want it, I'll sell it to you."
In fact, the old man had carried that small stone lion back himself. He had only spent less than two hundred yuan at the stone quarry.
It wasn't a good thing at all. He was happy that someone actually wanted to buy it.
"Oh, Uncle, you're ripping us off! Five hundred for this? I could buy two for five hundred yuan." Huang Jian glanced at Li Zhonglou, then put on a look of disdain and shouted, "Forget it, forget it. Let's go."
Saying that, he was about to pull Li Zhonglou back into the car.
"Then... how much do you want then..." The old man panicked at this display.
Li Zhonglou chuckled inwardly. He had found his mark.