Nine Tombs, Dragon's Fang

Chen Ye, a graduate student in archaeology in Zhengzhou, joins forces with Su Qinghuan, a Palace Museum restoration specialist, and Lao Jiu, a tomb raider, after discovering half of a “Dragon-Biting Diagram.” Together, they are drawn into a thousand-year-old secret surrounding King Wu Ding of Shang’s grand “Nine Dragons Biting the Pearl” formation. From the Soul-Hanging Staircase in the Black Tortoise Tomb at Xishan, Zhengzhou, to the living terracotta warriors in the Azure Dragon Tomb of Funiu Mountain, and the shamanic jade trap in the White Tiger Tomb at Yin Ruins, the trio overcome thunder-pattern mechanisms and corpse miasma, gradually uncovering the truth: the nine dragon-suppressing tombs were built to seal away the remnants of Taotie’s soul. Chen Ye’s “bone-piercing eyes” and Su Qinghuan’s silver-inlaid rubbing technique pit them against Zhou Mo, leader of the Black Bird Society and an obsessive seeker of immortality, and Granny Tang, who uses poison magic to exact revenge. When the secrets of Chen Ye’s grandfather’s remains and Taotie’s tomb come to light, they reinforce the seal with the Dragon-Biting Diagram, giving up their own desires to protect the dragon veins. From the redemption of a family of tomb raiders to their transformation into guardians of cultural relics, this tale of hidden treasures in the Central Plains unfolds amid historical mysteries and struggles of human nature, showing that “protection means more than plunder.”