The Magnificent Son-in-law

Pushing aside the wild grass in front, Xiao Feng and his group of four walked in the direction the driver pointed.

Soon, a large hole with a diameter of about one meter came into view.

Xiao Feng glanced towards the direction of the teaching building. If he remembered correctly, the place directly facing the hole was the spot where Old Master Jiu arranged his setup last night, less than two hundred meters away in a straight line.

Is this a case of not seeing the giant mountain because a leaf is in the way?

No, to be precise, it's being sightless to the mountain because of a wall.

Old Master Jiu, that old fellow, truly unreliable!

And a crucial thing is, what's buried by Sun Shijie's ancestors, why does it always seem to relate to restrooms?

Two years ago, Xu Chun built a toilet above the entrance to the cavern, and it all fell down together with him inside it.

The room where Old Master Jiu set up last night also appeared to have the layout of a restroom.

"Someone has already had a head start." Zhao Guo'an squatted beside the hole and picked up the hemp rope tightly attached to the wall.

The other end of the rope was tied to a steel bar inserted into the ground a short distance away. The vertical distance from the hole to the bottom was at least ten meters by visual estimation.

Obviously, this sounded redundant, as if the drop were merely two or three meters, there would be no need for rope assistance.

"Old Xiao, what now?" Zhao Guo'an looked towards Xiao Feng.

Xiao Feng took a deep breath and said, "We're already here, let's go down and have a look first."

After speaking, he grabbed the hemp rope with both hands, tugged it to ensure it could support his weight, and decisively jumped into the hole, descending along the slippery and slightly muddy wall.

About halfway down, Xiao Feng sensed a faint rotting smell, similar to the sludge cleared from a sewer, provoking a gagging impulse.

As for the source, it should be that pile of rotten leaves beneath.

"Bang!"

Xiao Feng landed on his feet, avoiding the uncertain pile of fallen leaves, faced with complete darkness.

And darkness often accompanies unknown risks.

"Old Xiao, what's the situation?" Zhao Guo'an shouted down from the edge of the hole.

Xiao Feng ignored him, turned on his phone's flashlight, and cautiously advanced forward.

Since the phone's flashlight illuminated a very limited area and the beam was dispersed rather than focused, Xiao Feng's visibility was similarly restricted.

But it was certain that this underground space extending over ten meters down was definitely not small, at least over two hundred square meters.

"Cough..."

Xiao Feng coughed, and the echo from the walls resonated almost simultaneously, unlike the emptiness of an underground parking lot, indicating that while the space wasn't small, it wasn't that large either.

The next moment, Xiao Feng's gaze froze.

Not far ahead, he saw two massive stone doors, over a zhang tall.

The stone doors were engraved with studs, and two door knockers were positioned at a height only reachable if an adult raised their arms, shaped like a lion with an open mouth, giving an imposing and majestic impression.

However, what caught Xiao Feng's attention wasn't these features, but a broken opening on the lower right corner of the stone door, with neat cuts indicating human machine slicing rather than blasting.

On the ground, Xu Chun squatting beside Zhao Guo'an rolled his eyes and tentatively asked, "Would there be any antiques buried down there?"

Zhao Guo'an chuckled lightly, "Even if there were, what of it? With your legs, could you even go down?"

Xu Chun objected, "You're underestimating me. Back in the day when my legs were good, climbing ladders and working at heights of tens of meters was a piece of cake. Now I might not be that strong, but I still have some of my old skills, so I wouldn't be far off."

"You?" Zhao Guo'an was incredulous.

"Don't believe me? Let's try, let me join you, and I only ask for a sip of soup if you feast," Xu Chun seized the chance to reveal his true intention.

"Forget it, you'd better do your business elsewhere." Zhao Guo'an decisively rejected him.

At this moment, the driver, standing not far away, glanced at the mechanical watch on his wrist.

Mr. Xiao had been down for nearly ten minutes; was he truly bold and skilled, venturing underground without any gear?

But even if bold and skilled, some sort of greeting was customary.

Thinking of this, the driver reminded, "Mr. Xiao has been down for ten minutes and hasn't come up yet. Didn't encounter any special situation, or perhaps he's acting alone?"

Zhao Guo'an responded without hesitation, "Forget about him acting alone; if he faced danger, he'd certainly pull me down with him first."

Just as these words fell, the rope on the ground suddenly trembled and then tightened.

Zhao Guo'an leaned towards the edge of the hole, seeing Xiao Feng skillfully climbing halfway up.

"How's it?" Zhao Guo'an asked curiously, "Discover anything?"

"We'll talk back home," Xiao Feng shook his head, refraining from extensive explanation.

...

Back at the courtyard, Gu Wenhui and Di Xuedong kindly declined the invitation to have lunch together, and left with Xu Chun.

As for Xu Chun, he was filled with regret; he indeed wanted to tag along for fortune, but since they were not interested, there was nothing he could do.

Gathering everyone together, Xiao Feng briefly described the scene he witnessed at the base of the hole.

Sun Shijie's expression instantly turned heavy: "That's the entrance to the cavern; it's unknown when those people went down or whether they took anything."

In truth, without Xiao Feng's previous "technological advancement" argument, Sun Shijie would have firmly believed that even if someone went in, they wouldn't get anything out and might risk their lives.

But now, he was indeed hesitant and dared not speak with absolute confidence.

"Give me three days. After curing these two ladies' injuries, we'll depart immediately." Sun Shijie declared with determination.

At this point, he didn't intend to hold anything back, and planned to bring out his treasured medicines.

Everyone nodded, this time could just be spent preparing some gear.

Considering Xiao Feng's descriptions, Sun Shijie's ancestors' underground construction project wasn't small, and with the expected traps and mechanisms, being more prepared meant being safer.

"In three days, can Strong Mint Candy be developed?" Xiao Feng looked at Zhao Guo'an.

"It's hard to say; I think it might be possible, but if it doesn't work..."

Before finishing, Xiao Feng interrupted impatiently, "To increase your efficiency, I'm planning to give you an assistant."

"Assistant?" Zhao Guo'an asked curiously, "Who?"

"Zhen Jinghan."

Zhao Guo'an: "…..."

Isn't this more like fitting a time bomb onto oneself rather than finding help?