Chapter 21 Is there groundwater in the mountain cave? Arrange for explosives to blast it open!

Xiao Qidi pondered for a moment, "If Miss Ning doesn't mind, I'd like to take it to the old village chief of Linxian Village. Perhaps he can see the clues."

Ning Jinli waved her hand, "I don't mind, I don't mind, you should go now."

"I'll take my leave now. Please accept these items, Miss Ning, so as not to disappoint the people's good intentions."

"Okay."

...

The night was deep, and the bright moon hung high in the sky.

Inside the tent of the Grand General of the Yu Kingdom.

Zhou Daikui and the others who had defected from Linxian Village knelt in a row on the ground, each with a gleaming dagger held against the back of their necks.

Some people were trembling with fear, and some even wet their pants in terror.

Even Zhou Daikui turned pale and broke out in a cold sweat.

He forced himself to remain calm and kowtowed to the burly man sitting behind the table, who was eating meat with gusto. "This humble subject pays respects to General Bayong."

The other dozen or so accomplices immediately followed suit, bending over and kowtowing repeatedly, chanting the same words.

Ba Yong slammed the meat in his hand onto the table. "What's all the noise about? Can't you see I'm eating? Are you looking for death?"

Zhou Daikui quickly shut his mouth.

But his accomplices quickly cried out, "General, spare our lives!"

A fierce glint appeared in Bayon's eyes, and he made a throat-slitting gesture.

Inside the tent, the Yu soldiers began to act, grabbing the people kneeling on the ground by the hair and pulling them backward, then slowly slitting their throats with knives.

The sounds of pffting and squelching rang out one after another.

Before Zhou Daikui could react, seven or eight of his accomplices were bled dry by Yu Guobing like chickens being slaughtered.

This method of killing is far more cruel than killing a chicken.

Killing a chicken is at least a quick and painless act, but they slowly slit its throat...

A sharp pain in his neck brought Zhou Daikui back to his senses. He shouted desperately, "General Ba! I have important intelligence about Linxian Village! Please let me finish before you kill me!"

Bayon licked the oil off his fingers, signaling to stop.

Zhou Daikui was drenched in sweat. In just a short while, only he and his four accomplices were left alive.

The remaining ten people had already fallen into pools of blood.

Bayon took a deep breath, seemingly enjoying the stench of blood filling the tent. "I'll count to three, and you'd better hurry up and tell me."

"one."

"General Ba, the village has water and food! It was provided by a fairy who descended from heaven!"

Bayon gave him a look as if he were an idiot, skipped two, and said directly, "Three."

Zhou Daikui hurriedly tore open the bundle, spilling the bottled water and canned goods all over the ground. "General! Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

"Hmm?" Bayon's eyes widened. "Let me see it."

One of his officers picked up the item, looked at it with suspicion, and handed it over to Bayon.

These peculiar bottles filled with water, and the metal boxes that, when opened, revealed chunks of meat, were truly unlike anything I had ever seen before, and certainly not ordinary objects.

After thinking for a moment, Ba Yong asked Zhou Daikui to explain in detail.

After hearing this, his face turned extremely gloomy.

They thought they could besiege and kill the tens of thousands of people gathered in Linxian Village in just a few days, but unexpectedly, such a bizarre thing happened.

He slammed his hand on the table and roared, "Pass down the order: attack Linxian Village immediately!"

"General, you mustn't!" Zhou Daikui hurriedly dissuaded him, "Linxian Village has already built city walls. Although they are only two zhang high earthen and stone walls, they are easy to defend and difficult to attack!"

"This humble subject believes that the general will surely be able to raze Linxian Village to the ground, but it would be too much of a loss of troops!"

"I have a plan, please consider it, General!"

Bayon seemed interested and urged him to continue.

Zhou Daikui quickly presented the map.

"General, please look, these places are all walled. If we launch a direct attack, it will definitely be detrimental to your troops."

He then pointed to the north side of Linxian Village on the map, "But if you send people here, they can sneak into Linxian Village undetected and wreak havoc! At the same time, they can attack from the outside, creating a coordinated attack from within!"

Bayong angrily retorted, "The north side is a formidable mountain pass; how can we possibly proceed?"

Zhou Daikui wiped away his cold sweat. "General, you may not know this, but there's a hidden cave beneath this place. Normally it's filled with groundwater, making it extremely dangerous, but during droughts, it's passable. Especially this year, with the unprecedented drought, the cave is completely dry; it wouldn't be difficult for tens of thousands of people to pass through!"

Bayon stared wide-eyed. "Are you sure?"

Zhou Daikui said, "I got this secret from a paralyzed old hunter in Linxian Village. He was the only one in the village who knew it, and I have already killed his whole family. In addition, I and my companions escaped from Linxian Village through the cave."

After thinking it over carefully, Ba Yong ordered, "First, send a hundred men to escort these people to verify whether the cave is real. If it is, I will arrange for soldiers to sneak in and launch a surprise attack; if there is any falsehood, we will skin them alive, dismember them, and boil them to eat."

Zhou Daikui, brimming with confidence, kowtowed heavily, saying, "If this humble subject has uttered even the slightest falsehood, I am willing to be torn to pieces by you!"

Immediately, he and the other four survivors were taken away to the north cave.

Meanwhile, the old village chief of Linxian Village had already identified all the contents on the animal skin.

"Your Majesty, this is a record left by a local official a hundred years ago. Although it is not a treasure map, it contains something more important than any treasure..."

What is it?

"It's water!" The old village chief's withered body trembled uncontrollably. "So there's a vast cave system at the foot of the mountain north of Linxian Village, containing a large amount of groundwater!"

Xiao Qidi's eyes lit up. "So, if we just bring out the groundwater, wouldn't that solve the drought problem?"

This area has long suffered from water shortages.

A minor drought every year, a major drought every three years.

This year, in particular, we have encountered a severe drought, and it is unknown when it will end.

Although Ning Jinli provides water, it is barely enough for the basic survival of the people. If they want to cultivate the land, irrigate the fields, raise livestock, and enable the people to live and work in peace and contentment in the future, relying solely on her water supply will be far from sufficient.

Unexpectedly, the solution was hidden in the mountains nearby!

"That's what the official thought, but alas..." The old village chief sighed, his spirits immediately dampened.

"The records say that during severe droughts, groundwater levels drop below the caves. The cave floor, though thin, is made of rock harder than iron. The official spent his entire life studying it, trying countless methods, but he could not break through it..."

"He died in despair, and before his death he wrote this record, and finally sighed that... I'm afraid only a god could have done it."

The old village chief paused, his cloudy eyes suddenly gleaming, "A deity! Your Majesty, we have Fairy Jinli!"

"I'll go ask her for help right away!" Xiao Qidi turned and strode away.

The old village chief, trembling, knelt down and kowtowed towards the direction of the Immortal Cave, praying devoutly...

...

When Xiao Qidi arrived at the small warehouse through the time tunnel, Ning Jinli had just returned from outside, holding a brand new, unopened mobile phone.

She realized that having a walkie-talkie alone was not enough.

There were guards stationed inside the cave at all times, so she could contact them at any time.

But she can't stay in the warehouse all the time, especially after the factory starts operating, she'll definitely be busier. If she's out and Xiao Qidi has an emergency, he won't be able to find her.

So she bought a cell phone and planned to leave it here for Xiao Qidi to use.

Before this matter could be discussed, Xiao Qidi spoke first.

I told her about the groundwater and asked her if she had any ideas.

“Miss Ning, as long as we can bring out the groundwater, I believe that the land that was once neglected by the court will surely become a prosperous place.”

"I will lead my soldiers to do everything in my power to protect the homeland of the local people. If I am to meet with misfortune, I ask Miss Ning to continue to help the people in the future."

"Xiao Qidi expresses his gratitude."

He said these words as if he had a premonition that something bad was going to happen to him.

Ning Jinli instantly recalled the secret history she had learned from Old Zheng, and her heart suddenly clenched with pain.

"Pah! Pah! Pah!" She snapped, angrily poking his lips. "Don't talk nonsense! With me here, I'll never let anything happen to you! Don't say such unlucky things to me again!"

Xiao Qidi: ...

Why did she react so strongly?

"You want to break through the cave floor, right? Let me think." Ning Jinli frowned, pondering seriously, various methods flashing through her mind.

Xiao Qidi lowered his eyes and looked at her quietly.

"Got it! Let's do it right the first time!" Ning Jinli snapped her fingers. "Let's set up a massive explosion and blow it up! We can even blast up the mountain, I don't believe the groundwater won't come out!"

"Explosion? Blow up?"

Xiao Qidi had no idea what this meant.

But it sounds pretty impressive.

Ning Jinli said confidently, "Just wait for my good news."

Xiao Qidi was relieved and took his leave.

Immediately afterwards, Ning Jinli made a phone call to Third Master Wu.

Master Wu has been dealing in antiques for many years and has a wide network of connections. She thought that she might be able to ask him for help with the demolition.

"Third Master, do you have time to come over?"

"I'm free! I told you, Miss Ning, I'm available 24/7. I was just about to call you. I've arranged for professional movers to come and take that golden nanmu ebony piece!"

"Okay, then come quickly."

Less than an hour later, Master Wu arrived at the factory with dozens of men and a large truck.

That unparalleled piece of golden nanmu ebony was truly precious, and he had made exceptionally thorough preparations for it.

After loading this big treasure into the car.

Ning Jinli told him that she had some antiques and asked him to take a look.

"Another one?" Wu Sanye exclaimed happily, blurting out teasingly, "Miss Ning, do treasures just magically appear out of you?"

Ning Jinli: ...

Seeing the strange look on her face, Third Master Wu quickly slapped his mouth.

He smiled politely and said, "Don't worry, I'll only help you with your business. I definitely won't ask any more questions I shouldn't have!"

"Come with me." Ning Jinli led him to another large warehouse.

Master Wu thought to himself, "Miss Ning said she has some antiques this time, so there must be more than one."

What could it be?

Two or three jade artifacts or antique collectibles?

I'm really looking forward to it...

When Ning Jinli opened the warehouse door, Third Master Wu was stunned for a moment, then his pupils dilated in shock, and he blurted out a loud "Holy crap!?"