After being anesthetized, Miao Xiaoxian was in a daze. It took her a while to remember why she wanted to see me: "You have to come with me. I'll take you to the camp at Ping'an Village!"

"No rush, you're in a bad state right now, rest a bit more."

I gently pressed Miao Xiaoxian's wrist and asked her, "When you were attacked this morning, did you see what those people looked like?"

"There were about five or six of them, all dressed in black, wearing strange hats, and their faces were covered with triangular scarves, so I couldn't see their faces."

Miao Xiaoxian shook her head: "I was hiding in the bushes at the time, and there was also powder scattered around to interfere with the sense of smell. I don't know why they were still able to find me."

I suddenly realized: "The helmets they're wearing must have thermal imaging capabilities, so they must be a very professional team."

Miao Xiaoxian didn't understand what I meant by thermal imaging, and murmured, "I thought the poisonous miasma last night would be enough to drive away those people in Qingyun Town, but I didn't expect they still had the strength to climb the mountain."

"Those who are capable of finding the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace are not ordinary people. They must have been the first to discover the clues last night. It's normal that some escaped the net."

I pondered their motives: "They chose to enter the mountains so early in the morning because they probably realized that the poisonous miasma last night was likely man-made. They mistakenly believed that someone had discovered some secret and wanted to speed things up, so they went into the mountains to investigate. Those people probably thought you were a lookout sent out by the gang in the mountains."

"That's good news."

After listening to my analysis, Miao Xiaoxian nodded thoughtfully: "If all these people are attracted to the mountains, then no one will pay attention to Qingyun Town. This will reduce a lot of trouble when you enter the Temple of the Fierce God later."

When I heard Miao Xiaoxian say that, I continued the conversation: "I remember you told me before that the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace is located at the foot of Qingyun Town, but according to the information I have so far, there doesn't seem to be any large tombs or underground temples in Qingyun Town. Are you sure this information is reliable?"

Miao Xiaoxian responded, "The news that Miao Jiang Immortal Palace is located at the foot of Qingyun Town was said by the clan chief himself. He has no reason to lie to us."

I lit a cigarette: "Is it possible that the clan leader noticed something was wrong with you, so he deliberately used you to spread false information to mislead us?"

“You can’t look at Ping’an Village with outsider thinking! Here, the clan chief’s will is the law! If he knew I had a problem, there was no need for him to test me. He could have dealt with me according to the clan rules with just one word.”

Miao Xiaoxian thought for a moment and continued, "I don't think the clan leader is telling false information. The Hall of the Ferocious God must be in Qingyun Town. As for how to find it, that's your problem! Its existence is the biggest secret of Ping'an Village. The clan leader can tell you on his own initiative, but I can't take the initiative to probe it."

Seeing how certain Miao Xiaoxian was of this statement, I exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "In that case, I'll keep looking. The most important thing right now is to get the bull's head! You rest here for a while, and I'll go prepare some food for you. After you've had lunch, we'll set off for the camp at Ping'an Village!"

I met with Miao Xiaoxian, and then left the tent to cook self-heating rice outside.

I had just finished adding water when Xue Dong rushed over: "Mr. Duan, what about Qingyun Town..."

Upon hearing the words "Qingyun Town," I excitedly stood up: "You've discovered something?"

Xue Dong's chest heaved: "Something's happened in Qingyun Town."

My brow furrowed instantly: "What's going on?"

"I just received a call; they encountered an accident during their exploration."

Xue Dong picked up my water bottle, took two big gulps of water, and said breathlessly, "I just got a call. When the exploration team was using the drilling rig, someone suddenly fainted. At first, everyone thought the person had heatstroke and went to help. But then they smelled a stench. Within minutes, someone was having convulsions and vomiting violently. But Monkey is fine. He went there as the commander and didn't appear at the scene."

I frowned: "Poisonous gas is coming out from underground?"

Xue Dong nodded: "Our people are carrying portable gas detectors, and they've preliminarily determined that the gas emanating from underground is H2S, or hydrogen sulfide, a highly toxic inorganic compound gas..."

“You don’t need to explain, I know! Hydrogen sulfide only produces a smell at low concentrations. Once the concentration is too high, it will numb the olfactory nerves, making people unable to smell it. Since we can smell the gas, it means that the concentration is still within a controllable range.”

After explaining my analysis, I asked Xue Dong, "Should we send a doctor over?"

"The construction team has already sent the injured to the county town for emergency treatment! However, after this incident, everyone else was also frightened. Although they have been given gas masks, everyone's attitude is rather negative."

Xue Dong paused for a moment: "I came to you to ask if we need to continue digging. These people were sent by Jintu Mining. If we want them to continue working, I have to contact Jintu Mining."

"We definitely have to keep going! We're exploring Qingyun Town in order to find the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace. The presence of poisonous gas underground means we might have unearthed some kind of mechanism."

After hearing Xue Dong's purpose, I took out my satellite phone and dialed Monkey's number: "I heard there's been a problem in Qingyun Town?"

"Yes, a gas suddenly appeared underground. The test result was hydrogen sulfide. This stuff will form an explosive mixture once it comes into contact with air. It will explode when it comes into contact with open flames and high heat. The survey team all felt that the risk was too great. I just personally put on a gas mask and blocked the trench, but the hydrogen sulfide content in the surrounding air is still too high."

The monkey was somewhat relieved: "Luckily, the people of Qingyun Town were evacuated in advance. Otherwise, once these gases spread, they would definitely cause a huge commotion, and it would be impossible to hide them."

I didn't discuss this with the monkey, but instead asked, "Have you examined the soil that was dug up?"

“I was just about to tell you this. The soil here is indeed a bit special, but it’s not the soil from the ancient tomb. It contains coal. I learned during my training in Fengmen Village that sulfur-containing organic compounds in coal break down sulfur-containing heterocycles under heat to form hydrogen sulfide, also known as cracked hydrogen sulfide. I suspect that this is how these gases are produced.”

After explaining his analysis, the monkey added, "The presence of coal here indicates that the soil has never been disturbed. In my experience, there is absolutely no way there could be anything beneath the ground of Ping'an Town."