That happened in the last century. After a major earthquake, a curtain cave suddenly appeared under the Tiantan Waterfall in Suicheng. In front of the curtain cave was a broken stone gate that was carved with patterns.
However, due to the rudimentary exploration conditions at the time, coupled with the natural barrier of the waterfall, the trip was delayed.
Until three days ago, the scientific expedition team that Mr. Shen's uncle belonged to decided to explore this curtain cave.
Perhaps because of the shadow of the desert incident, Boss Shen specially recruited a group of people to protect his uncle.
Xu Qian was one of the bodyguards that Boss Shen chose for his uncle.
To repay Fifth Master's favor, Xu Qian had no choice but to ask the company for leave. During this process, Xiao Mai inevitably nagged him a few times, but the leave was eventually approved.
After receiving a week's leave slip, Xu Qian rushed to Sui City overnight, still using his Meitai disguise. However, before going, he reluctantly exchanged 3,000 coins for a disguise, just to make Meitai look taller. There aren't many people as dedicated as him these days.
***
Suicheng, Xiaomin Village.
The village of Xiaomin is currently experiencing a cold snap in early spring. The continuous drizzle has lasted for almost a week, and the crops that have just sprouted in early spring are instantly covered with a layer of ice crystals.
From a distance, Xiaomin Village appears as if shrouded in a hazy veil.
Dampness and coldness are the biggest impressions of everyone who comes here.
Xu Qian pulled his hat down further before walking onto the path leading to the village.
At the village entrance stood a young man wearing a black down jacket and black-rimmed glasses. He saw Xu Qian coming from the other side of the road, hesitated for a second, and finally walked forward.
"You are... Xu Xiaomao?" The boy in front of me was indeed a boy, but he didn't even look like an adult.
Xu Qian nodded.
The young man glanced at him again and said, "Come with me, they are waiting for you."
The young man led Xu Qian to an open space on the right side of the village path. Seven or eight tents of different sizes stood on the high ground, five jeeps were parked around, and several people dressed like the young man were patrolling.
Xu Qian saw a slightly familiar face; he had seen it in the desert before—it belonged to Boss Shen.
Xu Qian was the last to arrive; most of the others arrived at Xiaomin Village with the team.
Among this group of people, Xu Qian unsurprisingly spotted the three people, as well as an 'old friend'—Bai Chuan.
Same taste, same 'disguise'.
Tomorrow morning, the team will send someone down into the curtain cave. After nearly three days of exploration, the expert group has come up with a feasible plan for the curtain cave and is waiting to implement it.
As bodyguards, they didn't need to know too much; they only needed to remember one thing—protect Teacher Shen.
Xu Qian couldn't help but touch his ear. He had heard this sentence at least ten times during this trip, which showed how serious Boss Shen's psychological trauma was.
...
The next morning, while it was still dark, the expedition team set off from the village, dragging a long procession.
It rained the day before, so the roads were slippery and difficult to walk on.
After traveling for nearly three hours, the group finally crossed Hutou Mountain and arrived at Tiantan Waterfall.
A once majestic stone gate sits beneath the waterfall, its weathered rock face bearing witness to its age.
"The machines were all set up yesterday and are ready to be deployed at any time."
"Professor Shen, what do you think...?"
“Then let’s make the arrangements. We’re going down.” The middle-aged man, referred to as ‘Professor Shen’, nodded. He was dark-skinned, thin, and wiry, which fit the image of someone who was always on the go, and was completely different from his nephew.
Twenty people went down first, including two elderly professors and experts, and three assistants. However, they all acted with practiced ease, suggesting they had done this kind of thing quite often.
The twenty people arrived at the entrance of the curtain cave without incident. Looking through the crack in the stone door, they saw that the cave was extremely deep and exuded a chilling aura. It was almost impossible to see the end with the naked eye. All they could see was water overflowing from the ground. They had previously measured the interior with a machine and found that the cave was hundreds of meters deep.
The leader threw the prepared kayak into the water, then gestured to the back, indicating that everyone should get into the water.
After a few splashes, everyone went into the water.
The water inside the cave was icy cold; even through the waterproof suit, you could feel the biting chill.
Xu Qian replenished his own eggshell with a full duration, directly isolating him from 'magical attacks'.
After the four kayaks were launched and stabilized, the people inside breathed on the water and looked around the cave.
The two arms are paved with bluestone slabs, and the bluestone slabs are engraved with the cloud patterns that were popular during the Great Wei period. However, perhaps due to the earthquake, they were severely damaged, and many of them were unrecognizable. This made the accompanying professors quite regretful. Even though they had the machine scanned the area before they came in, it still looked very different to the naked eye.
As the kayak ventured deeper into the cave, the group finally reached the end of the curtain cave. Aside from the stone pillars standing on either side, in the very center of the path was a magnificently carved stone gate, but unfortunately, it was half-submerged by water, and they could only make out the patterns on the upper part.
Upon reaching their destination, the four kayaks were reused to temporarily form a 'road'.
"Axi," the leader called out to those behind him.
Upon hearing the sound, a short man jumped into the water. He moved quickly, and once in the water, he was like a live fish, splashing around for a few moments before disappearing from sight.
About a minute later, the man named Axi resurfaced, nodded to the shore, and said, "The switch is underwater, but I need someone to help me."
Xu Qian looked around, ate a flying fish ball, and said, "I'll go."
The leader was very impressed with Xu Qian, partly because of his age—he looked so young—and partly because of how much Boss Shen cared about him.
Well, there's an opportunity right now, why not take a look?
The moment the leader nodded, Xu Qian turned and jumped into the water, swimming with A Xi to the bottom.
Once underwater, the view was much clearer than I had imagined.
Because Xu Qian took Flying Fish Pills before entering the water, his swimming speed was exceptional. If he hadn't wanted to avoid being exposed, his speed might not have been slower than A Xi's.
The two quickly arrived at the bottom of the cave, where two large lions stood on either side of the stone gate, their faces ferocious and their presence imposing.
Ah Xi led Xu Qian to a stone lion on the right. There was a hidden compartment in the lion's belly, and the two of them had to press it at the same time to open the stone door.
Seeing that Xu Qian nodded, A Xi swam to his left.
[three]
[two]
[one]
The moment the two pressed the switch, the stone door made a moving sound, deep and somewhat jarring, which echoed continuously in the cave.
"The door opened."
Author's Note: The following chapters are all adventures, so read them at your own pace. The anti-piracy measures are quite low.
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