With a few 'sizzling' sounds, the stone door slowly opened, revealing a mysterious corner.
At first glance, it is an endless depth and tranquility. If you listen carefully, you can faintly hear the wind rushing freely in the cave, constantly colliding with the stone walls, much like a woman humming.
At that moment, it seemed as if even breathing stopped in the crowd, leaving only the sound of dripping water.
Just then, someone coughed, instantly waking everyone up. They slapped their faces and saw goosebumps and cold sweat breaking out.
The leader called three people to scout ahead, and the rest followed behind. Their kayak wasn't paddling very fast, but as the kayak went deeper into the area, strange things began to happen.
"Brother Yang, it seems we're... back again?" The speaker's voice trembled slightly, and upon closer inspection, his eyebrows were already streaked with white from the cold.
Xu Qian raised his flashlight from above his head to underwater. They had been paddling for a full twenty minutes, but it seemed like there was no end in sight.
Ah Xi looked at Brother Yang, who was leading the group, and said, "I'll go down and take a look."
Just as Ah Xi finished speaking and was about to go into the water, Brother Yang stopped him, saying, "Don't move, something's coming from underwater!"
Ripples spread across the calm water, coming from all directions of the kayak, growing louder and louder.
"What is that?!"
The people on the dinghy pulled out their weapons, both firearms and melee weapons, creating a chaotic scene.
"They're here! They're here!"
"Bang--"
Those with short tempers fired directly at the underwater ripples, but they missed and injured eight hundred of their own men. The echoes of the bullets seemed to spin several times in the curtain-like opening, creating a 3D-like sound that hurt people's ears.
"Don't shoot!"
"Are you crazy?!"
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
Just as the kayak rocked due to the argument, cracks suddenly appeared in the water around them, and a flash of white light appeared in their sight—
"Get down!"
"Bang--"
The sword and arrow clashed, producing a clanging sound that was particularly jarring in the curtained cave.
With a forceful movement, Xu Qian deflected the arrow that was aimed at him, then reached out and pushed aside the person who had just been hit by the arrow, shouting, "Get down!"
The man was stunned, but fortunately, his survival instinct was still there, and he quickly bent down and pressed himself against the dinghy.
Soon, the others also came to their senses and quickly picked up their weapons to join the fight.
Time passed, and it was unclear how much time had passed until the last arrow was shot down, at which point the cave returned to calm.
Professor Shen, wearing gloves, swiftly picked up the feathered arrow that had fallen onto the water. This arrow was heavier than ordinary arrows, with a smooth and exquisite shaft. The feathers were made of white eagle feathers and covered with gold powder. The feather veins were delicate and distinct, demonstrating the depth of the craftsmanship. More importantly, the character '曌' was engraved on the arrow.
"Professor Shen, are you alright?" One of the assistants was about to help him up.
“That’s right, it’s the Zhao family. We’ve come to the right place…” Professor Shen didn’t bother to respond to his assistant. Instead, he stared at the arrow in his hand with an almost obsessive look until he gently plucked the eagle feathers that were covered in gold dust.
"Oh no! Watch out!"
The arrow in Professor Shen's hand was flicked into the air by the sword. Suddenly, the white arrow seemed to explode in mid-air, its entire body turning into white dust, and a faint fragrance wafted in the air.
"Quick! Cover your mouth and nose! It's poisonous!" the leader shouted first.
After a while, someone shone a flashlight on the water around them. The water was much darker than before they arrived, and they didn't know how much "material" had been added.
"Brother Yang, there's a door ahead!"
Suddenly, several beams of light appeared before them, illuminating the suddenly appearing stone gate as if it were daytime.
Xu Qian noticed a new "[Youxiang]" debuff under his ID, as did the others in the cave. There was no specific description, but he guessed that this debuff was the reason they could see the stone gate.
This stone gate is slightly different from the ones we saw before. The gate is much smaller, perhaps only half the size of the front. Although the patterns carved on it were also popular during the Great Wei period, the craftsmanship is much rougher, more like... the previous dynasty of Great Wei—Great Feng.
The door had no mechanism, and it opened automatically as soon as their kayak approached, showing great hospitality.
Yang, the leader, threw a flaming stick towards the top of the deep doorway, illuminating the scene inside. At the end of the water was a set of steps, and on top of that was a high round platform resembling a sacrificial altar. On the platform was a half-meter-tall stone eagle, its craftsmanship lifelike, its eyes sharp and fierce. Looking around, the area was perfectly circular, divided into twelve sections, each with a mural.
"Let's go in and take a look—" Professor Shen seemed a little anxious.
Brother Yang led his men ahead first, and only after a while did he wave for the rest of them to follow, being very careful.
Soon, the four kayaks were successfully moored beside the steps. Professor Shen and his men were rushing towards the high platform, but they were stopped by Brother Yang before they had taken two steps.
"Professor, don't rush, let us check first." Yang's tone left no room for refusal. He had received a strict order from the Shen family, and on matters of security, even if Professor Shen himself spoke, it was not permissible.
Xu Qian rubbed his nose, carried his sword, and went up first. Brother Yang turned his head and glanced at him, but didn't stop him. As long as Professor Shen didn't go up first, it was fine.
After walking around the stone railing, Xu Qian was quite certain that this high platform belonged to the Great Feng, a country that had only been around for a short time, less than five years. According to unofficial historical records, the Great Feng revered the white eagle, and everyone from the elderly to children and women was very skilled with arrows and was an expert hunter. Therefore, the eagle was a very sacred creature in their world, and from the perspective of later generations, it would be no exaggeration to say that they worshipped it.
Xu Qian recalled that some unofficial history book had speculated that the Zhao family might be descendants of the Great Feng dynasty. Of course, this was just a speculation, and there was no actual evidence to prove it until today.
But now it seems that it's not entirely impossible.
Although the Great Feng Dynasty is a relatively obscure period of history, this does not apply to these experts. They do not use the term "obscure" in their eyes; they only distinguish between what history has proven and what it has not. The scene before them belongs to the latter.
Several professor assistants were too excited to speak, but Yang, who was leading the group, said he was used to it and didn't even flinch. He just kept an eye on his surroundings and was ready to act immediately if anything changed.
After a cursory tour of the circular platform, Xu Qian then turned to the murals around him. The murals immediately piqued his interest; they recorded the development history of the Great Feng Dynasty, which differed somewhat from the unofficial historical records, but the general outline was correct.
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