Chapter 182: The Secret Passage
Ji Zhongqin looked in the direction Nan San pointed, and saw a sea of charred ruins, making it difficult to recognize their original appearance.
"Have you recognized it?" Ji Zhongqin asked back playfully, as if if Nan San hesitated for a moment, he would kill him on the spot.
Nan San nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Excellency, I am sure that Ban's mother has separated a small courtyard in the backyard. If you look carefully, those are collapsed walls." Nan San bent down with a careful and ingratiating smile on his face.
Ji Zhongqin nodded slightly and glanced at Deng Wenyan. Deng Wenyan immediately took Changquan and several trusted yamen runners to clean up the rubble and ashes in the area.
The air was filled with a pungent burnt smell and a vague, unsettling odor of decay.
The yamen runners moved cautiously, their shovels and pickaxes making dull noises as they collided with burnt wood and fallen bricks.
The crowd of onlookers fell silent, everyone subconsciously held their breath, their eyes focused on the open space that was gradually being cleared.
General Qiu's face seemed to be getting darker, like the sky before the summer sun comes, so gloomy that it makes it hard to breathe.
The eyes of the soldiers under his command unconsciously drifted towards the ruins that were being excavated. The atmosphere was so solemn that it seemed as if water could be squeezed out of it.
Pan He and Jinluo hid in the shadow of an old tree not far away that was not affected by the fire. Li Baisong followed closely behind them, holding his breath and concentrating.
With a playful smile on her lips, Jinluo whispered, "Tsk, it seems there really is something shady going on down there. Old He, your disciple's ability to stir up trouble is no less than yours back then."
Li Baisong looked at Pan He in surprise. Pan He frowned slightly, ignored Jinluo's teasing, and stared intently at the movement in front of him.
Jinluo also glanced at Pan He and then looked away and continued to look forward.
"Sir! Found it!" A yamen runner suddenly shouted loudly. After he cleared away a large piece of burnt-down beam, he revealed a stone slab underneath that was obviously different from the surrounding ground and had a tiny crack on the edge.
Ji Zhongqin cheered up and stepped forward quickly.
"Master Ji, be careful." Deng Wenyan followed Ji Zhongqin quickly and ordered the yamen runners to carefully remove the debris around the stone slab.
Nan San was brought closer. Seeing the stone slab, he lowered his head, a complex expression crossing his face: fear mixed with a subtle excitement hidden in his eyes. He nodded repeatedly, "Yes, it's right here. That night, I saw Ban's mother touch this very spot, and the stone slab moved away."
Ji Zhongqin observed carefully and found traces of smoke and fire on the surface of the stone slab, but there was a slightly smooth spot in the middle, as if it was often touched.
Ji Zhongqin ordered, "Open it."
Two burly yamen runners stepped forward and pushed hard, but the stone slab did not move at all. They then tried to pry the edge, but it still did not budge.
"It's not a hard push, it seems there is a mechanism?" Deng Wenyan squatted down, used his fingers to carefully brush away the ashes on the edge of the stone slab, and felt around carefully. Changquan held his breath and concentrated on protecting Deng Wenyan, not daring to relax at all.
Time passed little by little, and General Qiu seemed a little impatient. He said, "Master Ji, Master Deng, why bother with so much trouble? Just smash it open..."
Before he finished speaking, there was a slight "click" sound, and the place where Deng Wenyan's finger pressed sank slightly.
Immediately afterwards, a dull "rustling" sound was heard, and the heavy stone slab slowly slid to one side, revealing a dark hole that was only wide enough for one person to pass through.
A cold and damp wind, mixed with dust and some indescribable fishy smell, immediately rushed out of the black hole, making people's hair stand on end.
Below the cave entrance, the darkness was bottomless, like the open mouth of a giant beast.
"Master, be careful." Changquan immediately pulled Deng Wenyan back, while Deng Wenyan immediately blocked Ji Zhongqin, "Master Ji, be careful."
The faces of the yamen runners and soldiers showed expressions of surprise and uncertainty.
Ji Zhongqin's face was as gloomy as water, and he brushed Deng Wenyan away. "What kind of demons and monsters are there? I am not afraid of them!"
"Bring me a torch!" Ji Zhongqin raised his hand.
Deng Wenyan took the torch and walked forward to the cave entrance to light the way for Ji Zhongqin.
Ji Zhongqin gave Deng Wenyan another look of appreciation, and looked at the bottomless black hole in the light of the fire.
The flickering flames barely illuminated a few rough stone steps at the entrance. Further down, there was a thick, impenetrable black fog that seemed to swallow up all light.
"Sir Ji, I will take people down to investigate." Deng Wenyan said.
"Light the torch," Ji Zhongqin said in an unquestionable voice, "I will go down in person."
"Sir, wait a minute!" Lieutenant Qiu hurriedly stopped him. "The situation inside the cave is unclear. There might be an ambush. It's better for me to send soldiers down to explore the way first!"
He couldn't let anyone get hold of anything that might be used against him.
Ji Zhongqin turned around and gave him a sharp look. "General Qiu, do you not trust me, or are you worried that I might discover something?"
General Qiu's breath caught in his throat. "I'm only concerned about your safety!"
"Don't worry about my safety, General Qiu." Ji Zhongqin said coldly, "Sir Deng, General Qiu, you and your men will guard the cave entrance. The rest of you, follow me!"
"Master Ji!" Deng Wenyan and General Qiu spoke at the same time.
Ji Zhongqin had already taken the torch and said to the yamen runner who was escorting Nan San, "Let him go in front."
Nan San's legs went limp and he almost collapsed to the ground. "Sir! Sir, please spare my life! There might be... there might be..."
"Since you know the secret passage, you must also know what's inside. Lead the way, and I'll give you a chance to atone for your sins; if you retreat, you'll be killed right here." Ji Zhongqin's calm voice was filled with cold murderous intent.
"Master Ji." Deng Wenyan stopped him. "You can't make any mistakes. I'd better leave."
Ji Zhongqin patted Deng Wenyan on the shoulder and said, "I have made up my mind, Deng Wenyan, I command you!"
Deng Wenyan had no choice but to step aside. "Master Ji, please be careful. Changquan, you stay by Master Ji's side and make sure you protect him well."
Changquan was worried about Deng Wenyan's comfort and had to listen to Deng Wenyan's arrangements, "Yes, Master."
"Master Ji, Changquan is my personal bodyguard and knows some martial arts."
Ji Zhongqin looked at Deng Wenyan deeply and nodded, "Then tell him to follow."
Military Officer Qiu also immediately waved his hand and told his men to follow, "Protect Lord Ji well. If anything goes wrong, bring your head to me!"
"Yes, join the army!" The soldier's answer was deafening.
Nan San was ultimately unable to escape the fate of being the guide. He was so frightened that he dared not say a word. He was carried by two yamen runners and stepped tremblingly onto the first stone step.
Ji Zhongqin followed closely behind, the firelight stretching his figure into the bottomless darkness.
Several elite yamen runners entered one after another, holding torches and swords.
General Qiu stood in place, his fists clenched, staring at the hole that swallowed Ji Zhongqin's figure, his eyes unpredictable.
He suddenly winked at his deputy general, who understood, quietly stepped back a few steps, and whispered something to a group of personal soldiers.
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