The crowd, seeing my bravery, dared not delay and followed closely behind. We arrived at a platform in front of a secret chamber, where we suddenly noticed a huge iron ball in a groove in the center. An expert investigator stepped forward to examine it, took out a magnifying glass, and shone it around like Sherlock Holmes for a while. Suddenly, a look of surprise flashed across his face: "This iron ball doesn't seem to be from this era!"
"What? You mean?"
"Could it be that Du Zhiming caused the mine accident for this reason?" The investigator's reaction made us feel a bit bewildered.
After we asked a few times, he finally came to his senses and revealed a shocking secret to us: "Everyone, there might be treasure here!!"
"Treasure??"
At the time, I thought he had watched too many tomb-raiding movies, but judging by his confident gaze, I felt he wasn't making things up.
Perhaps sensing our skepticism, the investigator explained more earnestly: "This is definitely not just an iron ball; it's a seismograph, albeit a replica. But I can tell it's quite old. It's inscribed with some text, which should be a clue. If we can decipher this clue, we might reach the end of this place, where there should be treasure."
"Are you sure?" I asked curiously.
The investigator chuckled, "Perhaps the killer, sigh, the reason he killed people..."
"Was for treasure! And there was a conflict with the victim?" Zhang Keying cleverly finished his sentence.
The investigator stroked his white beard, his old eyes narrowed into slits, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. "That's right. It seems the killer knew the secret here! This is a bit troublesome. He might have already taken the treasure and fled."
"Then we need to hurry. At least we need to find traces of his escape," Liu Yuning said sternly, drawing her gun.
A few minutes later, we continued forward. Along the way, the expert told us that the text on it seemed to be a poem, roughly as follows: "Dragon and tiger leap over the mountain stream, remove the center, white gold leaps by the sheep, resplendent and magnificent, roads crisscross, within the heart, monkeys leap left and right, unshakeable, crossing a thousand mountains, winding within, the gold of the Central Plains is like a peck of rice, hidden deeply."
Yuning, Keying, and I recited it together, feeling that this poem definitely held some mystery, but we couldn't figure it out for the moment.
It seemed we had to find Qian Zhiqiang's body first. So we delved deeper, but encountered a fork in the road. The police officers wanted to continue, but were stopped by the expert. We all gathered around him.
"Now we begin to decode. I believe the poem is a cipher to guide us to the treasure. What do you think, Team Leader He?"
"That's right, Ziming. Thank you for helping us this time."
"It's nothing. I've been an expert for so many years, and this is the first time I've encountered such an interesting ruin. It's quite intriguing. Even if Director Zhang hadn't asked me to come, I would have volunteered."
"Good then. So, 'Dragon and tiger leap over the mountain stream, remove the center, white gold leaps by the sheep.' What do you think this phrase means?"
Zhen Ziming (the old expert) rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. Zhang Keying and Liu Yuning joined in simultaneously.
After a while, I said, "Dragon and tiger, the twelve zodiac animals? White gold leaps by the sheep, remove the center, isn't that just 'by the sheep'?"
Zhen Ziming looked at me with admiration. "Precisely. If it's the twelve zodiac animals, I can connect it to the directions: southeast by east (Chen Dragon); northwest by west (Xu Dog); northeast by north (Chou Ox); southwest by south (Wei Sheep). Chen, Xu, Chou, Wei form the 'Four Vaults.' They should be opened by an opposing force. Northeast by east (Yin Tiger); southwest by west (Shen Monkey); southeast by south (Si Snake)... In other words, southeast and northeast. But why 'leap over the mountain stream'?"
We pondered further with furrowed brows. Suddenly, Zhang Keying offered her opinion: "Could it be that we choose one of the two?"
"That would be troublesome. If we combine it with the next sentence, the sheep is southwest by south. By elimination, it should be the south. Doesn't this say 'by the sheep'?" I analyzed and said.
Zhen Ziming was very excited. He patted my shoulder. "Exactly! Detective He, everyone says your deductive skills are excellent, and it seems the old man has had the honor of witnessing it today. Let's go! Let's quickly look for traces of the real killer!"
I nodded politely and followed closely. Soon, we entered the southern passage, and it turned out to be correct, for we saw a resplendent wall ahead, as well as a galloping mine. On the ground, there were some traces. In the mud, we found a bullet. As I picked it up, Zhang Keying said, "This is a sniper rifle bullet?"
"The killer's identity might be more complex than we imagined. This bullet head still has bloodstains. It probably wasn't fired long ago, but there's no body nearby. It seems the bullet didn't hit Qian Zhiqiang's vital spot."
"That's right, he continued to advance with his wounds!" I sprayed some yellow wine, and sure enough, a blood trail spread out. Theoretically, we could have followed this blood trail without guessing. However, after a few steps, the blood trail was covered by thick mud.
At that moment, I didn't know why, but Zhen Ziming said, "It seems like sand and stones are constantly falling from the ceiling. Haven't you noticed? It's not much, but over time, the ground will be re-covered."
"Indeed, a very strange phenomenon. It's my first time encountering it," Liu Yuning said.
I glanced at her, urging her to continue following us. Then, we encountered another fork in the road. This time, we began to study the meaning of the line: "Within the heart, monkeys leap left and right, unshakeable."
"Southwest by west (Shen Monkey), but there doesn't seem to be a road to the west here. Is this place a wall?" Liu Yuning observed.
I was about to say the same thing. At this moment, everyone came to the wall and felt around. The SWAT officers shone their flashlights everywhere. Someone suddenly shouted, and soon we discovered tiny cracks on the wall. I cautiously peered inside, and was almost startled again. Inside, there were pairs of eyes!!!
We had already brought the eyes from the village house back. It was estimated that Xie Chuchu and Xiao Dong were still confirming their identities. Coupled with these eyes we found now, this is too terrifying. It seems the victims far exceed our imagination.
I stepped back a few paces. When others discovered the eyes in the cracks, they also gasped. Those eyes were like pearls embedded deep within, but they were constantly shifting. No matter where you moved, they seemed to be watching you, making you feel completely exposed.