Jian Qinwan was the first to reach Liang Xiao's side, her heart filled with astonishment!
How could his sword move so fast? Fast enough to deflect arrows?
Perhaps due to the passage of time, these arrows were not astonishingly fast, but they were still not something an ordinary person could dodge. Even Jian Qinwan would have to block and retreat swiftly.
He just swung his sword and knocked all the arrows away?
So, was it really my father who defeated the savage assassins on Heavenly Mountain back then?
Jian Qinwan suddenly remembered that her father, Jian Nanfeng, had never mentioned this in his letters to her and Liang Xiao. Nor had Jian Nanfeng mentioned returning to Heavenly Mountain!
As Jian Qinwan was stunned, the massive stone gate rumbled and collapsed, crashing down towards her and Liang Xiao!
"Watch out!"
Ding Wuyi was about to rush over to pull them away, but Liang Xiao had already dropped his shovel, scooped up Jian Qinwan in his arms, and sprinted outside, away from the falling stone.
Rumble!
The massive stone gate slammed heavily onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust!
Jian Qinwan stared blankly at Liang Xiao, so shocked that she even forgot to resist his advances.
His reaction speed was also very good?
He…
Jian Qinwan's heart fluttered wildly, her mind almost blank.
Could he be the Heavenly General?
Would he say again that it was the Heavenly General's spirit, possessing him, that saved him?
"Bodhisattva, why are you clinging to me?"
Liang Xiao's gentle laughter reached her ears, startling Jian Qinwan awake. Her face flushed red. "You… it was clearly you being a scoundrel! Put me down quickly…"
He took advantage of me again! And I forgot to resist!
Jian Qinwan's feelings grew more complex, she was so embarrassed she wanted to cry.
Why was it only him who could always make her let down her guard, unable to resist instinctively, and not even minding his perceived dirtiness!
I used to be so indifferent, all your fault, you scoundrel!
A mix of hurt and embarrassment overwhelmed Jian Qinwan, causing her to temporarily set aside her exploration of Liang Xiao's identity. She trembled, "Put me down…"
She certainly wouldn't tell Liang Xiao that she suddenly didn't want to be put down, not even a tiny bit!
After Liang Xiao set Jian Qinwan down, they both looked towards the cave entrance.
The stone gate, over fifteen feet high, was a staggering three feet thick!
Liang Xiao cautiously approached the entrance with Ding Wuyi, gazing at the stone gate and sighing, "Incredible…"
The inner surface of the stone gate had a tangle of spring-like mechanisms and various other contraptions, occupying half of the interior. But with the gate's collapse, ten crossbows, crushed by the stone, lay on the ground, along with these now-destroyed mechanisms.
Liang Xiao knew that the ancient Xiongnu king, Herov, had likely intended for the stone gate to serve its purpose only once. When he returned to this place, he would surely have moved all the treasures!
Ding Wuyi and Liang Xiao exchanged a knowing glance.
It seemed unlikely that there would be any lightweight treasures like pearls or jade here; it was probably all heavy gold!
Ding Wuyi immediately signaled for the shadow guards to bring the hunting dogs.
Liang Xiao said, "No rush, let the cave air out first."
Liang Xiao, of course, didn't mention advanced concepts like "oxygen deficiency" to Ding Wuyi; it would be difficult to explain.
These shadow guards were the elite troops relied upon by Xiao Qing, more loyal than any other unit. Their lives were paramount, and finding treasure could wait.
Ding Wuyi pondered this, nodded, and his earlier suspicions were further solidified.
This young man had genuinely robbed graves before? Or perhaps, he had studied tomb-robbing knowledge and was finally putting it into practice?
In Ding Wuyi's opinion, the knowledge of tomb robbing and treasure hunting was largely interchangeable.
After a long while, fifteen shadow guards, wearing gas masks and leading fifteen hunting dogs, arrived at the cave entrance and cautiously entered.
Moments later, a shadow guard's voice echoed from within: "Commander, Marquis of Anguo, there's no poison gas, but there are many corpses!"
Everyone was taken aback.
Liang Xiao looked at Jian Qinwan, "Bodhisattva, would you mind waiting outside…"
Jian Qinwan knew Liang Xiao was worried about her. She cast him a pained look and reluctantly nodded, "Just make sure you come out safely…"
From the moment she realized Liang Xiao had long possessed the ability to protect himself, and even intended to protect her, her pride had been shattered.
So, to him, I'm completely useless?
Liang Xiao leaned in close to Jian Qinwan, his expression serious, and whispered, "It's definitely going to be dirty inside, and we might be here for days. If you get dirty, where will you bathe?"
Bathe?
"You…" Jian Qinwan's pretty face turned crimson all the way to her ears. Annoyed, she pinched Liang Xiao's arm.
This scoundrel! Doesn't he know the least I want him to mention is "bathing" and "figure"!
Regardless, Jian Qinwan felt a little less upset. Only then did Liang Xiao, relieved, follow Ding Wuyi into the cave.
As soon as they entered the cave, Liang Xiao saw countless scattered bones and some disheveled tools.
Over a hundred skeletons!
"Someone got here before us??" Ding Wuyi said gravely.
Liang Xiao shook his head, "Looking at their clothes, not many are the black attire specifically for nighttime. They don't look like tomb robbers, more like craftsmen. I suspect a case of crossing the river and demolishing the bridge. After this place was built, all the craftsmen responsible for its construction were killed and their bodies were dumped here…"
The shadow guards examined them closely: the skeletons had died in various ways, but all had clear knife marks on their necks. Several bodies were even decapitated!
Ding Wuyi's tense expression relaxed. "Let's have Young Master Liang II take command. I'm truly not adept at this sort of thing…"
The shadow guards echoed his sentiment; no one objected.
As shadow guards, tomb robbing and treasure hunting were truly not their strong suits!
Liang Xiao did not shy away. He ordered a pile of shovels and instructed the shadow guards to stay put and tap the ground all around. At the same time, they prepared ropes tied to the outside, just in case of traps like quicksand.
After a series of checks, everyone confirmed there were no traps in the cave.
Ding Wuyi looked around, a hint of confusion on his face: Where was the gold?
Liang Xiao pulled Ding Wuyi to a secluded corner and whispered, "Eunuch Ding, are these brothers reliable?"
"Utterly loyal, reliable! They were all abandoned infants selected from various regions, raised in the palace from a young age, trained in martial arts and indoctrinated. Their sole loyalty is to our lord!" Ding Wuyi replied in a low voice.
Liang Xiao was finally at ease. He ordered a portion of the shadow guards to fetch maces and hammers from outside and began tapping the surrounding stone walls and ground, searching for an entrance.
"Marquis of Anguo, a subterranean passage has indeed been discovered!" a shadow guard called out from a corner.
Everyone turned to see the shadow guards moving aside stone slabs, revealing a wide underground passage.
Liang Xiao immediately instructed the shadow guards to send in the three hunting dogs with the longest leashes to scout ahead and test for any lingering toxins.
Under the shadow guards' command, the three hunting dogs rushed into the passage, their barks echoing within.
This was repeated until the hunting dogs were safely retrieved by the shadow guards, unharmed.
Ding Wuyi suppressed his surging excitement and ordered three shadow guards to go in and scout first.
Now, Ding Wuyi dared not let Liang Xiao lead the way into danger again; he wouldn't have enough lives to compensate!
After a moment, a trembling voice came from within, "It's safe! There's only a river, and countless amounts of gold, but without the Marquis of Anguo's orders, we dare not act rashly!!"
Everyone's spirits lifted!
Ding Wuyi exclaimed with joy, "Gold?!"
Was the treasure map real?
Liang Xiao, however, felt a sudden unease. He quickly signaled the three shadow guards to retreat and asked, "Can you clearly see the color of the river inside? Is it silvery white?"
Legend had it that the tomb of the First Emperor contained a river of mercury, and mercury vapor was highly toxic!
"We have firmly remembered the Marquis of Anguo's teachings never to remove our gas masks, so we couldn't see very clearly. We could only vaguely make out that the river was generally clear, but there was a bit of silvery white by the banks!"