Chapter 636
A Mountain of Boxes
After hesitating for a long time, the soldier, his eyes red, said in a low voice, "Although our martial arts skills are rather mediocre, we have special physical abilities, and this cellar is surrounded by impenetrable walls, so we have been able to hold on. It's just that I've had to suffer for the lady..."
After he finished speaking, he kowtowed to Chen Ze to apologize.
If Chen Ze hadn't arrived in time to rescue the lady, he and those soldiers would probably have been dead long ago!
Chen Ze helped him up, shook his head helplessly, and said, "You said earlier that your cellar was surrounded by copper and iron walls?"
The soldier nodded hurriedly, "Yes, Lord Yama!"
Chen Ze listened carefully.
Apart from the sound of dripping water, there was no other noise in the cave, and there was no sign of any disturbance.
This situation only shows that those impenetrable walls were well hidden.
While he was thinking, Yan Xiaoxiao walked up behind him and said, "Master, all of them are injured. Let me heal them."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ze composed himself and stepped aside.
He had always wanted his grand-apprentice to learn medicine.
That afternoon, the apprentice followed Sisi through the books in the cellar, and he watched from the sidelines.
Although he did not understand medicine, he recognized many medicinal herbs.
His grand-disciple's behavior was somewhat similar to that of the doctors he remembered.
Many of those medical books contain techniques for using poison.
After much deliberation, he decided to wait until his grand-disciple learned those poison techniques, then pass them on to Sisi, who would then give them to Wanzi, who would then teach them to their children.
He always felt that the Miao people in his village used poison techniques, and that this was somehow related to Sisi.
After all, he was the one who taught Sisi her medical skills.
Sisi's blood contains the blood of the Miao people from her village.
Sisi's mother was a member of the Miao ethnic group's witch clan and possessed exquisite Gu (poisonous insect) techniques...
And Wanzi is the inheritor of their Miao village tradition.
He believed that the people of his Miao village must also know how to use poison pills.
Chen Ze led Tian Siyao and the other two to stop and have a meal in the woods outside the valley.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Chen Ze led the three into the valley. "The entrance to that underground castle is underground, so don't wander in."
"Yes." Tian Siyao nodded emphatically, feeling rather uneasy. After all, she had never been to Miao territory and didn't know anything about the place. She wondered if the Yan family had also been sent here before.
About half an hour later, Chen Ze stopped behind a tree and said to them in a low voice, "The entrance and exit are behind this tree. We have to go around this tree and then go in along this road."
After saying that, he walked towards the tree first.
Tian Siyao and the other two immediately followed.
After winding around to the back of the tree, there was indeed a winding stone staircase leading down.
Chen Ze stood there staring for a long time. Just as he was about to step forward to investigate, he stopped and frowned, muttering, "Strange, why is there no fork in the road behind this tree?"
"Master, let me take you inside to take a look. If there's an entrance or exit, we can go directly to the outside world."
After Yan Xiao finished speaking, she grabbed Chen Ze's sleeve and pulled him deeper into the stone steps.
Tian Siyao kept up with their pace, protecting Chen Ze without missing a step.
After walking several hundred meters, Chen Ze suddenly stopped and pointed to the fork in the road at either end of the stone steps, asking, "Can you tell which one leads outside and which one leads to the dungeon?"
Yan Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and stared intently at the two forks in the road.
Chen Ze waited patiently for a moment, but Yan Xiaoxiao didn't answer. So he simply started walking towards the left fork in the road, saying, "I'll go this way."
Yan Xiaoxiao hurriedly chased after him and stopped him. "Master, you should go back and find Sisi first. I am familiar with both of these paths. You can rest assured and wait for me where you are. Anyway, you can't use your lightness skill after entering the underground palace. No matter which fork in the road you go to, the result will be the same." After saying that, she let go of Chen Ze and went straight to the other fork in the road.
Seeing this, Tian Siyao followed.
Chen Ze hesitated for a moment, then caught up with them.
Seeing this, Yan Xiaoxiao couldn't help but sigh, and after ensuring Chen Ze's safety, she quickly ran forward.
She had some understanding of Chen Ze's capabilities.
Even if Chen Ze entered that fork in the road, he wouldn't get lost, nor would he encounter any danger. It was she who…
If she remembered correctly, the entrance to the basement was not located on this road.
Thinking of this, she stopped after making several turns.
That's definitely not the exit.
But it is the entrance to the exit.
As Yan Xiaoxiao was pondering whether to change routes, Chen Ze had already led Tian Siyao underground. "The entrance to this basement leads to the deepest part of the underground palace."
"Then aren't we heading straight for the center of the underground palace?" Tian Siyao was extremely puzzled.
"Hmm." Chen Ze paused, pondered for a moment, and then continued walking forward. "I used to sneak into the underground palace occasionally to play, so I know its structure very well. There are countless traps and mechanisms in this underground palace, and you can easily lose your life if you are not careful. So when you go in, no matter what happens, don't panic or be afraid. Just follow behind me."
"it is good."
Tian Siyao and Tian Fen'er agreed in unison, and both of them nervously clutched each other's clothes.
After all, they had never been inside an underground palace before, nor had they ever seen its structure, so they couldn't help but feel nervous and worried...
Chen Ze then instructed, "Try not to get too close to me."
Chen Ze then continued forward.
After passing through a long passageway and turning through two large stone gates, they finally arrived at the entrance to the underground palace that Chen Ze had mentioned.
What came into view was a spacious secret passage.
After Chen Ze led them along the secret passage for nearly half an incense stick's time, their vision suddenly opened up.
As far as the eye can see, there are piles of boxes stacked up like mountains.
The boxes were all different colors.
A rough estimate puts the number at least in the thousands.
In the middle of those boxes stood a row of wooden shelves, filled with bottles and jars.
Seeing this, Chen Ze quickly beckoned Tian Siyao and the other girl to come closer, "Could you understand what's displayed up there?"
After carefully examining them, Tian Siyao shook her head and said, "I only recognize five of the colors; I don't really recognize the rest."
"Hmm, I recognize six of the colors, and there are two I don't recognize." After saying that, Chen Ze looked around the empty secret passage and sighed, "When I stumbled into this underground palace back then, I thought the things inside were simpler than I imagined. I never thought that after so many years, it would still contain so many treasures!"
“Father…” Yan Xiaoxiao suddenly called out.
"Hmm?" Chen Ze raised his eyebrows. "What's wrong?"
"There seems to be a formation inside this underground palace, which prevents the use of internal energy. If we rashly use spiritual power, it will be difficult to break the formation."
"Hmm? There's actually a formation set up inside this underground palace?"
Tian Siyao and Chen Ze nodded in unison.
Chen Ze suddenly became serious.
This underground palace was built on the foundation of the royal treasury. Since the royal treasury was equipped with array formations, this underground palace should have one too!
Does the owner of this place simply not value the contents of the secret vault? (End of Chapter)