noffsinger Chapter 21 Secret Passage
Chapter 21 Secret Passage
"Looking listless?"
With just three words, Xiao Xuan deduced that the person Wen Qingqing was referring to was Mai Shuangji.
Of course, besides himself, he was probably the only one on Lei Long's ship who cared about the lives of these islanders, being the Golden Arches' top constable.
"Has he met Granny Wen?"
Wen Qingqing shook her head: "I don't know either. Grandma doesn't tell us kids everything."
"But indeed, Grandma had already made preparations even before the Japanese pirates appeared last night."
Hearing Shiwa's addition, Xiao Xuan nodded. It seemed that the reason Mai Shuangji was the last to return yesterday was because he went to see Granny Wen.
"Luckily, Grandma was incredibly insightful; otherwise, with so many Japanese pirates, the village might have been..."
Wen Qingqing continued, explaining that none of the pirates and Japanese invaders the villagers had encountered before had ever been of this scale.
Moreover, the Japanese pirates who landed on the island this time were far more skilled in martial arts than other pirates, and their actions were quite methodical.
"Don't worry, if nothing unexpected happens, reinforcements will arrive by tonight."
"That's what Grandma said too," Shiwa said, his voice a little weak. "Fortunately, this place is safe enough. If I weren't extremely familiar with the island, I wouldn't have been able to find it."
"Why do you all call Granny Wen 'Grandma'?"
That's what everyone on the island calls them.
Wen Qingqing stared at Xiao Xuan with wide eyes, seemingly unaware that anything was amiss.
"Even if it's his father, he still has to call her 'Grandma,' what's wrong with that?"
"This is a custom on our island, and it is indeed different from that in the Central Plains," Shiwa explained. "Once Grandma agrees to let Qingmeizi go to the Central Plains, you'll understand."
Upon hearing the words "Central Plains," Wen Qingqing immediately became interested.
"Master Xiao, tell me about the martial arts world of the Central Plains!"
Xiao Xuan had no time to cheer her up; he was currently carefully observing the surroundings of the stone cave.
When he first entered the cave, he felt a sense of familiarity, as it seemed to be similar to the cave with the jade statue in terms of its carving technique, both being semi-circular structures.
He was only focused on getting to know the two of them at first, and only now does he have time to examine them closely.
"Was this cave also left behind by immortals?"
How did you know?
Wen Qingqing was truly naive and innocent; Xiao Xuan had only asked her a casual question, yet she responded with a strong reaction.
Shiwa, standing to the side, coughed repeatedly, stared at Xiao Xuan for a moment, and then said helplessly:
"That's right, the original rules on the island didn't allow people to go into the mountains."
However, Qingmei accidentally discovered this place again. Although Grandma was furious, she remembered it and would hide the children here whenever something happened on the island.
As Xiao Xuan listened, he picked up a torch and began groping around inside the cave.
There are no holes for light to pass through, and no light can get into the cave entrance. They can only rely on the torches that Shiwa and the others left here.
After walking a few steps close to the wall, Xiao Xuan saw a faintly glowing outline in front of him. It turned out that the system was telling him that there was a hidden door here.
"This place is indeed related to that immortal."
Xiao Xuan strode forward, and sure enough, a mechanism had been left next to the hidden door.
As always, on the left side of the hidden door was the groove for placing the jade pendant, while on the right side was a digital combination lock that modern people are very familiar with.
"Is there a mechanism in this cave?"
Xiao Xuan turned to ask Wen Qingqing and the other person, who were also somewhat surprised. Before Wen Qingqing could say anything, Shiwa immediately interrupted and said:
"Grandma has forbidden us from touching anything left behind by the immortals, but Master Xiao's three-day period hasn't ended yet, so please proceed."
After receiving the instruction, Xiao Xuan felt much less restrained.
Even if you manage to break through the mechanism while these two are in front of you, you don't need to worry about being betrayed.
And now that I think about it carefully, Wei Ziheng is right. Everything left behind by the Ingenious Immortal seems like a declaration of love, and perhaps there really is no treasure.
"Alright, let's give it a try."
Xiao Xuan arrived at the hidden door and struggled with the numerical password.
This thing is designed the same way as the pinyin in the jade statue cave; it's a mechanism that can be pressed.
But unlike the others, there were no clues in this cave.
"One, two, three, four, five, six?"
"Six zeros?"
After trying it a few times, Xiao Xuan scratched his head with a wry smile, wondering if he should resort to exhaustive search.
Each time six numbers are pressed, the mechanism clicks, so Xiao Xuan deduced that it was a six-digit password.
Even if you starve to death here, you still wouldn't be able to list all the six-figure numbers.
Unfortunately, the system doesn't provide the answer directly; Xiao Xuan will have to figure it out himself.
He began to recall all the details related to numbers after arriving on the island.
"Forty-nine years? Three teacher trainees? Qixi Festival..."
Xiao Xuan suddenly looked up and pressed the six numbers 990707 directly on it. Then he heard a rapid sound of flowing water, and the stone door in front of him slowly opened.
"really!"
Xiao Xuan clapped his hands excitedly. When he was piecing together the puzzle in the valley, the inscription on the painting read "Unforgettable Qixi Festival". The sum of "unforgettable" and "Qixi Festival" is exactly six digits.
"What! Master Xiao actually opened the door?"
Wen Qingqing ran over excitedly from a distance, looking at Xiao Xuan with disbelief, her eyes occasionally glancing furtively at the passage behind the door.
"Qingmei! If Grandma finds out, you..."
Shiwa shouted loudly, and Wen Qingqing reluctantly took a few steps back, while the stone door began to slowly close.
"Hurry up, Master Xiao, or you'll really tempt us."
"You two be careful."
After Xiao Xuan finished speaking, he slipped into the stone gate, and the sound of flowing water became even more obvious in his ears.
"These mechanisms must be driven by the power of water. To complete such a design under these conditions truly befits the name of an immortal."
Xiao lit a torch and peered forward, only to find himself in a passageway with numerous branching paths.
However, the ends of these forks in the road were all deliberately blocked off.
Xiao Xuan guessed that behind that should be the interior of the agency, or a place where water could be transported.
Walking along the passage for about forty or fifty steps, Xiao Xuan reached the end and entered a new stone cave.
"This is?"
Xiao Xuan's gaze swept across the cave, and he saw that it was in a mess, with all sorts of parts of different styles and sizes lying on the ground.
The wood was rotten, the ironware was covered in rust, and there were traces of rats everywhere on the ground.
Carefully stepping over the obstacles in front of him, Xiao Xuan slowly moved forward in the dimly lit space.
Soon Xiao Xuan saw a sliver of reflected light. He looked up and discovered that a huge piece of jade was inlaid on the top of the cave.
"Where did he get so much jade?"
Xiao Xuan complained, but quickly understood the purpose of the jade; it was probably also for lighting.
He groped his way forward and came to a stone bed with two levers standing beside it.
Xiao Xuan pulled down one of the jade stones, and sunlight immediately shone into the stone cave, filling it with dazzling light.
As the bright light hit, Xiao Xuan closed his eyes tightly, only opening them again after his eyes had adjusted.
Using the light, he looked around again and found a skeleton lying on the stone bed in front of him.