Looking at the dead Belock brother, Xiao Feng couldn't help but feel a little emotional. He had always respected the twin brothers' strength.
The reason he rembered them so well was not just their identical appearance but also because one could see a glimr of humanity in them.
Of course, this was only towards each other. To the outside world, they treated Thomson's death as a good thing to celebrate, showing no real emotion.
But ultimately, the legend of this duo ends here.
The high degree of tacit understanding between them led to high dependency; losing one made their combat strength significantly weaker, unable to create any impact.
Descending to the bottom of the cave, Xiao Feng greeted those above, everyone strapped on their backpacks, took out their headlamps, and began to advance.
Before long, the familiar door and the entrance below it ca into view.
Sun Shijie said with a grim expression, "I hope we haven't been pre-empted."
With that, he took a long key from his pocket and inserted it into the door's lock.
"Click!"
After a crisp sound, Sun Shijie exerted force with one hand, and the seemingly heavy door was easily pushed open, revealing a path wide enough for one person.
They did not rush in but stood at the entrance to observe the environnt inside the cave.
Just as Sun Shijie said, there was only a narrow path less than a ter wide in front of them. The ground was bumpy and uneven, making it look difficult to proceed.
Besides this, the height from the cave floor to the ceiling was not high, barely over two ters. Like the ground, the top was not very smooth either, showing minimal signs of human shaping.
The narrow passage and low height together create a naturally oppressive feeling, as if a stone were pressing against one's chest, making breathing harder than usual.
"This part of the path shouldn't be dangerous, roughly three to five hundred ters. Follow ," Sun Shijie stepped forward, intending to lead everyone into the passage.
Xiao Feng stopped him, "Let go first, have everyone keep a few body spaces apart from the person in front, leaving enough room for movent, and watch your step to avoid twisting an ankle."
After saying that, he turned to Lin Zhiyan, "You walk last, and switch the rear to the front if necessary."
"Okay," Lin Zhiyan agreed with a nod.
Having made the arrangents, Xiao Feng stepped forward, walking at the front of the line, feeling the passage was a bit like a tunnel cutting through a mountain.
Everyone moved at a steady pace, following behind Xiao Feng, carefully watching their steps as they proceeded.
About ten minutes later, the scene changed, and a large pool of stagnant water appeared in front of them.
The water source was quickly identified as the moisture of the underground rocks, where droplets ford on stalactite-like elongated stones above, then fell into the pool.
"Drip..."
A drop fell into the pool, and though the sound was not loud, it was clear in the silent cave.
Xiao Feng purposely calculated the ti between drops, roughly ten seconds. It was hard to imagine how many years it took to accumulate such a large pool of water.
Thinking for a bit, Xiao Feng cut a length of rope, tied a stone for weight, aid at the elongated stone above, and tossed it up.
After the rope wrapped around the stone a few tis, it was secured. Xiao Feng straightened the rope, took an empty bottle from his backpack, and tied a small stone to the end of the rope, dropping it into the bottle mouth.
With this setup, the drops would flow along the rope into the bottle.
The little girl asked with confusion, "Brother Xiao Feng, how long will it take to fill that bottle? Besides, there's so much water in the pool, is it worth the effort?"
"Yes!" Xiao Feng nodded seriously, "The water in the pool might not be drinkable, but what's collected from above, distilled, could be drinkable. It might save a life one day."
The little girl shrugged, showing disbelief, but said no more.
Beyond the pool, the path narrowed again.
Standing at the entrance of the passage, Sun Shijie pointed at a seemingly ordinary stone and warned, "Avoid that stone. Stepping on it triggers arrows from above. Although I'm not sure if it still works, we should be cautious."
Xiao Feng nodded in agreent. In the current situation, any negligence could be a disservice to oneself.
As they approached the stone, Xiao Feng slowed and said, "Be careful, the traps are near."
Everyone affird their understanding with a single response.
This part of the path was several tis longer than the initial passage, and the ups and downs were more pronounced, with the highest reaching half a ter. Uphill was manageable, but downhill required caution to avoid stepping into a trap unnoticed.
After nearly twenty minutes, Xiao Feng and the others finally exited the passage, but the air was filled with a putrid stench, making them frown.
"What's that sll?" Lu Yao asked.
Xiao Feng gestured for silence and said, "Prepare yourselves, we may see sothing..."
Before he finished, the little girl scread, "Ah!"
Following the direction of the light above her head, they saw a half-rotted corpse sprawled on a nearby clearing.
The corpse was severely bloated, with so maggots wriggling in the decayed parts.
In such an environnt, it's no wonder the little girl scread at the sight.
The rest frowned, turning their gaze aside, feeling they might vomit if they looked any longer.
"This person must be one of those who broke in," Sun Shijie judged, "When I first ca here, I didn't encounter such a scene."
Xiao Feng looked back at the passage, finding it hard to understand the purpose behind Sun Shijie's ancestors' actions.
Digging such a passage with heavy traps must have taken years, if not decades, without modern machinery. What treasure could be worth such effort?
No need to say more, even Sun Shijie himself couldn't answer that question, let alone Xiao Feng guessing out of thin air.
"Are there more traps ahead?" Xiao Feng asked.
Like everyone else, he wanted to leave quickly; the scene earlier was quite nauseating, best to get out soon.
As for how the person died or how long ago they died, the body was already beyond recognition, and even professional forensic experts might not determine the specifics.
"There are," Sun Shijie nodded, "Those stones in the passage. Back then, Iwakami Ryoji was hit by a falling stone above, suffering serious internal injuries."
This remark led to a new discovery among the people.
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