Chapter 34: A Rare Find

After a rest, we set off again at twelve noon. It was the time of the Autumn Equinox, and the midday sun was still fierce. However, deep in the mountains, basking in the sunlight was actually quite pleasant. In that dense, primitive forest, towering ancient trees stood tall, and thickets of shrubs grew in abundance. It is likely that no one had stepped foot in this jungle for decades. Li Yiran’s henchmen held machetes, hacking through brambles to clear a path for us.

High above on a distant cliff, a lonely, bowl-sized black hole appeared. It was only because of the distance that it looked so small; after another two hours of trekking, we saw the cave was actually about the size of a door. We arrived at the base of the cliff and stood beneath the cave entrance. The cave, situated halfway up the mountainside, was quite difficult to climb.

"It's up to you!" Li Yiran took out a coil of rope and handed it to the great cultivator wearing the bronze mask. With a flash, he vanished from our sight.

What was that? I was stunned by the sight.

"The Art of Escaping. It has been lost to the world for a long time; I suppose only these great cultivators know it," Old Qin explained.

The Art of Escaping? It felt rather unscientific! Just as my mind was wandering, a rope was lowered from the opening above.

"Start climbing now, two people at a time," Li Yiran commanded. "Jiang Chen, you go up first and help pull people up. Next is Qin Wuran, then Zhang Yuxuan, and finally the elder of the Song family..."

With the order set, I began my ascent. Even with the rope, the climb was far from easy. The cliff was full of loose, unstable stones; one wrong step and your foot would find nothing but air. I had to grip the rope tightly, climbing upward step by step. It was a true test of arm strength, and by the time I was halfway up, I was already gasping for breath. By the time I finally hauled myself up, I had no strength left in my body, especially my arms, which felt not only sore but scorched.

The others climbed up one after another, which took another two hours. By about four in the afternoon, everyone had gathered at the cave entrance. Without stopping to rest, Li Yiran insisted on pushing forward. Now that we were at the entrance, I could clearly sense her excitement. After all this trouble, we had finally reached the final step.

"There may be dangers hidden inside, so do not touch anything carelessly," Li Yiran warned as usual, her eyes darting toward the Song family members with a hint of a threat. It was the Song family who had caused trouble before.

"You stay put, too!" I warned the old man as well. Zhang Yuxuan was usually fine, but whenever he saw money, his eyes would light up as if he had found his own father, and he would become unable to move. This place might hide some treasures, and if the old man tried to take advantage of the situation or pocket some artifacts, it would be fine if nothing happened, but if something went wrong, he would likely be done for. Even though we were partners, our relationship wasn't that deep. Li Yiran had already stated that if a life-or-death crisis occurred, she wouldn't care about the old man's life; since I was the one who brought him, I would be responsible. As for me, I was only half-competent myself; I could handle minor dangers, but if a true crisis struck, I would likely have to run for my life. That is normal; people live for themselves. If I had the ability, I would pull the old man along, but if I didn't, I wouldn't sacrifice myself.

"Don't worry, young master Jiang," the old man chuckled sheepishly. "I won't cause you any trouble."

"Then let's go!"

I followed Li Yiran with the old man, and the three members of the Song family trailed behind us, guarding the rear. Inside the cave, the light was very dim. I pulled out a flashlight, and we could barely make out the path beneath our feet. To this day, I still didn't know why Li Yiran had come here. From the village at the bottom of the temple to this cave deep in the Qinling Mountains, we had traveled a long way. And this cave was connected to the ancient tomb in the village. Vaguely, I felt that the connection between these two places was extraordinary.

Ten minutes later, we reached the depths of the cave, where several candles as thick as buckets were burning, emitting a constant crackling sound. The ancient tomb at the village had a history of hundreds of years, which meant this cave had been built even earlier. It was truly strange that after hundreds of years, these candles were still burning. There is a legend in books: north of the sea, there are fish whose fat is used to make candles that can burn for a thousand years without going out. In the "Records of the Grand Historian," specifically in the "Annals of the First Emperor," there is mention of mermaid candles: "Mermaid fat was used as fuel for candles, calculated to burn for a long time without extinguishing." These were rare treasures; taking them out would surely be worth a fortune.

But my attention wasn't on those mermaid candles; it was on a portrait placed on an altar. In front of the portrait sat a censer the size of a basketball. Having not been used for offerings in hundreds of years, the censer had lost its former luster.

"Young master Jiang, I find that the person in that portrait looks a bit like you!" the old man leaned in and whispered in my ear.

Do I look like him? I rarely look in a mirror, so I couldn't really tell. I believe most people remember others' faces clearly, but their own can be somewhat blurry. If you don't believe me, try recalling your own appearance in your mind.

"I feel there's at least an eighty percent resemblance," the old man added.

It wasn't just the old man; the others seemed to have noticed something as well. The great cultivator with the bronze mask even asked me a rare question: "Are you from the village at the bottom of the temple?"

"No, how could I be! I am from the Ancient Capital!" I quickly replied. I still hadn't figured out what was going on, and I didn't dare to admit my identity rashly.

"Young master Jiang is..." The old man started to speak, but seeing me glare at him, he quickly corrected himself. "Young master Jiang is indeed from the Ancient Capital. I watched him grow up."

Damn old man, even at a time like this, he didn't forget to take advantage of me. Hearing this, the man in the bronze mask didn't ask further, as if nothing had happened. However, the old man became interested and whispered in my ear that the person in the portrait might be my ancestor! His words hit home. This possibility couldn't be ruled out. If that were the case, then the ancient tomb at the village was actually my family's ancestral grave? Thinking about it this way, it all started to make sense. After the flood, those people wanted to survive and had no choice but to dig up graves, but they had dug into our family's ancestral grave. My grandfather was kind-hearted, and to let the villagers survive, he had to acquiesce. But because it was our family's ancestral grave, others could dig it, but my family couldn't, which is why my grandfather strictly forbade our family members from digging it? Thinking this through, there were still some holes in the theory.