Chapter 1602 - 813: Rat Passage (Part 3)

Lv San also hesitated not at all, and amidst Zhu Cong’s shocked gaze, he followed and jumped down.

Sha Lifei, laden with firearms, and the broad-bodied Wu Ba remained in place.

Sha Lifei chuckled and said, "Don’t worry, Mr. Zhu is waiting to make contributions."

"This... making contributions is not something I dare to think about."

Zhu Cong smiled bitterly, cupping his hands, "But I only wish for my young son’s safety, also... the situation below is unclear, Young Hero Li and the others..."

"It’s fine."

Sha Lifei glanced around, "Just be mindful of unfamiliar faces."

......

Splash~

In the darkness, the sound of water was constant.

Li Yan sprang from the water, then lit the flint to look around.

The side entrance of the Prime Minister’s Well was not manmade but was eroded and collapsed by the underground water into a passage.

Yet, this place is connected to the underground river, but is a corridor built of blue bricks, extending into the depths like a Dragon Spine.

The underground was rather damp, filled with mud, leaving only the footprints of Rat One and Rat Two.

Lv San and Long Yan’er also emerged from the water, examining under the light of the fire.

Seeing only the footprints of two mice, Long Yan’er smiled, "It seems they haven’t discovered this passage, otherwise it would have been blocked long ago."

As she spoke, she looked around, "This place was Lin’an City during the Song era, could it be Ling’an Ancient City?"

"Not necessarily."

Li Yan pondered, "This place is too deep, it doesn’t seem like Lin’an City, let’s go, and be careful."

The three stopped talking, proceeding along the corridor into the depths.

Their eyesight was exceptional, even though the flint’s light was dim, they could clearly see their surroundings.

Near the entrance of the cave, there were some Tang Dynasty ceramic pipes that had shattered from the impact of the underground dark river.

Yet not long aftward, the Tang Dynasty ceramic pipes completely vanished, and instead, the bricks and stones became increasingly ancient.

Lv San picked up a piece of broken brick, flipped it over, and vaguely saw inscriptions that suggested two characters.

"Bao Zheng?" He was puzzled.

Li Yan suddenly understood, "It’s King Wu Yue Qian Liu!"

Previously while gathering information about the Dragon Offering Ceremony, King Wu Yue Qian Liu’s reign title appeared many times.

Speaking of this, he spoke, "This should be the underground palace of Qian Liu’s Yijin City!"

Seeing Lv San and Long Yan’er’s confusion, he explained, "Qian Liu and his sons founded the Wu and Yue Kingdom. At the end of the era, Qian Hongchu conformed to the times and submitted to Song. Amid the chaotic late Tang Dynasty, they protected the peace of one region and voluntarily submitted during Song’s rising, sparing the people from the chaos of war, they can be considered wise rulers."

"Their ’Yijin Army’ was one of the mysterious troops of the late Tang era. Though not famous, they could protect one region at that time, their strength should not be underestimated."

"It is rumored that the ’Yijin Army’ barracks were both a city and a tomb, which should be this place..."

While speaking, the group had reached the deeper parts of the corridor, ahead was becoming more open.

Just then, Lv San suddenly raised his hand, signaling the other two to stop, and finally pointed ahead, making a gesture.

Li Yan immediately understood, and Long Yan’er took a handful of powder from the pouch on her waist, scattering it over the three.

This was "Concealing Powder," specially used to remove scents from the body and hide traces.

As the powder fell, the three lowered their steps, cautiously advancing ahead.

Soon, Li Yan detected a few musky rat odors, identical to those he smelled previously at the Zhu Mansion.

Turning past the corridor’s end, the sight suddenly opened up.

Ahead, there was an underground hollow, several large halls had collapsed ceilings, ancient in structure, surrounding boulders and collapsed beams perfectly forming an angle, blocking the earth above, creating a subterranean cave.

The halls were desolate, in front on the square, heaps of various animal and child’s bones had formed a mountain.

Dozens of fat rats sat atop the Skeleton Mountain, with countless rats below kneeling and worshipping...