42: The Mystery of the Treasure Cave

Lin Feng stood before that wall of magnetite for a moment in silence, then pulled an entrenching tool and a climbing rope from his backpack.

"Climb over it," he said succinctly.

The two of them exerted a great deal of effort and finally managed to climb over the eerie black stone wall by using vines and cracks in the stone as support points. When their feet touched the ground behind the wall, the view suddenly opened up—

The ruins of an abandoned mountain stronghold were laid bare before them.

Broken walls and debris were scattered across the ground, and the bluestone-paved road had long since been broken apart by weeds. A few half-collapsed earthen walls stood lonely, covered in vines and moss like green scars growing from the depths of the earth. The wooden structures had long since rotted away, leaving only a few blackened pillars that stood like skeletal remains of the long-dead, stubbornly pointing toward the sky.

The entire stronghold was shaped like an irregular fan, built against the mountain, with its deepest part flush against an almost vertical cliff face.

"Holy crap..." Wang Dalong looked around, his voice carrying a hint of awe. "Did people really live here?"

"From the mid-Qing Dynasty to the early years of the Republic, Bandit strongholds in Western Sichuan were as numerous as the hairs on an ox," Lin Feng said as he walked slowly through the ruins, his eyes constantly scanning the ground and the remaining architectural structures. "A stronghold of this size could have accommodated at least two to three hundred people at its peak."

He stopped in front of a relatively intact stone foundation, crouched down, and pushed aside a thick layer of decaying leaves with his hands. Neatly arranged bluestone slabs were revealed beneath, and in the gaps between the slabs, lime used as filler back then could still be seen.

"Good craftsmanship," Lin Feng muttered to himself. "This isn't something an ordinary mountain Bandit could have pulled off."

Wang Dalong followed behind with his camera, aiming the lens at the ruins, but he always felt an indescribable sense of oppression. This place was too quiet—abnormally quiet. There were no insects chirping, no birds singing; even the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves became heavy and dull.

"Brother Feng, should we... look around the perimeter first?" Wang Dalong swallowed. "This place looks... pretty creepy."

Lin Feng ignored him and simply continued walking deeper into the stronghold.

The weeds grew very high, even reaching waist-deep in some places. The two had to use their trekking poles and entrenching tool to clear a path, pushing aside the tangled vines and thorns along the way.

After walking for about ten minutes, Lin Feng stopped in his tracks.

Ahead, a relatively flat clearing appeared in their field of vision. In the center of the clearing was the ruin of a stone platform that was clearly of a higher standard than the surrounding buildings. The platform was square, about five meters on each side and half a meter above the ground, built with solid bluestone slabs. Although the surface was severely weathered, the grandeur of its former days was still visible.

"The Council Hall," Lin Feng said with certainty.

Wang Dalong was taken aback. "How do you know?"

"Location, orientation, and scale." Lin Feng pointed at the stone platform. "Look, this is the central position of the entire stronghold, with an open view that overlooks everything. Moreover, the platform faces the main gate—the stone wall we climbed over. This is a typical layout for a Bandit Council Hall."

He stepped onto the stone platform, crouched down, and patted the bluestone slabs with his hand.

"It's solid."

Wang Dalong also climbed up and took a few photos with his camera. He suddenly remembered something and pulled his phone out of his backpack to take a look.

"Huh?" he exclaimed in surprise. "Brother Feng! There's a signal!"

Lin Feng looked up and also pulled out his phone. In the top right corner of the screen, three bars of signal were clearly displayed.

Although it wasn't strong, it was indeed usable.

The two looked at each other, both seeing the same surprise in the other's eyes. Just now on the ridge, the phone had been in a state of absolutely no service. After crossing the stone wall, the signal had actually returned?

"Magnetic field shielding," Lin Feng quickly realized. "The magnetic interference formed by that stone wall completely blocked out external signals. But inside the wall, it has instead become a relatively 'normal' area."

Wang Dalong grinned. "That's great! Brother Feng, how about we start a livestream?"

Lin Feng was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Start it. First, to let everyone know our status, and second..." He paused, his voice dropping. "If we really find the treasure, this livestream will be the best evidence."

Wang Dalong understood instantly. He quickly set up the phone tripod, adjusted the angle, and then opened the Bilibili livestream.

The moment the livestream room opened, the number of incoming viewers surged like a flood breaking through a dam, skyrocketing crazily.

[Holy crap! God Feng has come back from the dead!]

[I knew God Feng wouldn't run away!]

[Where is this? It's so desolate!]

[Oh my god, this place looks so creepy...]

[God Feng, are you guys okay? Why were you out of touch for so long?]

The bullet chat instantly filled the screen. Lin Feng stood before the camera and, for once, took the initiative to speak. His voice remained calm, but his eyes betrayed a hint of uncontrollable excitement.

"Everyone, my current location is Old Crow Mountain, about forty kilometers from Anshunchang," he slowly looked around. "This is the ruins of a Bandit stronghold that has been abandoned for over a hundred years. According to my reasoning, the Treasure-hiding Squad sent by the Taiping Rebellion Leader likely completed that history-altering treasure-hiding operation right here."

The bullet chat exploded again.

[Holy crap! For real?!]

[God Feng is awesome! He actually found it!]

[But... how do you prove the treasure is here?]

[Yeah, this place just looks like a broken-down stronghold.]

Lin Feng ignored the doubts in the bullet chat, turned, stepped off the stone platform, and began searching carefully through the ruins.

His line of thinking was very clear: if the Taiping Rebellion Leader's subordinates had truly hidden treasure here, the location would inevitably meet several conditions—hidden, sturdy, and easy to mark.

Bandits usually had three choices for hiding treasure.

The first was the Council Hall. This type of Bandit believed in "sharing the wealth," and the treasure would be placed where everyone could see it to demonstrate fairness.

The second was a treasury. This type of Bandit followed the principle of "the leader eats meat, the subordinates drink soup," and had a dedicated warehouse for storing valuables.

The third was the stronghold leader's private stash. This was usually for Bandit groups centered around a family; only core members knew the location of the treasure, and usually, only the most valuable items were hidden there. Generally, the entrance would be in the leader's room.

He returned to the Council Hall's stone platform and carefully inspected every bluestone slab. He tapped, pressed, and even used the entrenching tool to pry open a few loose slabs, but there was nothing beneath them except soil.

No hidden compartments, no mechanisms, no trace of hidden treasure.

More importantly—he did not see that golden Prompt Cursor.

The system remained silent, and that silence itself was an answer: this was not the right place.

Lin Feng stood up, his brow furrowing slightly.

"It's not the Council Hall," he muttered to himself.

Next, he began to check the remaining room ruins in the stronghold one by one.

Some rooms had only foundations left, while others still retained half a wall. Lin Feng tapped every wall with his entrenching tool and stepped on every inch of the ground, trying to find a hollow echo.

Wang Dalong followed behind with his camera, the lens faithfully recording Lin Feng's every move. The audience in the livestream room went from initial excitement to gradually becoming anxious.

[He's been looking for ages and there's nothing...]

[Could it really be a false alarm?]

[God Feng, say something!]

[I feel like this is a bit of a long shot...]

Lin Feng still didn't speak, simply repeating the search movements mechanically.

An hour passed.

Two hours passed.

The sun began to set in the west, and the light in the stronghold grew dim.

Lin Feng finished checking the last room ruin and still had nothing to show for it.

He stood in the center of the ruins, silently looking around. Sweat slid down his forehead, fogging his glasses. He took off his glasses, wiped them with his sleeve, and put them back on.

"Brother Feng..." Wang Dalong spoke hesitantly, "How about we..."

"There is one more place," Lin Feng suddenly interrupted him.

He turned around, his gaze locking onto the deepest part of the stronghold—the almost vertical cliff face.

"The Treasure Cave," Lin Feng's voice was low and certain. "Since it's not the Council Hall or the rooms, there's only one possibility left—they dug a Treasure Cave into the mountain."

Wang Dalong was stunned for a moment, then realized: "Right! Don't Bandits love digging holes to hide things? Like 'the wily hare has three burrows,' secret passages, hidden rooms..."

Lin Feng said no more and walked toward the cliff face.

The cliff face was about thirty meters high, its surface covered in vines and moss, looking like a green waterfall. Lin Feng walked to the cliff and reached out to push aside the hanging vines.

Then, his hand stopped.

Behind the vines, on the cliff face, some man-made chisel marks could be seen.

They were irregular pits, serving as some kind of footholds for climbing.

Lin Feng looked up, following the pits upward.

In the middle of the cliff face, at a height of about ten meters, the vines were particularly thick, almost forming a giant green curtain.

And behind that curtain, a dark, gaping shadow could be seen.

Lin Feng's pupils constricted instantly.

At that moment, at the edge of his vision, that long-awaited golden cursor finally appeared.

It hovered before that shadow, flashing quietly.

Found it.