6: Su Shi's Code

The decision to head to Xian was just announced in the livestream, and the entire internet exploded instantly!

Wang Dalong held his phone high, spittle flying toward the camera, his chubby face flushed red with excessive excitement.

“Family! Family! Did you all hear that? Brother Feng has made the call. Our next stop is Xian! What for? Treasure hunting! Wang Mang's gold! Just tell me, is that exciting or what!”

The bullet chat flooded in like an opened sluice gate, so dense it almost turned the screen white.

“Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! For real? Brother Feng is actually going after Wang Mang's gold?”

“This initiative is maxed out! He just talked about it yesterday, and he's ready to set off today?”

“Streamer, are you crazy? That's a national treasury! If you find it, do you even dare to take it?”

“The person above is thinking too small, okay? Is Brother Feng that kind of person? This is called immersive historical exploration! It's Cloud Tourism 2.0, upgraded version, focusing on authenticity! Followed, followed!”

“Streamer, open our eyes! Here's a plane gift, wishing Brother Feng success from the very start!”

Lin Feng wasn't used to being on camera. He silently packed his luggage in the background, subconsciously turning his face away whenever the lens swept past.

The bullet chat became even more hyper, filled with well-meaning teasing.

“Hahaha, look at how we've pushed Brother Feng; he's about to crawl under the table.”

“Brother Feng, don't be afraid, we don't eat people! You focus on the research, just let Fatty the chatterbox keep us company!”

Most of the time, it was Wang Dalong, the social butterfly, interacting with the chat and keeping the atmosphere heated. Meanwhile, Lin Feng dived headfirst into the preparations for the trip.

Xian, known in ancient times as Chang'an. In this ancient capital of thirteen dynasties, any random inch of soil beneath one's feet could be burying a history of a dynasty's rise and fall.

Wang Mang established the Xin Dynasty and likewise set his capital here. If that legendary hoard of gold truly existed, Xian and its vast surrounding areas were undoubtedly the most likely locations.

But this range was so large it was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

According to historical records, the scale of Wang Mang's gold completely exceeded the imagination of modern people.

In 7 AD, Wang Mang issued a decree: “Those below the rank of Marquis shall not privately possess gold.”

This command was equivalent to forcibly “nationalizing” the wealth of the world's elite. In the scattered records of the Book of Han, in just a few short years, Wang Mang had hoarded “sixty chests of gold” in the treasury of Weiyang Palace. Combined with reserves elsewhere, the total might have reached a terrifying 700,000 catties!

Seven hundred thousand catties of gold.

Converted to modern units, that's over one hundred and seventy tons!

What does that look like? Piled together, it would be a small mountain of pure gold!

In the final days before departure, Lin Feng practically welded himself to the university town library.

Wang Dalong, on the other hand, transformed into the logistics manager, responsible for purchasing various professional outdoor equipment, from high-precision GPS and drones to waterproof jackets and high-energy compressed biscuits, preparing more professionally than if they were going on a wilderness survival show.

The style of the livestream changed accordingly.

Wang Dalong set up his phone at a distance and quietly zoomed in the lens, focusing on that quiet corner of the library.

In the frame, a mountain-high pile of historical materials sat before Lin Feng: the Book of Han, the Book of the Later Han, the Zizhi Tongjian, and various photocopies and literati notes, almost burying him entirely.

Wang Dalong lowered his voice, providing commentary into the microphone in a stage whisper, looking exactly like a paparazzi secretly filming a celebrity.

“Brothers, do you see this? Do you see? This is what you call a genius-style exploration! Our Brother Feng is playing on a whole different level! Which of those other exploration streamers doesn't just take a Luoyang Shovel and poke around everywhere blindly? We're different; we dig for clues directly from the piles of old papers! This is called being professional!”

The bullet chat was full of “666” and “I don’t get it but I’m impressed.”

“I’ve learned something: it turns out the first step to treasure hunting is taking the graduate school entrance exams.”

“My mom asked why I’m kneeling while watching the stream; I told her I’m worshiping the descent of a god of learning.”

“With Brother Feng's vibe, I’d believe you if you said he was a Ph.D. supervisor in the history department, the kind who takes on graduate students!”

Lin Feng was immersed in the scrolls, oblivious to the outside world, his brow furrowed deeply.

The [Ancient Text Comprehension] skill was practically a god-tier ability in a place like this! Those long, tedious, traditional vertical-script ancient texts were automatically translated into plain language in his mind, and his reading speed was lightning fast.

Even so, progress remained slow.

The records in all the history books regarding the end of Wang Mang's treasure were surprisingly consistent, repeating the same useless descriptions like “treasures and wealth filled the storehouses beyond capacity.” By the time Wang Mang was defeated and Chang'an fell into chaos, this wealth had vanished into thin air like water vapor, without leaving a trace of a single word behind.

Was it carved up by the rebel armies? Or swallowed whole by Liu Xiu? The history books didn't mention a word.

The entire afternoon passed just like that.

Lin Feng rubbed his aching eyes, feeling a sense of powerlessness. Too many clues were the same as having no clues at all. Did he really have to wander around blindly like a headless fly once they got to Xian?

Just as he was about to close a Song Dynasty notebook that he had almost flipped through until it was worn out, the system that had been silent in his mind for several days suddenly rang.

【Ding! Detected keywords and phrases related to the mission objective “Wang Mang's Treasure”!】

Lin Feng's whole body jolted, and his gaze immediately snapped back to the page he was about to close.

In the next second, a wondrous sight appeared!

In his field of vision, a passage of text on that yellowed page was emitting a faint, rhythmic golden glow, like breathing.

This was a miscellaneous note by the great Northern Song literatus, Su Shi.

Lin Feng held his breath, leaning in to read the glowing text word by word.

“...I have heard a strange tale from previous generations, saying that when Wang Mang was defeated, the treasures mysteriously vanished, returning to the mountains and marshes...”

Returning to the mountains and marshes!

Re! Turn! Ing! To! Moun! Tains! And! Mar! Shes!

These words were like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the fog in his mind!

Translated, it meant: I heard a strange tale from the previous dynasty that when Wang Mang's army was defeated, that hoard of treasure mysteriously disappeared, returning once again to the mountains, forests, lakes, and marshes.

“Returning”!

These words were the finishing touch!

It implied that this hoard of treasure wasn't looted in the chaos, but was actively and systematically hidden by someone!

The golden light flickered on that sentence for a few seconds before fading away.

“Mountains and marshes... mountains and water...”

Lin Feng muttered to himself, his gaze shifting past the book to stare intently at the massive topographical map of China on the wall. His focus landed exactly on that continuous, magnificent mountain range south of Xian!

The Qinling Mountains!

China's north-south dividing line, the dragon vein of Huaxia!

This mountain range was vast and rugged, and since ancient times, it had been the perfect place for armies to hide and cultivators to live in seclusion. Countless canyons, caves, and dense forests formed a natural super-maze.

If one wanted to hide one hundred and seventy tons of gold in a short time without anyone knowing, what place could be more suitable than the countless deep canyons at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains?

The logic clicked instantly!

Lin Feng's spirits rose as he rushed to another row of bookshelves and began frantically flipping through all the local gazetteers, hydrological data, and folk legends concerning the Qinling Mountains.

With the [Ancient Text Comprehension] skill fully active, his page-turning speed was so fast it left only afterimages.

The system reacted once again!

In a copy of the “Annals of Zhouzhi County” compiled during the Qing Dynasty, the faint golden light appeared again. This time, the glow didn't cover a sentence, but several scattered place names.

“Tianyu”!

“Xianyou Temple”!

“Heishuiyu”!

Lin Feng immediately found a more detailed military-grade topographical map and circled these place names heavily with a red pen.

He discovered that these locations all pointed to a relatively concentrated area at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains—within the borders of Zhouzhi County, Xian!

A bold and complete deduction formed in his mind at the speed of light!

Before Chang'an fell, a certain absolute confidant of Wang Mang foresaw the end. He didn't run away with the treasure; instead, he executed a mad plan: transporting the national treasury's gold out of Chang'an in batches, along the ancient Qinling paths, and hiding it deep within a certain secret canyon—or several—between Tianyu and Heishuiyu that even the locals didn't know about!

This was the truth behind “returning to the mountains and marshes”!

“Fatty!” Lin Feng snapped the book shut with a loud “thwack” that was particularly jarring in the quiet library, drawing a warning glare from the librarian. He didn't care; he grabbed his phone and rushed out, his voice full of uncontrollable excitement.

“Book the tickets! Book them now! We’re going to Zhouzhi County, Xian!”

“Huh?” Wang Dalong was in the middle of bragging to the friends in the livestream when he was startled by the shout. “Zhouzhi County? Aren't we going to Xian city? Why are we going to the county? Holy crap, you have a clue?”

“Yes!” Lin Feng nodded vigorously, his eyes shining brilliantly. “Su Shi told me.”

Wang Dalong: “???”

Just as Wang Dalong scrambled to start grabbing tickets, Lin Feng's phone vibrated.

It wasn't a text message, nor was it WeChat.

It was an encrypted email from an unknown sender.

Sender: Jiang Wanqing.

Who?

The content of the email was very concise, with wording that was official and restrained:

“Mr. Lin, hello. My name is Jiang Wanqing, a regular viewer. I learned from the internet that you are about to head to the Qinling area for a so-called 'exploration livestream'.”

“I am writing to remind you that the Qinling mountain range has a complex ecology and varied geology, with many unopened and unexplored areas. Entering rashly poses a significant risk to personal safety.”

“At the same time, this area is a concentrated distribution zone for ancient Chinese ruins and tombs. Any unauthorized prospecting or excavation is illegal, and unintentional digging could cause irreversible, permanent damage to underground cultural layers.”

“I hope you can act with caution, maintaining an attitude of responsibility toward history, nature, and your own life.”

“If necessary, you can contact us at any time to obtain the necessary professional support.”

Every word of the email smelled of official business, but Lin Feng read a hint of warning and concern between the lines.

He gripped his phone, pondering for a few seconds.

He wasn't nervous; instead, he felt a sense of relief.

He replied quickly:

“Dr. Jiang, please rest assured. I am a history lover first and a video blogger second; I am well aware of the stakes. My goal is to record historical and geographical features and conduct a science-popularization livestream; I will never break the law. Thank you for your professional reminder.”

Click send.

Putting away his phone, Lin Feng walked to the window and looked out at the darkening sky.

From the moment he received this email, the nature of his treasure hunt had changed.

This was no longer a secret mission between him and the system.

In the shadows, professional eyes were already staring at him without blinking.

And this might just be a wonderful thing.

After all, what he was looking for wasn't a few copper coins, but a national gold treasury weighing one hundred and seventy tons.

The more players in this game, the better.

And... the more exciting.