met free Chapter 237: Discovering Stolen Goods
Chapter 237: Discovering Stolen Goods
Chapter 237 Discovery of Stolen Goods
Lu Beizhou and two guards also came out of the passage. He quickly scanned the cave, his vigilance remaining unwavering.
The inner cave was much larger than the outer one, and Lu Beizhou continued to explore along the edge. "There seems to be another mechanism here."
Upon hearing this, the two guards stopped in their tracks, remaining vigilant against the hidden weapons that might be launched from all sides at any moment.
He discovered a smoother stone on the rough rock face, with a faint crack visible next to it.
Upon hearing this, Long Chuqing calmly walked over, while Lu Beizhou carefully felt around on the stone.
He pressed down slightly on one side, and the stone wall on the other side bulged slightly. He took out his short knife and gently pried along the edge, and the protruding stone fell out, revealing an ingenious mechanism inside.
The mechanism inside was connected to several thin threads like the ones we had just seen. Lu Beizhou examined them for a moment but didn't know where to begin.
If they were to touch it rashly, they might trigger another trap. Right now, they were standing in an open area, and they didn't know which direction the hidden weapon would come from!
Just as Lu Beizhou was at a loss, Long Chuqing pulled out the phoenix hairpin from her head, avoided the fine threads inside the mechanism, inserted the hairpin into a small hole, turned it, and then broke one of the threads.
With a crisp "click," the taut wires beside them instantly drooped, and the remaining mechanisms lost their offensive power.
"Alright, there shouldn't be any more danger now." Long Chuqing casually stuck the hairpin back into her hair.
"Girl, you even understand the structure of this kind of mechanism?" Lu Beizhou asked with some surprise.
“I once learned a thing or two from an old master craftsman who liked to tinker with mechanisms, so these simple mechanisms are not difficult for me.”
Lu Beizhou stared at Long Chuqing in front of him, still harboring a trace of wariness and doubt in his heart. This girl was not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also knowledgeable about the structure of mechanisms. Just who was she?
There was one more thing he hadn't had time to think about before: what exactly was the girl's purpose in coming here?
It was already strange that they appeared on the mountain of the mass grave so early in the morning, but now they were brought here for no reason.
How did she know about such a secluded place? Could it be that she had been here before? It couldn't possibly have been a coincidence that she discovered it today.
It's even less likely that the blue-headed fly led the way; such absurdity is something only a fool would believe!
However, it seems she doesn't have any ill intentions at the moment, so let's continue to observe her for a while.
"Lord Lu, we've made a discovery over here," a guard's voice rang out.
Upon hearing the sound, Lu Beizhou and Long Chuqing walked deeper into the cave. At the other end of the main cave, they found a crevice that could only accommodate one person at a time.
There were no small openings at the top inside, so it was pitch black when you looked in from outside the crevice, and you could smell an unpleasant odor when you stood at the opening.
Lu Beizhou took out a tinderbox and probed into the crevice. The faint light illuminated the scene inside the cave, which was not large. In one corner, several skeletons were piled up.
Finding no danger inside, Lu Beizhou and two guards went in to investigate. Long Chuqing hesitated for a moment before stepping inside as well.
Judging from the degree of weathering of these remains, they must have been dead for some years, and some of the remains still had tattered clothing hanging on them.
But why are they all piled up together? And in a sitting position, could it be that someone did this on purpose?
With these questions in mind, Lu Beizhou brought the tinderbox closer and carefully examined the skeleton on the ground.
However, the bones were all piled up together, making it impossible to tell whether anything was hidden behind them.
Lu Beizhou signaled to the two guards to move all the bones away. After all the bones were moved, they found that there was nothing unusual on the ground.
He held up the tinderbox and examined it carefully again, then stepped on it with his foot and suddenly felt that the soil under his feet was loose and collapsed.
He found it very suspicious, so he ordered two guards to help him dig away the layer of soil with their swords.
Fei Feng also explored the cave and discovered that the dream demon aura she had detected on the thief's hidden weapon matched the remains on the ground.
Fei Feng said, "Qingqing, it's likely that the thief picked up the aura of the Dream Demon while handling these corpses. He himself shouldn't have a direct relationship with the Dream Demon, but we don't know if the deaths of these people are related to the Dream Demon."
Feng Yu said, "However, what is certain is that the Dream Demon once used this cave as its dwelling place and stayed here for a period of time. There is still a trace of its aura here. But now, there is no trace of it here. It must have found another place to live."
“Since it’s not here,” Long Chuqing said, “then let’s look elsewhere!”
"We've got it! There really is something down there!" a guard who was digging vigorously said with a hint of excitement.
Before long, they dug out three bundles from underneath. When they opened them, they found many gold and silver utensils and various jewelry and precious stones.
"These must be the stolen goods! We've finally found them," a guard said with a smile.
“However…” Lu Beizhou did not show any joy. “Judging from the reported number of thefts, there should be far more than this. The thieves must be hiding in more than one place.”
He ordered again, "Search the cave again."
"Yes……"
Finding nothing inside, Long Chuqing walked out of the dark cave.
She looked around the cave outside and found some dark things scattered along the wall. She crouched down and examined them closely.
Just as she was about to reach out and touch it, Feifeng quickly stopped her: "Qingqing, don't touch it, this is animal excrement! It's just dried out."
Long Chuqing quickly withdrew her hand: "Strange? How could animals get into this place?"
Fei Feng said, "I don't know, but I guess they came in through the cave entrance."
At that moment, a few leaves drifted down from the hole at the top.
Long Chuqing quickly turned her head and noticed a shadow where the sunlight was reflecting off the ground.
Could it be that the thief was worried that the stolen goods would be found, so he came back specifically to check?
Long Chuqing quickly turned around, stood up, and ran to the bottom of the cave entrance, looking up.
Sure enough, there was a figure peering in from above, with half its head sticking out. When it saw Long Chu leaning over, it quickly pulled its head back in.
Long Chuqing used her lightness skill to leap into the air. At this moment, the people above the cave entrance threw several hidden weapons at her. She swept her whip to deflect all the hidden weapons, but then fell back to the ground.
She glanced at the fallen hidden weapons, which were exactly the same as the one she had picked up earlier, except that all of them were coated with poison.
This further confirmed that the person above was the masked man they had encountered that morning.