"Naturally, we'll hand it over," he replied. "Did you think we'd split it among ourselves?"
"Uh..." I knew the Xiahou family was poor, but that didn't excuse doing something against the country. If this was truly Li Tang's Central Plains gold, it was a historical relic and couldn't be divided. It should be returned to the state.
Gao Mingqiang clapped Xiahou on the shoulder, managing only to reach that high given his current stature. "Xiahou, stop dreaming. Our mission is to catch the criminals."
"Got it. I was just saying, don't be so tense!"
Saying this, Xiahou was the first to grip his gun and move forward. We quickly followed, searching everywhere for the sword. We combed through almost the entire cave but found nothing. This cave was different from the underground levels; it wasn't large, and we finished our search in no time. Lingering doubts formed, but my mind, for some reason, felt a jolt, like a spring of clear water suddenly appearing in a parched desert.
My eyes widened, and I suddenly noticed a corner above. I immediately cursed, realizing a sword was hanging overhead. Though it was far, a gun could certainly bring it down.
Seeing my gaze fixed upward, Liu Yuning had already gripped her gun and pointed it at a spot overhead. "Let's see my marksmanship this time!"
I trusted her shooting skills implicitly. With a bang, a rope binding the sword above was severed by the bullet. In this environment, hitting such a thin rope was no ordinary feat.
Here, Xiao Yuande would likely be fine, as would I, but the others might struggle, along with Liu Yuning herself.
As the sword fell, Xiahou instinctively tried to catch it. Had I not grabbed him, his arm would likely have been torn off.
The sword appeared incredibly heavy. As it fell, it plunged deep into the soil, kicking up a cloud of dust. The blade buried itself about a meter deep, with another meter still exposed. This sword was too long, and it weighed at least a hundred pounds. Had Xiahou not been held back, I genuinely feared he would have been crippled.
Witnessing this, Xiahou swallowed and turned to me, "Thank... you..."
"Next time, don't be so impulsive. Not everything can be touched."
"Understood, Team Leader."
Xiahou suddenly transformed into a docile child, accepting my guidance like a reprimand from parents, his head lowered as he stood behind the group.
I then approached the sword and examined it closely. This blade far surpassed the length and weight of a normal longsword. It seemed to be entirely crafted from Chencang stone, a material that, if one were to speculate, could be traced back to the Zhenguan era.
I explained, "During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, in the wilderness on the north slope of Chencang Mountain in Fengxiang Prefecture, Shaanxi (modern-day Shigu Mountain, Baoji City), an old shepherd discovered ten peculiar granite stones. These massive stones were drum-shaped, round yet square, narrower at the top and wider at the bottom, about 90 centimeters high and 60 centimeters in diameter, slightly convex in the middle, and quite peculiar in appearance. To everyone's bewilderment, after the mud was cleared from the stones, each one was meticulously inscribed with a four-character ancient poem. Due to the unique calligraphy, no one at the time could decipher it. And because the stones resembled drums, they were called 'Stone Drums,' and the inscriptions were known as the 'Stone Drum Inscriptions.'"
Here, only the learned Zhang Keying knew this anecdote. She picked up my thread, "Therefore, this sword is definitely not simple. But what is its connection to 'Vegetation reborn, nation prosperous and thriving'? And what about the Central Plains gold?"
I was also pondering. If I knew, I would have explained it long ago. Seeing my reaction, everyone understood I was deep in thought. We tended to lean against walls, chin in hand, eyes closed, and heads bowed when contemplating.
After an unknown period, Xiao Yuande, who had been silent, suddenly snapped his fingers. "Look at the many patterns on the sword, especially at the bottom. Aren't these twisted shapes like plants?"
Our attention was immediately drawn to him. Indeed, where the sword pierced the soil, there were twisted imprints resembling leaves. However, because the sword was deeply embedded, the exposed markings were not very clear. Xiao Yuande was quite observant to have noticed this.
I crouched on the ground, eyes still closed, my attention fully focused on the few exposed textures. I also noticed some inscriptions above. Ten Stone Drums, each with different characters. If they were all gathered... well...
I suddenly opened my eyes and said, "The ten Stone Drums currently housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing have most of their inscriptions worn away, especially the ninth drum, which is completely blank. Through historical research, scholars have named the ten Stone Drums based on their inscriptions: Zha Yuan, Er Shi, Ma Jian, Wu Shui, Wu Ren, Wu Che, Qian Yi, Tian Che, Luan Che, and Ling Yu. So, analyzing the first character on this sword, Zha Yuan, Er Shi, Ma Jian... What do you see at the top?"
Everyone was reminded and understood. Facing the hilt of the sword, we pressed on the area above the character "Yuan." There was indeed a button. The dense array of small holes was quite dizzying, but I focused on the original "Yuan" character and found a subtly recessed dark button in the center.
Immediately, a symbol of the Li Tang flag appeared on the sword hilt. The marking seemed to be accented with some color, clearly displayed on the Stone Drum-like material. A winding, majestic dragon on a yellow banner, its claws and fangs bared, looked incredibly divine. Whether it was an illusion or not, as we looked at it, its dragon eyes projected a silver light onto the soil, tracing a path that illuminated the location of a wall.
Our eyes simultaneously fixated on the nearby wall. I cocked my ear and detected what sounded like wind overhead. On the surrounding walls, faint mechanisms could be seen. At that moment, the wall not far away began to rumble, revealing a doorway!
We hadn't noticed it before. We all instinctively raised our guns, expecting someone to emerge. But as the stone door rotated away, it revealed only emptiness. A deep passage stretched out before us.