Chapter 4: Exploring the Withered Well

Tomorrow, I will leave this place to live in Rongcheng, and I do not know when I will ever return. Before departing, Cheng Xiangru wanted to get to the bottom of this dry well.

Wrapping his hands in his sleeves and gripping the rough hanging rope, Cheng Xiangru braced his feet against the side of the well to maintain his balance, sliding down bit by bit. The space inside was narrow and dim, like the intestines of a demon; it was impossible to gauge the depth with the naked eye.

Cheng Yimo stood guard nervously by the well, her voice trembling and choked with tears as she kept urging him: "Brother, go slowly, be careful..."

The air inside the well was stagnant and foul, carrying an earthy, choking stench. Drenched in sweat, his clothes clinging to his skin, Cheng Xiangru groped his way down in the darkness, his heart pounding with extreme anxiety. He had no idea what might be waiting for him below.

After an unknown amount of time and depth, just as his sister's voice became muffled by echoes, he finally reached the bottom. The floor was littered with loose stones, debris, fallen leaves, and withered branches. Cheng Xiangru lit a candle, covered his nose and mouth with his hand, and looked around, only to be surprised by a tunnel entrance about half a person's height.

After a moment of hesitation, he knelt and crawled into the opening, carefully holding the dripping candle as he struggled forward. He did not crawl far before he felt the space around him open up; he had exited the tunnel and arrived in a spacious area.

By the faint light of the candle, Cheng Xiangru held his breath and observed his surroundings. It was a hollow chamber supported by wooden structures that looked precarious, as if they might collapse at any moment. Directly opposite the tunnel exit, a large wooden board was embedded in the earth. Painted on it was an ancient warrior in armor, kneeling on one knee with eyes tightly closed, holding a sword over his head with both hands. The pigments of the painting had oxidized, the original colors unrecognizable, with parts of the surface slightly mottled.

Cheng Xiangru brought the candle closer to inspect it, but suddenly felt the floorboard beneath him give way, hearing a distinct "click."

"No!"

Cheng Xiangru’s breath hitched. Relying entirely on instinct, he threw his body backward, falling heavily to the ground and extinguishing his candle. Almost simultaneously, he heard a "whoosh" sound twice, feeling something zip past his face, followed by two dull "thuds."

After lying on the ground for a while to recover, Cheng Xiangru slowly rose, groped for the candle, and relit it. Before him, the warrior who had been closing his eyes now had them wide open, revealing two pitch-black hollows. Behind him, two arrows were embedded in a wooden support pillar, their fletching still vibrating slightly.

"That was... too close!"

Cheng Xiangru gasped, his heart racing. He felt as if he had already died once, yet the instinctive reaction of his body in that life-or-death moment made him feel as though he had fallen into a nightmare where everything had become unreal.

After his heartbeat settled, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and temples, carefully inching forward until he reached the painting. Though faded in parts, the warrior's features were clear and strangely familiar, though Cheng Xiangru could not recall where he had seen them before.

After observing for a moment, his gaze was drawn to the sword the warrior held overhead. To be precise, it was the hilt that caught his attention. There was a circular metal groove on the hilt, its size identical to the circular jade pendant that had been wrapped in countless layers inside the Luoshu Box!

Cheng Xiangru hurriedly pulled out the jade pendant and slowly raised his hand to place it into the groove. It fit perfectly, seamless and precise.

"Hum..."

Amidst a sudden, deep grinding sound, the wooden board slid horizontally, revealing a doorway!

That jade pendant was a key! The board painted with the sword-bearing warrior was a door!

What followed was even more mind-boggling. By the dim candlelight, Cheng Xiangru was shocked to see that the secret chamber was filled with a dizzying array of antiques. There were half-man-high jade carvings with intricate patterns, bronze tripods with square, sheep-footed legs, golden plates covered in strange runes, porcelain cups so thin they were transparent, and nesting sets of bronze bells...

Only then did Cheng Xiangru realize that "Boss Zhou's" warning about it causing "monumental trouble" was not an exaggeration.

Cheng Xiangru walked into the chamber slowly. Overwhelmed, his mind went blank, his body moving as if on autopilot. The chamber was not small, and the treasures were plentiful. He walked with extreme caution, terrified of breaking something. Once the shock subsided, countless questions arose in his mind. Why didn't his father sell these things after stealing them? Why go to such lengths to hide them here? How were these massive items brought in?

As the key to this secret chamber, why was the jade pendant hidden in the Luoshu Box and buried in his father's fake grave?

Walking past the antiques, Cheng Xiangru’s thoughts were in turmoil, his mind a jumbled mess with no clear direction. The image of his father—the grave robber despised by all—grew increasingly blurred in his memory, as if veiled by a mysterious shroud, behind which hid an eerie, enigmatic smile.

Suddenly, Cheng Xiangru noticed something—an object that felt completely out of place in this chamber. It was a wooden box with a rusted copper lock. The surface had no patterns and was heavily battered, the corners frayed and splintered. What really caught his attention was not the dilapidated state of the box or the lock, but the fact that he had seen this box in his childhood!

More than that, he knew that inside the box were a few tattered books. The broken box and the broken books had been treated by his father as priceless treasures, often taken out to be read at night. Although his father didn't mind him being nearby, he was too young to read and had no interest in those old books at the time. Later, after he learned to read at the village primary school, his father had disappeared, his mother had run off with someone else, and the wooden box and its contents had vanished without a trace.

Cheng Xiangru never dreamed he would see them again here. He picked up the box, examining it closely, and involuntarily drifted into childhood memories as scenes from the past emerged...

Just then, he heard a very faint sound of footsteps outside the secret chamber. Though light, the sound was exceptionally clear, tearing through the underground silence.

Cheng Xiangru was horrified. He raised the candle to look toward the door and caught a glimpse of a dark shadow flashing past. Simultaneously, louder footsteps echoed—someone was fleeing.

Momo?

No! This is bad—Momo is in danger!

Cheng Xiangru didn't care about anything else. Clutching the wooden box, he rushed out. When he ran out of the secret chamber, there was no one in sight. He reached back to remove the jade pendant from the wooden door, and amidst the "humming" sound of the door resetting, he scrambled into the tunnel, ignoring the fact that his candle had gone out, and chased after the intruder with all his might.