If the Heavenly Master of the Han family came, I would have to stay as far away from him as possible. I wouldn't have a share of that liquid.
Even if I was brave enough to avoid the Heavenly Master of the Han family and make a deal with Han Wennan, the True Dragon Saliva was too precious. Once I told them about it, the Han family wouldn't be easy to deal with. Even if Han Wennan kept his promise, I wasn't sure how much he would give me.
I immediately said, "Big Brother Han, even if Chen Daozhang and Miaojue aren't here, the two of us should be enough. As long as we're careful, we shouldn't be in too much danger."
I purposely emphasized the words' Chen Daozhang and Miaojue aren't here 'to remind Han Wennan that since they weren't here, we wouldn't expose the True Dragon's vein if we went there. There was nothing to worry about.
Han Wennan hesitated after listening to me. Professor Liang insisted on going, so Han Wennan reluctantly nodded in agreement.
We packed our things and set out together. When we arrived at the door, we saw Chen Yangting and Miaojue walking toward us.
Seeing that we were about to go out, Miao Jue wore an indifferent expression and didn't say anything. Chen Yangting, on the other hand, ran over excitedly and said, "I knew you would go there today. Fortunately, I didn't come late. Let's go. Today, I must find out what exactly made me fall into that trap yesterday."
He still looked tired, but his spirit was good. His body had almost recovered.
Han Wennan gawked and dropped his jaw. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to stop this operation. However, he had just agreed. If he objected now, wouldn't it mean that he was guilty?
Feeling helpless, he could only persuade Chen Yangting. "You're still injured, so you should be careful. It'll be the same after you recover."
Chen Yangting didn't listen to him and insisted on going. The two couldn't come to an agreement. In the end, Professor Liang lost his temper and scolded Han Wennan. "You're a man, so why are you so stubborn?
If you want to go, just go. Why are you talking so much nonsense? "
Han Wennan was rebuked, and he wasn't a quick-witted person, so he stammered and couldn't say anything. He could only hang his head dejectedly and no longer speak, following the crowd on their journey.
It didn't matter to me whether Chen Yangting and Miaojue found the True Dragon Vein or not. However, I was worried that Han Wennan would think of some other method to stop us. That's why I purposely lagged behind them. After Chen Yangting and Miaojue were far away, I whispered to Han Wennan, "Since he has already informed his family, even if we go to the cave today, as long as we stall for time, the probability of Chen Yangting and Miaojue finding the True Dragon Vein isn't high. Tomorrow, when the people of his family arrive and take control of the situation, it doesn't matter if Chen Yangting and Miaojue found the True Dragon Vein or not."
Han Wennan stayed silent for a while. She probably felt that what I said was reasonable, so she nodded her head in agreement.
On the way to the orchard, I purposely sat in the same car as Professor Liang. I found a chance to ask him about the terracotta statue from yesterday. "Did you find anything inside it?"
Professor Liang glanced at me and said, "What could be inside a terracotta statue? Of course, it's a corpse. Last night, I opened the terracotta statue. It's an ancient corpse that has decayed for several thousand years."
I was bewildered. When I was in Yu Fuda's attic and the cellar, Professor Liang had told me about the Shang Dynasty's sacrificial culture. That was why when I saw the terracotta statue, my first thought was that it was a corpse. However, when I sensed the fluctuation of shaman energy, I changed my mind.
Up until now, besides the shaman energy I had cultivated, I had only seen Little Gold's shaman energy. That was why I didn't think that other people would have shaman energy. I thought that the terracotta statue contained something similar to ink beads.
After listening to Professor Liang, I finally understood. No wonder I had sensed that the shaman energy inside the terracotta statue was evenly distributed. It was a corpse!
I suddenly remembered the time when I was in the back mountain of the Metaphysics Society. When the ten Heavenly Masters attacked me, they had mentioned the shaman tribe. The corpses that were sealed in the terracotta figurines must be the shaman tribe that the Heavenly Masters had mentioned.
I suddenly had a strange feeling. The Heavenly Masters had said that I was a remnant of the shaman tribe. So, were the corpses in the cave my ancestors?
My ancestors weren't the right word. They should be my ancestors.
Perhaps it was because I was used to living alone, but I couldn't help but sigh. I sat there and kept silent.
Soon, we reached the cellar in the orchard. After we got out of the car, Professor Liang acted quickly. He directed us to enter the cellar. We followed the rope ladder and entered the cave.
When we left yesterday, the armed policemen on duty were still there. We didn't encounter any danger that night. Deputy Chief Zhang asked the others to change shifts. The two armed policemen chatted and laughed as they left.
Then, Professor Liang urged us to enter the cave. Before entering, Deputy Chief Zhang arranged for some armed policemen to follow us. He said that they would protect us.
From yesterday's situation, if we encountered any danger, even if they had guns, they would only be a burden. Chen Yangting, Chen Yangting, and the others all refused. However, Professor Liang said that they could help if they entered the cave. He insisted on taking them with him.
No matter what, they weren't members of the Metaphysics Society. There was a big generation gap between them. Moreover, Professor Liang was a stubborn old man. In the end, we had no choice but to agree. We brought six armed policemen and around ten people with us to enter the cave for the second time.
Professor Liang stopped at the entrance of the cave. He pointed at the huge symbol on the wall and said, "This symbol is similar to the word 'king' in the oracle bone inscriptions. It should be the passage that only the royal family of the Shang Dynasty could use. The smaller caves on the side are probably used by the commoners and slaves."
While he was talking, the two students behind him were taking notes. The others weren't interested in these things, so no one answered him.
After they took a picture and copied the symbol, we finally entered the cave.
After entering the cave, I turned around to check. It was the same as yesterday. As long as we entered the cave, we couldn't see the light outside. It was strange, and I was sure that there was a reason behind it. However, no one paid attention to it.
Professor Liang walked in the front. After observing the surroundings, he walked to the first terracotta statue. He asked us about the situation after we dug it out yesterday. I heard that there was a tube connected to the statue. Moreover, after the tube was cut, it returned to the statue as if it was a living creature.
His interest was piqued. He asked us to dig this terracotta statue out. He said that he wanted to see what was going on with his own eyes.
The corners of my mouth curled into a smile when he mentioned the terracotta statue. Today, I had come here for the liquid inside the tube. If we wanted to get that liquid, we had to dig the terracotta statue out.
Before we came here, I had told the spirit serpent that I wouldn't take the liquid out. I would find a chance to cut the tube and let the serpent go to the terracotta statue. After it swallowed the liquid, it would quickly return to my body. That way, it wouldn't attract attention.
The spirit serpent had an ethereal body, and it could change its size. As long as it shrank, I would use my shaman energy to cover it. Then, Han Wennan and Chen Yangting wouldn't be able to see it. It was very safe, and I didn't need to worry about being exposed.
I was happy, but Chen Yangting and Han Wennan's faces turned solemn. Yesterday, Chen Yangting had encountered some kind of evil spirit. He had been affected when he was digging the terracotta statue. If he dug the terracotta statue again today, the same thing would happen again.
The two of them expressed their worries. Although Professor Liang and the others didn't know what was going on, they didn't force them since they sounded serious.
Seeing that the situation wasn't right, I hurried to persuade them. "What happened yesterday could be a coincidence. Even if it wasn't, we don't need to worry. We're right next to the cave, and Master Miaojue is here. If the same thing happens again, we can easily solve it. Moreover, we can also study how it happened."
Han Wennan and Chen Yangting looked at me at the same time and nodded in agreement with my opinion.
It wasn't hard to guess what they were thinking. Han Wennan wanted to buy time by digging the terracotta statue, and Chen Yangting simply wanted to know what had happened yesterday.
As for Master Miaojue, he still looked calm and composed. It seemed he didn't care about anything.
After we came to a conclusion, the armed police officers held the plastic bombs in their hands and walked toward the statue.
The people that Deputy Chief Zhang had sent were the elites of the armed police. Directional explosions weren't a problem. Soon, they stuck the small plastic bombs in different places around the terracotta statue. After they were detonated, a muffled explosion resounded. Crushed stones flew everywhere, creating a big hole. However, the terracotta statue in the middle wasn't damaged at all. The explosive effect wasn't worse than the talismans Chen Yangting had used yesterday.
After an armed policeman pulled the terracotta figure out, everyone stared at it closely, especially Chen Yangting. His Qi of the Way gushed out from his body and enveloped the terracotta figure. Unfortunately, even after the terracotta figure was completely pulled out, he did not find anything wrong even after a long time had passed. His face was full of doubt.
What was even more strange was that there was no soft tube connected to the terracotta statue's feet.
I looked at it for a long time, feeling discouraged. Then, I moved closer to take a look. There was a hole as big as a wrist underneath the terracotta statue. It seemed there used to be a soft tube connected to it, but I didn't know why it had disappeared.
I pondered for a while. This terracotta statue was different from the one we had found yesterday. One had shaman energy, while the other didn't.
Did that soft tube absorb the shaman energy from the corpse inside the terracotta statue? After that, the tube disappeared?
Professor Liang studied the statue for a while. Then, he stood up and looked pensive. "We need to move forward to check the other terracotta statues."
Han Wennan stood up. "Yesterday, after Chen Yangting dug out the terracotta statues, an accident happened around half an hour later. He asked us to wait for another half an hour to check the situation."
Apparently, he was stalling for time. However, his words made sense, and no one dared to refute him. We stopped and rested for half an hour.
Half an hour later, everything was still normal. Then, we resumed our journey.
The walls of the cave and the stone road under our feet were smooth. Except for the terracotta statues on both sides, there was nothing else. Professor Liang had been observing the terracotta statues along the way.
I thought that he would dig them up again to check the situation. If that happened, it would be a waste of time.
I didn't expect that Professor Liang didn't want to dig up more terracotta statues.
We continued to walk until we reached the place where we had dug out the terracotta statue yesterday. Professor Liang suddenly pointed at a spot a few meters ahead of us. He asked the armed police officers to dig up the terracotta statue.
I focused my eyes, and my face changed. I quietly turned around and looked at Professor Liang.