44

Cave, Lin You had really never seen one before. Excited by Yao Jiu, she followed her to see it.

There were quite a few cars on the winding mountain road, a stark contrast to the usual quietness.

Yao Jiu: “I heard in town that it’s a very rare large cave. I don’t know how the news got out, but now a lot of people are heading up the mountain.”

When they arrived at the site, there were even more people.

Many came just to see the excitement, with some even bringing children who peered around. However, since such a rare discovery had been made, the county had urgently dispatched personnel to maintain order. The experts from Lu City were moving a bit slower, but they were already on their way.

The cave entrance was carefully uncovered. Originally hidden, after the obstruction was removed, it turned out to be two to three meters high. Staff members in uniforms used yellow caution tape to separate the crowd, and Lin You and Yao Jiu could only see the dark opening.

In the crowd, Lin You spotted Xiao Ma, who was maintaining order, and greeted him from a distance.

Xiao Ma, sweat glistening, jogged over: “What are you doing here? It’s so hot outside, and you can’t see anything!”

Yao Jiu, with a face full of excitement, said: “Just curious! Hey, what’s inside? I heard from someone that this cave is huge, like two football fields in size!”

Xiao Ma couldn’t hide his excitement either and lowered his voice: “Not just that, you know how caves can be steep, right? The part we’ve explored so far has over 80 small chambers, and the main tunnel stretches nearly ten kilometers! Plus, there are three big halls and five waterfalls!”

What Xiao Ma didn’t say was that some of the chambers even had hot spring water! Although using them in the future would be quite challenging, it still excited everyone.

A cave, waterfalls, hot springs… What was this?

It was the future bread and butter of Yanxia Mountain for decades to come!

Yao Jiu inhaled sharply, feeling stunned just listening to it.

“Can we go inside and take a look? Don’t worry, we’ll just stand at the entrance!”

Such a large cave that hadn’t been developed—how often could one see something like this in a lifetime?

Xiao Ma hesitated for a while and reluctantly gave some leeway: “You can stay by the entrance, but you can’t go inside.”

With such a massive cave, it had remained undiscovered until now. The elderly person who initially found it said he had never heard of a cave on the mountain, indicating that it had been there for a long time.

Xiao Ma: “I heard that when the old man discovered it, he was so startled.”

Yao Jiu: “Startled by what? The cave doesn’t look scary.”

Xiao Ma lowered his voice even more: “Of course it was because of what’s inside. This ancient cave has a lot of bats. The man was up the mountain looking for herbs, and when he struck the cave with his hoe, all these bats flew out… and there are still quite a few inside.”

Lin You instantly felt a chill run down her spine. She stood there, forcing a couple of awkward laughs: “Bats, huh…”

She was terrified of bats.

When she was a child living on the mountain, bats would often fly into her house. Those little creatures flapping their wings had really left a psychological scar on her childhood.

Lin You hesitated: “I think I’ll pass…”

A glance revealed that Bo Chuan was standing not far away, though Lin You didn’t know when he had arrived.

Bo Chuan had his hands in his pockets, and although his expression was the same as usual, Lin You keenly felt… he seemed a little restless.

Bo Chuan crossed the caution line, and a security officer hurriedly approached: “Hey, hey, hey, sir, you can’t go in there!”

Xiao Ma, who lived in the town, knew Bo Chuan, the Taoist master. After the recent fame of Fangping Town, many people came to visit, some even asking where the old divine being who sold the Five Emperors Coins was.

At first, Xiao Ma didn’t care about it, since every mountain had its fair share of feudal superstitions.

However, as more and more people asked, the leaders instructed him to look into it, at least to make sure the person wasn’t a fraud, so as not to tarnish Fangping Town’s reputation.

After asking around, Yao Jiu mentioned that the old divine being was Bo Chuan. Yao Jiu even made it sound like Bo Chuan had some amazing skills, which made Xiao Ma half-believe it. Still, he treated Bo Chuan with respect, adhering to the usual approach toward religion: don’t encourage, don’t obstruct, but show proper respect.

So Xiao Ma ran up to explain the situation to his colleagues and brought Bo Chuan inside.

As Bo Chuan got closer to the cave entrance, his expression grew more serious. Standing at the entrance, an unexpected breeze brought a chill, making the air feel cool.

Xiao Ma gave a few instructions, told everyone not to go inside, and then ran off to continue his work.

With Bo Chuan there, Lin You mustered up the courage to stay, knowing Bo Chuan’s abilities. He shouldn’t have any problem with bats, right?

Bo Chuan walked around the entrance, quickly calculating with his hands, his brow never relaxing.

The crowd outside had been eager to get closer, but seeing the young people standing by the entrance, with the young man bending down now and then to check the soil, they murmured.

“Don’t bother, they must be experts.”

Yao Jiu was puzzled: “What’s he doing?”

Lin You shook her head. Who knew what Bo Chuan was doing?

Not long after, a large bus arrived, and about ten people with boxes came down, wearing work badges from several universities in the provincial capital.

Xiao Ma hurried around, leading the experts inside. A little while later, some leaders, along with people from the Geology Bureau and the Cultural Relics Bureau, arrived.

Yao Jiu nudged Lin You: “Shall we go?”

Just seeing the inside part of the cave from the entrance, with the faint sight of stalactites hanging down, had already satisfied Yao Jiu.

But Bo Chuan still had no intention of leaving. After examining the cave, he stood at the entrance like a guardian deity.

Lin You whispered: “Let’s wait a little longer.”

From Bo Chuan’s demeanor, it seemed like he had made some discovery.

Not long after, Xiao Ma came out, unable to hide his excitement: “We found a tomb inside!”

Yao Jiu exclaimed, “Wow! Who’s tomb is it? Is it some important person? Are there burial goods? Any intricate mechanisms?”

Xiao Ma scratched his head: “It’s hard to say whose tomb it is, it’s been so long that even the tombstone is gone. The experts are still investigating.”

Bo Chuan’s expression was neither happy nor angry, but more of a look of understanding after the mystery was unraveled.

“Let’s go.”

Lin You was a little surprised. She had thought Bo Chuan would stay for a while longer, but it was actually him who suggested leaving?

Bo Chuan looked toward the direction of Lianhua Town, as if he were looking at someone.

“Furball is at home alone, probably hungry by now.”

Right, it had already been half a day since they left the house, and all the animals at home were probably hungry.

The three of them took a tricycle back home.

Lin You rummaged through the fridge and found some leftover small meatballs and crispy pork, then made a tomato-based soup. She added the meatballs to the soup, with the sweet and sour tomatoes balancing out the greasiness of the fried food. It went perfectly with rice. Using hotpot seasoning, she made a fragrant and spicy sauce, added the crispy pork and vegetables, and created a simple but appealing version of crispy pork hotpot. She steamed some eggplant, shredded it into strips, poured garlic sauce and seasonings over it, and also stir-fried a pot of young greens. Finally, she cooked a big bowl of seaweed egg drop soup.

With four dishes and one soup, Lin You served some of the tomato meatball soup to the big, fat cat sleeping in the corner of the wall.

Speaking of which, ever since this tabby cat came home, it had a good temperament and would eat anything given to it. The only time it got upset was when Uncle Shui from the village came to ask Lin You if she still wanted the little kitten from his family, who had just turned one month old.

At that time, the usually good-natured Furball almost caused a ruckus, meowing loudly at Lin You for a long time.

Only when Lin You assured it that it was the only cat in the house, with no other cats to threaten its position, did Furball calm down.

Because of this unique position, Lin You had spoiled this big fat cat from the start. If it didn’t eat cat food, that was fine, whatever people were eating, the cat would eat, too.

At first, Lin You only fed it some light food, but later realized that Furball didn’t seem to have any dietary restrictions! No matter what it was, as long as it was edible, Furball would want to have a bite. And after eating, there were no stomach issues. So Lin You gradually relaxed her restrictions, only avoiding particularly strong-tasting foods.

The only downside was that Furball somehow got a taste for chocolate and would often pester Lin You for some.

Of course, she wouldn’t feed it chocolate—it’s deadly for cats. Lin You refused, but the cat would sneak some when she wasn’t looking. She had caught it at least three times. Realizing she couldn’t prevent it, Lin You simply stopped buying chocolate, which made Furball quite sulky for several days.

“Furball, wake up, it’s time to eat!”

Lin You woke the fat cat, who blinked sleepily but insisted on standing up to eat.

The tomato meatball soup gave the feeling of eating meatballs in a tomato hotpot, and Furball ate one after another, finishing them but still seeming like it hadn’t fully woken up.

“Meow~”

Lin You: “Oh, you’re still hungry? Wait a moment, I’ll get you some more.”

Another small bowl of meatballs went down.

“Meow~”

Lin You served a bowl of egg drop soup, with a few pieces of crispy pork that had been soaked in water and lightly cooked.

Normally, no matter how much Furball could eat, it would be full by now.

But today, Furball seemed to have an endless bottomless pit in its stomach. After finishing, it circled around Lin You, meowing.

“…No more food, you’ve eaten so much already!”

“Meow~”

Furball rolled over on its back, as if offering its belly in exchange for more food.

“One more time, just a little petting, now it’s meal time!”

Reluctantly, Lin You could only give it two more pieces of pork jerky.

That afternoon, Furball was either eating or on the way to getting more food.

“Meow~~”

“…Really, no more eating!”

“Meow~”

“Fine, one more piece of dried biscuit.”

It wasn’t until evening that Furball finally quieted down, dragging its plump body off the wall and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Bo Chuan was in his courtyard, gazing at the moonlit sky. It was already May, and the first moon of the month hung high, round and bright like an egg yolk. He seemed to be talking to someone, or perhaps just murmuring to himself.

“It’s almost the Dragon Boat Festival.”

One week after the discovery of the cave, the topic of the cave became the talk of the town. Not just in Fangping Town, but the entire county was buzzing with news of it.

The experts had mostly completed their exploration, and the cave was not small. While it might not be the best in the country, it was unquestionably the number one cave in the province.

The cave system was extensive, with more than a hundred small caves. After thousands of years of accumulation, the stalactites inside were magnificent and unusual. Five waterfalls flowed inside, creating an underground river that wound its way, carrying fresh water.

Even the most naive residents of Fangping Town knew that their town was about to have a big opportunity.

You see, Lu City itself was an agricultural province with few entertainment spots. The city had already planned to focus on development in this area in recent years. Now that they learned about the large cave discovered in Jingshui County, it felt like a ready-made opportunity had just fallen into their lap.

Leaders from the city came one after another, and the township’s leaders also made frequent trips to the city and county, with one clear goal in mind.

How could they develop the Yanxia Mountain?

This was no small task that could be completed in a short time, it would take at least a few months to finalize a plan, and once the project started, it would take at least two to three years.

But the future was bright, and the road ahead was promising. The township was full of excitement and joy.

At this moment, Xiao Ma came to visit. In just a few short days, the once good young man already had a rash on his mouth.

“Lin You, your neighbor, that Taoist master! Where is he now?”

Lin You: “At this time, he should be up on the mountain.”

Bo Chuan still hadn’t found a suitable beam for his house, and recently he seemed even more anxious, rarely staying at home.

“Quick, take me to find him, I need his help with something!”

Lin You saw that he was really anxious, so she called up Chunling and her husband to go up the mountain with her to find Bo Chuan. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to call, but the problem was that Bo Chuan didn’t really use his phone, it was more of a decoration. He often left it at home, only turning it on when needed, and otherwise just tossed it aside.

Fortunately, Bo Chuan hadn’t gone deep into the mountains and was found not far from the locust flower forest.

Xiao Ma didn’t care that there were others around, he spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube. He had been forced into a corner, and Bo Chuan was the only one he knew with any expertise in this matter, so he came to him for help.

“Last time, three of the experts who were involved in the cave exploration, for some unknown reason, suddenly started sleepwalking. At first, we thought it was just a coincidence, but over the past few days, it’s gotten worse. At night, they often strike strange poses on the floor and make weird sounds…”

The cave exploration was a collaboration between several departments. Some experts came and went, and most of those who stayed were from archaeology and geological exploration. These people were arranged by the town, they were sent to the cave in the morning and picked up in the afternoon. They were all housed at the town’s guesthouse.

Xiao Ma’s face turned pale. “Last night, two of the experts even assumed attacking postures and bit one of their roommates.”

Although they rushed the person to the hospital immediately and the doctors confirmed it was just a minor bite, the incident still caused panic. What made it worse was that these three experts were key leaders of the entire exploration project, so it was impossible to replace them.

Bo Chuan hadn’t expected this to happen. After thinking for a moment, he decided to follow Xiao Ma to take a look.

Lin You originally didn’t plan to go, but Bo Chuan asked her to bring the cat along.

“Anyway, you’ve got nothing to do, just say you’re my assistant, and come along for a tour.”

After a brief pause, Bo Chuan casually added, “Aren’t you afraid of bats? If you bring the cat, you won’t be scared.”

Lin You was still hesitating, but Xiao Ma, eager to leave, pulled them along. “Let’s go quickly. Everyone’s already gathered there, we need to have a meeting first.”

A meeting?

Lin You was confused as Xiao Ma dragged her onto the tricycle.

When they arrived at the town, she finally understood why Xiao Ma said that.

The town’s conference room, originally set up for seminars, was now filled with… masters.

There were men and women of all ages. Some were bald, some wore Taoist robes, and there was even a half-blind person wearing sunglasses…

Xiao Ma was a bit embarrassed. “It’s just… more efficient this way.”

Everyone was focused on the progress of the cave exploration, waiting for the completed plan. But at this critical moment, something went wrong. Early yesterday morning, the city had already called to ask if the cave development posed any danger.

Not to mention, the leaders weren’t superstitious, but whether or not one believed, the results mattered. ^[1]“It didn’t matter whether it was a black cat or a white cat, as long as it caught the mouse, it was a good cat” means that the method or approach doesn’t matter as long as it … Continue readingIt didn’t matter whether it was a black cat or a white cat, as long as it caught the mouse, it was a good cat.

Since the hospital couldn’t explain it, they would have to use magic to fight magic. After all, there were too many things in this world that couldn’t be explained by science.

Looking at the group of masters, it was hard to tell who had true skill just by their appearance. Everyone looked like they were enlightened. In contrast, Bo Chuan, a young man with such a striking appearance, stood out awkwardly in the crowd.

“This brother Taoist, which school do you belong to?”

A smiling, chubby man spoke first. Each family had their own teachers, and sometimes asking about someone’s school of thought was a way to build a connection.

Bo Chuan: “Zhengyue Sect.”

When these words were spoken, the hushed chatter in the conference room came to an abrupt stop.

The chubby man breathed a sigh of relief inside, thankful that he hadn’t said anything foolish earlier.

“So it’s Brother Taoist from the Zhengyue Sect. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

There were still some people who didn’t know, but seeing that everyone else had become serious, they also kept silent and began treating Bo Chuan with more respect.

This was the first time Lin You had heard about Bo Chuan’s sect, and she was a bit surprised. Judging by the expressions of the people around, was the Zhengyue Sect… very powerful?

Bo Chuan remained calm, sitting by himself. When someone spoke to him, he would respond, but when no one did, he would remain silent. There was no sign of pride or humility.

Xiao Ma had only hoped for a stroke of luck when he found Bo Chuan, but now that he had stumbled upon someone with a higher status, he suddenly felt a bit at a loss.

After all, he had just asked Bo Chuan to sit in the tricycle!

What’s more, the tricycle only had one seat. Bo Chuan had let Lin You sit, while he himself had perched on the crossbar for the entire ride.

Xiao Ma thought, “I feel like I’m about to run into bad luck soon.”

The gathering of “masters” couldn’t even be called a meeting. At most, it was a session where everyone brainstormed and speculated about the possible causes of the incident based on the current situation.

“It might be the work of the Yellow Immortal. Strange movements and sounds… isn’t that the possession of a yellow weasel?”

“Nonsense, during this season, yellow weasels wouldn’t choose daytime. I’ve asked around, those experts only go in the morning and return in the afternoon. They’re never there at night.”

“Maybe it’s the house spirit, haven’t you heard? Several nearby villages have abandoned houses.”

“But there aren’t any abandoned houses near the cave, the nearest village is several kilometers away. The house spirit couldn’t have traveled that far.”

“Then it must be a badly performed corpse raising, causing resentment.”

A group of people chattered, and they finally came up with two likely conclusions.

One was related to the Feng Shui of the cave itself. It had been sealed for so long, so it was very normal for there to be some inexplicable Feng Shui issues inside.

The other theory was that it was related to a tomb. The owner of the tomb had rested there for a long time, and now that someone had disturbed it, there was resentment.

Bo Chuan hadn’t spoken a word throughout. When questioned, he simply said he needed to see the situation for himself. This made some people murmur that this disciple of the Zhengyue Sect didn’t seem to live up to the reputation.

The Zhengyue Sect wasn’t considered a big sect, but it had some renown because they worshipped the Mountain Goddess, Dongyue Niangniang. Being the head of all mountains, they naturally had the most say in matters concerning mountains. This was why, despite having others in the group with higher status than Bo Chuan, everyone still subtly regarded him as the leader.

But now, this disciple of Zhengyue wasn’t speaking, which made everyone a bit uncertain.

Bo Chuan insisted on going to the cave, and the town leaders agreed, sending someone to guide them there.

The three experts who had gone mad the previous night also followed. They were perfectly normal during the day, though they still had bodyguards around them.

The bodyguards weren’t there to protect the experts, but to prevent them from suddenly harming anyone.

One of the experts, talking through the bodyguard, chatted with others. After all, he worked in archaeology, and people could easily strike up a conversation.

The chubby man, with a good temper, asked them, “What kind of coffin was that?”

He believed the root cause was the coffin, since these three experts had all come into contact with it.

The expert replied with a hint of helplessness, “It was just an unnamed coffin. We did find a stele downstream of the underground river, but the text on it was unclear. We’ve sent it to the province for appraisal.”

The chubby man said, “There’s a stele, but that doesn’t mean it’s an unnamed tomb. What about the bones?”

The expert replied, “There were no bones. When we opened the coffin, there were no remains.”

Everyone at the scene gasped in unison. No bones? That made the theory of disturbing the tomb invalid.

Could it really be a Feng Shui issue?

The experts had been treated like fools overnight, and they were extremely frustrated.

One of them sighed, “We followed all the proper procedures. Before we opened the coffin, I even slipped a business card from the leaders inside. Why are we still being blamed now?”