Chapter 42 of 100
Chapter 42
8 min read2,074 words
This time, the archaeological team consisted of seven people. Besides Zhang Tianyuan, Xu Gang, Liu Mengxun, and Mu Ying, there was also Professor Wang, who was very accomplished in archaeology, and a fiery woman from Miaojiang named Lan Fenghuang. Hearing her name, Zhang Tianyuan couldn't help but think of Jin Yong's "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer."
The seventh person was a man named She Lin, who was quiet and taciturn. He was said to be a former soldier, around 27 or 28 years old, not much older than Zhang Tianyuan and Xu Gang. He had served in Yunnan and was very familiar with the wilderness there, which would be a great help.
When discussing how to get to Yunnan, everyone agreed to fly to Nandu first, resupply there, and then drive to Shenluo Valley, where the local military would take them to the entrance of the secret site.
If they drove themselves, it would take too much time and energy, and the journey would be long. By the time they reached Nandu, they would be exhausted and wouldn't have the energy for anything else.
If they took the train, it would also take a lot of time, so flying was the best choice. The tickets were paid for by Mu Ying's company, and they were even first-class, so there was no reason not to take them.
Xu Gang originally wanted to persuade Mu Ying to give up on this archaeological expedition, but Professor Wang's words piqued his interest, and he couldn't resist.
According to Professor Wang's speculation, Shenluo Valley might be the treasure site of a lost kingdom called Shenluo, which was also known as the Golden Kingdom. All its buildings were said to be made of gold, and silver was used to pave the roads. However, after the kingdom's fall, all these things disappeared.
Later, experts speculated that Shenluo might just be a legend and never truly existed, a theory accepted by mainstream academia. It wasn't until the discovery of Shenluo Valley that new theories began to emerge.
Xu Gang was a man who valued money over his life. He firmly believed that Shenluo existed. After all, who had heard of Sanxingdui before? Many lost kingdoms were not recorded in historical documents and were only known through the discovery of ancient artifacts. Even if there was no gold or silver in Shenluo Valley, if there were artifacts like those found in Sanxingdui, it would still be a great find. The state had said that whoever found it would own it, and the state could buy it at a high price.
"What should we prepare?" Zhang Tianyuan, a cautious person, didn't want to be caught off guard.
"Let's wait until we get to Nandu to prepare. Even if we have everything ready here, we can't bring it on the plane," said She Lin, the quiet former soldier.
Hearing this, Zhang Tianyuan knew that this trip would not be simple. They would need to prepare knives, firearms, and even some prohibited items, which they couldn't bring on the plane from Shangpu. They would have to wait until they got to Nandu.
"That's right. We'll also need to prepare things like antidotes and searchlights in Nandu. My home is there, so I can take care of it," Professor Wang explained.
"Alright, as long as everything is arranged. But I might be delayed for a day or two after I get to Nandu. Is that okay?" Zhang Tianyuan planned to find the small temple mentioned in the map of the Shangyangtai Postscript and see what was hidden there.
"No problem. It will take us a couple of days to prepare everything. As long as we're not delayed in the end," Professor Wang nodded.
"Okay!"
After everything was settled, the group went out for a meal and then headed directly to the airport. The tickets were already booked, so there was no issue.
...
When they arrived at Nandu Airport, it was still early. Liu Mengxun booked a hotel, while Professor Wang and She Lin went to prepare the items for Shenluo Valley. Lan Fenghuang's home was near Shenluo Valley, and she would serve as a guide. More importantly, she knew almost all the poisonous plants and wild vegetables in the forest and was skilled at detoxification, which was crucial for the archaeological team. With nothing to do, she accompanied Liu Mengxun and Mu Ying to go shopping.
As for Xu Gang, he was the one carrying the women's bags.
Zhang Tianyuan went alone to the familiar small temple. When he arrived in Nandu, he didn't go back to his school, where he had many happy memories but also many painful ones. He didn't want to affect his mood.
Moreover, he had something on his mind and couldn't calmly visit the school.
It had been several years since he last came here, but the path to the small temple was still difficult to navigate. It was a small trail, and even tourists coming to the mountain found it hard to locate. Even if they saw the path, they wouldn't easily venture in.
Not only was the path difficult, but the forest also looked dark and unsafe.
Zhang Tianyuan followed the tourists up the mountain and bought a ticket for over a hundred yuan before going up.
The tickets were sold here before, but the price was almost half. He wasn't worried about the money, but he was puzzled why, with annual revenue in the tens of millions, they couldn't build a better road to the small temple, which could be developed as a tourist attraction.
Since it wasn't a holiday, there were few people. On the way up, Zhang Tianyuan only encountered two tourists.
The path up the mountain was difficult, and the small temple was near the top. In the past, Zhang Tianyuan would stop and rest several times on the way to the temple.
Today, he felt different. He felt particularly energetic, especially when his feet touched the ground, as if a special energy from the earth entered his body and lingered in his dantian.
He knew this was probably the earth's energy, but he didn't dare to absorb it forcefully. He let the earth's energy gradually blend with his own. He clearly remembered the incident at the Qinling tomb, which was too dangerous. If he fainted here, he might fall off the cliff and die.
As long as he wasn't tired, he didn't rest even halfway up the mountain.
At the halfway point, there was a pavilion where two tourists dressed like schoolgirls were resting. Opposite them stood two tall foreigners, as strong as Arnold Schwarzenegger, and probably around two meters tall. They could easily play basketball.
"Wow, they are really strong!" Zhang Tianyuan thought, but he wasn't envious. He thought his own build was good, standing at about 1.85 meters, with a well-proportioned body, not overly muscular but not too thin either.
However, the two foreigners were so strong that Zhang Tianyuan couldn't help but look at them more closely. At first, he thought they were asking for directions, but then he noticed the schoolgirls looking at him for help.
"Is this really happening? In broad daylight, at a tourist site, someone would dare to assault schoolgirls?" Zhang Tianyuan was stunned. He never thought that something he only saw in movies would happen in front of him.
Zhang Tianyuan had a strong sense of justice, which was why he saved people during the fire at the internet cafe. But he was also rational and wasn't sure if he could fight the two strong men. He needed to be smart to avoid getting himself into trouble.
He pretended not to see the schoolgirls' gaze and secretly called the police station at the foot of the mountain. Then he deliberately walked over and asked the schoolgirls for directions, just to buy some time.
The two foreigners ignored Zhang Tianyuan, who was just asking for directions, but they blocked the path to the pavilion, preventing the girls from escaping.
At this moment, more tourists came up the mountain. Perhaps Zhang Tianyuan's luck was good, and this time, four or five people came up. Zhang Tianyuan went over to block them and ask for directions. With so many people around, the two foreigners would have to think twice before doing anything. They weren't drunk and wouldn't be stupid enough to provoke a crowd.
Thanks to Zhang Tianyuan's actions, the police from the station at the foot of the mountain arrived quickly. After understanding the situation, it turned out that the two foreigners had intended to assault the schoolgirls. They had almost succeeded before Zhang Tianyuan appeared.
The two foreigners were taken away, and the schoolgirls went to give their statements. Before leaving, they thanked Zhang Tianyuan by giving him a small wooden bracelet. The material was ordinary, not precious wood, so Zhang Tianyuan didn't think much of it. He accepted it to avoid making them feel indebted, thinking it was just a simple wooden bracelet that could be bought for a few yuan at a street stall.
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