Chapter 52

Hao Ren roughly examined the situation inside the pit, confirmed that the ground below was solid and not too deep, and jumped down. However, just a few seconds after landing, he burst out with a resounding "Damn!" which startled both Lili and Viviian. Lili poked her head over the dark pit and called out, "Landlord, landlord, are you okay?"

"Nothing, it's just... not your average big down here!"

Hao Ren stood at the bottom of the pit, squinting to observe the surroundings, his tone filled with amazement.

The area below was pitch black, far more challenging to see in than the night outside. Apart from the faint moonlight that barely seeped in from the pit's opening, there was no other source of light. Even with his newly acquired night vision, Hao Ren felt it was almost at its limit. He had to focus all his attention to make out the situation below.

It seemed that his night vision was still based on normal optical principles and had not yet reached the legendary level of scanning the surroundings with mental power. He wondered if it could evolve in the future.

When he first jumped down, he landed on a higher earthen platform, which seemed to be specifically designed to facilitate the return of underground people to the surface through the hidden door of the small chapel. In front of the platform was a small slope. As Hao Ren walked down the slope, he saw something astonishing: tunnels, tunnels that exceeded his imagination.

Indeed, there was an underground structure beneath the castle, and its scale was even larger than Hao Ren had anticipated, far exceeding the typical underground scale of most classical castles. In front of Hao Ren, there were three wide passages extending in different directions. These passages were reinforced with thick stones and black pillars of unknown material, which had stood for so many years without collapsing. Even though Hao Ren was a layman in architecture, he found it quite incredible. Each passage was wide enough for a medium-sized car to drive through, with a height of over three meters. They formed a T-junction in front of Hao Ren, and the intersection was as spacious as an underground hall.

It seemed that the hidden door of the small chapel led to a "node" in the castle's underground passages, a place where several tunnels intersected.

Behind Hao Ren, there were two light splashes, and Viviian and Lili also jumped down the pit. They followed the slope of the small earthen platform to the bottom and joined Hao Ren, seeing the scene before them.

"This... it seems the lord of the Joford fief was no ordinary person. The underground palace he built has exceeded the standard," Viviian, the knowledgeable vampire, immediately recognized that the scale of the tunnels did not match the castle above, "Was there a war here for years? Did the local lord build such a large underground shelter? Even a T-junction...?"

Hao Ren looked at Viviian strangely, "Didn't you say you haven't been to Britain since 1190? How do you know so much about the scale of British castles from hundreds of years ago? I was going to ask you about this earlier..."

"Can't I travel around Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and France just because I'm not in Britain?" Viviian looked at Hao Ren with disdain, "I'm a bit poor, but not being in Britain for nearly a thousand years wasn't because I couldn't afford the travel expenses. I was traveling around the neighboring countries at that time. The ancient castles in this region were all similar in structure, and even though the differences in facilities were significant, I still had a good grasp of their scales."

At this moment, Lili was already sniffing around the T-junction of the tunnel. She ran to one of the passages, carefully identifying the residual odors in the air, and shouted, "This way, this way, there's a human scent!"

The werewolf girl had become a scent radar, and Hao Ren felt like he was leading a police dog...

The three of them, led by Lili, set off towards the depths of the underground palace (the scale was large enough to be called a palace). Hao Ren was initially worried about the risk of suffocation in the long-neglected underground passages, but after walking for a while, he found the air was fresh, and there was a constant breeze, suggesting that there were still ventilation holes leading to the surface that had not been blocked. This further proved how much effort the original owner of the castle had put into building this fortress, making it so sturdy.

Viviian analyzed on the side, "I originally thought the lord of the Joford fief was just an ordinary noble with a castle, but now it seems he was quite extraordinary. The underground structure and the amount of stone used in the castle above indicate that this was once a very solid fortress. However, this is a plain area, not a strategic military location. Even if it were a fortress, it lacks the geographical advantages. I don't understand why the lord of Joford built such a solid fortress."

"Didn't you say the Joford fief was abandoned due to internal rebellion?" Hao Ren speculated, "Maybe because of constant internal wars, the lord built the castle like a large fortress."

"Common sense, you lack it," Viviian glanced at Hao Ren, "Do you think building such a large underground structure took a short time, especially hundreds of years ago? It would take generations of effort. The Joford family probably spent two hundred years reinforcing and expanding this underground palace. And don't forget, this is Britain, not like ancient China where they could mobilize tens of thousands of laborers to dig mountains and open lakes. The productivity a feudal lord could mobilize here was limited. Building such a large project... suspicious."

As Viviian spoke, she quickened her pace and walked to the front. By now, it was completely pitch black around them, and even the strongest night vision required some light. So Hao Ren took out his data terminal and turned on the standby screen, using it like a flashlight. Instantly, the surroundings were as bright as daylight in his eyes. The data terminal displayed a series of messages: "This device believes your usage is incorrect, this device believes your usage is incorrect... this device suggests you search for the proper actions to take at this moment..."

Hao Ren ignored it, knowing the data terminal was unreliable.

The three of them walked in the tunnel for a few minutes. Hao Ren felt the terrain gradually sloping downward, as if the tunnel was leading to a deeper place. He had temporarily forgotten about the paranormal enthusiasts and Nangong on the surface. He felt that staying in this pitch-black place had at least one advantage: it was far from the troubles on the surface. If he could find the "person" he was looking for underground, it would be perfect.

"So, the haunted castle is actually someone pretending to be a ghost?" Lili, finding the walk boring, ignored their usual differences and started a conversation with Viviian, "Who could it be? And there are really spirits in the castle, right?"

"Hmph, the one pretending to be a ghost is definitely a human. Humans are the most complex, who knows what they think all day," Viviian snorted, "As for the spirits... hey, landlord, why did you shudder just now?"

Hao Ren looked miserable, "I just remembered there are ghosts down here! I jumped down without thinking... now I'm a bit scared."

Viviian "comforted" him maliciously, "Don't be afraid, dealing with demons and ghosts will eventually be part of your daily work."

At that moment, Lili, who was leading the way, suddenly sniffed the air, "Up ahead, very close, there's someone! They seem to have stopped moving."

The tunnel ahead finally reached its end, and a corner was visible. Beyond the corner, a faint light could be seen. Just as Hao Ren was about to step forward, Viviian pulled his arm, "Wait, it's best to do some camouflage. Don't forget to hide your identity in front of ordinary people."

As Viviian spoke, a layer of black mist began to spread around her. Due to Hao Ren's strange "magic immunity," Viviian couldn't make her spells directly affect him, so she had to use the mist to surround the three of them to conceal their presence. Hao Ren, seeing himself enveloped in black mist, suddenly felt that the three of them were the perfect group to pretend to be ghosts...

Viviian whispered to the others, "Don't leave the range of the black mist, especially you, big dog, don't wrinkle your nose. My black mist is clearly mint-scented! I specifically removed the bloody smell this time to prevent you from talking nonsense."

The three of them, hidden by the black mist, moved forward silently. After rounding the corner of the tunnel, they indeed saw a person's back.

A short, fat man wearing a miner's lamp and carrying a strange box was standing in front of a stone wall, anxiously pacing back and forth.

It was Angus, the innkeeper.

(Continue to vote for the Three Rivers. Voting method: Find the Three Rivers channel at the top of the page, enter it, and there will be a clear link to claim Three Rivers votes. After claiming the votes, you can vote below. You get votes every day, not just once, so everyone, please support us.)

Page break AD starts

Page break AD ends