Chapter 24

It was still fine before the reminder, but once reminded, how could the Chief Steward dare to make a move? He trembled and fumbled for a long time but couldn't kick out that final kick. In the end, the two people above couldn't bear to watch any longer. Gui BuGui found half a brick and threw it down, saying, "Use this to smash it..."

With a tool, this step became much easier. The Chief Steward lay on the ground, carefully holding the half brick and smashing it against the smooth, mirror-like stone. After seven or eight hits, the surface of the stone suddenly cracked. Before the Chief Steward could react, there was a "snap!" and the stone burst open, revealing a dark, hollow scene inside.

At this moment, a powerful suction force suddenly appeared where the stone burst. In an instant, the withered grass and pebbles on the ground were sucked into this black hole. Next, it was the Chief Steward's turn to be unlucky. He tried to avoid the powerful suction, but the space in the well was so limited that no matter how he clung to the well wall, he was still carried over by the airflow generated by the suction.

With a "thud," the Chief Steward stuck to the black hole generating the suction. With his obstruction, the airflow from the suction instantly disappeared, and the scene of flying sand and stones also vanished. Just as Wu Mian thought the strange phenomenon in the well had ended and was about to jump down to check, Gui BuGui stopped him.

The old man looked at Wu Mian with a half-smile, saying, "What's the rush? Wait a bit longer, the most exciting part is about to come."

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of hollow sounds echoed from the well. Then, the Chief Steward, who was tightly pressed against the black hole, turned a liver-like color. He couldn't speak due to the pressure, only managing to lift his head and stare at Wu Mian and Gui BuGui with wide eyes, his mouth opening and closing weakly, as if begging them to save him.

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time left. The hollow sounds became more frequent, and the Chief Steward's entire body was sucked into the well wall. With a loud "thud," the Chief Steward and the entire section of the well wall in front of him were instantly sucked in, leaving behind a black hole taller than a person, still making a bone-chilling "hissing" sound.

Strangely, after the Chief Steward was sucked in, the originally powerful suction began to weaken. After a quarter of an hour, Gui BuGui tried it out by throwing a large stone into the well. This stone, much lighter than the Chief Steward, did not show any signs of being sucked away.

"Alright, now we can go down," Gui BuGui made a gesture inviting Wu Mian, saying, "Let's go in and see what treasures Xu Fu left for you."

Wu Mian met Gui BuGui's gaze, his mouth moved as if he wanted to ask something, but at the last moment, he changed his mind. He just gave the old man a last glance and then flipped into the dry well.

After descending, Wu Mian stood at the spot where the Chief Steward had disappeared, still feeling a weak suction force, but it was incomparable to what it was before. While Wu Mian was examining the black hole, Gui BuGui lowered a rope from the well edge and climbed down himself.

After coming down, Gui BuGui glanced at the black hole and said to Wu Mian, "Aren't you curious about what Xu Fu left for you?"

"Do I need to tell you if I'm curious or not?" Wu Mian and Gui BuGui exchanged a glance, then said, "But I'm starting to understand why there's only you in the second map..."

The old man grinned, about to speak, when a desperate cry came from the black hole: "Help!..."

Gui BuGui looked at the black hole with surprise, muttering, "I didn't think he'd survive this. This little guy has a good fate." His expression turned strange, and he turned to Wu Mian, saying, "Let's go in. I want to see what good things he left for you."

As Gui BuGui looked at Wu Mian, Wu Mian was also looking at him. They stared at each other, neither willing to go in first. As they stood there, the cries from the black hole grew louder. Gui BuGui chuckled and shook his head, saying, "From the strength of his voice, he doesn't seem like he's about to die." After saying this, he shouted into the black hole, "Stop howling, I'm coming in!"

After speaking, Gui BuGui made a silly face at Wu Mian and then turned to enter the black hole.

Only after Gui BuGui's figure completely disappeared into the black hole did Wu Mian finally enter.

Outside the black hole, even with Wu Mian's eyes, which had been enhanced by the elixir of immortality and the seed, he couldn't see through it. But once inside, although it wasn't instantly bright, he could see clearly. He found himself at the end of a wide corridor, filled with dried limbs and corpses. At a glance, there were at least a thousand or so dried corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, as if scattered by a strong wind. Even though Wu Mian had some mental preparation, he was still startled and took a step back, almost retreating to the outside of the cave.

"These should be the craftsmen who were left here," Gui BuGui said from about twenty feet ahead, seeing Wu Mian's frowning face, "This is the biggest secret of the Qin Dynasty. They couldn't be allowed to leave, so they were sacrificed when the altar was completed."

Wu Mian had planned to walk through the gaps between the dried corpses, but after hearing Gui BuGui's explanation, he suddenly stopped and looked up at the old man. Just as he was about to speak, a voice from the corner moaned, "Can you wait a moment before talking? My leg is broken..."

Following the direction of the voice, they saw the upper half of the Chief Steward's body exposed among the pile of dried corpses. The Chief Steward was already thin and dry, and it was hard to distinguish him from the dried corpses without his cry.

The Chief Steward's appearance was right in front of Gui BuGui. The old man walked over and cleared the dried limbs off the Chief Steward, revealing his lower half. The Chief Steward's left calf was bloody, with a half-dead arm bone piercing it. The bone was deeply embedded, piercing through his calf. Fortunately, it missed the bone, and although it looked bloody, it wouldn't be a major issue if the bleeding was stopped.

After being sucked in, the Chief Steward was dragged by the suction force and spun in the air. When he landed, he felt a sharp pain in his calf. At the time, he hadn't fully understood what had happened, and his first reaction to the pain was, "It's over, my leg is broken..."

After seeing the Chief Steward's injuries, Gui BuGui pulled him up by the collar, helping him sit up and see his wound. The old man laughed at the Chief Steward's grimacing face, saying, "Do you see clearly? Your leg isn't broken, but if you don't treat it in time, you'll bleed to death." As he spoke, the Chief Steward's eyes watered from the pain, and his calf twitched uncontrollably. From his perspective, the dead hand stuck in his calf seemed to be waving at him.

Seeing the Chief Steward's cold sweat and trembling, Gui BuGui, unusually, showed some kindness, saying, "Do you want to pull out the dead bone yourself, or should I do it for you?"

At this point, the Chief Steward had no strength for such a task. He looked at Gui BuGui and stammered, "I'll leave it to you, be gentle... Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" Before he could finish, Gui BuGui had already acted. The old man pressed the Chief Steward's stomach with one hand and grabbed the half-dead bone with the other, pulling it out. The bone was deeply embedded, and it took Gui BuGui four or five tries to pull it out. Each pull caused the Chief Steward to go from being conscious to nearly fainting. Fortunately, by the last pull, he had developed some immunity to the pain and managed to stay conscious by gritting his teeth.