Chapter 24

"Dragon Crystal Liquid can only be produced in dragon vein locations, and only a few drops at that. The location of Dragon Crystal Liquid is usually at the dragon's mouth, so it is also called Dragon Saliva Essence."

He Ping did not ask about Qin Yu's background any further. Since the other party did not want to reveal it, pressing the issue would be inappropriate. He then began to introduce Dragon Crystal Liquid.

In fact, the Zhuge Inner Canon, which Qin Yu possessed, also had records of Dragon Crystal Liquid. Among the hundred rare items listed in the Zhuge Inner Canon, Dragon Crystal Liquid ranked in the top ten, which is why Qin Yu remembered the name.

The Zhuge Inner Canon states that Dragon Crystal Liquid is the essence produced by a dragon vein, possessing the miraculous effects of curing all diseases and extending life. However, over a thousand years, a dragon vein might only produce a few drops, and not all dragon veins will produce Dragon Crystal Liquid. As mentioned earlier, the location of Dragon Crystal Liquid is below the dragon's mouth, and the terrain of the dragon's mouth determines whether Dragon Crystal Liquid will be produced.

"Master He, did you come to Tongba Mountain this time specifically for the Dragon Crystal Liquid? How did you determine that it would be here?" Qin Yu was puzzled. To find Dragon Crystal Liquid, one must conduct long-term surveys, a task even more difficult than locating a dragon point.

He Ping hesitated for a moment, glanced at Mo Yongxin, who gave him an affirmative nod, and then continued, "Half a year ago, we obtained the notes of a feng shui master, which recorded the Dragon Crystal Liquid in Tongba Mountain."

He Ping pulled out an old notebook from his pocket, the pages already yellowed, and handed it to Qin Yu. Qin Yu took the notebook and began to read.

The notebook was quite thick, about two hundred pages. Qin Yu flipped through it briefly and confirmed that it was indeed written by a feng shui master. It recorded his life's work in feng shui, but Qin Yu quickly turned to the last few pages, where Dragon Crystal Liquid was mentioned.

According to the records, the feng shui master, while selecting a new burial site for a wealthy family's ancestor, came to Tongba Mountain. It took him three years to find a true dragon vein. After finding the true dragon vein, the feng shui master did not rush to find a good burial spot for his client but instead carefully observed the dragon vein. This observation led to an important discovery.

Below the dragon's mouth of this dragon vein, there was a deep, bottomless rock cave. This discovery delighted the feng shui master, as the presence of a cave at the dragon's mouth suggested the possibility of Dragon Crystal Liquid. He prepared ropes and tools overnight and was ready to descend into the cave.

The notes ended abruptly at this point. Qin Yu frowned, pondered for a moment, and asked, "The notes end here suddenly. Did the feng shui master intentionally stop writing?"

"It's not that the feng shui master stopped writing; he didn't have the chance to write anymore."

"What happened?" Qin Yu looked at He Ping suspiciously, wondering how he knew the feng shui master didn't have the chance to write.

"Because the feng shui master never came back up after descending into the cave!"

He Ping slowly explained, and Qin Yu finally understood everything.

It turned out that the feng shui master called his eldest son, tied the nylon rope to a large tree, and instructed his son to wait outside the cave. If he pulled the rope three times, his son could pull him up. Then he tied the rope around himself and descended into the cave.

The eldest son kept a close eye on the nylon rope outside the cave, as the cave was quite deep, and the pull from the bottom might not be very noticeable from the outside. He thought his father would be down there for at most a few hours, so he watched the rope intently. However, as the sky grew dark, there was still no movement on the rope. Fearing wild animals, the eldest son tied one end of the rope to himself and climbed a tree, where he could avoid the animals and still feel any movement on the rope.

The eldest son dozed off on the tree, but was suddenly jolted awake by a strong pull on the rope, which dragged him off the tree and toward the cave entrance.

He fell to the ground and quickly regained his senses, thinking his father was about to come up. He hurriedly untied the rope from the tree and tied it back, then went to the cave entrance to look down. The cave was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything. He started pulling the rope up, but as he pulled, he realized something was wrong. The weight being pulled up was getting lighter and lighter, and it didn't feel like a person.

When he finally pulled up all the rope, he saw, under the moonlight, a severed hand tied to the end, still dripping blood. He immediately recognized it as his father's hand. His father must have encountered something in the cave.

Without hesitation, the eldest son picked up the severed hand. The cut on the hand had strange marks, seemingly from an animal's teeth. Could his father have encountered some kind of monster in the cave? The eldest son thought. Then he noticed something tightly clutched in the palm of the hand.

With great effort, he pried open the hand and found a note with a few blood-red words: "Seal the cave entrance, do not enter, this is a devourer..."

The handwriting was messy, but the eldest son recognized his father's writing. Despite his grief, he did not disobey his father's last words. He pushed a large rock to seal the cave entrance and left in a panic.

"How did you know all this?" Qin Yu took a deep breath and asked after hearing He Ping's story.

"After obtaining the notebook, we sought out the feng shui master's eldest son. Unfortunately, he had already passed away during the turbulent decade. Fortunately, he, like his father, had the habit of keeping notes. We found the content in his notebook."

This time, Mo Yongxin took out another notebook and handed it to Qin Yu. Qin Yu read it and found that it matched He Ping's account. The eldest son later became a feng shui master himself but was always troubled by what had happened to his father in the cave. He spent years researching Dragon Crystal Liquid and surveying the cave, and eventually seemed to have discovered something, as evident from one of his diary entries.

"Today, I surveyed the cave again. Indeed, it resembles the legend. Considering the strange wound on my father's hand, it must be that thing. No wonder my father wanted me to seal the cave entrance. This is a den of devils, and it should be sealed forever!"

This was the last entry about the cave in the notebook. From this, Qin Yu understood why some pages were torn out and why the specific location of the cave was not mentioned. The eldest son must have known something and did not want future generations or anyone who read his notes to find the cave.

"So, you want to find that cave?"

Qin Yu frowned. From the notebook, it was clear that the cave hid some dangerous thing. A wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall. Although Dragon Crystal Liquid was valuable, Qin Yu was not willing to take such a risk.

"Do you know who these two feng shui masters were? They have a connection to you."

"Connected to me? Impossible!" Qin Yu knew his ancestors were simple people and had never produced any feng shui masters.

"Hehe, Mr. Qin, didn't the seller of the compass tell you its origin?"

"Origin? The shop owner said it was his friend's grandfather's, but his grandfather passed away during the turbulent decade... Wait, you mean the eldest son was the previous owner of this... compass!"

Qin Yu quickly connected the dots. When he bought the compass, the shop owner mentioned it was his friend's grandfather's legacy. Considering they both died during the turbulent decade, he quickly understood everything.

"At first, we went to the family's home to see if they had left any valuable clues, but found nothing. However, the family's descendants told us that their grandfather had left a compass, which was sold to a friend who sold feng shui tools in the county. We then went to the shop, but unexpectedly met Brother Qin, and you had already bought the compass."

He Ping's words clarified Qin Yu's doubts. When he bought the compass, the shop owner recognized it as a magical tool, which seemed incredible at the time. Now, it made sense, as they must have inquired about the compass's appearance and recognized it when they saw Qin Yu buying it from the shop.

"Mr. Qin, I have a request!"

Mo Yongxin's clear voice interrupted Qin Yu's thoughts. He looked up at her and said, "I won't sell the compass."

"I know Mr. Qin won't sell it. However, since you agreed to help Hao Jianguo's grandfather with the reburial, I would like to hire you to participate in this matter. You will receive one million yuan as a reward afterward."

Mo Yongxin's eyes were fixed on Qin Yu. She had this idea when she first met him in Tongba Mountain, and after seeing his performance, she was even more determined.

"Hire me?"

Qin Yu was surprised by Mo Yongxin's proposal. Honestly, if it weren't for the monster mentioned by the feng shui master, he might have agreed. After all, he planned to make a living from this, and the Mo family was a significant client with generous offers.

"Mr. Qin, my request is simple. You just need to help Master He find the cave entrance. Regardless of the outcome, if we don't find the cave entrance within a month, you will still receive five hundred thousand yuan."

Mo Yongxin's offer was reasonable, or rather, very favorable to Qin Yu. He would earn five hundred thousand yuan even if they didn't find the cave within a month. There was no reason for him to refuse.

Seeing Qin Yu agree, Mo Yongxin's delicate face lit up with a smile, like a hundred flowers blooming, adding a touch of beauty to the entire hall...