Chapter 28

The dark cave seemed bottomless, and the steel wire kept being reeled down, as if the inside of the cave was an endless abyss. The length of the steel wire that had been reeled down already exceeded the height of the mountain.

No one knew how deep the cave was, and the eldest son of the old feng shui master hadn't mentioned it in his notes. Now, they suddenly realized that the steel wire had gone down more than 500 meters and still hadn't reached the bottom, causing everyone's hearts to race.

"Damn, could this be a bottomless pit!" Mo Yongxing was the first to lose his composure, cursing with a frown.

"It's reached the bottom, the steel wire has stopped moving."

Just as Mo Yongxing finished cursing, the steel wire suddenly stopped turning. An excited black-clad bodyguard shouted, and Qin Yu glanced at the scale on the pulley. The cave was actually 730 meters deep.

This situation was unexpected for Mo Yongxin. Such a deep cave, with a narrow entrance, meant that if there were any dangerous creatures at the bottom, there wouldn't be enough space to fight back.

However, there was a positive side. The environmental measuring instrument showed that the air in the cave had sufficient oxygen and no harmful substances to humans.

"Send the camera down to survey the bottom of the cave!"

Mo Yongxin's eyebrows furrowed, and she immediately gave orders. Qin Yu finally understood what was inside the large bags carried by the black-clad bodyguards.

A 40-inch monitor, a miniature camera, a small vehicle that could move automatically, and some other equipment that Qin Yu couldn't name.

The camera was lowered to the bottom of the cave, and a few people gathered in front of the monitor to watch the footage.

The first 300 meters of the cave were as narrow as the entrance, only wide enough for one person to pass through, with rock walls on all sides. After 300 meters, the cave suddenly widened. When the camera reached the bottom, everyone finally saw the interior of the cave. The cave was shaped like a Mongolian yurt, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, as if an inverted bowl.

Under the control of a professional, the mini vehicle carrying the camera drove out of the iron frame and slowly moved deeper into the cave. Mo Yongxin squatted down, a piece of white paper on her knees, and drew something with a pen, based on the images from the monitor. Qin Yu glanced at it and knew she was drawing a rough map of the cave's interior.

"Wait, don't move the camera. Move it back a bit and turn the lens to the previous direction." Mo Yongxin, while drawing, suddenly paused and waved her hand.

Mo Yongxin stared intently at the monitor. The camera turned back as instructed, and a white object appeared in a corner of the cave bottom, which they had missed earlier.

"Move the camera closer to see what that is." This time, the person controlling the camera also noticed the anomaly and started driving the mini vehicle toward the white object in the corner.

"This... this is a corpse!"

As the camera got closer to the white object, everyone finally saw what it was: a completely decayed skeleton, with only bones remaining, sitting quietly in the corner.

"If there's a corpse in this cave, it should be the old feng shui master. Aim the camera at the skeleton's hand." Mo Yongxin analyzed and gave new instructions.

Qin Yu could see clearly that when the camera focused on the skeleton's hand, the left hand was indeed missing all five fingers, cut off at the wrist. This skeleton matched the description in the eldest son's notes, with a severed left hand, confirming it was the old feng shui master.

"Strange, according to the notes, the old feng shui master clearly suffered an accident and didn't have time to escape. But why is his corpse in a corner over 100 meters straight down from the cave entrance? And from the skeleton, it seems that except for the left hand, the rest of the bones are intact, with no signs of damage."

Mo Yongxing's words echoed Qin Yu's own doubts. Could it be that the old feng shui master didn't die from the accident but was trapped in the cave when the rope was pulled away? But if that was the case, why did he cut off his left hand?

Qin Yu felt something was off, but the camera had already moved on to continue exploring the cave. He had to suppress his questions and carefully observe the footage.

"Hey, why is there a river at the bottom of the cave!"

The mini vehicle reached the middle of the cave, and a river blocked its path. From the monitor, the river was about ten meters wide. Since the camera couldn't turn downward, they couldn't see how deep the water was.

The footage of the other side of the river was blurry, but it seemed to show a stone platform. There was nothing else special, so the mini vehicle's task was complete.

Mo Yongxin and her brother, along with a few black-clad bodyguards, began discussing plans to enter the cave. Some of them were professionals, but Qin Yu didn't join in.

"Brother Qin, where do you think the dragon crystal liquid would be if it exists in the cave?" He Ping, who also didn't join the discussion, asked Qin Yu, as he couldn't offer much on the professional issues.

"From the footage, the most likely place for the dragon crystal liquid is on that stone platform."

"Right, I agree with you." He Ping nodded in agreement but then hesitated.

"Master He, what do you want to say?" Qin Yu noticed He Ping's hesitation and asked.

"Brother Qin, feng shui, like Buddhism and Taoism, is based on cause and effect. The dragon crystal liquid is the essence of the dragon vein, and you have been nourished by the dragon vein's energy. I personally feel that you should go down the cave, and I have a hunch that retrieving the dragon crystal liquid will require your involvement."

He Ping's words made Qin Yu think. It wasn't that he wasn't curious about the cave, and like He Ping, he had a feeling that something at the bottom would be helpful to him. Missing this opportunity might mean never getting another chance.

This intuition was similar to the feeling he had when he first saw the dragon-seeking compass. Looking at the deep, dark entrance of the cave, Qin Yu hesitated.

"Brother Qin, do you know why we are looking for the dragon crystal liquid?" He Ping continued.

"Purpose? The dragon crystal liquid can cure diseases and extend life, but extending life is too vague, so it's probably not for that. With the Mo family's wealth, ordinary illnesses wouldn't be a problem, so it must be that someone has a strange illness!" Qin Yu made his judgment.

He Ping sighed, "Yes, every family has its troubles. Don't be fooled by Miss Mo's cold demeanor; she used to be a lively little girl. But a sudden event changed her personality..."

He Ping's words revealed the whole story to Qin Yu. Five years ago, the mother of the Mo siblings suddenly fell ill, her limbs becoming stiff and numb. Despite seeking renowned doctors, her condition worsened, and within three months, she became like a puppet, unable to move. If not for her faint breathing, everyone would have thought she was dead.

"Living dead" was the most fitting description of the Mo siblings' mother's condition. She was alive but unresponsive and motionless. With their father busy, the task of finding a cure fell to Mo Yongxin.

Before her mother fell ill, Mo Yongxin was a cheerful and lively girl. After her mother's illness, her personality gradually became cold, and she eventually became distant, earning the nickname "Ice Queen" in social circles.

To cure her mother, Mo Yongxin visited numerous doctors, but none could help. Desperate, she turned to other methods, including folk remedies. It was during this time that she heard about the dragon crystal liquid, a miraculous substance that could cure all diseases, from a feng shui master.

Although the feng shui master mentioned the dragon crystal liquid, he didn't believe Mo Yongxin could find it. In nearly a century, the feng shui industry had many legends about the dragon crystal liquid, but no one had ever truly obtained it.

For Mo Yongxin, the dragon crystal liquid was the last straw. Despite the slim chances, she didn't give up. She gathered information from various sources and, after much effort, finally found a clue three months ago: the old feng shui master's notes.

Overjoyed, Mo Yongxin sought out He Ping and asked him to accompany her in the search for the dragon crystal liquid. When they arrived at the old feng shui master's home, they found only two notebooks with no other clues.

Qin Yu understood the rest of the story, and He Ping didn't need to say more. He looked at Qin Yu earnestly and said, "Brother Qin, over the years, I've traveled all over the country with Miss Mo. Each time we went with hope, but always returned in disappointment. To be honest, I no longer have any hope for Mrs. Mo's condition, but Miss Mo has never given up. Her determination is something I can't even match."

"So, I hope Brother Qin can help Miss Mo one more time. This is the most promising lead we've had in years."

Qin Yu listened to He Ping and glanced at Mo Yongxin, who was focused on discussing the plan to enter the cave. Her cold, beautiful face looked serious.

Qin Yu couldn't help but think of Mo Yongxin's determined and strong face each time her hopes for her mother's recovery were dashed. A young woman in her prime, who should have been enjoying life, was instead tirelessly searching for a cure, even to the point of making those around her feel heartache.

"Master He, I promise. I'll go down the cave with you."

Qin Yu nodded firmly, determined to help, even if it was just to honor Mo Yongxin's filial piety.