Chapter 73: Capital City Cadre Da Jin Ya, Xie Ling Bandit Leader Chen Yu Lou
The Militia Platoon Leader saw that Su Mo and the other two were outsiders, and his expression changed immediately:
“Who let them in!”
The old man who had led Su Mo and the others over immediately shrank back his head, not daring to speak.
Su Mo, however, remained calm and composed as he smiled slightly and walked over, saying:
“Platoon Leader, we are from the Capital City Archaeology Academy, and we also know this Professor Sun. We heard he had an accident here and came over. Professor Sun is a talent in Huaxia’s archaeology circles. If something happens to him, it would be a great loss and would definitely alert the Central Government. This matter is no small thing, so please cooperate!”
Su Mo’s words not only carried an official tone but also borrowed the name of the Capital City Archaeology Academy, and he even put a big hat of alerting the Central Government on it, which immediately made the Militia Platoon Leader flustered.
Although the Militia Platoon Leader felt some panic upon hearing this, he still couldn’t help but look at Su Mo suspiciously:
“You’re from the Archaeology Academy? Do you have a letter of introduction from your unit?”
Su Mo really didn’t have a letter of introduction, but fortunately, Da Jin Ya pulled a gold-embossed business card from his pocket and handed it to the Militia Platoon Leader:
“We came in a hurry, so we didn’t have time to get a letter of introduction, but this is my business card. You can go to the Capital City and inquire about Master Jin’s reputation!”
Da Jin Ya had extensive experience in the rivers and lakes, with scheming and insight far beyond this Militia Platoon Leader. Plus, this business card was originally meant for impressing people from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, or overseas foreigners. It was black with gold embossing, very exquisite, exuding an extraordinary aura at first glance, and the titles printed on it were quite intimidating:
President of the Capital City Ancient Culture Traditional Research Association, Chairman of Panjiayuan Huayi Ancient Culture Company, Specially Invited Consultant of the Capital City Archaeology Academy…
A string of titles, most of which were names without substance, but they made the Militia Platoon Leader feel uneasy inside.
This Militia Platoon Leader’s position only worked in this Stone Tablet Shop, so where had he seen someone from the Capital City with so many “head” titles? He was immediately awestruck, uneasy, and on pins and needles:
“So you are cadres from the Capital City. This… I was rude just now. Since you are all from the Archaeology Academy and know Professor Sun, please go take a look quickly!”
Su Mo and the others then followed the Militia Platoon Leader into the Coffin Shop, where they saw the pit entrance in the shop was pitch black, unknown how deep it was, with a chilling breath emanating from inside.
Several militiamen stood nearby, not daring to get close, while the surrounding villagers gossiped, some saying it connected to the Underworld, so when the old shopkeeper slapped the coffin earlier, the little ghost below could hear and then took someone for him.
Others said it connected to the East Sea Dragon Palace, and if you went in and angered the Dragon King Lord, he would definitely send a flood to drown the place.
Anyway, all sorts of things were said.
The Militia Platoon Leader meant to draft a few bold militiamen to go down with Su Mo and the others.
Su Mo glanced down and said:
“I see this place is indeed somewhat dangerous. Just the three of us will go down. Master Jin, you stay up here with them!”
He had used the Great Yin Meditation Technique to look at this pit and found there was indeed some evil aura below. But having too many people go down in such a place was useless and would only become a burden. Moreover, with militiamen around, many things would be inconvenient, so he stopped the Militia Platoon Leader’s suggestion.
These militiamen were relieved to hear they didn’t have to go down.
At this moment, suddenly a voice shouted from outside the door:
“This cave is no ordinary place. You must not be reckless. Let this old man pass!”
Everyone turned to look and saw an old man squeezing through the crowd. He wore a black cotton jacket and held a bamboo stick, with a pair of blind man’s double-lens glasses on his face. He was none other than a blind man.
Hu Ba Yi saw someone causing trouble and couldn’t help but get angry:
“What kind of place is this cave? If you can’t explain clearly, get out of here quick. Don’t mess around!”
The blind man, however, looked arrogant and sneered:
“Ignorant young ones dare to spout off. This cave is a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den. Without this old man’s guidance, even if you go down, you’ll enter upright and come out sideways!”
Hu Ba Yi and Wang Pang Zi were so angry they wanted to curse, but Su Mo recognized at a glance that this blind man was Chen Yu Lou. He immediately pulled him over and smiled, whispering:
“Old sir, do you think there’s definitely an ancient tomb below with plenty of grave goods, so you want to tag along with us mountain movers for a share?”
The blind man was stunned upon hearing this, then lowered his voice and said:
“So you are Mojin School Lieutenants! This old man thought you were official figures. Didn’t expect to meet fellow practitioners here!”
“To be honest, this old man was a Xie Ling Forceful Person back in the day, but something happened while tomb raiding in Yunnan when I was young, so I lost both eyes and from then on could only wander the rivers and lakes telling fortunes! Today I heard a cave was found here and thought I could get some grave goods for retirement, but unexpectedly met fellow practitioners!”
“If you gentlemen can take this old man along, I have a《 Duo Zi Mi Di Yan Tu》 here and am willing to give it to you!”
This blind man was precisely Chen Yu Lou. Back then in Yunnan, he was poisoned by miasma, his eyes invaded by toxic gas, and with no choice, he gouged out his own eyes, losing even the Xie Ling Bandit Leader’s throne, and from then on wandered the rivers and lakes making a living by fortune-telling.
For this period, he had been lingering in Shaanxi. Previously, he was the one who fought the Drought Demon in Li Chun Lai’s village. Now in the Stone Tablet Shop, hearing a pit had been dug up, he thought there must be an ancient tomb and came to fish in troubled waters.
Su Mo knew his identity but couldn’t reveal it yet, so he smiled faintly and said:
“No problem! To be honest, you’re a Xie Ling Forceful Person, I’m a Banshan Daoist, and there are two Mojin School Lieutenants beside me. We’re all fellow Tomb Raiding Experts. Whether there’s an ancient tomb below or grave goods is still uncertain, but since you’re a Xie Ling Forceful Person, regardless of whether there are grave goods below, you’ll get a share of the benefits!”
Chen Xia Zi was delighted upon hearing this and immediately said loudly:
“Everyone, these gentlemen are cadres from the Capital City, experts who have braved dragon’s pools and tiger’s dens. You stay outside and maintain order, let them go down and check, and they can naturally rescue those two old cadres!”
“This cave is no ordinary place. Back then, the initial Emperor saw immortals refining pills here during his tour, and Han Gaozu Liu Bang also hid here from court pursuit. It can be called a dragon prosperity land, a place of earthly immortals! You must fully cooperate with these cadres from the Capital City…”
With Su Mo’s promise, Chen Xia Zi spoke eloquently, making the surrounding onlookers and militiamen nod repeatedly.
The Militia Platoon Leader even brought over a few rifles and gave them to Hu Ba Yi and Wang Pang Zi to take down for self-defense.
With Da Jin Ya and Chen Xia Zi hyping things up outside, everyone had no doubts about Su Mo and the others and fully cooperated unconditionally. After a brief preparation, Su Mo and his group began entering the cave.
