Chapter 267: You

Xiao Ran was so excited she couldn't help it, stepped forward and pried aside several vines, knocked on the cold, hard rock behind: "This is clearly a solid stone mountain! Boss Xie, you didn't misread the map, right?"

"Impossible," Xie Guozhou said confidently, "Treasure sites often have mechanisms…"

Hearing "mechanisms," Xiao Ran jumped back several big steps, her face turning pale: "You said there were no mechanisms here!"

Everyone couldn't help but laugh, Tuan Tuan scratched her own cheek: "Shy shy! Your courage is so small!"

Xiao Ran's face flushed: "No way, now whenever I hear 'mechanism' I…"

Before she finished, a chilling rustle suddenly filled the surroundings.

From the base of the cliff, the rock crevices, even behind the hanging green vines, countless poisonous insects surged out at once!

Colorful centipedes, scorpions with eerie blue tails, ants entirely crimson… densely packed, instantly turned the previously ordinary rock wall into a terrifying insect swamp!

Everyone hurriedly stepped back, Xiao Ningxun lifted Tuan Tuan and retreated to the rear.

"Aoo!" Xiao Ran let out a startled scream, leapt backward, nearly colliding with Xiao Er.

Lu Qi and Xiao Er instantly drew their weapons, shielding the group behind them, faces solemn.

Xie Guozhou furrowed his brows, clearly hadn't expected this turn.

However, the group soon realized the poisonous insects weren't attacking them; they just gathered in front of the wall, as if blocking them, not letting them approach.

Xie Guozhou tentatively stepped aside a few paces; the insects shifted a distance in his direction.

Seeing this, Lu Qi walked a few steps the opposite way; the insects surprisingly split into two groups, some following Xie Guozhou, others following Lu Qi.

Xiao Ningxun exclaimed, "They're blocking us!"

Tuan Tuan said happily, "Little insects, you're so clever!"

She slipped from Xiao Ningxun's arms onto the ground, walking toward the insects.

"Tuan Tuan!" Xiao Ningxun grabbed his sister's hand, "Don't go, these insects are poisonous."

Tuan Tuan tugged, "Come on, they're not bad."

Xiao Ran shouted, "You all stay back!"

Tuan Tuan rolled her eyes at him, pulled her brother and walked toward the rock wall.

Xiao Ningxun helplessly followed her; what could she do? Her own sister, whatever she wants, she'll follow.

Lu Qi looked at Xiao Er, "You aren't stopping?"

Xiao Er gave him a sidelong glance, "You aren't stopping?"

Xie Guozhou was dumbfounded; could it be that this little girl is actually the leader of this group?

As Tuan Tuan drew nearer, the poisonous insects didn't block them as they had blocked Xie Guozhou and Lu Qi; instead they retreated like a tide to both sides, clearing a path.

"Huh?" Xiao Ran was surprised, "Why aren't they blocking you two?"

Tuan Tuan looked down at them, "Little insects, I'm Tuan Tuan! Do you know where we can get in? I want to go in and see."

The insects stopped clustering and instead streamed to one side of the wall, lining up and disappearing into the upper‑left side of the wall, into a narrow crevice hidden by vines.

Tuan Tuan turned back, smiled happily at everyone, "I told you they aren't bad insects! Look, the entrance is right here!"

Xiao Ran shook his head in confusion, "Tuan Tuan, that's just a crack; who can get through it!"

Xie Guozhou said nothing, but carefully examined the stone around the crevice.

He kept pressing and tapping the rock; Lu Qi and Xiao Er, seeing this, hurried forward; the three together searched inch by inch.

"This isn't right, feel this." Xie Guozhou's palm stopped on a spot where the surface was covered with slick moss.

Lu Qi and Xiao Er felt it; indeed, that rock wasn't hard; when pressed it gave a faint give.

The three exchanged glances, understood each other, simultaneously gathered inner strength and pushed hard.

Creak—Boom!

A muffled mechanical turning sound rang out, and the seemingly indestructible rock wall responded by rotating inward, revealing a dark opening just big enough for one person to pass through!

Xiao Ran widened his eyes, "No way, again?"

A musty, earthy smell mixed with mildew wafted out from the opening.

Everyone quickly stepped back; as the foul odor faded, Lu Qi took out a firefold and lit it, being the first to crawl inside.

After a moment, "Come in!" he shouted from within the cave.

"Go!" Xiao Ningxun lifted Tuan Tuan and also stepped into the cave, the others following closely behind.

The interior wasn't deep; they soon reached the end.

The sight before them made everyone gasp in cold breath!

It turned out to be a huge natural cavern, countless massive boxes displayed within, truly spectacular.

Xiao Ran walked over, casually opened one; golden light blazed, filled with gold bars!

"Wow wow wow!" he excitedly opened box after box.

Gold ingots, silver ingots, pearls, jade… all sorts of rare treasures piled like mountains!

Xiao Ran murmured, "It's really a treasure! How much silver would this be worth!"

Everyone looking at the wealth was stunned by the dazzling brilliance.

Lu Qi picked up a purple jade, "Yellow jade, green jade, purple are prized; so crystal clear, my Tianji Pavilion doesn't have a single piece that rivals this."

Xiao Ran casually grabbed a Jade Pendant, "Such a large glass type, even the Palace can't compare!"

Xiao Er sighed, "This place has more stuff than the Needle Guo Marquis's treasure cave!"

Tuan Tuan ignored the gold and silver, looked around, eyes landing on a tattered little wooden box in a corner.

"Third Brother, put me down!" the little fellow struggled down, waddled his short legs, thump thump thump ran to the broken box.

"Tuan Tuan, don't touch anything!" Xiao Ningxun hurriedly followed.

Tuan Tuan squatted, stretched out her small hand and lifted the lid.

Inside the box there were no gold or jewels, only a small booklet and a little round disc she had never seen before, looking like a child's toy.

Tuan Tuan took out a small booklet, casually handed it to their brother, but Tuan Tuan carefully picked up the little metal disc, wiped it with the small sleeve: "Wow, it's so beautiful!"

It was a metal small disc that fit perfectly in her palm, with a glass cover on top of the disc.

The disc was shallow, containing several small glass beads of red, yellow, and blue.

She gently shook the disc, and the beads rolled back and forth inside, which was quite fun.

"So fun!" she happily put the disc into her embroidered pouch.

Xiao Ningxun looked at the booklet in hand, the cover bearing a few large characters: "Mountain River Mineral Marrow Atlas".

His heart stirred, he flipped through a few pages, and inside were actually all maps, densely marked with the locations of various mineral veins—iron ore, copper ore, gold ore……

Good heavens!

His heart raced, he quickly turned to the last page, which was no longer a map but a metallurgical method written with formula proportions and firing techniques!

The final line read: "This is the Nine-fold Refined Iron Forging Technique, specially for forging weapons that can pierce armor."

His pupils contracted sharply, and in an instant he understood the weight of these two things.