Chapter 21: Underground Water in a Mountain Cave? Arrange a Blast to Open It!

Xiao Qidi thought briefly, "If Miss Ning doesn't mind, I'd like to take it to the Old Village Chief of Lin Xian Village; perhaps he can see a clue."

Ning Jinli waved her hand, "No problem, no problem, you go quickly."

"I shall take my leave now; Miss Ning, please accept these items, and do not betray the people's goodwill."

"Got it."

……

The night was deep, and the bright moon hung high.

Inside the camp of the Yu Guo Grand General.

Zhou Da Kui and his companions, who had defected from Lin Xian Village, knelt in a line on the ground, each with a gleaming spear‑point pressed against the back of their necks.

Some trembled, some even wet their pants in fright.

Even Zhou Da Kui's face turned pale, cold sweat breaking out all over his body.

He forced himself to stay calm and, bowing low before the burly man eating meat behind the desk, said, "A humble subject pays respects to Grand General Ba Yong."

The other ten‑plus comrades immediately copied him, thrusting their hips and kowtowing like crushing garlic, all shouting the same words.

Ba Yong slammed the meat in his hand onto the table, "What's all the noise? Can't you see I'm eating? Looking for death?"

Zhou Da Kui hurriedly shut his mouth.

But the other comrades shouted, "Grand General, spare us!"

A fierce light flashed in Ba Yong's eyes as he made a throat‑slashing motion.

The Yu Guo Soldiers in the camp began to grab the kneeling men by the hair, yank them backward, and then slowly cut their throats with knives.

A series of "puff‑chuff" sounds rang out.

Zhou Da Kui hadn't even reacted when seven or eight of his comrades were slashed open like chickens.

This method of killing was far more cruel than slaughtering chickens.

Slaughtering a chicken is a quick, clean cut; they, however, sliced throats slowly…

A sharp pain in his neck snapped Zhou Da Kui back to his senses; he shouted with all his might, "Ba General! I have vital information about Lin Xian Village! Let me finish speaking before you kill me!"

Ba Yong licked the oil off his fingers and signaled to stop.

Zhou Da Kui was drenched in sweat; in that short time only he and four comrades remained alive.

The other ten had already fallen into a pool of blood.

Ba Yong inhaled deeply, seeming to relish the scent of blood filling the camp, "I'll count to three; you'd better speak quickly."

"One."

"Ba General, the village has water and food! It was provided by a Fairy who descended from the heavens!"

Ba Yong made a dumb‑faced expression, skipped "two," and said straight, "Three."

Zhou Da Kui hurriedly tore open his bundle, scattering bottled water and canned meat across the ground, "General! Have you ever seen such things?"

"Hm?" Ba Yong's eyes widened, "Bring them over, let me have a look."

A subordinate officer picked up the items, looked puzzled, and handed them to Ba Yong.

The strange bottle containing water, and the metal box that, once opened, held chunks of meat, were indeed unprecedented—far from ordinary objects.

Ba Yong thought for a moment, then let Zhou Da Kui explain in detail.

After listening, his face grew extremely grim.

He had thought it would take only a few days to besiege and starve the tens of thousands gathered in Lin Xian Village, but never expected such a bizarre turn of events.

He slapped the table and roared, "Send the order down at once: attack Lin Xian Village immediately!"

"General, no!" Zhou Da Kui hurriedly objected, "Lin Xian Village has built walls; although they're only two zhang high earthen‑stone walls, they're still easy to defend and hard to assault!"

"A humble subject believes the General can flatten Lin Xian Village, but if we lose troops and horses, it would be far not worth it!"

"A humble subject has a plan; please adopt it, General!"

Ba Yong seemed interested and let him continue.

Zhou Da Kui quickly presented the map.

"General, look: these places already have walls; a direct assault would be detrimental to your troops."

He then pointed to the north side of Lin Xian Village on the map, "But if you send men this way, they can slip into Lin Xian Village unnoticed and unleash a slaughter! At the same time, attack from outside—a coordinated inside‑outside strike!"

Ba Yong shouted angrily, "The north side is a high‑mountain natural barrier; how can we pass?"

Zhou Da Kui wiped his cold sweat, "General, you may not know, but beneath this spot lies a hidden cave. Normally it's filled with underground water and extremely dangerous, but during droughts it becomes passable. Especially this year, with an unprecedented great drought, the cave has long dried out; tens of thousands can pass through without difficulty!"

Ba Yong stared, "Are you sure?"

Zhou Da Kui said, "This secret was extracted from a crippled old hunter in Lin Xian Village; only he knew it, and I have eliminated his entire family. Moreover, I and my companions actually passed through the cave from inside Lin Xian Village to the outside."

Ba Yong thought seriously and ordered, "First send a hundred men to escort these people and verify whether the cave is real. If it is, this General will arrange a covert strike; if there's any falsehood, have them skinned, boned, and boiled for a feast."

Zhou Da Kui, full of confidence, bowed heavily, "If any of my words are false, I am willing to be torn to pieces by your thousand knives!"

Immediately, he and the other four survivors were taken away toward the northern cave.

At the same time, the Old Village Chief of Lin Xian Village had already identified all the contents on that animal skin.

"His Majesty, this is a record left by a local official a hundred years ago. Though it's not a treasure map, it hides something more important than treasure…"

"What is it?"

"It's water!" the Old Village Chief's withered body trembled, "It turns out that beneath the great mountain on the north side of Lin Xian Village lies a vast cave that contains a large amount of underground water!"

Xiao Qidi's eyes lit up, "In that case, if we can channel the underground water out, wouldn't that solve the drought?"

This area has long suffered from water shortage.

A small drought every year, a great drought every three years.

This year, however, a massive drought has struck, and no one knows when it will end.

Although Ning Jinli supplies water, it barely meets the basic survival needs of the people; to irrigate fields, raise livestock, and ensure the people can live peacefully in the future, her supply alone is far insufficient.

I didn't expect the solution was hidden in the mountains beside us!

"That official thought so, but, sigh…" Old Village Chief sighed and suddenly wilted.

"The records say that during severe droughts, groundwater sinks below the cavern, and although the cavern floor is thin, it is a rock harder than iron. That official spent his life studying it, tried countless methods, yet could not break it…"

"He died of melancholy, and before dying he wrote this record, finally sighing… perhaps only an Immortal could accomplish it."

The Old Village Chief froze at that, his cloudy eyes suddenly flashed, "Immortal! His Majesty, we have the Jinli Fairy!"

"I'll go ask her for help at once!" Xiao Qidi turned and strode away.

The Old Village Chief trembled and knelt toward the Immortal Cave, bowing and praying devoutly…

……

When Xiao Qidi passed through the Spacetime Portal to the small warehouse, Ning Jinli had just returned from outside, holding an unopened new phone.

She considered that a Walkie-Talkie alone was not enough.

There were guards constantly stationed in the cavern, so she could contact them at any time.

But she could not stay in the warehouse at all times, especially after the factory began operating, it would be even busier; if she were outside and Xiao Qidi had an urgent matter, he would not be able to find her.

So she bought a phone, intending to leave it here for Xiao Qidi to use.

Before she could mention it, Xiao Qidi spoke first.

He told her the news about the groundwater and asked if she had any solution.

"Miss Ning, as long as we can bring up the groundwater, I believe that the land once ignored by the court can surely become a fertile region."

"I will lead the soldiers, spare no effort, to protect the locals' homeland; should I meet misfortune, I ask Miss Ning to continue helping the people thereafter."

"Xiao Qidi, I thank you here."

Those words sounded as if he foresaw his own misfortune.

Ning Jinli suddenly recalled the secret history she learned from Zheng Lao, and her heart clenched sharply.

"Pah pah pah!" she flared up, angrily poking his mouth, "Don't talk nonsense! With me here, you will never get into trouble! Stop saying such ominous words!"

Xiao Qidi: …

Why is she reacting so strongly?

"We need to break through the cavern floor, right? Let me think." Ning Jinli frowned, pondering seriously, various methods flashing in her mind.

Xiao Qidi's eyes lowered, watching her quietly.

"Got it, if we do it, we do it in one go!" Ning Jinli snapped her fingers, "Set up a Big Blast, blow it open! The mountain can be blasted away; I don't believe the groundwater won't come out!"

"Blasting? Blow open?"

Xiao Qidi completely didn't understand what that meant.

But it sounded impressive.

Ning Jinli, confident, said, "Just wait for my good news."

Xiao Qidi then relaxed, took his leave and departed.

Immediately, Ning Jinli called Wu Sanye.

Wu Sanye had dealt in antiques for many years and had extensive contacts; she thought the blasting matter might be something he could help with.

"Third Uncle, are you free to come over?"

"I'm free, I'm free! Didn't I tell Miss Ning that I'm reachable 24/7? I was just about to call you; I've arranged professional movers and can go over to move that Golden Silk Nan Ebony Wood!"

"Good, then come quickly."

In less than an hour, Wu Sanye arrived at the factory with dozens of workers and a large truck.

That unparalleled Golden Silk Nan Ebony Wood was truly valuable, and he prepared especially thoroughly.

When the precious item was loaded onto the vehicle.

Ning Jinli told him there was another antique and asked him to take a look.

"Another one?" Wu Sanye said delightedly, teasing, "Miss Ning, does this place automatically produce treasures?"

Ning Jinli: …

Seeing her expression change, Wu Sanye quickly slapped his own mouth.

He politely laughed, "Don't worry, I only handle the tasks for you; I will never ask anything I shouldn't."

"Follow me." Ning Jinli led him toward another large warehouse.

Wu Sanye thought, this time Miss Ning said there was a bit of antique, so the quantity must be more than one.

What could it be?

Two or three pieces of jade or cultural collectibles?

Really looking forward to it…

When Ning Jinli opened the warehouse doors, Wu Sanye was stunned, then his pupils widened, exclaiming loudly, "Whoa!?"