Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 95: Exploring the Cave Again
It was early June when Qu Shaoyang and Liu Dongshan returned to Maoer Mountain.

At this time, the crops in the fields are growing, and no one will buy the ready-made land. If you want to buy some land, you can only reclaim it.

Land reclamation is usually done in late autumn, so it is not suitable now.

Qu Shaoyang discussed with his master and decided that there was no rush to buy the land and that it could be done slowly. He wanted to go to Xiaodonggou.

When I was hunting last fall, I came across a cave and there are still some things in it that I haven't taken out.

In addition, Qu Shaoyang always felt that there were some secrets hidden in the cave, and he wanted to go and take a look.

"Okay, since there's nothing to do at home, Xiaozhi can help your mistress take care of the children. We'll go to the mountains and come back the same day."

Liu Dongshan is a rough man. He can handle some work outside, but he really doesn't know how to coax children.

The baby is small, soft and has delicate skin. His hands are rough and full of calluses from working, and he is very strong, so how could he dare not touch her at all?

As soon as the child urinated, he could only rub his hands and watch Lin Ruolan busying herself. He was unable to help at all and could not catch up with Xiaozhi.

Liu Dongshan felt that he could not help much at home, so he accompanied Qu Shaoyang into the mountains first, and then came back to discuss the matter of buying land and reclaiming wasteland.

The next day, the master and his disciple got up early, had a quick meal, and then set out for Xiaodonggou with their guns, dry food and water.

Summer is the time when vegetation grows luxuriantly. In Xiaodonggou, the trees are towering and lush, blocking out much sunlight.

This is the reason why people from the nearby villages rarely come here in summer, mainly because the forest is too dense and it is easy to get into trouble if you are not careful.

There are many wild animals in these deep mountains and forests. It would be very dangerous if you get lost in them.

The master and the disciple walked in the mountains, observing the surrounding environment and matching it with the scene in their minds from last autumn.

After a lot of effort, the two finally found a path leading to another valley.

You know what, this place is really hidden. If someone has not been here before and looks carefully, it would be impossible to find it.

After entering another valley, the two walked along the stream. When they reached the end, they found the cave where Qu Shaoyang had killed the blind bear.

The master and disciple were very well prepared this time, bringing all kinds of items such as ropes and torches.

So the two of them climbed up little by little along the protruding part of the rock wall, entered the cave, and lit torches.

"Oh my god, it looks like this inside, so beautiful."

The first time Liu Dongshan walked into the cave, he was immediately attracted by the scene before him. It was so beautiful and so ingeniously crafted.

"Master, this is where I found the two skeletons. Look."

Before Liu Dongshan could finish admiring the scene in the cave, Qu Shaoyang led him to the location where the two skeletons were found.

The master and disciple held torches and carefully examined the location where the two skeletons were found.

Scattered on the ground were the beads from the hats of the two skeletons.

At that time, Qu Shaoyang was afraid that taking too long and carrying too many things would arouse suspicion, so he only took two knives.

This time, Qu Shaoyang made preparations in advance and brought a big bag with him, so he picked up all the beads and put them away.

While Qu Shaoyang was picking up things, Liu Dongshan looked around with a torch, and found that there seemed to be something on the rock above their heads.

"Shaoyang, look up." Liu Dongshan pointed to the rocks above and said.

Qu Shaoyang had just finished picking up all the beads and other things, and then he looked in the direction his master had pointed out, and indeed there seemed to be something shadowy on a protruding rock.

"Master, please wait down there. I'll go up and take a look."

Qu Shaoyang held a torch in one hand and slowly climbed up the stone wall until he reached the stone.

It turned out that there was a small platform on top of the stone, about half the size of a kang.

There were two sets of armor on the stone platform, but they had been badly rotten over the years.

Qu Shaoyang used a stick to gently poke the armor, and the armor plates scattered all over the ground. Qu Shaoyang used the stick to search around the armor bit by bit, and indeed found something.

Right under the armor, there was something that should have been a bundle. It was almost rotten and broke into pieces with a slight touch, revealing the contents inside.

"Fuck, gold."

It turned out that the bundle contained some small gold ingots, gold cakes and other items, as well as two pieces of jade.

Qu Shaoyang picked up the jade pendant and looked at it carefully in the light of the torch.

The materials of these two pieces of jade are similar, both are white with a hint of yellow, and are carved with very delicate patterns.

On one of the pieces of jade, there seems to be a carving of a wild goose or a swan, spreading its wings and flying.

But on top of its head, there was a very ferocious bird, not too big, like an eagle.

On another piece of jade, there is a carving of a stag with its head raised and roaring towards the sky. Behind the stag, in the jungle, there is a tiger hiding, waiting for an opportunity to hunt.

Qu Shaoyang was not a good student in his previous life. He spent all his time fighting when he was in school. He was a well-known troublemaker in their area.

Therefore, he did not understand the meaning of the pattern carved on the jade, nor did he know which dynasty it came from.

But judging from the degree of decay of the armor, these things must have been here for hundreds of years.

It’s an antique, so keep it. So Qu Shaoyang put the two pieces of jade into his pocket.

He searched the platform for a long time, making sure that nothing was missing, then slowly backed up and went back down.

“Master, there are two sets of armor up there, they are badly rotten and fall apart when touched.

But I found some gold on it, and two pieces of jade, you see."

Qu Shaoyang took out the gold ingots, gold cakes, and the two pieces of jade and showed them to Liu Dongshan.

There was no date marked on the gold ingot, and Liu Dongshan didn't know which dynasty it came from.

But those two pieces of jade do seem to have some meaning.

"The bird carved on this jade looks like a Gyrfalcon to me. This should be a scene of a Gyrfalcon hunting a swan."

After all, Liu Dongshan is older and can see a little bit of the clues.

"Shaoyang, keep these two pieces of jade carefully and don't lose them. They might be some kind of treasure."

Liu Dongshan gave Qu Shaoyang some instructions, and then the master and disciple searched the floor of the cave again to confirm that there was nothing else.

"Master, can we go inside this cave? I feel like this cave is a little unusual."

Qu Shaoyang looked at the cave in front of him and became interested. Since he had nothing else to do, he might as well go in and take a look.

Liu Dongshan did not object, so the two of them walked deeper into the cave with torches.

Unexpectedly, there was a whole new world inside the cave, with many forks in the road.

Qu Shaoyang and Liu Dongshan walked for a while and felt that they could not go any further.

The cave is very deep and there are many forks in the road. If you are not careful, you may get lost.

The two had no choice but to give up and return the same way they came.

"I was not well prepared. I didn't bring enough torches and nothing to mark my whereabouts.

Next time, next time we have a chance, let’s explore this cave again.”

I guess all men have the gene for adventure, Liu Dongshan said regretfully as he walked out.

(End of this chapter)