The female anchor turned into the dean of an ancient academy

"Dean, be careful where you step." Yu Lan whispered again, her tone more worried.

Cen Jiexiao nodded. With the dim light of the fire, she saw more rubble and bones scattered on the ground. She didn't know what kind of animal they were, but they looked even more eerie and terrifying in the dim light.

"We don't know how long this secret passage has been abandoned, and we don't know where it leads to. We have to be careful." Xiaozhi's voice trembled even more, and he was obviously frightened by the weird atmosphere.

"What are you afraid of? With Yu Lan and I here, how can anything happen to a little girl like you?" Cen Jiexiao teased again with a nonchalant look, trying to ease the tense atmosphere. However, her hand holding the torch unconsciously tightened a little.

Xiaozhi curled his lips and muttered softly, "Who's afraid? I'm just worried. Following the dean for the past few months, I feel like I've experienced all the adventures of my life."

Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by a sudden noise.

"Shh! What's that sound?" Yu Lan pricked up her ears alertly, and the long sword in her hand was unsheathed. The cold light flashed, illuminating her vigilant face.

The three held their breath and listened attentively. The sound seemed to come from deep within the secret passage, intermittent and like the growl of some animal, or the groaning of a human, it was creepy.

Cen Jiexiao's heartbeat quickened. She clenched the torch in her hand and felt her palms sweating.

"Let's go check it out!" Cen Jiexiao lowered her voice, her tone firm, like a flash of lightning in the darkness, dispelling the fear around them. Holding the torch tightly in her hand, Cen Jiexiao took the first step, followed closely by Xiaozhi and Yulan. The three of them cautiously groped their way towards the sound.

The air in the secret passage grew increasingly damp and chilly, like stepping into the belly of a giant beast, suffocating. The flickering torch in Sister Cen's hand cast the three of them's shadows on the mottled walls, distorting and shifting, adding a touch of eeriness.

"Dean, do you think this sound is from some monster?" Xiaozhi tightly grabbed the corner of Cen Jiexiao's clothes and asked in a trembling voice.

"Don't talk nonsense. There are no monsters in this world." Although Cen Jiexiao said this, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. In recent days, she had experienced too many things that ordinary people could hardly imagine. She knew that there were many things in this world that could not be explained by common sense.

Yu Lan gripped the sword tightly in her hand, glanced around vigilantly, and said in a deep voice: "Be careful, no matter what it is, we must be prepared."

The three of them walked forward for a while, and the strange sound became clearer and clearer. It was like the growl of some wild beast, or the groaning of someone in pain, which was creepy.

"There seems to be light ahead!" Yu Lan suddenly said, pointing ahead.

Cen Jiexiao looked carefully and saw a faint light in front of her, like a ray of hope in the darkness.

"Let's go and take a look." Cen Jiexiao said, quickening her pace.

As they got closer, the light became clearer and clearer, and finally, they arrived in front of a stone door. The door was half-open, and the light was shining through the crack.

Cen Jiexiao gestured for Yu Lan to go forward and push open the stone door. Yu Lan nodded, took a deep breath, and suddenly pushed the stone door open.

With a creaky sound, the heavy stone door was slowly pushed open, and a musty smell hit them. At the same time, a spacious stone chamber appeared in front of the three people.

In the center of the stone chamber stood a massive stone table, piled high with books, scrolls, and oddly shaped implements. Several night-shining pearls were inlaid on the surrounding walls, emitting a faint glow that illuminated the entire chamber.

"What is this place? Why are there so many strange things?" Xiaozhi looked around curiously and couldn't help but reach out to look through the books on the stone table.

"Don't move!" Cen Jiexiao stopped her, her eyes sweeping across the stone chamber, finally landing on a sarcophagus in the center of the stone chamber.

The sarcophagus was pitch black, with intricate patterns carved on it, and it exuded a strange aura.

"Could the thing that made the sound be inside this sarcophagus?" Xiaozhi's voice trembled a little.

"It's possible." Cen Jiexiao nodded and motioned Yu Lan to go forward and check.

Yu Lan approached the sarcophagus cautiously and reached out to gently push the lid.

With a "boom", the coffin lid was pushed open a crack, and a stronger musty smell mixed with a hint of blood hit the face, which was nauseating.

"Ah!" Xiaozhi exclaimed and covered his nose.

Cen Jiexiao and Yu Lan also frowned, suppressing their discomfort and looking inside the sarcophagus.

Inside the sarcophagus lay a skeleton, wearing a worn-out suit of armor and holding a rusty iron sword. Scattered around the skeleton were some gold, silver, jewelry, and weapons.

"It seems that this was once the tomb of a general." Cen Jiexiao said in a deep voice.

"But why is there such a strange sound here?" Xiaozhi asked in confusion.

Cen Jiexiao didn't answer. She walked to the sarcophagus and carefully examined the skeleton. Suddenly, her eyes fell on the chest of the skeleton, where a black arrow was stuck.

"It's this arrow! The tip of this arrow is a whistling arrow." Cen Jiexiao pointed at the arrow and said, "This stone chamber is ventilated, and the airflow generated by the wind passes through the small holes in the arrowhead, so it makes that sound."

"Air flow and pores?" Xiaozhi and Yulan looked at the arrow in surprise.

"That's right." Cen Jiexiao nodded. "This is a very common mechanical principle in physics."

Yu Lan and Xiao Zhi were confused at this moment and didn't know how to respond.

"Um, Dean, so this stone chamber is the general's tomb?" Yu Lan asked.

"It's very likely." Cen Jiexiao said, "However, this is just my guess and needs further confirmation."

"What should we do now?" Xiaozhi asked.

"Let's get out of here first." Cen Jiexiao said, "This place is too weird, we'd better leave as soon as possible."

The three of them left the stone chamber and continued walking along the secret passage. After walking for a distance, they suddenly saw a spacious stone chamber in front of them.

In the center of the stone chamber stood a stone table piled high with account books and letters. Several oil lamps hung on the walls, emitting a dim glow that barely illuminated the entire stone chamber.

"What is this place? Why are there so many account books?" Xiaozhi picked up an account book curiously and looked through it, but found that the handwriting on it was scribbled and difficult to recognize.

"Don't move!" Cen Jiexiao walked over quickly and stopped Xiaozhi's actions. She picked up an account book and looked through it carefully, her face gradually becoming solemn.

"These account books seem to be the accounts of the Zhenxi General's Mansion's transactions with the outside world." Cen Jiexiao said in a deep voice, "Among them, it seems that a large part is related to certain officials of Liao Dan."

"What? You mean, the General's Mansion is colluding with Liaodan officials?" Yu Lan also realized the seriousness of the problem and her face changed.

"This is just speculation and needs further confirmation," Cen Jiexiao analyzed calmly. "However, judging by the records in these account books, the Zhenxi General's Mansion is indeed a strong suspect."

"What should we do now?" Xiaozhi asked anxiously, "Should we take these account books back and give them to His Majesty?"

"No, we can't alert them yet." Cen Jiexiao shook her head. "These account books are only part of the evidence. We need to find more solid evidence before we can catch them all in one fell swoop."

"Indeed, what if we alert them and let them escape given their power in the court?" Yu Lan said worriedly.

"Don't worry, they won't be able to escape if they fall into the hands of our Zhaoyin Academy," Xiaozhi said confidently. "Dean, you should send someone to secretly monitor the General's Mansion. If you find anything unusual, report it immediately."

"Okay, let's do it!" Cen Jiexiao nodded, already having a plan in mind.

Just as the three of them were checking carefully, they suddenly heard footsteps and someone was approaching the stone chamber.