We entered the village chief's courtyard.
You can still see patches of dried, blackened blood on the ground.
Judging from the bloodstains, the village chief and his family of six were likely kneeling in a row when someone slit their throats from behind.
"These bandits dared to be so ruthless; they must not be ordinary vagrants."
Ling Yi squatted beside the bloodstains, stroking his chin and muttering to himself.
Ling Yun, who was standing next to her, asked curiously, "Why do you say that?"
"Look at the direction of the bloodstains. I reckon the village chief's family was kneeling here, lined up in a row, when someone slit their throats from behind."
"Ordinary homeless people don't have such professional skills."
Ling Yun's face immediately turned pale.
She did not witness firsthand how the village chief's family died.
Now, after Ling Yi described it this way, a vivid image immediately came to mind.
"Or they're professional bandits."
"Either they came from among the officers and soldiers."
"Soldiers? How is that possible? Soldiers don't protect civilians, so why would they attack them?"
"Why is it impossible? North Leaf Province is close to the Northern Frontier. I remember Father saying three months ago that there was a large-scale rebellion in the Northern Frontier."
"The imperial court dispatched troops to suppress the rebels, but they suffered repeated defeats."
"Now that three months have passed, if the imperial army is defeated, these soldiers may well be scattered and routed."
"Only soldiers who have fought in battles and seen blood can be so ruthless and have such professional methods of killing people."
"Sis, think about it carefully, aren't those people carrying standard-issue weapons?"
Ling Yun nodded and said, "It seems so; they're all holding the exact same knife."
Ling Yi frowned. If his guess was true, then North Leaf Province had probably been peaceful for quite some time.
The rebels, riding the wave of their great victory, will inevitably march south.
In addition, the current severe drought has left many starving refugees throughout the entire North Leaf Province.
Any rebel with a brain could easily learn from Zhang Jue's tactics and deceive the enemy.
These refugees were the best source of nourishment for the rebel army.
I just don't know what the current situation is like in the Great Qian Kingdom.
The corrupt and decadent dynasty was still at its peak.
In any case, you need to make plans as soon as possible.
" Little Yi, stop looking at these things, they're creepy. Let's go to the cellar!"
"Good!"
The cellar was located at the back of the yard, next to an old locust tree.
It was completely hidden by a stone slab, so it would be difficult for the average person to spot.
The stone slab was irregular in shape, but rather quite thick and heavy.
It's really difficult for the average person to do this.
Ling Yi won't work either.
He only has a physical constitution of 13 points, which is slightly higher than the average person.
However, it is also limited.
This stone slab must weigh at least three or four hundred pounds; his small frame probably really can't move it.
Looking around, I happened to see an elm stick placed in the corner of the wall.
The elm stick is about the thickness of an adult's arm and about two meters long.
One end showed signs of wear and tear.
Clearly, this stick is frequently used and not just randomly placed here.
Ling Yi picked up the stick and found Shitou about the size of a basketball nearby.
And there are clear signs of wear on the Shitou.
Ling Yi inspected the stone slab again.
Sure enough, traces were also found on the thicker side.
Seeing this, Ling Yi couldn't help but smile.
Suddenly, I understood how the village chief's family usually opened and closed this cellar.
Ling Yi moved the basketball-sized Shitou next to the stone slab.
Align the marks, then wed the stick between the slab and the stone.
With a little force, the stone slab began to slide to one side.
To Ling Yi's surprise.
Ling Yi didn't use much strength at all.
Ling Yi looked down at the stone slab and was slightly surprised.
"The village chief is quite something; he even understands the principles of levers and rollers."
Beneath the stone slab, there was a movable log.
The reason this heavy stone slab could be pushed aside so easily was because the logs acted as rollers.
Ling Yi used an elm stick and with a little force, Teleportation the stone slab to the side.
This revealed the entrance to the cellar, large enough for one person to pass through.
"Sister, I'll go downstairs and take a look first," Ling Yi said.
The village chief was clearly a smart man; Ling Yi worried that there might be some hidden mechanisms beneath the cellar.
"Then be careful." Ling Yun didn't think much of it.
She was unaware of the dangers lurking in the cellar.
After all, it was just a cellar.
Ling Yi had only taken a few steps down the steps when he discovered a flint, some small wooden strips wrapped in cotton wool, and an oil lamp in a recessed area beside him.
Wow, they've really prepared everything.
Ling Yi struck the flint and steel a few times, and blinding Mars flew out, quickly igniting the cotton-flossed wooden strip.
They then lit the oil lamp with burning wooden sticks.
Then, carrying the oil lamp, he went down the steps.
The steps were built with gray mud bricks.
Mud bricks are bricks made from ordinary clay.
After drying, burn it with firewood.
Although it cannot compare to red bricks fired at high temperatures, it is still much harder than ordinary clay.
Ling Yi was puzzled.
Since the village chief knows how to make mud bricks, why is his own house just Earth Wall wooden house?
In fact, not a single mud brick was found anywhere else in the village chief's house!
Why use mud bricks in this cellar instead?
This village chief seems to be quite something!
Just as Ling Yi descended the tenth step and was about to reach the bottom...
The mud bricks underfoot suddenly sank in half an inch.
Ling Yi immediately sensed something was wrong.
The next moment, Daodao Air Breaking sounds rang out.
Three Shadow flew past Ling Yi's scalp at an extremely fast speed.
Three crisp "ding-ding" sounds came from the steps behind them.
Ling Yi turned around and was surprised to find that three Hidden Weapons made of pure iron and shaped like long nails were embedded in the mud bricks of the steps.
Ling Yi was immediately filled with lingering fear.
His height saved his life.
If Ling Yi were a few centimeters taller, those three Hidden Weapons would already be stuck in his head.
They wrapped filming up and started over immediately.
Ling Yi was now even more curious about what treasures were hidden in this cellar that contained such terrifying traps.
With a wave of his hand, Ling Yi sent the three Hidden Weapons vanishing into thin air and reappearing in his Personal Space.
The next moment, it reappeared in Ling Yi's hand.
Ling Yi gestured, and thought, "Isn't this size perfect for making crossbow bolts?"
Take out the crossbow and insert the iron nail into the groove of the crossbow.
It's a perfect fit.
With a flick of his hand, the nails and crossbow disappeared again.
I wonder if there are any of those iron nails left.
After taking a deep breath, Ling Yi continued downhill.
However, they have become increasingly cautious.
Fortunately, apart from these three iron nails, there were no other Hidden Weapons in the cellar.
The cellar was larger than Ling Yi had imagined.
It's over 300 square meters.
On the front and back, there were ten wooden boxes, each large enough to hold two adult bodies.
The west side was piled high with burlap sacks.
Ling Yi tore open a bag and looked inside; it was Dami.
I roughly counted them, and there were more than fifty bags.
With this Dami, Ling Yi and his companions wouldn't have to worry about food for quite some time.
On the east side, there were also several boxes.
However, unlike the ten boxes on the back, these are smaller, and they are all rectangular.
Ling Yi walked over and randomly opened one of the boxes.
When they saw what was inside, they were immediately taken aback.
They were all weapons.
Among them were knives, swords, bows, crossbows, spears, and stacks of Zheng Qi's black armor.
The village chief who has already passed away must have had a very important background.
Ling Yi turned his gaze to the ten wooden crates to the north.
I wonder what kind of treasures are hidden here.