Chief, don't hit me in the face

Chapter 36: Ambush in the Underground Palace

Nobles often like to dig cellars beneath their mansions for storage or as hiding places, but this one was far too large. Xia Ye walked around the perimeter and discovered that while the mansion itself wasn’t particularly large, the underground passages extended extremely deep and even branched out toward the streets on both sides, forming the Underground Palace. “Something’s off!” In the wood shed of the back yard, Xia Ye found a stone slab. He didn’t need to break it open; through a gap on the side, he could see the stairs leading down below. Bang! Song Guo flipped open the stone slab. Undeterred by the danger, she lit a torch and walked straight down. The staircase was long and spiral-shaped; by the time Xia Ye reached the cellar, he estimated they had descended about ten meters. Apart from a few corpses that had dried into skeletons, all that remained were a few empty crates. “Ah-woo!” Song Guo was very disappointed. “This is just a decoy; the real Underground Palace is below.” Xia Ye found a stone slab in the northwest corner; too lazy to move it, he simply smashed it open with brute force. Boom! Amid a cloud of dust, a flight of steps emerged. The two of them advanced cautiously, but they didn’t trigger a single trap until they reached the floor—not because there weren’t any, but because they’d been destroyed long ago. The Underground Palace was as large as two basketball courts. There were some rotting wooden crates on the floor; they must have held something at one time, but everything had long since been taken. “They’re all rusted!” Song Guo climbed up next to a wooden crate; inside, there was indeed a pile of arrowheads, but unfortunately, they were all covered in a thick layer of copper rust and long since unusable. Aside from the unusable ones, everything else had been taken by whoever discovered the Underground Palace—not a single feather remained. “Hmph, this sucks!” Song Guo pouted and kicked the crate. Crash! The wooden crate shattered, sending echoes reverberating through the air. Xia Ye, however, remained calm. He rummaged through the area, and after resting for a while, he removed his blindfold and scanned his surroundings. Since the owner had managed to conceal a second level, there might very well be a third. Sure enough, a large ball of light appeared. “To the north, thirty paces!” Hearing Xia Ye’s words, Song Guo immediately ran over, cleared away the wooden crates on the ground, and searched carefully: “No cracks!” “Break it open!” After taking another careful look and confirming there was another glow ten meters to the right, Xia Ye hurried over. Song Guo was already holding a tactical axe and had begun chiseling at the ground. Thud! Soon, the stone was chiseled through, revealing a hint of bronze. “Wow!” Song Guo gasped in surprise, then dug even harder. A layer of rock at least half a chi thick was cleared away, revealing a bronze chest engraved with the image of a bird of prey. Because it was wrapped in animal hide, sealed tightly, and had been kept away from the air, the bronze chest was almost completely undamaged. “Phew!” Xia Ye whistled. The box was huge—a cube with sides measuring two meters—and very heavy, weighing about five hundred shí, but for Song Guo, it was no problem at all. With a single grab of her little hand, Song Guo yanked it up. Thud! The bronze chest landed on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Creak! Song Guo pried open the latch, creating a small crack, and a milky-white glow immediately filled his vision. “Wow!” Song Guo let out another shriek. The chest was filled with smooth ivory tusks—who knew how many years had passed, yet they showed no signs of yellowing at all, remaining as milky white as ever. The ivory was adorned with mysterious, esoteric tattoos. Upon coming into contact with spiritual energy, they began to flicker on and off—like a breath—as they started to absorb the energy. The little girl’s power was simply too overwhelming. Xia Ye hesitated for a moment; the words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back. Never mind—he wouldn’t ask about her origins for now. He’d let the little one tell him herself later. “This must be the tusk of a Winter’s Chill Elephant, right?” Song Guo traced the tattoo on the tusk with her fingers, feeling a chill. This species of elephant was extremely rare; it was said to live only in the icy, snow-covered lands of the far north. “Yes!” Xia Ye picked one up to examine it. The bones and tusks of the Winter’s Chill Elephant could all be used as dragon bones—especially the tusks, which were top-grade dragon bone material. Buildings constructed with them would be even more sturdy, with greatly enhanced defensive capabilities. Tribal architecture in the Era of Vital Energy consists of three parts: a core, which determines the building’s function; second, the dragon bones—as the name implies, the main framework of the structure; and third, the filling stones, used to fill and reinforce the structure, ultimately forming the building. The better the dragon bones, the sturdier the main structure, and the greater its ability to withstand attacks. It’s important to note that even if a building is riddled with holes, as long as the dragon bones remain intact, it is not considered destroyed and can still be repaired. However, once the dragon bones are destroyed, the building is essentially demolished. To destroy the Xia and defeat the Zhao, one must have one’s own tribe and establish one’s own armed forces; that is why Xia Ye had studied this knowledge. In fact, in the Yuanqi Era, everyone—men and women alike—aspired to establish their own tribe and become a great chieftain. A chieftain is someone who owns a private territory and reaps all its produce. There, he is king, and his commands take precedence over everything else! “I’m rich!” Xiao Song Guo beamed with joy. “That’s right!” Xia Ye was delighted too. Don’t let the fact that it was just a crate of ivory fool you—it was enough to build the framework for at least three structures. Measure it in Knife Coins? Sorry, but something this rare can only be traded for hard currency like grain, Vitality Stones, or bronze. Although Xia Ye didn’t know the market value, this crate of ivory could definitely buy enough grain to feed a tribe of ten thousand people for a whole year. “Is the other one over here?” Song Guo swung her little axe, full of enthusiasm. “Mm-hmm!” Even though he hadn’t dug it up yet, Xia Ye had already guessed what it was. Sure enough, there was a bronze chest of the same size, filled to the brim with neatly cut Hollow Tower Stones. “Konglou Stone” is commonly called “stone,” but in Xia Ye’s view, it’s a type of microorganism similar to coral polyps. When stimulated by secret magic, these organisms can absorb substances rich in vital energy from the air and grow on their own. A piece the size of a fist can grow into a small mountain weighing a metric ton within a few days, so it’s generally used as filler material in construction. “Ah-woo, we’ve hit the jackpot this time!” Song Guo jumped onto the chest and raised her little hand. “Haha!” Xia Ye caught on and held out his right hand. Smack! A crisp high-five celebrated their big haul. “These things were obviously meant to help him make a comeback!” Xia Ye curled his lip. “Too bad they never got to use them!” This was the secret residence of the Fengjing Tribe’s chieftain, hiding a vast stockpile of strategic supplies. The bronze weapons and Vitality Stones up there had long since been looted, but those were mere trifles—their combined value didn’t even amount to a third of a single Winter Elephant tusk. Ivory and Hollow Tower Stone are essential materials for construction. No tribe wants to see a new tribe emerge nearby, as that means a new enemy, so control over these building materials is extremely strict. If not for the Blood Survival Trial, Xia Ye would never have had the chance to establish a tribe. These strategic supplies were hoarded by the Fengjing tribal chieftain over the course of more than a century, intended for use when the tribe rose again after its defeat. Unfortunately, the Zhao clan’s elite troops annihilated the Fengjing tribe in a single battle, slaughtering nearly all its members and leaving them no chance for a comeback. As a result, it all fell into Xia Ye’s lap. “Carry the ivory!” Xia Ye gave it a try. Compared to the ivory of the Winter’s Chill Elephant, the Empty Tower Stone of the same volume was much heavier—definitely over a thousand shi. “Too light—I’ll carry this one!” Song Guo grabbed the crate containing the Empty Tower Stone as if it were a giant pumpkin—it felt completely effortless. “Come to think of it, I feel like a Saint!” Xia Ye wanted to laugh. With a bearskin draped over her shoulders, the little girl was carrying a massive bronze chest several sizes too big for her—it looked hilarious no matter how you looked at it. “What’s a Saint?” Song Guo blinked her beautiful, big eyes. “Men who want to become Hokage and claim the Pirate King’s treasure can wear sacred armor named after constellations—it’s really cool.” Xia Ye made it up on the spot, hoisted the bronze chest onto her back, and set off up the stone steps. “Treasure? I want some too!” Song Guo licked her lips. “Hehe!” Having found the treasure, Xia Ye was in high spirits and was just wondering if he should tease Song Guo a little more when, just as he stepped out of the entrance to the second level of the Underground Palace, a bronze longsword came whistling down toward him. “Step back!” Xia Ye’s pupils contracted sharply. As he shouted, he didn’t have time to block the blow, so he spun around abruptly, using the bronze treasure chest on his back as a shield, and charged forward with all his might. The attacker clearly didn’t want to damage the chest and was forced to withdraw his sword. Bang! Xia Ye dropped the chest and drew her Nepalese scimitar: “It’s you?” “Hello, nice to see you again!” Cao Ang narrowed his eyes slightly as he sized up Xia Ye, once again raising his opinion of him. Most people, faced with a sneak attack like the one just now, would have quickly retreated. That way, he could have used the terrain to his advantage, attacking from a higher vantage point and launching a series of strikes until he’d killed his opponent. But Xia Ye didn’t. Instead, he charged out without hesitation and used his own reluctance to damage the treasure chest to stop his own attack. “How long have you been hiding there?” Xia Ye asked. “Take a guess.” Cao Ang chuckled lightly; this attitude itself carried a certain intimidating presence. Deep down, however, he was deeply impressed. How many young people, when suddenly ambushed, could demonstrate such split-second judgment? And even if they could, how immense would their courage have to be to brace themselves against the attack head-on? After all, charging out so recklessly without knowing the enemy’s identity or strength could very well have gotten him blown to bits! Cao Bing had killed—that kid with the eye patch—deserved his fate. “I’m fine—don’t rush in!” Xia Ye ordered. “I’m a good guy!” Cao Ang shrugged, stepped back twenty meters, and cleared the way at the exit of the steps. Song Guo immediately ran out, her crossbow already aimed at Cao Ang. “Don’t shoot—watch your back!” Seeing the little girl about to pull the trigger, Xia Ye quickly stopped her. Reloading the crossbow was too slow; if she missed the first shot, it would be trouble. So it was better to let Song Guo use it for self-defense—that way, even if Cao Ang wanted to take her hostage during the fight, he’d have to think twice. “Okay!” Song Guo nodded. “Is there any chance of a peaceful resolution?” Xia Ye gave a wry smile. “How about I give you one of the treasure chests?” “Stop putting on a show—I’m not falling for that!” Cao Ang scoffed. Xia Ye paused for a moment, then shook his head: “You’re right. You deliberately left the exit open so you could observe her and keep an eye on her—to prevent an ally from suddenly popping up from below during the fight.” “Am I really that good?” Although it was a rhetorical question, that was exactly what Cao Ang was thinking—in battle, one must do everything possible to avoid any uncertainties.