SES Chapter 153 Part 1

Chapter 153

Carrying Cao Jinhua on his back, Cao Yanhua was panting and groaning from exhaustion, while Yan Hongsha, full of urgency, snapped at him repeatedly to move faster.

The cave entrance was well-hidden—so much so that Yan Hongsha had walked right past it before Cao Yanhua called her back.

The narrow side passage made it hard for him to carry someone, so between the two of them—one lifting by the shoulders, the other by the feet—they finally managed to get Cao Jinhua inside.

Yan Hongsha flicked on her flashlight. The shape of the cave puzzled her the more she looked at it.

She turned to Cao Yanhua. “The entrance is well hidden, sure—but this mountain’s right next to the village. After all these years, so many villagers have climbed up here. How could no one have found this place before?”

Cao Yanhua snorted. “When I was a kid, I used to play on this mountain all the time with the other boys. We crawled into every hole we could find—dug up rabbit burrows, too. If a cave like this existed, you think we wouldn’t have noticed?”

“So?” Yan Hongsha glanced at him.

“That means,” he said, “back then, this cave entrance must’ve been sealed shut.”

He pointed at the rocks around them. “There are plenty of loose boulders up here. Just four or five big ones could completely block this opening. You’d need ten men to move them. Add a layer of vines and shrubs outside, and even kids crawling around wouldn’t have found it.”

Yan Hongsha nodded. “Makes sense. But then—who opened it?”

“Probably opened recently. My guess? Yafeng.”

At the mention of Yafeng, Cao Yanhua’s hand throbbed in memory. “Don’t let her size fool you, Hongsha. That girl’s got real strength. When she grabbed my fist, I swear my bones nearly shattered. If that strange relic thing is really in her, moving a hundred-pound rock would be nothing.”

Yan Hongsha frowned. “But Yafeng’s an outsider. When we talked, Jinhua told me she was someone Qingshan met while working in the county. They came back here only to prepare for their wedding. So she’s been in the village just a few days—and already found a cave nobody else discovered in decades?”

Cao Yanhua froze for a long time before mumbling, “Maybe… the relic remembered.”

“The relic remembers things now?”

“Why not?” he said defensively. “Maybe it’s like a USB drive—it stores memories. When it meets the right person, the frequencies match, and bam! Everything comes flooding back.”

He suddenly brightened at the thought. “If that’s true, maybe Yafeng’s got clear images of Laozi himself in her head! All those ancient paintings make him look the same—if she could recreate his real face, that’d be quite the historical discovery!”

Yan Hongsha didn’t bother humoring him. “Where’s the trapdoor?”

As she moved deeper into the cave, Cao Yanhua’s scalp prickled. He quickly grabbed her arm and pointed toward the middle of the floor.

“And the mechanism switch?” she asked.

“No idea.”

He thought for a moment, then added, “There have to be at least two switches. When my junior master fell, Yafeng wasn’t around. But when Brother Luo fell, Yafeng went down with him. That means there’s another switch somewhere else—one here, and one over there. Hongsha, don’t step carelessly! If you fall too, we’re done for.”

His warning made her uneasy. She swept her flashlight beam around again and spotted a large rock inside.

“That’s the one they tied me to,” Cao Yanhua said bitterly. “Had me strapped there for days.”

Yan Hongsha thought for a moment, pulled a climbing rope from her tactical pack, and tied it securely around the rock. Wrapping the other end around her waist, she cautiously stepped toward the trapdoor area. At least if she triggered something, the rope would keep her from falling.

When she reached what looked like the right spot, she began stomping and jumping. Cao Yanhua winced, afraid that in one blink she’d vanish through the floor.

But nothing happened. The panel must’ve been thick—no hollow sound, no matter how hard she jumped.

She knelt, inspecting the ground closely. Then she puffed a breath across the stone seams; the dust scattered, revealing how tightly the slabs fit together. No way to pry it open.

“Where exactly did Yafeng fall?” she asked. “Show me how she landed—how her arms and legs were positioned.”

Cao Yanhua could only give a rough guess.

Yan Hongsha lay back, mimicking Yafeng’s fall. Twisting her body, she reached around with her right hand—and found a small bump near the ground that didn’t look like much at first glance.

She leaned closer, shining the flashlight on it. Sure enough—there were faint scuff marks around the edges.

Her pulse quickened. Her grandfather had once taught her how to recognize old mechanical triggers like this. A slight bump like that meant a push-down mechanism—and those scratches meant it had been used recently.

Pressing both hands on the bump, she pushed with all her strength.

Nothing.

She stood and jumped on it a couple of times. Still nothing.

Cao Yanhua joined in, pushing and stomping beside her, and even tried lifting her so she could jump with extra force. Still no movement.

That only proved Yafeng really was unusually strong. Still, it made sense—if a switch could be triggered too easily, it wouldn’t be much of a trap.

Yan Hongsha sighed. “Guess we look for the other mechanism.”

Before Cao Yanhua could reply, a faint groan came from behind them.

Cao Jinhua was starting to wake.

Panicking, Cao Yanhua nudged Yan Hongsha. “Wh-what do we do?”

“I—uh—hit her again?” Yan Hongsha said uncertainly.

“That’s her head, Hongsha! You’ll turn her brain to mush!”

That brief argument cost them—by then, Cao Jinhua’s eyes had opened.

Her head throbbed fiercely; she touched the swelling at the back, wincing. When her eyes focused on them, her first coherent thought wasn’t about them at all—

Risk really is everywhere. Good thing I’ve got insurance. Head trauma should count as accidental injury coverage… I think the payout rate’s eighty percent. And if I’m hospitalized, that’s twenty yuan a day in subsidy…

That dazed look made Yan Hongsha’s stomach twist. Did I actually hit her that hard?

Cao Yanhua swallowed nervously. “J-Jinhua, it’s a misunderstanding! We’re… we’re the good guys. I swear on my, uh, my dignity!”