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墨書 Inktalez
"Is the camera on this Drone night vision?" Bai Yujing was particularly curious about this device, but Lin Ruoqiao was quite familiar with it. In just a few moments, she connected and installed it, then lowered the Drone.
"No!"
"How can you see anything in there? It's pitch black!"
While controlling the Drone to descend into the well, Lin Ruoqiao looked at Bai Yujing with disdain. "The Drone has a spotlight."
Bai Yujing was speechless for a moment, deeply doubting her own intelligence. As the Drone slowly descended, she could see the scene at the bottom. The vertical shaft was very deep, with walls made of sturdy blue stone bricks. At the very bottom of the well, close to the bottom, there appeared a circular opening.
"This must be the entrance. Let's go in and see what's inside," Bai Yujing said as she noticed the scene displayed on Lin Ruoqiao's screen. The light from the Drone illuminated all around as it entered the opening.
Lin Ruoqiao controlled the Drone to go inside the opening, leading straight through a passage that extended outside the village and eventually opened into an underground cave. Bai Yujing and Lin Ruoqiao observed for a moment, rotating the Drone to look around with the spotlight. It indeed appeared to be an ordinary cave.
"What's going on? There's nothing here!" Li Hao looked at Bai Yujing, who frowned in response. This was not what they had imagined; why had they built this passage?
Bai Yujing picked up a rope. "I'm going down to take a look. You two keep an eye out and pull me up immediately if anything happens."
Bai Yujing had brought specialized ropes and climbing gear for this trip. She used a double rope descent method, securing one end of the rope to a nearby dead Banyan Tree. The rope had safety devices, making it relatively secure. After confirming that everything was fine, she directly descended into the well.
Li Hao watched her closely. "Be careful! Shout if anything happens!"
Lin Ruoqiao seemed unconcerned. "We've just checked down there; there's nothing to be afraid of."
Once Bai Yujing descended, she slowly let down the rope, gripping and releasing it carefully. In such a dark place at the bottom of the well, it became increasingly darker as she went deeper, giving her a sense of being trapped in a secret chamber, as if something might jump out at any moment.
Before long, Bai Yujing reached the bottom of the well. She stood on the wall of the well to stabilize herself and shone her flashlight downwards. She noticed that there was still water at the bottom of the well, but it wasn't deep—only about half a meter or so. Water slowly seeped out from below but flowed away when it reached the edge of the passage. After confirming that there was nothing unusual down there, Bai Yujing stepped into the water.
It was then that she noticed the passageway—it wasn't large, barely over a meter high. If she entered, she would have to crawl. What was this tiny entrance for? Looking down at the water beneath her feet, Bai Yujing realized something was off.
Bai Yujing once again cupped his hands and licked them, discovering that the water gushing from the ground was fresh water, suitable for drinking, which was quite different from the seawater well he had imagined before.
"Then where did the seawater come from?" Bai Yujing immediately noticed this issue and shone his flashlight around, but he saw no traces or clues in the surroundings, just normal bluestone bricks. The bottom of the cave was cold and damp, filled with moisture, making Bai Yujing feel uncomfortable.
"Hey, can you hear me?" Bai Yujing shouted towards McLeod at his neck.
"Crackle, I can hear you, Old Bai. How's it going over there?" It was Li Hao's voice.
Bai Yujing replied immediately, "Everything is normal. I've checked; this opening is only about 1.2 meters high, too small to be an entrance or exit. And I noticed something—the water gushing from the well is fresh water, not the seawater we found earlier."
Li Hao was taken aback for a moment. "How is that possible? We tasted it before; it was bitter and salty!"
Lin Ruoqiao quickly grabbed the walkie-talkie from Li Hao's hand. "Could there be another entrance? Maybe the water flows in from somewhere else?"
Bai Yujing said, "I think that's likely. You guys slowly pull me up; I've checked the bottom of the well and found nothing unusual. When I go up, I'll take a look; I might discover something."
"Okay, we'll pull you up right away!" Lin Ruoqiao put down the walkie-talkie and immediately started pulling Bai Yujing up. As Bai Yujing ascended, he shone his flashlight on the walls of the well, looking around. "Slow down a bit; if you go too fast, we might miss something."
"Come on, do you think this is easy?" Li Hao retorted, prompting Lin Ruoqiao's disdain. "You useless guy, if you can't handle it, just step aside."
The speed slowed down, allowing Bai Yujing to observe more carefully. When they reached a point slightly below the middle of the well, Bai Yujing suddenly spotted a white stone slab. This slab was a solid piece that seemed to act like a door, tightly blocking this area.
"Stop! Don't pull me up anymore." Upon hearing Bai Yujing's voice, the rope immediately halted. Bai Yujing steadied himself in the well, stepping on the stone wall while shining his flashlight tightly on the slab. The slab was about two meters tall and one and a half meters wide, resembling a stone door.
Bai Yujing knocked on it and immediately heard a hollow sound coming from the slab; there was emptiness behind it. Bai Yujing felt delighted: "I've made a discovery!"
"Really? Old Bai, what did you find?" Lin Ruoqiao and Li Hao shouted together from above.
Bai Yujing replied quickly, "A stone door! This should be the entrance; we were mistaken before. This is indeed the entrance; the one below is a waterway used to drain water. This well is definitely a freshwater well. Normally, when both entrances are sealed off, what comes out is fresh water. Previously, they sealed off the lower entrance and opened the upper one, which is why we saw seawater."
"Quick, pull me up! I'll try that mechanism and see if it's what I think it is."
Bai Yujing was pulled to the well's opening and immediately saw the sunlight streaming down from above, along with the faces of Li Hao and Lin Ruoqiao. The darkness below and the brightness above seemed to divide into two worlds.
Bai Yujing forcefully pressed the mechanism attached to the copper ring inward. It must be said that Bai Yujing exerted all her strength to push it back to a distance. After a while, a rumbling sound began to echo from below, and finally, with a loud clang, the sound of rushing water came from the bottom of the well. In an instant, water splashed everywhere, filling the entire well back to its original water level.
Li Hao glanced over and said, "What's the use of this? We're still in the water. Are we supposed to swim in?"
Bai Yujing also didn't quite understand the principle behind this design. It was strange—one moment it was sealed, and the next it was opened. Wasn't it all just water inside? What was it for?
"Maybe they entered using this method, swimming in," Lin Ruoqiao pondered.
Bai Yujing and Li Hao were taken aback. "No way, could it be that there's only a short distance with water inside? If that's the case, we can give it a try."
Li Hao shivered at the thought. "Forget it. The only time I swim is in my home swimming pool; I rarely go into deep water."
Lin Ruoqiao shook her head. "I mean, do they not need to breathe underwater?"
Bai Yujing and Li Hao were completely dumbfounded. After a long pause, they stammered, "Not need to breathe? What does that mean?"
Lin Ruoqiao hesitated for a moment before saying, "I can hold my breath underwater. I once stayed submerged in the ocean for an hour without coming up for air. At that time, I found it very strange. When you told me about the secrets of the Water Tribe and Merfolk, I felt that my talent in this area might be related."
Bai Yujing nodded. "If that's the case, then it makes sense. But why can't Li Hao do it?"
Li Hao immediately became dissatisfied. "What do you mean I can't? That's very ambiguous; it needs correction. I grew up inland and rarely encountered water, so I've never tried it before. But when I did try before, I choked on water!"
Lin Ruoqiao quickly replied, "You just need to hold your breath! I discovered this aspect after almost drowning once. It seems like I can breathe through any part of my body; I don't even need my mouth."
Bai Yujing immediately said, "It seems that the people in this village are indeed very mysterious. You two must have some mysterious bloodline from this village. Lin Ruoqiao, after we get out, you should check as well. Li Hao has a genetic disease; he might not live past a year, which could be related to this village's bloodline. That's why we came here—to uncover the truth and see if there's a way to resolve it."
Lin Ruoqiao widened her mouth and looked at Li Hao and Bai Yujing, "No way, I thought I was definitely the unique one. With what you just said, it seems there’s a price to pay. I always knew I was amazing since I was little—pretty, smart, and with special abilities. People like that often die young, right?"
Bai Yujing immediately said, "You two don’t need to rush. I thought of a solution yesterday."
"What solution?" Li Hao and Lin Ruoqiao asked in unison.
Bai Yujing replied, "I consulted a professional I found. She said the issue with your genes is likely due to a conflict between humans and the special bloodline of this village. I suspect that the people from this village must have used Mermaid's Blood. Think about it; the previous villagers mentioned that Shuiyuan Village has never interacted with the outside world, nor has anyone from outside ever married into the village. The village's history can be traced back hundreds of years. This strange situation can only mean one thing: it’s a village formed by immortals who refuse to interact with outsiders to hide their abnormalities."
Li Hao nodded, "You mentioned this yesterday. So what’s the solution you thought of?"
"Mermaid's Blood! Since this village must have it, this kind of elixir for immortality could easily solve your problem," Bai Yujing said excitedly.
After hearing this, Li Hao felt thrilled but also had mixed emotions. Bai Yujing understood his feelings: "Let’s find it first. It’s not like hundreds of years ago; technology has advanced. Once we get it and study it, we might find a breakthrough. You still have a year—at least half a year—so we can take our time."
Li Hao nodded, "Alright, thanks for your help, Old Bai. Once this is accomplished, I won’t forget you!"
"Ugh, I don’t want a big man like you remembering me; it gives me the creeps!" Bai Yujing immediately replied with disdain.
Li Hao felt angry and wanted to kick Bai Yujing back into the well, but she suddenly remembered something. "Wait, hold on!"
"What now?"
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