What was going on? Ning Chaoyi, who had pushed open the door, was somewhat shocked. His gaze first fixed on the golden halberd, then on the person on the couch, then back on the golden halberd, and finally he also kept his guard up against the person on the couch.
The door was not fully open. It stopped when pushed to the width of two arms.
Several people were already stunned outside the stone door, looking at the situation inside with shock and uncertainty. They could not see too much of the situation, but the most eye-catching thing was still that reflective golden halberd.
There really was another golden halberd in existence!
Could this one be the real golden halberd?
The three people, including Ning Chaoyi, did not know what emotions they were feeling inside. Joy, excitement, shock, nervousness, vigilance, and various other emotions were intertwined.
The three people’s gazes carefully sized up the situation. At least for now, it looked exactly the same as the golden halberd in the manor statue, similarly gleaming under the firelight.
Only Old Master Wu was still making protesting grunts from his nose.
Facing the dazzling golden halberd inside the room, the surprise of Ning Chaoyi’s trio came quickly and left quickly. Their attention soon focused entirely on the person on the couch. Ning Chaoyi raised the fluorescent stone in his hand to strengthen the lighting, wanting to see the person on the couch clearly.
It was a man, an elderly man with white hair and wrinkled skin, looking very old.
The key point was that dust-free appearance, not like a dead person, but very fresh and lively.
It was a living person. Under the light, the few people noticed that the old man lying quietly had a slight, rhythmic rise and fall in his chest. He was breathing!
After realising this, the three people’s scalps instantly went numb, and they felt a cool sensation with all the hairs on their bodies standing up.
The three subconsciously thought of the three corpses that had just died outside.
They also once again remembered Yu Qing’s warning that there might be an expert guarding the golden halberd!
The three people standing at the door felt as if their feet weighed ten thousand pounds, difficult to move for a long time. They dared not rush in, nor did they know whether they should retreat. They suddenly tasted an inexplicable torment.
At a time of dilemma, Ning Chaoyi suddenly cupped his hands and said in a clear voice, “Senior, we have disturbed you presumptuously out of absolute necessity. I hope you can forgive us!”
He cupped his hands and bowed for a while, but for a long time saw no reaction from the person on the couch. He tried calling out several more times, “Senior, senior, senior…”
The person on the couch had no reaction the whole time, as if dead, but with their eyesight they could clearly see that the person on the couch was not dead, his breathing was long and steady.
What was going on? The three people looked at each other, all puzzled. Looking at Old Master Wu’s reaction again, this old fellow’s expression showed nothing but protest.
“Senior!” Nie Pinlan also let out a woman’s voice to try calling out.
It was useless. The old man on the couch still had no reaction at all.
What on earth was going on?
The three were in a dilemma for a while. Ning Chaoyi suddenly turned his head and asked the two people beside him, “Do we have a choice?”
The outlaw couple remained silent, which was also a kind of answer.
Saying those words seemed to be to give himself courage. Ning Chaoyi raised one hand, his middle finger scraped the small moustache on his lip, then let go and turned the sanxian carried on his back to the front of his body. His fingers plucked the strings, producing a smooth series of dang dang sounds. The old man on the couch still had no reaction. He grabbed the head of the instrument, and with a sudden swish sound pulled out a bright, snowy sword from the neck of the instrument.
The outlaw couple was surprised. No wonder this man carried that instrument everywhere he went. They had previously thought it was his hobby. It turned out the instrument concealed a sword, a self-defence weapon.
He swung the instrument back onto his back. Ning Chaoyi held the sword in front and took the first step into the room, slowly walking forward while guarding against his surroundings, especially to the left and right behind the door.
The outlaw couple wanted to follow in, but Ning Chaoyi made a stop gesture with the hand holding the fluorescent stone, not letting them enter, giving the signal that eggs should not be put in one basket.
Nie Pinlan bit her silver teeth against her lip, raising her sword and preparing to burst in to rescue.
Zhu Wanzhen pinched the back of Old Master Wu’s neck, pressing the sword edge tightly against his neck. The meaning was obvious. If anything happened, this wretched old man would not live first.
As the fluorescent stone in Ning Chaoyi’s hand entered the room, the entire environment of the stone room was immediately exposed before his eyes. It was just a fairly spacious stone room, not very large in space, with a stone dome. He could not see any carvings or furnishings. It was almost empty.
The entire environment of the stone room seemed to be prepared for that one couch and one person’s slumber. It could be called an underground tomb.
Seeing no other danger, Ning Chaoyi continued forward, walking toward that golden halberd.
There was no other way. As he himself said, he had no choice. He could give up everything else, but he must take this golden halberd away, even if he had to risk his life!
As the distance grew closer, the face of the sleeping old man became clearer to him. A pale face, with aged wrinkles on his face like cracked tree bark. How old must one be to age to this extent?
He put the fluorescent stone in his mouth to provide light, held his breath and concentrated, his sword held in high alert, and his free hand slowly reached toward the golden halberd.
At this moment, witnessing this scene, the hearts of the outlaw couple at the door rose to their throats.
Just as his fingers were about to touch the golden halberd, Ning Chaoyi took a deep breath, suddenly grasped the golden halberd firmly, and was about to pull it away. But at this moment, his whole body suddenly trembled violently, he urgently let go, and the fluorescent stone held in his mouth also clattered to the ground.
Such a sudden change startled the outlaw couple outside. They could not see what had happened, but they knew that anything that could make this goat herder lose his composure must be extraordinary.
Zhu Wanzhen almost slit Old Master Wu’s throat. Nie Pinlan almost rushed in with her sword raised.
But Ning Chaoyi, slightly bent over, quickly made a stop gesture backward, waving his hand to indicate it was fine. After that, he sucked the fluorescent stone back, blew it clean, and put it back in his mouth. Then he reached his hand toward the golden halberd again. This time, once he grasped it, he held it firmly.
Outsiders could not see the trick. Only Ning Chaoyi knew what he was feeling inside his body at this moment.
The moment he grasped the golden halberd, hot blood instantly rushed to his head. His body felt as if it was about to explode. The blood energy inside his body surged like raging waves. Before his eyes seemed to be the illusion of volcanic lava erupting, and in his ears there was a buzzing metallic trembling sound.
The golden halberd seemed to have a soul, seemed to be alive, seemed to be speaking with him. More precisely, it seemed to be rebuking his offence!
A metal weapon, why would it produce this kind of feeling? It was truly hard for him to believe.
He forcibly circulated his power and cast a spell to suppress this powerful restless feeling inside his body, only then could he grasp this golden halberd firmly.
After suppressing the abnormal feeling brought by the golden halberd, he then realised that this golden halberd was no trivial matter. People whose cultivation had not broken through Xuan probably did not even have the qualification to pick it up. If they dared to forcefully take it, they would probably be ravaged until their bodies exploded and died.
This was also why he had lost his composure so much just now when he touched it, to the point that he could not even hold onto a fluorescent stone.
He further realised that the true secret of this halberd would definitely not be as simple as getting rich.
In any case, no matter what, no matter whether this halberd itself was willing to go with him or not, he would forcibly take it away, because he had no choice.
After grasping the golden halberd firmly, he pulled hard, directly pulling the halberd out of the ground. Then he stared at the sleeping old man on the couch as he slowly retreated.
He had had the thought of investigating what was going on with this old man, but he quickly dismissed this thought. Being able to obtain this halberd, he was already very satisfied. He could not invite further trouble. If he really woke the other party up, he did not know what would happen.
The sleeping old man had no reaction at all, allowing him to retreat step by step to the outside of the door.
“Are you alright?” Nie Pinlan asked with quiet concern, reaching out to take the fluorescent stone from his mouth to help him with the lighting.
“I’m fine.” Ning Chaoyi shook his head, and also indicated the golden halberd in his hand. “The real thing was indeed hidden here.”
Nie Pinlan was somewhat worried. “If there can be one fake, it is hard to guarantee there will not be a second. I think the situation inside is a bit strange. I hope this one is real.”
Ning Chaoyi: “No, this one is definitely real.”
The couple was both surprised. Nie Pinlan: “How can you tell?”
Ning Chaoyi was still staring at the person on the couch inside. “You will know once you hold it.”
Nie Pinlan was puzzled, but she still reached out to try to grab it. Who knew that the moment her hand fell and grasped it, her whole body trembled and she let go, even staggering back a step. She stared at that golden halberd with wide eyes, her face full of shock, and an expression of disbelief. After muttering for a while, she slowly nodded and said, “The real thing was indeed hidden here. It is definitely the real thing!”
Zhu Wanzhen also had a shocked expression in his eyes, not knowing the reason, not knowing why grabbing it once would let one know it was real. After all, no one had ever seen the real thing.
He had doubts in his heart but did not ask.
Nie Pinlan saw her husband’s question and took the initiative to explain, “This is not something ordinary people can touch. You will know the true and false upon touching it.”
Zhu Wanzhen’s gaze fixed on the golden halberd, while his hand steadily controlled Old Master Wu, whose grunting sounds were growing stronger.
“Offending the senior was truly out of helplessness!” Ning Chaoyi respectfully said again toward the person on the couch inside, then immediately turned his head and indicated to Nie Pinlan, “Help the senior close the door properly.”
Nie Pinlan immediately went over to pull the door rings on both sides of the stone door to close it.
The behaviour was somewhat unnecessary, and also proved their guilty fear, hence their careful politeness.
Once the door was closed, the three immediately left.
After exiting the cellar, they drilled into Old Master Wu’s house, directly throwing Old Master Wu onto his bed, and ignored him.
Ning Chaoyi rummaged through boxes and cabinets, pulling out old quilt covers and the like to wrap up the golden halberd, lest it be too eye-catching to carry out directly.
Before leaving, Nie Pinlan shot a fluorescent stone into the air, sending out the signal agreed upon in advance. Catching the falling fluorescent stone, they immediately left.
By now the sky was almost completely light, and one could already see things very clearly when moving about. The three people who had climbed out from the courtyard hid and concealed themselves to get away, trying their best to avoid being seen, because they did not want further trouble.
Yu Qing and the others hiding in the vineyard observed the signal rising into the air, and could not help but look at each other. This was the signal for a safe conclusion agreed upon in advance.
Since it was a safe conclusion, they naturally had to go back to meet up.
Before long, the four people drilled out of the field, running back into the mountain cave like a streak of smoke, winding their way back to the place where Lu Xingyun and her mother were hiding, only to discover that the three who had gone into the village to handle matters had not yet returned.