The highly anticipated Sun Shijie exchanged a glance with Jiuye beside him; they both stared wide-eyed at each other, both looking as if they'd seen a ghost, and said in unison, "What did you say? We're still in Jiuyou Town?"

As native locals, Jiuye and Sun Shijie had witnessed the town's changes over the decades; they could walk through it with their eyes closed, knowing exactly how large the town was.

That's exactly why they were so shocked; after walking so far, they were somehow still in the town?

At this moment, Lu Yao said, "Not only did we not leave the town, but this place beneath the mountain, we visited just two days ago."

"We were there two days ago?" Xiao Feng was slightly taken aback and then suddenly realized, "Are you talking about the temple that Jiuye took us to?"

Lu Yao nodded, "That's right, at the foot of the mountain behind us is Anping Temple, and to be precise, this place can be considered the mountains behind Anping Temple."

The whole place was instantly silent.

"We took a long detour just to end up behind Anping Temple, knowing that, why did we take such a big risk?" Zhao Guo'an said with a sour face, "Pardon my language, but this is like taking off your pants to fart."

The little girl pouted, "Exactly, Doctor Sun, don't tell me this is a test left by your ancestors?"

"It's not a test, it's just different times." Sun Shijie shook his head and sighed, "Probably only people of our age group can truly feel how much our country has changed in the past few decades. To say it's been earth-shattering wouldn't be an exaggeration!"

Jiuye, looking as if he deeply resonated with this, said, "You youngsters don't know what it means for transportation to be inconvenient, and I'm not talking about just traffic jams.

When I was your age, forget about cars, even bicycles were a rare sight. If a village had one, the whole village would feel a sense of pride.

Under these conditions, if anyone wanted to go to the city market, it would take dozens of miles of mountain roads on foot.

In those days, many died from sickness—not just because of poor medical conditions, but also because a lot of time was wasted on the road, and they couldn't be taken to the hospital in the city on time."

Sun Shijie picked up the conversation, "This is also why our country is willing to pay a big price to build roads. Without highways, nothing is convenient."

After saying this, he patted his forehead, "I've talked a bit far; although I'm not sure of the specific reason, this underground path we've traveled is older than I am. Since the road is built below ground, it's very likely inaccessible from the surface."

Those around slowly nodded in agreement, realizing that the immediate concern wasn't about Sun Shijie's ancestors 'taking off their pants to fart', but about where the treasure was.

Xiao Feng's gaze turned to the vast bamboo forest; if he wasn't mistaken, it should be hidden in there.

"Going in to look for it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack," Lin Zhiyan walked to Xiao Feng's side and asked softly, "Should we go in and look?"

"We're already here, and if we don't see what treasures lie within, all our previous efforts will have been for nothing." Xiao Feng said with determination, clearly unwilling to give up until he saw the treasures himself.

Finishing his words, he glanced at the time and said, "It's two in the morning now; let's rest for the night and resume at dawn."

Meng Lang walked over, hugging himself cautiously, "Uh... could you lend us some clothes to keep warm? The wind on the mountaintop is strong, and spending the night in the cold would surely lead to catching a cold."

Xiao Feng squinted and smiled, "Feeling cold is easy to fix. You four go chop some bamboo and make a fire to keep warm. Move a bit, and you won't feel so cold."

"..." Meng Lang.

He genuinely regretted asking Xiao Feng for something so eagerly; now they were not only hungry but had to chop bamboo—what a tough fate!

Nevertheless, no matter how unwilling, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and carry out Xiao Feng's order.

With a shout, Meng Lang led his three subordinates to chop bamboo with their tools.

This method of warming up is primitive but common.

Xiao Feng remembered a friend who had served in the military and once shared an experience.

He said that in the plateau regions, the temperature difference between day and night is significant, with winter temperatures dropping to minus twenty degrees, nearly thirty degrees at times.

In such climates, one immediate realization is that water from a kettle seems to be boiling, but when poured, it's only about eighty degrees, and no matter how many quilts you use at night, you still feel cold.

New recruits would sometimes complain to the squad leader about the cold.

In those times, the squad leader would smile and say, "That's easy; two hundred push-ups."

Or they would put two sheets of newspaper under their heads, and once their head sweat had soaked a large patch, they would go to bed without feeling cold.

Xiao Feng felt that his actions mirrored those of the squad leader from the story, showing 'concern' for the new recruits under his command.

"Ka! Ka! Ka!"

The sound of chopping bamboo echoed from afar.

Zhao Guo'an edged closer to Xiao Feng, smiling, "Should I make a call to report this? What was that slogan again—oh right, a fire on the mountain, a police station down below."

"Tch!" The little girl scoffed, "As if no one has heard that before. I also know another saying—setting fire to the mountain and ending up in jail."

Xiao Feng's face darkened, "I don't understand; what's so brag-worthy about knowing a few slogans?"

After saying that, he looked at Lin Jiaxuan and called out, "Jiaxuan, come over here and give me a shoulder massage."

Lin Jiaxuan took a deep breath, closed her eyes as if suppressing her temper, and after a moment, opened them with a perfect fake smile, "Sure, I'll give you a shoulder massage right now."

As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves.

The way she looked, it seemed more like she was about to hit someone than give a massage.

However, at this moment, Xiao Feng was leaning back on his bag with his eyes closed, urging, "Hurry up, don't dilly-dally, or else no food for you."

Zhao Guo'an's shoulders shook as he held his lips tight, resisting the urge to laugh, clearly waiting for a show to unfold.

Soon, Xiao Feng suddenly opened his eyes, gasped in pain, "Hiss... so heavy-handed, you'll be eating northwest wind for dinner."

Lin Jiaxuan beamed, "Don't get mad; you mean the pressure was too light, not feeling comfortable, right? No worries! Let me press a few more times for you?"

Lin Zhiyan, seeing this, envisioned Xiao Feng's previous pained expression, couldn't help but chuckle.

She quickly covered her mouth, but the more she thought about it, the more amusing it became. She marveled inwardly: Rarely do you get to see this guy have a hard time.

Just then, Meng Lang's voice came from afar, "Where are you going?"

Another voice shouted, "If you want to continue being cannon fodder, that's your business, but you have no right to interfere with me!"

Immediately, the sound of rustling echoed, showing that the shouting person had already disappeared into the bamboo forest.

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