Ye Hao smiled with relief, then took the lead and entered the passage first. He had the eighth-generation system, so in case of any emergency, the system could warn him, which was why he took the first step without hesitation.

Zheng Guang quickly stepped forward to stop Ye Hao, saying, "Young Master, let me go in front?"

"No need, Elder Zheng, just follow behind me. Flying Fish, mark the path as we enter the passage. I think getting to the bottom won't be so simple," Ye Hao said as he reached the edge of the passage.

"Understood, boss," Flying Fish nodded and said.

"Long, Song, Zhen, keep your eyes on the surroundings at all times. Tao Feng, you guard the rear," Ye Hao instructed them.

"Understood." The group nodded in unison.

So Ye Hao led them, winding layer upon layer through the passage, heading down the mountain.

Initially, Ye Hao and the others thought this passage led straight down, but unexpectedly, it twisted and turned like a coiled snake, looping several times without reaching the bottom.

Once at the very bottom, they had to head towards a basin direction, making Ye Hao marvel at the craftsmanship of their ancestors. The winding mountain passage seemed nearly three kilometers long, and it was so smoothly constructed.

"Boss, we've already looped ten times," Flying Fish reminded Ye Hao.

Ye Hao nodded and said, "Keep winding down. Remember, make sure to number the places we've passed. Otherwise, we won't know our way back up."

"Understood." Flying Fish nodded, and Tao Feng guarded the rear. They continued like this for more than ten minutes until they reached the bottommost level.

However, even at the bottommost level, it wasn't over yet, because there was another sloping passage going downwards, about a hundred meters deep.

At first, Ye Hao walked without much danger and gradually increased his pace. Otherwise, at the previous speed, they might not reach the end even after walking day and night.

Ye Hao quickened his pace, with Zheng Guang sticking closely to his side.

Lu Yunsong and the other three maintained their vigilance, while Flying Fish quickly marked various points.

After Ye Hao and his group descended about fifty meters down the slope, they encountered three passages.

Above each passage was a distinctive symbol: the left one had a circular symbol, the middle one a solid circle, and the right one a dashed circular symbol.

Ye Hao stopped everyone and looked at Zheng Guang, asking, "Elder Zheng, have you seen these patterns before?"

Zheng Guang looked up for a few moments but didn't notice any differences, shaking his head, he said, "Young Master, I've never heard of these patterns, but I wonder if they have different meanings?"

"I think so too. All three are circular symbols, one is empty, one is solid, and one is dashed. Let's see if there's any significance to them." Ye Hao frowned as he looked at the symbols over the passages.

The group pondered carefully, also observing the color or the sound of the wind in the three passages.

Ye Hao asked Qianqian in his mind, "Qianqian, can you detect what's down in these passages from here?"

"Yes, Master, but after fifty meters, each passage has an Absolute Spirit Wall," Qianqian said.

"What's on the Absolute Spirit Wall?"

"The passage with the circular symbol on the left has Nine Dragons and Five Phoenixes carved into it, the middle solid circle has one dragon and one phoenix, and the right dashed circle has one dragon and three thousand small phoenixes," Qianqian answered.

After hearing this, Ye Hao turned to Zheng Guang, asking, "Elder Zheng, how much do you know about Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang?"

"Understand?" Zheng Guang asked, embarrassed, then said, "I don't know much about Ming Taizu, only that he used to be a monk, later became a beggar, then eventually became the leader of a force, which later retired, but he led a revolt with parts of that force, defeated the Yuan soldiers, and eventually founded the Ming Dynasty." Zheng Guang explained.

"Do you know anything about his wives and concubines?" Ye Hao asked.

Thinking that Zhu Yuanzhang used to be a beggar—what an inspirational story! After all, he succeeded even after being a beggar, showing future generations that with effort, success will eventually come.

"This I know, modern people even made a movie about it," Zheng Guang chuckled.

"What movie?" Ye Hao asked.

"Empress Ma with Big Feet," Zheng Guang laughed.

"Tell us, what was it about?"

Ye Hao inquired, and the group sat quietly outside the three passages, listening as Zheng Guang recounted events about Empress Ma and Zhu Yuanzhang.

"To speak of Empress Ma, also known as the Virtuous and Benevolent Empress, her surname was Ma. Later generations have mostly forgotten her specific given name. But one thing is sure, anyone who knows about Zhu Yuanzhang knows that he loved his one favorite empress throughout his life, and that was Empress Ma. She was truly a virtuous wife who managed the household well, while her husband Zhu Yuanzhang possessed the Great Ming Dynasty. She lived frugally and led the palace maids and concubines in embroidery and weaving, always practicing what she preached, with simple meals and mending old clothes. When Zhu Yuanzhang was slaughtering the meritorious officials and veteran generals, she always advised him to exercise restraint. Otherwise, the Great Ming Dynasty would have been destroyed by him," Zheng Guang narrated, combining tales from TV and folklore.

"Did Zhu Yuanzhang love Empress Ma alone throughout his life?" Ye Hao pondered as he asked.

"Yes, Young Master," Zheng Guang said.

"Haha, I think I know which passage to take," Ye Hao laughed out loud.

"Boss, are you for real? Just from hearing about Empress Ma you know which passage to take?" Xue Zhaolong asked incredulously.

Lu Yunsong also showed disbelief.

Tao Feng listened quietly, neither expressing belief nor disbelief, but the smile on his lips seemed to indicate he didn't believe it.

Zheng Guang looked at Ye Hao with puzzlement but did not speak up. As a competent butler, even if he didn't believe it, he wouldn't let the young master face difficulty in such a situation.

"Of course! If I didn't have this skill, how could I be your boss?" Ye Hao joked, smiling.

"So, boss, which one should we take?" Xue Zhaolong asked.

"Haha, look again at these three circular symbols, and think about what a circle represents," Ye Hao asked with a smile.

Hearing this, they all shook their heads. They'd thought about it, but couldn't figure out anything.

Seeing this, Ye Hao said helplessly, "A circle is like a man and a woman, representing completeness."

"What's the meaning of the dashed circle, the solid line circle, and the solid circle?" Zhuorong Town asked.

"Haha! That's even simpler. Throughout his life, Zhu Yuanzhang went from being a beggar, monk, to leading the Red Turban Army uprising. After success, he had a simple, frugal empress by his side. His life was bound to be straightforward, so the right passage must be the solid circle path," Ye Hao laughed.

"Why?" Everyone was more puzzled. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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