Yin Yang looked over.
"You're right, what I care about is artifact refining."
Yin Yang didn't get up, but from his contemplative expression, it was clear that the gardener's words had touched him, making him ponder what he could do.
Seeing this, the gardener turned and left, as she also had important matters to attend to.
"Then I'll see you in three days."
"Yes, see you in three days."
Yin Yang waved his hand casually, his head still bowed in thought, murmuring to himself:
"Regarding artifact refining, what haven't I done? Refined a nation- trấn artifact? Refined a unique artifact? I've done them all. No, there must be something I haven't done in artifact refining. Learning is endless; I can't possibly have done everything."
After a long while.
Yin Yang, like an old immortal in deep meditation, raised his head. It seemed he had an idea, and his calm expression changed. He spoke to himself:
"I know what I need to do now. There's still one aspect of artifact refining I haven't mastered... Zhang Wei, the artifacts he refines, I must learn them."
The next moment.
The meeting room of the Senluo Division was empty, deserted.
...
In Fujian Province, at Zhang Wei's ancestral home.
Zhang Ping quickly showed Zhang Wei and the others around the subsequent rooms before leading them to the backyard.
The backyard was vast.
It was larger than the main hall and occupied the most significant portion of the ancestral home, accounting for over a third of its area. A small path paved with blue and white pebbles wound through the entire backyard, dividing it into three sections.
The first section, as Zhang Wei and the others entered, revealed flowerbeds of various sizes on both sides of the small stone path.
Although the ancestral home hadn't been maintained for a long time, the flowerbeds were devoid of flowers, overgrown with weeds, and littered with withered branches. However, it was still evident that if planted with various flowers, it would become a small garden, complemented by the nearby rockery, reminiscent of the Grand View Garden from "Dream of the Red Chamber."
However.
Zhang Wei and the others paid no attention to the flowerbeds; their gaze was fixed on the soil within them.
Chou Xiaolin and Lu Lianxue were the first to rush forward. After obtaining permission from Zhang Ping and his wife, they began to sift through the weeds in the flowerbeds and touch the bricks surrounding them.
"Xiao Mantou, Xiao Xue, there shouldn't be any mechanisms here. Let's go check out the rockery."
Zhang Wei also stepped forward, searched a bit more, patted the soil off his hands, and pulled Xiao Mantou and Xiao Xue towards the front.
That was the second section of the backyard.
It consisted of three large rocks, resembling a rockery. The rocks were rough and uneven. One of them had a passage carved through it, through which the small stone path passed, like a small stone tunnel.
Beside it, stone steps were also carved, leading to the top of the large rocks. There was a pavilion on top, offering a view of the distant scenery. It was easy to imagine that in ancient times, before tall buildings, one could gaze at the distant mountains from here, creating a unique charm.
Zhang Wei reached out and touched the rockery, feeling the rough stone surfaces:
"Dad, did you check here too?"
"Hehe, my son, you know me. When I first came to the backyard, the first thing I paid attention to were these large rockery stones. Look at their size; if they were hollow like this stone tunnel, they could definitely accommodate a small room."
"I had the same thought as you, Dad, but since you've already searched, I'll skip it."
Zhang Wei patted the dust off his hands from the stones and, without lingering, walked towards the back of the backyard.
In fact.
Besides knowing his father, Zhang Wei knew that given his father's personality, he would have thoroughly explored every inch. However, the reason he moved on directly was also because he was certain there were no mechanisms here. He had his system, and he had applied system points to these rocks to understand their structure.
The third section of the backyard was not large, containing only a small lake, or rather, a pond.
"This is the backyard pond. It used to be used for raising fish. It's said to be the ancestral home's water source. In the past, our ancestors drew water from this pond for their meals."
Zhang Ping introduced to Zhang Wei. Recalling the contents of the ancient book he discovered that night, he quickly pulled Zhang Wei and the others away from the pond:
"Let's stay a bit further away. Although it's called a pond, it's also a well. As you can see, the water is very clear; it's not stagnant. So, it's not that someone drew water and put it here; there's an underground water source."
"Let's not get too close. The wells dug by our ancestors were like bombs. It's best not to get too close, and there's no need to investigate. When I was looking for mechanisms before, I dived into the pond, but there was nothing in it except for a few stones at the bottom."
"Only stones..."
Zhang Wei's gaze fixed on the pond, but his thoughts drifted back to the depths of the Yunnan Worm Valley. If it were in the past, he would have heeded his father's words and gone back. But after the incident at the bottom of the poisonous python lake in Yunnan Worm Valley, Zhang Wei had no intention of returning just yet.
"Son, you're not thinking of going down there, are you? Forget it. Let's come back tomorrow. It's pitch black down there in the middle of the night."
Zhang Ping noticed Zhang Wei's gaze, his mouth twitched slightly, and he quickly stopped Zhang Wei.
Zhang Wei, however, was unconcerned. As he walked to the edge of the pond, large enough to accommodate seven or eight people, he slowly explained:
"When I went out to play this time, my friends and I found a lake. We dived into the lake to play, and at the bottom, we found an underwater cave that was a world of its own."
"Given the skill of our ancestors in digging wells, it's not impossible for them to have dug a subterranean cave or a small opening in this pond."
So he said.
But Zhang Wei had no intention of going down immediately. Not wanting his parents to worry, he found an excuse to look for underwater diving equipment tomorrow, planning to dive in and check it out then. This also provided him with a reason to bring the Fengmen Zombie to the ancestral home.
"Let's go, we should head back. It's getting late."
Zhang Wei withdrew his gaze from the pond, turned, and grinned.
...
The next day.
Early in the morning.
Zhang Wei, using the excuse of having Chou Xiaolin and Lu Lianxue accompany his parents shopping, sent them away and arrived at the ancestral home's entrance early.
Not long after.
Zhang Wei seemed to sense something and looked up. In the distance of the street, a figure was walking towards the ancestral home, wearing a hooded jacket and a mask. The figure also noticed Zhang Wei, and as their eyes met, the figure happily waved to Zhang Wei.
As he waved, the figure revealed the skin of his arm beneath his clothing. The skin was as pale as a corpse, with bluish-green patches. Anyone with medical knowledge present would recognize them as corpse spots that only appear on the deceased.
"Grandpa, you're here. An hour early."
Zhang Wei greeted the figure with a smile.
The figure removed the hood, revealing his face, which was identical to the stone statue of the ancestor, Zhang Zhan, inside the ancestral home.
The Fengmen Zombie smiled and replied:
"Haha, I rushed here without stopping. I didn't even dare to take a moment to drink water."