Immortality begins in Goose City

Chapter 89 Going into the Water

"I'm done eating." Lin Zhihua put down her bowl, patting her stomach contentedly. "I'll go prepare some things! Is there anything else I need to bring? A flashlight? A rope? Dry rations?"

"Hu Wan will prepare," Huang Shujian said. "You can go and rest."

Lin Zhihua responded and skipped away. Reaching the courtyard gate, she turned back and waved to Qin Mo, "Qin Mo, aren't you coming?"

Qin Mo stood up and cupped his hands in greeting to Huang Shujian: "Young Master Huang, I'll go make my preparations now. See you tomorrow."

Huang Shujian nodded: "See you tomorrow."

Qin Mo turned to leave, but stopped at the courtyard gate, turned back, and bowed deeply to Huang Shujian.

"This time, Qin Mo will certainly live up to your expectations and will not disappoint Young Master Huang."

Huang Shujian laughed: "The tomb is dangerous, we still need more guidance from professionals like Mr. Qin."

Qin Mo then turned and left, his footsteps fading into the distance.

The courtyard quieted down, with only the rustling of the morning breeze through the bamboo leaves remaining.

Huang Shujian sat on the stone bench without moving.

He stared in the direction where Qin Mo had disappeared, his eyes gradually turning cold.

After a moment of contemplation, he called out:

"Xiuer".

Footsteps sounded, and Zhao Ming jogged over from the side room, her face apologetic: "Young Master, Xiu'er... she's not feeling well and is resting in the maid's room. Should I call her?"

Huang Shujian glanced at Zhao Ming.

This girl can't even lie properly; she doesn't dare look him in the eye, and her fingers are twisting the hem of her clothes.

He knew that Xiu'er had been absent-minded since yesterday and hadn't come to the study to serve him last night; Zhao Ming was covering for her.

But Huang Shujian didn't expose it.

"No need," he said. "Let her rest."

Zhao Ming breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes."

"Go and tell a few people to come over." Huang Shujian recited a list of names: "Ma Yongzhen, Hu Laosan the tomb raider, Wu Zhichong, Hu Wan."

……

It was early morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Three carriages drove out of the Huang Family Manor, their wheels rolling over the bluestone road with a dull thud.

Following behind was a group of more than ten mounted servants, all carrying guns and with wary eyes.

The group left the east gate of Goose City, turned onto a dirt road, and the road became narrower and narrower as they went, eventually becoming a narrow path that was barely wide enough for a horse-drawn carriage to pass through, winding its way into the mountains.

The mountain was barren, with few trees, only scattered rocks and weeds. Occasionally, crows would fly by, cawing and their cries echoing through the valley.

The carriage was jolting violently.

Huang Shujian sat in the first carriage, resting with his eyes closed. Lin Zhihua sat beside him, somewhat excited, her hands gripping her knees tightly. Qin Mo sat next to him, his expression calm, his eyes fixed on the receding scenery outside the window.

In the two carriages behind, Lu Yu and Murong Xue were together, while Ma Yongzhen was with several servants.

After traveling for about an hour, the carriage finally stopped.

Huang Shujian lifted the car curtain and jumped out.

Before us was a small pool, not very big, only two or three zhang in diameter, with a deep green color and the bottom not visible.

Weeds grew rampant along the edge of the pool, and several blue stones were half-submerged in the water, covered with slippery moss.

The small pool is surrounded by steep mountain walls, making it look like a natural well.

This is the little white fox's memory of the small pond. It was in this pond that they retrieved the wooden box, saw the storybook, and slowly began to develop their intelligence.

It seems that the wooden box came from the tomb of Prince Rong.

Lu Yu stepped down from the second carriage, holding a roll of blueprints in his hands.

She walked to the edge of the pool, squatted down, carefully examined the water's surface, and then compared it with the blueprint.

"This is it." She looked up. "That headless zombie went down from here."

Huang Shujian walked over and took the blueprints.

The drawings were very detailed, clearly marking the cross-section of the pool, the direction of the underground river, and the location of the passageways.

According to the blueprints, the pool looks small, but once you go down into it, you'll find a hidden world.

First, there is a huge water cave, which plunges vertically three zhang (approximately 10 meters) down. Then, in the lower right corner, there is a narrow passage that can only accommodate one person at a time.

After crawling through, there will be a smaller water cave where you can rest. Further down, there is another passage; crawling through that leads to the entrance to the tomb.

The deepest point is about ten zhang (approximately 33 meters), which is exactly the maximum depth that a diving suit can withstand.

"Get ready." Huang Shujian handed the blueprints back to Lu Yu and turned to look at everyone.

The servants began unloading equipment from the carriage, and six diving suits were carefully carried down and placed on the open ground by the pool.

Helmet, diving suit, oxygen cylinder, regulating valve—each item was inspected and confirmed one by one.

Ma Yongzhen was the first to put on his gear. He put the helmet on his head, aligned the glass window with his eyes, zipped up the diving suit to make it seal tightly, put the oxygen cylinder on his back, connected the regulating valve, and checked that the breathing tube was clear.

Lu Yu and Murong Xue also began to dress, their movements slow but orderly.

As Lin Zhihua put on her clothes, she muttered the precautions to herself, as if to encourage herself.

Qin Mo was the last to put on his clothes. His movements were elegant, and he was meticulous in every step, as if he were completing a work of art.

Huang Shujian looked at them, then glanced at Zhang Hu and Zhao Long standing to the side.

The two men, without diving suits and carrying guns, stood guard by the pool.

Behind them stood a gaunt old man, in his fifties or sixties, wearing a patched coarse cloth shirt, holding a porcelain bowl in his hands. The old man looked serious and somewhat fearful, his lips pressed tightly together.

This is Hu Laosan, a tomb raider whose ancestors were tomb raiders for three generations. He knows everything about what's underground. He didn't go underwater, but he had a more important task.

Old Hu held the bowl, his hands trembling slightly. He knew the weight of this task; if he did it well, the Huang family would reward him handsomely. If he messed it up, losing his head was not out of the question.

The rest of the people were also dressed, and Huang Shujian checked them one last time: everyone had an underwater headlamp, a gas mask, guns and bullets wrapped in waterproof oil paper, a small bag of compressed dry rations, and various other tools.

The rope was also prepared: a thick hemp rope with a knot tied every ten feet for pulling.

Each person had a thin rope tied around their waist, connected to the main rope, to prevent them from getting separated.

"Set off."

Huang Shujian gave the order.

Ma Yongzhen was the first to reach the edge of the pool. He took a deep breath, nodded to Huang Shujian, and then jumped in.

"thump."

Water splashed up, the figure disappeared, ripples spread across the water, and then slowly calmed down.

Lu Yu was the second to go into the water, followed by Murong Xue.

Huang Shujian walked to the edge of the pool, glanced back at Qin Mo and Lin Zhihua. Qin Mo nodded at him, while Lin Zhihua gave him a thumbs-up.

Huang Shujian turned around and jumped into the water.

The icy water instantly enveloped my entire body. The wetsuit blocked most of the chill, but the damp cold still seeped in through the fabric.

He turned on his headlamp, the beam cutting through the darkness to reveal a chaotic water world.

After descending two meters, the view suddenly opened up before us.

As the map showed, there was a huge water cave below the pool, surrounded by rough rock walls covered with slippery algae. The water surface above receded into the distance, eventually becoming a small, shimmering patch of light.

Three beams of light were swaying ahead; it was Lu Yu and his group. Each of them had a thin rope around their waist connected to the main rope, like a string of beads, extending downwards.

Huang Shujian continued to descend along the main rope.

The gauges on the diving suit beeped, displaying the depth: three meters, four meters, five meters...

As the water pressure increased, his ears began to swell. Huang Shujian pinched his nose and forcefully exhaled to relieve the discomfort.

The people in front stopped.

Huang Shujian swam over and saw Lu Yu stuck at the entrance of a hole.

The opening was narrower than the drawing on the blueprint, with a diameter of just over a foot.

Lu Yu had already squeezed half of her body inside, but her buttocks were stuck outside, and she couldn't get in no matter what she did.