Ancient Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 33 The Story of the Treasure

However, Brother Donkey's turn ultimately proved useless; Yao Rongrong went into the house and came out not long after.

"Sir, you can come in without worry. There are no living dead or anyone else here."

Yao Rongrong waved to Lin Xiu and said.

The voice was still not loud, but Lin Xiu, who was standing by the courtyard gate, could hear it clearly.

"Alright, Brother Donkey, it's all over now."

Lin Xiu said something to Brother Donkey, then called him into the courtyard. He added, "Let's try again next time. If we have a fight, I'll say, 'Brother Donkey, please turn around,' and you immediately turn around and kick me with your donkey legs, how about that?"

"Pfft pfft pfft..."

Brother Donkey snorted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

The courtyard was really small, barely enough for Brother Donkey to walk back and forth a few steps and move around with difficulty. So he shook his head in dissatisfaction and glanced at Lin Xiu.

His eyes were so expressive that Yao Rongrong almost laughed.

Lin Xiu said helplessly, "If you really want to walk around and eat grass, go to the doorway. Just don't go anywhere else, or you'll disturb the living dead and they won't care about you."

If you wish to rest, come back into the courtyard.

"Mmm~"

Brother Donkey then brayed happily and turned to leave alone.

Lin Xiu ignored it.

This donkey has always been reliable; I've given it all the necessary instructions, so there's no need to worry about it anymore.

He had already unloaded some bundles from the donkey's back, which contained some dry food and water bags. Lin Xiu had taken them out and brought them into the dilapidated temple house to share with Yao Rongrong.

"Unfortunately, the donkey cart is with the living dead. The iron pot, wok, frying pan, leftover rice, and meat are all on the cart. We'll just have to make do with what we have."

Lin Xiu said.

Yao Rongrong said, "Please wait patiently, sir. Once I've recovered a bit more, I'll lure the living dead away, and then we'll steal the car."

Those living dead are too powerful; I'm afraid I wouldn't feel safe making a move now.

The two tidied up the house briefly, leaving only an empty little house. In the center of the stone platform, there used to be a statue of a deity, but it was no longer there.

When Lin Xiu came in, he glanced at the roof of the house. The plaque was crooked and looked like it was about to fall down. It read "Feng Po Po Temple". So the original statue here should have belonged to Feng Po Po.

The small temple nestled in the mountains was likely built by locals and is probably not far from the mountain. It's unclear whether it's a village, a town, or even a city.

And now, who knows if anyone is still there?

The dilapidated temple was covered in dust and cobwebs; otherwise, Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong would not have dared to come in and stay.

However, neither of them had any suitable tools. The broom that Lin Xiu had brought from Mengzhou City was still on the donkey cart, so they couldn't clean properly.

So the two of them simply gave up, brushed off the dust, and sat down against the cracked wooden pillars in the dilapidated temple.

Lin Xiu looked up and saw that the pillar met the crossbeam at the top, and there were cracks on the crossbeam, but upon closer inspection, the problem was not serious and it would not break in a short time.

The house won't collapse, so it's fine to stay there temporarily.

Lin Xiu said, "Miss Yao, I've always felt there's something wrong with the temple."

Bones were scattered everywhere outside, but inside the small temple, and even in the courtyard, not a single bone was found. What do you think could be the reason?

Yao Rongrong shook her head and said, "Sir, you can't even imagine it. How could a mere woman like me understand?"

"Please, sir, think it over further."

Lin Xiu: "..."

This woman is quite trusting.

He looked around again and said, "I remember in some stories there's always something like a treasure from a previous dynasty, which is related to the main plot."

The protagonists in those stories always overcome various hardships, and in the end, they find treasure in some remote mountain temple or something, by unlocking some kind of mechanism. Do you think there might be one here?

Yao Rongrong blinked and asked, "Where did you hear this story, sir? Why have I never heard it before?"

Lin Xiu said, "Didn't you hear that?"

Yao Rongrong thought for a moment and then laughed, "I knew it! It turns out that the gentleman made it up on the spot."

However, I'm not interested in other stories for now; I just want to continue listening to Duan Yu's tales.

Lin Xiu said, "Let's rest first. I was so worried last night that I didn't sleep well. Now that I'm finally at peace, I need to catch up on some sleep."

Yao Rongrong smiled, pursing her lips, and remained silent. Not only Lin Xiu, but she too needed to rest and recover.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, and they each closed their eyes to rest.

Lin Xiu hadn't slept well last night. He sat leaning against a pillar and drifted off to sleep without realizing it. When he woke up, he heard a series of muffled thuds.

"Knock knock knock" followed by "knock knock knock", and then "knock knock knock" again, and it never ends.

He opened his eyes and saw Yao Rongrong walking around the stone platform, her fingers curled up, tapping here and there with her knuckles, her eyes constantly looking around as if she were carefully studying something.

Seeing this, Lin Xiu laughed and said, "Miss Yao, are you browsing Taobao?"

"Taobao?"

Yao Rongrong repeated the word Lin Xiu had said, pondered for a moment, and said, "Sir, that's a fitting and interesting way of putting it."

I've recovered quite a bit. I originally wanted to ask you to distract the living dead and bring the donkey cart back, but since you were still sleeping, I didn't disturb you.

"Since I had nothing else to do, and remembering what the master said about the treasure trove of stories, I decided to take a look around. Who knows, maybe there's some treasure here too?"

Lin Xiu stood up and said, "You're dreaming. There aren't that many good things in this world. Who would be so idle as to set up traps and hide treasure in a dilapidated temple like this?"

Yao Rongrong slapped the stone platform and said quietly, "Of course I know, but with you asleep, I have nothing to do. What am I supposed to do?"

She had just finished speaking when she paused, turning to look at the spot on the stone platform where her delicate hand had landed.

The moment her hand landed, Yao Rongrong sensed that the stone brick beneath her hand seemed to be hollow...

Lin Xiu's heart skipped a beat.

Lin Xiu didn't detect anything unusual, but he gleaned a clue from Yao Rongrong's expression—

Could it be... that I'm about to be proven wrong?!

He stood up and walked towards Yao Rongrong, feeling both anticipation and curiosity.

Hopefully it's not a real treasure trove; these things are pretty useless these days.

If it were some food, weapons, medicine, or other supplies, that would be great; we're short of those things right now.

Lin Xiu thought to himself silently.

He walked over to Yao Rongrong and saw her dig at the bricks on the stone platform with her fingers, cracking the soil, and then prying the bricks off.

Below, a hidden compartment was revealed. The compartment was small, and inside was a tiny wooden box.

Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong exchanged a glance.

What's in here, and who hid it here?