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Chapter 498 Airtight
The wall was yellowish-brown. Zhu Yu tried to pry it off with her hands, but only a few small pieces came off. She rubbed the pieces between her fingers and then clenched her fist and tapped it a few times, feeling even more certain.

“It’s a mixture of lime, river sand, and loess.” She walked up to Lu Qing and told him, “The mixture of lime, river sand, and loess in the Shuo region is generally similar to this in terms of hardness after drying and the feel of the crumbs.”

I've seen people use rammed earth to build houses and to construct earthen kilns, but I've never seen anyone use it to completely enclose an entire room.

After listening to Zhu Yu's words, Lu Qing pondered for a moment and seemed to have formed his own judgment.

He said to Rune, “Go find the servants in this high priest’s mansion and ask who sealed this place up in the first place.”

Rune nodded and quickly walked out.

Seeing that Fu Wen had left, the guards, not entirely at ease with the group, quickly nudged the person next to them. The person understood and jogged after him.

Lu Qing didn't mind at all and stood there silently waiting.

After a while, Fuwen and the guard walked in, each pulling a yellow-faced old man on either side.

Although the old man's clothes were simple in style, the fabric was obviously unusual, and he was clearly not a lowly servant.

Upon reaching him, Fu Wen released his grip and said to Lu Qing, "This man is the steward of the High Priest's Mansion. He was trying to avoid coming out earlier, but we discovered him and brought him here directly."

The guards had clearly never been to the High Priest's Mansion before and didn't know the person in charge. When they heard what the rune said and saw their companion nodding in confirmation, they quickly gathered around to ask what was going on.

However, someone spoke up before they could.

“I’m asking you,” Lu Qing stood with his hands behind his back in front of the steward. Although the veil of his hat prevented outsiders from seeing his expression, his voice and tone still carried an imposing aura that commanded respect, “who was in charge of building this place?”

The guards of the Brahma Palace, who originally wanted to ask about these matters, were so intimidated by his overwhelming aura that they swallowed back the words that were on the tip of their tongues. They could only stand aside and watch the steward expectantly, waiting for his answer.

The steward of the High Priest's Mansion was unaware of Lu Qing's identity, nor did he recognize the guards who had come. However, he had sharp eyes and recognized the uniforms of the guards from the Brahma Palace. Seeing that the guards from the palace were not saying anything, he was even more confused about where they came from. He just subconsciously felt that he could not be negligent.

So he quickly replied, "In response to your question, sir, this is our High Priest's place of cultivation, and naturally, it was built along with the High Priest's residence."

"Does the High Priest know the art of walking through walls and burrowing underground?"

“Well…that’s not the case…” The steward shook his head, realizing Lu Qing’s meaning, and explained, “After this place was repaired, the High Priest didn’t use it much. This is the first time he’s gone into seclusion to cultivate…”

So there used to be doors and windows here. When the high priest went into seclusion, he asked me to find craftsmen to seal it from the outside. He said that when he came out of seclusion, he would naturally break through this mud wall from the inside. Before he came out, we must not damage the mud wall or disturb him..."

"Since there are doors and windows, then break through this outer mud wall and let us in to find someone!" a guard from the Prince's mansion shouted upon hearing this.

"I'm just a lowly steward in this household. Even the protectors around the High Priest don't dare to disobey the High Priest's orders. I have no choice... You gentlemen, this is really putting me in a difficult position..." the steward stammered.

"Where are the High Priest's protectors?" Lu Qing asked. "They're all inside in seclusion with the High Priest..." The steward pointed to the house sealed off with rammed earth, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the people in front of him with a hint of pleading.

These people in front of him were all sent by Brahma, and he couldn't afford to offend any of them. If he obstructed them, Brahma would be angry and chop off his own head.

But after all, I am a member of the High Priest's household. If I just let people in like this, what if the matter with Brahma is eventually settled? Would the High Priest hold me accountable later?

The guards wanted to argue with him about the matter, but Lu Qing had already raised his hand to signal the runes and talismans.

The talismans understood Lu Qing's meaning perfectly. They stepped forward, one on each side, and lifted the steward up and walked out. When they reached the moon gate, they pushed the steward out and turned back without any hesitation or further attention.

The person in charge showed no intention of going inside, but remained kneeling outside the moon gate, pleading, "My lords, please have mercy and do not disturb the High Priest's secluded cultivation!"

Seeing this, Zhu Yu understood. It turned out that although this steward was in charge of managing all the big and small affairs in the High Priest's mansion, he was not a confidant of the High Priest at all, and was ultimately an outsider.

Therefore, the steward needed a pretext to absolve himself of punishment, and those few foolish guards of the Prince's mansion clearly did not understand this.

Fortunately, Lu Qing understood and helped the manager get through the formality.

Sure enough, the steward just knelt outside the door and wailed, showing no intention of coming in to dissuade him.

Lu Qing was not surprised by this, and he didn't hesitate. He immediately signaled Fu Wen and Fu Lu to call the guards to join him in the attack.

None of them had any suitable weapons, so they used their own swords and knives. Fortunately, they were strong enough and their weapons were sturdy. In no time, they managed to break a hole in the rammed earth wall, which was originally without any cracks.

Looking through the gap, the inside of the rammed earth wall turned out to be another wall, made of bluestone bricks, which looked very sturdy.

Seeing this, the crowd became even more unrestrained. Two guards even ran out and carried the section of tree trunk back in, and several people carried it, huffing and puffing as they rammed it against the earthen wall.

And you know what? This really does increase efficiency by more than a little bit.

The runes and talismans didn't follow; instead, they stepped aside and waited for the guards to smash the earthen wall.

Zhu Yu frowned as he looked at the rammed earth wall, which was gradually cracking and revealing its thickness.

This thing isn't just a thin layer, it's a full foot thick!

Not to mention the hardness of this thing, which is enough to make even these few fairly strong and sturdy guards have to carry the logs to smash it, how capable must the high priest and his protectors be to break through the wall from the inside?

Just considering such thick mud walls, sealing the entire room completely airtight... don't the people in this room need to breathe?