The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

After the bright light came a long period of darkness and tinnitus.

Jiang Lin and his group ran through the tunnel for an unknown amount of time, until the screams and curses behind them could no longer be heard, before they dared to stop.

"Huff...huff..." Zhao Lingjun leaned against the wall, panting heavily. The bright light from earlier still left her with patches of darkness in front of her eyes.

"Am I blind?" she asked, her voice trembling with tears.

"It's alright, it'll be fine in a bit." Jiang Lin's voice was also a little hoarse; he himself had been badly affected by the flash, and now everything was blurry. "Shen Kuo, couldn't you have given me a heads-up about that 'solar flash'?"

"Master, this is called 'indiscriminate attack,' it's to maximize the effect." Shen Kuo, on the other hand, seemed unaffected, still excitedly taking notes. "Based on the feedback just now, the ratio of magnesium powder to potassium permanganate can be further optimized, so that we can cover a larger area next time..."

"There won't be a next time!" Jiang Lin and Zhao Lingjun shouted in unison.

Jiang Lin rubbed his throbbing temples, trying to clear his vision. He looked around and realized that the tunnel they were in was completely different from the ones before.

The rock walls here are rougher, without any signs of human excavation, more like a naturally formed underground cave. The strong smell of flammable oil in the air has faded considerably, replaced by a cold, damp, and musty odor.

"Where...where have we ended up?" Zhao Lingjun also realized something was wrong.

Jiang Lin took out the map drawn by Jin Wanliang from his pocket and carefully examined it by the faint light of the cold light stick.

"We've gone astray." Jiang Lin frowned. "This area is beyond what Jin Wanliang marked on his map. This should be an abandoned mine tunnel, or rather... a road he doesn't even know about."

"What do we do now? Go back?" Zhao Lingjun asked, somewhat frightened.

"We can't go back." Jiang Lin shook his head. "Xue Gang has definitely blocked all the roads with his men. If we go back now, we'll be walking into a trap."

He put away the map, held up the cold light stick, and looked ahead into the tunnel.

"We can only keep going forward. Let's see where this road leads."

With no other choice, the three of them had to grit their teeth and continue into the unknown depths of darkness.

The tunnel is winding and slopes downwards, as if it were leading to the Earth's core.

The further down you go, the colder the air becomes, and the musty smell grows stronger, even carrying a faint hint of blood.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a huge fault line appeared ahead.

A bottomless underground river blocked their path. The water was jet black, and the current was rapid, making a "splashing" sound.

On the opposite bank of the river, a dark cave entrance can be vaguely seen.

"It's over, there's really no way out now." Zhao Lingjun looked at the rushing underground river in front of him, a look of despair on his face.

Jiang Lin walked to the riverbank, squatted down, and looked carefully. He could barely see that the river was about seven or eight zhang wide, and the current was so rapid that swimming across was impossible.

He looked up at the cave ceiling, where many stalactites were hanging.

"Shen Kuo, how long is the rope?" Jiang Lin asked.

Shen Kuo untied the rope from his back and measured: "It's about twenty zhang away."

"That's enough." Jiang Lin nodded. He pointed to a rather thick stalactite overhead, "Throw one end of the rope over there and wrap it around it."

"Headmaster, is this...is this going to work?" Shen Kuo asked with some doubt.

"You'll know once you try it."

Shen Kuo asked no more questions. He untied a small iron claw from one end of the rope, gathered his strength, and then hurled it across to the other side.

The iron claws drew an arc in the air, precisely wrapping around the stalactite. Shen Kuo tugged hard, feeling its firm grip.

"Alright, Headmaster."

"I'll go first." Jiang Lin didn't hesitate. He grabbed the rope, pushed off the rock face with his feet, and slid across to the other side like a monkey.

His movements looked effortless, but only he knew that they required immense arm strength and balance. Although his body wasn't as freakish as Niu Aihua's, it was still quite sturdy after this period of training.

Soon, Jiang Lin safely reached the other side.

"Come on over! It's safe!" he shouted in their direction.

Shen Kuo and Zhao Lingjun exchanged a glance, and in the end, Shen Kuo went first. He carried the heavy box, swaying and wobbling as he went, which was terrifying to watch, but fortunately, he finally reached the other side without any serious incident.

In the end, only Zhao Lingjun remained.

She was a girl, and a pampered one at that; she had never done anything like this before. Clutching the rope, she looked down at the surging black water, her legs trembling.

"Don't be afraid! Hold on tight to the rope, I'm here to pull you!" Jiang Lin encouraged from the other side.

Zhao Lingjun took a deep breath, closed his eyes, steeled his resolve, and slid across like Jiang Lin.

Halfway down the slope, she finally ran out of strength, her arm ached, and she almost dropped the object.

"Ah!" she cried out in fright.

At this critical moment, Jiang Lin and Shen Kuo each grabbed one end of the rope and pulled sharply backward. Zhao Lingjun's body was dragged to the other side and slammed heavily to the ground.

Although I was dazed and confused from the fall, at least I made it through.

"Thank...thank you..." Zhao Lingjun said, still in shock and pale-faced.

"Alright, get up, this isn't a place to rest." Jiang Lin pulled her up.

After resting for a while, the three of them entered the cave on the opposite bank.

As soon as you enter the cave, the smell of blood becomes stronger.

An ominous premonition rose in Jiang Lin's heart.

The cave was spacious, with some strange objects scattered on the ground. Jiang Lin shone a cold light on them and, after seeing what they were, felt a wave of nausea wash over him.

Those are human bones.

The ground was littered with piles of white bones, some still covered with rotting flesh, emitting a foul stench.

"Ugh..." Zhao Lingjun could no longer hold it in and vomited while leaning against the wall.

Shen Kuo's face also turned grim. He squatted down, picked up a skull, examined it carefully, and said in a heavy voice, "These skulls all have marks from blunt force trauma. They... were all murdered."

Jiang Lin endured his discomfort and continued walking inside.

He discovered that this was not just a dumping ground for corpses. Deep inside the cave, there were several enormous furnaces, still steaming.

Beside the furnace, there were piles of iron ore and some weapons that had already been forged.

Jiang Lin was very familiar with the styles of those weapons.

They weren't the long swords and spears of the Song Dynasty, but... the curved swords and maces of the Khitans!

A terrifying thought exploded in Jiang Lin's mind in an instant.

Zhao Liben was not only involved in operating illegal mines and embezzling funds.

Here, he uses the corpses of slaves, whom he has drained of all their value, as fuel to privately forge weapons!

Moreover, it was forging weapons for his enemies—the Khitans!

Treason and collusion with the enemy!

These four words, like four great mountains, weighed heavily on Jiang Lin's heart.

He finally understood why Jin Wanliang said that something even more deadly than "black water" was hidden in the lower level.

He finally understood why Zhao Liben was so ruthless in killing people to silence them.

Because if this matter is exposed, it won't just be Zhao Liben who loses his head. Everyone on that ledger filled with names will be executed along with him!

"He's gone mad... He's really gone mad..." Zhao Lingjun also saw the weapons. She murmured to herself, her eyes filled with fear and disbelief.

A prefect of the Song Dynasty was actually manufacturing weapons for the nation's greatest enemy on his own territory. This was beyond everyone's imagination.

"We must get this message out," Jiang Lin's voice trembled with excitement. "Immediately! Right now!"

He knew that what they had discovered was a shocking secret that could overturn the entire Song Dynasty court.

However, just as he turned to leave.

"Clang—"

The sound of chains dragging on the ground suddenly came from the dark depths of the cave.

Immediately afterwards, a hoarse, inhuman voice echoed softly.

"Since you're here... don't leave..."