A Life of Attributes Starting as a Nobleman in the Republic of China Era

Chen Che remained silent for a moment, his gaze falling on the dark entrance. A cold wind rushed out of the cave, carrying an indescribable damp and decaying smell, as if something that had been sleeping deep underground for thousands of years was slowly exhaling.

"Each to their own ability." He repeated these four words calmly. "Since Mr. Akutagawa is so interested..."

Akutagawa nodded slightly, then turned and gave a few instructions to the four men in yellow uniforms behind him. The four immediately straightened their backs, their movements perfectly synchronized, their eyes sharp as hawks. Chen Che glanced at them out of the corner of his eye—they were all tough guys.

Uncle Qian leaned closer and whispered, "Young Master, you mustn't! This cave is very eerie. Last night, when we threw a torch down, the fire would just disappear as it fell, like something swallowed it. The workers all say it's unclean down there..."

"Uncle Qian," Chen Che interrupted him, patting the old man's hand, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Prepare a few things for me: a long rope, strong enough, over a hundred feet long; torches, the more the better; and glutinous rice and realgar, put them in a cloth bag."

Uncle Qian was taken aback: "Glutinous rice? Realgar?"

"To keep out insects and snakes," Chen Che said casually, but his gaze never left the cave entrance. "This cave has penetrated the groundwater layer, and the ground is damp. There might be something that shouldn't be there."

Uncle Qian responded and jogged off to prepare.

Chen San stood beside Chen Che and whispered, "Young Master, I'll go down first in a bit."

"It's not your turn." Chen Che glanced at him. "We'll stay up there and guard the rope. If something happens down there, the people who come to the rescue are more important than those who go down."

Chen San opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't argue, he just nodded emphatically.

Half an hour later, everything was ready.

Akutagawa and his group had also changed their clothes; all five of them wore short-sleeved shirts with belts, carrying backpacks on their backs, and short knives and flashlights at their waists. Chen Che's group, besides himself, included four strong men that Uncle Qian had picked out from the construction site. They were all bold and meticulous veteran workers who had done plenty of digging wells and tunnels in the past.

"Young Master Chen," Akutagawa walked to the cave entrance and gestured for him to go first, "who goes first?"

Chen Che didn't speak. He took a coil of rope from Chen San, wrapped it around a worker's waist twice, and tied a tight knot. He then picked up a torch, lit it with a match, and the flame flickered a few times before stubbornly burning in the cold wind.

"We'll go first," he said.

Before he finished speaking, the five workers had already reached the edge of the cave entrance.

He looked down—it was black, pure black, a blackness that seemed to absorb all light. The torchlight shone down, illuminating a distance of less than ten feet; beyond that, nothing could be seen.

The worker took a deep breath, grabbed the rope, and jumped.

The wind whistled in his ears, along with the rustling sound of the rope against the cave walls. He occasionally braced his feet against the cave walls to control his descent. The torch flickered in his hand, illuminating the surrounding cave walls—their surfaces were unnaturally smooth, as if they had been melted by some extremely high temperature or cut by some incredibly sharp tool.

Three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

Five zhang (approximately 10 meters).

Ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).

The deeper they went, the more humid the air became, carrying an indescribable, sweet-smelling odor. Chen Che's brows furrowed even more deeply—the smell was vaguely familiar, as if he had smelled it somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Brother Li!" Chen San's faint voice called from above, "Is there nothing there?"

The worker looked up—the hole had become a fist-sized dot. He took a deep breath, preparing to respond, when suddenly his foot touched solid ground.

in the end.

He raised the torch and shone it around.

This was an underground cave, much larger than he had imagined. The dome was about three or four zhang high, the walls were jagged with strange rocks, and the ground beneath his feet was damp sand. The fishy, ​​sweet smell in the air was stronger, mixed with a faint, rotten odor.

He untied the rope from his waist and tugged it three times—this was a signal to Chen San.

A moment later, several more figures slid down the rope. They were five of Akutagawa's men.

After landing, they didn't rush into action, but instead raised their flashlights and shone them around. When the light swept across the cave wall, he suddenly stopped.

On the cave wall is a huge relief sculpture.

That was a dragon.

No, it's not a complete dragon, but a dragon's head. The dragon's head is incredibly lifelike, with wide-open, angry eyes, bristling whiskers and mane, and a gaping mouth as if roaring silently. The carving lines are bold and powerful, carrying a wild and majestic aura.

Inside the dragon's mouth was a deep, dark passageway, its destination unknown.

Akutagawa's men were clearly stunned by the sight before them. The beams of their flashlights swept back and forth across the dragon head relief, and for a moment, no one moved.

The short, stocky officer in the lead was the first to come to his senses. He whispered a few words in Japanese, and the others then composed themselves, raised their flashlights, and began to explore the underground cave.

The worker surnamed Li, whom Chen Che had sent down, was also quite efficient. Following Chen Che's instructions, he took a cloth bag from his waist, grabbed a handful of glutinous rice and scattered it on the ground, then pinched a pinch of realgar powder and sprinkled it around the area. After doing this, he held a torch and slowly walked around the cave wall, memorizing everything he saw.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the rope started shaking again—it was a signal from Brother Li: three long and two short twitches, indicating that everything was safe and requesting to return.

Chen Che breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to Chen San. Chen San then called to several workers, and together they pulled the rope upwards.

The first one to come up wasn't Brother Li, but the short, stocky Japanese officer. He nimbly climbed over the rope and vaulted out of the cave. After landing, he rattled off a string of words to Akutagawa, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement.

After hearing this, Akutagawa's eyes shone even brighter.

A moment later, Brother Li and the others also came up one after another. Brother Li walked to Chen Che's side and lowered his voice to describe what he had seen. When he mentioned the dragon head relief and the dragon mouth passage, Chen Che's brow twitched.

"How deep is the tunnel?" he asked.

"I didn't dare go in," Brother Li answered honestly. "As the young master instructed, we scouted the outer perimeter first. But those Japanese men took a few steps in, and when we shone our flashlights inside, we couldn't see the end. There was wind inside, a living wind, not a dead end."

The presence of wind means there is an exit on the other side.

Chen Che remained silent, lost in thought.

Akutagawa and his group had already gathered together, whispering amongst themselves. A moment later, Akutagawa approached, a deeply unsettling smile on his face: "Young Master Chen, you know the situation down there. The dragon's mouth has appeared, and the passageway is deep and mysterious; it might truly lead to the legendary core of the dragon vein. How about we each send five more people down together?"

Chen Che looked at him but did not answer immediately.

Akutagawa added, "Of course, if Young Master Chen doesn't want to take the risk, he can stay up there. However—I currently hold half of the land deed, so whatever is found down there should rightfully belong to me as well."