I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

105 True or False

Su Man lowered her head and adjusted her clothes, her fingers pausing at the torn collar without completely closing it. She turned her head to tidy up the stray hairs, the redness at the base of her ears not yet completely faded.

She took a deep breath: "I'm fine...you...look around first."

Xu Qing stood up, raised the tinderbox higher, and as he turned around, his arm inadvertently brushed against her chest.

Su Man's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she didn't back away. The fingers that were gathering her clothes tightened unconsciously.

She lowered her eyes and didn't speak. She could only hear her own heartbeat and the faint crackling of the tinderbox burning, alternating in the small space.

In that instant, Su Man suddenly remembered what Song Yao had said:

If possible, I hope she can help take care of Xu Qing...

However, reality brought her back to reality.

The light from the tinderbox didn't shine very far, but it happened to illuminate a nearby wooden box.

The box was not large, about two feet square, and most of the paint had peeled off, but the copper edging at the corners was still there, gleaming faintly in the firelight.

The lid wasn't closed properly; there was a gap.

The sliver of light peeking through the crack momentarily dazzled Su Man's eyes.

She forgot the pain of her newly reattached ankle, forgot the glimpse of her exposed skin from the tear in her clothes, and stared intently at the wooden box for a long time before finally uttering a single sentence.

"Xu Qing...you...you look, what's that?"

Xu Qing adjusted the fire folding device and saw it himself.

Next to the box, there were two smaller ones stacked together.

One of them was overturned, and its contents were scattered out.

A string of beads rolled beside the box, casting a thin beam of light under the glow of the tinderbox.

Xu Qing walked over, bent down, and picked it up.

The beads feel slightly cool to the touch, with a smooth surface and a warm, milky white hue under light.

He tossed it around; it felt quite heavy.

"They are pearls, of excellent quality, each about the size of a little finger. However, the thread has turned black and seems brittle, as if it would break at the slightest touch. Fortunately, it hasn't been that long, otherwise these pearls would probably be ruined."

He turned his head and glanced at the two unopened boxes.

Both boxes had copper plating around their corners, and the rivets were rusted, but the boxes themselves were still relatively intact.

Xu Qing put down the pearl string and reached out to push open the lid of the overturned box.

The moment the lid was lifted, a faint golden light shone through the crack.

In the dim orange light of the tumbler, it gleamed with a delightful golden glow.

Inside were mostly silver ingots, neatly stacked, each with a dark mark pressed on its bottom, and a few gold ingots were also placed there.

However, the characters on those seals were blurry, and it was impossible to tell what era they belonged to in the dim light.

The surface of the silver ingot has been oxidized into a layer of dull gray patina, but judging from its style and luster, it is genuine official silver.

The lid of the wooden box next to it was slightly ajar, revealing a corner of dark yellow old paper.

Xu Qing reached out and pinched the edge of the paper, gently pulling out a section.

When he saw the contents, he was stunned.

The painting depicts a winding river and several blurry markings, rendered with very light ink lines in a concise, hasty hand-drawn style.

Another half of a treasure map. Was the previous one just a deliberate misdirection?

Su Man slowly sat up, her hand on the wall, her gaze still fixed on the silver ingots.

"That silver...is it official silver from the previous dynasty? How did it end up in a place like this?"

Xu Qing carefully put away the paper, preparing to go out and verify its authenticity.

"This must be some of the treasures he discovered during his search..."

Su Man's breathing became rapid: "You mean... he actually found some things, just not all of them? So the rumor is true."

Xu Qing nodded: "Yes, otherwise, if it were just a legend, how could it have sustained him through half his life?"

Su Man smiled wryly and said, "Indeed, that's more like it."

Xu Qing looked down at Su Man: "Are you able to move now?"

Su Man tried to move her newly reattached ankle. Although it was still a little painful, she could already put weight on it.

She struggled to her feet, and in the firelight, large patches of snow-white were revealed in the torn parts of her clothes.

She glanced down, instinctively smoothing her torn collar with her hand, then turned away from Xu Qing.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and used the tinderbox to illuminate the stone slab above his head again: "Let's figure out a way to get up first."

Xu Qing took a half step back, looked up at the sealed stone slab, remained silent for a while, and then raised the tinderbox high again.

Xu Qing thought for a moment and analyzed:

"Dantuan designed this secret room simply to hide these things so that others could find them, not to trap us."

Otherwise, he would have simply prevented us from finding it. Therefore, there must be a way out from here.

Su Man's eyes lit up: "You're right!"

Su Man took a step, and although her ankle had been reattached, she still felt a sharp pain when she exerted herself.

She took two steps, her steps unsteady, but stubbornly refused to reach out to help Xu Qing.

Xu Qing glanced at her from the side. The light from the tinderbox made her silhouette more distinct than usual in the small space.

The tear in her clothes was still conspicuous in the light, and the ripped fabric revealed a seductive glimpse of her skin, making one's heart flutter.

Xu Qing took off his outer robe and handed it to him: "Put this on first."

Su Man didn't stand on ceremony; she knew she wouldn't be able to face anyone looking like this later.

She took the outer robe and draped it over her shoulders, overlapping the front to cover the tears.

The fabric still retained the warmth of his body, carrying the scent of soap and old cotton cloth mixed together.

Her face turned even redder, and she whispered, "Thank you."

Xu Qing turned around and looked at the secret room again.

He walked around the wall, tapping lightly on its surface with his fingers, probing inch by inch from left to right, from low to high.

When he reached the top of the third wall, his fingers tapped down, and the sound suddenly changed...

It was no longer a solid, muffled thud, but a hollow sound with an echo!

"Hmm? Something's up!"

Su Man also limped over: "Looks like there's a trap."

Xu Qing squatted down and pushed the wall with his palm, but the bricks didn't budge.

He felt along the edge of that area again and found a slightly protruding stone between the bricks on the right side. It protruded less than half an inch from the surrounding bricks and was almost unnoticeable if you didn't feel it carefully.

Xu Qing tried pressing it, and the stone sank in slightly.

Immediately afterwards, a low, grinding sound came from the base of the wall, indicating that something heavy was slowly moving.

The entire wall in front of them slowly receded, revealing a narrow gap just wide enough for one person to pass through...