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

Xu Qing peeked inside with the tinderbox and saw a spiral stone staircase leading upwards.

The stone steps were covered in dust, but the steps were intact, with no loose or broken parts.

Climbing the steps, one enters a darkness from which nothing can be seen.

A very thin ray of light leaked down from the top, like sunlight filtering through a crack.

Xu Qing turned and glanced at Su Man: "Can you walk?"

Su Man took a few steps while supporting herself against the wall, and the pain in her ankle had subsided considerably.

She took a few steps toward the stone steps, supporting herself against the wall, and whispered, "I can."

Xu Qing handed her the tinderbox, his arm naturally positioned to protect her.

The stone steps were longer than expected, and we walked up them several times.

The light overhead grew closer and closer until it came to a half-open wooden door, the door panel of which was mostly rotten.

After pushing it open, all that was outside was a pile of rubble.

When the two emerged from the pile of rocks, they were already some distance from the stone grave.

The monkey darted over, ran up to them, and squeaked anxiously.

Su Man's follower heard the commotion and ran over as well.

They noticed that their young mistress was wearing a men's robe over her clothes, her ankles were slightly swollen, and although her complexion had recovered, she was clearly walking unsteadily.

The two people turned pale with fright. One stepped forward to help them up, while the other lowered his head, not daring to look any further.

Xu Qing gestured towards the direction of the doorway they had just passed.

"There are some more things down there; go and carry them up."

Zhou Xing and his followers responded and went downstairs.

As the three wooden crates were carried up and placed in their places, Xiao Mingyuan was already squatting down beside them, rubbing his hands together.

The moment the box was opened, the gleam of the silver ingots and treasures made him jump up from the ground.

"Wow, we've struck it rich! This trip wasn't in vain, and nobody came for nothing."

He circled the box twice.

"Oh my, this feels like a dream. I thought the letter and the treasure map were fake, but now I have real gold and silver."

Su Man stopped, and her tone returned to its usual composure.

"It seems that Senior Dan Tusheng did find part of the treasure, but he couldn't retrieve it all. His treasure map should be genuine."

Xu Qing took out two equally yellowed drawings.

The lighting is better here, so it's easier to see.

The newly acquired map features neat handwriting and meticulous markings. The correspondence between the river course and the terrain is drawn with great care. Several areas are marked with thin lines, indicating that they were specially marked.

In comparison, the other one was made in a much worse way.

Xu Qing raised his head and said.

"This senior was prepared, but now we can see that this is the section of the river outside Hengyang."

Xiao Mingyuan rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Let's take some things and go see it in person tomorrow."

Su Man looked at the treasures on the ground.

"The contents of these boxes definitely can't be left here. You found them, so you're responsible for handling them."

Xu Qing chuckled.

"Everyone who sees it gets a share. First, we'll divide it into three large portions, one for each of us, and then everyone will receive a sum."

Xiao Mingyuan had been waiting for these words, and nodded vigorously.

He grabbed a handful of treasures and distributed them to his followers, including Zhou Xing.

The henchmen, holding the heavy treasures and silver in their hands, looked at each other, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

Zhou Xing looked at the several silver ingots and a string of beads.

His calloused hands stroked the silver ingots, his eyes reddened, and his voice trembled.

"Thank you, thank you so much, young master. I was almost begging on the street yesterday, and today I'm holding all these things in my hands. It feels like a dream."

Xiao Mingyuan waved his hand, unusually putting away his playful expression, and gave serious instructions.

"Since I've given them to you, keep them safe. No gambling, no squandering. They're enough for you for a lifetime. These things aren't free. When it's time to do something, don't hide behind; step forward."

Several henchmen knelt down in unison, and Zhou Xing gripped the object in his hand tightly.

"My life, Zhou Xing's life, will now follow Young Master Xu and Young Master Xiao."

Several other people also expressed their opinions.

Xiao Mingyuan looked at the row of people kneeling on the ground and grinned.

"Alright, alright, get up, stop kneeling. We'll need you guys in the future."

……

……

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

The group had arrived at the riverbank on the outskirts of the city.

Xiao Mingyuan hired two small boats. The people at the dock, seeing their formation, didn't ask any questions, untied the mooring ropes, and launched the boats out.

Xu Qing stood at the bow of the boat, holding the treasure map in his hand, comparing it step by step with the terrain on both sides of the river.

The river channel drawn on the map roughly matches the actual course, but it lacks precise reference points, and some markings can only be guessed.

The boat had traveled less than three miles when Xiao Mingyuan was already getting impatient.

He squatted at the stern of the boat, kicking the planks.

"My goodness, this half-image is so difficult to use! Why didn't that scoundrel apprentice leave more clues?"

Su Man sat in the middle of the boat, having changed into a neat light green robe.

She could already put her ankles on the ground normally, but she couldn't walk too fast yet. She chuckled as she heard Xiao Mingyuan's complaint.

"Luckily, he only tore off half of it; if he had taken most of it, it would have been even harder for us to find it."

Xu Qing didn't reply, her gaze sweeping back and forth across the riverbank and slopes.

Occasionally, I would make a note on a piece of white paper and then look up to check it.

The boat traveled another half mile, and the terrain along the shore gradually opened up.

There was a piece of land by the river without any obvious ridges; it was a continuous expanse, unlike ordinary farmland which is divided into small plots. It looked as if it had been uniformly cleared by someone.

Zhou Xing sat at the bow of the boat and suddenly pointed to that piece of land.

"Young Master Xu, that used to be my family's land."

Xu Qing told the boatman to dock, jumped onto the riverbank, and stood on the edge of the land.

He looked down at the soil beneath his feet and realized it was no ordinary field ridge; there were no dividing ditches at the boundary, and the entire piece of land was connected into one large area.

It's obvious that after it was bought, it has been unified.

He stood up again and looked into the distance. In his field of vision were several other plots of land without any markings. They looked like they had been bought and left untouched.

Su Man also came ashore and stood beside him for a while. Then she spoke.

"These fields, when connected, cover a considerable area. If someone deliberately bought them, it probably wasn't just for farming."

Xiao Mingyuan chimed in from the side.

"It's definitely not for farming; look, it's still lying fallow."

Xu Qing unfolded the treasure map again and looked down along the marked area of ​​the riverbank. The marked area covered the fan-shaped area of ​​this section of the riverbank.

The markings on the map and the boundaries of the land beneath our feet overlap significantly in space.

Xu Qing closed the blueprints and looked again at the connected land.

"If I'm not mistaken, someone knew about the treasure map before we did and has already made their move."

Xiao Mingyuan chimed in, "Not necessarily. Since it was found at the senior's place, if someone had known about it before, they would have definitely taken it..."