My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 138 Rescue (2)

"There's a tunnel here too!" Lin Ziping exclaimed in surprise.

Old Huang said, "It's hidden under the stairs, and its color matches the surrounding area. If Xiao Shi hadn't missed a step while going down the stairs, we wouldn't have found it either. It's too well hidden."

"Yes, it seems that sometimes seeing is not necessarily believing," Shi Yong sighed.

Lin Ziping nodded in agreement.

"Xiao Shi, you and Zi Ping go and report the situation here to the adults. I'll stay here and keep watch. What do you think?" Old Huang said.

Lin Ziping remained silent, turning his gaze to Shi Yong. He was already on his way back to report, so this arrangement wouldn't have much of an impact; the important thing was speed.

Shi Yong thought for a moment and said, "Old Huang, why don't you go, and I'll stay here and keep watch?"

Old Huang shook his head: "After all, it was you, Xiao Shi, who discovered this. It's not really appropriate for me to go."

After some further refusals, Shi Yong and Lin Ziping finally went back to report, while Lao Huang stayed behind.

Shi Yong and Lin Ziping returned to the watchtower, where Shi Yong reported to Chen Feng and Magistrate Wei about the tunnel entrance they had discovered inside.

"Could it be that the villains who attacked His Highness escaped from there?" Chen Feng pondered, then instructed, "In that case, Lin Ziping, you go and guard that place. We'll go down from here immediately. Seventh Brother, you stay here and guard."

The seventh brother was the guard who stayed behind with Chen Feng.

This person was unremarkable in appearance; if Chen Feng hadn't called him, Lin Ziping wouldn't have noticed him at all—his presence was too faint.

"Chen Feng, there's definitely more than one entrance to the tunnel. Let's send someone to find the others first," Lao Qi said calmly.

Chen Feng nodded: "That's fine then. Magistrate Wei, Commandant Xiao, you two take your men to find the entrance first. We'll stay here and guard it."

Magistrate Wei bowed and said, "This humble official has a plan, but I don't know if it's feasible."

Chen Feng gestured for Magistrate Wei to continue.

"Anyway, this is a bandit's den. Let's set a fire on the ground and a fire underground, and then trap them like turtles in a jar."

set fire?!

Lin Ziping was startled. He didn't know if they could catch the bandits, but he was sure the group of girls underground wouldn't escape.

Thinking of this, Lin Ziping said, "No!"

"Lin Ziping, do you have any objections?!" Magistrate Wei looked displeased.

"My lord, the Xiao family is taking their brothers down there in a little while, and we don't know what the situation is like down there. If we act rashly like this, I'm worried that innocent civilians might be harmed," Lin Ziping hurriedly explained.

“They’re all just country bumpkins, and besides, they can kidnap six…kidnap others and join in the rebellion. What kind of innocent people are they? Moreover, what if they get sick and spread the disease? Can you bear the responsibility for Lin Ziping?” Magistrate Wei’s words were sharp, and his expression even carried a hint of ferocity, looking somewhat distorted.

"I...I..." Lin Ziping was at a loss when such a huge burden was placed on him. He said hesitantly, "Well...well...it's a matter of human life after all. Isn't it our duty to protect them?"

As he finished speaking, Lin Ziping's tone became increasingly firm.

Having no real abilities, he came to this era only to protect himself. Perhaps it was the group of girls underground that touched his compassion as a woman, and now he wants to do something.

"Alright, Magistrate Wei and I will go down to investigate ourselves. Seventh Brother, you stay here to meet me. Lin Ziping, you go and guard the tower." Chen Feng made the final decision and gave the order.

"Yes." The group clasped their hands in agreement and began to act.

Xiao Jiazheng and the others have been down there for a while, but no one has come out yet. The cage where the girls are being held is not far from the entrance of the watchtower. Could something have happened?

Lin Ziping returned to the tower with unease.

"What happened?" Old Huang asked hurriedly when he saw Lin Ziping return.

Lin Ziping told Lao Huang about Chen Feng's arrangements.

Old Huang said, "Then let's stay here and keep watch. Xiao Lin, you just need to do what the leader tells you. Why think so much?! And where have you been? Your shoes are covered in mud!"

Lin Ziping looked at the shoes. After wearing them for so many days, climbing mountains and going into caves, they were still in good condition. The quality was quite good.

"Perhaps it was glued on the mountain," Lin Ziping said dismissively.

“The mud on the mountain road is yellow, but look at yours, it’s red,” Old Huang said, pointing to Lin Ziping’s shoes.

The colors were different; no wonder Chen Feng gave me that meaningful look when I said I hadn't entered the cave.

Wait, red?!

Thinking back to just two days ago when I was moving stones in the iron mine, those stones were red.

Looking at the mud on his feet, Lin Ziping tried to think of a way to dissuade Chen Feng from burning down the mountain stronghold.

The waiting time was always unbearable. The two looked at each other in silence, staring blankly at the hole in front of them.

"boom--"

Suddenly a loud bang came from beneath my feet, and the ground began to shake.

Was there an earthquake?

Lin Ziping instinctively crouched down, covered his head with his hands, and ran out of the tower.

I ran out, and there was another loud bang.

"boom--"

Lin Ziping hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

Old Huang ran out with Lin Ziping and listened intently to what he heard.

After a moment, Old Huang's expression changed, and he cursed angrily, "These bastards actually used gunpowder underground! They're fucking suicidal..."

gunpowder?!

Yes, the mine collapse a couple of days ago also had the same loud noise.

Lin Ziping knew the power of gunpowder, but in the past he didn't even dare to set off firecrackers himself, and could only watch his younger brother set them off for the sake of the noise.

The three loud bangs allowed Lin Ziping to experience firsthand the power of this era.

Oh no, there are still those girls underground!

Lin Ziping didn't have time to think about anything else and hurriedly ran towards the watchtower.

"Hey, Xiao Lin, Lin Ziping, what are you doing?" Old Huang's voice came from behind.

As Lin Ziping ran, he turned back and said, "I'm going to check out the watchtower!"

"Come back quickly!" Old Huang's voice brushed past his ear, but Lin Ziping didn't turn his head and continued running towards the watchtower.

As they ran, they suddenly remembered something and wandered into a few rooms, managing to gather some pieces of cloth.

When they reached the watchtower, only Lao Qi, who was with Chen Feng, was still there; the others were nowhere to be found.

"Seven...Seventh Master, who else?" Lin Ziping didn't know how to address him, so he stammered out an awkward "Seventh Master".

The seventh brother glanced at Lin Ziping with indifferent eyes, but did not reply.

Lin Ziping awkwardly tightened his grip on the cloth and looked at the watchtower, where he saw that it was partially collapsed and some wood was scattered on the ground.

"This..." Lin Ziping's heart tightened, and he disregarded his embarrassment, quickly stepping forward to find the entrance to the tunnel.

Fortunately, the watchtower was connected to the surrounding wall, and the main structure was fine. Lin Ziping quickly found the entrance and was about to go in.

"Take this with you." A voice sounded from behind.

Lin Ziping remained silent.

The man seemed a little impatient, and while Lin Ziping was in a daze, he stuffed a round object into his hand.

It's the seventh child.

The object handed to them was a white bead about 5 centimeters in diameter.

Lin Ziping did not refuse and walked down with the beads in his hand.

In the darkness, the bead emitted a faint glow, not very bright, but enough to illuminate the path beneath our feet.