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"Look, the trees here are all made of gold. And that house, it’s all red sandalwood. Floors paved with silver, luminous pearls as the sun," Zhao Zilong rubbed his eyes fiercely. This must be a dream.

He hurriedly grabbed Gu Xiaoxi’s arm, expressing disbelief, "We must have run into an illusionary realm. Gu Xiaoxi, what should we do?"

"This is no illusionary realm!" Mu Fei pinched his fingers hard. The pain brought him gradually back to calm, but his face was already drenched with excited sweat.

"An underground palace!" Gu Xiaoxi couldn’t begin to imagine just how prosperous the ancient Dalan Kingdom once was.

The spectacle here was unlike anything history had ever seen.

All she saw was rows upon rows of soldiers clad in armor, standing in formation as guardians of this city.

And in the center of the city, there stood a luxurious palace with glazed tiles, which from afar looked just like an imperial palace from the ancient kingdom.

"It’s so high, how do we get down?" a villager said excitedly.

They had never seen such opulence in all their lives, to say nothing of the shimmering golden trees.

Gu Xiaoxi sat down in front of the rock.

She propped her chin with one hand and pondered for a moment.

She hesitated, unsure whether to go down. Could there be danger below?

When would Young Master Quan realize she had fallen underground, and when would he be able to rescue her?

Could they find a way out from here?

Everything was an unknown.

"Xiao Xi, let’s go take a look! We can’t get out anyway," Shao Changfeng said excitedly. They were standing hundreds of meters high now, and only Gu Xiaoxi could lead them down.

"Such a magnificent sight is unique in the world. Having seen it, even if I die, I’ll have no regrets," Mu Fei said, excited.

The other villagers echoed in agreement.

Gu Xiaoxi pursed her lips; she wasn’t ready to die just yet. There’d be no contentment in dying like this.

But looking at this vacant city, except for its pretty decorations and realistic construction, there seemed to be no living things.

"Once we go down, no one is to damage so much as a blade of grass or a tree. If anyone disobeys, it won’t just harm themselves, but everyone. Do you understand?" Gu Xiaoxi looked at the villagers.

A few villagers bowed their heads and nodded, "Yes!"

After thinking it over, Gu Xiaoxi led everyone to jump towards the ground.

Just before landing, she used her inner strength to steady everyone, allowing them to land gently on the ground.

The villagers were more excited than Gu Xiaoxi, not having time to thank her, they all rushed towards the palace walls’ gates not far away.

The solemn and majestic palace walls had watchtowers on them.

Above the watchtowers, countless soldiers in armor stood proudly.

By the gate of the palace walls, two bronze lions flanked the entrance. Beside the lions stood guards in armor as well.

Passing through the main gate of the city wall, the group saw trees made of gold lined up inside the city tower.

It was only after entering that some realized the trees were simply covered in gold dust.

Just the scale of these gold-dusted trees throughout the city, who could imagine how much gold had been applied?

Gu Xiaoxi stroked her chin, musing, "I think, this Queen must have been a fool."

"Not necessarily, the Dalan Ancient Kingdom was the earliest to discover gold of the highest purity. They were situated in a region rich with gold, silver, and gems. One could say they were the most prosperous country at the time," Mu Fei explained.

"Is there any historical record about the Dalan Emperor?" Gu Xiaoxi turned her head to ask.

"There are only records about the economic status of Dalan and the Queen, nothing else!"

Gu Xiaoxi walked on the bustling streets, although the houses here were empty.

Yet, these silver-paved paths were truly a sight to behold. "What does the record say about what kind of person the Queen was?"

"I seem to remember that it was said, ’The beauty of the Queen is beyond compare, her grace and features heavenly!’"

Gu Xiaoxi stroked her chin, curious as to what kind of person could possess such astonishing beauty.

"Could the Queen’s coffin be in here?" Gu Xiaoxi asked again.

"It should be! This is the great tomb she built; she must be resting here. And of course, so is her royal consort."

"Royal consort?" Gu Xiaoxi blinked.

Mu Fei continued, "I’ve only read historical records, and the details are incomplete. It is said that the Queen had a consort whom she loved dearly. He was a man of great talent with handsome looks. Only his beauty was a match for the Queen’s. And he was the wisest man in the world."

"What else?" Gu Xiaoxi felt that the story couldn’t just end there.

"That’s all!" Mu Fei shrugged. "I only happened upon it and took note because the country seemed very wealthy."

"To build such a tomb two thousand years ago, the project must have been enormous!" Gu Xiaoxi looked up at the luminous pearls overhead and couldn’t help but exclaim.

"It would have taken at least twenty years to build, employing hundreds of thousands of people," Zhao Zilong estimated.

With the manpower of ancient times, that’s probably what was required!

Gu Xiaoxi nodded, "This place is too expansive, we mustn’t get separated. Otherwise, it’ll be troublesome if we find the exit but can’t contact each other."

Everyone passed through the majestic palace walls, following a path that led deep into the heart of the palace, and kept moving forward.

At the end of the road was the grand hall where the ancient emperors conducted state affairs.

*

Tang Yisheng, leading the villagers, returned to the rescue base and immediately called Quan Shaoqing.

Quan Shaoqing was presiding over the headquarters at the time, his phone ringing incessantly.

He had to monitor the earthquake disaster area, arrange personnel, and dispatch medical teams.

He had been living in the office for four or five days and nights straight.

Apart from eating, there was very little time left for rest.

Whether it was day or night, the phone was constantly ringing.

"Superior officer, we’re short on helicopters. We’re lacking supplies..."

"Superior officer, we’re requesting more nurses. There are too many injured, and we’re short on medical staff."

His secretary and radio operator were both busy noting down critical events.

He had to develop responsive strategies immediately.

It took Tang Yisheng a while to get through on the phone before someone other than Quan Shaoqing answered.

"I’m Tang Yisheng, I need to speak to the superior officer, I have an urgent report," Tang Yisheng said hastily.

The secretary handed the phone to Quan Shaoqing, "Superior officer, he says he’s Tang Yisheng. Looking for you!"

Quan Shaoqing was in the middle of another call; he nodded and waited to finish before picking up and asking, "What is it?"

"There’s been an accident! On our way back, an aftershock collapsed the ground, and Team Leader Gu, Zhao Zilong, Shao Changfeng, and about a dozen villagers fell into a hole," Tang Yisheng rushed to explain.

"Fell into a hole? How did that happen? Haven’t they come back up?" Quan Shaoqing felt a surge of foreboding. With Gu Xiaoxi’s skills, it wasn’t possible she would fall and not be able to get back up.

Either she went down to save people and got trapped with them,

Or she and everyone else met with a disaster.

Tang Yisheng could sense a brief moment of breathlessness from the other end of the phone.

It took Quan Shaoqing a while to respond, "I understand!"

He hung up the phone.

He immediately stood up from his seat and said to Lin Mi, "You take over for me for a while. I’ll be back in an hour. Also, my father has donated three billion; it has hit the account. Assign someone you trust to purchase supplies and send them to the disaster area."