Professor Li and Xiao Guang hurriedly turned their attention to the notebook before them.
Surprisingly, the diary, even after such a long time, was only slightly damp and hadn't changed much.
"Today, Professor Li and Xiao Guang entered the unknown cave. We waited outside."
"It's been a day, and Professor Li and the others still haven't come out. We're all very worried."
"It's been two days. A backpack floated out of the river channel, but it had clear signs of being torn apart. We suspect Professor Li might have met his demise."
"To search for Professor Li's remains, we decided to enter the cave and investigate."
"There are many insects inside the cave, and piranhas. The raft we were on is a bit unstable."
"For some reason, the river water brought us to an unknown cave. It's so strange here."
The diary entries ended here.
The cave they spoke of was likely the same one with the terracotta figures.
It was filled with black蛊 worms, and they might have been attacked by them.
Professor Li's eyes welled up with tears.
His rosy eyes were heartbreaking to see.
"Professor Li, you..."
Xiao Guang looked at Professor Li with concern.
"I never imagined they would end up like this for me. They even entered the cave to find my body. Why was the backpack damaged? Why didn't they see my backpack left behind?"
Professor Li murmured, his face agitated.
Clearly, he couldn't accept this reality.
Zhang Tian and the others stood aside, sighing.
Fatty was also unusually quiet, merely watching the two of them.
Soon, Professor Li and Xiao Guang seemed to have composed themselves. They turned their attention back to Zhang Tian.
"Thank you for praying for them. They are heroes. When I return, I will certainly apologize to their families."
After speaking, Professor Li searched the ground. Finding some items, he no longer looked around.
Zhang Tian understood Professor Li's intention and nodded, looking towards the raft.
"Fatty, put the raft in the water. It's time for us to go."
As Zhang Tian spoke, Fatty grabbed the raft and flung it with force. It landed on the river channel.
Going against the current might be difficult for others, but for Zhang Tian, it was simple.
As everyone boarded, the raft became a bit crowded.
Zhang Qilin stood in the very front corner of the raft, which was very much his style.
The child and Professor Li stood in the middle.
With a wave from Zhang Tian, a surge of energy exploded from the back of the raft, propelling it forward at an extreme speed.
Soon, they entered the cave.
Inside the cave, insects were still wriggling.
On the other side of the cave, there was another passage, the one Zhang Tian had taken before.
As they entered the cave, piranhas and蛊 worms began to appear.
It was as if they had coordinated.
Zhang Tian, however, was unconcerned.
Using the same method, they quickly emerged from the river channel.
All the insects in the river channel were also burned to death by Zhang Tian.
Outside the river channel was the familiar forest.
The dangers here were much smaller.
"Boss, those are the trees Fatty cut down before. By the way, is there any of that grass left? Fatty wants to get comfortable."
A lewd smile appeared on Fatty's face.
"Fatty, can't you get comfortable at home? What are you trying to get comfortable here for?"
Hu Bayi's hoarse voice replied.
Fatty scratched his head.
"Old Hu, it's a different feeling. You wouldn't understand. That sensitive plant is really good. If I could, I'd even want to raise some."
Fatty said repeatedly, clearly showing his fondness for the sensitive plant.
"That kind of plant only grows in specific places. You wouldn't be able to grow it even if you took it back,"
Zhang Tian said casually. Fatty looked somewhat disappointed.
Professor Li remained silent throughout the journey, seemingly lost in his grief.
Zhang Tian didn't engage him either; such things needed time to digest.
Soon, a day later.
Zhang Tian and the others arrived at the area with the ox heads.
Ox heads were mounted on wooden stakes.
The heads of the oxen pointed in a particular direction.
When Zhang Tian had come before, he had been dismantling these ox heads.
Seeing them again as he left gave him a peculiar feeling.
"Boss, is it okay for Fatty to take this back as a record?"
Fatty, carrying an ox head, asked excitedly.
"Whatever you want."
Zhang Tian didn't refuse, as the items weren't his anyway.
The next moment, Zhang Tian placed the ox head into his spatial dimension.
Inside the dimension, the Jingjue Queen, who was busy farming, instinctively looked towards the new item being thrown in.
Upon seeing it was an ox head, she felt utterly dispirited.
Nowadays, throwing junk wasn't enough to satisfy Zhang Tian? Now he was throwing animal carcasses.
Did this guy have some peculiar fetish?
The Jingjue Queen showed no discernible expression and simply waved her hand, tossing the ox head in with the pile of junk.
At this moment, in the Jingjue Queen's view, the junk had piled up into a small mountain.
Antiques and cultural relics were all within this mountain.
Clearly, a significant number of cultural relics had been acquired this time.
Outside, Zhang Tian led the group to the outer edge of the valley.
A vast expanse of wilderness appeared before them.
This was the path they had taken to get here.
"There's poisonous gas here."
Professor Li spoke up.
This was the first time he had spoken in a day.
Zhang Tian nodded. "We brought gas masks before we came."
"Everyone put on your masks, and we can leave the mountain."
With that, everyone put on their masks.
As the masks were donned, their pace quickened.
Thick fog rolled in from all directions.
The fog was so dense that one couldn't see their hand in front of their face.
"Boss, where did you go? Boss, hurry and grab Fatty's hand!"
In the fog, Fatty's cries could be heard.
Zhang Tian ignored the silly fellow and slowly walked out of the misty area.
Outside the mist, Zhang Qilin was already waiting.
"As expected of Xiao Ge, he's so fast."
Zhang Tian marveled inwardly.
"Ah, Second Brother, you're so fast."
Fatty exclaimed.
Shirley Yang also emerged, guided by Hu Bayi.
Behind Hu Bayi were Professor Li and the child.
After exiting the misty area, they looked back to see mountains and rivers shrouded in mist.
And Zhang Tian had emerged from these mountains.
"It feels so good to be alive."
Fatty sighed.
His unintentional remark made Professor Li and the child feel a pang of sadness.
"The wind howls and the Yi River is cold..."
Professor Li spoke with a trembling voice.
He then recited a string of verses, as if bidding farewell to old friends.
Looking at the continuous mountains and the mist-covered world, with the wind blowing through their hair, Zhang Tian felt a myriad of emotions.
He stood there for a long time, when suddenly a voice interrupted the contemplative mood.
"Ah, you're all still alive!"
A crisp voice rang out.
Everyone turned to look and saw a pretty figure appear before them.
It was Kongque!