67: Chapter 67 The Three Depictions of the Ritual Master's Treasure (Part 2)

Before dawn, Li Xin woke up.

It wasn't that the waves woke him, but rather he had things on his mind and couldn't sleep soundly.

He rolled over, sat up, rubbed his stiff neck, washed up quickly, grabbed his bag, and left the hotel.

The fishing village was still asleep.

Li Xin wasn't in the mood for scenery; he walked fast, heading west along the coastline.

According to his plan, he needed to get to the small fishing village on the west coast first, find a crab boat to take him to the hidden beach, and then head into the mountains.

But Aki, the guide recommended by Mandeni, lived in this village, so he could enter the mountains directly from here.

Half an hour later, he reached the foot of the mountain and took out his phone to call Aki.

"I've arrived."

"Okay, wait ten minutes for me."

Li Xin found a rock to sit on and looked down at the map on his phone.

According to the information he found, there had always been rumors that this place might be one of the transit and hiding points for the gold looted by the Japanese Military in Southeast Asia during World War II, so he would just have to see how his luck was this time.

Ten minutes later, a lean, dark-skinned man in his fifties walked over from a distance, looking very enthusiastic.

"Hi, are you Li?"

"Yes, hello." Li Xin smiled.

"Aki." He extended his hand, his rough palm covered in calluses. "What are you doing in the mountains?"

"Hiking. Looking at the waterfall." Li Xin smiled.

Aki smiled. "Haha, the scenery here is great, I guarantee you won't be disappointed."

"Hahaha... I hope so." Li Xin laughed.

"Could you take me around here for a tour, look at the scenery, and take some photos? How do you charge for a day as a guide?"

"Five hundred pesos a day."

"I'll give you one thousand." Li Xin looked at him with a smile. "But you have to take me to the area around the Malinta Tunnel complex."

According to the information investigated, the Japanese Military used that place as a headquarters, hospital, and treasury during World War II.

Aki lit a cigarette, frowned, and then shook his head.

"Can't go there."

"Why?"

"No road." Aki flicked the ash. "It's all primary forest over there; no one has been in there for decades. I went once when I was young and almost died inside."

"Why?"

"There are many poisonous snakes, wild boars, and other dangers." He paused.

Li Xin tapped his finger on his knee: "What kind of dangers?"

Aki took a puff of his cigarette and was silent for a few seconds.

"When I was in my twenties, I went in once with the elders from the village. I heard there were caves dug by the Japanese Military over there, and gold was hidden inside. We wanted to find it."

He smiled, a dry laugh. "Unfortunately, we searched for several days and found nothing. The elder died in the mountains, and I never went back after that."

"How did he die?"

"Stepped on a trap." Aki pointed to his own foot. "Left by the Japanese Military, or maybe dug by hunters later. Rusty, poisoned iron spikes went from the sole of his foot through to his calf. He didn't last long after being carried down the mountain."

Li Xin was silent for a few seconds.

He knew what Aki was talking about—the area around the Malinta Tunnel complex was filled with defensive fortifications: iron gates, tripwires, spike pits, and gas chambers. Decades had passed, and most traps had failed, but there were always some that slipped through the net.

"I'll pay more."

"It's not about the money."

"Two thousand pesos a day."

Aki glanced at him.

"Three thousand." Li Xin stood up, not giving the other party time to hesitate. "Three days. If we can get in, we get in; if we can't, we go back. No forcing it."

Aki stared at him for several seconds, then finally nodded.

"Fine. But I have rules."

"You say them."

"First, after we enter the mountains, if I say stop, we stop; if I say go back, we go back. You are not allowed to wander off on your own."

"Okay."

"Second, don't touch anything you see. The trees, rocks, things on the ground over there—don't touch them."

"Okay."

"Third," Aki tucked his machete into his waist, "Coming back alive is luck; don't blame me if you die."

Li Xin smiled: "Okay."

The two walked up the mountain path.

The road became narrower and steeper.

In less than an hour, the road disappeared, replaced by dense shrubs and vines.

Aki used the machete to clear the path, one swing, crack, the vines snapped.

Li Xin followed behind, walking and silently searching, but there was no response.

After walking for about two hours, Aki suddenly stopped and squatted on the ground.

"What's wrong?" Li Xin asked.

There was a pit on the ground, the size of a basin, mostly covered by fallen leaves.

Aki used his machete to push aside the leaves, revealing the bottom of the pit—several sharpened bamboo stakes stuck in the mud.

The bamboo had already dried and cracked, but the sharp tips remained.

"Trap." Aki stood up. "Can be fatal."

He bypassed the trap and continued walking.

Li Xin followed, stepping even more lightly.

[Ding... Gold detected, 8.5 kilometers to the front right, reserves unknown, further confirmation required.]

Li Xin felt ecstatic and almost jumped up; finally, there was a response.

He forced himself to calm down and continued following Aki.

After walking for about another half hour, a dry riverbed appeared in front.

The riverbed was full of stones, bleached white by the sun.

"Following the riverbed is easier to walk," Aki said.

The two stepped on the stones and walked upwards.

After walking for about half an hour, Aki stopped again.

He looked around, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

"Something's wrong."

"What's wrong?"

"The road is wrong." Aki pointed around. "I haven't been here. When I came that year, the riverbed wasn't this wide."

He took out a cigarette, lit one, and took a deep drag.

Li Xin noticed that his hand holding the cigarette was shaking slightly.

"Keep walking?" Li Xin asked.

He glanced at the GPS; it was less than a kilometer from the target point.

Aki didn't speak.

He squatted down, touched the stones on the ground with his hand, and then stood up to look at the mountain ridge in the distance.

"Walk for another hour." He extinguished the cigarette butt. "If we can't find it, we go back. We must get out of the mountains before dark."

The two continued walking.

Li Xin followed behind, his palms sweating.

Not from fear, but from nervousness.

He was getting closer and closer to the target point.

After walking for about twenty minutes, the riverbed came to an end.

A rock wall over a dozen meters high blocked the way; the rock wall was covered with moss and ferns, and water seeped out from the rock crevices, dripping down drop by drop.

"No road left," Aki said.

Li Xin looked around.

On both sides of the rock wall were steep mountain slopes covered with dense shrubs, and he couldn't see any path to walk on.

"Aki, you find a place to rest for a while first," he said.

Aki turned his head: "What do you mean?"

"I want to look around here a bit more. Take some photos of the rock wall." Li Xin raised his camera and shook it. "You go downstream of the riverbed and wait for me for a moment."

Aki stared at him for a few seconds.

"You alone?"

"Yes."

"There isn't even a path here, what are you going to look at?"

"Just taking some photos." Li Xin smiled. "I won't go far. I'll be back in a while."

Aki smiled and tucked the machete into his waist.

"No problem, then be quick."

"Got it."

Aki turned around and walked downstream along the riverbed.

His back soon disappeared into the bushes, and the sound of his rubber shoes stepping on the stones grew fainter until it could no longer be heard.

Seeing that he had walked away, Li Xin squatted down and pressed his hand on the gravel at the bottom of the rock wall.

"System, Scan."

[Scanning... Scan complete. Large amount of gold discovered.]

[15 meters below, there is a natural rock crevice. The crevice width is 0.5 - 0.8 meters, extending vertically downward, with a depth of about 90 meters. There is an artificially expanded space at the bottom of the crevice, with a size of about 40 square meters.]

[Discovered gold bars, gold bricks, gold artifacts, gold coins, and various other gold products, content 50.3 tons. Estimated value about 13.5 billion.]

[500 cultural relics: including 155 bronze wares, 188 porcelain pieces, 86 Buddha statues, 43 calligraphy and painting works, 28 jewelry pieces. Estimated value 5 billion.]

Li Xin took a deep breath.

At the bottom of a 90-meter-deep natural rock crevice.

The entrance had also been covered for decades due to a collapse; no wonder it hadn't been discovered for so long.

If it weren't for the system's Scan, it would truly be impossible to find.

He pressed his hand on the gravel, his heart beating like a drum.

"System, Extraction."

[Extracting... Extraction complete. Obtained 50.3 tons of gold, 500 cultural relics.]

[Cumulative refined gold: 261.5057 tons.]

Li Xin stood up with a grin and patted the dust off his hands.

His heart was filled with uncontrollable joy.

He happily walked downstream along the riverbed.

At this time, Aki was sitting on a large rock downstream of the riverbed, smoking.

Seeing Li Xin return, he smiled and stood up: "Li, you're done?"

"Done." Li Xin walked over with a smile. "Let's go back."

"OK, then let's go." Aki glanced at him and didn't ask again.

By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, it was almost dark.

Aki sent him back to the fishing village.

"Still going into the mountains tomorrow?" Aki asked.

"No more." Li Xin paid the guide fee and gave an extra five hundred pesos. "Going back to Manila tomorrow."

"Welcome to come and play again next time."

"Okay."

Li Xin returned to the hotel, took a shower, and lay on the bed.

The phone vibrated.

A message from Chen Hu: "Boss, everything is ready in Dubai. Mr. Hassan says we can ship at any time."

Li Xin replied: "Flying to Dubai in a few days."

Chen Hu replied instantly: "Understood."

He sent another message to Li Jiayi: "The matter in the Philippines is finished. Going to Dubai in a few days."

Li Jiayi replied: "Okay. Stay safe."

Li Xin put his phone on the nightstand.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, the phone vibrated again.

He picked it up and saw it was a message from Mandeni.

"Sir, are you still in the Philippines? I have a fellow villager who runs a restaurant on Corregidor Island. From what I understand, the island is very suitable for hiking and adventure. If you are interested, you can go take a look; the hiking routes there are quite good."

"Oh? Thank you. What's there?"

Mandeni replied quickly: "The island is full of artillery batteries and tunnels left over from World War II, and the scenery is nice, suitable for hiking. My fellow villager said that the coastline on the west side basically has no tourists, but the scenery is particularly good."

Li Xin pondered for a moment and replied: "Okay, thanks."

"Corregidor Island, huh? Since I'm already here, why not go take a look?" Li Xin thought for a moment.

He immediately opened his phone and booked a boat ticket to the island for early tomorrow morning.

After booking the ticket, he turned off the lights.

Outside the window, the waves lapped against the shore, the sound clearly audible.

Li Xin tossed and turned, pondering secretly: Tomorrow, go over and explore, maybe there will be an unexpected surprise.