Over there, Qiu Wuji used her earth- is a technique that allows one to escape through the earth), drilling deeper and deeper, quickly surpassing the tens of meters the geological team had already reached. She reached a deeper underground, stopping only when the thick rock layers could no longer block her progress.
More than anyone else in the world, she wanted to understand the source of the so-called spiritual energy revival.
Unfortunately, it wasn't what she had imagined. She thought that searching deeper would reveal denser spiritual energy, allowing her to follow the clues to the source, but the deeper she went, the thinner it became. When she stopped, the spiritual energy was gone…
So it didn't come from below, but from another direction?
That didn't seem likely either. If it came horizontally, then other places should be filled with spiritual energy. How come only Old Zhu's mine had it?
It was truly strange.
Qiu Wuji had explored countless secret realms and various dungeons, and she had rarely seen such a strange phenomenon. No wonder no one had figured it out for so many years.
Could it have come from the sky?
A scene flashed through her mind… On a certain day of a certain month, a ball of spiritual energy fell from the sky, creating spiritual energy wherever it landed, and those who bathed in it gained supernatural abilities.
Although it sounded absurd, it was actually the closest conclusion to the current investigation results.
In fact, it was also the official assessment at this stage: the spiritual energy was recovering globally simultaneously, not from a single source.
The strongest evidence supporting her idea was that the spiritual energy in Old Zhu's mine was dissipating, and it seemed it would be gone in a few years. This indicated that the spiritual energy didn't have a strong, long-term source; with development and mining, it would eventually dissipate.
No wonder the national SSS didn't bother with these places; only they and outsiders like Du Lianfeng, who had just heard about it, were so interested.
Thinking of this, Qiu Wuji didn't feel disappointed by the broken trail; instead, she sighed.
Just this fake purple clay mine, whose spiritual energy would dissipate in a few years, and whose spiritual energy was already so thin before it dissipated, had caused so much trouble, even leading to her death…
Qiu Wuji shook her head and used earth magic to return.
Wait a minute… Passing by the section excavated by the geological team, Qiu Wuji suddenly stopped.
She suddenly felt a sense of unease.
Earth Escape Technique doesn't involve breaking through the soil; it involves merging the body with the earth. Especially since this body is essentially a soul, the merging is even more clean and decisive, without pushing aside the surrounding rocks and soil.
But this time, passing by, she bumped into a small piece of broken rock.
Qiu Wuji carefully stared at the broken rock, the more she looked, the more unsettling it became.
It was a rock indistinguishable from the surroundings, just a small piece of rock that had broken off when others dug it up. Its cross-section, texture, and even internal structure perfectly matched all the rocks in this area, even the traces of spiritual energy it contained were identical.
But how could she have bumped into it?
Isn't this a rock? What is it then?
Qiu Wuji stared intently, as if she felt the rock was also looking at her.
She frowned, pondering for a while, thinking that this couldn't possibly be a source of spiritual energy; it must have some other meaning. Perhaps it was Cai Zhijian observing this place, as Chu Ge suspected?
She didn't touch the stone, pretending not to notice anything, and returned directly to the surface.
Chu Ge was pacing back and forth in the mine pit above, wringing his hands, like a husband waiting outside a delivery room for his wife to give birth.
Seeing Qiu Wuji appear, Chu Ge breathed a sigh of relief and rushed forward to hug him: "So long! I was so worried..." Qiu Wuji felt a little sweet inside; he was worried about his own situation, not about what he had gained.
"Nothing to show for it," she said casually. "We can't get a single pearl for you this time."
As she spoke, she telepathically added, "I made a different discovery, I'll tell you when we get back."
Chu Ge understood and laughed, "So what if we didn't find anything? This mine has been here for so many years, if there was anything, it would have been discovered long ago. We were just trying our luck, did we really expect to find something that no one else could find in a few minutes?"
Qiu Wuji laughed, "I really did want to, otherwise who would come to drill this hole?"
"Haha..." Chu Ge pulled her hand and walked out, "That's protagonist treatment. Ever since I found out I couldn't even sell the copyrights, I knew I wouldn't get that treatment. Just go home and write."
"You're not protagonist treatment? Right, right, you've surpassed protagonist treatment." Qiu Wuji muttered twice, not saying much more, and the two returned to the cable car, heading back to the surface.
Cai Zhijian was still waiting upstairs. Seeing the two come out, he gave Chu Ge a knowing look, then chuckled, "Impressive, impressive, you can even handle this kind of environment." Chu Ge pretended to kick him, saying, "Alright, I didn't notice anything. Let's go back." Cai Zhijian wasn't annoyed by the wasted time; he smiled slightly and drove the two back to the hospital.
…
"This incident really makes me realize that the family needs a man," Old Zhu sighed, leaning against the hospital bed, holding Cai Zhijian's hand. "Take good care of Mengmeng."
Cai Zhijian replied firmly, "Don't worry, Dad, I'll move back soon."
Zhu Mengmeng's expression brightened.
"You're not getting any younger. Don't just play around. Settle down and have a baby," Old Zhu advised Zhu Mengmeng again.
Zhu Mengmeng said "Oh."
"As for this mine..." Old Zhu hesitated for a moment, then said, "I really don't want it anymore... I plan to sell it to the state at market price; that's the most appropriate outcome, and it won't harm anyone. From now on, we'll just make teapots and sell tea ourselves—well, actually, it'll be incredibly profitable, enough to feed several kids."
Zhu Mengmeng had absolutely no interest in the mine, but she was quite amused by this: "That's how it should be. Let them go to the state. Those people haven't left yet; I'm afraid they'll come back for revenge."
Cai Zhijian smiled but didn't say anything.
Qiu Wuji said, "The possibility of a surprise attack is low, don't worry too much. But I have something else to ask your uncle. When the geological team came to investigate, were there any unusual circumstances?"
Old Zhu thought for a moment, "There were a few people who didn't quite look like members of the geological team. Oh, right, the leader looked a bit like Chu Ge, haha."
Chu Ge was taken aback: "Looked like me? How old was he?"
"Over fifty, I think. He was very handsome, with a mustache like Lu Xun, a bit of a scholar."
Chu Ge: "...Never mind then."
Qiu Wuji telepathically: "What? I wanted to ask that too..."
Chu Ge: "What? That's my dad. You can tell just by his flamboyant mustache. Otherwise, who else could be as handsome as me..."
Qiu Wuji: "..."
So that strange stone was left by Chu's father?
Left to observe this mine?
That stone is so strange… Seeing her thoughtful expression, Chu Ge telepathically said, "We'll talk about anything special later. At worst, we can ask my mother; she should understand everything then. It's better than guessing."
Qiu Wuji nodded.
Chu Ge said, "There's nothing more for us here. Qiu Qiu and I will head back first."
"I'll see you off." Zhu Mengmeng affectionately linked arms with Qiu Wuji as they walked out. "Qiu Qiu~ you're truly my benefactor. If I were the emperor, I'd definitely take you into my harem."
Chu Ge said irritably, "Hey, it's like I didn't do anything. You're just trying to steal my girlfriend away like this?"
Qiu Wuji laughed, "Like father, like daughter. Her father also acts like I didn't do anything, wanting to marry his daughter to you."
Zhu Mengmeng whispered with a grin, "Qiu Qiu looks so cute when she's jealous..."
"Hmph, who's jealous of him? You stinky pig! If you're so capable, go ahead and seduce him."
"I'm not capable, I'm afraid you'll beat me up." Zhu Mengmeng said with a grin, "Maybe my husband is capable. I even saw a line connecting him and Chu Ge. I wonder if it's friendship or bromance, hehe."
Qiu Wuji glanced at Chu Ge.
Chu Ge paused slightly, then chuckled nonchalantly, "Damn, I'm really not a male!"
Qiu Wuji asked, "Mengmeng, can you tell what these lines represent?"
"Except for the love line, which is relatively easy to recognize, I can't see the others." Zhu Mengmeng sighed slightly, "Maybe I'll be able to see them when I'm more skilled. Right now, it's not much different from my dad's unreliable fortune-telling. Everyone has some kind of connection line, including me and you."
Chu Ge asked casually, "Does Lao Cai and Zhong Yi have lines too?"
"They're acquaintances, so of course they do..."