Entering the Secret Passageway
There were quite a few bookshelves lined up in the basement. From the looks of it, there were at least a hundred of them, and the number of books they contained was uncountable. However, most of the papers that recorded the secret manuals had long since rotted and emitted an unpleasant moldy smell. Even if there were a few books that were lucky enough to escape, they had been devoured by bugs and rats.
Xia Fei knitted his eyebrows. He had never imagined that the so-called Seaview Tower would be like this. Normally, the books used to record martial arts would not be made of ordinary paper and would have to go through a special anti-corrosion treatment. The reason why the books in the basement were in such a state was obviously due to their age and poor management.
Walking along the narrow corridor, Xia Fei went deeper into the basement. The room was not too big, and ten or so minutes was enough for Xia Fei to go around.
Stopping, Xia Fei randomly picked out a relatively intact book from the bookshelf and took a look. The blurry words reflected in his eyes, and Xia Fei immediately felt a wave of dizziness.
Bedroom techniques? Xia Fei smiled and muttered to himself, Phantom, do you guys have nothing better to do? Phantom was speechless.
This was also his first time entering Seaview Tower, so he had no idea what was going on inside. Everything he knew about this storehouse came from word of mouth.
Xia Fei reached for another book from the bookshelf and took a closer look. It was a secret technique for growing vegetables, such as how to shorten the growth cycle of tomatoes by half and how to throw it away and pick it up again. This time, it was more or less reliable, but it was not practical. It was about how to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, which would make it convenient for certain leaders to show off their power at the table.
Xia Fei was completely helpless. The basement was obviously filled with worthless trash, which was why it was left there without any care.
Turning around and walking out of the basement, Xia Fei saw that hunchbacked old man waiting at the door with squinted eyes.
Old man, there is nothing I need here. Can I choose somewhere else? Xia Fei very politely asked. Although he hated this old man for making fun of him, he did not show it on his face.
The hunchbacked old man shook his head and said, "According to the rules of the Sea-overlooking Tower, a disciple can only enter one floor from the basement to the fifth floor. Since you have entered the basement, you have no chance to enter the other floors. If you want to enter the other floors, wait until next time."
There is such a rule? Xia Fei asked, a little angry.
The old man strode to the wall on the right side of the hall. This wall was covered in a thick layer of dust, like a layer of furry gray cloth.
The old man swept away the dust with a broom, revealing an alloy plate embedded in the wall. There were a few lines of text on it, confirming that what the old man said was true.
Xia Fei pursed his lips and snorted coldly, preparing to leave. This hunchbacked old man was clearly toying with him. Since Seaview Restaurant had such a rule, why didn't he mention it earlier? Instead, he just had to lure him to the trash basement.
'What martial arts secret manual? I don't care if you keep it to yourself,' Xia Fei thought to himself.
The hunchbacked elder suddenly extended a hand to block Xia Fei's path. "The sect master has ordered you to pick a suitable secret manual in Seaview Tower. You're not allowed to leave this place until you've made your choice."
Xia Fei laughed bitterly. These secret manuals are useless to me, so there's no need for me to choose.
The hunchbacked old man shook his head again. "That won't do. Since you're here, you must choose a secret manual to take away. Otherwise, you won't be able to explain yourself to the Sect Master."
His meaning was obvious. Xia Fei had to pick whether he wanted to or not. It wasn't up to him to decide.
Fortunately, Xia Fei was to pick a secret manual and not a woman. Although it was a little unsightly, it would not be too tragic. If the basement was filled with ugly women, and this hunchbacked old man insisted that Xia Fei pick one to take home, that would be a real tragedy.
Gritting his teeth, Xia Fei strode back to the basement and slammed the greasy alloy door shut. He cursed in the room alone.
He even suspected that this old thing was a little perverted from living in this cold and quiet big house for a long time. So much so that no matter who came here, he would play a trick on them to satisfy his own dark thoughts.
Although he was back in the basement, Xia Fei still had a headache thinking about how to pick a secret manual from all this mess of so-called secret manuals.
Actually, be it the Bedroom Technique or the Tomato Cultivation Technique, they were both somewhat useful to Xia Fei. It was said that the Bedroom Technique could create benefits when it was mastered. After all, a pretty boy could only look at him but not use him. If Xia Fei, who was a speed ability user, were to learn this ultimate technique, he would definitely be able to make those rich ladies hover between life and death, exclaiming in satisfaction.
Xia Fei shook his head and stopped his wild thoughts. He began to rummage through the bookshelves, hoping to find something slightly more practical. Even if he could not use it, it would still be good to give it to someone as a gift. He could just treat it as a souvenir from his trip to Nameless Planet.
There was a mural in the room, and it depicted an old man. The painting was not very exquisite, but it was quite imposing. It showed the murderous intent in the old man's chest subtly, as if the heavens were about to kill a god.
Xia Fei happened to come to this mural as he flipped through the books, so he stopped and casually looked at it.
The man in the mural did not hide the evil in his heart. His eyes were faintly glowing with a green light, as if he wanted to kill every living thing in the world. However, his eyes were slanted. Usually, people in a mural would either be looking forward or at the sky, but this man was different. He was staring at the ground under Xia Fei's feet with his large eyes.
Xia Fei inadvertently followed the man's gaze and looked at his feet. Suddenly, he keenly noticed that the floor under his feet was different from the others. The other places were paved with dark red stone slabs, but this stone slab had some faint traces of blood in it. It was as if blood had really seeped into the stone slab.
"Hmm?" Xia Fei lowered his head and brushed away the dust on the floor. This way, the abnormality of this peculiar stone slab was clearly visible.
If one were to look closely, they would discover that those thin traces of blood were actually flowing. Xia Fei used his sleeve to wipe his eyes. He wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. How could there be traces of blood flowing on a perfectly fine stone slab?
As it turned out, Xia Fei's eyes were not playing tricks on him. In fact, they were very sharp. Under Xia Fei's guidance, Phantom also discovered the subtleties within.
The man in the mural was looking at this stone slab, and this stone slab was different from the other stones in the room. As such, things had become very interesting.
Xia Fei flipped his finger around on the stone slab, hoping to find some sort of mechanism. Unfortunately, the stone slab was as smooth as a mirror. It did not seem like there was any mechanism at all.
Xia Fei furrowed his eyebrows and pondered for a moment. He then closed his eyes and placed his finger lightly on the floor, carefully sensing its aura.
Gradually, a violent killing intent was transmitted from Xia Fei's finger to his brain. The stone seemed to have a life of its own, as if it wanted to use this wild aura to force Xia Fei to stop.
Xia Fei smiled and mustered his killing intent to resist it. After all, it was just a stone. Even if it had some violent aura for some reason in the past, after so many years, this weak killing intent could not compete with Xia Fei at all.
Without much effort, Xia Fei used his killing intent to surround it.
All of a sudden, there was a creaking sound not far away. Xia Fei hurriedly got up to take a closer look. He saw a crack suddenly appear on the wall in front of him, just enough for one person to pass through. His killing intent had actually triggered some sort of mechanism!
The stone slab beneath his feet no longer had any killing intent. Even the cruel figure in the mural had returned to its normal perspective, his eyes looking forward.
Xia Fei and Phantom could not help but open their mouths wide. Such a strange thing was simply unheard of. A stone with killing intent, a mural with changing eyes. Just what in the world was going on?
Xia Fei was not in a hurry to pass through the crack in the door. He curiously went to the foot of the wall and observed the mural.
He was surprised to discover that not only did the direction of the person's eyes in the mural change, even that violent aura from before had disappeared. In the blink of an eye, the murderous star had turned into an ordinary old man!
Xia Fei's fingers danced on the wall. The paint gave it a warm texture. The places where the paint was applied were clearly thicker and more delicate than normal walls.
Gritting his teeth, Xia Fei decided to push aside the layer of paint to look inside.
That was when the door that had been opened began to quietly close up again!
Xia Fei only had 0.01 seconds to react. He stomped on the ground with both feet and took advantage of the crack in the door before it closed up with a whoosh! With a swoosh, he disappeared into the darkness.
* Snap! *
A dull sound could be heard. The door finally closed up, and Xia Fei entered a completely unfamiliar space.
Blinking his eyes, Xia Fei took a few seconds to adapt to the darkness.
This was a parallel passage, narrow and damp, leading to who knew where.
All the weapons and equipment he had on him had been taken away. Without any weapons, communication facilities, or even lighting, it was not wise to venture into this dark and long corridor alone.
What do we do? Phantom asked.
Xia Fei smiled. Since I'm already here, I might as well make the best of it. Who knows if there's some secret hidden in here? How can I be at ease if I don't take a look?
Phantom furrowed his eyebrows. Xia Fei was a very curious person, and it was precisely because of his curiosity that he would always attract a lot of trouble. His premonition had finally come true, and Xia Fei was once again surrounded by trouble. More importantly, even Xia Fei himself could not tell just what kind of trouble he was in, but his intuition was telling him to continue down this path.
Putting his finger in front of his nose and sniffing, Xia Fei said in a deep voice, The paint on the mural just now was mixed with human blood.
Gui Ying was startled. "Human blood? Are you sure?
Xia Fei nodded, flicking a small piece of paint that he had peeled off from his fingertip into the darkness. Yes. Though the smell of the paint has altered the blood aura, it still can't erase the unique fishy smell of human blood.
Phantom was speechless. Though Xia Fei was still young, he had taken many lives. Coupled with his keen senses, it was not difficult for him to distinguish the smell of blood from the paint on the ancient mural.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
