As a result, Zhang Haike used his own strategy to conduct explosions every two hours. These explosions not only failed to attract the Muffled Oil Bottle but instead triggered the mechanisms above the entire ancient city. Zhang Haike said, “After the ancient city was submerged, the local government not only did not excavate it but also built a lake and sealed the dam above the ruins of the ancient city, injecting a large amount of mercury into the silt above the ancient city to seal it off, which is quite strange behavior.

“At that time, some speculated that the flood that suddenly hit the ancient city was not a natural disaster, but rather that someone wanted to bury some secrets within this ancient city, completely sealing it off. After injecting the mercury, a mixture of lime and clay was poured over it, completely enclosing the area wrapped in mercury.”

Zhang Haike and his group used explosives deep underground in the ancient city, disrupting the balance of sand and stones inside the city, resulting in the overall collapse of the ancient city. A large number of cracks appeared on the lime and clay that had covered it, causing mercury vapor to leak out and killing all the vegetation on the surface.

The Muffled Oil Bottle had already exited the ancient city at that time and discovered this situation, which led to the story that Big Golden Tooth had previously recounted. After hearing everything Zhang Haike said, my head felt a bit swollen. Zhang Haike continued, “This is what your friend once did.”

“And then he rescued you?” I asked.

Zhang Haike nodded, “Yes, but the process was not as simple as you might think. If I were to tell you, it would be quite an exciting story. However, first, we already know the secrets beneath the ancient city; second, while many things might be fascinating, you two are quite experienced in this line of work, so those strange and bizarre things may not pique your interest. Therefore, I’ll skip over that and just say that after he rescued us, he parted ways with us. We happened to meet again in the family later, but there wasn’t much conversation. You know, he became more powerful and his status rose higher, soon reaching a level where we could no longer communicate, and thus we lost contact.”

“Just a side note,” the Fatty asked at this moment, “You said it was during the Republic of China, Boss, you were fifteen at the time; how old are you now?”

“To ask someone’s age is a very impolite act,” Zhang Haike replied. “I can only tell you one thing: your guess is definitely inaccurate.”

Zhang Haixing glanced at me, seemingly touched by something. I looked at her, and she angrily said, “What are you looking at? Just call me ‘sister,’ and if you have any nonsense, I’ll take care of you.”

The Fatty turned to me, moving his lips: “We’ve caught Zhang Granny’s sore spot.”

Before his lips could close, a bowl of butter tea was splashed on the Fatty’s face. I turned around and saw Zhang Haixing angrily leaving.

“At such an old age, she has no manners at all,” the Fatty wiped his face and said, “Fortunately, the tea is cold.” He then asked Zhang Haike, “Has your sister gotten married yet?”

“Not yet, she’s not in a hurry about that,” Zhang Haike replied.

“A few hundred years old and still a spinster,” the Fatty said, glancing at me. “We’d better stay away from such people; I, Fatty, am too lazy to serve a woman with hormonal imbalances.”

I asked Zhang Haike, “So what happened next? Is there anything else you can tell me?”

“Let me put it this way: you want to know the details of this person’s life, but I can’t tell you too much. He is quite mysterious within our family, as the Zhang family head has access to numerous secrets, making it difficult for us to track his movements. The Zhang family is very open-minded in some aspects, but certain customs are very traditional and dark; violating family rules can lead to severe punishments.” Seeing my expression of regret, he immediately added, “I can outline the trajectory of his actions over the years. After you hear it, you should still gain some insights, since you are close to him and know many details that we are unaware of.”

I thought to myself that I didn’t know much at all, but since he was so intent on sharing, I kept my composure. He continued, “When he was about eight or nine years old, he was taken into the ancient city of Sizhou, where he was used for blood collection and as a laborer. After that, he likely learned about the secrets buried within the ancient city, which I now know to be the token on the Zhang family head.

“I deduced this from the history of Sizhou. There was a time when the Zhang family experienced internal strife, with two factions secretly battling within the city, possibly attempting to assassinate the family head. The outcome of that conflict was that someone broke the dam, flooding the entire city. Moreover, to prevent the Zhang family from uncovering the truth, the conspirators controlled the government to completely seal off the ancient city. Later, the ancient city was buried, but there was something on the body of the Zhang family head that was buried alongside it.

I heard from Zhang Haike that it was a bronze bell. Now we know that the Zhang family has studied and controlled the hexagonal bell, although they still cannot fully comprehend its mysteries. However, compared to ordinary people, they can already use the hexagonal bell. The family head’s hexagonal bell is different from other bells for two reasons: first, it is very large, almost the size of a cowbell; second, it produces a very faint sound, but once heard, it can clear one’s mind and stabilize the soul. In simpler terms, it can negate the effects of other bronze bells.

The family head must have worn this bell to ward off misfortune. Additionally, there is a crucial point: within the Zhang family’s ancestral home, there is a room that only the family head can enter. Each time there is a transition between old and new leadership, the old family head is inside the room, and the new family head enters with the body to bring it out. If the old family head miscalculates his time of death, they might have to stay in there for several years until the old family head completely passes away.

Inside this room, there are various secrets from China’s dynasties, books, scrolls, cultural relics, and artifacts—all discoveries that the Zhang family has unearthed from underground over the years.

Outside this room is a long corridor leading to it, and the corridor and the room are filled with hexagonal bells of all kinds, with no dead angles. Just touching one will cause a person to go mad.

This room was later moved to the bottom of the Zhang family’s ancient building and placed in their ancestral tomb. The various secrets inside are categorized into different levels, with the most important one referred to as the ‘Ultimate.'”

The key point here is that the head of the Zhang family died within the city of Sizhou. The previous head of the Zhang family knew the secrets of the world, while the subsequent head only inherited a powerful family. However, the secret within that stone room is the mission and reason for the existence of this vast family. From that moment on, the Zhang family lost its reason for existence, and the crisis began to manifest.

At that time, the group of Zhang family members that Men Youping was part of aimed to excavate a hexagonal bell from the underground of the ancient city of Sizhou. We cannot speculate whether their intentions were good or bad; we only know that such actions led to a violent conflict within the family, and this group was killed within the ancient city of Sizhou.

However, it is clear that Men Youping obtained that bell. He later entered the room of the Zhang family’s ancient building, where he learned about the mission and purpose of the Zhang family, as well as the existence of the “ultimate.”

Therefore, in the following course of his life, he did two things. By that time, the Zhang family had already fallen apart. After he became the head of the family, he began to fulfill the mission of the Zhang family members once again. He utilized the power of the Old Nine Gates, and then he evidently went to see what was referred to as the “ultimate.”

To infer further, the situation should be like this: the “ultimate” should be the core of what could be described as the greatest secret discovered by the Zhang family a long time ago. Men Youping originally knew of this secret’s existence, but later he personally went to see that secret—the secret behind the giant bronze ancient door beneath the mountains and rivers.

Who built that door? What kind of world lies behind it?

“Alright, allow me to keep you in suspense. If you want to know more, then join us.”

“One last question.” I sighed, feeling that I had been mostly persuaded. I asked him, “What exactly did Men Youping leave in the snow-capped mountains?”

“It was that bronze hexagonal bell,” Zhang Haike replied. “With this object, we can enter the Zhang family’s ancient building and see what secrets the Zhang family has protected for so many centuries.”