Chapter 40
Clearly, when Shen Jinfeng had comforted the others back at the wooden cabin by saying they would take a different direction in the afternoon, it had truly only been a comforting statement.
Knowing there were tigers in the mountain, yet deliberately heading toward Tiger Mountain.
After hearing Shen Jinfeng’s decision, Qin Ye stopped walking.
Not only did he stop himself, he also grabbed Shen Jinfeng and stopped him too.
Shen Jinfeng: “?”
Qin Ye pressed his lips together. “Do we have to go back to that place?”
To be honest, although Mo Fan had been the one to fall in this morning, Qin Ye still felt lingering fear.
Shen Jinfeng nodded. “It’s fine. We’ll be more careful this time. Besides, the two of us are traveling together. Even if one of us really falls into the swamp again, won’t the other still be beside him?”
Moreover, even if he were alone, saving himself from a swamp would not be difficult.
Qin Ye stared fixedly at him. He really wanted to say, You truly are skilled and bold.
But in the end, he still did not stop him aloud.
Shen Jinfeng tilted his head up slightly. His clear, cool eyes were filled entirely with Qin Ye’s reflection.
“Qin Ye, I’ll protect you.”
???
!!!
Qin Ye remained standing in place in the same posture. His originally direct gaze was suddenly burned, and he lowered his eyes in a flustered, wretched manner.
Or rather, it was not just his gaze that had been burned.
The fingertips holding Shen Jinfeng’s arm slowly grew stiff, unable to move at all.
The roots of his ears, already prone to reddening, flushed scarlet a few seconds later, nearly dripping blood.
Seeing his expression, Shen Jinfeng could not help curving the corners of his lips. Then he quietly tried to control it again.
He patted Qin Ye’s shoulder. “So don’t be afraid.”
Qin Ye nodded slowly, his expression so stiff it seemed cold.
Shen Jinfeng was delighted.
How could this secret admirer be so easily embarrassed? He really could not withstand teasing at all.
He had only said one slightly intimate sentence that could not even be considered a love line, yet Qin Ye had already blushed.
Tsk.
He seemed very easy to coax.
Shen Jinfeng asked him, “Are you usually like this too?”
Qin Ye looked at him with sharp, handsome brows and eyes, his attention focused. “Like what?”
He really was a little dazed.
Shen Jinfeng was silent for a moment, his eyes bright with unconcealed amusement. “Nothing. Just follow me.”
“Wait.” Qin Ye stopped him again.
“Mm? What else?”
Shen Jinfeng tugged his arm, but Qin Ye was still gripping it tightly, so he could not pull free.
He turned around and softened his tone. “You’re that scared? Then how about you wait here? I’ll go and come back soon.”
“I—I—I have something I don’t know whether I should say, but I really can’t hold it in. Qin Ye, what’s going on with you!!! Don’t tell me I got the positions wrong!”
“Instantly understood… I always thought this was unquestionable, but after seeing how God Ye and Big Boss Shen get along privately, I suddenly feel confused.”
“Help, Big Boss Shen is so good at flirting! Wuwu, if I were there, my face would definitely be redder than Qin Ye’s!”
“Qin Ye, you block of wood! You can’t even say thank you! You only know how to blush, blush, blush. What use is blushing? Let’s not even compare you to Little Qi and Little Purple Hair. Even Mo Fan knew to say he would never refuse anything in the future! You actually say nothing!”
“Ahhh! No! I only just became a fan of Big Boss Shen! This is my first time stanning a celebrity! This is my husband! He’s clearly like this with everyone! He’s like this with the other guests too! Everything that just happened doesn’t mean anything at all!”
“That’s right! It’s all because Big Boss Shen speaks so ambiguously! It’s not strange for God Ye to blush at all, okay? Even kindergarten children blush when praised by their teacher!”
“Solo fans, keep struggling. I’ll just smile and say nothing, hahaha. Big Boss Shen is really so gong. But Qin Ye, with that face of yours, if you tell me you’re the shou, I really can’t accept it!!!”
“I’m laughing myself to death. A gay-circle dreamboat becoming a bottom for love, is that it? Hahaha.”
“What are you saying? Big Boss Shen is the new generation’s gay-circle dreamboat!”
“So… God Ye, can you man up a little? You’re not really scared, are you? Big Boss Shen isn’t scared. You’re following Big Boss Shen, and you’re still scared?”
In front of the screen, Madam Yun also frowned in disdain.
“Qin Jianfeng, is your son this cowardly?”
Qin Jianfeng said, “He’s our son.”
Madam Yun: “…”
Fortunately, Qin Ye did not stay cowardly to the end.
Meeting Shen Jinfeng’s tolerant gaze, Qin Ye felt somewhat speechless.
Although Shen Jinfeng had immediately said he would protect him, which moved him a little—yes, only a tiny bit—
How could Shen Jinfeng treat him like a coward who feared death! Was he the kind of person who would abandon a teammate?
If he did that, how sad would Shen Jinfeng be?
Qin Ye pressed his lips together, but he could not say anything reproachful. He was afraid his tone would be too heavy, rejecting Shen Jinfeng’s kindness and making him sad.
And so, Shen Jinfeng only saw the pressure around the young man opposite him drop slightly.
It seemed that hearing him say that had made Qin Ye a little unhappy.
“What exactly is wrong?” Forgive him for not understanding what people in love could imagine every single moment.
Qin Ye glanced at him, and that glance actually looked somewhat aggrieved.
“Little Captain, hold onto me.”
“Mm?” So scared he needed to be held?
Qin Ye let go of the hand gripping his arm and instead lifted Shen Jinfeng’s hand. After hesitating for a moment, he did not hold it. Instead, he placed Shen Jinfeng’s hand on his own arm.
It was equivalent to switching their positions.
“You follow me. I’ll walk in front.” His tone was stiff, but his brows and eyes were exceptionally serious.
Shen Jinfeng’s fingertips, which had subconsciously moved, paused.
He froze for a moment. Only after a few seconds did he react.
His cool, clear brows and eyes curved in a gentle arc, and he accepted naturally. “All right.”
“!!! Wuwuwu, Qin Ye, I wrongly blamed you!”
“You follow me, I’ll walk in front! This line isn’t a love line, but it’s better than one! It’s clearly so ordinary, but it makes people feel so touched! God Ye wants to protect his little captain from danger!”
“Hahahahaha, I was originally a little moved, but after the sister before me analyzed it, she made me laugh. Why can’t it be that God Ye thinks Little Captain is more reliable, and if something happens to him, Little Captain can still save him?”
“No, sister above, are you allergic to romance?”
“So God Ye is someone who proves things through action. Actions speak louder than words! Big Boss Shen, men who’ve never dated before are just this wooden. For the sake of his strong execution ability and handsome face, please tolerate him a little.”
“You brat, you actually dare to let Big Boss Shen hold onto you! You really took advantage of him! I don’t care. Holding his arm rounds up to holding hands. Rounding up again, that’s a hug. Rounding up again, they can kiss. Rounding up again, it’s doi!”
“Pfft, sisters, underwear is falling all over the floor!”
“No, does no one think my guess makes sense? Is Qin Ye afraid that if something happens to Big Boss Shen, he won’t have the ability to save him? Big Boss Shen might think Qin Ye is like Little Qi and Shengsheng, all little kids who need to be accommodated.”
“Yes, yes, yes. No one thinks so. Only you think so. Are you satisfied?”
The bullet comments were chaotic and noisy, like people asking for red envelopes amid the sound of firecrackers during the New Year.
Qin Ye and Shen Jinfeng knew nothing of any of this.
The two of them walked slowly through the forest, one in front and one behind.
After the lesson from the morning, Qin Ye now walked every step slowly and steadily, constantly paying attention to the ground underfoot and the surrounding environment.
Shen Jinfeng followed leisurely and did not bother saying anything.
This was a road they had already taken once in the morning. They had not even started exploring a new map yet. There really was nothing to panic about.
Even though they walked very slowly, after a little over twenty minutes, the two arrived near the swamp where Mo Fan had gotten into trouble in the morning.
Shen Jinfeng let go of Qin Ye’s arm and carefully walked along the outer edge of the swamp.
Only when he was more than half a meter away from the swamp did he stop.
Qin Ye stood to the side, his brows already tightly furrowed.
He gripped tightly onto the leaf rope Shen Jinfeng had handed him earlier.
“Be careful,” he could not help reminding him.
Shen Jinfeng waved his hand with his back to him. After a while, he finally stopped and half-crouched on the ground.
What made people breathe a little easier was that at least this place was relatively far from the swamp.
He had circled around the swamp and run to the other side of the ma bamboo shoots.
Shen Jinfeng took out the military knife he had brought, held it in his hand, and turned it lightly. It was a very simple movement, yet it had an indescribable clean, carefree grace.
Then, after stunning the viewers once, he aimed the tip of the military knife at the ground in front of him and stabbed it down hard.
When he pulled it out again, it brought up a deep clump of soil.
Then he began digging.
“??? What is Big Boss Shen doing? Why did he suddenly start digging for no reason?”
“Big Boss Shen said earlier that he discovered something… Could it be that he has fiery golden eyes and can see through the ground to know there’s something good hidden underneath?”
“Could there be something delicious underground?”
Qin Ye walked to Shen Jinfeng’s side and crouched down with him. “Should I help?”
Shen Jinfeng nodded. “Okay.”
The two began digging together.
Although Qin Ye had already started working and also believed that Shen Jinfeng had his own reasons for doing things, after they had dug down more than thirty centimeters and Shen Jinfeng still had not stopped, Qin Ye could not help asking, “Are you looking for something?”
Shen Jinfeng kept moving his hands and mused, “Hard to say right now. Let’s dig a few meters first and see.”
A few meters?
Qin Ye was silent for a moment.
If this were outside, and his company’s employees—no, even if his parents—asked him to do something this foolish-looking without giving a reason, he would most likely turn around and leave without even bothering to say a word.
But after pausing for two seconds, he picked up the military knife and still followed along to dig.
The two moved quickly, both having strength in their hands and barely stopping. Even so, they dug for nearly two hours.
They dug a hole more than two meters deep.
Shen Jinfeng stood directly down inside it.
The color of the soil had gone from yellow-brown at the beginning to black, then mixed with a little bluish tint. Unlike the swamp on the side, which was so wet and soft, the soil here actually became increasingly compact.
Finally, after seeing the freshly dug soil, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he stopped digging.
The newest soil was somewhat strange.
Inside the black-blue mud, no one knew what was mixed in, but it actually carried some dazzling, beautiful blue crystalline objects.
Shen Jinfeng reached out and wiped a bit of that blue crystal-like substance from the military knife. He rubbed it between his fingertips. His face showed no obvious change in expression, but his brows and eyes clearly relaxed quite a bit.
He shoveled up a layer of mud, then looked up.
Qin Ye understood immediately. After crouching down, he reached his hand down, seeming to want to pull him up.
Shen Jinfeng froze for a moment but did not refuse.
He held Qin Ye’s hand, exerted force with his feet, and jumped out of the hole.
“What is this?” Qin Ye asked in confusion, pointing at the blue crystals on the military knife.
But Shen Jinfeng suddenly raised a thumb and pressed it against his lips. “Shh.”
“Qin Ye, let me ask you something.”
His expression was serious, as if he were about to ask something grave and important.
Qin Ye also became a little more serious. “Ask.”
“Have you ever read tomb-robbing novels before?”
“Ah?” Qin Ye shook his head. “No.”
The only novels he had read were ancient and modern classics. He had never read this kind of online novel.
Shen Jinfeng said “Oh.” “That’s a pity. No wonder you don’t know.”
Smiling, he pointed at the blue-black soil inside the deep hole.
There were bits of blue crystals mixed into the soil, probably some unknown mineral.
“Look. Beneath the rammed earth is blue paste mud. There’s obviously a tomb underneath.”
“And it’s an ancient tomb from a very long time ago.”
“If we go inside and pick up a few things…” Shen Jinfeng’s eyes carried obvious amusement as he deliberately kept him in suspense.
Qin Ye did not react. How had an ordinary forest suddenly turned into a tomb?
“What would happen?” he asked along with Shen Jinfeng’s words.
The corners of Shen Jinfeng’s mouth could no longer contain his smile. “Well, it would be illegal.”
Qin Ye: “…”
He was silent for a moment. “Are you serious?”
“I am.” Shen Jinfeng restrained his smile slightly.
He looked around at the different directions of the forest and explained to Qin Ye, “It shelters wind and gathers qi. Plants grow vigorously. The ridges overlap in layers. Moisture opens the foundation. It’s an excellent feng shui treasure land, very suitable for a tomb.”
He pointed at the pit below. “If we dig another dozen meters or so, we should be able to reach the tomb. Do you want to try?”
Shen Jinfeng spoke confidently, and his expression genuinely did not seem fake.
Not only Qin Ye, but even the netizens watching the livestream fell silent, curious, shocked, and half-believing, half-doubting.
“No, is Big Boss Shen serious?”
“When he said the first sentence, I thought he was joking. When he said the second sentence, I half believed it. By the third sentence, my hair was standing on end! Although I don’t understand it, after hearing him say it, why am I so scared? A tomb, help. Now when I look at this forest, I feel gloomy winds everywhere.”
“I have a little bit of research in this area. Earlier, I was only focused on watching the livestream. After hearing Big Boss Shen say that, and with the livestream giving a panoramic view, I only just realized what he said is true! Sheltering wind and gathering qi, flourishing plants—it really fits tomb feng shui!!!”
“What decent person builds a tomb in this kind of place? Holy crap. Although the production team created a virtual world, they definitely took references from the real world. Could it be someone who drifted onto the island in the past, died, and was buried there?”
“No, sisters above, how are you all missing the point? You’re afraid it’s a dead person’s tomb? Didn’t you hear Big Boss Shen say tomb robbery? Who would bother robbing an ordinary family’s tomb? If it can be called illegal, they couldn’t have discovered some great tomb of a historical figure, right?”
This netizen’s guess was very accurate.
Qin Ye knew nothing about tombs, but he had no curiosity about digging them either.
“Little Captain, you understand feng shui too?” he asked Shen Jinfeng. “So you saw something unusual here and came back because you wanted to try archaeology?”
He thought for a moment and used the rather particular word “archaeology.”
After all, saying “tomb robbery” did not sound very nice, and it was indeed illegal.
“You want to see what treasures are inside?” he lowered his voice and asked Shen Jinfeng.
His expression was also somewhat conflicted.
Qin Ye had never imagined that there would be a day when he would speak so sneakily, even though there was clearly no one around them.
Shen Jinfeng was interestedly wiping soil from the military knife. Seeing Qin Ye’s nervous expression, he could not help laughing.
“Do you know why I brought you with me?”
Qin Ye froze. What other reason could there be?
Was it not because they were on the same team today, and then… then because Shen Jinfeng liked him?
Because he liked him… so they would share blessings together?
Archaeology and treasure digging together?
He hesitated, then asked carefully, “What dynasty’s antiques do you like? My family has quite a few collections. Next time, I can take you to see them. If you like any piece, I can give it to you.”
He tactfully tried to persuade Shen Jinfeng.
There was really no need to personally rob anything, right?
Shen Jinfeng could not hold it in anymore.
“Qin Ye, you really are interesting.”
That subtle feeling of racking his brains to persuade him to turn back from the shore, yet seeming as if he could go along with him in wrongdoing in the next second—hahaha.
He stopped keeping him in suspense. “Didn’t you say before that you know the president of Peking University?”
“After we get out, contact the president of Peking University and ask him to find some teachers from the archaeology department to come take a look.”
Based on his experience and past understanding, Peking University’s archaeology department was generally very impressive and usually had academicians overseeing it.
This was an excellent feng shui location for a tomb. Combined with the soil he had dug out after digging several meters just now, it could almost be confirmed that it was at least a large tomb from before the Han Dynasty.
At that time, burial culture had been flourishing. If the archaeology succeeded, they would probably dig up many good things.
How good?
Probably cultural relics at the level of treasures of the Capital Museum.
After all, in a certain world, he had once worked as an underling with a tomb-robbing gang for a period of time.
Later, he had killed the leader who tried to double-cross others and became the leader of a tomb-robbing team himself. The various experiences afterward would not be elaborated on.
Finally, he had been recruited by that small world’s national archaeology team.
Shen Jinfeng analyzed it in his heart and truly felt his hands itching a little.
But this was a peaceful world. He had come here to retire. He had no desire at all to be wanted by the law or recruited again.
Such an opportunity could only be handed to the official team. If he wanted to see what was underneath, he would have to wait until later and go to the Capital Museum.
After hearing Shen Jinfeng say this, Qin Ye completely relaxed.
So he only wanted to use him to find academicians from the archaeology department.
He felt ashamed of the baseless guesses he had made about Shen Jinfeng just now.
“No problem. After we get out, I’ll contact the president of Peking University. Also, my grandfather knows some archaeologists too. I’ll ask my grandfather to help mention it then.”
His grandfather was getting older. No one knew when he had developed the habit of collecting antiques.
After mentioning it later, it would not be difficult to assemble an archaeological team to come here.
He planned to privately invite an archaeological team himself as well, so as not to make too huge a fuss.
If there really was a discovery, it would be reasonable for those archaeologists to write a report and submit it afterward.
Shen Jinfeng nodded. He picked up a pinch of the crystalline blue mineral from the soil and showed it to Qin Ye.
“This mineral is very special and very beautiful. Can you also contact the president of Peking University and ask professors from the materials department to help study and analyze it? Maybe it’ll be useful.” He smiled as he spoke casually, as if it were just a passing suggestion.
But in fact, this was the main reason he had specifically run back and nearly dug up a tomb.
Blue crystals, attached to deep layers of soil, had extremely strict requirements for the surrounding environment.
In that tomb-robbing world, coincidentally, he had discovered them near a large Western Zhou pit.
Because in the world before that, he had been doing scientific research.
When he saw these blue crystals while robbing tombs, he became very curious.
They were a rare mineral he had never seen before.
Shen Jinfeng had always been the type to do whatever he thought of. Sometimes, for the sake of a wildly imaginative idea or because he suddenly wanted to learn something, he would even occasionally delay mission progress.
Who would believe it?
A tomb robber paid out of his own pocket to build a chemistry laboratory and personally researched and analyzed minerals?
And surprisingly, all kinds of strange and unusual tombs buried deep underground could actually reveal many useful minerals.
This blue crystalline mineral had a tremendous effect on improving the heat resistance of spacecraft.
Later, scientists in that world used this material to successfully land on Mars.
It was also because of his outstanding contribution that he had later been recruited instead of performing a song of tears behind prison bars…
Back to the present, because he looked as if he had only casually mentioned it out of curiosity or playfulness, Qin Ye agreed and did not take it to heart.
“Okay.” It was just asking a materials professor to test it. A small matter.
The netizens watching the livestream also did not take this matter to heart at all. Their attention was entirely focused on the archaeology Shen Jinfeng had mentioned earlier.
“Production team, hurry and announce which places this deserted island’s data was simulated from! Maybe this is the next new archaeological discovery!”
“Although it sounds very fantastical, Big Boss Shen is practically invincible in this show. The things he says have never failed!”
“Exactly. Anyway, archaeologists drill into all kinds of remote corners every day. Don’t ask how I know. Going to the feng shui treasure land Big Boss Shen mentioned to have a look wouldn’t hurt!”
“I just don’t know whether the excellent tomb feng shui treasure land Big Boss Shen mentioned was directly simulated by the production team from a specific place, or synthesized from multiple locations.”
In front of the screen, Sun Xinping: “…”
How had Shen Jinfeng found more work for him in the short time he had not watched the livestream?
And why did it sound a little believable?
Although he did not know any Peking University president.
After spending so many years in this industry, he still had sensitivity.
“Goat, where did you simulate the place they’re standing now from?”
The netizens were right. Although the virtual world was virtual, its scenery, landforms, environment, and even weather were all generated by the production team after running all over the country and beyond to collect data and simulate reality.
In a certain sense, every location in the virtual world could find a corresponding counterpart in reality.
It was precisely because of this that previous guests had never discovered anything off.
The head of the equipment team sighed. He was also a little excited and curious. He left one person to watch the livestream, then went with the others to review the virtual world’s data and compare it to find the real-world filming reference.
In reality, Sun Xinping’s premonition was correct.
After several days, the president of Peking University once again received countless tags from schoolteachers, family members, and students.
When Qin Jianfeng messaged him because Madam Yun urged him to, he had already received an application from a professor in the archaeology department.
The archaeology professor actually said that the soil Shen Jinfeng dug up in the program really did look somewhat convincing. It seemed like there really might be a great tomb underneath.
The Peking University president: This is simply absurd beyond belief!
When the archaeology professor urged him to ask the production team for the address, his mood was: …
So why did everyone think of him whenever something happened on this show?
It was all Qin Jianfeng’s son’s fault!
He bluntly asked Qin Jianfeng, “Old Qin, I know you must have invested in that show ‘Being Human.’ Give me the address. Let me tell you, if I help you organize Old Gu and the others to go do archaeology, you’ll owe me a favor.”
Qin Jianfeng replied impolitely, “Come on. Do you think I don’t know what kind of person you are? Let Old Gu lead the team? You’ve already decided on the specific personnel, haven’t you? Old Gu came to you himself, didn’t he?”
The president of Peking University was ashamed.
Qin Jianfeng casually added, “But if they really discover that blue mineral or whatever, have the professors from your school’s materials department help test it. Consider that repayment for the favor you owed me before.”
The president of Peking University spat. “Fine. I wouldn’t have the nerve to call such a small matter a favor anyway. Just donate another building to me later.”
Qin Jianfeng laughed twice on the phone and agreed.
Qin Ye did not know how hard his parents were working for his love outside the screen.
He saw that Shen Jinfeng was no longer obsessed with digging, but still seemed to be in a good mood.
“Is there any other good news?”
Shen Jinfeng smiled and nodded. “Yes.”
“I was originally wondering whether we had drifted onto some overseas deserted island that’s rarely visited, whether we were somewhere very remote, or even tens of thousands of miles away from our homeland.”
Qin Ye also reacted, his eyes brightening slightly.
Shen Jinfeng pointed at the pit by their feet. “But even the tomb belongs to our ancestors.”
“If this deserted island isn’t within our country, then at most, it’s in a small neighboring country. It can’t be too far away.”
In front of the screen, Sun Xinping instantly felt all the hair on his body stand up.
No way. That worked too?
He could even analyze it like that?
