Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Yardley, King of Luck
Zachary Pierce came over, squatted down, and took a close look. "Looks like ginseng," he said. "If we dig it out carefully, we should be able to confirm."
Faye Yardley took a shovel out of her backpack. Seeing this, Mr. Alden immediately said, "Yardley, give me the shovel. I’ll dig. Just let me borrow this tool to dig for some kudzu root later. It’ll definitely be faster than using a long saber."
"Okay." Faye Yardley tossed the shovel to him without hesitation.
’She had always known she was lucky, but wasn’t this a bit ridiculous?’
She was just digging for ginseng, and she’d actually unearthed a huge underground cavern.
Caleb Colby glanced at the large cavern, then at Zachary Pierce. When Pierce nodded, Colby said, "Mr. Quinn, make the entrance bigger. I’ll go get the other teammates nearby."
Mr. Alden carefully handed a large ginseng plant to Faye Yardley, then began huffing and puffing as he started digging at the entrance.
Finn Ford didn’t just stand by and watch. He took out his Iron Axe and cleared away the surrounding weeds and small trees.
Zachary Pierce joined Mr. Alden in widening the entrance, using his two-meter-long saber as a digging tool.
Once the entrance was about a person’s height and width, sunlight could still filter through the layers of leaves and dapple the ground, but it clearly wasn’t bright enough to see inside the cave.
Faye Yardley took out a torch and was about to go straight in, but Zachary Pierce stopped her. "Give it to me. I’ll go check it out first. You wait here."
Taking the torch, Zachary Pierce had already swapped the long saber in his right hand for the Peerless Treasure Sword.
The entrance was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through. But two meters in, it suddenly opened up.
The torch burned steadily, which meant there was no lack of oxygen inside.
But it was pitch-black inside the cave, and a single torch could only illuminate a very limited area.
Faye Yardley popped her head out from behind him, looked around, and said, "Mr. Pierce, stick that torch you’re holding into the wall over there."
As she spoke, she had already taken another torch from her backpack. She walked over to the left side of the entrance on her own accord, took out her Sharp Dagger, and carved a hole in the cave wall to insert the torch’s handle.
With torches stuck into both sides of the entrance, the visible area became much larger—a big improvement over just holding one.
Mr. Alden widened the entrance a little more. Trying to expand it further would be much more difficult; the hardness of the outer earth and stone was nothing compared to what was inside.
This was as big as it was going to get. The earth and stones inside had clearly been reinforced, so at least they didn’t have to worry about a collapse.
After clearing the surrounding area, Finn Ford looked around, chopped down two more trees, and then followed them into the cave.
By now, torches had been placed at intervals along the inner walls of the cave, illuminating the interior quite clearly.
The cave was very dry. The problem was, it also looked quite clean, which meant there was probably nothing in it.
"There’s a fork up ahead. We’ll stick to the right. I’ll make a mark first." Without much hesitation, Zachary Pierce carved a symbol on the cave wall with his Treasure Sword and turned into the right-hand passage.
Faye Yardley didn’t waste words, pulling out another torch as she followed him to the right.
"Just how many torches did you bring?"
"Only ten in total. This is the sixth one, so I’m almost out," Faye Yardley replied, then said in surprise, "Mr. Pierce, wait. I think there’s a secret room on the side."
"A secret room?"
Zachary Pierce stopped and looked at the walls. The passage was wide enough for two people to walk abreast at most, and aside from the chisel marks on either side, he couldn’t see any sign of a secret room.
Faye Yardley handed her torch to him, drew Light Wound, and slashed at the wall behind them. It cut through like a knife through tofu, instantly opening a gash.
Pieces of stone fell inside, and they could hear a hollow echo.
"So there really is a secret room. Stand back, let me try."
As he spoke, Zachary Pierce took two steps back, braced himself, and kicked hard at the opening. A large section of the wall shattered.
The secret room wasn’t large. A wooden chest sat in the corner. Just as Zachary Pierce was about to open it, Faye Yardley stepped forward. "Mr. Pierce, I’m the King of Luck. Let me do it."
"Hold on. Let me check if it’s dangerous."
After he confirmed it was safe, Faye Yardley went over and opened the large, waist-high wooden chest.
[Acquired ginseng seeds x10, High Level Brocade x5, Treasure Map Fragment x1, key x1]
Talent triggered... rewards tripled.
Fortunately, the tripled items appeared directly in her backpack.
’This way, I don’t have to worry about opening chests in front of others anymore, as long as my backpack is big enough.’
’Speaking of which, ever since I started wearing the lucky hairpin, my Talent has never triggered for just one extra copy.’
"Mr. Pierce, you should hold on to all this stuff."
Zachary Pierce grunted in acknowledgment, then said, "Alright. We’ll split it after we get out."
There was nothing else left in the small secret room.
Mr. Alden and Finn Ford had caught up by this point. Finn Ford glanced at their surroundings and said, "Pierce, Yardley, I felt my way along the walls outside but didn’t find anything unusual."
Mr. Alden said, "How about Ford and I go check the left passage? Colby should be back with the others soon."
Faye Yardley never interjected when it came to their plans.
"There are only four of us right now, let’s stick together. None of us know what dangers we might run into later." Zachary Pierce felt there was no need to be reckless.
’Besides, to be honest, we probably wouldn’t find anything if we left Faye’s side.’
’Sometimes, you really could use her as a good luck charm.’
Faye Yardley pointed to the opposite wall. "Try kicking that open, a little further in."
Mr. Alden slapped the wall next to him. "Here?"
"No, a little further in."
"Here? This spot?"
When Faye Yardley nodded, he let out a shout, gathered his strength, and slammed his back against the wall. With a CRACK and a RUMBLE, the wall caved in.
A foul stench wafted out.
A swarm of black, squeaking rats quickly scurried out from inside. The group dispatched all the fleeing rats before entering the small secret room.
The smell was too foul, so Faye Yardley put on a mask.
She didn’t go inside, but Faye Yardley’s sharp eyes spotted a glint of gold amidst a pile of black, unidentifiable objects in the corner.
"There seems to be something under that pile of stuff. Mr. Ford, could you go poke it and see?"
The space inside was really tight, making it hard to find a foothold. Finn Ford chose the nearest rock and poked at the pile with his spear. Then, with a cry of "Whoa!", he ignored the stench, walked right in, and carried out a small chest that had a hint of a golden edge.
Faye Yardley immediately jumped back and said to Zachary Pierce, "Mr. Pierce, your Luck Value isn’t low either. You do it."
Zachary Pierce: ...
Finn Ford, holding the small chest, looked at the three of them standing at least two steps away. "You guys don’t have to be like that. What if there’s something good in here? It’s even locked. It probably needs a key to open."
"Ahem... Mr. Pierce has the key."
Zachary Pierce gave Faye Yardley a long, hard look. "Yardley, you King of Luck."
