With his eyes slightly closed, his phoenix eyes tapped against the stone door, and Ye Fan felt the vibrations of the stone door.
After a moment, Ye Fan stood up, a long-lost smile on his face.
"What's wrong?"
Shen Bao was puzzled. He had been fine just now, but why did he suddenly smile? Could he have made a new discovery?
Ye Fan gave him a mysterious look. "The mechanism is inside this stone door, and the way to activate it is different from the mechanisms we've commonly seen before. This place utilizes the principle of resonance."
Shen Bao and Liu Cheng exchanged glances, both filled with confusion.
How could there be resonance? It sounded very sophisticated.
But did the ancients understand resonance?
Looking at Ye Fan in surprise, Shen Bao's mind was full of question marks.
Seeing their expressions of disbelief, Ye Fan's lips curved into a smile, and he squatted down again.
He clenched his fist and began to knock on the stone door.
However, this time, the knocking was rhythmic, not as haphazard as before.
As Ye Fan knocked, the sound of the mechanism activating reappeared from within the stone door.
This sound made Shen Bao and Liu Cheng stare in astonishment.
"This, this is actually resonance?"
Shen Bao's face was full of shock, and even his eyebrows twitched.
Liu Cheng, on the other hand, was beaming. He hadn't expected that the stone door he had spent so long studying but couldn't open would be so easily cracked by Ye Fan.
As the two were still in shock, they heard another "crack" sound from the stone door, and then the stone door automatically opened slowly.
Ye Fan slowly stood up, a smile on his face. "Let's go in and take a look."
Radiating a sense of triumph, Ye Fan strode inside.
The interior of this palace had a similar construction style to the hall above. The floor was made of marble, inlaid so smoothly it was like a mirror, with not a single seam to be found.
"How did the ancients achieve this? With such craftsmanship, even modern people using tools might not be able to achieve it, right?"
Shen Bao couldn't help but be amazed, and as he stepped onto the floor, a sense of exhilaration welled up within him.
Liu Cheng beside him also sighed, "The wisdom of the ancients was extraordinary, far beyond that of modern people."
While they marveled, Ye Fan's gaze swept around the area. He saw two large vats at the base of the surrounding walls, and nothing else.
"Why are there vats placed there? Is there any special significance?"
Shen Bao frowned and asked in confusion.
Before Ye Fan could explain, Liu Cheng smiled and said, "Second Young Master, you may not know, but ancient architecture was mostly made of wood, making it prone to fires. Once a fire broke out, unlike today, it wasn't as convenient to extinguish fires. Due to a lack of firefighting tools, rescue efforts were often delayed, leading to buildings being reduced to ashes. To combat this, large vats like these were placed around major buildings. They were usually filled with water, so that in case of a fire, they could extinguish it immediately."
Hearing Liu Cheng's explanation, Shen Bao finally understood.
"So that's how it is. It seems the ancients were very wise." Shen Bao nodded repeatedly, greatly praising this practice.
"China has five thousand years of civilization. Throughout this time, there have been countless capable and extraordinary individuals, and countless inventions. Not to mention the Four Great Inventions that are world-renowned, even the various schools of thought and theories from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods are enough to showcase the wisdom of our ancestors."
Liu Cheng praised Ye Fan's words, nodding repeatedly.
Shen Bao also sighed, sincerely impressed.
The three of them walked up the white marble steps, crossed the seven-arched bridge, and then directly entered the great hall.
As this hall had been uninhabited for many years, it was covered in dust everywhere. However, even so, one could still discern its former glory.
"Generally speaking, treasures are hidden in the places they deem most important. In this hall, it should be somewhere here."
After carefully surveying the area, Ye Fan, without any hesitation, walked directly towards the throne in the hall.
Shen Bao and Liu Cheng were stunned, staring at Ye Fan.
If they were to search for treasure, they would definitely search this place from top to bottom, digging three feet deep.
But Ye Fan, after just one look, concluded that the treasure was at the throne. It was truly miraculous.
However, despite their shock, they still had some doubts about Ye Fan's judgment.
Their eyes were fixed on Ye Fan. He walked to the front of the throne, looked around it, and then suddenly lifted his foot and kicked the throne.
"Ye Fan, what are you doing?"
Seeing this, Shen Bao was startled and quickly stepped forward, asking in confusion.
Ye Fan's lips curved into a smile as he pointed at the broken base of the throne.
"You'll see."
Following Ye Fan's gaze, they saw that the base was hollow. Beneath it, a space dozens of meters deep had been excavated. Even from the outside, it was clear that it was filled with gold, silver, and precious jewels.
This sight completely shocked Shen Bao, who couldn't help but gasp.
Having grown up in the Liu family, he had seen plenty of grand occasions, but he had never seen so much gold, silver, and jewels.
Seeing Shen Bao frozen there, looking dazed, Liu Cheng quickly asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"
He hurried over, but when he saw the hidden treasures, he was equally stunned.
"We're rich, we're really rich now."
His Adam's apple bobbed as Liu Cheng swallowed repeatedly.
If all this gold and treasure were moved out, it would be an enormous fortune.
"I didn't expect the treasure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to be hidden here. If it weren't for Ye Fan this time, anyone else who came here might not have been able to find it."
Shen Bao recovered from his shock, his admiration for Ye Fan growing stronger.
From finding the palace where the treasure was hidden, then going down, and step by step reaching this point, finally finding the palace, it was truly admirable.
If it weren't for Ye Fan, anyone else would likely have returned empty-handed.
Liu Cheng nodded heavily. "Young Master Ye's methods are admirable, but..."
Looking at Ye Fan, Liu Cheng's lips suddenly curved into a mysterious and sinister smile.
Seeing this, Ye Fan frowned. "But what?"
"But you've just been doing the work for others."
Just then, footsteps were heard from outside, and then Liu Yuan, Zhao Danfeng, Wu Liuding, and Wang Qingfeng entered with more than a dozen people.
Seeing these people, Shen Bao's face changed drastically, and his expression instantly turned icy.
"Liu Cheng, so this was all your scheme. You weren't working for Liu Piaoxu at all; you were working for Liu Yuan!"
At this point, even an idiot would understand what was going on.
Liu Cheng burst into laughter. "If I hadn't said and done so, how could I have made you believe that I was truly one of Liu Piaoxu's people? And how would you have willingly searched for this treasure for me?"
He walked slowly towards Ye Fan, sizing him up with a playful glint in his eyes.
"Ye Fan, you are indeed smart, and you have great methods. Unfortunately, you are too young and inexperienced in the world. You are far from being able to compete with us."