I'm Already the Richest Man, Why Did My System Just Arrive?

Chapter 319: Chapter 187: Underground River

Xie Luohe had made all the arrangements.

They followed the path a Mountain Wanderer had carved up the mountain. Tucked into a fissure in the sharp rock face, they pulled aside a curtain of vines, revealing a cave entrance wide enough for two people to pass through.

”I seriously doubt Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault would be in a... dump like this.”

Zheng Xiu said, his eye twitching as he gazed into the pitch-black cave entrance, so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

Xie Luohe smiled. ”But wasn’t it you, the great Grand Painter Gongsun, who declared ’Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault is on Ba Mountain’ after you uncovered the secrets of the Painting Saint’s Four Seasons Map?”

Zheng Xiu sighed softly. ”I told you before, I wasn’t entirely sure. Now that we’re actually here, I’m even more doubtful.”

Xie Luohe shook her head. ”Since we’re here, we should see it through. We’ve come all this way...” Her voice trailed off. She had tied their horses at the foot of the mountain and was now carrying a bulging pack. With her back to Zheng Xiu, she rummaged through it for something, her voice fading until she stopped speaking altogether.

Zheng Xiu knew what Xie Luohe wanted to say.

’It was just that... since they had come all this way, it would be a shame not to at least take a look.’

Xie Luohe pulled a coil of hemp rope as thick as a finger from her pack. She gave it a sharp tug to test its strength, then tossed one end to Zheng Xiu.

Zheng Xiu could see Xie Luohe’s obsession with Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault and knew he couldn’t talk her out of it. After a moment of silence, he could only advise, ”Be careful.”

”Yes. You be careful.”

Xie Luohe gripped the other end of the rope and wound it once around her wrist.

After a moment of stunned silence, realization dawned on Zheng Xiu. His eyes went wide and he pointed at himself in disbelief. ”Wait, *I’m* the one going down?!”

Xie Luohe nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. ”Who else? Me? Could you bear to let me go? If I get trapped in there and die of hunger or thirst, your precious Feng Bei will never come back.”

”What the—”

Zheng Xiu instantly lost his cool.

”Hm?”

”Nothing.”

”You’re so good to me,” Xie Luohe praised, sliding an arrow she had partially drawn back into her Quiver.

Resigned, Zheng Xiu tied the thick rope securely around his waist. He found footholds on the rock face and began to climb down carefully into the cave.

The cave was more spacious than Zheng Xiu had expected, but there was almost no light.

After a while, Zheng Xiu looked up and could no longer see the entrance. With dusk falling outside, the cave was now utterly devoid of light. After fumbling his way a few dozen feet deeper into the darkness, he suddenly slapped his forehead, silently cursing himself for being an idiot.

’After spending so much time in the World in the Painting, he’d almost forgotten his special status as a Mystic, completely neglecting his Path Mystic Skills. He wasn’t just a [Prisoner] anymore; he was a proper [Painter]. Right, a *Grand* Painter.’

Zheng Xiu dangled in midair from the rope at his waist. He kicked his legs, building momentum to swing himself. After a few tries, he bumped against the rock wall.

After a few more attempts, Zheng Xiu finally caught hold of a crevice, plastering himself against the stone like a gecko.

”Bookworm, are you alright?”

Xie Luohe’s worried voice drifted down from above, echoing hollowly through the cave to Zheng Xiu’s ears.

When there were no outsiders around, Xie Luohe was fond of calling Zheng Xiu ”Bookworm.”

”Heh, I’m not dead yet!”

Zheng Xiu shot back irritably, then paid her no more mind. He took the Luohe Brush from his waist, bit his finger to draw blood, and, fumbling in the darkness, relied on a Painter’s instinct to draw a ”candlestick” on the rock wall.

As the Blood Ink on the rock wall twisted and writhed, the flame suddenly came to life. It flickered, casting an eerie, blood-red glow that illuminated Zheng Xiu’s surroundings.

”It worked.”

Zheng Xiu grinned.

’The joys of a Painter were so simple and pure.’

’Maybe I’ll be able to draw other things in the future.’

’The [Painter] Path seemed to lack offensive power, but it was incredibly versatile. Zheng Xiu was growing more and more fond of walking the [Painter] Path. He wondered what it would eventually become at its peak.’

”What did you do?”

Xie Luohe, noticing a faint, blood-red light beginning to glow from within the cave, called down in confusion.

”Hahahaha! I painted a lamp!”

Zheng Xiu answered with a laugh as he continued his descent.

”Don’t forget, you’re using the Luohe Brush.”

Sensing the unconcealed pride in Zheng Xiu’s voice, Xie Luohe reminded him.

”Don’t get so cocky, Bandit Xie.”

Zheng Xiu muttered under his breath.

Zheng Xiu was speechless. With just one sentence, Xie Luohe had revealed her true bandit nature.

”Curse me again and I might just let go,” Xie Luohe’s voice drifted down lazily. ”Hmph. If you fall to your death, that’ll solve all my problems. I won’t even need to look for Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault anymore.”

Zheng Xiu immediately shut his mouth, not daring to say another word. He dutifully went back to being a ”miner.” Every so often, he’d paint another lamp on the wall, trying to get as many done as possible before the cut on his finger healed.

Although Zheng Xiu no longer feared pain or death after experiencing the ”restarts” in the Ghostly Realm multiple times, he was still on the verge of tears as he looked at his five miserable, repeatedly bitten fingers. His once-perfect scholar’s hands were now a wreck, a misery he couldn’t even begin to describe.

Finally, Zheng Xiu reached the bottom. The cave wasn’t as deep as he had imagined. He painted a lamp on the wall for light, and as he took in the scene below, his brow furrowed, then smoothed out.

「The moon was high in the sky.」

Covered in dust and grime, Zheng Xiu crawled out of the cave. He met Xie Luohe’s expectant gaze and slowly shook his head.

In the darkness, the sparkle in Xie Luohe’s eyes dimmed. She bit her lower lip, a hint of disbelief on her face as she asked, ”What was in there?”

Zheng Xiu brushed the dust from his clothes and said with a sigh of resignation, ”Six skeletons. They’ve been dead a long time. Their clothes were rotted away. They were probably treasure-hunting Mountain Wanderers who lost their footing and fell. Besides the bodies, there was nothing else.”

Zheng Xiu’s description was so clear that Xie Luohe had no choice but to believe him. She glanced up at the night sky, silent for a moment. Then she took a soft breath, as if about to say something.