According to Yu Mei’s information, Red Beard’s treasure really was near Silverlight Lake, but there was no accurate location. That night, Xiao Lin and Lilith discussed for a long time, but failed to reach any notable conclusions.
They had a lot of speculations, such as it being somewhere close to the village or deep in Silverlight Lake. However, it was not the first time someone came seeking treasure there. Since no one had found it yet, where it was hidden would not be so simple.
“It’s a pity we lost the report in Wildfire Town,” Xiao Lin said regretfully. He did not expect it would be useful when they left, but thankfully his memory was quite good.
“I took a look at Silverlight Lake during the day. It’s a freshwater lake,” Lilith said.
“Freshwater?”
Xiao Lin paused, quickly saying, “I saw a documentary; lakes would usually be saltwater lakes if they were completely sealed off, while they would be freshwater lakes if they were connected to other bodies of water. Although I don’t know if the rule applies to Planet Norma, but if Silverlight Lake is a freshwater lake...”
The majority of the natural rules in Planet Norma were similar to those on Earth, which was one of the reasons everyone fought so hard to colonize the place. If that was the case, it was possible that Silverlight Lake was connected to somewhere else underwater.
The two of them were quite adept underwater, and according to the native villagers, there were no threatening aquatic creatures nearby. Silverlight Lake was not that deep either, so their safety was quite assured.
The next day, Xiao Lin went over to the side of the lake after some preparations. The lake glimmered, clear enough that even they could see the bottom. Not far away, some villagers were looking over; their status as outsiders having already been spread throughout the village. Xiao Lin could feel their respectful gazes. No one dared to move closer. A few children wanted to run over to look at Xiao Lin, as if he was an alien, but were stopped by their elders.
Lilith and Ibeiya were in charge of keeping watch at the shore while Xiao Lin was in charge of investigating under water. The water was very cool, but thanks to his improved constitution after entering Black Iron-rank, the temperature did not feel like much.
The clear lake water allowed Xiao Lin to see everything with ease, but Xiao Lin did not find anything after a few dives. Silverlight Lake was very large, but there were not that many spots that could hide treasure or underwater passages that could potentially lead to other bodies of water. After a whole day of detailed investigating, Xiao Lin was freezing, but they did not have too many findings.
Returning to the village in the evening, one of the three prisoners looked for Xiao Lin after some hesitation. With Ibeiya’s translation, the man told him he possibly knew something about the treasure, but was not sure if it would be of use.
That man had a reasonable ranking among Red Beard’s troops, and occasionally had the chance to meet Red Beard himself. During a certain meeting, the drunk Red Beard unwittingly exposed something. He had said that he saw through Silverlight Lake’s legend and controlled the greatest secret of the lake, which was how he went from a poor, common villager to one of the greatest powers in the Silver Province so quickly.
Silverlight Lake’s legend was something worth thinking about. That hostage only knew that much; he was not someone close to Red Beard after all. His words did not mean much to Lilith and Xiao Lin, but Ibeiya had a shocked expression on her face.
The hostages had tried to curry favor with them over the two days, hoping they would be able to leave with that. Xiao Lin understandingly told them that as long as they gave him useful information, letting them go was not impossible.
Just like Earth had his own myths and legends, Planet Norma also had countless legends. Thanks to the abundant magic in that world, their legends were even more plentiful.
Lilith and Xiao Lin’s history lessons would naturally not include these untrustworthy legends and myths, but Ibeiya was naturally very familiar with them, having gone through Normese education.
Silverlight Lake did indeed have a beautiful legend. It was said that, during ancient times, there was a king with unparalleled heroism and skill. He led the humans and conquered various lands, attempting to unite the world. He had met a beautiful lady as he passed by the lake, and the two of them fell in love.
It was like any melodramatic story. The lady’s humble bloodline could not gain the recognition of the royal family, and they felt that the union between the king and the lady humiliated the royal family. As the king went out to war, someone had the lady killed.
The king was furious when he found out, but he could not go against the powerful royal family. He ended up digging a gigantic hole to bury his lady in, filling it up with seawater, which ended up being the current Silverlight Lake.
The story itself was not too special, especially to Xiao Lin, who had consumed many melodramatic dramas and novels.
However, since Red Beard had mentioned seeing through Silverlight Lake’s legend, Xiao Lin and Lilith ended up discussing the matter with Lilith through the night.
If the legend contained any secrets or bits of truth, it could only be that the entire lake was the lady’s grave, which meant there would be a large tomb under the lake.
Xiao Lin spoke in depth, remembering the various tomb raiding novels he had read before, attempting to gain some insight, even if he did not know if that information would be useful in Planet Norma.
However, Ibeiya poured cold water over him and the girl shook her head with a strange look on her face. “What tomb? There aren’t any ancient tombs. I know you outsiders like to bury your dead in coffins and whatnot, but it used to be a taboo in our world. Our lives were all given by God, so it should naturally return to God after we die. Being one with nature is the best burial.”
Lilith understood as she listened. “So, even if the legend is true, that lady was only buried in the ground by the king, so there is no grave, not even a coffin.”
Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. “After so many years, I doubt even the skeleton is still there.”
Even if it was, in such a large lake with so much plant life, it would be no trivial matter to find it.
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