Retired for A Hundred Years: Re-Employment for the Apocalypse Bigshot!-Chapter 65: Netherworld Grass

The stone chamber emitted a musty smell due to its prolonged closure.

Near the bed, green moss had grown, making it more humid compared to other stone chambers.

Ji Ning’s eyes flashed with a hint of nostalgia, nodding slightly to Ye Tong.

She gently caressed the nearest wooden cabinet, atop which the dust was already a finger thick.

The furnishings in this room were all handmade by her, using the same decay-resistant and insect-proof wood as that in the burial chamber.

After so many years, only the edges showed some signs of decay, but the overall structure remained sturdy.

Ji Ning waved her hand, brushing away the dust on the cabinet, and while Ye Tong wasn’t paying attention, shattered the metal lock on the cabinet.

She opened the slightly shaky wooden door, revealing the items inside the cabinet.

Ye Tong was again astonished to see many homemade weapons neatly stacked inside.

Ji Ning picked out a few weapons from it, put them in her backpack, and then turned to ask her, "Do you want them?"

"Yes, these are icon’s belongings."

Ye Tong quickly stepped forward and closely examined the weapons inside.

Each weapon was crudely crafted, seemingly hand-polished, yet each bore an ancient character "Ji."

This matched an illustration in a history book exactly.

Ye Tong was extremely excited, "It really is an idol’s weapon. Sister Ning, you’re amazing."

These items would be treasures exhibited in museums outside, she couldn’t believe she actually got her hands on the authentic ones.

At this moment, Ye Tong’s mind stopped functioning, directly ignoring why Ji Ning was so familiar with entering this burial chamber as if it were home.

"What should I do, I want them all."

Ji Ning picked up a small crossbow arrow by her side and suggested, "This suits you."

Ye Tong turned to look, "How do I use this?"

Ji Ning fastened the crossbow arrow to her wrist, aimed it at a stone wall, pressed the trigger button, and heard a "boom" as a stone brick on the wall shattered.

"That’s amazing!" Ye Tong exclaimed joyfully, taking the crossbow arrow Ji Ning had removed, imitating Ji Ning’s earlier gesture and fastening it to her wrist.

Curiously, she asked, "Sister Ning, why have these weapons still retained their power after 120 years without rusting?"

Ji Ning replied, "The materials used for making these weapons are rare Dragon Rock Ore. They have a stable structure and are resistant to decay."

"Sister Ning, you know so much." Ye Tong looked at her admiringly, her fondness for the crossbow arrow growing. She then said, "Sister Ning, can you pick a weapon for Tangtang and Xiao Yang, too? They’ll go crazy with joy when they find out."

Ji Ning glanced at her weapon cabinet and pulled out a small knife and a dagger.

"This knife looks like a scalpel, it’ll be perfect for Tangtang in the future." Ye Tong gave Ji Ning an approving look.

Ji Ning tucked the two weapons into the black belt on her waist, walked over to the moss-covered bed and turned one of its legs.

A rumbling sound of gears moving slowly emerged, and the bed in front of Ji Ning split open from the middle, revealing a dark and damp space.

The sound of rushing water came from below.

That’s why the room seemed somewhat humid.

Ye Tong leaned forward to look and saw a soft ladder hanging vertically above the water.

"What is this place?" Ye Tong asked fearfully, shrinking back.

"It’s an underground river; the Netherworld Grass grows here," Ji Ning said and then descended the ladder first.

The squeaking sound of the wobbling ladder made Ye Tong’s heart leap again, she dared not extend her leg to descend, "Sister Ning, I can’t swim."

Standing below the ladder, Ji Ning looked up at her, seeing she wasn’t coming down, sighed, "Stay here and don’t wander around, I’ll go pick Netherworld Grass."

Ye Tong’s heart instantly relaxed, holding her bag, she waited obediently by the bed.

Ji Ning cut the soft ladder bound to the small boat below with a knife, and jumped onto the boat.

The boat, after being abandoned for a century, was already covered in moss and was about to fall apart as it touched the water. Ji Ning bent down, held onto the hull, and used her superpower to forcibly stabilize the boat, following the flow of water.

The underground river, having not been exposed to air, had cleaner water, and Ji Ning noticed naturally growing fish in the water. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Ji Ning removed her mask and protective cap, revealing her beautiful face, leaned down, and placed her hand in the water, softly saying, "Take me to find Netherworld Grass."

The fish in the water seemed to gain intelligence, as they originally scattered in the water, now swarmed in a particular direction.

Ji Ning immediately maneuvered the small boat to follow them closely, not knowing how long had passed, the fish gathered by a certain bank, and Ji Ning immediately steered the boat there.

As the boat touched the bank, it shattered into pieces, yet Ji Ning stood steadily on the water’s surface, walking as if on land to the bank.

Netherworld Grass grew abundantly like wild grass along the riverside.

Ji Ning reached the outskirts of the Netherworld Grass patch, took several ziplock bags from her pack, and gingerly dug the soil alongside Netherworld Grass with her dagger.

Netherworld Grass likes shade, is extremely toxic, usually grows by the underground river where sunlight can’t reach, its leaves are serrated, secreting a highly toxic sap, hence it’s known as one of the famous poisonous plants.

However, each thing has its counterpart, the cycle of karma, where there is poison, there must be an antidote. The roots of Netherworld Grass are the antidote; if poisoned by Netherworld Grass, consuming its roots in time can quickly neutralize the poison.

This is why people call Netherworld Grass as Yin Yang Grass, where Yin is poison and Yang is medicine.

The poison in Lin Yuanyang was caused by the toxin from Netherworld Grass, but since it mixed with other herbs, the deadly toxin became a slow poison. To completely eliminate it, one must use the roots of Netherworld Grass as a lead to make an antidote, but Netherworld Grass is hard to find outside.

Ji Ning had specifically used the Smart Brain to check the price of Netherworld Grass: 100g of processed Netherworld Grass roots sold for around 50,000, its efficacy is only one-thousandth of freshly picked Netherworld Grass, and it’s not sold in the market; purchasing requires approval from relevant departments because this poisonous plant won’t be sold to individuals.

It was she who initially set this rule; her three subordinates definitely won’t alter this regulation.

That’s why she came all the way to collect Netherworld Grass.

She wondered who would use such poison on an unborn child.

Thinking about this made Ji Ning’s gaze sharpen.

***

As Ji Ning finished digging five Netherworld Grass plants, ready to leave, suddenly many footsteps echoed from not far away.

Ji Ning immediately hid among the Netherworld Grass to observe.

She saw several people in protective suits arrive by the river, holding tools to harvest Netherworld Grass.

The quantity they sought was substantial, as their machines quickly harvested a small patch of Netherworld Grass leaves.

The toxic sap splattered all over.

After harvesting about half of the Netherworld Grass, they left with their tools.

Ji Ning frowned tightly, emerging from the Netherworld Grass patch, moving in the direction the group departed.

The more she walked, the more apprehensive she felt.

The path taken by these people was artificially excavated, in thick rock walls, they dug out a tunnel.

This project wasn’t small, it at least took a dozen years.

Ji Ning touched the rock wall and continued to follow them.

The tunnel was deep, after walking for about ten minutes, the road ahead began to widen.

Inside, numerous people in protective suits were moving around.

Ji Ning’s pupils slightly changed, slowly approaching them, but they seemed unaware of her presence, continuing their tasks.