"I have never heard of such a ruin existing in my territory." Mr. Verma contemplated for a moment as he observed the excavation site, then shook his head.
"To be precise, I've never heard of this ruin. If it weren't for the storm last time exposing it, I wouldn't even know this place existed."
"As for the illegal excavation over a hundred years ago, we are also unaware. But if I’m not mistaken, it must have been the British who did it back then."
It was easy to determine who had destroyed the site. In that era, only the British colonizers could use a large amount of explosives without alerting the local rulers.
More importantly, religious sites were sacred to the Indians. Even if they were to steal, they wouldn't use explosives to completely destroy the place.
"There's one question: why would those people blow up such a place?" Jeanne d'Arc asked during the excavation. As the work progressed, more questions arose about the site.
For the looters, it was simply about finding valuable items to sell. The cost of blowing up the place seemed excessively high and clearly unprofitable.
Moreover, such actions were secretive, unlikely to be done openly. Blasting would more likely draw attention, not hide traces.
"Their actions seem rather bizarre now," Liang En remarked, looking at a series of small sculptures discovered earlier. These sculptures were finely carved Hindu deities.
Compared to large temples, this one was quite miniature, but it appeared to be of a high level, with exquisite sculptures inside.
"If it were for profit, they should have taken these small and exquisite statues. Europe in that era had a significant demand for artifacts from other civilizations. These would have fetched a good price."
"That explanation is reasonable," Jeanne d'Arc said, looking at a newly assembled bas-relief of a snow-capped mountain goddess. "But now the question is, why did they do it?"
"I'm not sure—" Liang En shook his head helplessly. The actions of these people were utterly irrational, and understanding the thoughts of madmen was extremely difficult.
"We found a secret chamber—" As Jeanne d'Arc and Liang En spoke, an Indian man ran over, speaking in fairly standard English.
Labor was exceedingly cheap in India. Even modestly wealthy people could afford servants. For example, rural landlords in India might not live as well as wealthier farmers in China, but they could afford four or five servants.
Mr. Verma had even more servants, about a few hundred, with strict hierarchies. Those fluent in English were almost always the highest-ranking servants.
As an old family, Mr. Verma didn’t want his servants to be illiterate. This servant, though of a lower caste, had attended university.
These old Indian nobles liked to cultivate the children of their housekeepers and senior servants to hold positions in local government, securing loyal influence within the government.
Moreover, the Indian government was actively increasing the proportion of lower castes in government roles, inadvertently aiding people like Mr. Verma.
Poor people’s education levels, even in Kerala, couldn’t compare to the well-educated children of wealthy, influential families, so the status quo remained unchanged.
While musing over these matters, Liang En arrived at a large pit that had been dug out. Stone-paved ground had been discovered here a few days ago, making it the focus of ongoing excavation efforts.
In a muddy area, finding a paved stone section indicated the core of the ancient building.
Unexpectedly, during the excavation, workers found several slabs suggesting an empty space beneath. They reported to Liang En after uncovering a stone door.
The stone door was crudely carved, just a flat stone blocking the entrance. Under Fan Meng’s direction, the Indian workers used elephants and simple tools to remove the door and set it aside.
The cave beneath the stone door smelled terrible, like something had rotted. After half an hour of ventilation, Liang En and Fan Meng, fully equipped, entered the underground chamber.
Contrary to expectations, the chamber wasn’t as crude as imagined; it resembled an underground palace.
This "underground palace" wasn’t luxurious but incredibly sturdy, with large slabs and stones used in its construction.
"I suspect the cost of building this underground structure was higher than the one above," Liang En said through a throat communicator after observing.
"Constructing an underground building in this area is no easy task. It requires consideration of plant roots and groundwater erosion."
"Your speculation is reasonable. Building underground structures here isn’t easy. I remember the Foreign Legion had significant trouble building an ammunition depot in a high-water table area."
Fan Meng nodded, looking at the thick layer of mud on the slabs with a gloomy face. "Fortunately, although it's damp here, the high altitude keeps the groundwater level low, hence the little mud."
The mud concealed much information, but small metal detectors revealed several centuries-old coins.
Wiping off the mud, Liang En found a new-like gold coin and several blackened, green-patinated silver coins.
After a brief inspection, he realized these coins were from small southern Indian states around 600 years ago, which was not unusual.
"This might be a treasure trove. Records indicate Indian temples often stored vast amounts of gold and jewels," Fan Meng suggested upon seeing the coins.
"You might be right." Liang En shone his flashlight around the corner, showing a thoughtful expression. "But considering the explosives, even if there were treasures, they might be gone."
"Those looters who could blow up the entire building and the hill behind it wouldn’t mind sweeping away all the gold and jewels!"
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