Ye Tiancheng and the little fox began to discuss where the village records might be placed. Logically, something like village records would most likely be kept in an office for easy access, or at least nearby in a study or storeroom. However, Ye Tiancheng and his companion had already searched similar rooms in the village chief's house and found nothing.
The fact that it wasn't in the village chief's own room was quite perplexing.
The little fox wondered aloud, "Did we miss a spot? That shouldn't be the case; we've searched everywhere."
"Indeed," Ye Tiancheng agreed, his brow furrowed. He had initially thought they had ample time, but this delay in finding the village records was becoming problematic. "Little fox, do you think there might be a secret passage or a hidden room?"
The little fox pondered for a moment before nodding. "That's certainly a possibility."
"Ah, right! In rural areas, some places have cellars, don't they? Could there be a basement?"
Ye Tiancheng considered this. "It's not impossible, but not every village has cellars. Some climates aren't suitable for digging them, or they're not good for storage. I'm not sure about this particular place, though."
The little fox, having exhausted his ideas, could only say, "Regardless, we should keep searching. We can't waste any more time. I wonder how far the parade has gone."
Ye Tiancheng knew time was of the essence. Without further delay, they resumed their search. They scoured the village chief's house multiple times, but found no sign of a cellar or any hidden entrances. They even tried to move piles of clutter that might conceal an entrance, but to no avail.
To improve efficiency, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox decided to split up and search different areas of the village chief's house.
The little fox took the third floor, where the village chief's bedroom, study, and reception room were located. Although there was a main hall on the first floor, according to local custom, most receptions wouldn't happen there. Moreover, the first-floor hall was in plain sight and easy to search, showing no obvious flaws.
Ye Tiancheng primarily focused on re-examining the first floor, as he had more experience in finding potential cellar entrances.
The little fox, meanwhile, concentrated on the village chief's main living and working spaces, meticulously looking for any overlooked details, such as hidden compartments or storage areas. He had to consider every possibility.
He moved back and forth between these rooms repeatedly, finding nothing. He was almost convinced there was nothing amiss.
Just as he was about to accept this, after finishing his inspection of the village chief's bedroom and preparing to leave, the little fox glanced back one last time. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him.
He paused for a moment, then carefully re-examined the village chief's bedroom. Afterward, he quickly went out to observe the village chief's study and reception room, as well as the hallway outside.
He finally discovered a clue, a subtle hint of something amiss.
The little fox realized there was a spatial anomaly in these rooms of the village chief's house. The issue wasn't in the reception room; after comparison, he ruled it out. This left only the bedroom and the study.
These three rooms were adjacent, arranged in the order of reception room, study, and village chief's bedroom, all lining the hallway. However, after comparing them, the little fox found the problem: the length of the hallway did not match the apparent size of these three rooms internally, after accounting for normal wall thickness.
The little fox compared them multiple times and discovered that between the study and the village chief's bedroom, there was an additional two to three meters of space, seemingly vanished. This meant the rooms were not as large as they appeared, but the hallway was longer by two to three meters, indicating a definite anomaly.
If the little fox's guess was correct, there must be a hidden space between the village chief's study and bedroom, within the walls.
The little fox had been wondering if secret rooms or passages could only be located on the first floor.
The answer was clearly not necessarily so, but he had been unable to find any leads or entrances. He hadn't expected that the space itself would reveal the clue.
It was at the moment he was leaving the village chief's bedroom that the little fox had his sudden realization. He considered that if a secret room or passage existed not on the first floor but above it, then the exterior of the house would surely show some sign.
Since secret rooms and passages were not in another dimension but physically existed, they required space. Therefore, by observing the detailed dimensions of the house, one could identify the anomaly and pinpoint the location of any secret rooms or passages.
Once the true location was determined, finding the entrance and the method of entry would be the next step.
The final outcome indeed validated the little fox's speculation; he had found such a place.
However, even after discovering it, the little fox did not rush to enter alone. Although they were in a hurry, they had to consider the possibility of traps within.
This was his discovery, and Ye Tiancheng was unaware. If something were to happen to him, Ye Tiancheng might not even know where he had gone or what had happened.
Therefore, the little fox immediately went downstairs and used their pre-arranged special signal to find Ye Tiancheng.
Upon seeing the little fox come down to meet him, Ye Tiancheng immediately asked, "I haven't found anything yet. What about you? Did you find anything?"
The little fox excitedly replied, "Brother, I think I've found the possible location of a secret room. I'm not sure about the entrance yet, and I don't want to go in alone because I don't know what's inside. So, I came to find you first."
Hearing that the little fox had made a discovery, Ye Tiancheng felt a surge of excitement. He had been quite troubled by the lack of progress.
Ye Tiancheng quickly asked, "Where is it?"
The little fox then explained the location of the space he had discovered, how he found it, and his reasoning behind the deduction.
As they walked upstairs, Ye Tiancheng listened to the little fox's explanation and couldn't help but praise, "You really have a sharp mind, little fox."
The little fox replied, "It's a good thing I had a sudden inspiration just before leaving. I almost missed it."
Ye Tiancheng said, "Finding it is what matters."
They returned to the village chief's bedroom. The wall between the bedroom and the study was lined with a wardrobe, a storage cabinet, a bookshelf, a mirror, and a coat rack on the bedroom side.
"Little fox, which room do you think the entrance is in?" Ye Tiancheng asked.
The little fox thought for a moment and guessed, "Brother, look here. One side is the village chief's living area, and the other is his work area. If it's for convenience, perhaps there's an entrance on both sides?"
Ye Tiancheng found this plausible and carefully examined the wall and the items against it.
They felt along each one, initially leaning towards the cabinets, as their large size, whether wardrobes, storage cabinets, or bookshelves, made them ideal for hiding secret doors.
However, after a thorough search, and even attempting to move the cabinets, they found nothing.
They then looked at the mirror in the village chief's house. The mirror was quite large, and it was possible it held some secret, but it couldn't be moved.
Ye Tiancheng, with little hope, nudged the coat rack and unexpectedly found the mechanism.
The freestanding coat rack had a round base that couldn't be moved, but it could be rotated. Ye Tiancheng gently twisted the pole of the coat rack, and with a click, the sound of a mechanism being activated was heard.
Instantly, both Ye Tiancheng and the little fox's attention focused on the coat rack.
Ye Tiancheng discovered that the coat rack turned easily at first, much like turning a doorknob to retract a latch, but no door was visible yet.
He continued to twist it, but it became very difficult to turn. However, the effect was significant. They heard the sound of something being moved, and judging by the sound, it was the bookshelf.
The reason Ye Tiancheng found it so difficult to turn the coat rack mechanism was precisely because the bookshelf was too heavy, laden with many books, making it hard to open.
But finding the hidden door mechanism was a good sign.
After Ye Tiancheng struggled to turn it for a while, the little fox, seeing how difficult the mechanism was to operate, immediately joined in to help.
Together, they twisted the mechanism. They expected to open a gap large enough for them to enter, but when they released it, they found that the door quickly closed again. It closed much faster and more easily than they had opened it, leaving no time to slip through. They had to keep twisting.
The hidden door only stopped closing on its own after being fully opened, with the mechanism turned all the way.
Exhausted, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox paused to catch their breath. They exchanged glances. Ye Tiancheng said to the little fox, "How about I go in alone, and you wait outside just in case? This mechanism is quite difficult to open. If we both go in and the door closes, we won't know if it's easy to open from the inside, and it's hard to tell if anyone is coming."
The little fox agreed that this was a valid concern. He recalled many movies and novels where protagonists entered secret rooms or passages, only for the door to slam shut behind them, unopenable, forcing them to face traps and dangers.
It would be safer for him to stay outside and keep watch.
The little fox replied, "Okay, I'll watch the situation from outside and keep an eye on this door. If anyone comes, I'll try to warn you promptly."
"If someone comes and you don't have time to warn me, and this door is open, it might arouse suspicion. In that case, don't worry about me. Just close the door. If you twist the mechanism back, it should close quickly. We'll figure out what to do next."
"After all, no one is likely to see us, so hiding ourselves shouldn't be a problem. In a critical situation, other things can be dealt with later."
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox finalized their plan.
The little fox promised Ye Tiancheng, "I understand. I'll do as you say, Brother. Don't worry."
With complete trust, Ye Tiancheng turned his back to the little fox and walked alone into the space behind the hidden bookshelf door.