The mountain breeze was blowing gently and the sun was bringing warmth. It was chilly under the mountain peaks in the early morning. Even though it was late spring, there was not even a hint of heat in the air.
After careful planning, everyone decided to act according to the previous plan.
Although Zhao Qingzhu is young, he has several years of experience in the arena and has quite a bit of experience in adapting to situations. Before leaving, Xu Feng specifically warned that no matter what situation they encounter after going up the mountain, they must think twice before acting and take care of each other. If they encounter danger, in addition to sending an arrow signal down the mountain, they must find a way to escape unscathed.
Liu Ruyan and Zhao Qingzhu carried weapons, a little water and dry food, said goodbye to everyone, and headed towards the mountain route shown on the chess game.
The two of them walked upstream along the stream at the foot of the mountain. The stream flowed out of a deep canyon in the west, and the only entrance to the mountain was a rugged mountain road next to the stream.
The mountain path was carved out of the mountain wall, only a few feet wide. There were overgrown weeds on both sides, and the path could be vaguely discerned. The mountain path seemed a bit slippery in the early morning.
The sun shines into the valley, emitting a colorful halo, and occasionally a mountain breeze blows through, still feeling very cool.
The two walked for a while, but didn't see anything strange. As they walked forward, they carefully looked at their surroundings.
There was not a single soul on the remote and narrow mountain road, and the surroundings still seemed eerily silent. Occasionally, there are birds fluttering in the forest. The rocks in the canyon are abrupt, and there are several huge rocks cracked on the cliff. They seem to be teetering on the top of the head. It is frightening to walk below. Some green pines and giant cypresses grow on both sides of the mountain road, making the environment even more primitive and quiet.
The two slowly climbed up the mountain road. Unconsciously, they had traveled more than a mile and came to a corner of the mountain col. The col was very spacious, but they saw a stone chamber carved inside, about several meters wide. There was no door in the stone chamber. A huge and exquisitely carved seated statue of Guanyin is placed.
The statue of Guanyin has its eyes slightly lowered, holding a lotus in its hand, and seems to be sleeping with its eyes closed. But no matter which angle you look at, these eyes seem to be looking at you!
The ability to carve out such a huge and expressive seated Guanyin statue on a steep mountain cliff shows the exquisite skills of the carving craftsmen. Outside the stone room is a gurgling stream. The running water jingles like beads falling on a jade plate. In this deathly silent mountain canyon, it shows the elegance of a blessed land.
The sun was shining on the open stone chamber, and the soft light exuded bursts of warmth. The coolness of the morning seemed to have faded a bit. This is not yet the center of the canyon. A thick fog is locked on the mountainside in front of us. The depths of the jungle hidden by smoke and water feel even more mysterious and deep. We don't know how far the canyon is.
Liu Ruyan and Zhao Qingzhu stopped in front of the stone chamber and looked around. There was a small incense burner in front of the solemn Guanyin statue, and three coarse cloth futons were placed in front of the burner for pilgrims to kneel and worship.
The statue's face is painted with a life-like quality, and its faint smiling expression overlooks the world, making people dare not feel the slightest bit of blasphemy. It's just that the colorful clothes on the statue have long since decayed and peeled off, apparently caused by years of wind and sun exposure.
The incense burner was burning brightly, and there was a damaged and yellowed scripture on the incense table next to it. It looked like a merit book.
Liu Ruyan said slowly: "This place is remote, but it is very popular. It seems that people come here from time to time. We have been walking for a long time and haven't seen anyone. If we want to find the Hell Gate in this mountain, we are afraid. It’s not easy.” He looked at the Guanyin statue in front of him. There is still incense burning in the incense burner. Apparently someone came here to burn incense not long ago.
But there are few people in this deep mountain and old forest, so who would come here to burn incense?
Zhao Qingzhu looked around, and there was a deserted path behind the stone room extending straight to the hillside. Obviously, this is a fork in the road, a road leading along the creek to a more hidden part of the canyon. Another mountain road winds up the cliff behind the stone chamber.
Both roads are wild and there are no signs to guide the way. If you want to find the exact location of the Hell Gate in such a vast mountain, you will undoubtedly have to walk blindly and have to feel your way.
Zhao Qingzhu said thoughtfully: "Since that hell gate is in this mountain, we will definitely be able to find it." He stared at the trickling stream at his feet and frowned, "The chess game in the pavilion at the foot of the mountain. It is undoubtedly a route map into the mountain, but it only shows a few roads into the mountain, and does not mark the location of the Hell Gate. It is so remote here, and there are obviously no people there. It seems that we have to look around. "He raised the long sword in his hand. The three-foot-long sword had a silver scabbard and a bright red tassel on the hilt.
This is undoubtedly a sword made of high-quality materials!
Liu Ruyan smiled lightly and said: "The unique skills that Brother Zhao showed in the inn really opened my eyes! Although I am new to the world and have not seen any big scenes, I can see that Brother Zhao must be A man with extraordinary skills!" He looked at the sword in Zhao Qingzhu's hand from time to time.
"Hey, Brother Liu, thank you. I don't have any special skills. I just learned a few self-defense tricks. Today's hidden dragons and crouching tigers are much smarter than me. Maybe the one in this hell gate is the ruthless character. .Okay, let’s seize the time and go up the mountain. I think the Hell Gate may be on the mountain, not in this canyon.” He looked towards the deep place of the canyon in front of him, with a cunning light flashing in his eyes. .
Liu Ruyan looked up at the line of sky above the canyon and said quietly: "Brother Zhao, look at how steep the cliff above is. Without this road, I'm afraid it would be difficult to climb up. Such a place with poor mountains and harsh waters is really It is easy to give birth to robbers and gangsters." A smile actually appeared on the corner of his mouth. The more difficult the situation, the more confidence and courage can be inspired to overcome.
"Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, you prefer to go to the tiger mountains! This is what a hero does! To be honest, I saw that you were worried before, and I thought you were discouraged in the face of these difficulties. Now I realize that it is not me. That’s what you imagined! It’s getting late, let’s go!”
The two of them were talking while climbing up the mountain road. The mountain road leads halfway up the mountain along the cliff. The higher you go up, the wider the road becomes. The mountain becomes steeper, and it becomes increasingly clear halfway up the mountain.
After walking for a quarter of an hour, we gradually approached the mountainside, and suddenly a large formation of rolling stones appeared in the scenery in front of us. Large and small rocks were piled scatteredly on a slope, and it looked like they might roll down into the canyon at any time.
The stones were in a mess, scattered in random directions, and some of the flat boulders were actually engraved with writings and patterns.
The two of them felt something strange, so they took a closer look and saw some words with strange meanings such as "Blessed Land of Immortals", "Line of Secrets", "Ghost Valley", "Reappearance of Storm and Cloud". Some stones are actually carved with ferocious patterns of ghosts wielding swords and guns.
The two of them looked at each other calmly and paid more attention to the movements around them. We are already halfway up the mountain, and we haven’t met anyone along the way. The surroundings were still eerily silent, with only the whistling mountain breeze and the chirping of birds remaining in my ears.
Zhao Qingzhu looked at the two characters "Guigu" with flying dragons and phoenixes, frowned and said: "Brother Liu, what do you think the two words "Guigu" mean?"
Liu Ruyan said slowly: "Is this place not far from the gate of hell? Are these words just a trick of the good guys?"
Zhao Qingzhu said quietly: "Maybe the Hell Gate is really nearby here. Let's go and look ahead!"
The two of them looked around cautiously and walked behind the boulder.
