The entrance of the cave was not very big. The two men took a torch and walked into the entrance of the cave one after another.
Jing Liang walked very carefully in front, which added to the mysterious atmosphere.
The cave is not very deep, but the further you go in, the wider it becomes.
Jing Liang used a torch to illuminate the path under his feet, while Ying Zheng used a torch to illuminate the surrounding mountain walls.
The mountain wall at the entrance of the cave was uneven, but after walking a few steps, the mountain wall became smoother and there were traces of polishing.
Jing Liang also noticed this situation, turned around and whispered to Ying Zheng: "There are traces of polishing on the mountain wall. It seems that someone has indeed been active here or lived here."
Ying Zheng nodded and pointed the torch at the mountain wall and top on the other side.
"Brother Jing, look!" Ying Zheng called to Jing Liang, with excitement in his voice.
Jing Liang turned around and looked at the torch held by Ying Zheng.
On a smooth mountain wall, I saw a painting of a sheep, standing sideways, very strong, and it looked like an adult ram.
"Sure enough, someone once lived in this cave." Jing Liang said, looking at the sheep.
"Who is he?" Ying Zheng asked.
"It's not clear, but it's at least earlier than the Zhou Dynasty." Jing Liang said, "There should be more ahead."
Ying Zheng nodded and followed Jing Liang forward.
Sure enough, there were more similar murals, distributed on the stone wall, one after another.
Most of these murals feature animals. In addition to cattle, sheep account for the majority, and there are also some small animals in the wild. Obviously, these were the food sources that people at that time relied on for survival.
The deepest part of the cave is a corner, like a specially carved independent space. And on the innermost mountain wall of this space, there is a whole mural.
At the top of the painting, there is a man standing, holding a stick-like object in his hand, which looks like a scepter. Many people knelt down to worship him, and slaughtered cattle and sheep were enshrined in the middle. There are also animal skins and bones painted on the outermost surface, piled together.
This is a picture of a sacrifice. Although the lines are simple, the meaning expressed is clear enough.
The two of them checked other places and found nothing else, so they sat in front of the mural and observed it carefully.
"Brother Jing, how many years did you say this mural was painted?" Ying Zheng asked, staring at the mural on the mountain wall.
"I don't know. If this mural records the living conditions of people at that time, it must have been at least two thousand years ago." Jing Liang did not stare at the mural.
"For more than two thousand years..." Ying Zheng still stared at the mural and said, "I am thinking about a question."
"What is the king thinking about?" Jing Liang inserted the torch diagonally into a stone crevice and asked.
Ying Zheng did not put down the torch, but instead raised it higher, closer to the mural.
"What kind of material was used to paint this mural? It can go through such a long time and still remain the same. It does not fade or decay. It seems to be stronger than the rocks here." Ying Zheng said.
"This..." Jing Liang smiled and said, "I'm sorry I didn't know."
Ying Zheng also smiled. He didn't expect to get the answer at first, he just wanted to express his doubts. Even Li Si might not know something, and Jing Liang was even less likely to know it.
"I feel that the materials used by humans at that time were quite limited, and what they used should be a mixture of plant juices and animal blood." Ying Zheng said thoughtfully, "You can't guess what else was added to it. .”
"The ancients actually had many methods and techniques, but they have actually been lost to the world. Judging from the murals that have not been damaged for thousands of years, it is estimated that today's craftsmen cannot do it," Jing Liang said.
These words sounded familiar to Ying Zheng. Lu Buwei had said similar words before when he led Ying Zheng to inspect Jiuding.
Thinking of the incredible places in Jiuding, these murals in front of me are nothing.
Thinking of this, Ying Zheng felt relieved and stopped staring at the mural.
Feeling relaxed, Ying Zheng yawned. It was indeed a tiring day. He competed with Princess Hu Yu, was chased, and drove a long way up the mountain with Jing Liang. Ying Zheng had already felt tired. He drank a lot of wine with Jing Liang, and became even more sleepy. concentrated.
Jing Liang brought some clothes, spread some under Ying Zheng, and covered the rest with Ying Zheng.
In just a moment, Ying Zheng fell into a dream. Jing Liang took off his armor again and covered Ying Zheng's body before turning around and exiting the cave.
Jing Liang did not light a fire in the cave, because the fire would consume the oxygen in the cave and produce smoke. He only added more firewood to the bonfire at the entrance of the cave to keep the cold air out of the cave.
I don't know how long he slept, but Ying Zheng stretched and woke up leisurely. He got out of several layers of clothes, rubbed his eyes and walked out of the cave.
It was already broad daylight, but the bonfire had not been extinguished, and there were little sparks of fire.
Not far from the bonfire, there was a bone basin, probably made from the skull of some wild beast. It was filled with clean water, and there was a cloth for wiping the face next to it.
No need to ask, Jing Liang prepared all this.
Ying Zheng simply washed his face, but did not look at the basin made of skulls.
"Your Majesty, you're awake." Jing Liang's voice came from not far away.
Ying Zheng looked up and saw Jing Liang walking towards him with a pheasant in his hand.
"Is this this morning's game?" Ying Zheng asked cheerfully.
"Yes." Jing Liang replied, "In the past few days, let the king taste all the wild game in this mountain."
The moment he saw the pheasant, Ying Zheng's stomach growled.
After roasting the pheasant, the two of them didn't drink. They still had to spend a few days in the mountains, so they needed to drink sparingly. Besides, they had to travel during the day, so they might encounter some danger.
"Which direction are we heading today?" Ying Zheng asked.
Jing Liang broke off a chicken leg and handed it to Ying Zheng and said, "Let's continue towards the mountain. It's not far away. If we climb over the mountain in front, it shouldn't be far."
Ying Zheng nodded: "Then let's continue our adventure."
The pheasant also suffered the same fate as the hare last night, leaving only a pile of bones and a small pile of hair. If Ying Zheng takes the dog on a trip, all he will be left with is the pile of fur.
After eating, the two went into the cave again and packed away the clothes they had packed in last night.
Ying Zheng glanced at the murals in the cave again before walking out of the cave.
After extinguishing the bonfire with water, they chose the direction of the mountain, and the two headed towards the mountain.
Chatting along the way, the two of them didn't move very fast. Every time they came across a place that looked like a mausoleum or ancient ruins, they would check it out.
It is not easy to find intact mausoleums. The ones discovered by Ying Zheng and Jing Liang have all been stolen. It seems that the scale of the mausoleums is not very large.
Similar to the cave last night, two more were discovered. They also have similar murals, but the content of the paintings is different, the style of painting is also different, and the age is expected to be different.
At the end of the day, the harvest is not very big. As the sky darkened, Jing Liang found another cave. The two nodded to each other, indicating that they would stay here tonight.
This cave is larger and deeper than the previous ones, and its shape is also very irregular.
The two of them were still one behind the other, each holding a torch and moving forward slowly.
The strange thing is that this cave does not have any murals, and even the mountain walls have no traces of polishing. Everything looks natural and no one has ever been there.
After turning three corners, the two of them reached the bottom. The space was much wider, but they still found nothing.
"Brother Jing, there is something strange about this place." Ying Zheng said.
"It's just that there are no previous murals. What's weird?" Jing Liang asked.
"Brother Jing said before that most of the paintings painted on the rock walls were done by ordinary people." Ying Zheng said.
"Well, but this is just speculation." Jing Liang said.
"If most caves have murals, then such a conjecture is very possible." Ying Zheng said, "And most caves have murals, but this cave does not have murals. What is the possible reason? There are two kinds.”
"What are the two reasons?" Jing Liang asked.
"One possibility is that the previous entrance to this cave has not been discovered, and it was formed in recent years due to some external forces, but not long ago." Ying Zheng paused, and then said, "The second possibility , because ordinary tribesmen are not allowed to enter here, so there are no traces left by ordinary tribesmen."
Jing Liang nodded and said, "The king is right."
"And if it is the second possibility, then this is either the residence of the tribe leader, or the tribe's secret taboo place." Ying Zheng said.
"This is not impossible." Jing Liang looked at Ying Zheng with approval.
"Let's search more carefully, maybe we'll find something." Ying Zheng thought this cave was weird and had no intention of giving up.
The two men picked up torches and carefully examined every inch of the ground and mountain walls.
"Your Majesty, look." Jing Liang said.
Ying Zheng looked back at Jing Liang, who was standing next to a pile of rubble, holding a torch high and looking up high.
Ying Zheng walked over and looked in the direction Jing Liang pointed.
There is an oblique triangular gap at the top of the mountain wall. The gravel on the ground should have fallen from this gap.
"Probably due to earthquakes or other reasons, these rocks fell down." Jing Liang said, "However, the back seems to be empty."
"Can you go up and take a look?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Easy." Jing Liang handed the torch to Ying Zheng, and then used his hands and feet to step on the protruding rocks on the mountain wall as a point of strength. He reached the edge of the gap in a few strokes. Using his arms hard, his feet stepped on the lower edge of the gap. , half-crouched there.
"What's inside?" Ying Zheng asked eagerly.
"Pass the torch over first. It looks like an independent closed space inside." Jing Liang said.
Ying Zheng raised his toes and handed the torch back to Jing Liang.
Jing Liang put the torch into the gap. The flame did not go out, indicating that there was air inside.
"I'll go in and take a look first." After saying that, Jing Liang got in.
"Brother Jing, wait a minute." Ying Zheng said anxiously.
Not long after, Jing Liang stuck his head out of the gap again and said, "Come in, there is no danger."
Ying Zheng looked at the rocks that Jing Liang had just stepped on and said, "How can I get up there?"
"You can bring in the horse from outside and step on its back," Jing Liang said.
Ying Zheng smiled awkwardly, turned around and went out to lead the horse.
The gap is not very high from the ground of the confined space inside, and it seems that the two caves are not connected.
"Your Majesty, there is something here." Jing Liang pointed to the middle of the confined space and said.
Ying Zheng walked to the middle and squatted down.
I saw an oval-shaped thing, half of it exposed, and the other half should be buried in the soil.
"It's a turtle shell with some strange patterns on it," Jing Liang said. "There are also a few beast bones next to it, with similar patterns engraved on them."
Ying Zheng touched the exposed turtle shell and said slowly: "It shouldn't be a problem if you dig it out, right?"
"It shouldn't be a problem."
"Then take action." Ying Zheng stood up and said.
