With the dramatic descent, I woke up and knew we were almost at our destination.
The surrounding temperature rose rapidly, and the tattered robe I was wrapped in seemed a bit hot. As Moto and Yusuke slowly landed, I stood up and found that we had returned to the dense forest.
"Is my spider okay?"
Chi You's lantern swing slowly rose again and drifted far away. Seeing this, Ben Jing and Yusuke also condensed into human shapes and floated beside me.
"Your spider is very good. It lived a very nourishing life in the cave."
"But... didn't you say that the remnants of the high priest and his men are likely to find their way there? Is Liuliu still safe?"
"Don't worry, even if they come here, they won't attack such a weak creature."
This is the first time I heard someone use the word weak to describe Liuliu.
"Besides, these people often boast that they are the most merciful people in the world."
I followed Chi You through the woods, and the scene in front of me gradually became familiar.
"Isn't this the swamp beyond the altar?"
There are ruins and broken walls everywhere in front of them, and the surroundings have long been covered with moss, and some bones are still faintly visible among the dense trees and moss.
Chi You jumped into the swamp with a pop.
"I can't swim..."
I looked at the sticky water and really didn't want to get in. I didn't know what kind of bacteria, bugs, etc. were in it...
Chi You swam to a clump of water plants near the long steps of the altar, pulled out a few weeds, and dipped them into the swamp water. He muttered a few words, and the weeds in his hands turned into a ball of green mud.
"Come on." I leaned over without knowing why, and my mouth and nose were filled with this ball of green mud! It’s all that fishy smell!
"You can go into the water, but you only have time for one stick of incense." He didn't give me a chance to retching, so he dragged me into the water!
I splashed vigorously in the water, causing big splashes. Sure enough, as Chi You said, the green grass and mud seemed to temporarily seal off my respiratory system. I didn't even choke on the water, as if there was an invisible barrier. Separated me from the moisture.
I looked around me. Moto and Yosuke also followed us into the water. In order to reduce resistance, they condensed into an arrow-like shape.
This swamp looked unremarkable from the shore, but I didn't expect it to be so deep. I followed Chi You and continued to dive, and the surrounding light gradually dimmed.
I adjusted my eyesight and tried hard to see clearly what was going on under the water. I couldn't see anything except water plants. Are there no living things in this swamp? Not a single fish?
I ignored my doubts and followed Chi You's rhythm, and soon we were almost at the bottom. There were huge clam shells deep in the water, opening and closing, and there was almost enough room for a person to stand in each clam shell! Isn't this something that only exists in the sea? How could you see it under this swamp?
There must be a huge mystery hidden in this swamp!
Chi You shuttled between the clam shells, as if he was looking for something. I also went up to study carefully to see what was weird about this huge clam shell.
Chi You stopped in front of a clam shell, and must have discovered something. I went over to take a look and found that the clam shell opened and closed. There was no clam meat in the middle, but there seemed to be a hole!
That’s right! It's just a hole with an obscure vortex in the middle!
There is actually a dark hole hidden in the big clam shell under the swamp? !
The design of this dark cave is extremely exquisite. Even if someone can get close to the altar and go down to the bottom of the water, they will definitely be attracted by the huge clam shell at first sight and will never find out that one of the clam shells hides a mystery, and there is such a small one. Hole.
I put my hand close to the hole and felt a steady pushing force. This must be the water source of this swamp. There is such a big underground spring underground!
Where will this cave lead to? There is only water entering here, but there is no place where water comes out. How does the water flow? And since I got into the water, I haven't seen the foundation of this altar at all. Does this altar have no foundation at all, but is floating on the swamp?
Before I had time to think about it, I turned around and saw that Chi You had already crawled into the dark hole. Something poked me behind me. It turned out to be Moto and Yosuke. I had to imitate Chi You's movements and carefully get into the hole. middle.
This cave entrance happened to allow one person to get in, but there was an impact force at the entrance that kept pushing people out. I faced this force, held the stone walls on both sides with my hands, and slowly moved through the narrow entrance of the cave. These currents are fast and slow, and the power is very unstable. It takes more effort to maintain the speed, otherwise it will be rushed to the stone wall next to it. Although I have been careful, I still feel the slight sting coming from my back and arms. The pain still means that I have worn it out in many places.
Chi You was in front, and Ben Jing and Yu Jie were behind. We formed a row and moved forward bit by bit in the waterway. This process was extremely painful. The bottom of the water was very quiet and the waterway was extremely dark. In a trance, I It felt like the waterway I was crawling in seemed to have changed its shape. In my distant memory, which seemed like a world away, there seemed to be a similar passage like this.
While I was thinking wildly, I moved forward bit by bit. Suddenly, the hand in front of me was empty, and I seemed to have fallen into a larger volume.
There was a feeling of suffocation in my chest, and I secretly screamed that something was wrong. Just now, Chi You said that I only had one stick of incense under water. I must have passed through the waterway before, and the time for this stick of incense had already come.
In an instant, my seven closed orifices were opened, and cold, fishy-smelling water poured in from my mouth, nose, and ears. I had no time to react, and was poured heavily. My hands twitched and spasmed painfully in the water. and legs, constantly fluttering, trying to grasp the life-saving straw.
There was a force underneath me that steadily lifted me out of the water.
"Cough cough cough..." I greedily breathed in the fresh air again. It turned out that it was Moto and Yusuke who had just helped me out of the water. They condensed into the shape of a hook. I stretched out my hand to grab it, and they took me away. out of the water.
We passed through this waterway, and the water outlet on the other side turned out to be another cave. This cave was very huge and should have a lot of air reserves. Under the natural arc-shaped dome above our heads, there was a quiet pool of water.
I seemed to understand that this waterway connected the swamp under the altar and a large natural cave. Moto and Yusuke placed me on the rocks beside the pool. I took off my wet clothes. After I got into the water, it was so heavy that I couldn't breathe.
Chi You had already been standing firmly by the pool waiting for me, "Let's go."
I found some unknown skeletons beside the pool. I didn’t know who left them. We continued walking forward and came to another cave. However, there was no water in this cave. Some of them were daily necessities polished with stones. , in the shape of an axe, a tray, and something made of shells and bones that looks like a bracelet or necklace. There is also a small stone stick next to it. The shape is very unique. It is thin on both sides and thick in the middle. I don’t know what it is used for. .
My hand touched it involuntarily.
"Why are you touching other people's things?" Chi You seemed to have eyes on his back. He spoke without looking back, which shocked me.
"I'll just take a look and won't take it."
"That's someone else's eyebrow-threading thing. If you take it from someone else, it means you want to be her husband."
"What?!"
The hand I extended immediately retracted.
"It's so dark and wet here. Who would live in a place like this?"
"You don't want to know that right now, these things are hunting by the streams on land. After sunset, they will return to their nests. By then, it will be difficult for us to pass by."
After we passed through several such caves, the scene in front of us was quite different.
I calculated the distance we walked based on my feeling, and estimated that we must be at the very center of the mountain.
"Is it over?"
I looked at the dark rock wall in front of me and asked Chi You puzzledly, is this the place he wants to take me to? Admire a dark rock wall in this postmodern abstract art painting?
Chi You touched the stone wall with his hand and asked me to come over.
I don't care, just touch it. Are the stones deep in the mountain any different from those outside?
It's really different!
My hand actually went right through this rock wall!
I immediately retracted my hand, what is going on! It was obvious that when Chi You touched the rock wall, he was indeed stroking the stone, but when it came to me, how could I pass through it?
Did I just suffocate to death underwater? So now it’s my spirit body that’s acting and I’m crossing the rock wall?
"The only way forward is for you to walk by yourself. I can't pass through this barrier. I need you to pass through this barrier and see if there is something like a mirror behind it. After you see it, tell me what's inside first. Condition."
"Why you...why would I..." I was surprised by the two different phenomena presented by the same stone wall on both sides of me. This phenomenon is so weird! Looking at such a hard stone wall, my hand felt like it was reaching into a stream... It didn't even feel like a stream, it felt like it was reaching into a black smoke.
"It will get dark soon. If we don't leave here before dark, we will be in big trouble." Chi You's tone revealed that there was no need to delay.
"What's in this?"
"I don't know either, so I let you tell me."
"You must know something... Otherwise, how would you know that there is a dark cave under the water? The waterway behind the dark cave is connected to some strange caves, as well as those things that live in underwater caves... You don't tell me anything. Me? Just let me rush forward?"
"I just found out that there are traces of Qiongqi behind this barrier, but as for what it's like inside, no one has ever gone in! I can slowly explain other things to you later, but now we are really pressed for time. !”
"Oh...okay."
I put my hand into the rock wall. There was a lot of space behind it and I couldn't touch any obstacles. Then, I stepped in with one leg. When Moto and Yosuke saw me entering the rock wall, they kept trying. He pushed into it and made a grunting sound, but no matter what form he took, he could not pass through the rock wall. It seemed that Chi You was right, the only one who could enter was me.
