"Hey, hey, right, right, this is it, this is it! That big pit is right here!"
Old man Liu excitedly walked over from behind the crowd and stepped on the grass path next to the dead tree trunk.
"It's this thing that almost got me into a trap back then! Come on, the trap is right in front of this tree pole!"
Old Man Liu bent down and broke off a branch from the ground. He held it in his hand and pushed it forward to clear the way. After a few thrusts, Old Man Liu staggered and saw that most of the dead branch in his hand was submerged in the grass.
"It's right here! This is on the edge of it. Don't go any further, or you will fall. This pit is very deep!"
After finding the entrance of the pit, everyone became energetic. After struggling for an afternoon, they finally got some clues. Person No. 1 took a folding shovel and quickly cleaned up the surrounding weeds. Soon, the faint big pit in front was revealed. .
To say it is a pit is better to say it is a large diagonal hole. The diameter of the hole is not as exaggerated as what Old Man Liu said. It is only more than two meters in diameter. It is covered by weeds half a person's height and cannot be seen from a distance.
Most of the roots of the dead tree next to it were exposed. The original soil layer should have undergone a major collapse. The soil rolled down along the side of the collapse. The empty soil formed a small steep slope with overgrown trees. There were weeds, and it looked like it might have been a vertical shaft hole.
Now the sun has completely set, and everyone is turning on their wolf-fang flashlights. The strong light of the flashlight shines through the entrance of the cave, and you can see that after the entrance of the cave goes down for two or three meters, it extends diagonally downward to the depths. The inside is pitch black and bottomless.
"Okay, okay, I've brought you the road. If you want to go down, I won't care about you. Anyway, I won't go down even if I'm going to die! At worst, I don't want the money!" Old Man Liu hid at the back of the crowd and smoked. Hanyan said.
"Hiss...hey? Old man Liu, why don't you dare to go down? When you came here, did you go down? What happened after you went down?" Chen Tao turned to Old Man Liu and held out one hand Rubbing her chin, she looked at him with squinted eyes.
After hearing Chen Tao's words, everyone was shocked, and then they all looked at Old Man Liu.
"Yes, this old man refuses to go down no matter what. He must have gone down before and encountered something inside, and then he was too scared to go down anymore!" Mountain Ghost said, patting his head.
Seeing everyone staring at him, Old Man Liu couldn't help but take a few steps back: "What are you going to do! What are you going to do! You man's eyes are very poisonous! How did you know that I was going down? You didn't see me. I’m going down, don’t talk nonsense!”
Seeing the nervous look on Old Man Liu, Chen Tao knew that he was almost right. The old man must have been there before, so he smiled and said, "Do you still need to see this thing with your eyes? You can figure it out with just a little use of your brain." matter."
Uncle Long first glanced at Chen Tao, smiled and patted his shoulder a few times, then looked at Old Man Liu and said: "Hey, old man, if you have really been there, tell us about it so that we can have a plan in advance." Preparation is not!”
"You knew about the relationship from the beginning, right!" Seeing Uncle Long's expression, Chen Tao couldn't help but mutter in his heart. Uncle Long might have noticed Old Man Liu's trickiness a long time ago.
"Oh, okay, okay, I said, I said!" Old Man Liu waved his hand, knocked the pipe on the soles of his feet a few times, stamped out the ashes, and took out a cloth bag from his waist and filled it with shredded tobacco. After ordering it, he took a few puffs and said:
"Oh, actually nothing happened. I was herding sheep that day, and when I was about to leave, I found one missing, so I searched everywhere and found this place. Later, as you will know, I was hit by that big tree pole. As soon as I fell, I rolled directly into this big pit."
"I rolled around inside for several times before I stopped. When I got up, my eyes were dazzled. I didn't have a light, so it was so dark inside that I couldn't see clearly, but I could hear my sheep braying inside, so I grabbed the sheep shovel as a crutch and walked inside bit by bit. The further I walked, the darker it became, and then I couldn’t see anything!"
"As I was walking, my sheep shovel seemed to have dug into something, and it was stuck. I couldn't see it, so I had to squat down and touch it with my hands. This touch scared me to death!" Old Man Liu He said with a change of expression.
"What are you touching?" Boss Zhang asked.
"Bones! Bones! When I touched it with my hand, I didn't think it was anything at first. It wasn't until I touched a row of thin and long ribs that I realized I was touching a dead person! It scared me to death! This is not it. The scariest thing is the scarier one, and the scarier one is at the back!"
"What happened next?" Chen Tao also became a little nervous.
"I just stood up and heard my sheep screaming desperately in the dark cave. The scream was even scarier than when I killed the sheep during the New Year! After a few calls, it stopped. I was I got goosebumps, and then I heard a huffing and huffing sound, as if something was coming towards me, and I was so frightened that I hurriedly crawled and ran out!"
"What happened next!"
"Fortunately, I didn't go very deep. I didn't run very far when I saw the entrance of the cave outside! I quickly stepped on the roots of the tree and ran straight out of the forest without even daring to look back! "Old man Liu said with a frightened expression.
"From then on, I never dared to go deeper into the forest. If there weren't so many of you today, I wouldn't have come here even if I were killed. Okay, okay, I won't say any more, anyway, it's the way. I've brought it here too, and I've explained everything clearly to you. Give me your wages, I'm going back!"
"It's dark today. We've walked so far. Are you not afraid of walking back alone?" Haozi finally noticed that Old Man Liu was a little timid and couldn't help but ask.
"I..." Old man Liu looked around. It was pitch black. Except for a few stars in the sky, there was not even a moon.
"It's okay, old man. Let's camp here tonight and have something to eat. It won't be too late to get up and go back tomorrow!" Uncle Long stepped forward and asked everyone to clear the ground and make room for tents.
After packing everything up, I took the smokeless stove from my backpack and boiled some hot water. A group of people gathered around and ate instant noodles. The instant noodles were bought before departure to take care of the business of the proprietress of the canteen, and Chen Tao himself brought some in large and small bags. It was still the second half of summer, and the weather was hot or cold. Everyone had headlamps and flashlights, so there was no need to light a fire.
This mountain forest has many local legends and stories, most of which are about man-eating ghosts and the like. When there are more people, I don’t feel there is anything to be afraid of.
After the group had a full meal, they listened to Old Man Liu telling some interesting local stories. Chen Tao, Long Shuhaozi and others all listened with gusto. Uncle Wang and Yang Lixuan should also be able to understand Old Man Liu's heavily accented Mandarin. Shangui has been following Uncle Long for a long time, so naturally he understands it half-underlying.
As for Boss Zhang and the others, Chen Tao didn't know. Anyway, Boss Zhang definitely didn't understand. Seeing everyone laughing and laughing, he was fascinated, but he didn't know what they were talking about. He couldn't help but feel that it was boring, so he went back to the tent. Don't know what to do.
Ah Cheng and Da Bing brothers are sitting aside, and the red-haired young man named Yan, Chen Tao has not said a word to him until now. Although he was also in the crowd, he was minding his own business with his headphones plugged in and not speaking. Chen Tao was thinking about whether he should go and have a few words with him. After all, they were all working together. It would be a bit embarrassing if they didn't say a word. But then he thought about it,
"Wouldn't it make me lose face to look for him so proactively? Forget it, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future anyway."
The night was getting darker, and a thin moon quietly climbed up the branches without knowing when. This was Chen Tao's first time spending the night somewhere other than the house, and he felt very excited and stimulating. Breathing the air in the jungle mixed with the fragrance of earthy flowers and plants, and listening to the subtle chirping of insects around him, Chen Tao felt that his heart had calmed down.
Tomorrow we will say goodbye to the ground and the sun. It is a different kind of enjoyment to have such a quiet and peaceful night before setting off.
There was nothing to say all night. The next day, after Uncle Long gave Old Man Liu two red banknotes, Old Man Liu went down the mountain happily humming a little tune. To be honest, Uncle Long was kind-hearted in his heart. This old man Liu had never married a wife in his life. He was alone and didn't keep a wife, so he simply gave him more.
After a simple rest, they packed up the tent and other equipment, cleaned up all the traces left last night, and made some simple coverings around the cave entrance, and everyone followed the roots of the dead trees into the bottomless hole.
The soil on the slope is very soft, and if you step on it, you will sink. Fortunately, there is a dead tree's rhizome below that can be used as a natural wooden ladder, which is convenient. But even without this thing, with the current height and softness of the soil, nothing would happen even if he jumped directly.
After descending into the cave entrance, a damp and decaying smell hit my face. The cave is open-air, so there is no need to worry about oxygen, but for safety reasons, everyone still wore gas masks. If there are those bloodthirsty black insects burrowing into your nostrils and ears, it will be more terrifying than poisonous gas.
The cave goes all the way down diagonally. The surrounding area is spacious enough for three people to walk side by side. If this was really a mine, its diameter would be enough for three or four people to dig in it.
The cave wall is earthy and somewhat damp, with roots and stems of many plants wrapped around it, some of which are already hanging down. In such an environment, these plant rhizomes can play a certain role in reinforcing the surrounding cave walls.
There was some soft soil and rotten leaves under the feet. No matter what, this big hole must have been there for a long time. Judging from the current situation, under such a structure, water seepage is very serious in the cave. The deeper you go, the soil at the foot of the surrounding cave walls becomes wetter. There may be some water accumulation at the bottom.
The bright light of the flashlight was swaying around, and everyone used shovels to remove the hanging roots above their heads while paying attention to the road under their feet.
"Be careful under your feet and above your head, be careful of insects." Uncle Long and Yang Lixuan took the lead, followed by Chen Taohaozi and the rest.
Because they knew there were bloodthirsty black insects, everyone applied potion on their bodies in advance and wore long-sleeved and long-legged clothes to prevent insects from getting in.
After walking about ten meters, the rotten leaves and soil on the ground gradually diminished, revealing the remaining sleepers and rails underground.
"This is indeed the legendary mine!" Uncle Wang shined his flashlight on the railway track.
Looking at the railroad tracks under their feet, everyone couldn't help but feel happy. In this way, they could follow this mine and reach the Man-Eating Valley as quickly as possible.
The rails were severely rusted, and the sleepers underneath were also somewhat rotten. The cave was so humid that the original color of the wood could no longer be seen, but it was still solid when stepped on.
It was much easier to walk on the sleepers than on the mud and leaves before. As everyone went deeper and deeper, the diameter of the cave became narrower and narrower. At the beginning, several people could still walk side by side, but now they can only follow each other one after another.
As we go deeper, there are fewer and fewer roots on the surrounding cave walls, leaving only soil and gravel. Chen Tao looked at everything around him. The initial excitement and excitement had passed, but the strange feeling of being underground still made him feel very excited, and he couldn't help but look around curiously.
The mine is diagonally downward. From the entrance of the cave, everyone has been walking for nearly half an hour, and it is about twenty meters deep from the ground.
"Hey? Why do you feel something is wrong?" Uncle Long said suddenly, and everyone couldn't help but slow down.
"The slope under our feet has changed, and we are going up." Yang Lixuan listened and shined a flashlight on the rails under his feet and said:
"If I guessed correctly, this mine should go straight down, but there will be a gentle upward slope every other section. The entire mine tunnel is in the shape of a very gentle fold line."
"Well, this kind of design should be to prevent underground water seepage or collapse, and the soil and water will not flow directly from the top all the way down." Uncle Long held up a flashlight and looked back and forth.
"Everyone, keep up, use your moves, and watch your steps."
Everyone followed the rails all the way down, and it turned out that the mine was in the shape of a zigzag line as Yang Lixuan and Uncle Long had guessed before.
"Hey? When did the surrounding area turn into stone walls?" Boss Zhang's voice came from behind. Everyone raised their hands and touched the surrounding cave walls. Sure enough, at some point, there was no soil or roots left.
"It seems that we have reached the inside of the mountain. How did those people dig in the first place! I don't know how deep they dug." Uncle Wang said.
Chen Tao shined his flashlight on the stone wall next to him. The stone was black and he didn't know what it was. It felt wet and cold to the touch.
"It's really strange. Why are the stones here black?"
No one could answer his question. Everyone walked forward, and within a few meters, the surrounding area became spacious. An intersection appeared in front of the mine tunnel, and two mine entrances of similar size and diameter appeared in front of everyone.
"this……"
Faced with this sudden scene, everyone had to stop.
