It was in this river that Liu Han and the others picked up the wooden box, and Professor Luo's inspection team also took this route.
Experienced mountain people know that walking along the river is the easiest way to avoid losing your way and the most likely place to find inhabited places.
At this time, the river had frozen into ice, and no sound could be heard along the way, only the snow underfoot and the occasional chirping of birds from around.
As the distance continues to deepen, various scenes that cannot be seen outside continue to appear.
There are trees dozens of meters high, colorful spiders, squirrels as big as rabbits, bats with fleshy membranes gliding in the sky, and steaming hot springs rich in sulfur.
Du Jun and I seemed to be in a fairy tale world.
Liu Han supported a towering tree and said with emotion: "For us Oroqen people, this is the real home. As long as you are not so greedy, the mountains are enough for you to have everything.
In the mountains, Liu Han was indeed no different from going home.
If you haven't experienced it personally, it would be hard to believe that there are people in this world who are so familiar with the mountains.
It was as if he could count and calculate. Before dark, he could judge from the terrain where there were nearby caves and which forests were suitable for camping.
Various legendary skills such as drilling wood to make fire and breaking ice to make salt were demonstrated to us one by one. The advanced windproof lighter and flint prepared in advance were not used a few times.
Not to mention food, even if it is winter, because the trees in the virgin forest are too lush, many tracts of woods block the sky and the sun, and the temperature below is very high.
You can actually find edible roots, palm-sized mushrooms, and newly sprouted wild vegetables, such as flying dragons, monkey heads, eagles, snow chickens...
In Du Jun's words, what we now enjoy is like an emperor's treatment. Even when the President of the United States came, he never had these good things.
…
Liu Han kept making marks along the way, and gradually I found that the surroundings were a bit familiar, and finally found a trace of similarity with the treasure map in my mind.
Before I told Du Jun about this discovery, the river at my feet began to bifurcate in front of a hill, turning into two tributaries, the east and west, around the foot of the mountain.
Liu Han pointed to the west and said excitedly: "That's right there. We started building the raft from this place, and you can enter the valley at the end of the river.
"It was autumn at that time, and we couldn't go ashore for nearly a day from here on. We all ate on the raft, which was a lot of hardship at that time.
"But it's frozen now, so you can just walk over."
"Come, let's rest for a while, and then try to get there before dark."
Liu Han made a suggestion. Because the road below is very difficult and can only be traveled on ice, it is best to build up enough strength.
So the three of us sat next to it and took a rest and ate something.
"Uncle Liu, has anyone been to the east?" I asked after taking a sip of water.
Liu Han shook his head.
"Not at all. The expedition team originally chose this direction based on the map. However, Professor Luo once mentioned that there were other teams that went there from other directions and later returned.
"It's impossible to pass there. It's even more dangerous than here. There are many intricate waterways, and you'll be washed away if you're not careful."
"Oh, if that's the case, it's really dangerous."
I nodded. It seemed that my grandpa's route was indeed to the east. Grandpa Wang told me at the beginning that they were in the valley where they were washed by a rapid current.
From this point of view, there is also a valley on the east and west sides, but one is a treasure hiding place and the other is a fierce ghost city.
The left and right sides are symmetrical and the bad and good fortune are opposite. How does this layout seem to be intentional?
When I was deep in thought, Liu Han said disapprovingly.
"What two directions? Normally, water in mountains slides down from high places, and most of them have only one source.
"Don't look at it branching off here. If you look up, it may still be a main vein, but you don't know where it comes from."
Yes!
Liu Han's words suddenly awakened me.
I just entered a misunderstanding because of the complex terrain in front of me.
Which direction does it matter?
As long as you follow the water and cross the mountains in front, you can return to the same direction.
At that time, whether it is a treasure map, a ghost town, or the Yellowstone Mountain that Cheng Yunying mentioned? The truth can be revealed.
Thinking of this, I no longer hesitated. The three of them packed up their equipment, tied non-slip bark on the soles of their shoes, and cut two pointed sticks, and walked along the frozen river to the west.
We walked and stopped along the ice, from morning until dusk, until two high mountains appeared in front of us. The surroundings were so tightly blocked that there was no road at all, except for the river at our feet, which happened to pass through the middle.
Liu Han stopped.
"Xiao Dao, slide in from here and you will reach the valley. If you change your mind now? We can still go back the same way."
I looked at Du Jun. He didn't speak. He raised his hand and made a forward gesture.
I understood in my mind and said with a smile: "Uncle Liu, we are already here, we have to go in and take a look. I don't believe there is really an entrance to hell here."
"Okay, fasten the hat tightly, this place is a bit slippery."
Liu Han sighed softly, grabbed the two wooden sticks, bowed his waist slightly, and took the lead to walk in. Du Jun and I followed closely behind.
After walking for about thirty minutes, the view in front finally opened up.
Here we are, this is the valley!
The moment I walked out of the river, I was completely numb.
Liu Han told me many times about the situation here before coming here, but I never quite believed it.
But then I realized that Liu Han didn't describe the horror here at all.
No matter how staunch a materialist you are, when you see everything in front of you, you have only one thought: This must be the end of the world or the entrance to hell.
…
There are towering peaks all around, and the angle is almost straight up and down. There are no plants at all wherever you see, and the entire mountain rock is light red.
When a person stands on the ground and looks up to the sky, he is truly looking at the sky from a well.
The area of the valley is as big as two football fields. Due to the special terrain, the temperature inside is very high.
There are still many grasses and unknown vegetation growing on the ground. The ice under the feet extends to the right along the rocks, gradually turning into a stream and flowing into a pool more than ten meters away.
Facing us is the same canyon, and there is also a pool, but it is bright red, and the water inside is like blood.
Red ice formed on the river in the middle of the canyon.
The left side of the valley is covered with grassland, with several tents standing in an unsteady state, and a pile of rubbish nearby.
To the right is a dense, tall and lush forest, covering the place into a dark place.
I stood there without speaking, sweating all over my body in a short period of time, but my heart felt cold.
This was actually the most dangerous feng shui fatal situation in the legend. It was a miracle that Liu Han and the others could escape with their lives.
