"Old Cao, you are well-informed. Have you ever seen this kind of hanging human figurine?"
I asked.
He said hesitantly.
"When I was young, I traveled around with my master... I did see similar things, but there were still some differences. After all, there are many ways to make such human figurines."
Madoka was more direct, flapping her wings and flying to the top of the cave, getting close to one of the hanging human figurines to watch.
"Hey! Fatty bird, be careful. It's better to be a little more cautious about things you haven't seen before."
I reminded quietly.
"Oops, I get it, it's so verbose!"
Madoka muttered, waving her wings lightly.
Whoosh!
A very small wind blade flew out and actually flew around the figurines. Several white silk threads were cut and slowly fell down.
I didn't expect Madoka, a big fat bird, to be able to control its magic [Wind Blade] so exquisitely!
"Hey, I'm pretty good, isn't I? Mr. Wu, Old Man Cao, catch this thread and take a look. Can you find any clues?"
I reached out and caught one.
At first glance, these white threads look a bit like spider silk. When you pinch it gently, it does feel a little sticky.
Two hands gently pulled it, but it didn't break. It seems to be slightly tougher than spider silk.
I frowned.
"Could this be the lair of a giant spider demon that became a spirit? Are these human figurines hanging upside down from the ceiling of the cave the food of the spider demon?"
Lao Cao pinched the white silk thread, thought about it for a while, and agreed with my point of view. I think this is very likely.
Madoka folded her wings, landed on my shoulder, and said.
"Let's forget about these weird hanging human figurines and think about how to get out? This ghost place is more annoying than the big cave covered with corpse moss. There is no dry road exit at all! Except for this underground river. The branches here are all solid underground rock walls. Do you want to try jumping into the underground river again? "
I spread my hands helplessly.
"Then I have to test my lung capacity. I really have to hold my breath on my own. When I rushed down just now, all the talismans on my body were wet... I couldn't use them."
"Holy crap! Boy Wu, don't you know how to buy a waterproof backpack and put the talisman in the bag?"
Madoka was unhappy and wanted to slap my head with her wings, but I caught her.
"What you said in hindsight makes sense. I'll spend a lot of money on a waterproof bag when I go back this time."
Seeing that the two of us were beginning to bicker again, Lao Cao quickly waved his hand.
"Okay, since these Hanged Man Figurines have not taken the initiative to attack, let's not provoke them yet. Let's carefully check the situation of this cave first. The forked yellow spring water that rushed us in just now, there is always Where is it going? It’s impossible to disappear into thin air.”
yes!
Since it is a tributary branched from the main stream of the underground river, even if the flow is not as good as the main stream, it must have a final destination, right?
If this cave is completely sealed, then where does the water from the tributaries of the underground river go?
So, we started to investigate carefully...
Only then did I discover that the floor of this underground cave actually had a slight slope. After the water from the small forked tributary that rushed us out roared to the ground, it all flowed in one direction to somewhere in the cave.
"Come on, Xiao Wu, let's go over and take a look!"
Lao Cao held the phoenix stick in his hand and strode forward with me.
Whoosh!
A white shadow passed overhead, surpassing the two of us in an instant and flying ahead.
"Hahahaha! Humans are weak chickens, but this bird is so powerful. He flew over in the blink of an eye."
Madoka, this damn fat bird, was so proud and looked so mean.
He looked down and shouted again.
"It's a pool! It looks very deep."
Because this cave was not big, so when Xiao Yuan called out a few times, Lao Cao and I had already arrived in front of the pool.
The pool is roughly circular in shape, not very large in area, and its diameter is estimated to be only about ten feet.
I glanced at Madoka speechlessly.
"This pool of water is turbid and khaki in color. How do you know it's deep?"
"Young boy Wu, you are stupid! The turbid khaki groundwater keeps flowing into it, and it can't even fill the pond, and it won't overflow at all. It must be very deep, and maybe there are underground rock formations or mountain cracks underneath. "
"Well, the damn fat bird is quite smart. I just said that on purpose to test you."
I speak righteously.
Madoka's bird eyes suddenly widened.
"Damn it, Mr. Wu! When did you become so shameless?"
"I'll learn from you. You're a mean, bad bird. Anyone who comes close to you will become evil."
The bickering between Madoka and I has almost become a habit. If we don't choke on each other, we will feel uncomfortable in our mouths...
Lao Cao could only smile bitterly.
He walked around the pool, touched the edge of the pool again, and said in a deep voice.
"This pool seems to have some traces of artificial excavation."
I also squatted down and observed carefully. You can indeed see some polishing marks on the edges.
"Old Cao still has a vicious vision! This place is indeed different from the purely natural cave just now. The traces of artificial excavation are very obvious. But it should also be transformed based on the collapse of the original underground sub-layer. Otherwise, it is purely artificial to create this deep underground cave. It’s just too difficult to dig pools of water everywhere.”
That's right!
Lao Cao obviously agrees with me.
He looked back at the roaring underground river behind him. As it flowed through the cave, it branched off into a small tributary. He pointed to the water outlet and said.
"And it seems that someone dug a small branch of the west river channel along the rock at the outlet of the underground river. It is equivalent to deliberately diverting the water from the Yellow Spring to this pool. We happened to be washed along it. coming."
As Lao Cao and I analyzed, some information gradually emerged...
Huh?
At this time, I suddenly discovered a problem.
"This deep pool filled with yellow spring water seems to be in an extremely yin direction. It is a cave deep underground and naturally belongs to yin. In addition, the yellow spring water is poured into it, and in accordance with the Feng Shui direction... the three yins converge, and this pool of water Is there something evil brewing inside?"
This absolutely cannot be a coincidence!
Although overall, the underground caves and underground rivers inside the mountain are naturally formed, and it is impossible for humans to reach this level.
But by changing some details, the naturally formed mountains and rivers can produce some magical power according to people's needs!
It can be seen that the people who used the natural caves and underground rivers to build this place under the back hill of Lianghe District Middle School should be proficient in Feng Shui and have extremely powerful magic techniques.
This also supports the speculation that I and Lao Cao just made!
I frowned and stared at the deep pool of underground water that smelled of earthy yellow sulfur, and said in a deep voice.
"There must be something weird under the water. It's possible that all the arrangements here are for the things in the pool. Lao Cao, why don't you use a phoenix rope to hang into the water and try to see if you can catch something... "
Sudden!
Madoka standing on my shoulder flapped her wings violently and flew into the air. Look warily towards the top of the cave.
"What's wrong, Fat Bird?"
"The human figurines hanging on the top of the cave have moved! It seems that we still have to prepare for a fight before studying the pool and looking for a way out."
Um?
I looked in the direction of Madoka's gaze.
really!
The dozens of human figurines that were tightly wrapped in white silk threads and hung upside down on the cave ceiling began to twist at this time - the limbs under the white silk threads could be seen moving, shaking from side to side, like some kind of weird Like a spooky swing.
I shrugged and said with a wry smile.
"Okay! We can only fight with these ghosts. This is a secret space deep underground. There is no place to run if you want to."
Lao Cao waved the phoenix stick in his hand and glanced at me.
"Xiao Wu, should we compete to see who has eliminated more of these ghosts?"
Before I could answer, Madoka immediately helped.
"Okay, okay! I'm also participating, and the three of us will compete together. Now that we've decided to fight, it's better to strike first than to strike later and suffer disaster! Wow, hahaha..."
The stupid bird cooed, flapped its wings and flew straight towards the nearest hanging figurine.
I didn't provoke these things just now because I didn't want to cause trouble. Obviously, since trouble is coming, let’s beat the hell out of it!
Chirp!
Madoka actually let out a shriek that was as sharp as cracking gold and cracked stone, and her wings were fully extended. Showing a half-moon arc shape, the feathers were clearly defined and shone with a metallic white light.
At first glance, it looks like a round fur ball with two sharp steel knives stuck on both sides!
Uh... I don't know if it's a deterrent or a bit funny.
But the power is huge!
Madoka passed directly by the "human figurine" that had not completely emerged from the chrysalis, and her wings sliced through it like a steel knife.
There was a pop, and the sound of cutting with a sharp weapon was heard.
The figurine was cut in half directly by Madoka's wings, leaving only half of the body hanging down - but the whole figure was not revealed from the white silk thread, so it was not clear what it looked like.
From the split half of the body, there is green juice flowing downwards, exuding an unpleasant smell!
"Oh yeah! I'll kill one first and take the lead temporarily. Hahahaha!"
Madoka hovered in the air, cooing triumphantly—the sound that stuck in our minds was that of arrogant laughter.
Since Lao Cao and I couldn't fly, these human figurines were hung on the ceiling of the cave, quite high from the ground. They don't emerge from their pupae and take the initiative to land on the ground to attack us. We really can't defeat them, so we can only worry...
Puff, puff, hiss!
There were sounds like pieces of broken cloth, and the white silk threads wrapped around the figurines were finally completely broken. The white thread hanging from the roof of the cave also broke, and they fell to the ground one by one.
It was only then that these strange human figurines finally revealed their true appearance!
I saw that their bodies were still roughly human-shaped, but many places had been alienated - the noses and mouths on their faces were gone, but there were six or seven eyes! Arranged randomly.
They were clearly human eyes, but they protruded outwards, giving them a strange and strange look similar to insect eyes.
Where the mouth used to be, there was a circular hole - like the mouthparts of some kind of insect, with sharp white teeth all around the edges.
The limbs have also become alienated, with circles that look like traces of arthropods, and they have become very slender and narrow. In proportion to his body, he looks a bit abnormal.
At the same time, their arms and legs are covered with dense black fluff. Close to the joint, something like a sharp bone spur protrudes outward.
The palms and soles of the feet also changed into shapes like the ends of sharp insect joints.
Seeing this, I took a deep breath.
"What the hell is this? It's too ugly and disgusting! It's like..."
"A humanoid spider monster!"
Lao Cao took my words from the side with a solemn tone.
