Heiyu was buried and paper was burned to offer sacrifices to the ground.
When noon came, the old fish man pulled the empty cart back to the yard and put it into the stable and thatched shed.
"Uncle Yu, where did you bury the Dragon King?"
Yue Guanchao was lying on the stone bench in the corridor, with the warm sun shining on his face, making his eyes blue and blurry.
It was too cold in Gujing just now, so we had to get rid of the moisture as soon as possible.
The old fish man seemed to be still immersed in the panic of killing fish. He put his hands into his cotton robe and drooped his eyelids with a depressed look:
"Master Jiaolong does not belong to the land and was thrown into the water. I hope he can nourish all things and protect the aquatic people."
"Do you want to know the truth about the Dragon King's ritual?"
When Uncle Yu heard this, his eyes were full of doubts:
"Young man, Jiaolongye's sacrifice is just a sacrifice. What's the truth? You've only been here two days and you've caused a lot of weird things in the temple. Don't make any more troubles."
Yue Guanchao deliberately threatened:
"That won't work. When I was sleeping with my eyes squinted just now, Master Jiaolong entrusted me with a dream and asked me to go to the Black Wild Forest of Houhe River to have a look."
"Houthe Yelin? Master Jiaolong really entrusted you with a dream. That place is very evil. I advise you not to go there."
Yue Guanchao carefully observed the expression on Old Man Yu's face as he spoke. The old man's eyes were filled with confusion and a hint of fear.
"Perhaps, once the bronze mirror is returned to its place, Master Jiaolong can finally appear. I'll go take a look this afternoon. Maybe I can find some treasures."
Yue Guanchao said this just to tease this old man!
He wanted to go see the wild forest, not because of some Dragon King's dream, but because he subconsciously realized that there must be a reason why this temple was built in front of the wild forest.
The old fish man feels guilty because of killing fish, and is very afraid that he will be punished by God at such an old age. Once the old man starts talking about retribution, the more he thinks about it, the more wrong he will become. It would be bad if it becomes his obsession.
If he proves that Black Catfish is not the messenger of Lord Jiaolong, he might be able to help Yu Bo get rid of his heartache.
After hearing what he said, the others felt that they should investigate clearly. After lunch, they quickly packed up and headed to the mountains and forests.
"Yu Bo, didn't you come over? Why did you come over too?"
Yue Guanchao looked behind him. Old Yu, holding his sleeves in his sleeves, followed slowly behind everyone.
"You young people are not afraid of heaven or earth, so I can keep a check on you."
Houhe Black Wild Forest is not far from Jiaolong Temple. You can already enter the forest after walking a few hundred meters.
Yue Guanchao stepped on the thick snow and looked at the vast forest in front of him.
There are few grasses and shrubs here. The outer bark of the towering ancient trees is dead and no branches or buds can grow. Only the bare branches stretch out wantonly, covering the sky with their huge crowns and blocking out the sun.
In the eyes of everyone, this kind of tree that will never sprout and grow leaves is no different from the dead black coral in the sea. It is like the corpse of the tree, constantly emitting a strange smell.
"Just this one. I think you are the thickest. I want to see how you, a shameless guy like you, survived for a thousand years!"
Yue Guanchao picked up the shovel and banged it against the tree trunk several times, causing it to drop carbonized dead branches.
After everyone cleared away the surrounding snow, soft soil appeared in front of them.
The soil in the black forest is dark red, as if red mud is mixed into the soil. The tree hole the size of a washbasin is next to the roots of the tree as black as charcoal. It looks like a nest dug by a fox and a porcupine. It looks inconspicuous.
When they cleared out other trees and saw many dense caves with warm mist coming out, everyone felt that this place was not simple.
Dig the soil, dig holes, and cut off stray roots.
Geda and Ma Chang quickly dug the hole as big as it could accommodate normal people.
"Me, Geda, and Song Qianjin, the three of us will go down and take a look. You guys will stand on the shore to take care of us."
After saying that, the three of them got into the hole one after another and disappeared at the bottom of the tree roots.
There is indeed a cave at the bottom of the tree roots. The tree cave they dug was only a shallow entrance. When they followed the slanted cave and went tens of meters deeper, the cave was already getting wider and wider.
The three of them no longer had to kneel and crawl, and even walking upright could not touch the roof of the cave. When they reached the end of the cave entrance, they saw shaggy trees and vines and filled with heat.
Song Siyuan turned on the flashlight while walking. She looked at the stone wall where rock formations were gradually appearing, and she suddenly realized:
"The underground of Black Wild Forest is a natural cave. There may be hot spring gas leaking. The cave is so hot but it's normal!"
"Let's go, keep walking in."
Yue Guanchao lifted up the vines and continued walking deeper into the cave. As the three people's flashlights illuminated the cave, they couldn't help but gasp when they saw what was in the cave.
Many "cross" rock bridges appeared in front of everyone. Each rock bridge was connected with round platform piers, forming a dense "bridge array" like a checkerboard grid.
The rock bridge is very primitive, with dry vines twisting the stone pillars tightly and simply serving as railings. The bridge deck is uneven and bumpy. It is just made of rough rock slabs put together on the bridge piers. Mud and moss are all over the place, and wet insects climb on it.
What made them curious was not the stone bridge, but the sarcophagus located in the center of the "ten"!
These coffins generally have no lids, are roughly carved and rarely decorated, and are as ordinary as a rotten stone trough with an open lid. If it is peculiar, it is the carvings of black and white mating catfish on the coffin heads, which look extremely evil.
"There are only catfish patterns on the outside of this coffin. It is basically certain that it was placed here artificially, but we don't know what kind of ceremony it is."
Song Siyuan unconsciously walked closer to the sarcophagus and took a closer look. The knotted roots of black trees emerged from the soil, and the top of the underground cave seemed to be hung with millions of black plush silk ribbons, which made people's brows jump.
