Chapter 50: Tom and Jerry (I)
Swish... Several figures silently flipped over the first floor, and four pairs of eyes stared at the huge figure thousands of meters away. Even though they were so far away, the indescribable pressure was enough to make people hold their breath.
This place is like a huge house, and the giant crane is the house cat. And they are the mice that carry the cat on their backs to find food. Once they are discovered by the cat... the consequences are self-evident.
With the help of the pulley ropes in front of each stone house, the four little mice climbed up layer by layer. The terraced structure provided the little mice with a natural ladder. Occasionally, when the big cat turned around, they immediately stopped all movements and lay still.
No one spoke, and the atmosphere in the underground palace was almost dead silent. All the metal objects on their bodies were taken off, for fear that the metal objects would collide with the rock and make noises. Time passed by minute by minute, and after a full hour, they finally reached the top floor.
After pulling up the last eight-armed arhat, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and took the time to rest. But Jiang Xian didn't. As the leader, he forced himself to be alert and focused on the huge figure in the distance.
"After climbing for an hour, it barely looked up, which proves that this distance is safe enough... It's also because there are no bats and no food here. With such a large body, the more it moves, the more it eats... It doesn't understand this principle, but nature has taught it." He rubbed his chin and looked at the river thoughtfully for a long time before saying, "Did you notice that there is no bridge here?"
"Does that mean it won't come over?" Ling Xiaozi asked immediately .
Jiang Xian shook his head slightly: "Zombie fish can't bite through its skin. This canal is not deep, at most ten meters, it only takes a few minutes for it to run over, but... why is there no bridge over the river?"
"It's a bit strange." The Eight-Armed Arhat frowned. "This river was obviously dug by humans to transport wood. But... after the wood is washed downstream, how can we salvage it?"
Jiang Xian looked at the river and murmured, "The water is obviously flowing downwards, which means there is no dam. Without a dam, there is no way to salvage. So... why did they build this huge underground canal?"
"Not only that." Ling Xiaozi also reacted and said solemnly: "Everyone, this is living water."
"If it's stagnant water, there won't be zombie fish. Stagnant water will only breed bacteria and various insects. Without oxygen, no living thing can survive!"
With just one sentence, everyone's eyes lit up.
Living water...represents an exit ahead!
When going back is almost impossible, the exit represents the hope of survival!
"Where... does it lead to?" The Eight-Armed Arhat looked deeply at the river and murmured.
silence.
After a few seconds, Jiang Xian finally said, "Don't think about this for now. Everyone, look here."
Everyone looked over and they suddenly found a bloodstain on the ground!
It was intermittent, with extremely dense blood spots. It had been a long time since these bloodstains appeared, and they were dark red. Ling Xiaozi frowned deeply, and after a few seconds he said with certainty: "It's not the blood of the monkey crane."
"The wound is very large and irregular. Sarukaku is very familiar with this place, so it is impossible for him to be injured so badly. And judging from the extent of the blood gushing out, if Sarukaku was injured, the blood should be stained on his hair."
Jiang Xian squatted down and gently stroked the ground with his fingers. His eyes flickered slightly, which meant that the monkeys and cranes would also move on this floor, and... he thought of something.
"Go on." He waved his hand, took the lead, and rushed forward quickly and carefully. However, just after walking a hundred meters, everyone's heart chilled - the giant crane actually stopped more than five hundred meters away!
"Why isn't it leaving?" Ling Xiaozi's eyes almost popped out. "What is it...what is it sniffing at the stone house?"
They were much faster than the slow-moving ape-cranes and had already advanced two hundred meters. It could be seen that the giant ape-crane almost stood up straight, lying on the stone wall, with its huge head looking left and right, as if... looking for something.
No one could answer him, and no one slowed down. Ten minutes later, they finally reached the 500-meter section. But the giant crane never moved a step.
Across a river, terraced stone houses faced each other from afar. Four people squatted behind the guardrails and looked solemnly at the other side. At a distance of a thousand meters, they could only vaguely see a huge white dot. Since they stepped onto the fourth floor, they have not moved a single step!
"What should we do now? Continue moving forward?" After observing for ten minutes, Hong Si Niang asked in a low voice.
Jiang Xian shook his head and then picked up the telescope. This distance was at the limit of the telescope, so it was impossible . However, he could still see a giant ape crane.
His pupils suddenly dilated inside the lens, and then he suddenly put down the telescope and looked solemnly at the other side. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly turned his head and said, "Everyone...you'd better take a look."
Soon, four monoculars were extended through the gaps in the guardrail. Ling Xiaozi took a quick look, and then his pupils suddenly widened.
No... not just him, everyone was like seeing a ghost. They suddenly put down the telescope, and immediately picked it up again. This went on for several times, and everyone's face was filled with shock!
Opposite is a huge palace.
It is the same height as the cave and about fifty meters wide. It is a typical Qin Dynasty building, with the wooden part made entirely of stone. It is also divided into four floors. There are two rows of terracotta warriors and horses on the steps in front of the hall, and you can even see the Changxin Palace lanterns every five meters. The palace is decorated with carved beams and painted buildings... No, none of this is important.
The palace was like a flying stone, separating the stone houses on the left and right. It had a huge plaque hanging on it. On the plaque... was engraved a word similar to the word "Chen".
But everyone knows that this is not the word "chen". This is... the word "mo"! The ancient word "mo"!
This is Mozi’s room!
Behind this ink character is a black dead butterfly spreading its wings as if ready to fly!
However... this is still not the most shocking part.
Right on the top floor, right in front of the giant crane's head, there was something... flashing a faint green light!
This is like a scene from fantasy!
Endless underground palaces, underground canals as grand as Kunlun Mountain, terracotta warriors and horses that have been silently guarding for thousands of years, hundreds of thousands of stone houses filled with people... flocks of monkeys and cranes, incredible King Kong. They are waiting for... something that flashes green light?
"Mozi's residence..." Ling Xiaozi put down the telescope and said in a trembling voice: "That's Mozi's residence!"
"But what is that? A night-shining pearl? A treasure? Have you seen it? A cat's eye? What on earth is that?!"
He was so excited that he was a little incoherent. As the builder of the entire underground palace, Mozi must know a lot of things.
No one answered him, Ling Xiaozi immediately turned to look at Jiang Xian, and was about to say something, but suddenly saw him covering his chest, his face was very red, and his breathing was panting.
"What's wrong with you?" He immediately rushed over, helped him sit down slowly against the railing. Jiang Xian's breathing was very irregular, Hong Si Niang and Babi Luohan immediately squatted down, took out the medicine they carried with them, and gently fed him water.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Xian finally gritted his teeth and opened his eyes. Facing everyone's concerned eyes, he gently shook his head. He panted and said, "When I saw that thing, I felt... a severe pain in my chest."
Ling Xiaozi blinked and suddenly opened his camouflage uniform. The next second, he couldn't help but whispered: "Jiang...you, you look!"
Right on his chest, the black death butterfly pattern that was almost finished, perhaps only one centimeter away, was actually... scattered!
It was as if being rubbed by an invisible big hand, and the patterns only existed on the surface of the skin. It was completely stirred and messed up, as if... as if it was reorganizing something!
Swish! He pulled his collar tight and pursed his lips fiercely: "I'm going over there."
The tone was not loud, but it was firm and decisive.
The two thousand years of curse finally showed a change. If he didn't get over it and see clearly, he would never forgive himself.
"Everyone has their own opinions on curses." Ling Xiaozi scratched his head and said, "There is a secret book hidden in Tongtian Mansion, called 'Curse Return Battle'..."
Before he could finish his words, Jiang Xian gave him a fierce look with a "are you kidding me" look.
Ling Xiaozi coughed lightly, "...I said it wrong. It's called 'Secret Spell Record'. It says that the so-called spell is to use a color, symbol, or environment plus light to give people a feeling of 'I will die soon'. It's like blindfolding a person, putting an iron bucket behind his back, and then cutting his wrists. When his blood stops flowing, he will die. It's a strong psychological suggestion."
"I wonder if your ancestor also accepted this psychological suggestion at that time. Then, over the course of thousands of years, the human body slowly began to adapt to this suggestion. Just like... the theory of evolution?"
Jiang Xian shook his head: "No, if it's blood relatives, it makes sense. But, in the past two thousand years, many of the disciples in the sect were recruited from outside..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly paused. He turned to look at Ling Xiaozi, and they both said almost in unison: "Textual suggestion?" "Image suggestion?"
The master's secret book itself is a channel!
Jiang Xian let out a long sigh. He didn't know if this was the case. But now was not the time to think about this. He wanted to know...what was on the other side? What could trigger the transformation of the cursed black death butterfly that could last for two thousand years?
It must be...it must be something closely related. Even if he has to face a giant ape crane, he must get it!
"Everyone." He forced himself to calm down and tilted his head to the upper left: "I saw that when I was putting away the telescope just now."
Everyone looked over there. What caught everyone's eyes was a huge viaduct!
Its base, together with a terrace extending from the rock wall, has stone steps winding up on both sides. The entire bridge is almost the same height as the cave, spanning across the canal. It looks very simple and is a typical ancient arch bridge. However, it has no piers.
Ropes as thick as arms stretched down from the top of the cave, one end submerged in the cave roof and the other end submerged in the bridge deck, tightly holding the bridge. Not far from the other side was Mozi's residence.
"Strange... This place is really weird..." The Eight-Armed Arhat sighed, "An arched bridge without piers... There must be some huge creature passing underneath. What on earth did they build here?"
