Chapter 97 The Eighth Formation Core
When the diving team leader Zhang heard this, he shook his head like a rattle: "No, no, the situation is unknown at such a deep water, and you are all untrained. What if something really goes wrong? I ca n't take the responsibility. This is nonsense."
He Qingyou immediately breathed a sigh of relief and quickly responded, "Yes, yes, that's nonsense. I don't know how to dive."
Monk Yuantong laughed: "Brother Zhang, it's okay. If anything goes wrong, we will be responsible for it ourselves. It has nothing to do with you. You can sign a waiver agreement. If you agree, Boss He will increase your salary immediately."
He Qingyou almost jumped up, but he didn't dare to yell in front of Yuantong, so he muttered quietly, "When did I say that?"
Brother Zhang said in a gentle tone: "Even if you want to get involved, it's not impossible. Just do as the young master says, sign an agreement, and increase the remuneration. To be honest, we are not greedy for the money, but we cannot bear the responsibility."
He Qingyou's expression was as if he had lost his parents. He wanted to slap Monk Yuantong a few times, but he had no choice but to do it.
I stood on the edge of the cliff, looking at the dark water below. My heart beat faster when I thought about going into the water.
Everything was arranged, and we began to descend the mountain with our diving equipment. I thought it looked ridiculous, as this scene had happened in the bardo not long ago, and now it was happening again in a different form.
I had an extremely hazy feeling, as if the bardo state was closely connected with my real destiny, but I couldn't tell what it was specifically. It made me confused and it was really a joke of fate.
To reach the water, you have to go down the cliff. There is a narrow path that looks extremely dangerous. Fortunately, everyone has strength in numbers, and they support each other and step by step reach the bottom of the cliff, the edge of the deep water.
It was freezing here. It was the hottest time of the year, the sun was blazing, and the ground was smoking, but near this area of water, the temperature dropped drastically, and even talking made one breathe out white air.
The water was a dark ink color, with gentle waves surging on the shore. At first glance, it looked like a huge abyss.
He Qingyou's legs were so weak that he couldn't stand up straight. He needed two people to support him.
He trembled and said, "Young Master, I, I really can't do it anymore, should I stop..."
Yuantong patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Boss He. I will take care of your safety underwater. Even if something happens to me, I won't let anything happen to you. By the way, do you still want to find your son?"
"I want to, I want to." He Qingyou said with a bitter face.
A few of us put on our diving suits, carried oxygen tanks on our backs, and put on our diving goggles.
Brother Zhang explained clearly what to do when going down. Don't rush to dive after entering the water, float and sink under the water to get a feel for it, and then follow the instructions. Make sure to watch his actions and dive down little by little.
Brother Zhang emphasized that if you don’t listen and follow orders, and something really happens, you will bear the consequences!
The four of us were almost ready. Brother Zhang was the first to go into the water, holding onto the rocks on the shore , and walked slowly until the water was above his head. I was the second one, and I followed him step by step. As soon as most of my body entered the water, I immediately felt the cold air coming, as if it condensed into substance and pressed against the outside of my diving suit.
Fortunately, the diving suit I am wearing is expensive and imported from Germany. It can keep out the cold and protect my body temperature.
When I was a kid, I often swam in the river. I was very good at swimming and had a nickname called "White Shark in the Waves". Diving feels similar. I swam slowly underwater and came to Brother Zhang.
Brother Zhang shone the underwater flashlight, and when he saw me nodding, he motioned for me to come to his side. At this time, the last two Yuantong and He Qingyou also arrived.
Brother Zhang gestured to the four of us to put our arms around each other's shoulders, stretch out our bodies, and float in the water. He gestured, indicating that if we felt any discomfort, we should tell him immediately.
The four of us followed his instructions and did what he said. I found something unusual: He Qingyou was terrified on the shore, but once in the water, he became very natural and skilled. He is an excellent swimmer.
There will be a physiological reaction in the water, which can't be faked. He Qingyou is indeed a hidden talent.
What surprised me most was Monk Yuantong. He was also a veteran. There was nothing unnatural about his body and his posture was on par with Brother Zhang's.
After about five minutes, Brother Zhang looked at us, nodded, and gave the three of us a thumbs up.
Then he shone his flashlight into the dark depths of the water, signaling him to go down first and everyone else to follow closely.
Everyone followed him and began to dive. After diving about two or three meters, the situation became a bit bad. It was dark in front of us. We all turned on the flashlights, but we could hardly see anything. There was only the abyss of the water in front of us.
Brother Zhang turned around while swimming, gestured to calm down, and then turned the flashlight in a circle. This was the signal we agreed on on land. If you don't keep turning the flashlight in a circle, it means you can't hold on any longer and need to go up.
I originally thought He Qingyou would do this, but he swam very firmly, with the flashlight shining directly below, without any intention of turning around in circles.
My breathing was rapid and my oxygen consumption was high. This was just the beginning and there were still at least ten meters below. I tried to control my emotions and regulate my breathing, making sure to leave enough oxygen because we had to come back.
The process of continuing downstream was very long. I didn’t know how much time had passed. I felt like I was always downstream in the dark, losing time and space. The only light in front of me was Brother Zhang’s flashlight.
Brother Zhang suddenly stopped and shone his flashlight. I saw that we were already underwater. The flashlight shone brightly, penetrating the darkness and falling on the ground. I could see that there was only sand and dust there, no vegetation, and it looked very desolate. It was silent all around, and I couldn't see anything.
If you look closely, you can see a lot of debris smaller than a hair rising with the water flow. If you don't look carefully, you can't see it. It's similar to the black noise on TV.
Brother Zhang pulled out an iron rod from his waist and stabbed it hard into the ground under the water as a mark. He stepped on the bottom of the water with both feet and walked slowly forward. We followed behind him, shining the flashlight everywhere, and the light flickered in the darkness.
I followed behind, my heart pounding. Only then did I know what the most complicated maze in the world was. The most complicated maze is not the one with many forks in the road, but the one with inability to see. If you can't see, or if your eyes are blocked, you can't get out of the small space.
After walking underwater for about ten minutes, Yuantong seemed to have seen something and suddenly broke away from the team and swam over. Brother Zhang didn't catch him. The monk swam farther and farther away, so we had to follow him.
Because it was too dark underwater, the distance was stretched out. In fact, the monk only swam a few meters, but it felt like he had walked a long way. He stopped and shone a flashlight, and we saw a puppet inexplicably appear in that place.
At first glance, it looks similar to the scarecrows in the fields, wrapped in black cloth, wearing a hat, with no eyebrows, arms outstretched, swaying gently with the water flow.
In such a deep and dark environment, suddenly seeing such a thing must be terrifying.
Except for Yuantong, the three of us watched from a distance. It's not that I didn't dare to go over, but I felt that this mannequin had an indescribable evil aura, which seemed to portend bad luck.
Yuantong looked around the dummy and came to the bottom of the dummy's feet. In the light of the flashlight, I clearly saw a black arrow feather stuck in the ground. I immediately understood that this was the eighth eye of the formation set up by the master.
Yuantong held the tail of the arrow and pulled it out with force.
We watched intently as the water suddenly surged and the surrounding dust began to blow up as if driven by an invisible wind.
I looked around, and to be honest I couldn't see anything, but my hair stood on end as I had an ominous feeling, as if something big was going to happen.
I shone the flashlight at Yuantong to remind him, but Yuantong was still pulling out the arrow.
The arrow seemed to be stuck very deep and firmly, and could not be pulled out no matter what. He Qingyou, who was standing next to him, suddenly moved, kicked the water with his feet, swam straight over, came close, and helped Yuantong pull out the arrow.
Yuantong looked at him and didn't object, and the two of them pulled it out. Seeing the arrow feathers coming out little by little, the water flow became stronger, and Brother Zhang and I were both swept up.
Although he was wearing a diving mask and couldn't see Brother Zhang's face, he could feel that he was very anxious and angry. He was a veteran diver with a sensitivity that ordinary people didn't have. He was angry because Yuantong didn't obey orders and acted rashly.
He used the flashlight to shine on Yuantong and He Qingyou, drawing circles in the water, and the two looked up at him. Brother Zhang pointed his finger at the water, meaning that they should leave now.
Yuantong and He Qingyou just looked at it, then lowered their heads and continued to pull out the arrow.
Brother Zhang turned around and looked at me, patted my shoulder, pointed upwards, and motioned for me to go first.
I shook my head. How could I possibly leave under such circumstances? Firstly, I was curious. Secondly, if I left them behind and went ahead, I would not be able to survive in the underworld anymore and I would not be able to get over it psychologically.
At this moment, a ball of blood suddenly floated in the water. I saw that the direction of the blood came from Yuantong. He opened his hands, and the surrounding water was dyed red. I understood what happened. His hands were cut when he pulled out the arrow.
Brother Zhang couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so he swam over and pulled Yuantong away.
Yuantong struggled and waved his hands, indicating that he couldn't move. Brother Zhang got really angry and grabbed and dragged him away.
At this moment, He Qingyou suddenly raised his hands, holding the arrow feather in his hand, and pulled it out!
