Chapter 89 Leaving Wufeng Mountain
When it was time to depart, both sides quickly made arrangements.
The two groups agreed on a time and then went their separate ways to their respective destinations. Before leaving, Old Xia and the others stopped to check information and key points with each other.
The emphasis was on highlighting their main mission and their preparedness for unforeseen circumstances.
Especially Elder Shi and Elder Zhuang, their tasks were the most arduous.
Old Xia was very worried and kept telling them to be extra careful.
Old Chen, who was also preparing to set off, held his chin high with an arrogant and indifferent expression as he looked into the distance, but his gaze clearly indicated that he wanted to sneak out.
For some reason, Old Chen didn't bring anyone else with him this time. Only Xiao Meng accompanied him; You Lizhu, Xiao Du, and Luo Yin didn't go.
When Meng Shaoyuan saw Elder Chen's gaze, he followed his line of sight and looked in that direction as well.
Upon seeing that it was Luo Yin, he fell into deep thought.
He quickly grabbed his equipment and quietly moved closer to him.
She was ready to lend him a hand at any time, while not daring to give Xiao Du even a glance, urging him to keep a close eye on Luo Yin.
Xiao Du caught his gaze and then raised an eyebrow.
What does this guy mean? Does he really think he'll mess this up? He's always remembered that. Don't worry, "Leave it to me, it'll be fine!"
"Alright, it's about time, everyone get ready to go."
"Pack your things, everyone, let's get ready to hit the road!"
With each command, the team quickly assembled, waiting for the last few to arrive.
Before leaving, Xia Ming patted the two elderly comrades on the shoulder, then looked at Huo Sen with a meaningful expression. "Captain Huo, their safety is in your hands. Human beings come first!"
Hossen nodded, his already hard face becoming even more serious.
"We guarantee the mission will be completed."
Tap tap tap~
As the heavy footsteps faded, half the people in the temple hall disappeared.
The dozen or so people remaining in the room also began to feel tense.
"Has everyone finished eating? You have five minutes to tidy up before we go in."
"Alright, alright!"
As soon as the vice-captain spoke, everyone wiped their mouths and began packing their things.
Yes, because they needed to hurry, they ate something before going in. Each person also carried a day's worth of food and water, aiming to move quickly.
As soon as the words "departing in five minutes" were spoken, Luo Yin and the others in the corner hurriedly checked their belongings again.
Since they knew they were going into a tunnel, they didn't bring many unnecessary things.
Even Luo Yin's personal notebook was taken away, but Sister You said it wasn't important.
Sister Xiaofang took out the peace charm hidden under her clothes and touched it, as if praying for protection and peace.
Seeing this, the two sisters next to them quickly went in to take a look.
She generously shared the good things, saying, "Come on, this is a very effective peace charm that my mom got for me. You should also pray to it for peace and safety."
"No need, I have mine and it works just as well!" Sister You waved her hand, tugging at the red string around her neck. Sister Xiao Fang looked at little Luo Yin, as if asking, "What about you?"
Luo Yin touched her pocket; she also had a peace charm, but before she could move, someone had already lifted the rope around her neck.
"Hey, Xiao Luo, what's in your lucky charm? Why is it so much heavier than mine?"
Yulizhu hooked her index finger and immediately felt that the weight was wrong; this was clearly not some triangular talisman paper.
"Oh, this was given to me by my grandfather."
She quickly pulled it down, her palm touching the round bead, and suddenly she started to miss home again.
"Everyone assemble, get ready to go in."
At this moment, the front began to line up. Looking at the neatly arranged ranks, Hosen personally went down and adjusted the formation.
"Everyone, please follow this formation. Remember not to move haphazardly. Keep a half-meter distance between each person. You can touch the person in front of you with your arm outstretched, but leave enough space between each other to avoid a stampede. Please remember this!"
He spoke with a calm and serious expression, and every time he made eye contact with someone, his expression was firm and solemn.
Those who receive his gaze will instinctively show him respect, thus achieving the result of obeying his instructions.
Luo Yin naturally understood as well. When she nodded to show that she remembered, she suddenly realized that this was what was called aura!
I used a lecture to talk to them, and it actually worked!
At first, everyone moved a little slowly through the gap, but it didn't take much time. They then followed the leader and walked along the beam of the flashlight.
Luo Yin was positioned near the front, probably the eighth person. She counted that there were thirteen people in the group.
Their positions weren't very high up; the four in front were all quick and efficient, as were the last four, while the five in the middle were the least capable.
Because he prided himself on having had experience with this before, Old Shi deliberately switched places with someone to be in the front.
At this moment, Old Zhuang in the middle of the line was repeatedly exclaiming that he had never imagined that it was really so narrow inside.
Since only the flashlights of everyone were shining, no one dared to waste them too much, so the leader, the middle group, and the last group each took a flashlight to illuminate the area.
Almost everyone else was walking by taking advantage of the light. In front of Luo Yin was Sister You, behind her was Old Zhuang with a flashlight, and then Sister Xiao Fang and another comrade.
She noticed that Mr. Zhuang's flashlight was occasionally shining on the wall next to her.
Then the old man sighed in admiration, followed by a look of confusion, as if he were deep in thought.
They couldn't say anything, so they could only follow the faint light ahead.
Fortunately, the distance wasn't far, and everyone quickly reached the stopping point by feeling around.
"Everyone, stop right here! This is it!"
"Old Zhuang, come and take a look."
Teacher Shi beckoned Comrade Zhuang over, and Old Zhuang agreed and quickly ran over there.
But then he seemed to remember something and quickly waved his hand, "Excuse me, comrade in front, I'll go take a look and come back later."
When Huo Sen heard what Elder Shi said, he knew something was wrong and was about to stop him when he heard Elder Zhuang say this.
"Wait, everyone stay where you are and don't move."
"Mr. Zhuang, please wait a moment. Wait until everyone in the line is in position before you come over, so you don't get hurt."
"well!"
After quickly seeing that the others were all standing safely, Lao Zhuang thanked them one by one and walked forward.
When they reached the entrance of the cave, they saw the marks of the excavation through the light of their flashlights, and Lao Zhuang's eyes lit up with an astonishing brightness.
"Old Shi, you see, this craftsmanship isn't just from the modern era."
"Right? I noticed it too. Look at these marks. Although many of them are from recent years, the ones at the top are definitely from more than just these years. I imagine the things underneath must be old objects as well."
So, in that case, they didn't make the right decision to come here.
"Hurry, there must be more down there."
"Old Shi, I'll go with you. Captain Huo, I won't go back. I'll stay with the team."
Seeing his repeated pleas, Huo Sen really wanted to follow ahead, and Old Shi beside him kept giving him meaningful glances.
Hosen thought for a moment and said, "Then you two should stay a little further back, otherwise we won't be able to protect you if something unexpected happens."
"No problem, I agree."
Once everything was arranged, everyone began to descend into the cave entrance one by one.
Time flew by, and soon the group arrived near the passageway.
Everyone carefully examined the surrounding area but found no clues. However, Old Zhuang deduced that something had been placed there before, but later it appeared that the traces had been moved.
As for what it was or when, it's impossible to guess.
"The only clue we have right now is probably this tunnel in front of us."
The term "tunnel" originally referred to a passageway with a gable roof in the middle of a building, or a convenient passageway temporarily built by the military based on the terrain for vehicles and horses to pass through quickly.
Looking at the bluestone path revealed by the three flashlights in front of them.
The villagers of Laoshihe were whispering among themselves, discussing whether there were any traps or dangers.
"I saw footprints at the scene, and the air quality was better than I expected."
Old Zhuang nodded, but still needed to be careful. "Let me try it out with the item."
Then, Old Zhuang pulled something out of his bag and casually tossed it into the darkness, "Bang bang bang~"
A noise reached everyone's ears, and all eyes turned to him.
After waiting for a few minutes without hearing any sounds from the mechanism, Lao Shi nodded.
"It seems alright, everything is safe."
Upon hearing this, Teacher Zhuang was delighted. She then called Xiao Xu over, whispered a few words to him, and the group began to move forward again.
Luo Yin walked much more carefully this time, and with each brick she stepped on, she could smell a strong, stagnant odor.
The further she went in, the stronger the smell became. She stopped halfway through, seizing the opportunity.
She wanted to take a few deep breaths, but the passageway was full of recirculated air, so she had to endure the discomfort. During this time, she noticed something different.
The path they were walking on was not straight; they weren't going straight in one direction.
There are always some bends and stretches, but that's alright; however, Kroin noticed that some places seemed a bit damp and humid.
She looked up, wondering if the tunnel had hollowed out Wufeng Mountain.
Before she could think further, the group began to speed up.
Captain Huo sensed something was wrong and realized he needed to speed up and leave as soon as possible to avoid any further complications.
They walked for several hours, but they still hadn't reached the end.
The team was in an uproar.
Neither Lao Shi nor Lao Zhuang, these two old comrades, expected that an inconspicuous passageway would be so long.
Putting aside the destination for now, the people who dug and built this trench are quite capable.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the passageways behind are all open-air excavations, with many of them being exposed cave-like adobe structures. The deep, bone-revealing excavation marks show that this was not something that could be done with just a little effort.
Lao Shi judged that these must be special passages left over from a certain era.
After making his judgment, Master Zhuang nodded in confirmation.
This is something that their era simply couldn't have produced.
"It should be evening by now. We haven't stopped since we set off, and I wonder if we've made it out of Wufeng Mountain yet?"
"I reckon they've already gone out."
"Maybe not. I think they've hollowed out Wufeng Mountain. Maybe we'll be able to see Elder Xia and the others on the mountaintop soon."
"Haha, if that were really the case, they would be terrified."
Luo Yin, who was a few steps behind, took a deep breath.
He then confirmed, "We have already left Wufeng Mountain, and we are quite far from it."
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Author's Note: I owe...
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