Chapter 91 Reaching the Valley Bottom
At this moment, the team members were both afraid and nervous.
They feared unforeseen events that might cause them to suffer; they were also afraid that their actions might actually drag everyone down.
In short, he's both cowardly and bold, which is quite contradictory!
"Oops, I think I stepped on something?"
As they walked, someone in the group suddenly exclaimed in surprise, and that person quietly looked down.
Before he could see anything, he was first startled by the ethereal, high sky.
"Aaaaaaah!"
"Shh, what's wrong? What happened?"
"Xiao Liu, go and take a look."
Captain Huo, who had been keeping an eye on things, sent people to handle the situation, and the teams in front and behind were immediately separated.
"Mr. Xia, you can go ahead first. I'll handle this."
Hossen immediately ordered the escorts to leave first, since they were the priority right now.
"Alright, Captain Huo, I'll leave those comrades to you."
Hosen nodded, saw the person in front off, and immediately turned back.
His shout startled the surrounding birds, causing them to scatter in all directions.
Someone nearby noticed something was wrong and quickly went to report to the vice-captain if they wanted to do something.
Luo Yin was in the second group to arrive, following behind Elder Shi. As soon as they arrived, everyone slumped to the side as if they had breathed a sigh of relief.
The current situation is even more exaggerated than they imagined.
As everyone recovered from their shock, their gazes were immediately drawn to the unfathomable depths of the surrounding cliffs.
Yes, they have discovered it now.
At this moment, they were like ants climbing onto a wine bottle, unable to go up or down.
Whether you risk climbing to the top of the mountain or carefully walking down to the bottom, it's a risky move.
"This is way too big!"
Old Zhuang sighed, and then he heard an echo.
"This place is probably at least a hundred meters deep, and our current location is very unfavorable." Old Shi thoroughly inspected the area, and then his expression turned grim.
"Sure enough, the cliff we saw at the cave entrance must have a lower part. What do we do now?"
When everyone returned and heard this, they were so frightened that their faces turned pale.
Even though they are quite brave, they can still be afraid of natural terrain at times.
Fear stems from the unknown!
"Since there's a passageway leading here, there must be other ways out in the surrounding area. We just need to decide which way to go."
Should we climb up, or look down to see the residents below?
The people at the temple were also informed and were required to reply within the agreed time.
"I think Comrade Xu is right, we will definitely be able to find the way. The next plan..."
After resting for only a few minutes, everyone began voting on the spot.
The choice between going up, going down, or returning directly to the starting point depends on the number of votes!
The final result was overwhelming, and everyone decided not to go back and to keep going.
Since they had come all this way, following the passageway, yet hadn't found a single trace of cultural relics, they naturally had to ask around. However, before setting off, they chose two people to return, intending to bring them back to the temple once they found the route down.
This not only serves as a reminder to them, but also provides a written record.
"Okay, it's settled then. I'll trouble you two, the recorders Xiao Zhang and Xiao Liu, to go back and have one of you explain the situation to Old Master Xia."
Once the decision was made, everyone began to scatter and look for a way out.
Before long, they discovered a road that had risen from the winding terrain in a hidden location.
The road is very steep and was almost carved out of the terrain of the pit itself.
As soon as everyone saw the towering structure that seemed to reach into the clouds and never end, their hearts began to pound with apprehension.
"Looks like this is the place. Shall we go and give it a try?"
Old Shi said to Old Zhuang beside him.
Old Zhuang nodded. "Let's go. Since we're here, let's take a look. I think we'll gain a lot from this."
They walked and talked, quickly thinking about the road and continuing downhill, being careful all the way.
Everyone in the team was on high alert, and thankfully, nothing happened.
However, there are always some unexpected events.
For example, when they descended to a certain height, a group of bats flew by from nowhere and almost landed on their faces.
Or, while walking down a steep slope, they might suddenly slip and fall on a few pebbles, which could hit them on the head.
Or, if you go further down, you might not notice the moss under your feet and end up tripping and falling several times.
Everyone watched with lingering fear as minor conflicts continued to occur, but thankfully the outcome was positive.
"Judging by sight, there are only about ten meters below. Can you see people farming there every now and then?"
"No way, my eyesight is good, let me see."
"It really is! What's that running thing? A white blob?" someone exclaimed.
"It looks like a sheep!"
Luo Yin squinted and looked closely.
The group of a dozen or so people, who were on edge, gripped the edge of the rocks and looked down at the farmland that seemed like a paradise.
They saw people working in the fields, fields of green, and a few simple yet cozy houses.
Do you think they know we exist?
"ah?"
"He means, do these people even know that China exists? Could they have been living in seclusion here since they were young?"
"Looking at the location, it really does resemble the legendary Shangri-La," Shi Xinrong suddenly remarked, then added with a sigh, "I wonder if they'll welcome us?"
Everyone quickly realized, "Yes, this place looks pretty good. If it weren't for all the troubles outside, the residents here would probably be living a much better life."
But wouldn't the intrusion of this group of strangers mean trouble for these honest and reclusive people?
"Alright, have you memorized everything Xiao Zhang asked you to?
"Elder Shi, I've noted it all down. I'm ready to leave at any time."
Hosen was much more wary than the others, and his attitude towards the problem was far less amiable. He nodded to Xiao Liu and then surprisingly left three more people behind.
He instructed them to remain in place and await his orders to act at any time.
Xiao Liu and Xiao Zhang had already left by the same route.
"Let's go down."
The team was shrunk again. At this moment, apart from the two old men at the front, the rest of them all had youthful faces.
Besides them, the other three were Captain Huo and his colleagues, and the three of them looked quite agile.
But even among this group of ten, they seemed like people you could easily forget after a quick glance.
The ten people walked very fast, and before long they really stepped into the bottom of the sinkhole.
At this moment, everyone was standing at the bottom of a deep valley. They subconsciously looked up and saw layers upon layers of clouds above an unseen top.
"This location must be at least 120 meters away."
"Indeed, indeed, that's not number one. It's said that number one is estimated to be over 150 meters deep. We're at number two here. It's also said that there's an even smaller number three to the east."
"Hey, why didn't the people who measured these sinkholes record the residents living below them? Did they just not notice them, or did they move there later?"
They didn't take any risks; they just carefully observed and looked around from the sidelines.
Even so, they saw many things: flat, open land, neatly tidy country paths, and quiet valleys filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.
Every corner seems to exude a tranquil, poetic, and romantic atmosphere.
"I have to say, it's better down here than I expected. These people seem to be doing quite well."
Yu Lizhu nodded, "That's right, look there."
She gestured for the two people beside her to look at the residential area, especially the few houses that had been built.
"I see it. It's not as well-built as the ones outside, but it looks quite big, so it must be a house they built themselves."
"No, I mean they even pay attention to feng shui when building houses. They sit facing south with a gentle mountain behind them and a small pond in front of the door. It's a typical example of how much thought they put into it."
"Really? Xiao You, you know about this?"
Old Shi was very interested in this, and seeing that the young girl was speaking so eloquently, he quickly asked her questions.
"I only know a little bit about Elder Shi, not much."
Just as You Lizhu was about to make some excuses, a boy suddenly ran over from the nearby hillside.
"Who are you? Who gave you permission to come to my house?"
Two little boys followed behind the boy, their eyes filled with wariness as they looked at them.
"Young comrades, we are not bad people."
Old Zhuang was very happy, and when he saw the three children who came, he instinctively smiled.
"Pah, that's what bad people always say."
"Yes, we don't believe it."
The two children looked at their older brother, then glared at them warily.
Old Shi added from the side, "No, no, where are your parents? They know we're not bad people."
The boy looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. "You know my dad?"
He had never seen this old man before, and neither had anyone else seen someone dressed so impressively.
Yes, that's amazing!
He thought the group of people who suddenly appeared at the village entrance looked very impressive.
The neat and uniform clothing, the efficient equipment, and those pairs of eyes all piqued his curiosity.
He had actually spotted them long ago, even when they were up there.
He almost fell off the treetop, but remembering his family's words, he held his breath and quietly moved away, waiting for them to appear.
Sure enough, they came down not long after, but it looked like there were a few fewer people.
He thought he had miscounted and didn't pay much attention, mainly focusing on their subsequent actions.
But then they didn't do anything. They neither rushed towards the back of the village nor went into the village. They just stood at the village entrance, looking around as if they were discussing something.
The boy was apprehensive and sent his underlings to the village to find someone.
He had to wait for his father and the others to arrive; he felt he was losing control of the situation.
"Ahem, of course I know, the people from our village will be here soon."
"You haven't said who you are or what you're doing in our village."
Seemingly sensing the bluff beneath the young man's tough stance, Old Shi chuckled and asked, "Then tell me first, is this Ma Family Village?"
"We've traveled all this way, through mountains and rivers, so let's make sure we don't get lost."
The boy paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.
The boy became smug: "You've come to the wrong place. This isn't Majia Village, it's Zhongtiankeng Village."
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