I was shocked; I hadn't expected there to be so many intricacies inside this small stone house.
If this place isn't sacred to those Haru, then what lies in the space below?
Is there something inside that makes Haru so nervous?
I crouched down and began tapping the spot where Dante's foot had stepped, until I reached a spot that produced a distinctly different, muffled thud before stopping.
I drew my Nepalese machete from my waist and began digging at the top layer of soil in this area with the tip of the blade.
The soil felt rather dry and hard when dug up, so I think it's been a long time since anyone has disturbed it.
Just as I had dug down to a depth of about ten centimeters, I felt the tip of the knife touch something hard.
I feel like I've touched something unusual here.
So I started to expand the digging area. Su Su and Dante found that it was a bit difficult for me to dig alone, so they came over together to help and used knives to dig away the layer of soil.
After the three of us worked together, what was under the knife tip finally came to light.
As you can see, this is a rectangular stone slab with an area of two square meters that has been crafted in a very regular manner.
It looks like a bedroom door that has been buried here, except that the door is not made of wood, but a heavier stone door.
I pried away some of the soil along the edge of the stone slab and found that the slab was quite thick, at least two centimeters thick.
Such a large stone slab must weigh an astonishing amount; it looks like it must weigh at least a thousand pounds. What kind of thing would need such a heavy stone slab to weigh it down and hide this place so well?
If Dante hadn't accidentally walked up here and noticed the hollow sound coming from it, we might have all missed this location.
Just as we were about to pry open the stone slab to see what was underneath, Top and Pat, who were on guard outside, simultaneously issued a sharp warning.
Hearing that sound, my heart skipped a beat. Oh no! Could it be that other Haru have arrived here at this time?
Indeed, that is the case. The Haru are much smarter than we thought. When they realized that the fire was out of control, some Haru had already run to their real settlement and told their superiors about the situation.
I ran to the door of the stone house and looked outside. What I saw terrified me.
By the light of the still-burning, towering flames, I could clearly see a dense swarm of Haru rushing toward us, their numbers no less than the Haru horde that had surrounded me during the day.
Moreover, this time they didn't even care about the still-burning fields, and rushed towards us at high speed.
They weren't holding weapons in their hands; instead, they carried bamboo tubes, just like the ones we use when setting fires.
My pupils contracted sharply upon seeing this; they were truly enraged this time, and were actually planning to deal with us by killing the giant mosquitoes.
A strong sense of crisis arose spontaneously. If they really were going to do anything and use such a ruthless method to deal with us, then we would be in a passive position and have no way to deal with these Haru.
Our leather armor can only defend against ordinary arrows, but it is not effective against magical damage such as fire, especially when combined with adhesive accelerants like gasoline.
We might be engulfed by dozens of flames in the next second. Given the high oxygen concentration here, there's no way to avoid being burned to ashes.
Dante and Susu also realized the seriousness of the problem. Susu asked,
"Master, what should we do next? There seem to be quite a few of these Haru."
At this moment, I felt very unwilling. I was so close to knowing the secret of this place, but I was still one step away.
Fortunately, we didn't come away empty-handed. At least I've copied those unique hieroglyphs, which I can study carefully once we get out.
It's clear that those Haru are about to surround this place, putting us in a passive position where we won't be able to escape, and any information we receive will be lost forever.
I can't gamble with everyone's lives. After much deliberation, I've decided that it's best to retreat and save our own lives.
I immediately said to Su Su and Dante.
"The situation is critical, and we've suffered heavy losses. Let's evacuate first, let's go!"
As I spoke, I led the group deeper into the rainforest. The area we were in was not a plantation; the debris had already been cleared away.
In addition, we dared not turn on our flashlights at that moment, and could only vaguely see the shadows of the trees in the darkness, so we groped our way around them.
Some of the arriving Haru had already gone inside the stone house to inspect it.
When they discovered that the stone slab had been dug out, they saw Haru, who had a scar on his face, leading the way, and then looked outside at the towering fire that was still crackling and burning.
Its face twitched, and it raised its bone knife high with a roar. Then, it led a large search party into the depths of the jungle to search for our trail.
At this moment, we can already see that the lights behind us are lined up in a carpet-like pattern, with the distance between each Haru not exceeding two meters.
At such close range, Haru didn't even need to shout; as soon as a fight broke out nearby, all the Haru would swarm around like ants.
We weren't moving very fast, and there were many vines lying across the ground, so we almost fell several times.
But the place we are in now is called a rainforest, but there isn't a single decent big tree. All we have here are those tall cypress algae.
Even if we tried to climb up to hide, this thing had no leaves at all. On the bare trunk, there were only some wrinkled fungal crowns that looked like cow's stomachs.
Of course, this thing is fine for sheltering from the rain, but for Tibetans, it's like lighting a lamp in an outhouse—it's suicidal.
As the Haru group drew ever closer, anxiety began to creep into our hearts. If things continued like this, it was only a matter of time before we were discovered.
We already suffered from the lighting issue; if it weren't for the rather complex terrain, with its many bushes interspersed, which distracted some of the Haru, we would have been caught by them long ago.
“Master, this can’t go on. We can’t see the road, and we’re in a very passive position. We’ll be discovered soon.”
Su Su was getting anxious and was ready to fire a few shots at Haru, who was chasing after her, with her crossbow.
I reached out and interrupted Su Su's actions.
"Don't act rashly. They can't pinpoint our location yet. If you attack them rashly, they'll quickly be able to pinpoint our general direction."
They then circled around us from behind, and we were completely finished.
"Sir, please think of a solution quickly. We must bring back information about this place to the tribe." Dante was also anxiously awaiting my reply.
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