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Xi Xi gently touched the mural with her antennae, feeling the weight of history. "Since this temple is so important, why was it abandoned later?"
Fei Bao scanned the surroundings. Despite the dim light, his keen eyesight was still sharp. He quickly noticed a stone slab half-buried under rubble beside the stone wall. He immediately called out to Xiao Zhuzi and Xi Xi, "Come look! It seems like there's something underneath!" The three of them worked together to clear away the debris and discovered several simple drawings carved on the slab.
"These drawings seem to record the last days of the temple!" Xiao Zhuzi observed closely.
The first few images clearly depicted the ground cracking and the temple collapsing, while the subsequent drawings resembled lava erupting. Xi Xi exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my! It looks like after the earthquake that caused Lonely Cloud Peak to sink, there was also a terrible natural disaster here!"
Fei Bao nodded in agreement. "It's very likely that frequent earthquakes and active geothermal activity forced the Insect Chiefs to abandon this temple."
"That explains why the temple was left behind," Xi Xi said, frowning in confusion. "But why didn't the Insect Chiefs choose to return and rebuild it later?"
Xiao Zhuzi pointed to the last drawing. "Maybe this is the reason." The image depicted a group of Chong Chong blocking the entrance to the temple.
Fei Bao suddenly understood and exclaimed, "I get it! To prevent other Chong Chong from wandering into this dangerous place, the leaders decided to seal off the entrance. Over time, the existence of the temple faded into an ancient legend."
Xi Xi blinked curiously and asked, "If the entrance has been sealed, then how did we get in?"
Xiao Zhuzi thought for a moment and replied, "Perhaps over the years, some of the blockages naturally collapsed, creating new entrances. The tree hole we came through might be one of them."
Fei Bao looked around and said softly, "So we might be among the first Chong Chong to enter here in hundreds of years—oh, and humans too."
Afterward, the three friends did not linger in the circular plaza for long. They continued down a narrow passage at the back of the square. This was also a path paved with stone slabs, worn by time and covered with moss. Xiao Zhuzi and Xi Xi walked carefully along the passage while Fei Bao hovered above them, his wings casting quick-moving shadows in the faint light.
When they reached the end of the passage, their view suddenly opened up to reveal an archway formed by natural stone pillars leading into a vast natural cave. Beneath the archway, a wide underground river flowed slowly, its source and end swallowed by darkness, with only its waters shimmering under faint Fluorite light.
The ceiling of this cave was low; in some places, it nearly touched the surface of the Underground River. The cave walls were adorned with stalactites and stalagmites of various shapes—some resembling hanging icicles while others looked like strange plants growing from the ground. In the distance, due to elevation changes, a small waterfall formed from the river's flow echoed throughout the cave.
"Look here," Xiao Zhuzi pointed at a stone tablet beside the archway. "There are some inscriptions on it."
Xi Xi and Fei Bao approached the tablet and saw some blurred symbols but could vaguely recognize them as records about this underground river. "I know these characters; it's an ancient script from Bug Family that my grandfather taught me when I was little." Fei Bao then softly read aloud from the inscription on the tablet: "This underground river is called 'River of Time,' said to connect past and future and is a necessary route to Lonely Cloud Peak."
The three friends stood before the archway, gazing at the dark expanse of the underground river, lost in thought. They needed to come up with a safe and reliable way to cross this dangerous waterway.
Xiao Zhuzi crouched down to observe the underground river closely while pondering silently before shaking his head. "I initially thought Fei Bao could carry me and Xi Xi across one by one from above, but first we don’t know how long this river is, and also its ceiling is too low for Fei Bao to carry another person while flying..."
"I'll go take a look!" The impulsive Fei Bao flew towards the dark river before Xiao Zhuzi could finish speaking.
"Hey! Fei Bao, wait! Don’t rush!" Xiao Zhuzi tried to stop him but Fei Bao was already too fast; she sighed helplessly and looked at Xi Xi.
Xi Xi shook her head with a smile. "It’s okay; don’t worry. Fei Bao is clever; he’ll be back soon." She then leaned closer to touch the water's surface gently with her antennae. Suddenly frowning with concern, she continued, "But how are we going to cross this River of Time? Although it doesn’t seem very fast-flowing, it’s very deep and cold; who knows if there are other dangers lurking beneath?"
Before long, Fei Bao returned panting heavily and told his friends, "No good; this river is really long, and in some places it's too low for me even to fly across by myself." He slumped down on the riverbank like a deflated balloon, feeling dejected.
"Fei Bao, don’t lose heart! Come on; let’s think of a solution together!" Xiao Zhuzi walked over and patted Fei Bao's back reassuringly. Her eyes were filled with determination as she said, "We will definitely find a way to safely cross this River of Time!"
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