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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
In the northern pine forest, the morning sun filtered through the clouds, casting light into the mountains, yet the air remained damp and stifling.
Our group of six stood once more at the edge of the forbidden area. Each of us took a couple of swigs of Realgar wine, smeared some on our bodies, and stuffed a few pieces into our pockets.
Having spent time together, we had all gotten to know each other. Besides Chen Jixian and Mr. Chang, the other two survivors from the Investigation Team were Zhu Yaoguang and Wang Cong, both two years older than me and Huzi.
I gazed at the enormous cave within the forbidden area and turned to Huzi. “Huzi, you stay outside. If anything happens inside, you can help us.”
Before Huzi could respond, Mr. Chang said, “Yes, that’s a good idea. Brother Huzi is familiar with the mountains; it’s better for him to stay outside to assist us. If something goes wrong, we’ll need someone strong to handle it.”
Everyone laughed, and Huzi scratched his head. “Alright then, I’ll wait outside. If anything happens, make sure to signal me.”
The five of us stepped onto the open ground before the forbidden area. I stood in the center; it was here that Huang San'er had been chased by me, Li Fugui, over a month ago. After we left that night, he hadn’t come out but instead turned and ventured deeper into the forbidden area.
The open space in front of the cave was vast, but thorny bushes lined both sides, obscuring any visible path leading inside.
A faint whistling wind echoed from within the enormous cave as we stood at its entrance. Instead of feeling a sense of wonder facing this prehistoric civilization, we felt like insignificant beings about to open the dark Gate of the Underworld.
The cave was pitch black; even with bright lights, we could only see about ten meters inside. Chen Jixian was the first to step forward, shining his flashlight into the depths for a moment before stepping back and looking up at the ceiling.
“The rock face here doesn’t seem too difficult to climb. You all wait for me down here; I’ll go take a look.” Chen Jixian said.
“Boss, I’ll go with you,” Zhu Yaoguang from the Investigation Team replied.
“No need; you all stay here.” Chen Jixian pulled out climbing gear. His hands and feet were equipped with specially designed metal claws that could grip any protrusion on the rock face securely.
The mountain in this forbidden area appeared to be seventy or eighty meters high. Chen Jixian had incredible stamina; within three to five minutes, he reached the top. He turned back to us from his perch and made a 'K' gesture before heading deeper into the mountain.
We waited for a while at the entrance of the forbidden cave, but Chen Jixian still hadn't come out, which made us feel a bit anxious.
Wang Cong, a member of the Investigation Team, glanced at his watch and said, "It's been over half an hour. Why hasn't he returned yet? Should I go up and check?"
I replied, "Captain Chen isn't reckless; he must have considered that we would be anxious waiting here. If he doesn't come back soon, I'll go up with you."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Zhu Yaoguang looked at Wang Cong's wristwatch and then at his own, saying, "Why is there a difference in our times?"
Mr. Chang also looked at his watch, and his time was similar to Wang Cong's.
Wang Cong explained, "This forbidden area has a strong Magnetic Field. Electronic communication devices can't be used, and mechanical watches are slightly affected. Once we enter the forbidden area, many instruments might not work."
We waited a bit longer at the cave entrance, but there was still no sign of movement from above.
Suddenly, we faintly heard footsteps coming from inside the cave. We immediately perked up and stepped back as a beam of bright light shot out. Chen Jixian's voice came through, "Finally, I see you all."
"Boss, how did you come out from inside?" Zhu Yaoguang asked.
Chen Jixian replied, "This mountain looks like a city wall. I went around to the other side and followed the cable down. I happened to see a cave that seemed to lead outside, so I decided to check it out. I didn't expect it would actually lead me out. You all will be surprised by what’s inside."
Curiosity piqued within us; since Chen Jixian had come out safely, it seemed there was no danger in the cave after all.
We followed Chen Jixian into the cave. Although it was cold and dark inside, the space was quite large.
Suddenly, Wang Cong, who was behind me, called out. We turned to look at him as he pointed in shock at the ceiling where a thick layer of bats covered the surface.
A few bats screeched under the beam of light and flapped their wings. I quickly covered his flashlight and gestured for everyone to get out quickly.
After walking for a while, we faintly heard the sound of wind. As we quickened our pace to exit the cave, the breeze that greeted us felt like stepping from a dark world into the light.
What lifted our spirits even more was the scene before us.
It was a vast area enveloped by mountains, covered with moss and low weeds, as if it had been meticulously crafted by someone. In the center of the mountain stood a pagoda surrounded by eight chains, towering sixty to seventy meters high, its surface adorned with copper rust and moss.
Everything inside the mountain was shrouded in a layer of moss, and directly opposite the pagoda was an iron door, half-open and half-hidden.
At each corner of the pagoda, chains hung down; although most of them had already broken, they did not diminish the craftsmanship and splendor of years gone by.
Mr. Chang looked at the pagoda with immense joy and said, "This must be the third Futu Stupa!"
According to the county records of Futu Ridge, three monks once came to Futu Ridge and built a Futu Stupa on each of the eastern, western, and northern sides. The two pagodas outside the forbidden area had long since crumbled into ruins over time, but this Futu Stupa within the forbidden area remained perfectly intact.
Mr. Chang circled around the iron chains surrounding the Futu Ridge pagoda and then took out a compass. This compass could not be used inside the forbidden area; its needle would point in erratic directions. However, Mr. Chang did not pay attention to the needle but began calculating the layout of this place based on the Bagua diagram and Feng Shui symbols engraved on the compass.
He looked up and said, "This pagoda is indeed built on the terrain of Dragon's Embrace Mountain, but there’s something strange about this Futu Stupa. I can’t quite pinpoint what it is."
Wang Cong replied, "Leader Guo and Jiang Cheng don’t seem to know what’s going on either. There are no signs of any battle here, and we didn’t see any corpses on our way here. What did Wei and Lao Zheng encounter that night?"
Chen Jixian said, "We can’t figure it out just by looking; perhaps things will be different at night. The Yin Qi is heavy at night, and even though the sunlight is strong during the day, it can still reach into the Mountain Valley of the forbidden area. Leader Guo and Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have ventured into this abandoned tower. Let’s move forward and take a look."
With that, Chen Jixian led us around the Futu Stupa and deeper inside. The gorge was flanked by steep cliffs on both sides. Mr. Chang walked at the back, frequently glancing back toward where the Futu Stupa stood, his expression growing increasingly puzzled.
The vastness of the forbidden area had always been unknown to anyone; where it led was even more mysterious. To the north of Futu Ridge lay an uncharted forest where vegetation grew densely, filled with thorns that made passage nearly impossible.
I looked up at the cliffs flanking both sides of the gorge. Daylight might differ from nightfall; however, during nighttime, moonlight would be blocked by the mountain walls on either side, plunging the gorge into darkness. We needed to hurry back outside before night fell.
We walked along the path inside the Gorge for a long time when Zhu Yaoguang suddenly ran ahead to pick up a red object from the ground. "This is a hairpin that Wei uses. How did it end up here?"
Chen Jixian looked at the hairpin in Zhu Yaoguang's hand and then crouched down to examine the mottled footprints on the ground. "These footprints in Futu Ridge show no signs of rain. The tracks in both directions are faintly visible, but the returning steps are clearly much larger than those going in. It seems they were running back, so Wei's hairpin must have fallen during that time."
Wang Cong said, "So, they encountered some danger at the end of this Gorge?"
"We'll find out soon enough. Based on the timeline, they entered the forbidden area after midnight and ran out around four o'clock. It took them four hours from entry to exit, and we've been walking in for almost three hours now. They should be close to where they encountered something strange."
Chen Jixian quickly moved forward, and I glanced at the chaotic footprints on the ground. One print stood out, resembling that of a child's foot.
A few minutes later, the wind inside the Gorge suddenly picked up, and I faintly caught a whiff of a foul odor coming from the end of the Gorge.
At the end of the Gorge lay a desolate wilderness, with vegetation taller than us obscuring our view. Strangely, all the plants appeared withered and lifeless.
"It's still summer, yet these flowers and trees are completely dead. This is truly odd," I remarked.
A layer of panic settled over everyone; the closer we got to the truth, the nearer we were to danger.
"There are signs of trampling on this vegetation. Liu Wei and Lao Zheng must have discovered something that led them here," Zhu Yaoguang said as he continued forward.
We hurried after him, pushing aside the dry grass to find ourselves standing on a slightly elevated hillside. Below us stretched a vast expanse where we could see one village after another.
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