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墨書 Inktalez
I hid in the cornfield with Old Liu for over an hour, only daring to venture out once we were sure no one was pursuing us. The sky was fully bright now, the morning mist gradually dissipating, and in the distance, the gas station was still emitting black smoke.
"First, we need to go to the police station," Old Liu said.
I shook my head. "There's no time for that. Have you heard about the forbidden area to the west?"
"The mountainous region?" Old Liu frowned. "I've heard it's a sacred site for rituals in the village, and ordinary people don't dare go near."
I pulled out the map I had received from Granny Ling. "Look at this marking." A red circle was drawn around the mountainous area on the map, with the words "Dwelling of the Gods" written beside it.
Old Liu examined it closely. "Wait, this symbol..."
He took out a worn notebook from his pocket and flipped to a page in the middle. There was a yellowed clipping attached to it, detailing an inconspicuous news item: an underground arms cache had been discovered in a certain mountainous area, suspected to be a remnant from the Japanese occupation.
"Ten years ago, your father followed this lead," Old Liu said. "He suspected that human traffickers were using these abandoned military facilities."
I opened the disk that A Hu had given me; it contained relevant records. Those so-called sacred sites were actually repurposed from several abandoned military bunkers, specifically designed to store important goods.
"We need to find someone," I said, "a veteran who fought guerrilla warfare here back then."
"Wang Ye?" Old Liu thought for a moment. "He lives in town; I know where."
Half an hour later, we arrived at a dilapidated bungalow. In the yard, an elderly man with a head full of white hair was repairing a radio.
"Grandpa Wang!" I called out.
The old man looked up at me. "Ah, it's you, Xiao Kuai." His gaze was deep; I knew you would come asking about this sooner or later.
Once inside, Wang Ye dragged out a rusty iron box from under his bed. Inside were some yellowed manuscripts and maps, along with a few blurry black-and-white photographs.
"This is information from back when the guerrilla fighters were active," he said. "There are indeed quite a few bunkers in the mountains; the largest one is beneath Fangya Cliff."
"Fangya Cliff?"
"Those two opposing peaks," he pointed at a photograph that resembled the fangs of a beast. "The entrance to the bunker is at the base of the cliff, but—"
"But what?"
"Many years ago, there was a landslide there that buried the entrance," he sighed. "However, there is still a secret passage."
The old man shakily drew a route on the map: "You enter through this cave and have to navigate an underground river. That was our escape route back then; very few people know about it."
"Where is this cave?"
"Right under the old locust tree on the back mountain." He paused for a moment. "But that place is quite eerie. People often hear children's cries there."
I exchanged a glance with Old Liu. Those cries were likely not from ghosts, but from the children who were imprisoned.
Moreover, the prince lowered his voice. A few days ago, I wandered around that area and saw several strangers transporting things into the mountains in the middle of the night. They were driving a black van, and the license plate number was...
He scribbled a series of numbers on a piece of paper. I immediately recognized it; that was the same vehicle that had kidnapped my parents years ago!
Recently, their activities have been frequent. The old man said it seemed like they were preparing for something significant.
Just then, the sound of car engines echoed from outside. I lifted a corner of the curtain and saw several black sedans parked at the alley entrance.
"Quick, let's go!" The prince urged us toward the backyard. "We can climb over the wall from here and head straight to the back mountain."
"But what about you?"
"Don't worry about me." He shoved a cloth bag into my hands. "It contains some gear—old stuff from back then, but it should still be useful. Remember, you must find the entrance before dark." His voice faltered as he continued, "Tonight..."
"What about tonight?"
"Tonight, those people will hold a ritual in the mountains." His voice trembled slightly. "I heard they are planning to make sacrifices..."
Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached from outside. We had no time for more questions and quickly climbed over the wall to escape. In the distance, sounds of fighting erupted, followed by the old man's furious roar: "You beasts!"
After running a short distance, I glanced back. Smoke was rising from the prince's house, and flames lit up half the sky.
"Don't look back!" Old Liu pulled me along as we continued to run. "Right now, finding your parents is our top priority."
Following the map's guidance, we headed toward the back mountain. The twin peaks of Fangya Cliff loomed ahead, appearing particularly menacing in the morning light. For some reason, I felt those two peaks resembled bronze masks on an altar.
The old man's words echoed in my mind: "You must find the entrance before dark." Yes, before dark. Tonight would be another full moon night.
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