After seeing the desolate desert ahead, Zhuang Rui became cautious. He planned to use his spiritual energy to survey the area that night. If there was no way to cross the quicksand region, he would have to give up on the trip to the ancient temple ruins.
"Alright, let's survey this area of quicksand again tomorrow morning. Hopefully, it won't cover too large a size..."
Professor Man nodded. Shifting sands are originally caused by groundwater. According to Professor Man's deduction, perhaps this oasis was eroded by wind and sand back then, but the underground water source did not dry up, which is why a shifting sand area was formed in just a few decades.
That night, no one lit a fire to cook. After eating some dried meat, it was already dark. Everyone pitched their tents and went to rest. Today had been quite an eventful day for Erdan's group. ...
Through the reflection of moonlight on the sand, one can see crescent-shaped dune chains, rare ridges, honeycomb-like continuous dunes, and desert flowers carved by the sharp blades of the wind. The desert and the moonlight blend into one color, creating a beautiful picture created by nature.
The cold moonlight poured down on the desert surface like water, giving people a dreamlike feeling. Zhuang Rui quietly crawled out of the tent and looked at this rare scenery. For a moment, he even forgot his original intention.
Taking a deep breath, Zhuang Rui imprinted the beautiful scenery firmly into his mind. Then he closed his eyes, and after a while, spiritual energy poured out from his eyes, sweeping along the sand beneath his feet towards the quicksand area.
"It's definitely different..."
After Zhuang Rui released his spiritual energy for about one or two hundred meters, he clearly felt that the sand grains in the desert ahead were very different from where he was.
The yellow sand beneath Zhuang Rui's feet was fine and dry, while the sand in the quicksand area ahead contained a trace of watery spiritual energy. Although it was very faint, Zhuang Rui could still distinguish it.
"One hundred meters..."
"Five hundred meters..."
"One kilometer..."
As Zhuang Rui slowly expanded the range of his spiritual energy, his forehead furrowed slightly. The range of his spiritual energy had now reached one kilometer, but he had not yet left the area covered by the quicksand.
Chapter 1109 Man-made Disaster
"How can there be such a large area of shifting sand? If there were enough groundwater, it should be able to form an oasis..."
Zhuang Rui was somewhat puzzled. He didn't know if the ancient temple from back then had been covered by the quicksand. If that were the case, even if he had great abilities, it would be difficult to uncover the secrets of the ancient temple.
Zhuang Rui was unaware that this area was located at the junction of the desert and the northern Gobi. Due to increasingly severe desertification, the wind and sand had been eroding this place for decades, changing the original soil structure. Although there was groundwater, it was difficult to change the fate of this land being desertified.
"Huh? This is soil?"
Just as Zhuang Rui was getting anxious, he suddenly felt that the spiritual energy in his eyes seemed to have left the yellow sand that carried wisps of spiritual energy. He was overjoyed and, after concentrating on sensing for a long time, finally confirmed that there was a real place about 1,200 meters away in this quicksand area.
Overjoyed, Zhuang Rui expanded the range of his spiritual energy survey. However, to his disappointment, even after releasing his spiritual energy ten kilometers away, he still couldn't find the ancient temple ruins. This indicated that the ancient temple was still some distance away from this quicksand area.
Fortunately, Zhuang Rui did not sense any shifting sands ahead. The only problem he needed to solve now was how to bypass this area and reach the road leading to the northern Gobi Desert.
"Xiao Zhuang, what are you doing?"
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to use his spiritual energy to survey the left and right directions, a voice suddenly rang in his ears, startling him so much that he immediately withdrew the spiritual energy he had released back into his eyes like mercury spilling onto the ground.
Zhuang Rui turned around and saw that it was Professor Man. He couldn't help but smile wryly and said, "It's Professor Man. Your shout almost scared the soul out of me..."
As the saying goes, one person's fright can be terrifying. Zhuang Rui was so engrossed in releasing his spiritual energy that he was completely unprepared and was genuinely startled by Professor Man.
Professor Man smiled and handed Zhuang Rui a cigarette, saying, "Hey, you archaeologists deal with dead bones all day long, what are you afraid of?"
Zhuang Rui took the cigarette, lit it for Professor Man and himself, took a deep drag, and said, "Hey, Professor Man, does archaeology mean you live in a graveyard all the time? You're still scared of ghosts..."
“Zhuang Rui is right. Those of us who deal with the dead every day are even more afraid of unclean things coming to our door…”
With a voice, Dr. Ren also emerged from the tent. Thinking about the quicksand area that the locals called the "Devil's Forbidden Zone" that he would be surveying tomorrow, Dr. Ren hadn't slept well. Hearing the conversation between Zhuang Rui and the other person, he simply put on his clothes and came out.
"Well, it's a shame you two are both associate researchers, and you're talking about feudal superstitions..."
Professor Man laughed upon hearing this. These two fellow students were really having a hard time dealing with him alone.
"Teacher Man, this is an ideological issue. If quicksand were placed 100 years ago, wouldn't it be considered a demon eating people? Back then, no one would talk about feudal superstition..."
After joking with Professor Man, Zhuang Rui's expression turned serious. He then asked, "Professor Man, I have a question for you. If the information says that people lived here eighty or ninety years ago, why has it become so desolate in just a few decades? Didn't the water source of this oasis serve to block the wind and sand?"
After examining the quicksand area with his spiritual energy, Zhuang Rui had been pondering a question. Now that Professor Man happened to be an expert in desert management, he asked him about it.
“Xiao Zhuang, the vegetation growing in this soil is different from the plants in the desert. Those plants die quickly after being buried by the yellow sand… In addition, with the evacuation of the people living here, over time, the original water sources were also covered by the desert. This should be the main reason for the formation of the shifting sand area…”
Professor Man took a drag of his cigarette and continued, "Xiao Zhuang, you studied archaeology, do you know why the ancient city of Loulan disappeared?"
"Of course I know that. There are many theories about why the ancient city of Loulan disappeared, but it should be because it was located on the edge of the desert and was desertified, right?"
In archaeology, Loulan archaeology is a separate subject, but Zhuang Rui's main focus is not on this, and he only has a slight understanding of it.
"Yes, but do you know the reasons for desertification?"
The night was long, and since they couldn't sleep, Professor Man and Zhuang Rui started chatting. He dealt with the desert all day, so naturally, the things he talked about were related to the desert.
"have no idea……"
Zhuang Rui shook his head.
"In fact, human-caused disasters are also a significant factor in the desertification of many places..."
Professor Man once participated in an archaeological team that conducted archaeological work on Loulan in the 1990s. He personally visited the site and recalled how a once glorious ancient city with a history of five hundred years disappeared into the desert. Professor Man felt quite saddened.
According to Professor Man, the disappearance of Loulan was closely related to people's disruption of the ecological balance of nature. Loulan was located at a crucial point on the Silk Road, and the Han, Xiongnu, and other nomadic states frequently provoked wars on Loulan's territory.
Over-cultivation by various countries for profit severely damaged water conservancy facilities and lush vegetation. The Loulan people's indiscriminate logging caused soil erosion, sandstorms, river course changes, and abnormal climate. In addition, a plague broke out, which was said to be called "hot nest disease" because one disease could wipe out an entire village and one death could wipe out an entire family.
Ultimately, the Loulan people chose to flee, and thus, the glorious ancient city of Loulan vanished silently from history forever. The original city, now unearthed, is like a ghost town, leaving behind many unsolved mysteries.
"The reason why this area has formed shifting sands and been eroded by the desert is also closely related to people's living habits. Perhaps it is not the fault of this generation, but our generation is suffering the consequences..."
Professor Man shook his head. In today's world where desertification is becoming increasingly serious, China is still exporting large quantities of timber, and in some places, windbreaks are even being cut down for export. This pains Professor Man and fills him with helplessness.
"A perfectly good chat turned into me venting. Okay, that's enough. Tomorrow's a big day, everyone should get some rest..."
Professor Man chuckled self-deprecatingly. After venting his dissatisfaction, he felt much better and actually stood up, waved, and went back to his tent, leaving Zhuang Rui and Dr. Ren looking at each other in bewilderment.
Although he had been riding a camel all day, he was exhausted. Dr. Ren yawned, unable to stay awake any longer, and looked at Zhuang Rui, saying, "Professor Man is a man of deep feeling, Zhuang Rui. Go to sleep early. I have a feeling that if we can find that ancient temple ruins, we will definitely make a major discovery..."
"Sleep, sleep..."
Zhuang Rui curled his lip, "How novel! It's like I'm the one chatting with you guys. I haven't even scolded you for interrupting my quicksand survey..."
As for the major discovery, Zhuang Rui also had this premonition. He always felt that the old man and young man from Nakagawa came to China for something more than just an adventure.
Moreover, the word "exploration" encompasses a wide range of meanings. Wasn't Nakagawa's ancestor, Yoshikawa, also a Japanese explorer when he went to Dunhuang? ...
In the early morning, a rare wisp of mist appeared in the desert, shrouding the area of shifting sands. All around was silent, except for the sounds of Zhuang Rui and the others packing up their tents.
However, when Erdan and the others, who got up early, looked at the sandy surface, they couldn't help but recall the scene of the camel being swallowed up, and they all subconsciously took a few steps back.
"Erdan, you two stay here and guard the camels. Xiaozhuang, we'll split into two groups, each going to scout to either side. Remember, if you fall into quicksand, whatever you do, don't struggle. The quicksand will only swallow you up to your waist before it stops..."
After everyone had eaten something, Professor Man began assigning tasks. He hadn't brought any professional tools, so he had to use a rudimentary method to conduct the survey.
"Okay, Teacher Man, I'll go to the north..."
Zhuang Rui nodded in agreement, "Brother Ren, Peng Fei, you two shouldn't wander off. Wait here. Teacher Man and I will go survey the terrain first..."
"Brother Zhuang, no, I want to go with you..."
Peng Fei shook his head. After hearing Erdan's account of how dangerous it was yesterday, he was worried about letting Zhuang Rui go alone. If he fell into quicksand, having someone with him would be enough to rescue him in time.
"Okay, then you can follow behind me..."
Zhuang Rui thought for a moment and nodded. He would definitely not give up if he couldn't let this kid follow him.
Actually, the one in real danger wasn't Zhuang Rui, but Professor Man. Last night, after Zhuang Rui returned to his tent, he measured the depth and width of the entire quicksand.
This area of quicksand, known locally as the Devil's Forbidden Zone, is over 1,000 meters deep and 400 meters wide. Zhuang Rui believes that this must have been an oasis lake before, which is why such a large area of quicksand has formed.
Zhuang Rui is currently located on the edge of the widest part of the quicksand. He only needs to walk more than 40 meters to the north to bypass the quicksand area and proceed safely. Therefore, in order to avoid wasting time, Zhuang Rui took the initiative to choose to survey the area to the north.
"Damn, now I know where the name 'Liu Shahe' comes from. So that's where it originated..."
Peng Fei followed behind Zhuang Rui and was astonished to see the pebble Zhuang Rui casually tossed out sink directly into his body as if it had been thrown into water.
If it can't even support the weight of a single stone, imagine what it would be like if a person stepped on it.
"Huh? Brother Zhuang, that's not quicksand..."
After walking thirty or forty meters along the edge of the quicksand, the sharp-eyed Peng Fei finally spotted a pebble that Zhuang Rui had thrown, which remained on the surface of the sand.
Chapter 1110 Self-Salvation
"Okay, be careful, I'll go check it out first..."
Zhuang Rui knew that they were already outside the quicksand area, so he pretended to walk a few steps faster, picked up the stone, stomped it on the sand, and said, "This isn't quicksand anymore, let's walk a few more steps..."
This was the edge of the quicksand area; getting too close was still dangerous. Zhuang Rui walked another thirty meters or so before stopping. He took out a small flag, planted it in the ground, and said to Peng Fei, "Call them over. I'll scout ahead, and the camel caravan will follow behind..."
Although Zhuang Rui knew the terrain ahead clearly, the quicksand and ordinary yellow sand looked no different on the surface. If no one scouted ahead, probably no one would dare to ride a camel so brazenly.
"Oh no! Professor Man has fallen into quicksand..."
Just as Peng Fei turned around to greet everyone, Erdan's voice suddenly came over, making Zhuang Rui's heart tighten. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Erdan, Mengzi, and the others running towards Professor Man's location.
"Erdan, don't come any closer! Damn it, I should have let Professor Man come here..."
Zhuang Rui shouted and ran over, wading through the sand. When he reached the spot where Professor Man had sunk into quicksand, the people who had been waiting on the dunes had already gathered around.
"Teacher Man, are you alright? Is there anything we can do?"
Seeing that the quicksand had only swallowed up to the top of Professor Man's thighs and had not continued to sink, Zhuang Rui breathed a sigh of relief. After using his spiritual energy to examine the terrain around him, he couldn't help but feel a little amused and exasperated.
It turns out that this piece of quicksand was shaped like a gourd mouth, protruding slightly outwards. Professor Man just happened to step on it, which was considered bad luck for him.
"I'm fine, Xiao Zhuang, you guys step back, step back a little more..."
Compared to the panic of everyone around him, Professor Man, who had fallen into the quicksand, remained calm and composed, showing no sign of panic on his face. He spoke very softly, as if afraid of causing a tremor that would make him sink further.
"Professor Man, how...how do we get out of here?"
Professor Man had previously told Zhuang Rui that he shouldn't try to pull him too hard, and Zhuang Rui didn't know how to free him.
"It's alright, Xiao Zhuang, find me a hardwood board about a meter in size..."
Professor Man tried to keep his voice as soft as possible, while leaning his body slightly forward so that his abdomen was also on the sand. This is similar to the principle in water; the larger the contact area with the sand, the greater the buoyancy.
"A hardwood board? Teacher Man, what do you think of this? Would it work?"
Professor Man's request left Zhuang Rui scratching his head. He ran back to the camel enclosure and searched for a long time before finally managing to pull out a foldable aluminum alloy plate from under the tent and hand it to Professor Man.
Professor Man took the alloy plate and gently laid it on the sand. The alloy plate seemed to have a lower density than quicksand, and it did not sink when placed on the sand.