No toques a mi hombre

Capítulo 33

As Zasim spoke, he closed his eyes, a somber expression on his face, as if he were deeply mourning a distant catastrophe. About a minute later, he opened his eyes again, looked at us, and continued, “The once fertile land of Guge suddenly became barren and desolate, many places turning into barren sand dunes. Due to food scarcity, the people who once lived here either starved to death or left. Only a small number remained on this land where their ancestors had lived and multiplied, unwilling to leave.”

"And then what happened?" Dunzi asked eagerly. From what Zaxim was saying, it seemed to have little to do with what we encountered in the Guge Secret Passage. "Originally, the people here didn't eat cooked food. But later, among those who refused to leave, a young man named Baya was so hungry that he tried grabbing a sheep that had been charred by the heavenly fire and taking a bite. This desperate bite made him realize that the carcasses of animals burned to death by the heavenly fire actually tasted quite good. So from then on, he searched everywhere every day for these charred foods to fill his stomach. Days passed. Food in the vicinity gradually became scarce, and he walked farther and farther each day in search of food. One day, he accidentally came to the foot of a huge mountain. Because he had come looking for the carcasses of animals burned to death by the heavenly fire, he found that the closer he got to the mountain, the more animals there were burned to death. So, unknowingly, he arrived at this mountain." Zaxim continued to recount this distant story unhurriedly.

At this moment, everyone fell silent. Even the usually talkative Dunzi was speechless. Everyone was captivated by the ancient legend, and more importantly, they all understood that the most crucial information was about to be revealed. Zaxim took a sip of butter tea and continued, "Young Baya climbed step by step along the charred remains of an animal to the top of this great mountain. When he reached the summit, he was astonished by what he saw. At the top of the mountain, there was a huge pit, thousands of meters in diameter, and its depth was unfathomable, with only faint glimmers of light shining from the dark bottom. Baya had been to this mountain before with the village elders, but he had never seen such a huge pit. He found it very strange, so he descended the steep cave wall into the pit to see for himself."

Baya carefully climbed down. He discovered that the area must have been burned by heavenly fire for a long time, as there were charred earth, rocks, and charcoal everywhere. Occasionally, some embers were still burning. Baya picked up a burning twig to use as a torch and climbed for a whole day before finally reaching the bottom of the pit. When he reached the bottom, he found a huge black rock half-buried deep in the center of the pit. The black surface of the rock was covered with dark red net-like patterns.

"A black boulder? Dark red, net-like patterns?" Hearing Zahim's words, I immediately thought of the enormous black stone totem in the Guge secret chamber. I couldn't help but exclaim to myself. The others seemed to realize this as well. They looked at me, then at Zahim, and then showed expressions of surprise.

The old sangper seemed to have anticipated our reaction and paid no attention to our momentary lapse in attention, continuing his narration. "Just as Baya was carefully examining this enormous rock, unlike anything he had ever seen before, the black boulder suddenly split open. A blinding white light caused Baya to suddenly lose consciousness. In his dazed state, he seemed to see a tall, dark, human-shaped figure emerge from the boulder, and then he knew nothing more."

"It's so similar, so similar! Don't you think so?" Dunzi couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "This is exactly like what we encountered last night!" "Shh, keep your voice down. Sodo might be back soon. Are you afraid he won't know about our actions?" I reminded Dunzi. Dunzi then realized his lapse in composure and shrugged apologetically. Jenny looked at Zasim and said, "Uncle, please continue." Zasim nodded. Then he said, "When Baya woke up, he found himself lying in a cave-like chamber inside the giant rock. A slender, tall deity stood before him, seemingly speaking to him. Behind the deity was a smooth, flat crystal wall, on which constantly changed colorful images. The images showed huge fireballs falling from the sky, with the largest fireball landing on a mountain. A violent explosion occurred on the mountain, and the fire quickly spread, burning all the nearby life. After the fireball gradually died down, it turned into a huge black rock."

"At this moment, Baya realized that the god was showing him the punishment of humanity, teaching him to deeply repent for his past sins, to worship the god, and to never again blaspheme. Then, the god took out a clear, crystalline stone and gave it to Baya before disappearing without a trace. After returning to the village, Baya led all the remaining villagers to the mountain and told them what he had encountered. At first, the villagers were skeptical, but when they saw the enormous black stone, they completely believed Baya's words and worshipped the mountain and the stone incessantly. Gradually, the story spread, and many people from afar came to worship the god and the stone. Eventually, this place became a sacred mountain, and the story has been passed down through generations."

After hearing this story, everyone fell into deep thought. It seemed that the huge black stone totem we saw yesterday was indeed the black stone that fell from the sky in the old man's story. But who was that god? Could there really be such a thing as a deity in this world? And what was that clear, crystalline stone that the god gave Baya? And why did he give him that stone? A series of questions suddenly flooded my mind.

54. Re-exploring the Ancient Cave

After hearing the ancient legends told by Zaxim, everyone, like me, was filled with the desire to unravel these mysteries. We decided to go to the Black Stone Cave of the Tubo Altar that very night to explore further.

Since it was still early, and we had already been there once, we were quite familiar with the situation inside the secret passage. Therefore, in order to better explore the secrets of the Black Stone Cave, everyone decided to first go to the town of Zanda to purchase some exploration equipment. Because Zaxi's foot injury had not yet healed and he had difficulty moving around, he stayed in the small earthen house in Sodo for the time being and waited for our return.

The Mitsubishi Pajero kicked up a cloud of dust as it carried the four of us straight to Zanda County. Although the exotic scenery along the way was breathtaking, no one in the car was interested in admiring it. Everyone was captivated by Uncle Zashim's words and the mysterious black stone cave, silently pondering those puzzling questions.

Although Zanda County is only about 20 kilometers from the Guge ruins, we were preoccupied with our previous questions, so it took us a long time to get there. Since it wasn't peak tourist season, there weren't many tourists in the county. After asking around among the local Tibetans, we quickly found an outdoor adventure equipment shop run by local Tibetans.

The shop owner was a young Tibetan man. Because it was the off-season for tourism, business was already slow; he rarely had customers. So, seeing customers visiting his shop, he was naturally very polite. He led us on a tour of all the outdoor adventure gear in the shop, explaining the uses and features of some of the latest products.

Seeing the shop owner's enthusiasm, we naturally felt obliged to buy some things. So, based on what we'd seen on our previous trip to the Guge Secret Passage, we prepared and purchased a considerable amount of necessary equipment. This included activated carbon oxygen filter masks to prevent methane poisoning, anti-glare goggles, communication equipment, safety ropes, pitons, quickdraws, ultra-concentrated oxygen tanks, oxygen backpacks, first-aid kits, and antidote serum. What surprised us even more was that, as we were about to leave the shop, the owner recommended several items he'd retrieved from the shop's attic: two crossbows and a Tiger Head brand PH12-1 upright double-barreled shotgun.

"How about it? This shotgun is pretty good, isn't it? Only one left," the shopkeeper said with a grin. "I bet you guys are planning to go to the earth forest. It's sparsely populated there, and wild animals roam around. It's not safe without some self-defense gear." Ah Bao's interest was piqued when he saw the items the shopkeeper had brought out. He picked up the shotgun, looked it over, and then said, "Tiger Head brand PH12-1 vertical double-barreled shotgun, made by Chongqing Chang'an Machinery Manufacturing Plant. This gun is a modified version of the Soviet MC-6 vertical double-barreled shotgun. Overall length 1165mm, gimbal 750mm, 665mm, 3.6-3.8kg, 12-gauge shotgun shells. Muzzle velocity 350m/s, 50m. A famous brand shotgun from the 1970s and 80s. A leading brand among shotguns of that era."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper knew Ah Bao was a connoisseur and quickly offered him a cigarette. Then, still smiling, he said, "This gentleman is indeed an expert. How about it? This is the last one in my stock; it'll probably be gone next time you come." Ah Bao examined the shotgun several times, confirming it wasn't a counterfeit, and replied, "Alright, deal!"

Afterwards, A-Bao asked the shopkeeper for a few steel arrows and steel balls to test the power of the two crossbows. The results showed they were indeed extremely lethal. Therefore, A-Bao decided to buy the two crossbows and the tiger-head hunting rifle.

On the way back, I asked Ah Bao, "We've already been to the secret passage in Guge once, and there didn't seem to be any dangerous creatures inside. Why do we still need to buy weapons?" He listened, his eyes fixed on the distant, rolling mountains, and replied meaningfully that he knew why. "I have a feeling that this mission won't be as easy as we imagine. Perhaps much greater danger awaits us." As he spoke, he gripped his hunting rifle even tighter.

After a bumpy ride, the car finally made it back to the Guge ruins. It was almost dusk. From afar, we could see Uncle Zaxim, leaning on his cane, standing beneath the tall and majestic ancient city ruins, welcoming our return.

Back at camp, we quickly made a detailed plan and assigned tasks. Because Zasim had difficulty walking, we decided to have him stay at camp instead of participating in the operation. This way, he could keep track of the camp's movements and notify us immediately if Sodo was approaching. This would allow us to return to the ruins of Guge Kingdom in time, preventing Sodo from noticing anything amiss and becoming suspicious.

After dinner, the sun gradually set. Although a wisp of red glow remained on the western horizon, the night sky was already filled with countless stars. Seeing that it was almost time, we parted ways with Uncle Zaxim and quietly made our way to the secret passage using the same method as before. We entered the Silver Eye Cave one by one and quickly made our way towards the Prince's Altar.

Since this was our second visit, we were very familiar with the cave's layout, so the four of us navigated it with ease and quickly spotted the massive, mysterious black rock in the altar. It stood firmly before us, just as it had the first time we saw it, seemingly unmoved.

After opening the giant stone gate, Jenny took out the safety buckle she had prepared beforehand, inserted it into the gap next to the spherical metal device, and firmly locked the device in place. Then, she and everyone else entered the mysterious crystal chamber inside the black giant stone once again.

Recalling the ancient legend Zasim had told us during the day, our hearts were filled with turmoil. If this enormous black rock was indeed the fireball that fell from the sky, as the legend said, then the ancient legend might be true. Could it be that gods truly exist? This seemed to contradict the atheistic and materialistic education we had received since childhood. Perhaps it was just a coincidence; that was the only thought I could ultimately offer myself. With these complex feelings, we carefully examined the mysterious and peculiar crystal chamber once more.

Although the crystal chamber was still dazzlingly bright, everyone was wearing imported anti-glare goggles made with the latest technology, which provided much better protection than the homemade lenses we used last time. Because of this, we were able to observe far more this time.

First, upon entering the stone chamber, we noticed a circular area in the very center of the floor. Because this area, like the rest of the chamber, was composed of translucent, crystal-like material emitting a white light, it was difficult to spot without our anti-glare goggles; all we could see was a large expanse of white light on the floor.

Then we discovered that although the surrounding area consisted of translucent, crystal-like stone walls, closer inspection revealed tiny symbols carved into them. We hadn't noticed them initially because they were obscured by the white light, but now they were clearly visible. As I carefully examined these peculiar symbols on the walls, a sense of déjà vu washed over me. After a moment's thought, a thought flashed through my mind, and I blurted out, "Ghost Realm Inscriptions!"

55. New Discoveries

As I blurted out "Ghost Domain Inscription," I heard Dun shout it out in unison. "It seems this place is indeed closely related to that scroll of the Burial Ground Mystic Scripture," Jenny said, as she approached the crystal table we had previously examined.

Less than half a minute later, Jenny exclaimed, "Oh my god, so that's how it is!" Hearing her say that, I knew that Jenny must have discovered something even more valuable, so I quickly ran over. At the same time, Ah Bao and Dunzi also arrived one after the other in front of the mysterious crystal table.

“Look, what are those raised crystal particles on the table?” Jenny asked, pointing at the table. I bent down to take a closer look and discovered that each of the coin-sized raised crystal particles had a symbol faintly engraved on it, and this symbol seemed to be the “Ghost Domain Inscription” that we were very familiar with.

This discovery indeed surprised everyone. "Based on what we've observed, this crystal table seems to be a control panel with a mechanism. This is astonishing! Could it be that the Tibetan people during the Tubo period already possessed such advanced manufacturing techniques, capable of creating such an exquisite crystal control panel?" Dunzi exclaimed with a look of amazement. "If it were just a simple mechanism, that would be one thing, but do you remember when we came here last time, I accidentally touched a crystal protrusion here, and suddenly some hazy light and shadow images appeared on the smooth crystal wall in front, as if it were playing some kind of video?" Jenny paused and continued, "If you connect this crystal control panel and the wall projecting the images into one unit, what does that remind you of?" Hearing Jenny's prompt, something immediately came to mind, and I blurted out, "Aputer!"

“Impossible, absolutely impossible!” Dunzi muttered to himself. “Back then, there weren’t even electric lights, let alone the fact that they were invented by Americans in 1946. It doesn’t say that what we’re seeing in front of us is a computer.” Jenny said with a slight smile, “But this device, in terms of both its design and its ability to play video, is very similar to the personal computers we’re familiar with. Is this just a coincidence?”

Jenny's analysis was indeed very insightful, which reminded me of the old legend Uncle Zasim had mentioned. The enormous black rock described in the legend bears a striking resemblance to the black rock we stand before. If this is another coincidence, then the coincidences we're facing now seem rather numerous.

Just as I was racking my brains trying to find a reasonable explanation for what we were seeing, Ah Bao, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said, "Whether this thing is as technologically advanced as we imagine, we'll find out by trying it." His words were like a wake-up call. Yes, if this magical object in front of us really was a device similar to a computer, then we could find out by figuring out how to turn it on and operate it ourselves. "But we don't know how to operate it to start it, and once we start it, we don't know if there will be any dangers," Ah Bao added.

As soon as Ah Bao finished speaking, Jenny replied, "Activating it isn't difficult. I accidentally activated it once before. Now I just need to recall what I touched. As for danger? Ever since we started searching for the mystery of the 'Burial Scripture,' we've been inextricably linked with danger and difficulties. Danger and difficulties are commonplace for us."

Jenny's words made perfect sense, and everyone nodded silently in agreement. I patted Jenny on the shoulder and gently encouraged her, saying, "Then, stay vigilant. We're right here with you, facing the unknown dangers together." Jenny looked into my eyes, smiled, and nodded.

Then, Jenny focused her gaze on the crystal platform, trying to recall the accidental touch she had made. After about four or five minutes, Jenny raised her right hand and gently touched a crystal protrusion on the platform. Sure enough, the moment her fingertip touched the protrusion, a blurry image flashed on the smooth crystal wall in front of us, the content of which was exactly the same as what she had seen before. This lasted for less than a minute, then all the images disappeared again. Everything returned to its previous state.

“It seems these protruding crystal particles on the surface are the control buttons for this ‘big computer’,” Jenny said, reaching out to touch another crystal protrusion. This time, however, there was no response. Over the next ten minutes or so, Jenny repeatedly tried touching the other crystal protrusions. The results were either no response or the appearance of blurry images on the crystal wall, but these didn't last long, so we couldn't see them clearly. However, Dunzi kept insisting that one of the images looked like a dynamic galaxy map of the Seifert galaxy to him. We didn't pay much attention to his absurd claims at the time, continuing to focus on Jenny's actions.

Just then, Jenny's fingers touched another crystal protrusion. Then, a soft sound suddenly came from behind us, like the cracking of thin ice. Hearing this sudden sound, we all involuntarily looked back. What we saw surprised us greatly. In the center of the crystal hall behind us, the circular area that had been there was slowly sinking, revealing a circular entrance to a passageway.

"Open...the passage!" Dunzi shouted. The four of us quickly arrived at the entrance to the newly opened circular passage. I looked inside and saw a series of spiraling steps leading down. Each step was covered with the familiar "ghostly runes," exuding a mysterious aura.

We all exchanged glances and nodded, reaching a consensus. Ah Bao took two crossbows from his backpack. He handed one to me and the other to Dunzi, while he himself carried the tiger-head hunting rifle. Then I tentatively stepped into the mysterious passage first. Jenny and Dunzi followed closely behind, and Ah Bao came last.

We descended the stone steps slowly. Our footsteps echoed rhythmically on the stones, a sound that seemed so distant, like a celestial voice from the deepest reaches of the universe. This sound stirred my soul and resonated deep within my heart. For some unknown reason, listening to this ethereal sound, I felt a strange longing, as if I were a devout believer hurrying to worship at a sacred place.

56. The Spiral Maze

After descending the spiraling stone steps for nearly ten minutes, I couldn't estimate how far I had gone. My attention was completely captivated by the mysterious patterns on the stone walls on either side of the passage. They were irregular geometric shapes, interspersed with various spherical protrusions of different sizes and distributions. The lines in the entire picture were intricate and complex, the composition unique and rare, yet these patterns, though seemingly chaotic, possessed an indescribable beauty. This style of mural carving was unlike any I had ever seen before. It was neither like the rock paintings of ancient humans around the world that I knew of, nor like the product of any ancient civilization as we know it today, nor like the work of any art movement or religious organization in the world to date. If I had to find something similar, these murals seemed more like some kind of scientific calculation and drawing.

After walking for a few more minutes, we emerged from the winding staircase and arrived at the entrance to a wider, horizontal passageway. The passageway was equilateral triangular. By visual estimation, I determined that each side of the passageway was approximately 6 or 7 meters long.

The entire passage is constructed of massive, dark gray granite. The rocks are so tightly packed together that even a thin blade would struggle to penetrate them. Based on the volume of each granite block, each is estimated to weigh tens of tons. I can hardly imagine how the local Tibetans, during the Tubo period, transported these rocks from afar by hand without any machinery or lifting equipment, and how they stacked them piece by piece to form this long underground passage.

We explored the passageways as we walked deeper into them. Jenny meticulously used her digital camcorder to film and record every scene along the way.

I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly I heard Jenny say softly, "Hmm, something seems wrong!" "What's wrong? Did you find something?" Dunzi asked. At the same time, we also stopped moving forward and gathered around her to see what was going on.

Jenny played back the footage from her camera and then paused it. Pointing to a rock face in the frame, she said, "Look at this rock face, there's a broken dent." "I see it, what's wrong?" Dunzi asked. Jenny replied, "This is footage I took eight minutes ago. Look again." She then played back the footage quickly and paused it again. After doing this, she said, "The next frame." Hearing this, I looked at the footage more closely. It was still a rock face, but to my surprise, it also had a broken dent. Moreover, the size and shape of this dent were exactly the same as the one we had seen before. "Could it be...could it be the same rock face?" Dunzi murmured. "Could we have gotten lost and returned to where we started?" "If there are two identical dents, the chances are almost impossible. Look, the location of the dent is exactly the same on the rock face. Unless it was man-made, it's impossible for such a thing to happen," Abao explained, frowning as he pondered. “It doesn’t seem like it. These dents are clearly formed naturally. They don’t look like they were made by humans,” Dunzi said.

I listened to everyone's comments and felt that getting lost was highly likely. But we hadn't found any branching passages along the way, so how could we suddenly be lost? After thinking for a moment, I said to everyone, "How about this? Let's mark this spot with a highlighter and then continue forward. Let's see if we're really lost." Everyone agreed with my suggestion. Ah Bao took out a highlighter, marked the rock wall, and then continued forward with the group.

This time, everyone focused on searching for any small or hidden branching passages we had previously overlooked, but after observing the route, we still found nothing, and what we didn't want to happen still happened. Seven or eight minutes later, we saw the rock again. Not only did it have the broken dents we had seen before, but it also had a large fluorescent cross mark, which Ah Bao had drawn himself seven or eight minutes earlier.

"It seems we really are lost, but we haven't found any other branches of the passage," Ah Bao said, completely puzzled. Suddenly, Jenny said, "Could the passage we're in be a loop?" "The starting point is also the ending point?" Dunzi asked. Jenny nodded. Jenny's explanation seemed to be the only reasonable one at the moment, but why would the person who built this passage create such a looping underground tunnel? For a moment, we fell into deep thought again.

As I pondered, I suddenly realized a crucial problem and exclaimed, "No, something's not right!" "What is it?" Jenny asked. "The staircase, that spiral staircase!" I emphasized. My words brought it to everyone's attention. If this were a circular passage, we should have seen the spiral staircase we descended from the crystal chamber again when we passed through it, but we didn't. This meant we hadn't returned to our original route. What was going on? And worse still, if we couldn't find our way forward and couldn't find our way back, only one outcome awaited us—death!

Thinking of this, everyone became agitated. "What do we do? What are we going to do?" Dunzi seemed flustered. I took out a small communication device, which I had prepared to maintain contact with Zashim in the camp, in case Sodo suddenly discovered us. After turning on the device, I started calling Zashim, hoping to get in touch. As long as the connection wasn't broken, we still had a chance to get out alive. However, my hopes were dashed again. I tried for a long time without hearing a response from Zashim. It seemed this passage had some kind of shielding function, blocking all communication signals. If I had known this, I wouldn't have brought this useless communication device.

Just when we were about to despair, Jenny suddenly said, "Maybe we should try going backwards." Yes, we had been moving in the same direction the whole time. If this wasn't a circular path, perhaps if we went back the way we came, we could get back to the spiral staircase.

Given the current situation, we truly have no other choice. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we must try. People will continue to strive for survival; perhaps this is the meaning of life.

With renewed spirits, we set off again, but this time our direction changed from forward to backward.

57. Sand Earthworm (Part 1)

After walking for about ten minutes, we finally saw hope. In the light of our headlamps, a winding, spiraling staircase appeared in the distance before us. Upon seeing the staircase, Dunzi excitedly hugged me tightly. "Thank God, we've finally found our way home!" he exclaimed.

Jenny looked at us and said, "Since the road ahead is a dead end, let's retreat back to the crystal chamber and make further plans. Perhaps we'll find the secret of this mysterious circular passage there." "That's the only way," I replied.

So, the four people who had been trapped in the circular passage for some time retreated back into the spiral staircase and began to ascend the stairs. Although everything here was almost identical to when we came down, one detail caught my attention. The sound of our footsteps—yes, the sound of our footsteps on the stone steps—was no longer as ethereal and far-reaching as before. It had become muffled and loud, like rumbling thunder, coming from all directions. I subconsciously gripped the steel crossbow in my hand tighter, then instinctively stopped in my tracks.

"Si Nan, what's wrong?" Jenny asked when she saw me suddenly stop. I strained to see ahead as I replied, "I sense something's wrong. Did you notice? Our footsteps sound different now than when we came down." "Hehe, maybe you were scared in the circular passage earlier, your legs were weak, so the sound is different," Dunzi joked. But A Bao didn't think so. He said, "Yes, I noticed something too. It seems like our footsteps were lighter and more distant when we came in." He paused, then continued, "But it's still the same group of us, and the path is still the same. How come the sound has changed so quickly?"

We were completely baffled, but decided to keep going and see what happened. However, all four of us were now filled with questions, so we were even more cautious.

After walking up for about ten more minutes, we finally emerged from the staircase. But when I was the first to crawl out of the passage, what I saw left me speechless for a full minute. Jenny and the other two who followed were equally astonished by the scene before them, unable to utter a word for a long time.

We realized that this wasn't the crystal chamber we had initially imagined. It was a much larger, square chamber, constructed entirely of massive granite blocks. Each wall was over thirty or forty meters long and seven or eight meters high. Every four or five meters along the walls was a circular light hole, about thirty centimeters in diameter. The white light emanating from these holes illuminated the entire chamber clearly, making it easily identifiable. Inside this chamber, apart from the staircase we had entered through, there were no other visible exits.

"This isn't the Crystal Chamber!" Dunzi cried out in despair. "We...we're really lost!" "Calm down. Trust me, we'll get out of here," I reassured him, patting his shoulder. Actually, my own mind was a complete mess, but I was deliberately feigning panic to give my companions confidence. I knew that in many dangerous situations, calmness and confidence could help people escape difficulties and find solutions. Throughout history, many explorers who escaped death in perilous situations relied on their strong mental fortitude and extraordinary faith to regain their chance to live.

Perhaps my words had an effect, for Dunzi gradually calmed down. Only then did we begin to examine the spacious stone chamber again. I pointed around and said to everyone, "Let's move around and search carefully to see if there are any hidden doors or secret passages here."

I then went to the left side of the stone wall and gently tapped it with the handle of my crossbow, trying to discern whether there was a hollow area inside by the sound. The others did the same, walking back and forth along the edges of the four stone walls, tapping on them as they went. For a while, the quiet stone chamber, which had been silent for who knows how many years, was filled with a series of "click-clack, click-clack" sounds.

About an hour later, the four of them returned to the vicinity of the spiral staircase entrance in the center of the stone chamber, looking dejected. I glanced at them and saw a helpless expression on each of their faces; it was obvious they, like me, hadn't discovered anything.

"What do we do? What can we do next?" I kept asking myself. I knew that over time, a tacit understanding had gradually formed within the four-person team, with me at the core. At this critical moment, some people's lives were in danger, and everyone's hopes rested on my shoulders. If I couldn't lead them to uncover the mystery of that enigmatic scripture, then at least I should be able to get everyone out of here safely and back to their families. But, given the current situation, could I do that?

Various thoughts flashed through my mind, but I rejected them all. I even considered using the geomantic techniques Tang Zhengyang had taught me to examine the terrain, but I quickly dismissed that idea as well. The geomantic techniques rely on examining the terrain or judging the feng shui of a place based on the arrangement of furnishings in ancient rooms to find a breakthrough. But in this stone chamber we were in, besides the bare walls, there were no other furnishings, so the geomantic techniques were completely useless here. For the first time, I was utterly helpless.

The other three stared at me blankly. Although none of them spoke first, I knew very well that they were anxiously awaiting my decision. None of them wanted to add to my stress or put me in a difficult position.

And so, none of us spoke, and the stone chamber returned to its usual silence. Just then, I suddenly heard a strange sound coming from afar. Immediately afterward, I seemed to feel the ground begin to tremble slightly. Before I could speak, Dunzi spoke first. Looking shaken, he said, "What's wrong? Is it an earthquake? What are we going to do…" Before he could finish, we heard a loud bang coming from behind a stone wall, like the sound of rocks cracking. With this loud noise, the ground we were standing on shook noticeably.

Drawn by this sudden event, we instinctively looked towards the stone wall. There, we discovered a large hole, about four or five meters in diameter, had appeared in the otherwise intact wall. The loud noise we'd heard was from the collapsed stone wall crashing to the ground. Before we could even figure out what was happening, a fleshy, sticky thing emerged from the dark hole. The soft flesh wriggled and slowly crawled out of the hole. About ten meters of it emerged, its body a dark brownish-black, covered in a layer of transparent mucus; it looked like a giant python.

Only after it had completely crawled out of the hole in the rock wall did I realize what the soft mass of flesh before me was. It was an earthworm, only thousands or even tens of thousands of times larger than a normal earthworm. Even more terrifying was the highly corrosive nature of its slime; wherever it crawled, it left a deep trail of decay in its wake. A name suddenly popped into my head—sand earthworm. This name, which I had only previously encountered in popular science books, now instantly appeared in my mind.

58. Sand Earthworm (Part Two)

This is a long-extinct creature that typically lives in arid, hot desert regions, lurking deep within the sand. It feeds on various animals that burrow into the sand to escape the intense desert heat. At the time, I never imagined that this extinct desert creature would suddenly appear alive before us.

The enormous sand worm wriggled its massive body and lunged straight at us. Faced with such a monster, we all became even more tense. Before we could even react to this sudden event, we heard two loud bangs. It turned out that Ah Bao's tiger-head hunting rifle had fired. The bullets struck the giant sand worm's body directly, splattering out a lot of dark green, viscous liquid.

However, the two small shotgun bullets missed the sandworm's vital organs, and the pain from the wounds only made it more agitated and restless. It suddenly raised its fat head and opened its ugly maw. Rows of sharp, fine teeth were densely packed throughout its round mouthparts. It seemed that any creature bitten by it would inevitably suffer a bloody, mangled wound. Moreover, its bodily fluids appeared to be highly corrosive.

"Fire the arrow!" Jenny's words jolted me from my terror. The enormous monster was now less than a meter away. At that crucial moment, a steel arrow pierced the air, striking the sandworm in the face with a "whoosh." The arrow's powerful penetration force pulled the sandworm's head back a considerable distance. It turned out that Dunzi had activated his crossbow at that moment, giving me a chance to escape. Taking advantage of the opening, I rolled away, escaping the sandworm's attack range, then quickly got up, raised my crossbow, and fired an arrow at the sandworm's face.

The wounded sandworm became even more ferocious, constantly writhing its fat body and spraying its corrosive liquid towards us. The splashed liquid instantly corroded the ground, creating pits of varying sizes. In no time, the once smooth and clean stone chamber floor became pitted and uneven, like the surface of the moon.

The four of us kept our eyes glued to the sandworm's body, constantly shifting our positions as it swayed to avoid being splashed by its corrosive liquid. After several rounds, everyone was drenched in sweat and panting heavily. "What do we do? This can't go on!" Dunzi shouted as he fired another arrow at the giant creature. I thought for a moment, and seeing the sandworm's enormous mouth opening in extreme rage, I suddenly had an idea. I shouted to Abao, "Abao, we'll cover you. See if you can aim at its mouth and shoot inside." As soon as I said that, Abao immediately understood what I meant. Because the sandworm was huge and had a thick outer skin, ordinary bullets could only graze its surface tissue, not penetrate its outer muscle layer to directly hit its internal organs. So, despite being hit multiple times, we hadn't been able to kill it. However, its huge mouth didn't have such thick outer muscle tissue. Once penetrated, it could very well directly hit its central nervous system or internal organs, delivering a powerful blow.

So, Ah Bao stepped back a short distance, found a good aiming position, and raised his brand-new tiger-head hunting rifle. Dunzi and I, on the other hand, took turns firing steel arrows at the sandworm from either side to attract its attention. Finally, our provocation pushed the enormous beast to its limit. It raised its entire front end high, opened its massive jaws, and charged at me with almost impossible speed. Just as I was about to be swallowed by its dark, tooth-filled maw, two gunshots rang out. The sound of the bolt striking the gunpowder echoed for a long time in the stone chamber.

A large glob of dark green, viscous liquid splattered from the giant beast's gaping maw. Simultaneously, the immense force abruptly halted its forward momentum. Like a thousand-year-old tree, the sand worm's massive, raised body crashed to the ground. Ah Bao's precise marksmanship saved me at the most critical moment, and also saved the entire team.

The sandworm lying on the ground was still wriggling slightly, a dark green liquid with a pungent, fishy odor continuously flowing from its body and mouth. The liquid was increasing, threatening to completely cover the floor of the stone hall. "We need to find a way out of here quickly; that liquid is corrosive," Jenny said, looking at the flowing liquid. "But how do we get out?" Dunzi asked. I looked up and realized that due to the fierce struggle with the sandworm, we had been gradually forced into a corner. The entrance to the staircase passage in the middle of the stone hall was now completely covered by its massive body. That mountain-like mass of flesh weighed at least tens of tons; it would be difficult for the four of us to move it. Moreover, the liquid flowing from its body was highly corrosive; we couldn't approach it, much less touch it.

The green liquid was flowing out in increasing amounts. About a third of the floor in the stone hall was already covered by it, and at the current rate, I estimated that in less than five minutes, our feet would be submerged in this highly corrosive liquid. The situation was becoming increasingly critical. I quickly looked around, hoping to find a way to resolve the crisis. Suddenly, I saw a dark hole in the stone wall not far from us. This was the hole that the sandworms had drilled through the stone wall to get here.

I ran quickly to the hole and peered inside using the light from my headlamp. Although a pungent smell wafted out, some time had passed. The corrosive liquid left behind by the sandworms had already reacted with the sand and rocks, leaving only a dark surface layer. Just to be safe, I took out a piece of gauze, crumpled it into a ball, and gently touched the sand that had previously contained the corrosive liquid. As I expected, the corrosive liquid was no longer effective. Then, mustering my courage again, I extended a finger to touch the sand and rocks. After careful testing, I was finally certain that the corrosive liquid had lost its effect.