sorcière

Chapitre 32

"Three!" I shouted, pressing the wooden stick in my hand against the mud wall opposite. Almost simultaneously, a fierce gust of cold wind blew out from the mud wall beside me, the chill seeping into my skin and making me shiver. Then, with a loud, sharp "squeak," I saw a small crack appear in the mud wall beside me, and a faint white light shone from it. Afterward, the crack widened, and the white light grew stronger and brighter. Just as the white light had transformed into a powerful wall of light, Ah Bao shouted, "I'm going in first, see you all inside!" He then dashed to the entrance of the Silver-Eyed Cave. Head bowed, he swiftly and gracefully slipped into the cave.

Almost simultaneously, as Ah Bao entered the ancient cave, the open entrance suddenly closed. The white light, the cold wind, and the strange noises all vanished. Everything returned to normal. "Dunzi, it's your turn," I said, looking at Dunzi. At this moment, Dunzi was covered in sweat. He was probably very nervous too. Hearing my words, he just nodded, as if he couldn't even speak. After a pause, he walked to the cave entrance and nodded to me.

"One, two, three!" When I counted to three, I pressed the switch again with the wooden stick in my hand, opening the entrance to the Silver-Eyed Cave. But as the entrance fully opened, Dunzi suddenly seemed to lose his mind, standing there motionless. The entrance was about to close. I panicked and shouted, "Dunzi, hurry up and crawl in!" Hearing my shout, he snapped out of his daze and hurriedly bent down to crawl into the entrance. But perhaps due to his nervousness, his body got stuck and he couldn't go in. Just then, the entrance began to shrink and was about to close. In this critical moment, Jenny suddenly rushed to the entrance and pushed Dunzi hard in the back. As Dunzi finally entered, the white light suddenly disappeared, and the entrance closed again.

Now, only two people remained in this secret lower passage—Jenny and me. I looked at Jenny with concern and said, "Jenny, it's your turn now. Don't be nervous, be careful, I'll be right there." Jenny looked at me, pursed her lips, and nodded. Then, she quickly walked to the entrance of the cave, turned back to me, and said, "I'll go in first. Be careful yourself, we'll wait for you inside." "Don't worry, I know. Now I'll begin." Jenny nodded, and I continued counting those three numbers. After a dazzling white light, the secret passage became empty, leaving only me.

I knew my companions were anxiously waiting for me inside the cave, so I silently counted three numbers and forcefully activated the secret switch on the wall, quickly opening the cave entrance. Then, I dropped the wooden plank I was holding and rushed towards the center of the white light. Although my modified glass mask protected my eyes from the intense white light, all I could see was a blinding glow. At that moment, I couldn't distinguish my surroundings or objects; I simply focused on the center of the intense light and quickly disappeared inside.

As I felt my body begin to enter the entrance of the Silver-Eyed Cave, the intense light assaulted my eyes, suddenly throwing my thoughts into utter chaos. It was as if I had entered a dream; all my past memories, like fragments of time, appeared before me in a chaotic, disordered manner. During this time, I vaguely saw Qin Shi Huang, the Tomb Raider General, shamans, and all sorts of corpse demons and ghosts. Suddenly, I lost all sense of time, not knowing how much time had passed. I only felt as if I had entered a time tunnel. At this moment, I was completely devoid of reason. It was as if my body no longer belonged to me, and I could no longer control my mind. Only with the last vestiges of willpower did I slowly move towards that seemingly boundless depths of light.

I don't know how much time passed, but the boundless white light before my eyes vanished instantly, and the fragments of time floating in my mind disappeared with it. Suddenly, I was plunged into a dark space. This abrupt change jolted me awake. My first thought was whether I had entered the Silver-Eyed Cave, and I quickly looked around, hoping to find Jenny and the others. However, no matter how I searched, all I saw was darkness. (Typed by the Nomad God)

Are they not here? Where am I now? A sudden sense of fear gripped me, a chill ran down my spine, and I was about to call out their names when I heard someone shout from behind, "Hey! What are you wandering around for? Take off your mask! Don't you see everything in darkness?" It was Jenny's sweet, melodious voice! Her words reminded me that the reason I was in complete darkness was because of this specially made glass mask. Understanding the reason, I quickly removed the mask, and finally, under the light of several headlamps, I could see clearly. First, I saw Jenny, followed by Dunzi and Abao standing behind her. All three of them had smiles on their faces. It seemed that everyone was doing relatively well since entering this mysterious place.

I looked around and realized I was standing in a cavern about 30 or 40 square meters in size. The walls were uneven and pitted, suggesting it was a naturally formed cave. If it weren't for Jenny and the others' lighting equipment, it would have been completely dark. The temperature felt quite low, and I could feel a faint chill in my face from time to time.

I looked at everyone and asked, "Just now, I felt like I entered a strange space, and all my consciousness was out of my control." "Yes, I just talked about this with Dunzi and Abao. It seems like we all have this strange feeling. It's not just you," Jenny replied with a smile after hearing my words. I nodded and then turned my gaze to Dunzi and the others, asking, "How is it? Is it too dangerous here?" "It seems relatively safe for now, after all, this is only near the cave entrance. But we don't know what will happen if we go further in," Abao replied with a hint of doubt, glancing at the depths of the ancient cave. Then Dunzi added, "Just as Abao predicted, it's not always brightly lit. Only when the cave entrance is opened does the unknown source of light suddenly emit a strong white light." I nodded and said, "Isn't that good? It saves us from wearing this bulky glass mask all the time."

Forty-eight, Tiantu Mural

With that, I stuffed my glass mask into my backpack, glanced around again, and said, "Alright, everyone, stay alert from now on. Let's go deeper into the ancient cave and take a look." Everyone nodded, and Ah Bao packed his gear and led the way into the depths of the ancient cave on the right. The passage leading into the depths of the cave was irregularly circular, about two to three meters in diameter. The passageway and ceiling were covered with stalactites and stalagmites of various shapes, sizes, and heights, making it a typical natural cave. Judging from the large stalactites, this cave was at least hundreds of thousands of years old when it was formed.

"Incredible! I never imagined there would be such a limestone cave beneath this dusty, sandy earthen forest," said Ah Bao, leading the way with his wolf eye raised, his expression full of astonishment. "The world is vast and full of wonders. Haven't we encountered quite a few strange things along the way in our pursuit of the mystery of immortality in the Xuanjing?" Dunzi replied nonchalantly, following behind me.

We walked about a hundred meters forward. Suddenly, Ah Bao, who was walking in front, stopped. "What's wrong?" Jenny, who was following closely behind, asked. Dunzi and I, seeing Ah Bao's unusual behavior, also felt something was amiss and quickly went over to investigate. Ah Bao didn't say anything. He simply raised his right hand and pointed forward with the beam of his wolf-eye flashlight. Following the beam, I looked to my left. On the walls of this natural cave, I saw many strange and complex symbols painted with some unknown pigment. These symbols were round or square, displaying various irregular shapes. Some were even resembling characters, marked next to these geometric shapes. Due to their sheer number, they almost occupied the entire left half of the cave passage, making them appear quite spectacular at first glance.

"What are those things?" Dunzi muttered to himself. I stared intently at the mysterious rock paintings in the cave, then softly replied, "I don't know either. Maybe they're totem murals of ancient indigenous people." With that, I found myself walking towards the massive rock paintings, wanting to examine them more closely. Abao and the others, naturally, shared my curiosity about the enormous rock paintings. Seeing me walk away alone, they followed closely behind.

Upon reaching the rock paintings, I examined them closely by the white light of my wolf-eye flashlight. The enormous symbols and figures were painted with a beige pigment. Perhaps due to the passage of time, the pigment had gradually seeped into the rock face, blending seamlessly with the natural color of the dark brown rock. Therefore, these strange figures and symbols now appear as if they were naturally formed, with no trace of human intervention. Looking at the enormous geometric shapes on the paintings, the largest one on the left was a circular pattern. The main body consisted of four concentric circles, the largest of which was about two and a half meters in diameter. These concentric circles appeared to have been drawn with a compass, their shapes remarkably regular, and the lines of uniform thickness. From the center of these concentric circles, seven or eight straight lines of varying thickness and length radiated outwards, seemingly randomly, each marked with a unique symbol. Within these concentric circles are dozens of dots of varying sizes, each surrounded by numerous elliptical lines. Interspersed throughout are also many parabolas and intersecting straight lines of varying thicknesses. It appears extremely complex and intricate.

Looking further to the right, the image depicts irregular geometric shapes, ranging from equilateral triangles to honeycomb-shaped hexagons. These equilateral figures interweave, interspersed with various curves. The lines of these geometric shapes are remarkably straight—some square, some perfectly round—and the lines are of uniform thickness, as if drawn with special drafting tools. The entire image doesn't resemble ordinary ancient indigenous totem murals at all; rather, it looks like a highly complex engineering blueprint. Judging from the colors and the degree of damage of these rock paintings, they are thousands of years old. But how could such complex geometric drafting tools have existed back then? Are these strange geometric shapes truly totem murals of the indigenous people? What are their specific meanings? These questions immediately surfaced in my mind and lingered.

Just then, Jenny murmured, "Strange, how did the artists of these large murals manage to depict such precise and regular geometric shapes on the cave walls? You know, the indigenous people wouldn't have had geometric drawing tools like compasses and set squares in their time." "It seems this giant cave mural has great archaeological value. Perhaps the earliest date of the invention of compasses and set squares will have to be rewritten," I replied. "However, how could there be totem murals of the indigenous people in this mysterious Silver-Eyed Cave?" "That's simple," Dunzi said dismissively after hearing my words. "If we follow the Tibetan legends about the Silver-Eyed Demon Mother, those indigenous people must have considered this ancient cave a very sacred place, because it contains a ladder to heaven. Therefore, it's perfectly normal for them to have painted totem murals in this cave."

What Dunzi said made sense to me, so I didn't ask any more questions. Then Abao reminded me, "This cave looks very deep; there's probably a long way to go. We shouldn't linger here too long." "Abao is right," I replied. "Dunzi, take pictures of these rock paintings; we might need them later." "Okay, I'll take them now." Dunzi said, taking out his digital camera from his backpack and quickly snapping away at the mysterious rock paintings. Afterward, we packed our things, left the rock face, and followed Abao further into the cave.

As we continued, we clearly felt the ground beneath our feet begin to slope downwards. It seemed this long, deep underground passage was stretching ever deeper into the distance, and we had no idea where it would end. As we walked, I noticed the surroundings becoming damp. Water droplets constantly fell from the bizarre stalactites above us, making soft, irregular "drip-drip" sounds. The surface was no longer as dry as before; it was almost entirely wet, with puddles in some low-lying areas, making the entire path quite slippery.

The four of us clung to the rock face as we cautiously made our way deeper into the cave. Along the way, we discovered about three or four more large rock paintings similar to the ones we'd seen before. They were all composed of various regular geometric shapes, looking quite abstract, and we couldn't discern any specific meaning from them. So we didn't study them further, just had Dunzi take a few photos of each painting, and then continued onward, hoping to find the answer we were all looking for soon.

After walking for about half an hour, the passage ahead began to twist and turn, veering left and right. At the same time, the previously relatively smooth ground beneath our feet became uneven and pitted. Furthermore, numerous stalagmites of varying sizes protruded upwards from the surface like thorns, blocking our path. We proceeded cautiously, step by step, navigating around these obstacles, slowly making our way deeper into the winding cave passage.

This seemingly endless passage led us four young people, filled with immense curiosity, deeper and deeper into the wild, primitive, unknown, and mysterious. This mysterious passage seemed to lead us to the unsolved mystery in our hearts.

49. Megalith Totem

The further they went, the steeper the slope became, and the more water accumulated above. Jenny and Dunzi slipped and fell several times, nearly getting hurt by the sharp, protruding stalagmites. They didn't even bother to check the time, as their attention was completely drawn to the various shapes of stalactites inside the cave, until Ah Bao, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped again.

He murmured, "My God, what is that?" We were about five or six meters away from him at that moment, and after hearing his words, we quickened our pace to his side. Ah Bao swung his wolf-eye flashlight forward. The bright white light shone on a huge rock about forty or fifty meters in front of us. It was a massive black rock, about twenty or thirty meters high and seven or eight meters wide, with a thick top and a thin base, resembling a giant black mushroom. It stood firmly in front of us. Around it was a spacious cavern. Because many stone pillars and stalagmites obstructed our view, we couldn't immediately determine the size of the entire cavern, but judging from the open space we could directly see, it was at least four or five hundred square meters. And that huge "mushroom rock" stood motionless in the center of the entire cavern.

I carefully shone my flashlight around the cave hall to make sure there was no danger, then said, "Let's go up and take a look. Everyone stay alert." With that, I reached for the AK-47 I'd been carrying on my back, and dashed ahead of Ah Bao, heading first towards the spacious cave hall. Seeing me go, the others became more vigilant and followed me into the cave hall.

Upon entering the cave hall, we discovered that although it was a natural cave hall without any artificial construction, its shape was a perfectly circular. At the very center of this circle stood a massive black "mushroom rock." Initially, due to the distance, we couldn't see it clearly, but now that we were closer, I could see that the surface of this enormous "mushroom rock" was covered with tiny red veins, resembling a chaotic spiderweb. Even more astonishingly, as time passed, these fine, spiderweb-like red veins flickered with a faint red glow, appearing extremely eerie and mysterious.

"What kind of stone is this? It looks very rare! I wonder if it's some kind of gemstone," Dunzi muttered to himself after circling the boulder. "Yeah, I've never seen a stone like this before," Abao said. "The black stone itself is quite ordinary. It's somewhat similar to the texture of some meteorites, but these red veins are something I've never heard of before, and they even glow. Could they have been added artificially?" "These red veins seem to have grown naturally on this huge 'mushroom stone'," I replied after careful observation and thought. "As far as I know, there isn't a technique in the world that can embed such fine and messy glowing red veins into such a hard boulder without leaving even a trace of it."

Jenny nodded after hearing my words and added, "I also think this must be naturally formed. Such a stone is indeed a very rare treasure." Upon hearing the word "treasure," Dunzi's interest was piqued again, his eyes fixed on the "mushroom stone," as if he wanted to take it all home. Abao also saw through Dunzi's unrealistic thoughts. So he smiled and walked over to Dunzi, patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Brother Dunzi, don't waste your time. Even if I gave you this huge rock, you couldn't move it. And even if you did, where would you put it?" Abao's words seemed to remind Dunzi. Dunzi's previously bright expression immediately dimmed, revealing a look of disappointment.

I knew Dunzi must be very disappointed, so I comforted him, saying, "Dunzi, although you can't have any thoughts about this stone, don't forget our real purpose for coming here. If we can truly unravel the mystery of immortality in the *Burial Mystery Scripture* and find the gate to the immortal world, wouldn't that be more precious than finding any treasure?" Hearing this, Dunzi seemed to understand, laughing and patting his head, saying, "Yeah. Look at my brain. How come I can't even grasp this simple logic? Hehe."

Seeing that Dunzi was alright, I felt relieved. Everyone's attention returned to the enormous "mushroom rock." This time, however, it wasn't its economic value that attracted us. Rather, it was its mysterious and peculiar shape that drew us to examine it closely; perhaps it had something to do with the mystery of the esoteric scripture we were searching for.

“This stone appears right in the center of this natural cave. I don’t think it’s a coincidence; someone moved it here deliberately.” After examining it carefully for a while, Jenny spoke first. “Look. The surrounding stone is completely different from the stone of this ‘mushroom stone,’ and the transition between the two different types of stone at the junction of the ‘mushroom stone’ and the surface isn’t natural. So I think the ‘mushroom stone’ was moved here by someone.” She then squatted down and pointed to the junction of the “mushroom stone” and the surface, adding.

“If it was moved here by people, then it’s very likely that it was the indigenous people who painted those strange murals a long time ago. But why would they move this huge stone to the middle of this cave hall?” Ah Bao asked with a hint of doubt.

I surveyed the surrounding layout and realized that this circular cavern resembled a sacrificial site for some kind of primitive religious activity. On the stone pillars surrounding the cavern, I discovered numerous strange, man-made carvings. These odd shapes—round, square, or linear—all faced the giant "mushroom-shaped rock" in the center of the cavern. This layout is very similar to the arrangement of primitive sacrificial sites discovered in many archaeological studies.

So, looking at the huge "mushroom stone," I slowly said, "It seems that this natural circular cave should be a place of worship used by primitive religious believers to hold some kind of religious ceremony. In other words, this should have been an altar, and the huge 'mushroom stone' placed in the middle of the altar may have been the object of their worship at that time, or it may have been a megalithic totem worshipped by the primitive indigenous people."

"A megalithic totem?" Dunzi said. "Didn't that ancient Tibetan legend say that this cave was used to bury a sacred object—a ladder to heaven? Could this stone, worshipped by the natives, be the legendary 'ladder to heaven'?" Dunzi's words suddenly reminded me. I thought to myself, yes, if that ancient legend is true, then this cave must contain that so-called sacred object—the ladder to heaven. Now this totem worshipped by the natives is right in front of us, so it's very likely that it is the legendary "ladder to heaven." However, the legendary ladder to heaven is a sacred object that leads to the realm of the gods, and this black megalith before us, while indeed a very rare item, does it really possess such magical powers? After thinking it over, I was still somewhat unsure.

Just then, I suddenly heard Jenny mutter to herself, "Could it be... could it be like this? No, no way?" Hearing her words, I quickly went over and asked, "What's wrong, Jenny? Did something happen?" "Oh, no, nothing. I'm not sure yet. I'll tell everyone after I've thought it through." Hearing her say that, I didn't press her further. Just then, we suddenly heard Ah Bao's voice coming from afar. He shouted, "Quick! Come quick! Something's happened here!"

50. The Altar of the Barbarian King

Hearing Ah Bao's voice, we rushed over. There, we saw Ah Bao had discovered a series of neatly arranged earthenware pots of varying sizes, systematically mixed around the circular cavern. Not far from these pots were piles of ash wood, seemingly from a campfire, the charred marks still clearly visible on the surrounding stones. Walking around the pots, we also found several complete cattle and sheep skeletons, all with their heads facing the large boulder in the center of the circular cavern.

Jenny crouched down and picked up a clay vessel about the size of a bowl. She examined it under the light for a while, then said thoughtfully, "Judging from the shape of these jars, they are likely sacrificial objects from the Tubo period, used to hold offerings such as cow and sheep blood, incense, candles, and fruits." "That's right, I think so too," I replied. "Judging from this unique circular cave and these sacrificial vessels, this was likely a sacrificial site for the people at that time." I paused slightly, then pointed to the huge black rock in the center of the cave and continued, "And this large black rock in the middle is the totem they worshipped."

"So, this is a sacrificial altar?" Dunzi asked. I nodded and replied, "That's right, and if my deduction is correct, this is a sacrificial altar exclusively used by a feudal lord. Judging from the sacrificial vessels we see, the scale of the sacrificial site, and this huge black stone totem, such a scale and such a design are far beyond what ordinary sacrificial sites could have at that time. Such a scene was probably only enjoyed by feudal lords who ruled over a region and held high positions of power."

"In that case, do you think this altar might be connected to the legendary 'Heavenly Ladder'?" Ah Bao asked me疑惑地. After hearing his question, I fell into deep thought. Because I currently had no clue about this crucial question. Perhaps when we know the answer to this question, the mystery of the esoteric scripture we are searching for will also be revealed.

Just as I was gazing at the massive black rock, lost in thought, I suddenly heard a strange "squeaking" sound. Everyone heard the sound simultaneously and instinctively turned to look at its source—the black boulder. To our surprise, a flash of white light appeared before our eyes. All four of us were caught off guard and startled by this sudden turn of events. We involuntarily took a few steps back. Strangely, within a second or two, the blinding white light vanished. However, despite its intensity, the light had stimulated our optic nerves, causing temporary blindness. Even though the white light had disappeared, a white tinge lingered in our vision for a short time, and my mind, like my vision, was blank. I felt as if I had suddenly lost consciousness, and I don't know how much time passed before my vision gradually returned to darkness.

"What just happened?" Dunzi asked, looking at me blankly. I shook my head and replied, "I... I'm not really sure either. It was so sudden, like someone suddenly hit me on the back. It completely dazed me, and I don't even know what happened. I just remember a strong white light coming from the direction of that giant rock, just like the white light we saw when we first entered this chamber through that secret passage." Jenny nodded and said, "Yes. That's exactly it." At this point, the four of us simultaneously turned our gaze to the huge black rock.

I stared at the strange boulder. Suddenly realizing something, I exclaimed, "Did we accidentally trigger some control mechanism? Is that why that happened?" "It's not impossible," Jenny replied. The four of us then focused the light from our wolf-eye flashlights on the area where we had just stood, carefully searching the surrounding area.

A few minutes later, I suddenly noticed that Jenny's gaze was fixed on a single point on the surface. Seeing her expression, I immediately knew she must have discovered something. So I quickly ran to her side.

Following Jenny's gaze, I saw a very inconspicuous protrusion on the surface in front of her. It was about the size of a pigeon egg, firmly embedded in the surface. I bent down and gently wiped away the thick layer of dust from its surface. Under the light of my headlamp, it immediately reflected a bright, earthy-yellow metallic luster.

I crouched down and examined the strange metallic object closely. Its surface was smooth, with faint, peculiar lines and patterns visible from within; it was neither gold nor copper. For a moment, I couldn't tell what kind of metal it was. Just as I was scrutinizing it, Dunzi suddenly asked, "What is this thing? A gold nugget?" "No, if it were gold, it shouldn't be this hard," I replied, touching the object. "Then is it copper?" Dunzi pressed. "Not really. If it were copper, after hundreds of years, the surface should have oxidized and become mottled; it wouldn't still be so smooth." "That makes sense," Jenny said after hearing my words. "In that case, there must be something special about this object."

"Oh! Could it be that Miss Jenny has noticed something?" Dunzi asked, looking at her blankly. Seeing everyone's gaze fixed on her, Jenny replied, "Haven't you all figured it out yet? Since this object with its yellow metallic luster is neither gold nor copper, there are only two possibilities." "What two possibilities?" Abao asked. Jenny smiled and answered, "First, it might be some kind of alloy. Second, it might be an unknown metal."

Jenny's words immediately made me realize something. This seemingly unremarkable piece of metal was actually quite significant. According to existing historical records, there were no accounts of such advanced alloy smelting during the Tubo period in Tibet. Therefore, it was impossible for such an alloy object to exist. But if it wasn't an alloy, then what could it be? Could it really be a new type of metallic substance unknown to humankind? If so, that would be even more inconceivable. Where did this object come from, and how did it suddenly appear in this ancient, silver-eyed cave? Thinking about this, a flood of questions welled up in my mind. The others seemed to have realized the strangeness of the matter as well, each frowning and pondering, hoping to find some clues from these mysteries.

About three or four minutes later, Dunzi seemed to be talking to himself, saying, "Could this thing have been brought in by modern people?" Before I could answer, Jenny spoke up. She replied, "I've thought that way too, but you can tell from the tightness of the inlay and the marks that it was originally here. It wasn't re-inserted later. Therefore, Dunzi's idea is wrong." Hearing Jenny's explanation, everyone agreed that she made sense and fell into deep thought again.

I don't know how much time had passed. Suddenly, I remembered the white light from earlier. So I broke the silence first. I said, "Right, our attention was all drawn to this metal object, and we forgot about the white light." My reminder immediately brought everyone back to their senses. "I really forgot if you hadn't mentioned it," Jenny said after a slight pause. "Before that white light appeared, I vaguely remembered feeling something step on me. Before I could take a closer look, the white light appeared. So after the white light disappeared, I came back to where I had been to find the cause, and that's when I saw this object on the surface."

“Oh. It seems this thing really deserves a closer look,” said Ah Bao. As he spoke, we once again focused our attention on the small metal object.

51. Divine Light and Shadow

Could it be that the white light I just saw was triggered when Jenny accidentally stepped on this metal object, activating the mechanism? As I pondered this, I reached out and touched the metal protrusion. But aside from feeling a slight chill, nothing else seemed amiss.

"Was I not applying enough pressure?" I wondered, then increased the pressure, pressing down hard on the protrusion again. Just then, I clearly felt my fingers sink into the protrusion. Immediately afterward, some faint sounds came from the direction of the black boulder. Almost simultaneously, a dazzling white light suddenly appeared in the dark cave, instantly illuminating the entire cavern as if it were daytime.

Having prepared myself mentally, I quickly took out the mask I had put in my backpack and put it on before the white light reappeared. Therefore, even after the white light appeared, I could still see the general situation inside the cavern.

I wouldn't have bothered looking at it, but what I saw left me speechless, utterly dumbfounded. A narrow crevice was gradually opening on the towering black boulder before me. From that crevice shone a dazzling white light. As the crevice widened, the white light intensified, illuminating the entire dark cavern as if it were daytime.

So this giant rock totem actually held a hidden secret. Thinking this, I found myself drawn to the crack in the rock. For a moment, my mind went completely blank; I was solely captivated by the secret within the rock, and without hesitation, I stepped into the fissure. When I came to my senses, I heard a loud crash. Instinctively, I turned around. The crack had closed itself again. Looking back, I saw Dunzi and Abao behind me. They must have been drawn in by the secret of the rock, just like me.

"Where's Miss Jenny?" Ah Bao asked loudly after looking around. "She must be outside. That's good, at least we won't be trapped here. She'll definitely open the stone door for us soon." Just then, we heard a creaking sound behind us. We turned around and saw that the crack in the stone had opened again. Immediately afterwards, we heard Jenny's familiar voice, "Si Nan. Are you all alright?" "We're fine. You stay where you are and open the door again in ten minutes." As soon as I finished speaking, the stone door closed again.

Knowing that Jenny was safe outside put our minds at ease. We then began to carefully examine the hidden space within the boulder. What we found there astonished everyone once again.

At first glance, the stone chamber appeared to be about seven or eight square meters in area. The ceiling, however, was very high, over ten meters. The entire interior of the chamber seemed to be made of crystal. Even more strangely, although we couldn't immediately pinpoint the source of the light, the entire crystal cave shimmered with a dreamlike glow. I could hardly believe that such a magnificent crystal cave existed inside this black, massive stone totem.

Just as I was marveling at this, Ah Bao beside me spoke up. He said, "Don't you guys think the furnishings and layout here are a bit strange?" He paused for a moment, then added, "There's something that looks odd, but I can't quite put my finger on it." Hearing this, I immediately realized the same thing. Indeed, as Ah Bao said, after observing the layout around this stone chamber, I also felt a vague sense of unease, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.

"Yeah, I feel uneasy too," Dunzi replied, scratching his head. "Yes. It's really strange. Let's examine it more carefully," I said. "Let's split up and see what we can find." So, at my suggestion, the three of us began to explore several areas of the stone chamber again.

As I carefully examined the room, I took out my pre-prepared digital camera and photographed everything inside. As I looked, I seemed to be figuring things out. I noticed a crystal table-like structure within the room. In front of the table were two large, reclining crystal objects. Upon seeing these, the three of us instinctively gathered around. It was a large, semi-transparent table, with only a few protruding or recessed crystal particles on it. We examined it closely for a long time but still couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Dunzi straightened up and pointed at the table, saying, "Strange, really strange. There's a crystal chamber inside this huge black stone totem. What's even stranger is that there's a table and stone chairs inside. I wonder what this chamber is for." After listening, Abao shook his head; he really couldn't figure out the purpose of this secret chamber either.

Just then, the stone chamber door suddenly opened. Immediately afterward, Jenny's sweet voice rang out. She asked, "How did it go? Did you guys find anything special?" Before she finished speaking, she was already standing beside us. I was startled and quickly exclaimed, "Oh dear, how did you get in here? What if the stone door closes?" As I spoke, I glanced unintentionally towards the stone door and discovered that it was surprisingly still open, not closing immediately like before. Jenny, after hearing my question, smiled and replied, "Don't worry, I've jammed that protruding switch with stones. The stone door won't close anytime soon." She paused for a moment and continued, "I'm so bored being outside all alone. Tell me what you've found!"

After hearing Jenny's words, I finally felt relieved. I pointed to the surroundings of the stone chamber and said to Jenny, "Aside from discovering this crystal cave, there hasn't been any other progress for the time being."

After listening to me, Jenny looked around and then noticed the peculiarity of the cave, a look of surprise on her face. She glanced around as she approached the unusual stone table. Because she was the only woman among the four of us, we all hoped that her innate feminine intuition and keen observation skills would allow her to find some clues in this mysterious crystal chamber.

We stood quietly to the side, awaiting Jenny's findings. Just then, Jenny tentatively extended her right hand and gently touched a tiny protrusion on the crystal table. In that instant, a powerful golden light suddenly emanated from the surrounding stone walls of the crystal chamber, creating a wondrous atmosphere of light and shadow. Then, on the stone wall directly in front of the table, blurry images gradually appeared, which we slowly came to discern. Within the dazzling light, it seemed as if a red fireball had fallen from the sky, crashing violently into a hillside of red earth and yellow sand. The powerful impact kicked up a huge cloud of dust, obscuring the sky as if it were night. Then, the surface of the red fireball gradually darkened, and after a few seconds, the entire sphere turned black. At the same time, a crack suddenly appeared on the sphere, shooting out a dazzling white light. Within that light, a dark figure vaguely appeared. Just as I was about to take a closer look, all the images suddenly disappeared, and the entire crystal chamber returned to its previous state.

52. Moments of Joy

"What, what is this?" Dunzi stammered excitedly. Abao turned around, looking at everyone blankly, and said, "Was I seeing things? I think I saw a figure flash in the image." I nodded to indicate that I had also noticed it, and then replied, "But this doesn't make sense. If this ancient cave is a historical relic left over from the Tubo period, then this crystal cave with a secret chamber should naturally also be a product of that era. But what just appeared was like a movie playing. This, this, this is too unbelievable!"

Dunzi walked up to Jenny and asked, puzzled, "Miss Jenny, what did you just do?" Jenny seemed equally confused, staring blankly at the crystal table with her head down. She didn't even bother to look up when Dunzi asked, simply replying, "I didn't do anything, just randomly pressed these protruding crystals." Hearing Jenny's words, I suddenly realized that this strange crystal table was indeed unusual, so I immediately went over to examine it again.

Just as I bent down, preparing to thoroughly examine the secrets hidden within the stone altar with Jenny and the others, I heard Ah Bao's voice from behind us. He said, "Oh no! We've missed the deadline. It's already eight in the morning. What if Sodo wakes up and can't find the four of us? I wonder how he'll react. If he rushes to report to the local government or tries to verify our identities, our operation might be exposed."

Hearing Ah Bao's words, I remembered that we had already discussed this before entering the ancient path. Our mission was to first explore the secret path to investigate its contents. Regardless of whether we made any significant discoveries, we had to return to our campsite before dawn to prevent our secret operation from being discovered or aroused by the ruins' guardian, Sodo. Thinking of this, I looked back at the translucent crystal table in front of me, considering whether to continue examining it or quickly return to the campsite along the original route. Just then, Jenny said, "I don't think the secret on this stone table can be deciphered in a short time. It's better to be safe than sorry. There's plenty of time; we can come back and study it again next time. I think it's more important to go back now, so that Sodo won't become suspicious if he can't find us." "Yes, Jenny is right. I think everyone should go back first." After considering Jenny's suggestion, I felt that her suggestion was more prudent, so I told everyone to return to the campsite first.

Everyone agreed to the plan. So they quickly left the crystal chamber. Jenny removed the stone that had been stuck on the metal switch, allowing the stone door on the black boulder to close again, before following the others back to the secret passage of Guge Castle.

We had just returned to our campsite next to the ancient ruins when we saw Sodo, the guardian of the Guge ruins, hurrying towards us. I thought to myself, "That was close! If it weren't for Abao's timely warning, our operation would have been completely exposed."

Sodo came over to us, smiling and greeting us. Then he asked, "Mr. Yu, do you have a friend named Zaxi?" "Zaxi!" the four of us shouted almost simultaneously upon hearing Sodo's question. I looked at everyone, indicating that I should ask first, then turned to Sodo and asked, "Yes, we do have a friend named Zaxi. But how did you know?" Sodo pointed towards his hut. Then he replied, "Because that old man named Zaxi came here to find you. He's in my hut right now..." Ever since our unexpected parting with old man Zaxi in the cave, we had been very worried about him, fearing something might have happened to him. Hearing this news now, the four of us were naturally incredibly excited. Before Sodo could finish speaking, we all rushed towards his hut.

When we saw Uncle Zasim again, we were overjoyed. The excitement was like that of a long-lost friend suddenly reunited, even though we hadn't known Uncle Zasim for long, and we had only been apart for a few days. Seeing that we were all safe and sound, Zasim was also very excited. He immediately stood up from the cashmere blanket he was sitting on and walked towards us. As he walked, we noticed that he was using an ebony cane, and that he was walking with a limp.

I went to him, took Zashim's arms and helped him sit down again, then asked softly, "Uncle Zashim, what happened? Is your foot hurt?" Zashim seemed to have expected me to ask this question, so he smiled and calmly replied, "Well, it's a long story. Ever since you went into the earthen cave, I've been waiting for you to come out, but I waited for a long time without seeing any movement from inside. I was worried that you were in danger, so I called out into the cave for a long time, but I didn't hear any response. At that time, I realized that you might be in trouble and trapped inside. I originally thought of climbing into the cave to find you." "But then I thought, if you young and strong lads are all in trouble, what good would it do for an old man like me to go in alone? Even if I could help, I might just cause you trouble. After thinking it over, I suddenly remembered an old friend of mine in a village not far from here. Maybe going to him and asking him to bring more people to help rescue you would be the only hope. With that thought, I struggled to climb up the rope into the earthen cave and then went to find help. Because I was worried about you, I moved a little too much while climbing, and that's how I twisted my right ankle." He gently touched the injured spot on his right ankle as he spoke.

"Oh, I see. It's all our fault, Uncle, for making you suffer." Jenny leaned against Uncle Zasim's leg, gently stroking his injured right foot as she spoke. "Hehe, silly child, my injury is nothing. If it weren't for my age, I would have recovered in two or three days when I was young. Hehehe." His hearty laugh brightened everyone's mood. "Oh, by the way, what exactly happened to you, and how did you get out?"

Upon hearing Zasim's question, Jenny recounted the entire incident to the old man. After listening, Zasim seemed to be talking to himself, saying, "No wonder when I returned with my men and searched thoroughly, I found that the passage inside the cave seemed to have been deliberately collapsed, and the footprints outside indicated that you had escaped from the cave and headed towards the Guge ruins." Just then, Sodo came in from outside and brought everyone hot, fragrant butter tea. After urging us to drink as much as we wanted, he went to patrol the area around the ruins as usual, leaving the four of us and Uncle Zasim in the house to continue our conversation.

As we sipped butter tea, Uncle Zaxim and I recounted our experiences since we parted ways. The conversation drifted to the Guge secret passage we had just discovered. Uncle Zaxim, now more engaged, listened intently.

When he heard that we had entered the secret passage and discovered a huge black stone totem, he suddenly seemed to remember something and muttered to himself, "Could what he said be true?"

53. The Legend of the Sacred Realm

When Zasim said that, I sensed something was amiss in his words, so I quickly asked him. I asked, "Uncle Zasim, what are you saying that's true? We don't understand." Dunzi and the others kept nodding, looking at Zasim expectantly, hoping to hear more detailed information from the old man.

Tashim looked at everyone, pondered for a moment, and then answered unhurriedly, “When I was young, I heard an ancient legend. It said that in a very distant era, the Ngari region of Tibet was lush with vegetation, teeming with Tibetan antelopes and wild donkeys, and the local inhabitants of Guge lived a life of plenty. However, these inhabitants were ignorant and foolish, showing no reverence for the gods, and were not grateful for the good life bestowed upon them by heaven. They often fought amongst themselves, even blaspheming the gods and doing things that angered them. So the Heavenly Mother took her anger out on them, sending fiery flames down from the sky above Guge. The red flames burned away all the vegetation and life in Guge. Black clouds covered the entire sky above Guge. From then on, the entire Guge region was plunged into darkness.”