Mediating between the two, Cha Wenbin continued: "Dont you think that whats depicted in this painting is similar to some of the situations were facing now?"

  Zhuo Xiong still hung his head in shame, not speaking a word. It seemed that Chao Zis words had indeed hurt him. Cha Wenbin also felt helpless. Everyone had countless questions about what was happening here, and the only clue they had was probably Zhuo Lao Han.

  Chao Zi said disapprovingly: "The story of the war for hegemony in this painting is just a legend, what does it have to do with us now?"

  Zha Wenbin glanced at Zhuo Xiong and intentionally raised his voice a few decibels, saying: "What if I said that Old Man Zhuo wasnt lying?"

  Zhuo Xiongs originally lowered head suddenly lifted, his two eyes staring straight at Cha Wenbin. Chao Zi also came to life and squeezed in further among the crowd.

  "The day before Xia Jing went missing, we checked the village, including the old well, and didnt find anything unusual. The ancestral halls were also tightly locked. Based on the layout of the village and the entire formation, I would have told them that these ancestral halls are off-limits to ordinary people, so its understandable that Zhuo Lao Han wouldnt know what was inside. Thats why he used four fierce beasts to scare away the villagers from entering."

  Zhuo Xiongs face had already improved a lot after a pause, and Cha Wenbins heart also gradually relaxed. At this time, if they were to have an internal conflict, it would absolutely not be a good thing. He continued speaking.

  "The mist-shrouded Mt. Ou is indeed as Old Zhuo described, perpetually enveloped in clouds and fog, making it normal for people to get lost upon entering. This explains why Zhuo Xiongs mother and sister went missing. The information depicted in the first mural I saw earlier matches this description - only a single mountain peak was visible, with the rest of the mountain hidden beneath a white wavy line. Now I understand that this mountain is perpetually shrouded, obscuring its full appearance. Lets assume the mountain in the painting is indeed Mt. Ou."

  Zhuo Xiong said, "Wen Bin brother, if its like this, then my father wasnt lying. When we first arrived at Qifeng Mountain, we saw with our own eyes that it was indeed hidden in the clouds and mist."

  Cha Wenbin nodded and said, "Not bad, I saw two pairs of people and horses in the second painting, among which Huangdis pair was trapped on the mountain, Chi Yous army surrounded outside, according to the legend of Zhuolu War, Huangdi was indeed trapped by thick fog, this also corresponds to the natural conditions here."

  He continued: "In the third painting, a woman appeared on the mountain top, holding a white thread in her hand. I had always been unable to understand what that white thread meant, but now, combining it with the next painting and your view of Mount Taihang, I have come to understand. In the third painting, it should be said that the woman took away all the fog on the mountain, allowing the Yellow Emperors army to escape the predicament. In the fourth painting, Yinglong sprayed water from the top of the mountain, impacting Chiyous army."

  "Dont you two think this is consistent with what weve encountered?"

  Chao Zis mind was filled with doubts at this moment, and he hastily said: "You continue speaking."

  "We heard a noise coming from the old well, then Chaozi went down into it. Next thing we knew, water started gushing out of the well and didnt stop until the next morning when we discovered that the deep well had run dry. Then I went down into the well again, and after that, the sky brightened up, and you all found that the clouds and fog on Mount Cangyan had disappeared. What if I told you that the rainclouds on Mount Cangyan had actually dispersed before the water overflowed from the well? Its just that it was dark, so we didnt notice. Clouds are just a gaseous state of water, after all. The thick clouds on the mountain condensed into water due to some event and then flowed down the mountain, gushing out of the old well. Isnt this consistent with what the fourth mural described? As for this strange phenomenon, Old Zhuo didnt mention it to us, so does that mean it really was the first time it happened?"

  After finishing this, the three of them made some inferences in their minds again. Yes, because it was dark, no one had noticed the changes on Mount Qiufeng. If the clouds and fog had retreated before the ancient well spouted water, wouldnt that have confirmed what the murals here were telling? Its just that there were two fewer armies fighting each other.

  "Good heavens! What kind of place is this?"

  Zha Wenbin continued: "The dragon in this painting should be said to be a gas-to-dragon, a water dragon flying down along the mountain body from the mouth of the ancient well. So the position of the ancient well should be the dragons head! The water dragon absorbs the moon and absorbs the essence of the sun and moon to assist the existence of this large array. According to this trend, the upstream of this river may be Xinfeng Mountain! As long as we continue to move forward, we will definitely find the exit!"

  Cha Wenbins words were like a shot of adrenaline, stimulating everyone to quickly untie the ropes and continue on their way. After passing through this mural, the cave entrance began to narrow again, with low-hanging rocks that forced them to duck down, and narrow passages that barely allowed the raft to pass through. The three men proceeded cautiously, but unfortunately did not discover any more murals, which left Cha Wenbin somewhat disappointed.

  The raft was going against the current, and with many people on board, it was difficult to make progress, so the speed of advancement wasnt very fast. Fortunately, apart from one or two fish occasionally swimming by the side, there were no other things around.

  Just walking along, the super son in front of him stuck a wooden stick on the stone wall on the side and gave the wooden raft an emergency brake.

  "Whats wrong?" asked Cha Wenbin.

  Chaozi made a great effort to steady the wooden raft and prevent it from drifting backward. He puffed out his mouth: "There are two forks ahead, what should we do?"

  Cha Wenbin hastened to the bow of the boat, and under the illumination of the searchlight, it was indeed a "Y"-shaped fork in the waterway. The two branches looked roughly the same size, both navigable, and seemed to be where two hidden rivers converged into one.

  Which way to go, this is a difficult problem. The two caves seem to be naturally formed, without any signs of artificial excavation. Zha Wenbin looked at the two dark cave entrances, which seemed like a pair of deep eyes, making him feel very uncomfortable. After thinking for a moment, he decided to divine here. He took out the turtle shell and casually dripped a drop of water from the river onto it from directly above. The direction the water flowed would indicate which way to go.

  A drop of water fell from his fingertips and landed on the turtle shell, where it surprisingly rolled backwards. This was a sign for them to go back! But going back was no longer an option...

  He tried again, but the water droplet still rolled back. Looking at the fork in front of him, Cha Wenbin had a bad premonition.

  He said: "If we really came here by fate, left yin and right yang, according to the destiny, the left side is the death gate, and the right side is the life gate. However, there will be a birth position in the death gate on the left side, and there will also be a death position in the life gate on the right side. If we go left, we may encounter danger, but if we rush past it, nothing will happen; if we go right, as long as we dont rush into that death position, we should be able to get out smoothly. From the perspective of the hexagrams, it seems that both paths have dangers, so you two decide."

  "Were listening!"

  "Alright, since both of you brothers believe in me so much, I choose to go left."

  Chaozi pulled out the dagger in his hand and said, "Wenbin brother, lets go left. I dont believe in evil spirits today. Whoever tries to stop me from leaving will be killed by me, whether they are human or Buddha, Ill knock down all the evil spirits!"

  Zhuo Xiong also followed and said: "Anyway, being trapped here is death, going either way is the same."

  Cha Wenbin looked at the cave on his right, unaware of what this decision meant for Chaozi, Zhuo Xiong, and even the unconscious Lao Wang and Leng Yiran. If the left side was indeed dangerous, could he bear the responsibility? Wasnt it said that theres a will of heaven? I just dont listen to the will of heaven. Theres a saying: "Put yourself in a dead-end situation and then find life." As long as were tough enough, we can get through this!

  Taking advantage of this interval, Cha Wenbin had Chaozi take out the climbing rope and tie up the unconscious Lao Wang and Leng Yiran on the wooden raft. Just in case something dangerous happened next, they could guarantee that the two wouldnt fall into the water. The shotgun was now empty, no different from a fire poker, so the two of them took off their daggers and tied them to the front end of the gun barrel, using them as bayonets. They ate some food to replenish their energy. They also injected antibiotics into the unconscious pair and fed them some dry rations with water.

  Zha Wenbin made a forward gesture, and the wooden raft slowly moved towards the left cave. Zha Wenbin turned his head to look at the fork in the distance, his heart no longer struggling, and he turned his head to stare intently at the front. As for what awaits them ahead, well talk about it next time.

  read3;