Endless route

Chapter 24 24. The Attic of the Underworld [Additional updates for further reading]

It was already fourteen o'clock in the evening when we returned to the hotel. The two of them hadn't eaten much all day. Fortunately, there was still a lot of food in the hotel, so they dug it out and filled their stomachs.

Waited for about an hour.

Three cars drove towards the dark town entrance with their headlights on and stopped in front of their hotel window.

Hu Ruihua got out of the car and breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Zheng Yun, fearing that he and Song Wan would also disappear.

Zheng Yun went out to meet him.

I got the location of the off-road vehicle from the car rental agency, but there was only a rough range. Support was contacted, but it would take two days at the earliest.

Hu Ruihua spoke very fast, then turned back and pointed at the two off-road vehicles behind him: So I hired seven people temporarily, and we can go into the town to find people.

Zheng Yun looked at the two cars.

The car was a white pickup truck, estimated to be ten or twenty years old. The whole car was riddled with pits and battle damage. A group of dark-colored men got out of the car, including some black guys. They were holding weapons of the same age as the car.

These black guys wore turbans on their heads, and wore all kinds of loose clothes. The bullet belts were hung on their dark chests. They were talking and muttering around in a loose manner, but the muzzles of the guns in their hands were all black.

Where did you get this?

Zheng Yun was stunned. Hu Ruihua's version was still about going into the town to find someone. The purpose of going out this time was to find support, and indeed he found it.

But here's the thing.

Why do these people look like rebels? Could they be rebels somewhere?

There is only one road for fruits to come in and out. It is thousands of kilometers deep in the mountains and old forests. They are responsible for maintaining the security of this road. I saw them halfway, stopped and asked, and after we agreed on the price, they all came.

Hu Ruihua explained roughly.

Isn't that a bandit who collects tolls? Zheng Yun was at a loss for words, but Hu Ruihua was really smart. He could pull such a person from the mountains.

There is no other way. Where can I find people in the deep mountains and old forests? I am lucky to meet them. How is the situation? Are you going to town now? Hu Ruihua also shook his head and sighed.

Zheng Yun gave him an overview of the situation, including the conjecture about demons and immortals deduced from the local language, the journey into the town and the porcelain vase in the early Ming Dynasty. Everything important was mentioned.

Even Yin Bing's statement was based on the excuse that he had heard similar stories before and said he had guessed it.

Then we go directly into the cave? I'm really prepared for this. I asked them to get two inflatable kayaks, but they are small and can only seat two people.

Hu Ruihua pointed behind him. He had been thinking about this matter. Demona had passed the cave inexplicably. At that time, he guessed that they would have to go there too.

Then let's set off directly. The cave is underground and is the same during the day and night, but we must make some preparations before that. Zheng Yun nodded.

I don't have much time.

They would leave as early as possible. If they stayed up until tomorrow morning, he wouldn't be able to handle it himself.

He had asked in the town before that the source of the gold rush river flowed from the mountains, and there was an underground cave when they drilled it. They could just go directly to the abandoned mine.

The preparation work is also easy to do.

Zheng Yun asked Hu Ruihua to take his black buddies to get a few oil barrels and fill them with oil belts, and then see if they could buy or make homemade torches. He and Song Wan knocked on the door of a small store in the town to buy cigarettes.

He didn't expect Hu Ruihua to bring back so many people. In order to prevent them from being 'infected' by him or turning into evil soldiers after entering the cave, he had to prepare to light cigarettes.

The two of them spent a lot of money, opening up a box of cigarettes, and the small store was almost empty. The boss also said that Song Wan was a big smoker and would not stop smoking one cigarette after another.

Zheng Yun wondered if he couldn't buy more. This thing must be carried one by one. Each of the seven black brothers must carry two. It is more important than bullets.

Ten minutes later.

The two teams reunited.

Are these people also going to be brought into the cave? Hu Ruihua leaned next to Zheng Yun and asked. He knew the qualities of the people he hired.

It's okay to attack people, but if it's related to immortals and monsters, it would be nice if these people don't hold back.

The money has been spent, take it with you.

Zheng Yun nodded and said the same thing. All the troops sent by the imperial court were wiped out. The Yin soldiers in the cave are definitely not simple. We don't expect these black guys to fight against the Yin soldiers, as long as the weapons in their hands are good.

Just a few words.

A group of people drove on the road.

Having walked this road so many times, Zheng Yun even knew where there were pitfalls, so he drove very fast.

The black guy behind was also driving very wildly. No matter if there were any pits or not, he would just press the accelerator to the bottom. When he encountered several deep pits, the car would almost fall apart.

Brother Zheng, can they really do it? Song Wan looked at the situation behind and couldn't help but ask.

Zheng Yun glanced at the rearview mirror.

Apart from anything else, at least these guys don't get paid for nothing and work hard. This motivation is good.

Ten minutes later.

The three vehicles passed through the town of La Maine and went up the mountain road. Looking down, they could still see familiar faces in front of the bonfire, and the other party could also see the convoy.

The group of people drove to the entrance of the abandoned mine without stopping. Zheng Yun took Song Wan out of the car, opened the trunk, and put the bag containing the black jade pillow on his back.

Hu Ruihua and the black brothers walked together and told them the general situation, covering their heads when they got off the car.

The leader of the black guys, named Jack, got off the bus with the black guys. After bringing the equipment, he also rectified the discipline and stood in a row, high and low.

I gave them some extra money. If I have any requests, I can tell Jack that he can speak English. Hu Ruihua held his forehead and walked to Zheng Yun, probably bumping it.

He spent a lot of money this time.

This group of gangsters seems to be here to make fun of them, but they are absolutely unambiguous when it comes to their actions. It is impossible to arm themselves in such a disorderly place without getting blood on their hands.

And such people have no faith.

They don't believe in any gods or monsters at all, neither those in the East nor those in the West. They only believe in money. As long as they give money, they dare to shoot God.

I don’t know how much Hu Ruihua spent on hiring these people, but it is probably indispensable. If they were paid less, people like them would not be able to work hard.

Zheng Yun started to smoke. He only had a few requests: keep the cigarette from his mouth, follow them closely when they go down to the mine, and ask before shooting, don't shoot randomly.

A few minutes later, a group of gangsters were ready to go, carrying weapons and equipment on their backs. They followed Zheng Yun and the other two people, and walked into the mine tunnel one by one, heading towards the depths.

They were all smoking cigarettes.

Still holding a torch in his hand.

Ten people were walking together, and the abandoned mine was brightly lit, just like broad daylight. The black guys were chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere was like an outing.

Soon after walking deep, Zheng Yun made another request. All corpses scattered on the ground had their legs tied with straps to prevent resurrection.

Jack conveyed Zheng Yun's request to the others. The group laughed a few times, chatted and laughed before taking out the straps, tying the corpses like tying cattle and sheep.

Zheng Yun and Hu Ruihua originally planned to do it together, but these gangsters didn't regard the corpses as human beings at all, and they pulled them out of the pile of corpses every few seconds.

Song Wan could understand what they were saying.

She quietly told Zheng Yun that they had just laughed at Zheng Yun, saying how could the dead be resurrected.

Zheng Yun also laughed. It didn't matter if he was laughed at a few times, as long as they helped him with things.

He also hoped that this journey would be safe, but he was afraid that some of the ancestors below would take action and teach these people a long lesson.

The group still followed the same old path.

Go down the iron stairs of the cave and go down to the seventh floor in one go. At your feet is the white mist underground river.

The black guy started to inflate the inflatable kayak. The kayak was very small and could accommodate two people at a time. Zheng Yun planned to get on first and go over to see what was going on.

When they put the kayak into the water, they found that the kayak was blocked by something, and there was a row of stone pillars under the white mist, extending all the way upstream.

There is indeed a secret passage in this place.

They didn't find this secret passage last time. It was just luck. If they had gone up there at that time, they would probably have become a shady soldier and couldn't get out by now.

Use torches to disperse the white mist.

Stone pillars appeared immediately, one every one meter, and the area was not small. They could also see the river flowing under the fog, but there was no sound of water at all.

I'm afraid this is a man-made waterway. The water flow is so calm, it can't be natural.

Hu Ruihua looked at the edge of the cave. The walls above and below the waterline were as smooth as new, and the curves were extremely natural and silky. There was no splash at all around the corners.

Zheng Yun's expression was solemn.

The better the details, the more it proves that this place is dangerous and it's hard to tell what's ahead.

Hu Ruihua and several black brothers went down first. Zheng Yun and Song Wan walked in the middle, as if they were walking in the fog. The sound of several people's footsteps echoed in the valley as they chatted and laughed with the black brothers. It took them a thousand meters to reach the depths. .

The sound of water finally came from ahead.

A cliff waterfall appears in front of you, but there are two iron stairs next to it. It seems that they were removed from the abandoned mine and moved here to use as stairs.

Zheng Yun asked them to be cautious. After confirming that the stairs were safe, the group climbed up the stairs with torches and entered the second section of the Rift Valley Cave.

The front is wider and larger.

The torches of a group of people could only illuminate the surroundings. Except for the wall beside them, all other directions were covered with a layer of darkness. Only land could be seen on the other side of the river.

Several people stepped on the stone pillars and walked to the opposite side. The stone ground under their feet was very flat and had traces of excavation.

Zheng Yun turned his head and looked to the left. The attic in his dream seemed to be there. He even felt that he had already seen the attic, separated only by a layer of darkness.

The torch is not bright enough.

Zheng Yun turned on the flashlight and looked over there. A few hundred meters away from them, there was indeed a building embedded high in the cave.

Everyone exclaimed in unison.

They all turned their flashlights over.

Just like a grotto, a hole was dug out nearly 40 meters above the ground. An attic was suspended in mid-air and sat in the hole. The material was dark, stone-like and wood-like, and the eaves and pointed roofs were ominous.

If you take a closer look, you will see that the attic is not suspended in mid-air, but there is a base below, which is integrated into the mountain like an underground palace and winds upward to catch the attic.

Zheng Yun took a deep breath.

The color of the whole attic is pitch black, and the cornices are even higher than the top. The ends are narrow and sharp and pierce into the air. It looks very ghostly and underworld.

Like a bat with its wings spread.

Everything that can be pointed must be sharp, and everything that can be curved is a thin blade. Looking down at them from a high place, it exudes a strong and strange smell of the East.

That should be Hades Pavilion.

Just watching is awe-inspiring.

The castle in the air, which is more than ten stories high, is still in a cave. I really don’t know how the ancients did it.

This scene made all the black guys marvel and chatter with each other, as if they were at a scenic spot.

“Demona’s place is in it.”

Hu Ruihua was more in awe of ghosts and gods than Zheng Yun, so he took a step back silently, staying away from the black guys to avoid blood splattering on himself.

He doesn't have any psychological pressure.

He hired the people with money, and was informed of the risks in advance. If something went wrong, he would bear the consequences. Just like the search and rescue team that killed four people this time, it was the rule to accept compensation.