Volume 1 Chapter 7: The Mountain Valley (1)

  Gu is an ancient evil technique that has been passed down, often referring to a poisonous insect. The earliest gu was when the person who cast the spell would put hundreds of poisonous insects in a container and let them bite each other, until only one insect remained. This remaining insect was said to be called "gu". This "gu" is the most poisonous and vicious among the hundred insects, and if it harms people, it will make them defenseless.

  Later, someone gave the word "蛊" an explanation, which is also "insect" in "bowl".

  But it is said that this "hundred insect breeding Gu technique" has gradually evolved into many evil methods over the course of thousands of years, and these evil methods belonging to the branch of Gu are also collectively referred to as Gu.

  The Gu worm in Li Xiang's body is a snake-like creature, and its origin is still unknown. However, the treatment method is not that difficult. I asked Ai Xia to catch a venomous snake, then take out the snake's gallbladder and mix it with the juice of the Ox Knee Grass. First, fill Li Xiang's stomach with water, then pour the mixture of snake gallbladder and grass juice into his nostrils.

  Before long, his consciousness gradually cleared up, and after a sip, he felt the soft palate extremely bitter. He couldn't help but let out a loud "wa" sound and vomited everything in his stomach. It was seen that the water originally poured into his stomach was yellowish-black when it came out, and it also had a strong fishy smell.

  You Zi pinched his nose and kept patting Li Xiang's back until he had vomited enough, then laid him down flat. At this time, he had regained some consciousness, looked at us with a surprised expression on his face.

  I saw that Li Xiang's Gu poison had been mostly removed, but at the moment he was still very weak, so I didn't explain much to him and let him lie down to rest well.

  Li Xiang narrowly escaped death and was truly weakened, soon falling into a deep sleep.

  Around two o'clock in the afternoon, Li Xiang woke up. He was indeed a detective, and his body quickly recovered more than half. We had not yet entered the ancient tomb, and we were reluctant to use dry rations. Ai Xia was able to do things, finding a wooden stick, sharpening one end, rolling up her pant legs and going down to the river, in no time, she had already caught several big fish.

  At that time, Li Xiang heard Youzi say that I saved him, and suddenly felt grateful to me. I waved my hand at him, and suddenly remembered that the person in front of me was the captain of the criminal police brigade. He came from afar to this place, definitely not for sightseeing. I vaguely felt that this matter might be related to the theft of cultural relics. Li Xiang's identity must not be a simple character, and we three people are active in this deep mountain forest, without wearing local clothes, he will definitely feel strange. It's just that his life was just saved by us, so it's not convenient to ask questions immediately. Rather than letting him take the initiative to interrogate us, it's better to talk to him first and take the initiative.

  I pretended to be unintentional and curiously asked Li Xiang: "Comrade policeman, how did you end up here alone? This deep mountain and old forest is dangerous. If we hadn't happened to come here for a hike and found you, you might have been in danger."

  Li Xiang said: "My surname is Li, I'm here on a mission, you just said you came here to climb the mountain, so are you..."

  Youzi was quick-witted and immediately picked up the conversation, saying: "We are a professional mountaineering team, you see!"

  He said that with a very proud expression, pointing at the mountaineering team badge on his neck that he had asked someone to prepare in advance for Li Xiang to see.

  Li Xiang nodded and said: "I see, it seems that you mountain climbers are really something. Your wilderness survival skills are quite impressive."

  I don't know if he suspected anything, but I humbly said: "Oh no, you guys as police are the real deal. Actually, I've thought about being a police officer before."

  Li Xiang said: "Oh? What happened later? Why didn't you become a police officer?"

  I shook my head and sighed: "That's a long story..."

  "Right, Officer Li, what's your mission here? Can we be of any assistance?"

  Li Xiang shook his head and said: "This is very dangerous, you'd better not get involved. I'll make a phone call to ask the higher-ups for more personnel to be sent over."

  I exchanged a glance with Youzi, thinking to myself that this Li Xiang was indeed not simple, his words were as smooth as water, and now we couldn't ask any more questions, his anti-interrogation skills were very strong, saying too much would inevitably make him suspicious. Just in time, Ai Xia had already cooked the fish, so I shouted "dinner is ready", ending this conversation.

  After eating, Youzi deliberately asked Li Xiang and said whether we should take him out of the forest. Youzi was sure that Li Xiang was on a mission and wouldn't leave, and Li Xiang had already said to let his superiors send someone over, so he definitely didn't plan to go out now.

  As expected, Li Xiang shook his head and said that he couldn't go back yet. If we had something to do, we could leave first. He had already recovered his strength and being alone wasn't a problem. I knew Li Xiang didn't want us to join his mission, so he would say this. We also bid farewell to Li Xiang and left some unnecessary wilderness survival supplies from the ancient tomb for him to be careful with.

  We were extremely careful on the road, making sure we had shaken off Li Xiang before relaxing. At this moment, it was getting late and we had to arrive at the Wu Wang Tomb before dark, not a single moment could be delayed.

  "You guys notice where Li Xiang fainted earlier? That river, if you go a bit further forward, there's a cave. I'm guessing that cave must be going through the mountain, or else it leads directly to the Witch King's tomb."

  I asked: "Are you saying... that Li Xiang is the one who's been chasing after the 'Black Button' gang? So, does that mean those people have already entered through that river channel?"

  Youzi said, "I think it's probably true, Li Xiangzhong's curse might have been cast by those people. These police are really something, they were able to catch up with us here, and we had to search for half a day to find this place."

  We discussed and felt that the situation was getting worse, so we accelerated our pace. First, we climbed up a steep cliff, and after great difficulty, we reached the top of the mountain. The sun had already set in the west, and we didn't dare to stay there for long. We continued to hurry across another ridge until we arrived at a relatively flat valley. This place was very close to the tomb of the witch king.

  Ai Xia thinks that the situation of Wu Wang's tomb is not clear at present, and it should be stopped to analyze first. Moreover, the police have already put their attention here, so we can't enter the tomb from the excavation site.

  Youzi took out a simple map and checked our route again, saying: "We have to follow the valley to the side of the excavation site, where there is a high ground that we can climb up to observe the terrain."

  He finished speaking and began to look around.

  The forest in this valley is even denser, and it's rare to see seasonal winds here. The low-lying areas are extremely humid, and all kinds of plants grow wildly, especially those unique to the Northern Hemisphere. These plants have strong growth abilities, with tall trees reaching the sky, dense shrubs, and even wild grasses over half a person's height. In this environment, we first need to find a relatively open area to rest, without exploring the ancient tomb beforehand. We absolutely cannot take risks, or we might end up spending the night in the valley.

  I looked around the two ends of the mountain valley, only to see clouds and mist swirling in the distance, deep and profound, it was difficult to see what lay ahead, only the path pointed out by Oilzi was relatively easy to walk, and one could also approach the ancient tomb from there.

  The three of us once again pushed through the thorns and brambles, making our way to a spot with its back against the mountain wall. Here there was a small clearing, with large trees on either side serving as a screen, and it was relatively dry. If we were going to spend the night here, all we had to do was start a fire and take turns keeping watch at night, which should be enough. So the three of us began dividing up tasks: Aixia set up the tent and prepared dinner, while Oil and I took advantage of the fact that it wasn't yet dark to climb up high and get a bird's-eye view of the terrain around the ancient tomb.

  The excavation site of the Witch King's tomb is just nearby, and judging from the current terrain, that place is probably only the outer periphery of the ancient tomb. The two ends of this mountain stretch out in a curved shape, occupying the "潜龙之势" (Hidden Dragon) position. If I were the Witch King in ancient times, I would definitely have set up the main chamber and other structures inside the mountain body. It's just that I don't know if they had the capability to excavate mountains for tombs back then, so I dare not make a rash judgment.

  Yóu zǐ believes that although it has been several thousand years since then, the pulse of the mountains and rivers remains unchanged for ten thousand years. This place has not been artificially developed, so we must first consider it from the perspective of the ancient shaman king. The ancients had a rudimentary understanding of Feng Shui very early on, so the main layout of the shaman king's tomb should at least avoid being directly in front of the mountain wind. The main layout of the ancient tomb will definitely be set up in a place where the mountain wind cannot easily blow.

  I listened to him and thought he was right, so I used binoculars to search around, and Oil also held up his binoculars to look left and right. In the end, our eyes fell on the same place without exception - the back of a mountain behind the excavation site.

  That mountain shade just avoided the dominant wind direction here, and there was no valley breeze that could blow there. Looking at its terrain, it is also located behind the excavation site. It should be the back mountain of the Witch King's tomb without a doubt. I used binoculars to observe carefully and found that the terrain over there is even more treacherous and difficult to walk. At least we need to follow this mountain valley where we camped northward, then cross over a small hill, and then pass through the depression behind before we can reach that place.

  Looking at the environment here, it shouldn't be a place where the Ya Shen tribe would choose to live, yet there is their altar, which can at least explain that this place must have also been built with many constructions. Moreover, the location of the later Wu Wang tomb was also chosen here, so from this, it can be inferred that some building materials could only be transported from outside. If I'm not mistaken, the river channel where the "Black Button" group entered should be the canal excavated at that time, which was used to transport these building materials.

  These underground water veins have existed for a very long time, but due to the influence of droughts and floods, they often change their course. Those people who came in by water may not necessarily reach the location of the Wu Wang tomb directly. Of course, it's also possible that if we arrive at that mountain range later and find that there is a river with running water, then it can be explained that this place is likely to be the ancient tomb of Wu Wang, and "Black Button" may have already entered the tomb.

  Youzi listened to my analysis and nodded, saying: "Anyway, we'll take it one step at a time. If all else fails, we'll chase them to their graves. First, let's see what kind of tricks they're up to, and second, think of a way to get back that Qiao Jiajin."

  "Looking at the terrain, I'm afraid it's impossible for us to get there today. We can only spend the night here and talk about it later. Those people stole the artifacts and rushed here in a hurry, with police chasing after them. Even if they arrived at the ancient tomb today, they would definitely have to spend the night first and recharge before daring to go inside."

  After discussing, I followed Youzi back to the valley. At this time, Aixia had already set up the tent and was roasting two wild rabbits by the fire. We walked over to help, and Aixia said that the two rabbits were not enough, so she went to catch another mountain chicken.

  Now we are completely not in a hurry, nor worried that Li Xiang will follow us and discover us here. Firstly, he still needs to wait for reinforcements at the original location, it is estimated that he won't be able to pass through the mountain wall until tonight. Secondly, the route he takes must be different from ours, most likely he will take a boat, following the waterway taken by "Black Button".

  After eating, the sky was already dark, and we three people chatted in front of the fire. Youzi mentioned that he had done something wrong before and was afraid of being scolded by his uncle, so he asked Aixia to take the blame for him. However, Aixia was a simple-minded person from childhood and couldn't deceive his uncle at all. In the end, Youzi was still reprimanded by his uncle, and the scar on his buttocks is still there now.

  I burst out laughing and said, "So you've been so sinister since childhood, I see."

  Oil son scolded me and said, "This is not called sinister. Think about it, when we were young and mischievous, we were afraid of the elders' rods. Generally, when we did something wrong and got caught, at that time, the feeling was definitely like doomsday. And my uncle never spared me when he hit me."

  Ai Xia said that at that time she was too innocent, and was deceived by You Zi to take the blame. If such a thing were to happen now, she would definitely not do it even if you killed her. Fortunately, Fang Ye (You Zi's uncle) never hit her, and if she wanted to, she could go and report You Zi's misdeeds.

  The more I listened, the happier I became, and the three of us chatted until very late before finally dispersing to get some rest.

  The first watch was mine, I held the shotgun we had bought from the locals before, sat near the bonfire and lit a cigarette to drive away my drowsiness while being vigilant of the surrounding dense forest. The night in this deep mountain and old forest is extremely quiet, as if all the animals and plants between heaven and earth have fallen asleep, however, it's also on such nights that many nocturnal beasts come out to hunt for food, they are good at lurking, walking without making a sound, if you spend the night in such a place, someone must be keeping watch at all times.

  Sitting in a place like this doesn't feel good, especially listening to the sound of the oil lamp, my upper eyelid keeps wanting to fight with my lower eyelid. If it weren't for the cold mountain wind dispelling drowsiness, I'm afraid I would have collapsed long ago.

  I don't know how much time passed, but the thick clouds in the sky slowly dispersed, and the cold moonlight poured down. The wind gradually subsided. I looked at my watch and found that there were still ten minutes before Oil's shift change, so I forced myself to hold on for another ten minutes.

  The forest was becoming increasingly quiet, as if even the leaves had stopped moving. I sat there, and suddenly felt a chill run down my back, it's hard to describe what it was like, but I sensed that in this peaceful thicket, something eerie was lurking, just like the calm before a storm. At this moment, it was so quiet that I could even hear my own heartbeat clearly.

  At this moment, I suddenly felt refreshed and quickly looked around carefully. All I saw was a heavy black shadow around me, which were dense trees, and I couldn't see if there were any frightening things hidden among them.

  This valley seems ordinary, but in fact it is full of crises. The strange thing is that the forest here is too dense. There is no strong wind or sandstorm phenomenon in this place, yet these trees are generally tall and short, as if they have been deliberately pruned, forming an invisible barrier around us, just like wanting to isolate our camp from the world.