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墨書 Inktalez
I quickly put on my clothes. They were made of canvas, uncomfortable to wear, but very sturdy; even a regular dagger would struggle to cut through them.
I followed Zhou Ping out of the tent.
As soon as I stepped outside, I was stunned.
Towering cliffs rose steeply on both sides, and the surroundings were barren. In front of me lay a deep gorge that stretched far into the distance. The ground where I stood was relatively flat, and not far away, I could hear the rumbling sound of water.
Apart from my large tent, there were several others nearby. A group of people in camouflage uniforms was gathered around a large pot, preparing to eat.
I swallowed hard. What kind of place had that eagle thrown me into? And what did Zhou Dafu and his group want?
No wonder Zhou Dafu thought I would die here; even if they provided me with plenty of food and water, I might not be able to find my way out alone since I had no idea how I got in.
I pretended to be calm as I walked out and joined them for breakfast.
There were seven people in total. Besides Zhou Dafu and Zhou Ping, the other four were dressed in camouflage. The one named Li Chao seemed to be the leader.
While eating, I looked for an opportunity to quietly talk to Zhou Ping and asked her what was going on.
When Zhou Ping arrived last night, she found me lying unconscious on a rock by a stream, covered in injuries, so she rescued me.
I asked her what they were doing.
Zhou Ping didn’t hide anything. It was clear she was a good person. Her father, Zhou Dafu, enjoyed researching historical artifacts. Before retiring, Zhou Dafu was a national geological expert who later worked as an executive at an oil company. He made quite a bit of money and started a collection company after retiring two years ago. He stumbled upon information about an ancient site and hired Li Chao and his team as bodyguards to come here for an investigation.
Li Chao and his team were all veterans with strong survival skills in the wild. However, even so, Zhou Ping wasn’t reassured about her father venturing into such desolate areas, so she decided to come along. After all, she used to work in nursing and could take care of her father here.
After hearing this, everything became clear to me. It seemed that Zhou Dafu was just a wealthy idle person who had discovered some clues and decided to bring people here for exploration.
I scratched my head; the only thing I couldn’t understand was why that eagle had dropped me here—what did it mean? And what about that strange Big Black dog? Why hadn’t it followed me?
After we finished breakfast, everyone began to pack up their gear and continued walking along the gorge.
Zhou Dafu walked at the front, occasionally using a device in his hand to analyze the rocks and soil around us.
After more than an hour of walking, Zhou Dafu stopped in his tracks and shook his head. "No, we can't go any further. The soil ahead is too new."
Li Chao approached him. "What's wrong?"
Zhou Dafu stood there, looking around. "This isn't the right direction. The soil ahead is clearly very fresh; it seems we need to climb up."
He pointed to a cliff on the left.
Li Chao walked over to the cliff and took a look. Then he pulled out a dagger from his boot and stabbed it into the cliff several times. He nodded and said, "It should be fine. Are you sure it's this way?"
Zhou Dafu examined a few stones before replying, "Yes, it's here."
Li Chao unloaded his backpack and took two bundles of rope. He then started climbing up the cliff. His movements were swift, clearly more powerful than those of the Special Forces. Although he was far from the level of Su Mingyue, it was evident that Li Chao was no ordinary person; his agility surpassed that of typical soldiers.
In no time, Li Chao reached a height of over thirty meters and lowered down two ropes.
I turned to Zhou Ping. "This guy is impressive."
Zhou Ping nodded with a smile. "Of course! My dad really spent a lot of money hiring him."
At that moment, everyone began tying the ropes around their waists while pulling on another rope to ascend.
Zhou Ping was second in line, and I followed closely behind her. Although she was a woman, she seemed to be quite experienced in climbing activities; her hands and feet moved skillfully as she quickly climbed up the rope.
I mimicked Zhou Ping's movements and climbed up quickly as well. Although my technique wasn't great, my strength had recovered enough to be greater than that of an average person, making it relatively easy for me to ascend.
After our group of seven had climbed continuously for over seventy meters, Zhou Dafu suddenly stopped. He pointed at a section of the cliff face. "This is it; find a spot to set off the explosives."
Li Chao and the others did not hesitate. They took out some solid explosives from their bags, drilled a hole in the rock face, and quickly placed the explosives inside. Soon, with a loud bang, a large chunk of stone fell down towards the cliff below.
After several more explosions, the four of them quickly began to dig at the rock. Li Chao exclaimed, "It's soil inside; it seems to be hollow!"
"This is it! The Witch's Abandoned Ancient City!" Zhou Dafu said excitedly, clenching his fists. The group then took out their Iron Pickaxes and began to dig further inside.
I was startled by Zhou Dafu's voice and asked, "What Witch's Abandoned Ancient City? The ancient city of the Witch Clan?"
"Hey? You know about the Witch Clan?" Zhou Dafu turned around, looking at me with excitement. "The Witch's Abandoned Ancient City is a name I came up with. Hehe, since the Witch Clan has been extinct for so long, most records about them have disappeared. Today, we are going to witness this history again."
I looked at Zhou Dafu, feeling a bit dazed.
At that moment, Li Chao had already dug through and was ready to enter with a simple mask on.
I followed behind Zhou Dafu as we crawled inside. My hands trembled more and more; I never expected that this time I would actually touch the secrets of my origins.
Inside was pitch black, but clearly, Zhou Dafu and the others were well-prepared. They brought powerful scattering flashlights that, while not illuminating far, provided bright and diffuse light that made the surroundings quite clear.
I brushed off the dirt from my hands as we slid down through the hole they had opened, revealing a very neat passage ahead.
The passage was still orderly, paved with smooth Bluestone.
Suddenly, Zhou Dafu knelt down on the ground and began to cry softly.
I was startled and quickly went to support him.
Zhou Dafu tore off his mask and knelt there, kissing the floor.
"Dad! Stop it!" Zhou Ping hurried over to pick up the mask.
Zhou Dafu shook his head. "It's fine, it's fine. I know it's fine. Daughter, do you see? This is the Witch's Abandoned Ancient City! This is the Witch's Abandoned Ancient City that has been missing for more than three years! The Witch Clan truly existed! As a unique ethnic group left behind by the divine beings of this land, although their numbers were few, they made an indelible contribution to our Chinese civilization!"
I looked at Zhou Dafu, listening to his words, and suddenly felt a sense of pride swelling within me. I quickly removed the mask from my face.
The air was a bit damp and musty, but as Zhou Dafu said, it was not toxic.
I asked, "Uncle Zhou, since the Witch Clan is so powerful, why were they exterminated?"
Zhou Dafu shook his head, then lifted his gaze to look at me, smiling joyfully. "Studying history, the greatest allure lies in the pursuit of truth. It is precisely because of so many historical mysteries that I have been utterly captivated! Come, let’s head into the city! I believe we will surely find the answers."
Li Chao and the others saw that there was indeed nothing unusual with Zhou Dafu and me, so they also removed their masks. We walked along the Bluestone path toward the front.
There were no city walls ahead, but we could see many damaged houses. The shapes of those houses were peculiar; they were cylindrical, and on top of them were carvings of strange, alluring women, as if they were dancing.
After walking a few steps, Zhou Ping suddenly let out a sharp scream and then took a few steps back.
Li Chao and the others immediately drew their guns and surrounded Zhou Ping.
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