Volume 1, Wars and Chaos, Chapter 40, Underground Passage
Luo Yu really didn't know how to describe this huge underground cave.
After everyone's eyes adjusted to the reflection, Zhang Yang slowly walked in holding a torch, and then saw the light of the torch reflected all around, like countless bronze mirrors.
All seven people entered, and the reflection in the cave became brighter and extended all the way through. The entire cave seemed to be covered with a layer of colorful gauze.
Looking from a distance, stalactites of different lengths and sizes hang down, and water drops drip from time to time.
Three feet away from where they were standing, at the bottom of the reflective walls on both sides, there was a row of small manually dug doors that could not be seen to the end.
There is some black stuff under the door, which should be the remains of the decayed wooden door installed on the small door.
It is translucent under the feet, and you can vaguely see the rushing underground river below. The river water hits the stones on both sides, making a muffled sound.
Seeing this, Li Shimin walked forward to the small door, looked carefully at the stone material beside the small door with the light of the torch, and said, "It's crystal."
Luo Yu knew about crystals. This kind of ore is extremely hard and has a melting point of several thousand degrees. How did people more than a thousand years ago cut them so flat?
Crystals have different colors depending on the environment they are in. There are dozens of colors such as transparent, blue, red, purple, etc. How could this cave have such a complex environment and form colorful crystals?
It's okay to stay in this place for a day or two, but big problems will arise if you stay here for a long time. There will be too much water vapor, and rheumatism in the joints will quickly come to your doorstep, making people miserable.
Judging from Li Shimin's ability to recognize this thing at a glance, crystals are often seen here and are not a rare thing.
The only thing that can make people sigh now is the scale and quantity. Judging from the area discovered so far, this crystal cave is more than enough to accommodate two to three thousand people.
Luo Yu suddenly thought of a telescope. He had always wanted to make a telescope before, but he had never been able to find a suitable mirror material. Isn't it available now?
We'll talk about this later. First, look for a passage to the outside. Since there are troops stationed here, there can't be only one exit.
Luo Yu called several people together and expressed his thoughts. Everyone agreed that if they could evacuate from here, it would be better than being trapped in Weize Pass.
Just as they were told, the seven people held up torches and looked in the direction of the extension of the small door. The wind was also flowing in that direction.
The sound of the water became louder and louder, and Luo Yu thought of a possibility. There should not have been such a large flow of water when the army was stationed here, or the underground river had not been formed. Otherwise, how could he sleep if it was so noisy?
Geology can easily change over time. Human beings think it is a long time ago, but from the perspective of mountains and rivers, it may only change in the blink of an eye.
After walking forward for about a stick of incense, there were finally no more holes on both sides, but the Crystal Cave made a big turn to the left. The torch shone through, and the turning area became smaller.
Luo Yu looked through the firelight and saw that this was no longer a crystal layer. The seven or eight-foot-high round cave was all traces of manual excavation. He just didn't know whether it was widened on the basis of the original cave or whether it was all made manually.
Hard-cut.
At the foot is a straight rocky avenue about five feet wide. The stone path may not have been cleaned for a long time, and it is covered with moss, making it difficult to see the original appearance of the stone path.
Zhang Yang used a knife to scrape away an inch of moss and saw that the stone path was engraved with the same anti-slip texture as the spiral stone staircase, except that there were no fire unicorn patterns engraved on both sides.
They stepped on the moss with their feet and found it was soft and not very slippery as long as they did not go uphill. So, the seven people discussed it and walked forward step by step.
After walking forward for half an hour, I lit three torches from the seven torches at the beginning, which was barely enough for lighting. I didn't know how long I would have to walk, so I had to use these torches sparingly.
However, in addition to the fact that the roof of the cave is getting lower and lower, we still haven't reached the end. According to the distance, we have walked more than ten miles. How long is this artificially dug tunnel?
The only good news is that the wind noise is getting louder and louder, and no one noticed when the water sound disappeared.
There seemed to be light coming through not far ahead. Zhang Yang moved the torch in his hand behind him to confirm whether there was real light in front of him and not reflected light.
It was indeed the sunlight coming in from outside. It seemed that the cave had finally come to an end. Li Shimin said: "We have been walking non-stop for almost an hour since we entered the stone path. If the straight line of the stone path is not curved, the distance has already exceeded twenty miles.
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Luo Yu said: "We can't determine the direction even if we know the distance. The stairs have long made it difficult for us to distinguish between east, west and north. Let's forget about it for now. Let's go to the vent and have a look. Only when we determine the direction can we decide whether to go out from here."
Zhang Yang and Cheng Xiao walked to a light-transmitted place to check. After a while, they came over and replied: "Instructor, that is an air vent only about a foot square. Looking out, there are cliffs on the opposite side. I can't tell where it is.
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Cheng Xiaoque said: "There is a downward passage to the left of the vent, with many stone steps. The student thought that I would go down first to investigate, find out the situation and then come back and report."
Luo Yu thought for a while, called Liu Hao and Yu Dong, and said, "The four of you go down and take a look. Be careful."
The four of them took the order, held up two torches and climbed down the stairs. Until the torches could no longer be seen, Luo Yu was still standing in a ventilated area waiting.
After a stick of incense, the flickering flame finally appeared at the end of the stone steps, but only a torch and a person appeared. Judging from the figure, it should be Liu Hao.
Luo Yu felt a little anxious, but judging from Liu Hao's cheerful footsteps, there shouldn't be any danger.
Sure enough, Liu Hao came to Luo Yu and saluted: "Instructor, there is a large stone door below, but the four of us can't open it, so we don't know if the entrance is really the exit."
Luo Yu glanced at Li Shimin. This guy seemed to have not spoken since he came here, and he didn't know what he remembered. His face turned a little pale.
Seeing that he was still in the same state, I stopped asking him for his opinion and directly ordered: "Let's all go down. If we don't figure it out, our efforts will be in vain."
Everyone obeyed the order, raised their torches, and walked down quickly. Li Shimin was dragged by Luo Yu, and he didn't come back to his senses until they had gone twenty or thirty levels down.
Luo Yu then asked: "What are you thinking about?"
Li Shimin said softly: "I just saw my brother. He was covered in blood. He looked at me and talked to me, but I couldn't hear a word..."
Luo Yu was stunned for a moment: "You mean you saw the sacrificed Li Yuanji?"
Li Shimin nodded: "He died in Shouyang County, eighty miles east of Taiyuan. I was only 12 years old at the time."
Luo Yu was surprised and said: "As you said, have we arrived in Shouyang County? Weze Pass is one hundred and thirty miles away from Shouyang County. We have only walked for more than an hour. How can it be so fast?"
Li Shimin said: "I don't know either, but I won't remember him wrongly when he died in Shouyang."
Luo Yu no longer struggled with this problem. He went down to the bottom and opened the door to find out. Guessing now was in vain.
The stone steps become gentler as they go down, and they make a small turn to the right in the middle. This was probably designed to adjust the throw of the stone steps. There is no moss at this point.
Just before coming down, Luo Yu looked at the stone steps. Just like before, the fire unicorn pattern appeared again.
In the distance, they saw Zhang Yang and the others looking for something in front of them. They didn't stop until Luo Yu and the others got close, and replied: "Instructor, there seems to be an agency controlling this place, but I don't know where it is?"
Luo Yu raised the torch and took a closer look at the door, which was about one foot high and three feet wide. It was all made of bluestone. Judging from the volume, it weighed no less than ten thousand kilograms.
In the middle of the door was a nine-square grid with eight symbols randomly inlaid on it. As for what it was, Luo Yu couldn't understand it. There were words, paintings, and water waves. He could move it by shaking it with his hand.
There was no knocker, so after the four of them got down, they pushed hard, but the stone door didn't move at all.
This has to be solved by Li Shimin. Luo Yu can't figure it out anyway, and the special forces members probably don't have this knowledge either.
He pulled Li Shimin, who was still a little dazed, to the nine-square grid, patted his shoulder and provided him with light.
Li Shimin finally woke up, looked up, and immediately said: "This is the Jiugong Mountain when King Wen of Zhou deduced the Bagua. How could it appear here?"
Luo Yu breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this and said, "Don't worry about how it appeared here. Can you decipher it? Or re-deduct it."
Li Shimin said: "This nine-square grid was cracked as early as the late Han Dynasty. Of course I can!"
Luo Yu said: "Then hurry up, we want to see where it is outside!"
Li Shimin nodded hurriedly, looked at it carefully, and soon moved the fist-sized patterns.
It only took a short moment for the movement to be completed. There was a "click" in the door, and the stone door slowly opened like a mechanism. I don't know, there was no sound, it must be controlled by a mechanism.
What kind of mechanism technology is this? It can still be used after more than a thousand years. It seems that the wisdom of the ancients cannot be underestimated.
The door opened, the sun was shining brightly outside, and the weeds at the door were higher than the door. A plump gray hare suddenly jumped out. With quick eyes and quick hands, the knife flew out and hit the rabbit's head. It seemed that the roast rabbit would be eaten soon.
The remaining people took out their daggers and quickly cleared the weeds in front of the door. After a while, a large area was cleared. It could be seen that this was a large square. After the weeds, there were towering trees. I didn't know where this was.
Is there a way out of the mountains?
Fortunately, after cutting down the last layer of weeds in front of the big tree, I saw a path not far away, winding into the distance.
Let Lu Xiao lead people to take a look. If it is passable, he will go back and notify Li Xiuning. If this is Shouyang, then come here. Taiyuan is eighty miles to the west.
We can finally escape the encirclement, but will Li Xiuning give up Weizeguan to the Tunisian-Mongolian coalition? This is a bit uncertain, there are still so many ordinary people there.
It is better for Li Shimin to take action and let his brother and sister solve the problem. It would be best not to get involved in this matter.
Lu Xiao came back and brought good news. This is Songta Town under the rule of Shouyang, which is only fifteen miles away from Shouyang County.
Luo Yu said to Li Shimin: "Go and invite your sister. Write a letter to your father before you leave. Then I will wait here for your father's reply. Don't let me down..."
Li Shimin said: "You want to be lazy? However, I really have to do this. Just wait, I will write it right away."
Luo Yu said, "When you come back, help me knock a piece of transparent or green crystal over. I'll be useful!"
Li Shimin said: "I know!"
Exactly:
The crystals are piled up into a mountain, and the shadow is dim.