Chapter 132: This… We’re Already Here?
Lao Yang looked at the things leaking from the fish’s stomach and excitedly called them over: “Come quick and look, I found a good, good thing!”
Before this, Wu Xie had no idea Lao Yang was so bold, even able to stomach this kind of fish—at least he had already felt physiologically nauseous when he saw that human head. But after hearing Lao Yang’s call, he still forced himself to turn his head despite the discomfort. Although Lao Yang was usually not very reliable, he probably wouldn’t joke at a time like this.
So the two turned their heads and saw Lao Yang holding a bloody thing, washing it in the river water, then bringing it back carefully and precious-like, gently brushing off the remaining filth on it: “We’re rich, we’re really rich!”
Wu Xie thought Lao Yang had really found a gold mine or jade mine swallowed by the fish, but when he leaned in to look, he saw it was a black thing, though the shape was quite familiar: “This is… a gun?”
He glanced at Lao Yang’s waist, where there was still a lighter shaped like a handgun hanging, which had once startled them.
Lin Yan walked over to take a look, and the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed: “Isn’t this Panzi’s gun?”
Wu Xie looked closely, and sure enough it was! Panzi also used this kind of improvised gun, sawing off the barrel of a long-tube hunting rifle and modifying the stock into the shape of a handgun. But this one was still different from the one Panzi usually used.
He shook his head: “It’s not the one Panzi uses. Panzi’s gun wouldn’t have the stock shortened; he said it’s not comfortable to hold that way. Also, his modified gun can eject the spent casing itself, this one can’t. This kind requires manually removing the empty casing, which is very inconvenient. If the first shot doesn’t kill, there’s basically no chance for a second shot. It’s okay for shooting small animals, but for poaching… probably not.”
He suddenly remembered Uncle Tai’s group that he had tracked before. Poachers were unlikely, but tomb raiders… Wu Xie squatted down again, endured the disgust to observe the bloody human head, and found that aside from compression marks, the corrosion marks weren’t too severe. So… it really might be them?
Lin Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t his nerves being sensitive; he really didn’t remember if Panzi, Wu Sansheng, or Xie Lianhuan had come here, but suddenly seeing such a similar gun, no wonder he overthought it. But since it was confirmed not to be Panzi’s gun, the subsequent matters would be easy to solve.
“Then it seems that group before us had already come in to look around, and one of them probably died?”
Disliking the human head affecting the mood, Lao Yang kicked it into the water with one foot. If Wu Xie hadn’t dodged quickly, the splashed dirty water would probably have splashed his leg. Before he could complain, he saw the water surface not far away ripple slightly, as if something familiar was swimming over.
“Damn, sure enough there’s more than one! This place might have a fish nest!”
Seeing that familiar triangular dorsal fin, Wu Xie’s face darkened instantly. He patted Lao Yang’s shoulder to tell him to stop obsessing over the fish meat: “Let’s get out first. What if all these huchen are attracted over and come ashore to attack us? This thing can stay out of water briefly!”
He looked at the several cave entrances not far away, somewhat undecided: “Sigh, we can only hope these exits don’t lead to waterways!”
Lin Yan also sensed something wrong at this point. Wu Xie’s tone made it sound like they were doomed not to get out: “What’s wrong, did you discover something? Is there anything off about the water here?”
Wu Xie gave a bitter smile: “I should have thought of it earlier. Even with heavy rainfall, three years wouldn’t be enough to fill the entire mine to this extent. It can only be said that what we thought before might be right—this fish really isn’t necessarily artificially raised. We missed one thing: under here, besides the mine, there might be a natural underground water source!”
Lin Yan looked at this green-black water and felt a suffocating sensation: “But isn’t groundwater usually running water? This water looks like stagnant water, otherwise it wouldn’t be this color.”
Wu Xie resignedly continued observing the several mine caves, trying to find the correct path among them, otherwise they might spend the rest of their lives wandering in this mine until they starved to death or got eaten by fish. Hearing Lin Yan’s question, he casually explained: “Then let me ask you, after the Yellow River bursts its banks, is the water that flows out running water?”
Lin Yan thought about it and understood. The water in this cave must have come from when they were mining and broke into some underground water, flooding the entire mine. With no water level difference, the water couldn’t drain out, so of course it was stagnant water. And since huchen groundwater is also a type of freshwater, it was reasonable for a few fish to accidentally enter over the years.
Lin Yan and Lao Yang silently waited for Wu Xie for a long time, seeing him still wandering around the surfaces of the several mine caves, they started getting restless. Lao Yang couldn’t take it first: “Wu, Wu Xie, do you even know how to read this shit? The bonfire’s almost out from you staring, how haven’t you finished? I think these all look pretty much the same, why not just pick one at random?”
Wu Xie was stubbornly holding on to face when suffering. Truth be told, he only knew the basics in this area; if his Third Uncle were here, he’d read it more accurately, but at this point he was already committed. He turned back and glared at Lao Yang. If not for the dim light, the other two might have seen his face somewhat red: “Do you understand or do I? This is a matter of life and death, what’s wrong with being cautious? What if we pick the wrong path and go deep into the mine? It’s been several hundred years, all the facilities inside are decayed, what then if we can’t get out?”
Lao Yang thought about it and agreed; among the three, only Wu Xie had knowledge in this area, the others really couldn’t.
But Wu Xie was also starting to waver. Back in school, they taught about ore veins and how to dig mines, but didn’t say where mine exits led! Mines generally had several exits, sure, but they didn’t understand the Qinling Mountains, and had no idea about the direction of the other exit. Were they just going to charge in and rely on luck?
If Lin Yan knew Wu Xie was thinking this way, he’d definitely support Wu Xie’s decision to rely on luck without a second word. One was the son of destiny, the other a transmigrator who picked up a second life; even bringing Lao Yang along, who was afraid of whom? Unfortunately, Lin Yan still thought Wu Xie could really discern something, sitting by the bonfire patiently waiting.
After looking for a good while longer, catching Lao Yang getting impatient again in his peripheral vision, Wu Xie hesitantly pointed to one of them: “Let’s go this way.”
With a jolt, Lao Yang sprang to his feet: “You finally, figured it out. I was waiting so long I nearly fell asleep!”
Startled awake by Lao Yang’s sudden movement, Lin Yan nodded sleepily. It was already midnight by now; if not for being in this dark, cold, and smelly place, he might have already fallen asleep! The original plan was to pass Jia Zi Gou and find a place to rest, but unexpectedly they got stuck in this mine halfway—what kind of mess was this!
Fortunately, they could continue onward now. He hoped they could find a relatively safe place to let him take a nap… Wait, given Third Uncle’s style of writing something twisty-turny but without much filler, this mine… wouldn’t lead to an ancient tomb, would it?
If that were really the case, then Lin Yan wouldn’t be sleepy anymore!
The unstable updates lately are also due to the author’s own reasons. Simply put… there was an issue with school matters. If it can’t be resolved, graduation might be… So lately I’ve been arguing with the school and such, with lots of things to consider and arrange. Hope the readers can forgive me. But generally, I’ll ensure a daily update; if not, it’ll be made up the next day. Normally it’s still two updates a day.
