Chapter 206

"E Luo Hai Cheng" is also known as "Wei Kong Zhuang Li Shi Xiang Cheng". It and the "Gate of Disaster" are place names that only exist in the ancient legends of Kunlun Mountain, never recorded in historical texts, merely said to be hidden in the deepest parts of Kunlun Mountain—did they truly exist? The ancient city depicted in the murals of the "Xian King's Tomb" might be portraying "E Luo Hai Cheng". But what connection does this nest of northern demons have with the "Bottomless Ghost Cave" deep in the Xinjiang desert? Could a giant "eyeball" altar be found there? We currently have little confidence in that.

Even considering the worst possibility, in legend, that ancient evil "E Luo Hai Cheng" vanished mysteriously in a single night, just like Jingjue Ancient City, causing the mighty "Demon Kingdom" to suffer a irreversible decline. What disaster or change occurred there remains unknown.

I suddenly recalled what Zhang Yingchuan said: "End then beginning, encounter water to attain the Middle Way." The Middle Way refers to the doctrine of the mean, the proper path, also understood as the road of safety and self-preservation. Avalanche pressing down, trapped in desperation, yet willows dark, flowers bright—we discovered a more mysterious passage. This long, narrow slope leads to the deepest part of the Dragon Peak Glacier; there should be a lake or underground river—where there is water, there must be a path. Thinking of this, I instantly gained some confidence.

Everyone rested in this gentle slope for about half an hour. Worried that the area near the demon tower was unsafe, we set off again downward. This frozen earth tunnel, built with earth steps, runs in all directions underground, dense as a spider's web. We dared not wander randomly, only proceeding along the central main path downward, occasionally seeing talismans and markings, among which were not a few "eyeball" patterns.

Shirley Yang said to me: "If the Samsara Sect only wanted to dig through the Gate of Disaster, there would be no need to keep digging the tunnel into the nine-story demon tower. Moreover, looking at the condition of this underground tunnel, it was not all built at the same time—possibly constructed over several hundred, even up to a thousand years. This may relate to their belief that the abyss is the source of power. But have you ever wondered why the Samsara Sect people dug open the demon tower?"

I thought for a moment and said: "This matter is indeed suspicious. The demon tower enshrining evil gods is not to be violated—could it be that the Samsara Sect wanted to take something important from inside? Besides the glacial crystal corpse, what else might be in that tower?"

We walked and discussed, but never figured it out, so we just gave up. After extending a stretch diagonally downward, we met the vertical ice chasm. Although the ice wall was slightly slanted, to us, this angle made no difference compared to straight up and down. It was basically impossible to descend.

Here we could already see the bottom of the ice chasm. The deepest part had countless specks of pale blue fluorescence, gathering into a faintly flashing stream flowing windingly beneath the glacier. Due to the slight slope of the ice wall, when we first tracked "Xue Mile" and looked down from the frozen earth tunnel entrance, we couldn't help but exclaim: "Truly beautiful, almost like the Milky Way." Below might be crystal, or jellyfish in the water emitting this glow, hence such a dreamlike spectacle.

At the tunnel entrance were remnants of broken wood; a few hundred years ago, there may have been a wooden bridge leading downward, but with time it collapsed and rotted, the wood likely falling into the river below. I estimated the height roughly—this is already the lowest part of the glacier, about thirty-odd meters from the flashing stream. This height allows a direct drop with a long rope.

I told everyone that since there is living water, there must be an exit—we can go down by mountaineering...

Ming Shu objected, saying this ice wall is smoother than a mirror surface; though thirty-odd meters sounds low, a fall could still mash a person. Better to look for another way—sliding down the ice wall with a rope is simply too dangerous.

Pangzi looked down, also felt dizzy, quickly agreed with Ming Shu: "Careful sailing gets the boat through ten thousand years." The rear tunnel has so many branch lines—there must be another exit. Of course, I, Grandpa Pang, don't mind—even if flattened, I'll be a good man again in twenty years. But we are now supporting the elderly and carrying the young—we must consider Ming Shu and their safety.

I warned Pangzi: "Commander Wang, don't pick the wrong side—leave the shortcut untaken, insist on drilling those tunnels. Once lost inside and unable to turn back, what then? Ming Shu and their affairs need not concern us. So per our prior agreement, the nine-story demon tower has also been dug open, the glacial crystal corpse found—from now on, we each go our own way. If we can keep our lives, after returning to Beijing, we'll settle the accounts. Ming Shu, when you return home, prepare your antique playthings—then we won't be polite."

I said this only to scare Ming Shu, and indeed he worried we'd abandon him and Axiang here, thinking back and forth, still decided to follow the three gold-digging majors—only then could we possibly exit this glacier. This operation suffered losses, lost our capital—maybe in the lower "Gate of Disaster" we could find something more valuable, of course contingent on survival. Thus he declared absolute unity—only then would survival odds increase.

Seeing Ming Shu settled, I prepared the rope, using a long rope with a mountaineering pick, to descend first. Below the ice chasm, the river valley's banks on both sides had scattered black rotting wood, with abundant ice mountain crystal veins flashing the river's pale blue fluorescence—no light source needed, yet a certain visibility remained.

I looked around, saw no danger, then signaled those above to follow down. When Pangzi finally slid down yelling, much time had been wasted—from excavating the wooden tower, battling wolf packs, to reaching the ice chasm depths—everyone had rested less than half an hour total. Now inevitably we were all hungry and starving.

Shirley Yang said to me: "We must find a safe place to rest for the night, let Ming Shu and Axiang recover strength, otherwise continuing down will truly risk lives."

I nodded in agreement. Thus everyone sought a camping spot nearby, first going to the edge of the underground river to look—here the water was very calm and exceptionally clear, with many freshwater jellyfish emitting pale blue fluorescence. However beautiful these creatures appear, they are actually highly dangerous—if massed, their bioelectricity can paralyze large animals instantly. Shirley Yang warned everyone to stay far from the riverbank and absolutely avoid touching the water.

This river valley seems endless; following the water's flow, soon after we found a cave beneath a crystal-strewn cliff. Since deep underground, if anything fell from above it would smash whoever—no one could withstand it—thus the cave at the cliff's base naturally became the ideal campsite.

The cave's fire-viewing mouth is relatively wide and swift, as if artificially chiseled. But due to great age, hard to confirm—shining a flashlight from outside inward: sheets of crystal light flicker; inside and out, transparent crystals abound, yet the interior seems extremely winding and deep—standing outside, one cannot see its depth.

The cave does not seem a beast haunt, but for safety I brought Pangzi in first to scout—after walking less than five or six steps inside, there was a turn; thereafter the space was about a twenty-square-meter room—if no danger, this is indeed suitable for camping.

I and Pangzi held the "Wolf Eye" and swept the cave—on the ground were some ancient stone platforms; in the corner lay piles of white ox heads; on the platform stood a black wooden humanoid figure over a foot tall. My heart stirred—this is likely where the Samsara Sect performed sacrifices; this black wooden figure, this form, resembles the "Black Tiger Mystic Altar" mentioned by the Iron Staff Lama.

I had Pangzi call Axiang and others in, to have Axiang check the cave for anything unclean—Axiang entered and looked around—nothing, dead land, nothing—nor did the black wooden figure have anything.

Since all was safe and everyone already very exhausted, and further searching might not yield a better spot, we rested in the cave, lit a fire to heat food and drink.

On the innermost stone wall of this crystal cave, there are still some natural small holes, fist-sized—but even a child couldn't crawl in. We blocked them with stones to prevent snakes from entering—then it should be relatively safe.

Everyone sat by the fire eating, except Ming Shu, who sighed, unable to eat—he had Axiang take out his ancestral "Thirteen Whisker Flower Porcelain Cat", shaking his head continuously, picking up a stone and smashing the porcelain cat to pieces in one blow.

Pangzi watched, feeling it a pity, said to Ming Shu: "Old sir, if you don't want it, give it to me—this big flower cat is also several hundred years old, right? Win or lose, it's still a plaything—smashing it is such a waste. To speak of smashing things, during the Break Four Olds I smashed more than you, but nowadays, aren't you also feeling a bit regretful?"

I said to Ming Shu: "Remember not long ago you still worshipped this flower porcelain cat—supposedly very efficacious, its whiskers not a single one broken—so why did we lose so many people in the demon tower? Did you not check the almanac, commit a clash?"

Ming Shu sighed deeply, spoke the truth: "Someone like me, who's sailed these many years, trusts most in these things, and fears most ill omens—the older I get, the smaller my courage becomes. For a lucky omen, I used glue to fix the whiskers of this ancestral porcelain cat, made them unbreakable." Getting angrier, as if at odds with himself, he waved his hand and shoved the broken cat to the wall.

Funny enough, the cat's body shattered but the head remained intact, rolling to the wall, facing Ming Shu squarely—firelight shining, the cat's eyes glowed brightly, as if spirited, seeming to come alive—this made Ming Shu even more uncomfortable, muttering: "Old porcelain cat's almost become a spirit—I let you stare at me." Speaking, he picked up the stone again, intending to walk over and smash the cat's head.

I wanted to stop Ming Shu—what's the point, getting angry at an object? But before I could speak, Ming Shu's body suddenly stiffened, standing there motionless.

He had his back to us—I didn't see what he saw—I gestured, Pangzi already had his gun cocked, Shirley Yang pulled Axiang to a slightly distant corner.

I stood up, saw Ming Shu's eyes fixed rigidly on the cat's head, and asked what was wrong. Ming Shu stammered: "Old brother Hu, there's a snake there—look over there." Ming Shu, when in Nanyang, had once been bitten by a poisonous snake, so he greatly fears poisonous snakes.

I thought we'd just checked everywhere—where could a snake be, and what's there to fear? Then I looked in the direction Ming Shu pointed—there, beside the cat's head, was a hole I had previously blocked with stones; the stones trembled slightly, as if something inside wanted to push out.

I shielded Ming Shu behind me, pulled out the entrenching shovel—whether snake or rat bursts out, I'll smash it flat first—Shirley Yang and others also raised their flashlights, shining from behind toward this spot.

The stone shifted a few times, then fell to the ground—I raised the entrenching shovel to strike, but halfway down, it stopped abruptly—not a snake, but a green plant branch, which instantly bloomed a red flower the size of a sea bowl.

How could a flower grow here? I hadn't figured it out yet, when Axiang suddenly screamed from behind—I was fully focused on seeing what was happening, her scream startled me so much I nearly dropped the entrenching shovel. I never thought a woman, when frightened to the extreme, would make such a sound.

Shirley Yang hurriedly asked Axiang what happened—did you see something...?