Chapter 337: Iron Block

This iron block was much smaller than the ones we had seen before, roughly the size of a thumb. What surprised me was that this iron was relatively smooth. Although it was also covered in rust, it was much cleaner than Poker-face's block, and the patterns on it were still clearly discernible.

I had once wondered whether the ugly appearance of the iron block under Poker-face's bed was due to someone treating it with acid. Now it seemed that was indeed the case. These iron blocks should originally have looked like this, not like Poker-face's, which looked like a toad. Moreover, judging by the very exquisite decorative patterns on it, it was clearly an artifact of superb craftsmanship.

The small iron block also had irregular fractures, clearly indicating it was not a complete piece but a fragment of something else. These iron blocks should have come from one or several large iron objects.

While treading water, my mind raced. I felt that things were finally coming together. The problems were starting to become clear and seemed to point to two main areas.

Whether my guess was correct—whether an archaeological team had been swapped out here—we still needed to continue searching for the equipment and traces they had thrown into the lake. I thought the bodies would likely be nearby as well. This no longer seemed too difficult.

Then there was the matter of the ancient village at the bottom of the lake. How could a village be submerged at the bottom of a lake deep in the mountains? These iron blocks came from this village. What were they originally, and what was their purpose? Why did the archaeological team know about this and want to salvage them? Damn it, there might be many hidden secrets behind all this that we couldn't even imagine now. We could only roughly ask Agui about the lake, but I felt he wouldn't have much information to give us.

The answers to both points lay at the bottom of the water. I sighed, knowing what to do next. We had to carefully observe the lake bed and bring up everything we could find down there for inspection. It looked like we'd be spending a long time in the water.

Unfortunately, the straw ropes we had on us were already so rotten they couldn't be used again, and I didn't have enough strength left to dive again. Otherwise, I would have really wanted to go down and take another look right away.

We marked the area with nylon rope and floats, then the three of us went back ashore to rest. Yuncai was scared stiff when she saw my condition and quickly attended to me. I stuffed two cloth strips up my nose and crouched in the grass to change clothes. I felt as if my bones were cracking from the inside, and I was in so much pain that I couldn't muster any strength. Fatty and Poker-face dragged the raft out of the water onto the shore, then lifted it like a stretcher, carrying it along with the rotten cowhide bag to a dry spot on the bank.

Yuncai and the others were very curious about what we had pulled out of the water. Since there was nothing special, Fatty let her take a look. Once she actually saw it, she just found it disgusting.

The sun was scorching. If you threw your underwear on a rock, it would dry by itself. We ate a few wild berries to replenish our sugar. As he ate, Fatty asked Agui if he knew anything about the submerged village. Agui was completely baffled and had no clue at all. He said he had never known there was a village beneath this lake.

Just now in the water my vision was blurry and I couldn't make out most details, so I couldn't give more specifics. But judging by the thickness of the sediment on top, I knew the village had been submerged at the bottom of the lake for many years. I asked Agui to think again—whether the nearby villages had any legends about this, even very old ones. Anything even remotely related would do. Agui shook his head again and swore there definitely wasn't any. He said, "Actually, I find it a bit strange too. All of us know there's a lake here, but this lake doesn't even have a name, and the old folks don't mention it often."

Fatty and I looked at each other in surprise. I had expected he wouldn't know much—after all, legends depend on luck to survive—but I hadn't expected him to be so definite.

Mount Yangjiao had many legends and strange occurrences, because since ancient times it had been the boundary between the deep mountains and the hunting grounds. Essentially no human traces extended beyond this point, so it was normal for there to be legends. But a lake this large in the Yangjiao Mountains should also have its own legends. Yet it seemed isolated, with no stories at all. That struck me as odd.

Fatty said, "Could this be the old village you said was burned down by a mountain fire? You said your old village in the Yangjiao Mountains was also burned down by a mountain fire. Could it actually be submerged under this lake? That's why you all say there's no trace of it on the ground."

Agui shook his head. "It's too long ago. Even the legend about the burned old village dates back to the Ming Dynasty. I really can't say what connection there might be between the two."

I could tell from looking at Agui that he wasn't lying. So I lay down, lit a cigarette, and massaged my throbbing temples with my fingers, thinking that I really had to rely on myself after all.

Fatty pointed into the distance at the spot on the lake where I estimated the deepest point of the lake bed to be, and said, "What's the shape of this lake bed? It looks to me like it was hammered out by a nail hammer. How do you think it was formed?"

I said, "It wasn't formed like that. This kind of elevation difference normally only occurs in canyon rivers between mountains. This lake should be a barrier lake, probably formed several hundred years ago."

"Was it because of an earthquake?" Yuncai asked curiously from the side.

I shook my head. "The underwater village is relatively well preserved. If it had been a major earthquake, we certainly wouldn't see such neat stone paths and fences. That means the village was submerged under relatively gentle conditions." I pointed to the deepest place Fatty had just indicated and offered my speculation: "It's possible that due to geological activity or some other reason, a few hundred years ago, a hidden river suddenly appeared in the mountains opposite us, connecting to the nearby underground water system. Because this village happened to be in a low-lying area, a sudden flood completely submerged the entire village."

The reason I said it was water from an underground system was because I hadn't heard Agui mention any larger lakes nearby, nor had I heard of any big lakes in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. But the karst underground rivers here were famous. This place was close to the tropics with very frequent rainfall, so the water had to go somewhere. The rivers flowing on the surface eventually converged into underground rivers. Last night's siphon tide must have been due to this opening.

Fatty said, "Looks like I was right. The stuff we're looking for must be in the deepest part, and there's no way we'll find it."

I shook my head. "Not so. These wooden buildings act like filters. Most of the things sucked into the lake floor by the siphon tide will get caught at the outskirts of the ancient village by the fences and wooden buildings. So we only need to search this perimeter, and we'll probably find something. Otherwise, I think we can admit defeat."

The depth in this perimeter wasn't too great—I estimated just over twenty meters. As long as we had some patience, we were sure to find something.

Fatty glanced at the sun and suddenly got excited again. He said, "Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Let's get into the water now."

I immediately shook my head. That was impossible. Given our diving experience just now, free diving was really too strenuous. If we wanted to carefully and calmly investigate the ancient village underwater, we definitely had to use professional diving equipment. There was absolutely no way to do it right away. We would have to go back to the county town first, then use our connections to have the equipment shipped over.

This was a major operation. The diving equipment was very heavy. We might have to hire a dozen or so people to bring it in with mules, which didn't fit our original intention to stay low-profile. Moreover, these things weren't easy to get. Besides oxygen tanks, we also needed an oxygen pump for charging—that thing was no small matter. Mules probably couldn't even pull it in. We'd have to disassemble it and then transport it, which would take even longer.

I was extremely anxious. If I had to wait any longer, I feared I would be tortured to death.

Fatty also didn't want to go back, but he was more rational than I was. After thinking it over, he said, "Don't even think about it. If we want to fully explore, we definitely have to go back and bring scuba gear. There's no other choice. But judging from our diving experience just now, if we just want to dive down and do a simple search, we don't necessarily need scuba gear. We can split the work: one person goes back to get the equipment, and the other two start salvaging the sunken objects here. These two things can be done simultaneously."

"So who goes back?" I asked.

"In terms of connections, of course you're the best choice to go back. You have the most connections. Let me and Little Brother do the salvaging here. Think about it: you know so many guys, you can just find a few to help you get the gear. You can give instructions and come back. That's much more convenient for you than for us."

I cursed, "Damn, it's still the same. I'll still die of boredom."

"One person dying of boredom is better than three people dying of boredom together. Besides, think about it: there's no way Little Brother can go. My connections are in Beijing, much less convenient than yours. If I go, you'll have to wait even longer. Sure, it's nice to look at the scenery here, but if you stay a month, you'll suffer too. So listen to your Fatty—you going back to get the stuff is the best solution." Fatty said this with a self-righteous air.

Looking at Fatty's expression, it was really asking for a punch, but upon careful thought, what he said did make sense. I just had to make one phone call to Panzi, and it could be done in a few days. I could also bring Wang Meng and a few guys from Third Uncle's shop to help. That unreliable Fatty—I really couldn't trust him to handle things outside. I had no choice but to nod. Then we quickly discussed it and decided not to dawdle. I would go back early tomorrow morning and aim for a quick resolution.

So I made arrangements with Agui: he would take me back tomorrow. Yuncai would stay here to look after Fatty and Poker-face. I thought that Agui going back and forth like this was really hard on him, and besides, we really couldn't do without him now. I had to win him over, so I offered him a generous sum.

In the time that followed, I collapsed and barely stood up again. Fatty and Poker-face went diving twice more and brought up some more items, but they were all highly decayed—just garbage with no value. Among them was an old gun, rotted to the point it looked like a poker. Fatty loved guns and kept lamenting what a pity it was.

Fatty also saw the submerged village and was shocked by its enormous scale. He remarked that it was a pity they didn't have diving goggles, otherwise they could see more clearly and wouldn't just be fishing out garbage. Then he searched everywhere for a substitute, going through all the equipment, and finally found something—the head of a flashlight. But this thing couldn't possibly be sealed, so Fatty made a very absurd decision: he pressed the flashlight head against his own eye, sealed the gaps with tape and grease, then pressed hard, hoping to keep one eye able to see underwater at a distance. Fatty submerged in the shallow water to test it, but the water pressure immediately forced the head into the cylinder, proving the method wouldn't work. Helpless, he had to ask me to remember, and Agui and I went back to the county seat to find a sports goods store and bring back some basic equipment to tide them over.

Nothing else happened that night. The next morning I left Yangjiao Mountain. As I was leaving, the sky was covered with dark clouds, as if a heavy rain was about to come. I waved goodbye to them, then took the mountain path. When I reached the mountainside and looked at the lake again, seeing those dark clouds, I suddenly had a strange premonition, as if something was about to happen.