Chapter 008: Incomprehensible

After these two figures fell in, they did not move again, with their faces buried halfway in the sand. However, I could immediately be certain that the strange sound of scratching at the door was definitely produced by them, because after these two people fell heavily, their four hands were still mechanically clawing at the sand.

I tossed Wei Mian into the corner, and when I sneaked over to take a look, my head felt like it had grown a size larger

No... don't listen, it's frightening...

The hole created by the worker is quite narrow, making it difficult to maneuver while removing the stone slab, which took quite a bit of time. However, the wall behind the slab was relatively easy to deal with. The actual situation was exactly as Cao Shi had mentioned beforehand; there is indeed an opening behind the wall. I am unsure whether the underground cavity is naturally formed or artificially excavated, but having been buried underground for so many years in a sealed environment, the air quality must be poor. If the ancients had any ill intentions, anyone entering could easily suffocate inside.

"Old Cao, so precise?" I patted the sand off my body and said to him, "Have you been here before?"

After this incident, the rigid image of the scholar, Mr. Fang, has become somewhat blurred in my mind. However, the person responsible for tracking them yesterday was very clear, and I feel that these two students appeared entirely as victims. They have suffered serious injuries and do not pose a threat to us. Considering the context, I suspect that they encountered some special circumstances along the way and then desperately ran back to seek our help

Cao Shi also involuntarily followed the other person's gaze and looked at me, which made me feel a bit uneasy

We need to enter this house," Cao Shi said to the four companions, "Clear a path.

In such a place, this is about all the fun I can have. I spent several hours of boredom with Wei Mian, when a worker emerged from the hole, claiming to have unearthed a large stone slab. Cao Shi had been anxiously waiting above, and upon hearing this news, he was invigorated as if he had received a shot of adrenaline. He hurriedly instructed the worker to come up, then took a shovel and descended into the hole himself. A few of us gathered around the opening, peering inside. Within a few minutes, Cao Shi returned to the surface, stating that he had scraped away the stone slab, revealing a double-layered brick wall behind it. He said that removing the bricks would expose an opening.

These two young students were completely unaware of any strange experiences beforehand; they had lost all consciousness, and only their hands, like a clockwork mechanism from a book, kept repeating the same motion, which made my scalp tingle.

What happened

Don't beat around the bush, just say it directly

However, my feelings seemed to be mistaken. Our people meticulously searched the entire Mazhan City and the surrounding areas, but found no trace of others. Cao Shi was still uneasy and ordered half of the team to remain on guard within the city. He led me, Wei Mian, and the remaining four individuals in a winding path, gradually approaching a dilapidated building in the northeast corner of Mazhan City, which was mostly buried under sand. Although he had yet to mention the specific location of the operation, I realized by looking at the four individuals he brought that we were about to take action. Cao Shi was still uneasy and ordered half of the team to remain on guard within the city. He led me, Wei Mian, and the remaining four individuals in a winding path, gradually approaching a dilapidated building in the northeast corner of Mazhan City, which was mostly buried under sand. Although he had yet to mention the specific location of the operation, I realized by looking at the four individuals he brought that we were about to take action. There was a potential hidden danger within the team that was not quite right, and we could not afford to be unprepared.

As soon as the door was pulled open, two figures rushed in side by side, and judging by their attire, they were not the night watchmen we were responsible for.

This must be asked of you! Cao Shi pushed the night watchman heavily and said: "How did you keep watch?"

Can you be a bit more mature? Come, let me tell you a story.

Immediately, several individuals armed with guns went out to stand guard, while the others searched for suitable places to hide inside the house. Two of Elder Fang's students were dragged to a corner, and someone crouched down to observe them for a long time before informing Cao Shi that these two individuals likely had internal injuries; otherwise, they would not be continuously spitting up blood. However, no other conditions could be discerned.

Cao Shi instructed someone to test whether a person could enter the cave, and reassured everyone by saying that the Eighth Master had mentioned that as long as they could find the entrance, they would have succeeded by more than half, and that the cave itself was very safe. Two assistants lit a flame inside the cave, and the flames burned quite normally. Cao Shi then suggested that two people should go in first to assess the situation inside.

As for who exactly blocked the door, including the intention behind his action, it is impossible to speculate. However, one thing is certain: he quietly held the door in place between 2:00 AM and 4:00 AM

Brother, it's a bit strange

I find Cao Shi somewhat contradictory; at one moment he is confident and composed, and at another, he is uncertain about the situation. I truly do not understand what he is thinking. Reflecting on the strange events that occurred last night, I increasingly feel an inexplicable sensation.

Stay alert; if the books are not in any danger, then take them out to have a look

"No, no, no..." The person outside hurriedly shouted, "It's us."

If what they say is true, then at 2:00 AM, Mr. Fang's student was still not outside the door. Now it is exactly 4:00 AM, which means that Mr. Fang's student must have arrived outside the door sometime between 2:00 and 4:00. As for how they ended up like this and how they came to scratch at our door, only a ghost would know.

The facial expressions of these two uninvited guests were quite bizarre, with their black pupils rolling to the edges of their eye sockets, leaving almost only the whites of their eyes. Their mouths were half-open, filled with sand, and they were continuously oozing blood froth. Nevertheless, despite this, I recognized them at a glance; they were actually two students of Old Fang.

After everyone dispersed, Cao Shi grabbed my arm and cautiously said to me: "You and Young Master Mian must be careful! At least one among our people is not trustworthy"

I am somewhat puzzled. Before coming to Mazhancheng, Cao Shi did not seem familiar with the situation here, yet at this moment, he appears to know it as well as his own home. Many tasks in this line of work rely on human experience for judgment, as there is no particularly precise information available for reference. How could an old man, without stepping outside, possibly have such a thorough understanding of conditions several meters underground

Before the two individuals breathed their last, I couldn't help but shine a flashlight on their faces. One of them had his mouth slightly trembling, and it seemed that a gurgling sound was coming from his throat. I felt as if he wanted to say something, but by the time Cao Shi leaned in to listen carefully, it was already too late

The subsequent events all took place underground, invisible from the surface. The two men responsible for scouting spent nearly half an hour below and returned with the report that the area of the cave was quite large, featuring four particularly thick columns. They made a complete circuit and found nothing unusual, but discovered a square pit constructed of stone slabs, filled with water as black as ink.

Uncle Tian, when are we going home?

Just dig down at an angle from here, and when you reach about 7 meters, you will encounter a large stone slab

The collapse of the main structure is extremely severe. After the sand is cleared away, it is unclear where to start digging a path out. Although the people under the old man are highly skilled in their profession, they only know how to cause destruction. Cao Shi personally took action to find a suitable entry point, and finally dug an opening through a window that was almost unrecognizable. A person entered and began to clear the construction debris inside bit by bit

Thud

I turned my head to look for Wei Mian and found that he had already curled up in a corner. Cao Shi dispersed the people in the room and then called someone over to open the door

Young Master Tian! That person mustered up the courage to say: "The dead man in the pit looks a lot like you"

Old Fang's students struggled for over an hour, and around five in the morning, they slowly ceased their movements, breathing, and heartbeat. The people in the room watched the two of them pass away from their respective positions, and no one attempted to save their lives, perhaps feeling powerless. In the meantime, I asked Cao Shi if there were any suitable medicines or equipment in our first aid supplies that could help them, and Cao Shi replied that there were none.

I do not believe there is anything outside," Cao Shi said, staring intently at the door panel. "It must be a person. Young Master Tian, you and Young Master Mian should step back.

The two students of Mr. Fang reappeared before us in this manner, catching everyone off guard. Cao Shi had not yet made up his mind on what to do when the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and several people near the door immediately turned their guns in that direction

Cao Shi furrowed his brows and thought for a moment, then said: "Something happened inside. Didn't it?"

The two night watchmen appeared somewhat awkward. According to them, at 2:00 AM, the previous shift had woken them up. The two were extremely tired and, upon reaching the watch station, immediately began to doze off. Now, they have come to call for the next shift.

Four fellows were responsible for the work, and Cao occasionally went out to check the surroundings. I was so bored that I started to tease Wei Mian, who was still frightened by last night's events. Plus, due to the lack of water, his usually fair and smooth little face now looked like a potato. As soon as I spoke to him, he pouted his lips as if he were about to cry. I pretended to raise my hand and said, "If you dare to cry, I will hit you."

In an instant, I realized, could it be that I misjudged? Is it true that Fang and the others have issues?

"Brother Shi, we are keeping watch on the rooftop." At this moment, the two night watchmen noticed Fang Lao's two students, and their expressions immediately turned tense: "What... what is going on?"

Upon hearing the voices of mhetushu.comcom, everyone breathed a sigh of relief; it was the two individuals we had sent out for the night watch. Cao Shi grabbed one of them by the collar and, with a serious expression, asked: "Where have you been!"

"Something has been pulled up from the black water; it is a corpse." The man suddenly turned his gaze towards me, his expression becoming quite unpleasant: "That corpse is indeed a bit strange"

It seems there are some, but they are submerged in black water, making it difficult to see clearly, and I have not yet attempted to scoop them out

The house was filled with sand, which was quite fluid and troublesome; whenever we dug out a bit, more would flow in from the sides. Fortunately, the layer of sand was not particularly thick, and we managed to clean up the area that Cao Shi pointed out. Beneath the sand were square stone slabs measuring fifty to sixty centimeters, laid out very neatly. We used a small pry bar to lift each slab one by one, revealing the original brown calcareous soil that existed in Mazhancheng before it became desertified

The tough subordinates of the old man are quite bold. One of them quietly approached the door, removed the wooden bar securing it, then pressed his body tightly against the wall and suddenly yanked the door open.

At the beginning, we all thought that the building beneath the sandbags would not be large, but once we started working, we realized how wrong we were. This building is estimated to be the largest in the entire Mazhan City; it had completely collapsed before being buried by sand, leaving only remnants of bricks and tiles beneath. Two days ago, during my "exchange" with Elder Fang, he mentioned that the culture and social system of the Dangxiang people were relatively backward before the establishment of their state. As they evolved from a minority ethnic group organized by tribes into a unified and powerful empire, many aspects could not keep pace with the development of the times, leading to an urgent need to absorb and integrate a series of relatively advanced factors of that era to consolidate their nation. The Western Xia dynasty bordered the Song, Liao, Jin, Mongol, Tubo, Uighur, and Western Liao, and its complex and unique geographical environment allowed for a diversified development of Western Xia culture. This diversification is not only reflected in culture; one can see its reflections in many aspects. The Western Xia architecture before me exhibits a strong Central Asian style, yet it is entirely different from the traditional Muslim architecture of Central Asia. One can sense that it was quite beautiful before it was damaged.

Brother Shi! It is them!

Cao Shi nodded slowly: "We still do not know who it is. Master Ba places great importance on this matter regarding Ma Zhan. We cannot give up halfway. I will do my best to arrange the subsequent matters. You and Young Master Mian should stay close to me and not wander around."

The outside of the house was pitch black, and Cao Shi immediately ordered the door to be closed. Several guns were simultaneously aimed at the two uninvited guests lying on the ground. However, three minutes passed, and these two individuals showed no signs of movement other than frantically scratching the sand with their hands. Unable to contain themselves, someone went over and turned them over.

They still have at least two people. Cao Shi stared at the pitch-black night outside and said, "Send a few people out, but don't go too far. Keep watch over this house, and we will deal with them after dawn"

Deep within my heart, I have always had a vague feeling that Old Fang and another one of his students are either inside Mazhancheng or not far from the city, and at this moment, their situation is dire. Thinking of Old Fang, I instinctively reached into my pocket to feel for the address he left me, but that piece of paper was gone. I searched for it several more times, but it truly was nowhere to be found

Are you referring to the person who blocked the door completely

We kept vigil over the two extremely unsightly corpses until dawn. Someone searched the bodies to see if they carried anything, but the two corpses were completely clean, with only some sand in their pockets. Cao Shi then ordered the bodies to be dragged out and buried, and instructed everyone to search within and around the city of Mazhan.

The messenger took some equipment and tools and re-entered the cave. Cao Shi turned to ask me and Wei Mian if we were tired. I truly did not feel tired; it was just that my legs were numb from squatting. Wei Mian murmured softly beside me, wanting Cao Shi to finish his work quickly so we could leave this cursed place sooner. I echoed his sentiment, saying that the sooner we finished, the better. Cao Shi shook his head, stating that the situation below was unclear and it was best to proceed with caution.

Cao Shi remained silent, handing me a cigarette to silence my words. The person next to us quickly began to shovel. The climate in this area is very dry, and the soil is as hard as compressed biscuits, yet it is quite brittle. I imagined that using a drill bit designed for oil field drilling would certainly be a thrilling experience.

Unknowingly, I became distracted, only breaking free from my chaotic thoughts when the person below returned to deliver the message again

However, the wooden stick that wedged the door is inexplicable. The stick was propped against the door from inside the room, something only our people could have done. At first glance, this action seems quite absurd, but upon closer analysis, it becomes somewhat terrifying. Did the person blocking the door possess foresight? Did they preemptively jam the door to prevent the two students of Mr. Fang from entering?