readytorunbook Chapter 19's difficulties, and the sharp-toothed catfish.
Chapter 19's difficulties, and the sharp-toothed catfish.
Yang Xueli used her flashlight to illuminate the river on her left, and when she turned her head, Cheng Feng only saw a dark shadow.
Hu Bayi was closer, but what he saw was similar to what Cheng Feng saw; neither of them could clearly see what was underwater.
"Judging from its size, it must be about a meter long; it must be a big fish!"
Hu Bayi shone his flashlight around the water and made a casual guess.
Cheng Feng: "Stop looking for fish, Comrade Bayi. Take out the map and see if it matches this river!"
Hu Bayi withdrew his gaze: "No need to look, this is indeed the secret passage through which Prince Gu Mo went to the ancient city of Jingjue."
The river's course on the map was thicker than the previous ones, so I remember it well.
"That's strange. Did the prince swim there along the underground river?"
Cheng Feng looked at the dark river water; he couldn't see the bottom at all.
Moreover, most of the underground rivers here are formed by the melting of the Kunlun glaciers, and the water temperature is very low.
"I have a guess that animal husbandry was quite developed at the time, and rafts could be made from animal hides."
Yang Xueli thought of the golden lamb that Prince Gumo used to poison Queen Jingjue in the mural.
“The prince has a raft, but we don’t. If we want to travel this way, we’ll have to find a way to get a boat.”
The current difficulty is the lack of transportation, and even a small vehicle won't do.
Even if three people stay outside to watch over Anliman and the camels, there will still be five people going to the ancient city of Jingjue.
In addition, there are various tools that need to be carried.
Building such a large raft would be a huge undertaking, even if the materials were available, just transporting them in would be a massive project.
"Let's go back first, and then we can all think of a solution together. If all else fails, we can always go up there. There's always a way."
Hu Bayi suggested.
Cheng Feng and Yang Xueli nodded.
Just as Hu Bayi turned around, a dark shadow suddenly burst out of the water, leaping more than two meters high and pouncing on Hu Bayi.
"careful!"
In a flash, Cheng Feng pulled Huba aside, then punched the incoming black shadow.
I immediately felt a smooth, slippery texture.
With a splash, the dark figure was knocked into the water by Cheng Feng, creating a spray of water.
Before there was time to say anything more, the splash of water acted as if it were the sounding of an attack horn, and countless dark figures burst out of the water.
Cheng Feng and the other two then saw clearly what the dark figure was.
They are all over half a meter tall, with round heads and big mouths full of sharp fangs.
It has a barbel on each side of its mouth, its body tapers from thick to thin, and its tail is wide. Judging from its appearance, it should be a type of catfish.
With a clang,
Cheng Feng drew his Zhanlu sword, which he had never parted from since he acquired it, and with a few slashes, he dismembered more than a dozen sharp-toothed catfish.
"You go first."
While playing with his catfish ninja, Cheng Feng urged the two unruly little burdens behind him to hurry up.
Seeing Cheng Feng's sharp swordsmanship and his composed demeanor, the two knew he was fully capable of holding his own.
He immediately turned and crawled back through the dog hole he had come from. After entering, Hu Bayi didn't forget to shout to Cheng Feng:
"Brother Cheng, watch your backside!"
The two carefully left a flashlight not far inside the cave entrance.
This not only prevented the catfish from ruining the food, but also brought light to Cheng Feng.
Cheng Feng's eyebrows twitched. Although Lao Hu's words were a bit rough, they were indeed a problem that had to be faced.
The catfish, covered in sharp teeth, seemed endless, and in no time, Cheng Feng had been forced to press himself against the wall.
They had an extremely strong jumping ability and were not afraid; they just charged straight at Cheng Feng.
Cheng Feng didn't dare to run away now, otherwise, just as Hu Bayi said, his chrysanthemum would be eaten.
"Xiao Feng, how are you? Do you need any help?"
Yang Xueli's voice was very close, probably near the cave entrance. It's impossible that the two of them would leave Cheng Feng here and go on their own.
They went into the cave first just so as not to slow Cheng Feng down.
"I can handle it. Move in a little further, or I'll bump into your butt when I go in."
"What kind of time is this to be so talkative? I brought solid fuel, why don't we start a fire and throw it over there?"
Inside the cave, Yang Xueli laboriously retrieved a piece of solid fuel from the toolbox behind her.
"Then give it a try. Try to throw it accurately but don't hit me, or I'm done for."
Yang Xueli did not reply, but instead tried to place her feet on either side of her body to create space and look behind her.
Finding that Cheng Feng had already cleared the entrance, Yang Xueli took off her outer garment, placed fuel on it, and lit it.
After folding the clothes a few times, he threw them out of the hole.
Before long, the solid fuel ignited the clothes, creating a burst of flames.
The next second, Cheng Feng's front was empty, and the sharp-toothed catfish behind him rushed towards the burning clothes like moths to a flame.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Cheng Feng climbed into the cave without hesitation.
then……
Yang Xueli, who hadn't had time to crawl away, gritted her teeth and blushed as she felt the impact from behind.
Almost instinctively, I quickly climbed a few steps.
Cheng Feng hurriedly followed, not because of the village ahead, but because his own village was in danger.
Once they were far enough away from the cave entrance and certain that the catfish couldn't climb over, the three of them slowed down.
They remained silent the whole way.
About ten minutes later, the three of them climbed out of the low hole one by one.
Hu Bayi rubbed his knee, his lips twitching. He had bumped it while climbing.
Cheng Feng casually rubbed his face; the impact had been quite solid.
Just consider it a small loss for yourself; after all, there's an old saying that suffering a loss is a blessing!
"Xiao Yang, remember to listen to advice next time!"
As he spoke, Cheng Feng patted Shirley on the shoulder, walked past her, and went to the middle of the line.
Yang Xueli gritted her teeth and said nothing. Cheng Feng had indeed reminded her.
But the situation was urgent at the time, and there was no time to pay attention to these things.
"Brother Cheng, why did you end up in the middle?"
Hu Bayi asked.
"Boss Yang wanted to cover for you, but she said you secretly farted in front of her."
As soon as Cheng Feng finished speaking, he felt a kick in the butt and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Nonsense, you're the one who farts secretly, I always fart openly."
"Comrade August 1st is indeed upright and honorable, I admire him!"
……
Chatting idly along the way, the three of them soon returned to the area beneath Prince Gu Mo's coffin.
"Brother Hu, you're back! I'll get a rope and pull you up!"
Hearing the commotion coming from inside the cave, Sadi Peng, the only one who had gone down into the tomb with him, quickly came to meet him.
Soon a rope was lowered down through the hole.
When Cheng Feng climbed up, Professor Chen and the others were gathered around Hu Bayi, asking about the situation below.
Hu Bayi first gave good news: the passage below was indeed a secret passage leading to the ancient city of Jingjue.
However, bad news also came: most of the route is an underground river, and it is impossible to travel without boats or rafts.
They also mentioned the sharp-toothed catfish they encountered.
Professor Chen shook his head with a wry smile and said, "It seems we can't take this shortcut."
Cheng Feng said, "Professors, how's your research going? Let's go upstairs as soon as we're done."
Let's sit down and discuss whether there's a solution!