The Spirit World

Chapter 495: Exploring the Netherworld Gorge
By the way, we learned from Yilongzhi... Do you think I am surprised that a god is called by his name? Actually, it is nothing...

Because there is a very important point, that is, they are not our gods. For all Chinese people, Hua Yin is the name we need to avoid.

Well, it doesn't really matter, I just wanted to calm down because I've just talked about too many things and my mind is a little unclear.

【jia'ke'suo'la, ke{keng}hong'】

And then... our goal is the Heart of the Mountains, because this item can bring us enough gold coins and even reputation, so that the three of us will not be so destitute.

Hey, we are not in dire straits now. Although we have reached Nether Gorge after many twists and turns, we are now fully equipped with Xiaozhi's equipment, as well as many miscellaneous and useless things given to us by many people we know. We were reluctant to throw them away, but after going around in circles we still lost some of them.

Ah... I just said that the three of us can get money and fame through the Heart of the Mountains. Yes, I have such an idea.

When we first left the village, we headed west just for things like this, regardless of wind or rain.

I have never thought about anything else. In fact, when I think back, if I hadn't followed Zhang Xiaohu and Niu Er and left my hometown, I might still be farming and harvesting crops in Yujia Village now, and I wouldn't have met so many different kinds of people, some interesting, some boring.

I have never made such an important decision, and this may be the first relatively correct decision in my life.

We wandered in Youming Gorge, a big canyon, it was pitch black and we couldn’t see anything. I… I was a little scared…

There was no light at all in the Netherworld Gorge, as if the light would be sucked in. It was very scary. Zhang Xiaohu thought that this was a canyon, which was connected and had a beginning and an end, so he wanted to see if he could find the edge of the canyon and then enter the bottom of the canyon.

To be honest, this is not possible. We walked along the canyon crevice of Youmingjian, and it was pitch black. We couldn't see anything.

We threw stones along the way, and the stones gurgled down the visible cliff and disappeared. There was no sound, and we could only shake our heads and sigh.

We also tried to use running water to measure how high this ghostly Netherworld Ravine was...

It’s not a big deal that it’s dark, the main thing is that it’s bottomless, which makes people stay away from it.

I was scared, Niu Er was scared, and even Zhang Xiaohu was scared...

We tested it with running water and pebbles all the way until we collapsed from exhaustion, and at one point we were about to give up.

"Damn it!" Zhang Xiaohu was so worried that he sat on the ground and slapped the ground, causing dust to fly everywhere.

"What should we do? Xiaohu? No...it's bottomless!"

I collapsed to the ground, with stones and water bags scattered all over the ground.

It's over, it's over, forget it...

"It's probably harder to find something in here than to climb to the sky." Niu Er leaned on the ground and drank water to quench his thirst.

This place belongs to the underworld, with large areas of wasteland... We really can't see anything that can be reused. It was Zhang Xiaohu who suggested water and stones.

The stones and water fell down along the cracks in the canyon and no sound was heard anymore. On the other side of the canyon, we didn't see anything strange along the way.

Unlike what was expected, there were no ferocious beasts here, nor were there any visible... objects that could be of help.

The desert sand is only separated by a canyon gap, which looks like a long wound with bruises. It is shocking and unbearable.

We didn't have a violent conflict because we were all so tired that we couldn't even stand up straight. We adjusted our breathing using the method that Long Zhi taught us, and then replenished our food.

We had a very, very calm argument.

Niu Er and I scolded Zhang Xiaohu for being cunning.

Zhang Xiaohu and Niu Er scolded me for having no opinion.

Zhang Xiaohu and I called Niu Er a fool.

After we finished cursing, we just laughed at ourselves.

We had come here with so much difficulty, and we cursed each other on the way. When we were in the village, the three of us depended on each other, and we would have cursed each other if we wanted to.

After all, we are still too... I don't know how to describe it, too poor? If we had money, we probably wouldn't have to be here.

Hahahahaha… I really want to laugh… Why do I laugh when I think about something like this…

"What should we do now? Should we go back?" I looked at our only designated military advisor, Zhang Xiaohu. Zhang Xiaohu was deep in thought. When he heard my question, he spread his hands sadly: "There must be other ways to detect this place... It's just that we didn't find the right point. But I don't know where exactly."

"You definitely know how to detect it..." Niu Er joked as he lay in the sand. The orange light of dusk shone on his fat body, making him look strangely feminine. I couldn't accept this, so I looked at Zhang Xiaohu again. Zhang Xiaohu said helplessly, "Even if I knew... I would have told you guys a long time ago... Why wait until now?"

He looked at me and continued with a serious look: "Xiaolang, do you still remember Yu Zhi?"

"Yu Zhi? What's wrong?"

I still don't quite understand why he mentioned Yu Zhi. At least in these three months, we never mentioned this person. We almost forgot that this person was pretending to be crazy.

"He has been here... I think he must have been here..."

Zhang Xiaohu was almost certain that Yu Zhi had been here. I still don’t know what shocking secret Zhang Xiaohu heard on the night when Yu Zhi revealed his flaw... but he definitely wouldn’t want to harm us.

It was normal that he didn't tell us, because Niu Er and I were more or less unable to provide him with any help.

"As long as we find... the traces he left behind... but where are we..."

Zhang Xiaohu's brows never relaxed, so I dare to conclude that he really hasn't figured out what to do?
But we will never go back, that's inevitable.

"We have just walked through all of them. The canyons here are connected together, as if they are deliberately hiding something..."

Niu Er said something sensible, and I also think that this Grand Canyon is very annoying. Looking down from both sides of the canyon, we can't see any light at all, so we can't even get a glimpse of it.

It was somewhat inappropriate for three Chinese people to just sit there above this endless canyon and wait for the sunset.

"Niu Er, prepare the tent." Zhang Xiaohu stood up and twisted his waist twice to relax his muscles. "I'll go around here carefully."

"That's not good... What if something happens to you?" I thought it was a little inappropriate to say this, so I changed my words: "We came here together, so we can't act separately. If we encounter anything bad, we can take care of each other."

In fact, I think Zhang Xiaohu must know this truth, because although he is smarter than us, he is definitely not as strong as Niu Er and I. If we act separately, it will definitely be the worst option.

Although there is really only a wasteland here.

"Okay, let's go for a walk together."

Zhang Xiaohu took a glowing crystal from his pocket and crouched slightly to look for other possible traces in the area.

Niu Er and I quickly followed and each took out a glowing crystal to look for it.

In fact, Niu Er and I didn’t know what different traces we needed to look for, so we were just following suit and looking blindly.

Oh, Zhang Xiaohu said to find a few footprints of different shoes, or some obvious footprints of different races.

In a sense, this method is even less reliable than throwing stones.

But I couldn't say, so I just followed the lead and searched. We searched along the edge of the canyon and indeed found some footprints, footprints we made ourselves. This was actually very tiring, more tiring than just throwing stones. The darker it got, the brighter our glowing crystals became.

【jia'ke'suo'la, ke{keng}hong'】

"Did you hear any sound?" Niu Er grabbed my shoulders and I looked at him in confusion.

I saw fear in his nervous eyes, which was very rare.

"What did you hear?" Zhang Xiaohu turned around and looked at the two of us.

I looked at Niu Er, and Niu Er looked at Zhang Xiaohu nervously.

"Just...kekeke aaa or something..." Niu Er strained his throat, but it was like a dry cough and nothing came out.

"What did you hear? Don't scare me... Don't joke with me... If you scare people, you'll kill them, you know?" I also started to get scared. I turned around and looked around, but there was nothing... I couldn't see anything at all. It was dark, and I couldn't stand this kind of scary joke.

Niu Er was still trying to speak at the top of his voice, but the words were stuck in his throat and he couldn't hear anything.

He got stuck, I got anxious, and Zhang Xiaohu also stopped.

"It's just...keeee or something like that, can't you hear it?"

Niu Er became more and more anxious, and I could sense his fear.

"Could something be approaching?" I looked at Zhang Xiaohu exaggeratedly. Zhang Xiaohu also looked around, and the three of us were in trouble again.

Our vision is not clear, so we lose our direction. So, we must find a safe place to discuss countermeasures.

"Did you really hear nothing?" Niu Er hurriedly followed Zhang Xiaohu, and I was in front of him to cover the rear. We dared not relax our vigilance against the sound Niu Er mentioned. We had to be 100% vigilant, because if there really was someone who was difficult for us to resist, I guess we would not be able to resist at all.

"I didn't hear anything..." I put my hand on Niu Er's shoulder, and Niu Er shuddered in fear: "You can't tell me what you heard... How can we know what you are saying..."

"But... I did hear it, but I couldn't make that sound... It was like... a very heavy... cry... I have never been afraid of anything since I was a child, but I really can't stand this kind of cry."

"Crying?" Zhang Xiaohu turned around and looked at him again. Niu Er's appearance suddenly made me feel that he was in a very embarrassed state.

I'm getting more and more wrong...

I always feel like someone is grabbing my back, or something is following me from behind, which makes me feel scared. My spine is straightened up and I can feel it trembling.

But when I looked back there was indeed nothing.

To be honest, we have been on the streets many times after dark, so when it’s dark, we are more concerned about whether we have food to eat.

but now……

Niu Er said he heard some noise and it scared me.

"Could it be... some ghost-like monster..." Niu Er was shaking with fear. The Netherworld was home to many ghosts, so this was most likely the case.

"Ghost..." Zhang Xiaohu turned around and used the glowing crystal to clear a path.

"It's very possible," he said, "that we could encounter ghosts here."

"Huh? Just stay out of this, okay? I really don't want to meet ghosts from the Netherworld..." I couldn't accept it, because ghosts are something I really can't accept. Legend has it that they have extremely terrifying appearances, and they survive by sucking the breath of living people. The living people whose breath is sucked away will have no way out but death.

"This is the only possibility! We didn't see anything when we came... Now Niu Er said he heard a strange noise, it must be a ghost." Zhang Xiaohu had a serious face, and his mental state became tense in this situation.

"Niu Er, what did you hear? Is it necessary for the ghost to eat us? Did he say it?"

"I don't know what that voice was saying...it was just a very weird crying sound..." Niu Er shrank his neck and looked at Zhang Xiaohu's back in fear.

The glowing crystals allowed the three of us to walk in the light. This feeling was more like being exposed to others, the only light in the darkness. Wouldn't this make us more conspicuous...

"It's not crying... it's just... a sound that I can't make..."

"Not really..." I looked at the backs of the two people in front of me: "We must stay awake at all times... Don't be silent, I'm a little scared now... If you don't speak, I'll panic."

"After all, it's all your fault...Niu Er..." I patted him on the back.

As a result, he was frightened by Niu Er.

Niu Er turned around in an instant and pushed me.

His tense face looked as if a piece of flesh had been shaved off, making him look skinny.

What's going on? Niu Er?
"Niu Er, what's wrong with you?" I thought it was just a simple slap and a joke...it had only been a short while since he said he heard some strange noises.

At this moment, I felt like he was a different person.

"I...I...I'm very scared..." Niu Er was trembling. He didn't explain at all for my behavior just now, and there was no time for him to explain. He was afraid and grabbed my hand.

"Little Wolf...what should I do? I'm so scared..."

"Okay... don't be afraid..." I was a little stunned... Niu Er's weirdness made me feel even a trace of... human touch.

Niu Er is not like this...

"Xiao Hu... this..."

I went to see Xiaohu, and he was also startled.

"Does he look like Yu Zhi?" Zhang Xiaohu's words scared me.

"How can I care about these things at this moment!" I was a little excited. Do you think Niu Er looks like Yu Zhi? I'm not sure...

But I had no clue what was going on with Niu Er, which made me even more anxious. This happened in just a few minutes, and I didn't have time to think more.

"Hurry! Let's get out of here!" Zhang Xiaohu spoke to me. He grabbed Niu Er's arm and ran quickly. I followed him and ran wildly.

Everything about the desolation here frightened me, so much so that our first exploration of the Netherworld Gorge failed. I really couldn't figure out what Zhang Xiaohu heard that night. Could wealth and glory really come out of the heart of the mountains in the Netherworld Gorge?
【jia'ke'suo'la, ke{keng}hong'】

I……

I heard that too...

I ran and looked back at the canyon called Nether Ravine. Without our glowing crystal, there should be only darkness. However, now I can see some light... dark green... in my eyes, it disappears in a flash.

Great...

Great...

gram……

(End of this chapter)