Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 165 Crossing the Mountain

At the edge of the tiankeng's cliff, Ran Qing once again observed the gloomy wooden sign in his hand.

If one stares at the wooden sign for more than ten seconds, he will have a vague feeling of trance, as if a voice is calling him from a certain direction.

——But this is an ability that only the previous lord card has.

After entering the tiankeng today, the horoscope card lost this power.

Ran Qing stared at the gloomy little wooden sign, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

"Look for it again, look somewhere else."

The four returned to the forest to continue searching.

If the corpse-stinking flower can be found before dark, not only can Long Zongshu's cousin be saved, but the special smell of the corpse-stinking flower can also help Ran Qing catch ghosts.

This time, they changed direction, and it was still Long Zongshu's cousin who led the way with an axe, constantly chopping vines and bushes, and clearing a passable path in the dense and difficult woodland.

"The noise of chopping wood and trees can scare away nearby snakes and insects," said Long Zongshu's cousin.

The afternoon sun shines on the cliff at the edge of the sinkhole. At this time, the sun is setting in the west and the sunlight can no longer reach the sinkhole.

But in the dense jungle, the temperature remains high.

The three people, who were wrapped tightly and carrying heavy backpacks, were hot and tired.

Ran Qing felt like he was walking in a furnace, sweating profusely.

However, Long Zongshu's cousin did not have a backpack. Although he kept chopping, this kind of chopping was not tiring for the dark-skinned young man who worked in the fields all year round.

He walked in front, leading the way, and looked the most relaxed.

But as he walked, he muttered, "Is it gone? The elders didn't say how many years the corpse flower can bloom..."

The expedition was completed two years ago, and no one knows whether the corpse flowers photographed by the expedition team still exist.

Ran Qing recalled the text in "Records of Strange Things". "Records of Strange Things" did not say how many years the corpse-stinking flower could bloom or whether it would bloom every year.

But at this point, we can only keep searching, hoping that there will be more corpse flowers this year.

Mo Li looked at the treetops around him curiously and said, "Those monkeys seem to be following us all the time. They're quite cute."

Several macaques were jumping around in the trees, following the four people curiously.

Long Zongshu's cousin glanced back and said, "These monkeys are really mean. They often go into the fields to pick corn and sneak into the village to steal things."

"They see we're carrying bags and are looking for a chance to rob us. Be careful not to get caught or bitten."

After saying that, Long Zongshu's cousin added, "But it's a good thing that the monkeys are following us. These monkeys are very smart and familiar with the situation in the forest."

"They dare to follow us now, which means there is no danger nearby."

Just as Long Zongshu's cousin finished speaking, a strange cry suddenly came from the woods in front.

The sound was like that of a frog and a cow, neither harsh nor scary.

But the monkeys on the tree seemed to have seen a ghost. They rolled and jumped quickly on the treetops and ran away.

Ran Qing and the other two immediately looked at Long Zongshu's cousin.

The dark-skinned young man hesitated: "This... this sound seems to be coming from a mountain peak."

The three city-raised students were stunned for a moment: "What do you mean by crossing a mountain peak?"

"It's a venomous snake! A cobra! A very large one!" Long Zongshu's cousin said, "When fully grown, this kind of snake is four or five meters long and very ferocious."

"Other venomous snakes will run away if they encounter humans in the wild, but when they encounter humans over the mountains, not only will they not run away, they will chase them."

“No one can outrun it!”

"There was an uncle in my village who went up the mountain to chop firewood. He accidentally stepped on a nest of a rooster and crushed the eggs inside. Rooster followed the scent and chased him."

"Everyone ran to the village gate, but they were still bitten to death by the mountain beasts. It was a tragic death."

Long Zongshu's cousin stopped and listened carefully to the sound in the forest ahead. But the sound quickly disappeared, and it was impossible to tell whether it was really coming over the mountain.

The dark-skinned young man turned around and looked at the three students. He said, "Let's go back the way we came. Don't make any noise."

"I've only seen it once. This sound sounds a bit like it, but I hope it's not..."

The four of them immediately changed direction, and Ran Qing went from covering the rear to leading the way.

They returned along the same route they had come, not daring to walk too fast, for fear that the sound of their footsteps would attract the mountain pass behind them.

More than ten minutes later, the four of them returned to the cliff at the edge of the sinkhole.

In the woods behind me, the sounds of insects and birds continued.

But at this moment, this dense forest looked terrifying.

A huge venomous snake at least four or five meters long, chasing people...

Although Ran Qing grew up in a rural village, he had never seen such a terrifying thing.

"What should we do now?" Mo Li looked at Ran Qing and said, "There are peaks in the forest. We can't run around randomly anymore."

Look for corpse flowers in places where there are no roads. The noise of chopping vegetation may attract the mountain passers-by.

But where the path had been cut, no corpse flowers were seen.

Long Zongshu's cousin stood and listened for a while, then said, "It's okay. Although crossing the mountain is dangerous, it's not that scary."

"We're not the only ones making noise in this forest. The monkeys are running around everywhere, and the birds are chirping. If we chased any sound over the mountain, it would have died of exhaustion long ago."

"Let's change direction and look for it on the other side, as long as it's farther away."

Long Zongshu's cousin was very brave and took the three of them in the opposite direction.

There are many deadly things in the mountains and forests. If you are afraid of everything, you will hardly be able to move forward.

Although the dark-skinned young man said he was not afraid, he chopped the tree much more gently and the noise he made became smaller.

Long Zongshu’s cousin said, “I heard from the elders that people who cross the mountain just like to run around everywhere.”

"But it's strange that it could get into the tiankeng. Rhino Cave is so cold, it shouldn't come in... Could it have fallen from the tiankeng?"

The four of them changed direction and continued searching for the corpse flower. Not long after they walked in the dense forest, the monkeys appeared again.

The monkeys jumped around in the tall and dense treetops, following Ran Qing and his three companions.

Mo Li breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems there is no danger nearby..."

The appearance of the monkey at this time is actually a good sign.

Ran Qing looked at the monkeys behind him and suddenly said, "One of the monkeys is missing..."

There were six monkeys following them before, but now there are only five left.

At this moment, a monkey suddenly jumped onto the tree in front of everyone.

They babbled and gestured to the few people, as if they were saying something.

Ran Qing and the others were a little surprised: "Are these monkeys talking to us?"

Mo Li was confused: "It seems like they are calling us to follow them..."

Long Zongshu's cousin's eyes widened: "This is weird! Are these monkeys spirits?"

Ran Qing grabbed a handful of incense ash from his canvas bag and suddenly sprinkled it on the tree.

The ashes of the incense that wards off evil spirits exploded in the air and fell on the monkey.

The monkeys squeaked and screamed, but were not hurt.

(End of this chapter)