I have no right to refute Lao An's decision, because I made it very clear when I entered the circle that Lao An has the right to make decisions, and his reasons are very sufficient. If we waste time and consume all the supplies we carry, we will only
I can be forced to leave. I won’t say anything anymore. If this is Lao An’s intention, then no matter what I say, it will be useless.
In fact, while I am dissatisfied, I am also a little lucky. If I break away from Lao An and get clues during exploration, at least I can master it independently.
After a night of silence, we set off the next morning. We still had a lot of equipment and it was impossible to bring it all in. Lao An left one person outside to guard the equipment, and the rest went into the cave that we were about to explore in depth. Obviously
, this is not the first time that people have passed through the cave. From the river bank to the cave that is seven or eight meters high, the stone steps carved by people have been stepped on and are extremely smooth. The cave is roughly arched, wide and straight at the beginning, and can
I walked in forty or fifty meters in one breath without any hindrance.
After forty or fifty meters, the cave branched into two forks. When we got here, Lao An separated the people according to yesterday's arrangement, but the equipment and supplies that should be given were quite a lot. Su Xiaomeng and I carried them.
a lot of.
"After splitting up, you can control the specific situation by yourself. Make a full calculation and maintain it for at least five days. No matter how complicated the environment inside is, you must return on the fourth day." Lao An said: "I don't want you to starve to death inside.
.”
"Are you planning to let us stay in there for three or four days?" I secretly complained, thinking that Lao An was too cruel. But when I stretched my head and looked inside, it was pitch black, like a deep ocean with no end in sight. If I hadn't gone in by myself,
Once I left, I had no idea how much time it would take.
Lao An was very straightforward. After making arrangements, he took the other people in along the branch on the left. Biaozi walked at the end. Before leaving, he grinned and said to Fan Tuan: "Fat man, I wish you good luck.
.”
I saw that when he was talking, his eyes were actually looking at me. I had no good impression of this person and ignored him indifferently.
Biaozi left his last trace of sneer and walked into the fork. The three of us stood there for a while. Fan Tuan carried the huge bag and said: "Let's go too. In fact, I think our trio
The strength is still very strong.”
"Not bad." I thought about Lao An's words, and I vaguely felt that I suddenly became the leader of the trio, so I walked to the front of the group to clear the way, and said at the same time: "One can eat, the other can play, they are super strong.
"
"The more others look down on us, the more we have to show it to them." Su Xiaomeng was very confident and held his head high, but when I thought about the possible dangers in unknown places, I felt like my head was getting bigger. In a crisis
, I probably won't be able to take care of them. But the road has begun to stretch under my feet, and all I can do is be cautious and careful.
After turning into the fork, the road immediately widened a lot, and at least four large buses could drive side by side. Countless small holes were dug out on the stone walls on both sides, and occasionally dried pottery could be seen inside.
Oil lamp. This must be part of the legendary ancient Yuantu Kingdom. Judging from the oil lamp and the width of the cave, the Yuantu people are accustomed to cave dwelling. It is said that the leader of the matriarchal clan, Queen Mother Xi, likes to live in caves. As her vassal country, the Yuantu people also have this habit.
Habit.
After the wide road at your feet extended for about seventy or eighty meters, the space suddenly widened to an immeasurable extent. A huge underground basin appeared in front of you. Northerners had almost no concept of basins. In such a huge underground cave with no boundaries,
, is likely to produce its own unique climate characteristics. Logically speaking, the temperature in the cave will always be lower than the surface temperature, but because of this basin, the air is moist and slightly warm.
We looked at it for a while, and then started walking down a steep slope. It is not easy to completely artificially transform such a large basin today, but when we entered the basin, I looked at
We arrived at a large area of what looked like dilapidated buildings and various tools.
I am not unfamiliar with such a scene. In my past career, I have seen some archaeological data from Tibet and the northwest region. This kind of place looks very messy, but it must be a smelting site.
We don’t know the specific start and end dates of Yuantu, so we can only roughly date it based on the time of King Zhou Mu’s journey to the west. In fact, Yuantu may have existed several years before King Mu of Zhou traveled to the west. This abandoned smelting site
The scale of the smelting site is unimaginable. With the productivity level at that time, the construction of such a smelting site was either necessary for war or the ruler's personal preference. Otherwise, the people would not have the leisure time to waste all their production time here.
However, I can't tell the main products of the smelting site for the time being. In King Zhou Mu's era, bronze was the unique protagonist in the field of metallurgy. I don't know if the Yuantu people have more advanced metallurgical technology.
But in the blink of an eye, I found the answer.
On the east side of this ruins is a very wide open space. From a distance, I saw several spherical objects that were almost as tall as a person. I have much more experience than Fan Tuan and Su Xiaomeng, so I took a closer look.
, I felt that this should be an iron ball.
A large iron ball that is as tall as a person. Due to the environment and climate, almost a palm-thick layer of rust has grown on the surface of the ball. When you poke it with an iron stick, a hole will appear. This can't help but surprise people, and it can even be said to be a miracle. Yuan
Has Turen's metallurgical technology advanced to this extent?
But what is even more puzzling is their purpose of casting such iron balls. Even if there is relevant technology, casting such huge iron balls is laborious and time-consuming. People of that era would not do wasted work. Now that things are made,
It must have a certain use. Bronze products in the Pre-Qin Dynasty were very important things related to sacrifices and etiquette. But what was such a big iron ball used for?
With the appearance of these iron balls, a deep sense of doubt emerged in my mind. Because the iron balls are so strange, people can't help but guess.
"It's just a few big balls." Fan Tuan looked at me and frowned, and said, "It's nothing to make a fuss about."
"You don't understand." I shook my head. For a layman like Fan Tuan, he had no idea the significance of the appearance of an iron ball of this size. With the productivity level of the Yuantu people, the difficulty of casting such an iron ball was just that.
It's the same as modern people building a light-speed spacecraft.
What do the Yuantu people want to do?
This huge smelting site may have been built specifically for casting iron balls. Iron balls are the only product. I am not sure whether there are patterns and inscriptions on the surface of the iron balls during the casting process, but even if there are, they have turned into a layer of rust.
,it is a pity.
Naturally, I associated this kind of iron ball with things like sacrifices, because judging from some details of the cave, it does not look like a normal living area. The vast and deep underground space is extremely mysterious and can arouse people's emotions.
People's various reveries, and the appearance of these large iron balls as tall as one person, undoubtedly shows that this huge underground basin contains secrets that only the Yuantu people know. The beliefs of the ancient race cannot be fully understood by modern people. It seems that
It may be strange, but if it exists, it exists for a reason.
We wasted a little time at the smelting site. The site was severely damaged. Maybe while destroying it, the Yuantu people no longer planned to carry out smelting work. Because of the devastating damage, what we see now is just ruins.
Beyond that, there are no more clues.
The basin is roughly circular, and based on its size, I judged that this was not the only space underground. We continued to search, looking for other things and a way forward. We bypassed those huge iron balls and continued eastward.
Walking, due to the terrain, it is difficult to really get close to the surroundings of the basin. We can only observe through a small rugged valley. From the position facing the iron ball, the three of us saw the opposite stone wall almost at the same time.
There seems to be a huge rock painting.
The rock wall is gray-brown and the rock paintings are black, so it is a little hidden. If you don't look carefully, you may miss it. The rock paintings are at least seven or eight meters high and ten meters wide, and they are majestic. But it
It is very abstract. Looking at it from a distance, the overall pattern of the rock paintings has no rules. Without other information, it is impossible to understand the meaning of the rock paintings.
Finally, we abandoned this huge petroglyph and continued to find our way along the edge of the basin. But what surprised me was that this basin seemed to be the only space underground. It took us four hours to circle around the basin.
I walked in a complete circle, starting from where the rock paintings were, and finally walking to the rock paintings, but I didn't find any road during the process.
"Is this place only this big?" Fan Tuan and Su Xiaomeng both showed relaxed expressions. If the area here is limited, then more than half of our tasks have been completed. If we just walk around and try to find out some things, we can go back to work.
According to my judgment, I always feel that it shouldn't be like this, but I can't find any other way. Like them, I also feel a little relaxed, but also a little unwilling. If there is no way, there will be no more important way.
Discover.
"I still think the outside is more pleasant than the inside." Su Xiaomeng was happy, blinked at me, and said, "Go back and tell Lao An and the others, we have tried our best."
"Let's walk again." I didn't want to give up so easily. The fact that the Yuantu people cast such a big iron ball here was an obvious reminder. I wanted to know the answer.
While Su Xiaomeng and I were talking, Fan Tuan was in a daze. After a while, he turned to us and said: "No, no, this is not right."
"What's wrong?"
"I always feel that the rock paintings are a little different from the ones we have seen before." Fan Tuan turned around and pointed at the rock paintings on the stone wall, swallowed and said, "Did you notice it?"
Following the direction of his finger, I took a look. The content of the rock painting was very abstract. If it were a landscape or a portrait, I could easily tell whether there were subtle differences. But a large, dark area
The abstract content makes it confusing for people to read.
"It's really different. I remember it very clearly." Fan Tuan tried his best to persuade us. I can't guarantee whether he has such a good memory, but his expression was quite serious.
"You mean, this is a different rock painting than the ones we have seen before?" I glanced around and felt that nothing had changed around me. It was no different from when I started here four hours ago.
"Absolutely not." Fan Tuan nodded affirmatively, firmly believing in his judgment.
It might have been better if Fan Tuan hadn't said anything, but if what he said was true, we would have encountered a very serious problem. In other words, the starting point we returned to is no longer the starting point when we set off four hours ago.