The weather was still sunny the next day, and the four of them carried the raft they made the day before to the shallow water of the river. Steven and Kate hugged Kugemu Kutumu and said goodbye.
Kugelmu pointed to a large tree that was uprooted tens of meters from the canopy in the woods on the other side of the river in the distance and said: "This big tree is called Ketum by the Saiman people. She is the tree king of the jungle. She
It has been growing for thousands of years, Mr. Steven, you can use Cotum as a landmark, and when you come back in the future and see her, you will know the location of the raft and the crossing point!"
Steven said gratefully: "Okay! My friends! Thank you again! Please send greetings to your father on behalf of Kate and I! You and Kutumu should be more careful on your way back. May the ancestors protect you!"
Steven and Kate held their breath and rowed hard in the river. The water splashed back by the pulp. Although the river was calm and slow, they were cautious because they didn't know when there would be ferocious animals in the water.
Jump out.
The most famous is the Cuman crocodile. If these hungry predators find them, they will definitely jump on the raft and drag them into the water! Hippos submerged in the water are even more dangerous, they can easily overturn the raft! There are also legends
The anaconda is said to be more ferocious than the Cuman crocodile!
Time seemed to pass very long, but fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. By the time the two of them rowed the raft to the shore, panting, their whole bodies were soaked with sweat.
The raft washed up on a flat sandy area on the river bank. Steven and Kate jumped off the raft with their backpacks and came to the shore. In the distance, the two brothers Kugemu and Kutumu on the other side of the river were still standing there looking at them.
Steven and Kate waved to them, and the two brothers on the other side also waved, and then they turned and walked into the rainforest behind them.
The two of them searched for a while on the shore, found a hidden place, dragged the raft inside, covered it with branches and leaves, and then made a mark they learned from the Kugelmu brothers.
Panting, Steven came to the backpack on the ground, took out the leather water bag in the backpack, sat on the stone, raised his head and poured water into his mouth, and the excess water flowed down his neck.
He stretched out his hand to wipe it off, then threw the water bag to Kate, and said in a brisk tone: "Now we can finally get rid of those crazy spies and assassins of the church! I don't believe they can still chase through the Saiman jungle to the dark rain forest
Come here!"
Kate shook her head and said: "We are just small players in the eyes of the church. They will not go to such great lengths to chase us here! Those spies will first deduce that we entered Hot Stone Town from Pawnee City via Bitney Trade Road, where there can be
This is not a place where the church can reach out! Unless the importance of what you carry to the church exceeds our understanding and imagination! This possibility cannot be ruled out, so I am still a little worried."
Steven was in a very good mood: "Dear Kate! Even if they can catch up here, it will be an unknown number of days. And in the dark rain forest, all traces of our passing will disappear within a few days."
There is no trace! Even the black-backed hounds of the church can't smell any scent! So you don't have to worry! Besides, we still have this simple version of the map in our hands! The spies of the church don't have a map in their hands.
You'll get lost if you come in! I'm sure they don't dare to enter the dark rainforest!"
He continued: "These are the things in the bag that Field gave me that day. As you have seen, the map in the bag belongs to him, not from the church, so the spies must not have it in their hands.
Map, but I still can’t figure out a few things: How did Field get this hand-drawn map? He certainly didn’t have the ability to draw this map himself! You must know that since the entire Northern and Southern Confederacy began to colonize the New World decades ago, the Dark Rainforest
It has always been an unknown place. Until now, there are no maps of the dark rainforest and the southern region. Explorers who want to draw maps here have long been swallowed up by the darkness!..."
Kate listened to Steven speak. After he drank the water, he looked up at the sky and said: "There is still insufficient basis to draw conclusions about these things now. We still have a long way to go. Let's go!"
The two of them took out the simple map and compass drawn on a piece of kraft paper, compared and referenced the directions, and then started heading into the depths of the dark rain forest.
Guided by maps and compasses, they trekked southward in the jungle. The rainforest here was denser than the previous Saiman jungle, and the ground was darker. The tall canopy was up to hundreds of meters above the ground. Looking up,
It's like a thick dark green carpet in the sky.
The sun's rays can only be seen in the occasional rivers, lakes or forest clearings. There are more animals here, many of which are unknown species. They have spotted ringed leopards lying on the branches several times, with forest deer and herds escaping in front of them.
The herd of elephants were crossing the dense forest. Along the way, one of them was holding a machete to clear the way forward, while the other person behind was carefully observing the surrounding situation.
Fortunately, the skills learned from the Kugelmu brothers on the road played a huge role: they smeared a kind of juice called blue star grass on the exposed skin of their bodies, which can drive away the ubiquitous poisonous insect bites, and smeared it on the uppers of their shoes.
The sap of the frog tree, venomous snakes and poisonous insects will also be far away. The main obstacles now are the bushes as tall as a person and the dense groves, which have become the biggest obstacles to progress. However, after more than two months of traveling in the jungle before,
Their speed is actually very fast.
More than ten days later, the two of them trekked all the way and finally approached the mountain range marked on the map. At this time, the terrain gradually rose upwards, and the ground was no longer covered with dense shrubs and groves, but occasionally there were huge exposed rocks.
The trunks of the tall trees that supported the canopy began to become a little sparse. Through the dense forest, mountain peaks rose up in front of them. From the hillside to the top of the mountain, there was still a lush forest, with a few white clouds floating between the peaks.
The height of the trees on the mountain was obviously lower than that of the rainforest on the ground. Steven and Kate stopped to rest. They took out the map and began to study it carefully.
Steven pointed to the cross-shaped mark in the middle of the mountainous area on the map and said: "This map is too simple. The error between the accurate position of this mark and the map may be one or two hundred kilometers in radius. A small building or other relics need to be
I'm afraid it won't be that easy to find, as the jungle must have buried all traces of man-made artifacts long ago!"
Kate replied: "It doesn't matter, we have plenty of time. First go to the foot of the mountain to find a place to build a camp, and then start searching carefully. I believe we will find it."
The two headed toward the mountains. After two days of searching, they found a gentle slope at the foot of a mountain peak that was more suitable for setting up a camp.
The woods here are relatively sparse, and next to it is a clear stream flowing down from the mountain. It is backed by the mountain peak and overlooks the rain forest to the north. It is under the sunshine for most of the day, and there is no wet and greasy feeling in the rain forest.
Steven sat on the stone next to the newly lit bonfire. He took off his leather boots, poured out the water in the boots, and then stretched his feet to the fire to dry them. He sighed and said: "This damn rain forest
! It’s completely a green hell! Although we can survive here with the skills of the Kugelmu Brotherhood, I am looking forward to living a life without forests..."
Kate replied: "According to the church's practice, we will be on the wanted list for at least two to three years. Of course, this depends on the importance of the contents of your bag, so it will take a long time to return to the civilized world.
!The terrain of this camp will allow us to escape the torture of the rainforest in the past few years. We are very lucky! Let’s get to work! Hopefully we can search part of the mountainous area before the rainy season.”
The two began to build the camp according to the planned plan. As a permanent camp, they built a log house with a sloping roof using the method of the Saiman tribe's thatched house. Two layers of banana leaves were first laid on the thin log rafters and then dried in the sun.
Dried whip grass is braided into piles and then tied to the top layer to protect against the heavy rain that pours all day during the rainy season.
The walls of the wooden house are stacked with logs, and the gaps are plugged with mud mixed with grass tendons, and the outside is covered with moss. In order to provide indoor light, a window is also made, and the wooden boards are spliced into a window sash, which can be closed and opened.
A porch was built outside the door, and a stove was built here, which can be used to make tea and cook. The indoor area is about 20 square meters. The floor is made of peeled logs and two wooden boards are placed on the ground.
Single bed, a wooden table, two wooden chairs and some simple storage racks.
Next to the bedroom, they also built a slightly lower toilet, shower room and firewood shed. Then the two people used a wooden fence to enclose an open space on the side of the wooden house near the creek. They then plowed the soil on the ground and cleared it.
The cassava cubes and purple banana seeds that came here were planted, so that the food problem should be solved soon.
The construction of this camp took the two of them more than a month.
After the completion, Steven lay on the wooden deck chair next to the fire on the porch and sighed: "Finally the most tiring days are over! Fortunately, we built the camp before the rainy season, so we don't have to worry about the rain.
It’s raining heavily! Let’s rest for two days. We still have to try our best to find the ruins before the rainy season comes.”
Kate replied: "We will first use the camp as the starting point, delimit the area from west to south and then east, and then search and record it. This will ensure that no place is missed."