Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 16 The Underground River
On the way down the mountain, the moonlight shone on the hillside, pouring silver all over the place, which was surprisingly bright.

Taking advantage of the beautiful moonlight, Mr. Wei looked up and down at the big water pool and walked back and forth on the big bluestone several times.

One side of the large pool leads up to the rocks on the mountain, and the other side winds down the mountain.He Xiucai was swept away by a flash flood that day. He must have rushed down the cliff, but he didn't know where he drifted to.

Wang Heng thought about it again and again, and said: "It's really strange. My father ordered the county government officials to search for the ownerless corpses, but they found no corpses. It's peaceful now. If a floating corpse appears, it will definitely alarm the local security chief."

Wang Cai shook his head and said: "I must have rushed to some wilderness, where there is no one."

Mr. Wei said: "Now we can only go back to Gaolong Village and ask the village chief to allocate some manpower to search the nearby waters tomorrow."

Zhuge Xian said: "Sir, what you said is absolutely correct. This village must not stand by and watch. I will talk to the clan leader when I get back."

The way back was no faster than going up the mountain. In line with the principle of safety first, we walked back to the village carefully step by step.

It was already the second watch when we arrived at Zhuge's house.It was a cold autumn night, but Zhuge Bojun, the clan leader, was still waiting for them. He had prepared delicious meals and fragrant tea, and the green donkeys they rode in had been fed by his servants.

Mr. Wei told Zhuge Bojun exactly what he heard when he went up the mountain, and asked him to send some villagers to help them search the creeks near the village tomorrow.

Zhuge Bojun seemed to frown when he heard that He Xiucai had fallen into the pond, and then readily agreed to dispatch some people to help.

The three of them were led by the maid to the guest room, which was used as a reception area for guests. Mr. Wei lived in the east wing, Wang Cai lived in the west wing, and Wang Heng lived in the middle room.The house is clean and elegantly furnished, and the three of them are very satisfied.

Wang Heng knew that Zhuge's house must have a strange arrangement, so he did not dare to go out of the house. After a tiring day, he took a shower and rested. When he was about to take a nap, he suddenly heard someone knocking on the window. It turned out to be Mr. Wei, lying on the window. , whispered softly: "Be more alert at night, don't sleep too much. Just now I told Zhuge Bojun that He Xiucai was washed down the cliff by the current. Zhuge Bojun clearly had a strange look on his face. Let's all be careful. I'll go again Tell Xiaocai too."

Although I was worried, because I was too tired during the day and had a good night's sleep, I still slept until three o'clock in the morning.

Both Wang Heng and Wang Heng were shaken awake by Mr. Wei. The maid led them to have breakfast. As soon as they sat down at the Eight Immortals Terrace, they saw Zhuge Xian coming towards them.

"Oh, we are out of six, early, early, early, we are in luck." Wang Cai said with a yawn.

"I sent a young boy to watch over me. He will repay me as soon as you get up." Zhuge Xian said with a smile: "Also, brother Xiaocai, please don't call me Liuyuanwai. We are about the same age. I, Ah Xian, can do it."

Zhuge Xian seemed to like Xiaocai very well, so he called him Mr. Wei after Xiaocai, and also called him Mr. Wang Heng.

Breakfast is very simple, consisting of white porridge, side dishes, soy milk, steamed buns and sesame seed pancakes, but the taste is very good, no worse than those in Shanwai County.

Wang Heng is not old. After all, he is a man who traveled with his father in officialdom. He has seen a little more of the world than the average boy from a small family.He didn't have a good impression of Gaolong Village. Based on what he saw in one day, this village's glamorous place was rich and respectable. The houses in Changle Village were more exquisite and the streets were neater than those in Changle Village where he went first. However, the dilapidated place was even worse. All of them, no one cares.

At this time, Zhuge Bojun, the patriarch of the Zhuge family, walked in slowly, and Wang Heng noticed that his eyes were covered with dark circles.

Zhuge Bojun sat down and greeted everyone: "Last night, I thought about it all night and decided to tell you a secret, but please be sure to keep this secret for our village."

The three of them looked at each other, wondering what medicine Zhuge Bojun was selling in his gourd. "Under Gaolong Village, there is a long underground river surrounding it. The pond of yin and yang fish in the village is connected to the mountain streams on Cuiping Mountain, and all flow together into the long underground river. This is the Feng Shui bureau set up for us by the ancestors of the Zhuge family. The clan stipulates that non-Zhuge clan members cannot enter this long underground river."

"Last night Mr. Wei said that He Xiucai was washed down Cuiping Mountain by the flood, and no body was found elsewhere. I guessed at that time that he most likely rushed into the underground river, but that was a clan secret. Although I am the clan leader, after all Young people with weak morals cannot be good at one thing, so I didn’t explain it in detail yesterday, but then I thought about it, life is at stake, how can I be indifferent, saving people is more important now, I will explain it to the clan elders later."

Mr. Wei stood up, bowed and said, "Mr. Zhuge, I am grateful. The three of us will definitely keep it secret."

Wang Cai and Wang Heng's chests clapped loudly.

Zhuge Bo was also very satisfied when he saw this, with a smile in his eyes.

The organizational efficiency of the Zhuge family was very high. As soon as the meal was finished, eight young men of the Zhuge family carried bamboo baskets on their backs and waited for the order to set off.

Mr. Wei saw that the bamboo basket contained water bottles, rice balls, sheets, hemp ropes, candles, torches and other items. There were two young men carrying a door panel. He felt that Zhuge Bojun was as careful as his hair.

Still led by Zhuge Xian, everyone headed south along the bluestone road, and gradually saw the shadow of Cuiping Mountain. After walking for a few more miles, they heard the gurgling sound of the stream, sometimes gentle, sometimes rapid, and they came to a wide cave. forward.

The cave is very high, the entrance is very wide, and the outer cave is quite bright. When you walk into the entrance and take a closer look, you will see a clear pool of water at the bottom of the cave. A huge stone wall is embedded above the pool, sealing the cave tightly.

But where is the way?
Zhuge Bojun clapped his hands, and saw a few young men coming in carrying two small boats.

The young men divided the bamboo baskets and sundries they brought into two boats. Six people lay face up on the first boat. The other people tied the ropes on the boat to the cave wall and pushed them gently towards the pool. Slowly moving forward, he actually passed under the stone wall.

After waiting for a moment, a voice came from inside: "We have arrived."

The two young men got on the second boat. Zhuge Xian asked Wang Heng and the other three to follow their example and lie down together on the bottom of the boat.Then Zhuge Bojun tied the rope of their boat to the cave wall, and also gently pushed the boat towards the stone wall.

Wang Heng was lying on his back, his limbs flat, and his whole body was only slightly lower than the side of the ship.He felt his eyes go dark, and the boat was already passing under the rock wall. He raised his palms upward and touched the rock with a slight movement. The distance between the side of the ship and the rock wall above was only a few inches, and he felt that the rock wall was about to press down on the boat.

"My face is itchy, and my hole is, no, it must be poisonous." Wang Cai was so nervous that his voice trembled.

"It's okay, the water from the cracks in the rocks just dripped on your face." Zhuge Xian said.

The boat moved forward three to five feet and then passed through the stone wall. Suddenly, it opened up to a larger cave.

The people who came in first had already lit torches, and they dragged the boat to the shore. By the light of the fire, they could see that the cave inside was as deep as one could see.

Mr. Wei stood close to Zhuge Xian and calmly motioned to Wang Cai and the others not to leave Zhuge Xian's side.

Zhuang Ding told Zhuge Xian that it was time to abandon the boat and go ashore. The ropes on the two boats were connected to the outer cave. When they were about to get out of the cave, they only needed to shout a few times and someone would come and drag the boat out.

(End of this chapter)