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墨書 Inktalez
Wang Er Gou fell silent, lost in thought.
After a while, Seven spoke up, "Let's keep moving!" Wang Er Gou paused for a moment but quickly understood and followed along.
The two of them pressed on without rest, each carrying a load of about thirty pounds.
It would be impossible to say that Seven completely trusted Wang Er Gou's words; who knew if he was just talking nonsense?
Seven's main task now was to uncover the secret of the "False Boss" to prevent Second and Third from unnecessary harm.
However, he overlooked the most deadly aspect of this Stone Forest, which was known as the "Lost Formation." With such a name, it was clearly not to be taken lightly!
Before long, they began to experience the hardships that this Stone Forest had to offer!
No, no! Seven repeated himself twice. They were going in circles. Wang Er Gou clearly sensed this as well.
Now, one of them was knowledgeable about Feng Shui while the other understood Geographical Survey. Wang Er Gou, having been open about everything, no longer hid his knowledge of Feng Shui and said, "This Stone Forest itself shouldn't have any issues."
Seven didn't respond but focused intently on observing their surroundings. Stone pillars stood everywhere, and the straight-line visibility was less than a meter. Their line of sight twisted as if it had been fragmented!
On the other side, Wang Er Gou continued, "Could it be that someone has set up a 'Maze Formation' here?"
Each had their own area of expertise, leading to different angles of approach. Seven pondered but couldn't figure out where the problem lay. He asked Wang Er Gou, "You mentioned there's a maze formation here; what do you mean by that?"
Seeing that Seven was engaging with him, Wang Er Gou became animated and explained, "In the Feng Shui Record, this situation is referred to as a 'Maze Formation.' It's an illusion technique. The person capable of setting up such a formation must be quite skilled—considered mid-level in Feng Shui."
Seven wasn't in the mood to listen to his rambling anymore; nightfall was approaching, and they needed to act quickly! He said directly, "Brother Er Gou, stop showing off and just tell me how to find that place."
Wang Er Gou also cut to the chase and said, "Let's split up and mark several nearby pillars. Remember, each mark must be different."
The two quickly sprang into action, completing their task in no time. Wang Er Gou calmly surveyed the surroundings and confidently said, "Hu Brother, if you go and explore now, you will discover the intricacies of it all."
Seven was never one to dawdle; he set off immediately, only to find himself back where he started after a roundabout journey. Feeling a bit annoyed, he exclaimed, " Er Gou, are you messing with me?"
Wang Er Gou smiled apologetically. "How could I? We are 'comrades' now."
"Look," Wang Er Gou pointed at the pillars. "Check out the markings on these pillars."
Seven took a closer look and exclaimed, "Hey! Where did my markings go? And why have the markings on this pillar changed?"
Wang Er Gou explained, "That's the marvel of this formation; it uses the similarity of the terrain to set traps and ensnare those who come here. But today, he's unlucky to have encountered me, Wang Er Gou." He added, "Hu Brother, just watch me!"
Wang Er Gou circled around a stone pillar several times, tapping and knocking for nearly an hour before finally stopping at three seemingly unremarkable stone pillars. He crouched down. By now, it was completely dark, and Seven approached with a torch. Wang Er Gou began digging a large hole in the ground with a shovel, and soon enough, a disc-like object appeared before them.
Wang Er Gou said softly, "This is what has trapped us here." After that, he pulled out his gun and fired several shots at the disc.
Seven was momentarily taken aback as Wang Er Gou declared, "It should be fine now!" This disc was part of the mechanism that operated the entire formation. Destroying it should disable everything else.
"Are you saying there's a huge mechanism system underground?" Seven asked incredulously. Wang Er Gou nodded.
This revelation truly opened Seven's eyes; if he had only relied on his familiarity with the map, he might never have escaped this place in his lifetime. He felt a newfound respect for Wang Er Gou.
Wang Er Gou wasn't one to boast about his skills; he didn't flaunt his abilities. When Seven expressed interest in learning this technique from him, Wang Er Gou readily agreed without hesitation.
The two unexpectedly made their way out of the area. Along the way, Wang Er Gou said, "Learning this isn't difficult! Even someone as clumsy as I was managed to learn it from my master. With your talent, Hu Brother, you’ll definitely become a Feng Shui master in just a month or two!"
Seven chuckled and retorted, "You rascal! Don't talk nonsense; I'm not like Wu Qingshan and those others who can be easily fooled by you!" Hearing this made Wang Er Gou feel a bit awkward, but he masked it with laughter.
The two of them had been joking and teasing each other along the way, and they had become quite familiar with one another. The flickering firelight in the dark night and their voices seemed particularly jarring.
Before long, they approached the spot where Old Liu's group had previously gathered under the Skylight.
Seven signaled Wang Er Gou to be quiet and extinguished the torch, fearing unnecessary complications might arise.
They began to move forward cautiously, noticing a fire burning ahead but unsure how many people were there. Seven tentatively threw a stone in that direction.
A second later, a voice erupted in curses: "Which idiot is asking for trouble? Grandpa is in a bad mood right now! Don't provoke me, or you'll regret it!"
Hearing that familiar voice warmed Seven's heart, but he didn't rush out immediately. The cursing stopped, and without hearing any third-party voices, Seven dared to conclude that only Second was there!
It seemed that the "False Boss" hadn't come up, nor had anyone else. Seven called out loudly, "Second, it's me!"
Upon hearing the voice, Second responded uncertainly, "Seven, is that you?"
"Yes, it's me!" Seven replied as he stepped into view. Second hadn't seen anyone alive for days, so he immediately enveloped Seven in a bear hug. Seven winced in pain from his injuries sustained earlier.
However, nothing could compare to the happiness of seeing his brother safe and sound! Suddenly realizing there was still some movement nearby, Second quickly pulled Seven behind him, drew his gun, and shouted, "Who’s there? Get out here! Or I’ll shoot!"
Only then did Seven remember Wang Er Gou was still behind him. He hurriedly shouted, "Second, don’t shoot! He’s someone I know." Wang Er Gou stepped out from the shadows and said, "I saw you two catching up just now and didn’t want to interrupt."
Second recognized Wang Er Gou at a glance and grabbed him by the collar. "You tell me—was that stone your doing just now?"
"You didn’t learn your lesson last time and are causing trouble again; this time I won’t let you off easy," Second said before Wang Er Gou could even respond.
Seven quickly intervened to smooth things over. "Second, that stone was thrown by me!" Hearing this, Second slowly released his grip on Wang Er Gou, who felt as if he had been granted a reprieve and let out a sigh of relief.
Second sat back down on the ground, waiting for Seven to continue. Seven wouldn't test a familiar face without reason; this was something Second understood well, having learned it as a probing tactic during his time in the military.
Just as Seven was about to speak, Second suddenly remembered something and asked, "What about Big Brother?"
Seven's expression darkened! Sensing something was off, Second pressed on, "Aren't you supposed to be with him?" After Second finished speaking, Seven slowly replied, "Big Brother might be in trouble!"
This was undoubtedly a shocking blow to Second! How could that be? How could Big Brother be in trouble? Did something happen down there?
Seven continued, "The person down there is definitely not Big Brother!"
Wang Er Gou was listening to their conversation and was equally puzzled by this revelation.
"What do you mean?" Second asked.
Seven elaborated, "I suspect that person is not First at all." At this point, Second didn't interrupt him and listened intently.
Seven went on, "When we went down, we discovered an underground river. The water quality of the Underground River is acidic, and the acidity level is quite high! When we reached the riverbank, that woman and Old Liu jumped into the river and disappeared!"
Second inquired, "Why did they jump in?"
Seven said gravely, "I’m not sure about that either."
Wang Er Gou couldn't help but interject, "Are you saying they jumped into the river and just vanished?"
Seven nodded seriously and continued, "When Big Brother saw them disappear, he panicked and jumped in after them. However, unlike the other two, he didn’t vanish; instead, he was swept away by the current like a drowned rat. When he got back to shore, he was cursing and swearing—this behavior is completely unlike First! Moreover, I noticed a detail: First had a large patch of skin missing from his face."
"I could sense there was still a face underneath it, but I wasn't sure at the time because it might have been injured by the acidic water. So I decided to test him! I deliberately said something to provoke his suspicion."
He just held onto the rope while the other end was tied to me. I submerged myself, but I only lay on the riverbank without actually going in.
"What's next?" Second asked urgently, as Wang Er Gou moved closer.
"I didn't expect that after a short while, I felt the rope being cut," Seven continued. "At that moment, I was sure he was an imposter posing as First. I was ready to confront him one-on-one and find out my brother's whereabouts."
To my surprise, that bastard was ruthless enough to fire a few shots into the water. Luckily, I was spared; the bullets just grazed my arm.
At this point, Second also showed signs of indignation.
"Just then, I was caught by an undercurrent," Seven said. "When I came to, I found myself in another place."
After finishing his account of how he ended up in the 'sinkhole,' Seven briefly mentioned his encounter with Wang Er Gou and then fell silent.
Seccondd, now less concerned about details, valued brotherhood above all else. With such a significant incident occurring—his brother being impersonated by that scoundrel—he was relieved that Seven was unharmed.
Now, First's fate had become a mystery. It seemed they would need to find that 'fake' to unravel it. Second reflected on this in his mind, and his emotional turmoil began to settle.
"I need to go down there," Second said.
"Then let's go together," Seven replied. "This time we have to catch that kid." Once Wang Er Gou decided to join them, there would be no further hesitation.
The trio had decent equipment. After some discussion, they decided to rest for the night and set out at dawn.
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