Rebirth 1958: My Home is in Nanluoguxiang

The three of them hid in a secluded place in the forest. The wind whistled through the branches and leaves. There was a dead silence all around, with only the occasional chirping of insects breaking the depressing atmosphere. Wu Xie frowned, and the light of the flashlight cast a small halo on the ground. His thoughts were like the light, groping for direction in the darkness.

"Those people obviously don't want us to get close to the sacrificial site, let alone find the entrance. There must be a bigger secret behind this." Wu Xie broke the silence. Although his voice was light, it revealed an unquestionable firmness.

Wang Lei scratched his head, his face full of confusion: "But where does that entrance lead to? Is it really like I guessed, hiding some rare treasure?"

Lin Xiao hugged his arms tightly, fear still lingering in his eyes: "No matter what's inside, it must be dangerous. Those people fled in fear when they saw the entrance. I know it's definitely not a good place."

The three of them talked at once, but still had no clue. Wu Xie stood up and decided to check near the entrance first. Wang Lei and Lin Xiao looked at each other and followed closely.

They approached the open space cautiously. The moonlight shone on the collapsed mountain god statue. The entrance was filled with an old and strange atmosphere. Wu Xie turned on the flashlight and stepped in first. The passage was filled with damp and musty smells. The walls were covered with moss, and occasionally water drops fell, making a crisp sound.

"Everyone, be careful, this place doesn't look right." Wu Xie reminded softly, while observing the surroundings vigilantly.

The three of them walked slowly along the passage, and Wang Lei suddenly slipped and almost fell. He looked down and found a shallow gully on the ground, which seemed to be left by some heavy object being dragged repeatedly.

"What is this?" Wang Lei squatted down and looked at it carefully.

Wu Xie also came over and illuminated the gully with a flashlight: "It looks like someone or something was dragged in and left behind. Could it be that someone has been here before?"

With full of doubts, they continued to go deeper. Not long after they walked, a fork in the road appeared in front of them. The two passages were exactly the same, making it difficult to choose.

"Which way should I go?" Lin Xiao was a little hesitant.

Wu Xie pondered for a moment, pointed to the passage on the left and said, "There are some fresh footprints on the ground of this passage. Although they are not very clear, they should be left by those black-robed men when they escaped just now. If we follow the footprints, we may find some clues."

So the three of them walked along the passage on the left. As they went deeper, some strange symbols and patterns gradually appeared on the walls on both sides of the passage. These symbols and patterns were distorted and seemed to contain some mysterious power. Wu Xie carefully observed these symbols, trying to find the key to crack the secret.

"These symbols seem to be related to the White Lotus Sect." Wu Xie said suddenly.

"White Lotus? Are you talking about that ancient evil cult?" Wang Lei asked in surprise.

Wu Xie nodded. "Yes, I came across some information about the White Lotus when I was researching ancient buildings. Their doctrines and rituals are very mysterious, and they often build secret bases in some hidden places. This underground passage might be what they left behind."

After hearing Wu Xie's words, Wang Lei and Lin Xiao felt a chill in their hearts. They quickened their pace, hoping to find an exit as soon as possible and leave this strange place.

However, just when they thought they were about to walk out of the passage, a low roar suddenly came from the front, as if something huge was approaching. The three of them stopped immediately, nervously gripped their weapons, and prepared to face unknown dangers.

The roar was getting closer and closer, and the dull sound seemed to knock on the hearts of the three people, making their heartbeats accelerate. Wu Xie quickly shone the flashlight forward, trying to see the danger hidden in the darkness. Deep in the passage, a huge black shadow was slowly approaching, accompanied by a slight vibration of the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

"This...what is this thing?" Lin Xiao hid behind Wu Xie in fear, his voice trembling.

Wang Lei swallowed his saliva, clenched the wooden stick in his hand, and said calmly: "I don't care about any monsters or ghosts, I'm not afraid of them!" Even so, his palms were full of sweat.

As the shadow gradually became clearer, they found that it was a huge stone ball, more than two people tall, rolling down the passage. The surface of the stone ball was engraved with strange runes, which flashed strangely under the light of the flashlight.

"Oh no, run!" Wu Xie shouted, pulled Lin Xiao and Wang Lei and ran back.

The three of them desperately fled in the narrow passage, with the stone ball chasing them closely behind them, making a deafening roar. Every step seemed to be on the edge of life and death, and if they were not careful, they would be crushed into meat paste by the stone ball.

"No, running like this is not a solution. The passage is too narrow and we can't get rid of it at all!" Wu Xie said while running and panting.

Just when they felt despair, Wang Lei suddenly found a small niche on the right side of the passage. Although the space was not large, it could barely accommodate three people.

"Hurry, hide inside!" Wang Lei shouted, pointing at the alcove.

The three of them didn't have time to think, and quickly got into the niche and stuck to the wall. The stone ball whizzed past, and the strong wind it brought almost blew them down. The huge impact force caused the stones in the niche to fall one after another.

When the stone ball went far away and the roar gradually disappeared, the three of them slowly breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of the niche. At this time, their clothes were soaked with sweat, and their faces were full of fatigue and fear.

"It was so dangerous. I almost died here." Wang Lei said with lingering fear.

Wu Xie wiped the dust off his face, looked at the front of the passage and said, "This mechanism is so dangerous, it means there must be something important hidden inside. We can't just give up like this."

Lin Xiao nodded. Although there was still fear in his eyes, he also showed a bit of determination: "I'll go with you. I want to see what secrets are hidden here."

The three continued to move forward, this time more cautiously. Not long after they went, they encountered another problem. The passage was blocked by a huge stone door, which was engraved with complex patterns and words, exuding an ancient and mysterious atmosphere.

Wu Xie walked forward and carefully studied the patterns and words on the stone door. These patterns seemed to be an ancient code that recorded the method of opening the stone door. With his solid knowledge of architecture and understanding of ancient culture, he began to try to crack the code.

Wang Lei and Lin Xiao were watching the surroundings vigilantly to prevent any more danger from coming. As time passed, beads of sweat oozed from Wu Xie's forehead, but his eyes became more and more focused.

Finally, Wu Xie found the key to cracking the code. He followed the instructions on the pattern and pressed hard on several specific locations on the stone door. With a dull sound, the stone door slowly opened, and a stale smell came to his face.

The three of them looked at each other, took a deep breath, and slowly walked into the stone door. The space behind the door was dim and silent, filled with a mysterious atmosphere. With the weak light, they saw a huge stone platform in front of them, on which was placed a huge box, inlaid with various gems, emitting an alluring light.

"Could that be what we are looking for?" Wang Lei said excitedly.

Wu Xie was not so optimistic. He said cautiously, "Don't be impulsive. This place is full of traps. There may be dangers hidden around this box."

Just as they were hesitating, they suddenly heard footsteps behind them, as if someone was approaching them...

The footsteps behind them were getting closer and closer, and were infinitely amplified in this closed underground space, with each sound hitting the hearts of the three people heavily. Wu Xie turned quickly and shone the flashlight at the entrance of the passage. In the dim light, several blurry figures were gradually becoming clear.

"It's those men in black robes! How did they catch up with us?" Lin Xiao whispered in fear, his body unconsciously shrinking behind Wu Xie.

Wang Lei clenched the stick in his hand and cursed in a low voice: "These lingering guys, it seems that they will not stop until they kill us today."

Wu Xie frowned, his brain working rapidly, thinking about countermeasures while observing the surrounding environment. He knew that he couldn't panic at this moment, if he lost his composure, he would really be in a desperate situation.

"Don't panic, let's retreat towards the stone platform and use the terrain to deal with them." Wu Xie commanded calmly while pulling Lin Xiao and Wang Lei slowly towards the stone platform.

The black-robed men quickly rushed into the room, holding weapons, their eyes revealing ferocity and greed. The leader was tall, holding a long knife in his hand, and the blade flashed coldly under the flashlight.

"You can't run away. Hand over what you found and I will spare your life!" said the black-robed leader viciously.

Wu Xie sneered: "We haven't found anything yet, and you're so eager to kill people to silence them. What are you trying to hide?"

The man in black robe ignored Wu Xie's questioning and waved his hand, and his men surrounded him in a fan shape. Wang Lei rushed out first, wielding a wooden stick. With his burly figure and agile skills, he fought the man in black robe to a standstill.

Wu Xie protected Lin Xiao and looked for an opportunity to counterattack. He found that although the black-robed man's attack was fierce, his coordination was not tacit. As long as he could find a flaw, he might be able to break through.

Just when the two sides were at a stalemate, suddenly, the entire underground space shook violently, and stone chips kept falling from the top. It turned out that a small earthquake had occurred in the mountain again.

"Oh no, the passage is going to collapse!" Wu Xie shouted.

When the black-robed people heard this, they showed a look of fear on their faces and turned around to flee. However, it was too late. The entrance of the passage was blocked by fallen boulders, and the retreat was completely cut off.

Wu Xie, Wang Lei and Lin Xiao were also trapped in the room. The walls around them began to crack and could collapse at any time. They desperately looked for other exits, but found nothing.

"What should we do now? Are we really going to die here?" Lin Xiao cried in despair.

Wang Lei was also a little panicked, but when he saw Wu Xie's calmness, he pulled himself together again: "Tian Zhen, think of a solution quickly. We can't just die like this."

Wu Xie took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He suddenly remembered the satellite phone they were carrying, which might be a glimmer of hope. He quickly took out the phone from his backpack and sent out a distress signal with the last glimmer of hope.