Chapter Thirty-Eight: Turning Stones into Gold
Han Nuowei remembered the only time he went to an amusement park to ride a roller coaster in high school, which was to accompany his girlfriend Tao Baihe at the time. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info However, this "roller coaster" scared him even more, because he had no seat belt to fasten, and he didn't know where the end was.
About ten seconds later, with two dull echoes, Han Nuowei felt like he had fallen into a dry well. The whole process of falling is very delicate, like suddenly falling into a huge balloon filled with water, sinking quickly to the bottom and piercing the ball wall, flying into the air, and then freefalling, smashing land.
He moved his limbs slightly, feeling pain all over his body, and he didn't know where he had hit it. It was pitch black, and the diving lamp on his head suddenly stopped turning on during the fall, so he must have touched something. He tried to stand up slowly, but it felt empty all around him. In a panic, he hurriedly touched the switch of the diving lamp. When the light came on, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He checked his body and made sure there were no wounds, which was a blessing.
Han Nuowei turned his head and looked around, this place looked like a well no matter how he looked at it, but when he looked up, he didn't seem to be able to see the top.
Ravud lay not far away, as if he had fainted, and did not move.
Han Nuowei gently pushed him a few times in the past, and secretly prayed in his heart: "Don't die." β
Perhaps hearing Han Nuowei's call, Laudu's woke up slowly. When he saw Han Nuowei on the side, his face was filled with indescribable excitement, after all, it was a good thing to have a companion at the bottom of this unfathomable seabed. He was an old fisherman after all, and he quickly calmed down. His flashlight hung on the diving hook and he didn't lose anything. Once both were sure they weren't injured, they began to think about the next step: how to get out?
What is surprising is that there seems to be an air flow in this "well", and they obviously fell into this "well", and theoretically they have reached a deeper seabed, so how can there be air? Could it be a culvert? Han Nuowei looked down again at his feet, and there were no damp water stains. He had the courage to take off his mask.
For a moment, Han Nuowei felt extremely surprised, the air in this "well" could not only breathe normally, but also be very fresh, because there was a fishy smell. He excitedly said to Raugu, "Take off your mask, there's air here!"
Raoutu was a little incredulous, but he took off his mask tremblingly. He took a cautious breath, and then laughed, "It seems that there really is no problem!" Han Nuowei also smiled at him, and took off the flippers that he had been unaccustomed to, "Have you ever heard of a culvert here?"
"Never. "I've been fishing in this sea for more than 20 years, and it's the first time I've encountered this kind of thing. He took a few breaths of slightly fishy air, "Sir, is this air poisonous?"
Han Nuowei shrugged, "No, there is a fishy smell in the air, which means that the air is coming from outside." β
Raud nodded: "Yes, I'm stunned." If it weren't for you beside me, I'd have thought I was dreaming. β
Han Nuowei smiled, then took off the flashlight and shone on the four walls of the "well".
A beautiful mural caught his eye.
A blonde girl in a floor-length blue gauze dress held a pot of flowers in her hand and turned her head shyly to look to the side, behind her, a grassy garden. On the stretched plantain leaves, a delicate lamp hangs with intricate embroidery on the shade. At the girl's feet, there are black and shiny diamond-shaped tiles, the glaze is as bright as a mirror.
Whether it is the black ribbon tied around the girl's wrist, or the thin white lace on the edge of her skirt, or even her low-hanging eyelashes, they are all beautiful and classical, making the whole picture present a delicate and quiet that is difficult to describe.
Although Han Nuowei's cultural achievements in middle school were average, his art grades were very good, and he had seen many prints of world-famous paintings, but this painting was the first time he had seen it. In addition to the fact that it belongs to the neoclassical style, he knows no more about this painting than Raougu.
"How long has this been the case? Raoudu also sighed on the side.
Han Nuowei thought to himself, I won't tell you that this painting is more than a hundred years old. As soon as he thought of this, Han Nuowei suddenly realized that how could a painting that was more than a hundred years old be so vivid and not fade at all? Either a special paint was used, or a special material was covered on the painting to protect it.
Thinking of this, Han Nuowei was a little excited. But after what happened to the typewriter, he didn't dare to go so aggressive again. He found a piece of rubble at the bottom of the well that had fallen out of nowhere and threw it at the mural.
The stone hits the wall and then falls down naturally. The mural has not changed, and no traps have been triggered.
Han Nuowei was a little relieved, he stepped forward and began to gently stroke the painting, looking for clues.
"Could this be the way out of this painting?" asked Raoutu, following the search.
Han Nuowei didn't answer, his heart had sunk.
This is an ordinary mural, the artist just painted the wall with some special pigment, and it was not covered with any reinforcement, and there were no grooves and gaps in the wall.
Seeing that Han Nuowei didn't speak, Lautu knew that there was no hope, so he couldn't help but sit on the ground. The more he thought about it, the more he felt unlucky, "Sir, what if we can't get out, what should we do?"
Han Nuowei said coldly: "There is air flow here, which means that there is an exit to the outside, are you still afraid that you won't be able to get out?"
"What if we can't find an exit for a few days?" I'm going to starve to death here!"
Han Nuowei ignored it, at this moment he had already discovered the strangeness of this painting.
The scenery on the picture is obviously summer, but there are three strange fallen leaves at the girl's feet, one green, one yellow, and one half green and half yellow, which are obviously leaves from different periods.
It must have been deliberately drawn that way.
Thinking of this, Han Nuowei squatted down, he touched the edge of the fallen leaves for a while, found nothing abnormal, and simply took off his gloves. When he touched it directly with his hands, he was shocked to find that these leaves were protruding.
Han Nuowei was very excited, he bent his fingers, grabbed them with his fingernails, and then slowly moved out, taking out a leaf.
Rau stood aside and watched and praised.
After the three leaves were taken out, the flower pot in the girl's hand gradually protruded outward, and finally a stone trough popped out.
Han Nuowei stood up and saw a familiar white fragment lying in the stone trough. He took out the pieces and compared them with the pieces in his waist bag, and the lines could indeed be matched, and it actually looked like a face, but the shape was still missing a piece and could not be put together.
Han Nuowei put away the fragments, and this discovery made him more confident in himself. He comforted Raou and said, "Don't think about it, look for it again, there must be a way out here." β
As if sensing Han Nuowei's words, as soon as his voice fell, Laudu's voice suddenly shouted: "Sir, here!"
Ravutu pointed to the other side of the mural, where the lush garden was originally depicted, but a closer look revealed that the plants did not grow according to the laws of nature, but instead bloomed behind the branches and the leaves grew on the flowers. What's even better is that they are the same as the previous fallen leaves, they are also carved, but because of the dim light, Han Nuowei did not notice them for a while.
Han Nuowei looked at it carefully, and then couldn't help laughing.
Ravud said inexplicably and a little scared, "Sir?"
Han Nuowei stopped laughing: "I'm fine." As he spoke, he pressed his palm to the bush of plants, as if massaged, his fingers swirling lightly and heavily on the wall. Soon, the messy plants returned to their proper growth order.
A dull sound sounded from behind them, and Han Nuowei and Laudus turned around and saw a stone door slowly opening, and behind the stone door was connected an unfathomable corridor.
The two looked at each other and walked in.
However, it is not a shipwreck, and there are no sculptures, no ornamentation, let alone furnishings. The two walked along the corridor for a while, but saw nothing.
As he walked, Ravutu in front of him stood still.
"What's wrong?"
Rau scratched his messy hair, "Sir, there's a fork in the road. He pointed to the two paths, each on one side, and they looked exactly the same.
"Which way?" asked Raoutu, dumbfounded.
Han Nuowei secretly speculated that Mo Aogu had never told him about the secret passage under the sea, and he firmly believed that Mo Aogu would not hide anything from him. In this way, when this secret passage was first designed, Cotton must have marked it for future generations. Thinking of this, Han Nuowei carefully observed the two paths, trying to find the difference. Soon, he saw two markings at the bottom of the wall. On both sides are brick-sized street signs, with markings carved in the center and inlaid with identical patterns. A crown rests on a spire, and beneath it squats a double-headed eagle, wreaths and ribbons entwined in betweenβthe coat of arms of the Hanoverian family that Mo Aogu had painted for him.
Han Nuowei's heart throbbed with sourness, this was the first time he had seen the family badge outside, and a wonderful sense of reverence and intimacy arose.
"Sir, these two marks look the same. Ravu turned his head and looked at it for a long time, but he didn't see anything, "I'll try the soil method." β
After speaking, he licked the thumbs of both hands and touched the street signs on both sides, the saliva dissolved the dust on the surface of the street signs, and the street signs on the left immediately became brighter, while the ones on the right did not change.
Han Nuowei looked at it in surprise and took a step back silently.
Rawu squatted down and licked at the street sign on the left, and he immediately shouted, "Sir, this is a gold brick!"
"How do you know it's pure gold?"
"I did things in the temple when I was a child, and I saw the Golden Buddha, and it was made of such a thing, there can be no mistake!" said that, Laudus leaned down excitedly and licked it a few times, "Such a big gold brick!haha!"
"And what about the other side?"
"It's just an ordinary stone. "Raoutu was still lying on the ground, as if he couldn't get up.
"Alright, then we'll take the stone side. Han Nuowei made a judgment.
"Huh? for...... Why?" said Raou. Han was eager to tell him that the gold medal was engraved with the word "HA" and the stone plaque was engraved with the word "Han" β the latter being the initials of the Hannover family. But in the end, he just frowned and said lightly, "Don't ask so much, let's go." β
Ravu didn't dare to disobey, so he had to get up and go on the road, but he still reluctantly turned his head several times, like a child looking at a toy on a supermarket shelf.
"Sir, don't we really want to take the gold bricks away?" After walking for a while, Raoudu finally couldn't help but ask.
"How do you get it?" Han Nuowei didn't get angry, but just asked coldly.
Rawudu was a little unconvinced, "You can pry it out with a tool knife." β
"Tool knives are used to save lives, not to pry brands. Han Nuowei paused, and then said, "Have you forgotten what happened at the typewriter?"
Raoul was speechless and reluctantly shut up.
After walking for a while, Han Nuowei felt ominous, and he slowed down: "You go to the front and have a look." Rau rushed over, but turned back in frustration: "Sir, it's a dead end, let's go back." β
Han Nuowei didn't expect that there would be a dead end ahead, but he couldn't understand the reason for it for a while, so he had to go back first, so the two walked back to the fork in the road. Han Nuowei stared at the street sign on the right for a while, and suddenly realized that the family badge was embedded with gemstones, and he remembered the purple gem fragments on the hull of the ship - could it be taken down here?
Han Nuowei squatted down, grabbed the gem badge, and pulled it hard, only to hear a "click", and the badge was already in his hand. He flipped it over and looked at it, and sure enough, the back was carved with intricate patterns.
Ravudu craned his neck excitedly and looked out, but the signs didn't change. He said curiously, "Sir, don't you want to try that gold brick?" Han Nuowei shook his head, he held the gem badge and muttered for a while, and then made up his mind: "Let's go to the right." β
Han Nuowei thought to himself: if the road on the right is a dead end, then there must have been a lot of mechanism, they can't go back and forth freely without incident, and Cotton won't be bored enough to carve out a useless path in the secret passage.
This time, the two went all the way to the end. Han Nuowei looked at the wall at the end, observed for a while and didn't find the mechanism, and was a little confused for a while. There is nothing special at the end, and the walls are all traces left by the original excavation, uneven, and have not been repaired. Looking around, it's like looking at a few big rocks, and there's no pattern to follow.
Han Nuowei tossed for a long time, he really couldn't see the flaw, but he refused to go back the same way, he firmly believed that he didn't choose the wrong way. Ravutu had gold in his heart, but he didn't dare to disobey, and in annoyance, he sat down again.
The place where Rau sat was very uncomfortable, and the irregular wall behind him was like a man's knee, and it was very uncomfortable for him. He moved his ass impatiently, and suddenly shouted, "Hey, sir!"
Han Nuowei took a closer look, there was a stone shaped like a big goose egg on the wall behind Rau block, which was particularly protruding, he took out the tool knife, carefully stabbed it, and there was no response, so he increased his hand again, and suddenly felt the "goose egg" move, and then fell, revealing a palm-sized groove.
There are some carved patterns at the bottom of the groove, which are complex and difficult to distinguish, but Han Nuowei laughed when he saw it, and while laughing, he gently pushed the gem badge he found just now, and then grabbed the badge and turned it a few times.
In an instant, part of the wall moved back for some distance, then slid towards the end of the fork in the road, revealing a narrow space.
Lau Dou hurriedly stepped forward and gestured, "Sir, it's so narrow here!" Han Nuowei tried it sideways, and found that the gas cylinder behind him was too wide to get in at all.
"Sir, you'll have to take off your gas cylinders before you can go in." He looked at himself and smiled wryly, "I may not be able to get in even if I take off the cylinder." β
Han Nuowei looked at Rawudu's body, he was afraid that it was twice as wide as himself, he thought about it, and there was no better way, so he had to nod, take off the gas cylinder, and put it on the ground. Then, with a small flashlight in his mouth, he held his breath, shrunk his body, pressed against the gap, and squeezed in inch by inch.
At the moment when Han Nuowei had just squeezed in, he suddenly saw a strange expression on Laudu's face, like shame and pride at the same time. As soon as Han Nuowei shouted the word "no", the flashlight fell from his mouth to the ground.
Raud took the gem badge, and the heavy stone door closed immediately.