CHAPTER XLIV

Deadly Vortex

Let's go back and take a look at Fang Xin!

When Fang Xin and the others were forced into the lake by Guo Xudong, Guo Xudong's boat sailed away from them. Far away they were mercilessly thrown into the lake.

At first, Fang Xin was still able to control himself. He adjusted himself and slowly surfaced. He was not a good swimmer, so he learned to gouge a few times.

Lake Taihu is calm, with only a slight cool breeze blowing across the lake. In the afternoon, the sun is very warm and spreads over the entire Taihu Lake. However, Fang Xin's mood did not calm down because of this. He knew that if there was no miracle, he would definitely die in the waters of this lake today.

So, he rowed desperately and used all his strength to save his meager life.

The calm Taihu Lake has an unobstructed view, except for the lake water and the lake water. Xiaomao Mountain in the distance seemed to be close at hand, but Fang Xin swam for a long time, and it was still far away, not advancing for half a minute.

I don't know how long it took, maybe ten minutes, maybe half an hour. Under the immersion of the lake, Fang Xin has lost the concept of time.

In short, when he was exhausted, he still hadn't encountered a ship that he had hoped to appear.

His body became very heavy and heavy, and gradually, he began to lose consciousness. The lake slowly flooded his shoulders, his head, and his desperate hands for help.

A few seconds before losing consciousness, Fang Xin glanced back. He always wanted to see something, but there was nothing on the calm lake. That is to say, Du Zijuan, who was following him, may have been killed a long time ago.

The lake flooded his body and his soul. At first, he could still feel the coldness of the lake. and the warmth that the sun brings to him.

As the body sank, these feelings became more and more blurred, and more and more incomprehensible.

Is it really like that? Did you really leave the beautiful world like this? Fang Xin is unwilling, but what can he do if he is unwilling. He doesn't even have the right to choose to complain, so why not be reconciled.

The darkness engulfed everything and he engulfed himself. It's like a voice is saying to him, 'You're coming, you're finally here. I've been waiting for you for a long time, it's been a long time......'

Fang Xin wanted to resist, but he didn't have the strength to resist at all.

Humans are the most vulnerable animals, especially in the face of nature. Just like someone said: how can people fight with the sky, people will never be able to fight the sky.

But I don't know what Lu Dao is for, Fang Xin suddenly seemed to have a feeling. It's just that this feeling is very bad, which makes him feel very dizzy and want to vomit.

His eyes couldn't be opened, Fang Xin tried hard many times, but it all ended in migration. If he had to say what he felt, Fang Xin only felt like he was sitting in a spinning cloud car in a playground, which made people dizzy for a while.

Fang Xin is indeed spinning, in the water of Taihu Lake.

Just when Fang Xin sank into the water for about ten meters, a huge vortex appeared.

The whole vortex forms a circular cone, with a large upper head and a small lower head. Fang Xin was carried by the vortex like this, sinking at an extremely fast speed.

It is extremely uncomfortable for people to be in the whirlpool, especially in the whirlpool of water. Since he couldn't breathe normally, Fang Xin immediately lost consciousness again.

Although there is a small whirlpool in the middle of the lake, it is calm on the surface of the lake, and there is no trace of it at all. If you don't experience it yourself, who would have believed that there is such a terrible crisis hidden under the calm surface of the lake.

In fact, those who are struggling in the whirlpool are not only Fang Xin, but also Ruan Xiaotian. It's just that they can't even take care of themselves, so how can they have the experience to care about others.

When Fang Xin could feel himself and breathe freely, he couldn't help but clench his fists. But my mind was cloudy, like a newborn baby, hollow.

This situation lasted for about a few minutes, and Fang Xin felt that he was holding something in his hand, a little prickly. Because the pain sensation is gradually transmitted from his hand to the end of his brain.

I can breathe, I can feel pain. Fang Xin immediately realized that he was still alive.

A strong desire to survive forced him to sit up immediately.

When he looked down, it turned out that his hands were clenched at nothing else, but a cloud of fine sand. And all around him, there is also yellow sand. Not only that, but Fang Xin's feet were also buried by fine sand.

Fang Xin hurriedly pulled out his foot, took off his shoes, and shook off the sand that had been poured into his shoes. He felt a pain all over his body, and his whole bones felt like they were falling apart.

Every piece of skin, every muscle, every place was telling him that he was not lightly injured and that he was lucky to survive.

Fang Xin looked at himself carefully, although the pain was unbearable, he couldn't find a place where he was injured. He couldn't help but wonder to himself: Could it be an internal injury? It made him worry even more.

However, before his worries could stand in his heart, he was stunned by the sight before him. Where he was, it turned out to be a sandy field. There are faint waves surging overhead, and the light is refracted through the water waves, causing rippling water ripples on the sand.

Fang Xin didn't know where he was, but after thinking about it carefully, he couldn't help but guess that it should be at the bottom of the lake. But he didn't understand how there could be such a waterless area at the bottom of Taihu Lake. There was fresh air and there was a faint sunshine.

If this kind of thing happened in normal times, he would never believe it and would never accept it. But after so many things, he began to believe in any impossible event.

The waterless space seems to be very large, but to what extent, Fang Xin does not know. It's still pitch black in the distance, and you can't see anything.

Fang Xingang stood up, intending to explore. He suddenly saw two people lying on the sand not far away, Ruan Xiaotian and Du Zijuan. He immediately remembered something, yes, he was not the only one who was forced to jump into the lake, but also Ruan Xiaotian, Xiaoxue, Du Zijuan, Shen Kuo, Liu Ting, Hu Jie and Jingzhi.

Thinking of this, Fang Xin immediately pounced on the two of them. Since his body hadn't fully recovered, he really pounced and almost pounced on Ruan Xiaotian.

He first tried it at the nose and mouth of Ruan Xiaotian and Du Zijuan, who were unconscious, and felt breathing, and his hanging heart finally let go.

However, Ruan Xiaotian and Du Zijuan hadn't woken up for so long, which made Fang Xin still quite flustered. For unconscious people, how to take the correct first aid method, Fang Xin is unknown.

The only thing Fang Xin could think of was to keep slapping Ruan Xiaotian's face. A slap on the left, a slap on the right. While fighting, he shouted: 'Ruan Xiaotian, you wake me up, wake me up quickly. Ruan Xiaotian, did you hear it.'

Fang Xin had almost exhausted the strength of his whole body, not to mention, his slap actually worked. After Ruan Xiaotian sneezed loudly, he actually woke up. Fang Xin was overjoyed: 'Ruan Xiaotian, thank God, you finally woke up.'

Ruan Xiaotian, who had just woken up, felt very dazed, as if he didn't know what had happened to Lu Dao, and he didn't know where Lu Dao was.

He stared at Fang Xin for a long time, and then suddenly held his red cheeks and said, "Damn, why is my face so hot?" Fang Xin, did you hit me just now?'

Fang Xin was embarrassed for a while, when he hit Ruan Xiaotian just now, he didn't think too much about it, it seemed that he really hit it very hard.

'It's good to be awake, it's good to be awake.' Fang Xin didn't want to tell him the real situation, so he smiled awkwardly and said, "I'll go see Zijuan." After speaking, he crawled to Du Zijuan's side. Leaving Ruan Xiaotian, who was clutching his head and at a loss.

To Fang Xin's surprise, Du Zijuan actually woke up at this time. I saw that she sat up weakly, her mind dizzy, as if she had been asleep for a long time.

The brain is hollow, and so are the eyes. It wasn't until more than ten seconds later that she seemed to notice Fang Xin: "This is ...... What is this place?'

Fang Xin also wanted to know the answer to this question. Fang Xin brushed away the fine sand covering Du Zijuan's body and said, "Don't worry about this for now, Zijuan, do you feel any injuries on your body, take a look.'

Du Zijuan seemed to notice that she was on a sandy field, surrounded by fine sand. However, apart from feeling a little tired and a little physically exhausted, it doesn't seem to be anything. She said weakly, 'It seems to ...... It seems to be fine!'

And at this time, Ruan Xiaotian relieved himself. He was still holding his reddened cheeks, and asked confidently: 'Damn, Fang Xin, did you hit me in the face just now?'

Fang Xin knew that he was at a loss, but he still replied: 'Who didn't slap you in the face!'

'No, I just felt like someone was hitting me in the face, the kind that was going to kill me. It seems like you're still calling my name, not who are you?'

'Ruan Xiaotian, you are dreaming! Hahaha...... Did you dream that a beautiful woman was sexually harassing you?' Fang Xin helped Du Zijuan up and stood on the soft sand.

Ruan Xiaotian still wanted to continue to ask, but was completely stunned by the scene in front of him. It can be said that he has never seen such a wonderful scenery when he is so big. If I hadn't come here for some reason, I'm afraid I wouldn't have seen it in my life.

Sunlight shines through the water, making the sand seem to be hidden under the moonlight. Hazy and a little mysterious. The most important thing is that the sunlight shines through the water and hits the sand, like a fine yarn floating, flickering and darkening, and it is beautiful in an instant.

Not only Ruan Xiaotian, but Du Xiaojuan was also deeply attracted by this scene. She asked again: 'Oh my God! What the hell is this place? Heaven on earth?'

'Don't rejoice too early, I don't see heaven on earth, but hell on earth.' Fang Xin said.

Du Zijuan and Ruan Xiaotian looked back at him at the same time, and Du Zijuan asked, 'Why do you say that?'

'For what?' Fang Xin smiled unceremoniously, 'Have you forgotten what happened not long ago? Just think about it, and you can see how we got to this place.'

So, the two of them thought about it.

Suddenly, Ruan Xiaotian's eyes widened. It seems that he remembered everything. He stared at a pair of big eyes like copper bells, and said angrily: "Damn, Guo Xudong. Don't let me touch it, or I'll drink your blood and eat your flesh. Guo Xudong!'

Du Zijuan finally remembered, and she asked Fang Xin in surprise: "We are ...... At the bottom of the lake? How is this possible?'

'I don't believe it either, but where else are we going to be?' Fang Xin pointed to the water waves that could be faintly seen above his head and said.

'Oh my God! It's incredible.' This is the feeling given by Du Zijuan after confirming Fang Xin's answer.

All three stood up and stood on the soft sand dunes. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but sand and silt. It seems to be a pure land that no one has set foot in, and it is unexpectedly clean.

Ruan Xiaotian seemed to think of something, and he suddenly shouted: 'Damn, what about the others, where did they go?'

'That's right.' Du Zijuan also immediately thought of this question, and she asked Fang Xin, 'If we are really at the bottom of the lake, everyone else should be there too. Nothing will happen to them, will it?'

Fang Xin said: "Okay, don't think nonsense. In my opinion, it's better to look around. I think as long as they're okay, they shouldn't be too far away.'

So, the three of them finally decided to go their separate ways and explore and search in three different directions. As for the direction, southeast, northwest, or whatever, it doesn't matter anymore.

Fang Xin observed his surroundings as he walked, and he suddenly noticed a problem. He was puzzled because he couldn't tell if it was his own delusion that was at work.

This space is completely encased in water, although the boundaries are not visible. But Fang Xin obviously felt that this waterless space had become larger, or it was gradually getting bigger. There seems to be an invisible force pushing the surrounding lake.

Despite this, Fang Xin still couldn't tell if his feelings at the moment were right or wrong. It was the first time in his life that he had encountered such a situation. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that there was such an unheard of spectacle.

Not long after walking over, Fang Xin also noticed that the sand under his feet was mixed with silt, and if he stepped on it, he could squeeze out the water. As you can imagine, these sandy areas are at least often soaked in water for a while, at least.

The sand is not flat, high or low. It's like a piece of sand about ten meters away from Fang Xin, much higher than other places, it's just a small sand dune.

Fang Xingang wanted to go up to check, but suddenly heard Du Zijuan shouting from the left behind: 'Fang Xin, Ruan Xiaotian, come here!' Looking at Du Zijuan's appearance, she seemed to be very excited, as if she had discovered something. Fang Xin didn't dare to slack off, and quickly ran over.

Arrived almost at the same time as Ruan Xiaotian. As soon as Ruan Xiaotian arrived, he shouted and said, 'Damn, what have you found?'

Du Zijuan didn't speak, and pointed to her feet.

When the two of them looked down, they were both startled, and they couldn't help but take a few steps back. Ruan Xiaotian said even more exaggeratedly: 'Damn, how can there be, how can there be dead people?'

It turned out that in this slightly raised piece of sand where they were, a hand appeared. Fang Xin noticed that it was a woman's hand. Because this hand is slender and white, if it is a dead person, it is also a person who has just died not long ago.

So, who could this person be?

Fang Xin's first thought was one of them. Except for Du Zijuan, among the rest, only Shen Kuo is a man, and the rest are all girls.

Xiaoxue, Jingzhi, Liu Ting, and Hu Jie. And among this girl, Fang Xin can also exclude Jingzhi, because her skin is relatively dark, which does not match this white and tender hand at all.

Of course, from a selfish point of view, the last thing Fang Xin wanted to see was Xiaoxue. Not for anything else, just for his indelible love for Xiaoxue.

Just when Fang Xin was thinking wildly, Du Zijuan suddenly said excitedly: "I seem to see ...... I saw that one manually for a while. That's right, it did move.'

Fang Xin immediately felt that it was not good, he didn't think about it and said, "She's still alive, dig quickly."

So, under Fang Xin's leadership, the three of them lay on the sand together, quickly pulling the fine sand on the ground with their hands. No matter what, it's always good to be able to save someone.

With the concerted efforts of the three of them, one person was finally pulled out of the pile of sand. Removing the mud and sand on their faces, the three of them saw clearly that this person was Teacher Hu Jie Hu.

At this time, Hu Jie's face was pale, no different from a dead person. The three of them worked together to remove the fine sand from her body and lay her flat on the sand. I found that Hu Jie was dying, and only half of her breath was left. That is to say, if it is not rescued in time, Hu Jie may really die.

Du Zijuan said nervously: 'Is she dead, what can I do?'

Fang Xin pushed Du Zijuan away without hesitation, crossed his hands, and just wanted to press down on Hu Jie's chest, that is, the position of his heart. But in the end, his hand stopped in mid-air.

But Fang Xin didn't hesitate, he pulled Du Zijuan over and said seriously: "You come to give her a heart squeeze.'" Du Zijuan trembled and said, "I...... I won't!' Fang Xin immediately replied to her: "I won't either."

Two non-professional lifeguards did a non-professional rescue for Hu Jie. To put it in an inappropriate phrase, they are using dead horses as live horse doctors.

Fang Xin picked up Hu Jie's head and tried to remember it from the remaining fragments of his mind. In this way, in Ruan Xiaotian's somewhat perverted and eager gaze, Fang Xin mouth-to-mouth carried out his unprofessional rescue. At least, he didn't completely forget all about salvage.

Ruan Xiaotian was a little overwhelmed and said, "Hey! What am I going to do, what have to be done?'

Fang Xin blew a few breaths into Hu Jie's small mouth before raising his head and saying, 'You go dig nearby and see if you can find anyone else.'

'Holy.' Ruan Xiaotian was unconvinced and said, "Why do you always let me do this kind of rough work.'"

Complaining is complaining, Ruan Xiaotian still dug in the sand next to him. Maybe God favored him more, and he didn't dig for long, but he really found another one.

The movements in Ruan Xiaotian's hands immediately became faster. He said excitedly, 'Damn, there's really one, come and see.' The other two heard the sound and quickly joined the digging team.

The new discovery is Jingzhi, Fang Xin's old classmate.

Jingzhi's situation is much better than Hu Jie's, at least at a glance, you can see that she is still alive.

After the three of them cleaned the mud and sand off Jingzhi's body, Jingzhi slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she said was, 'Am I dead?'

Fang Xin and the others could still speak, and they couldn't help but smile. Ruan Xiaotian jokingly said: "Damn, if you are a dead person, then what are we, the unjust souls in the underworld!"

However, Jingzhi's face was still blank. Fang Xin approached her and comforted, "Don't worry, you're still alive, we're all still alive. You don't have to think about anything now, take a break first. When you're a little better, we'll think about anything else. Ruan Xiaotian, take care of her.'

Fang Xin had to hand Jingzhi over to Ruan Xiaotian to take care of for the time being, because on the other side, there was still Hu Jie waiting for him to save him.

As soon as he turned around, he heard two coughs. Immediately after, Fang Xin saw Hu Jie's body shaking because of coughing.

Fang Xin was overjoyed, he quickly helped Hu Jie up, and let her weak body lean against him tightly. I saw that Hu Jie opened a pair of small eyes that were still beautiful and moving, although they had lost their luster. Fang Xin said softly, "Teacher Hu, you have finally woken up."

Like everyone else, when Hu Jie woke up, her mind was cloudy and blank like a newborn baby. She also asked weakly, 'I...... Where am I? What is this place?'

So far, five of the people who were forced into the lake by Guo Xudong have survived. Now there are Xiaoxue, Liu Ting and Shen Kuo left. This is also what Fang Xin is most worried about, if they are also like Hu Jie, buried under the mud and sand, and cannot be rescued. Then, at this time, there may be more than one bad luck.

And this is what Fang Xin is most unwilling to see. He hopes that everyone will be safe, but this hope is more slim and more extravagant.

After resting for more than half an hour, when Fang Xin told Hu Jie and Jingzhi his thoughts, the two of them screamed almost at the same time, staring at Fang Xin dumbfounded. It was not difficult to see from their eyes that they did not believe in Fang Xin's assumptions.

'Impossible, impossible.' Shizu-shiba retorted, 'It's not a myth, how could there be a waterless space at the bottom of the lake. I won't believe anything I say.'

Hu Jie also put forward her own opinion: "From the perspective of the laws of nature, this kind of situation that violates common sense is absolutely impossible. If we are really at the bottom of the lake, then where does the lake go?'

After this question was raised, a strange sight emerged. Hu Jie looked at Du Zijuan beside her, Du Zijuan turned her head and stared at Ruan Xiaotian, Ruan Xiaotian lowered her head and glanced at Jingzhi who was still leaning on her, and Jingzhi threw her gaze at Fang Xin. So, everyone's eyes turned to Fang Xin. Because, it was Fang Xin who put forward the hypothesis that they were at the bottom of the lake.

Looking at the four pairs of aggressive gazes, Fang Xin smiled bitterly. He said, 'I can't tell you the truth, after all, I'm not in the natural sciences. I say this for two reasons. First, if everyone's brain is not broken, you should remember that we were taken to the center of Taihu Lake by Guo Xudong. If we are not at the bottom of Taihu Lake, then think about it, where can the lake take us? This is Taihu Lake, not the sea, not the Yangtze River.'

Seeing that everyone was listening very seriously, Fang Xin pointed to the distance above his head and the black rumbling and said, "Look at these places, do you see anything?"

'It's water.' Hu Jie said with a surprised tone.

'That's right, it's water.' When he said this, Fang Xin also became excited, "The question arises again, how can these lakes go against the laws of nature and stay around. Don't you think it's too weird.'

'Yes! How can this be?'

Fang Xin continued, "I don't know how long it took for you to lose consciousness after you were forced into the lake. I felt like I was in a daze, and I felt like I was being caught up in some kind of whirlpool. At that time, I felt that the whole world was spinning. The most infuriating thing is that I will not pass out and will not wake up.'

Jingzhi seemed to understand a little, and she said, 'There's a whirlpool in the lake that brought us to the bottom of the lake?'

'That's how it should be.' Fang Xin pointed to the darkness in the distance again and said, 'There, what is the darkness for Lu? And we can actually see the sun above our heads. I was thinking, that's not the darkness, that's the whirlpool. The reason why we are in such a peaceful place is because we are in the eye of a vortex. And if it weren't for the whirlpool that sent us to the bottom of the lake quickly. We people have drowned in Taihu Lake a long time ago. From this point of view, the deadly vortex saved our lives.'

At the end, Fang Xinxiang said in conclusion: "The above is just my personal conjecture, for reference only, for reference only!"

Regarding the humor of Fang Xin's last sentence, everyone was unimpressed. In such a situation, they are in no mood to laugh.

Ruan Xiaotian looked up at the lake that seemed to be spinning, and said with emotion: "Damn, if we are really at the bottom of the lake, then how can we appear. If you can't, just die in this hellish place!'

This is by far the most considered question.

'One more point.' Fang Xinxiang thought of something again, and he said, 'The existence of the vortex is not inevitable, but should be accidental. So I judge that the vortex can't exist all the time. If we can't find a way to escape and a way out before the vortex disappears. Well, it's very likely that everyone is really going to die at the bottom of this lake. And how long the existence of the vortex can last, no one can say.'

All of a sudden, after Fang Xin finished speaking, everyone was silent. Fang Xin's words are not unreasonable, and moreover, it is very likely to become a fact.

After a moment of silence, Hu Jie propped up her weak body and said, "In my opinion, the most important thing for us at the moment is to find the other three who have been separated. Get everyone together, and maybe you'll be able to come up with a great idea.'

Fang Xin glanced at Hu Jie's face, which was still a little pale, and said worriedly: "But Mr. Hu, your body is ......."

Without waiting for Fang Xin to finish speaking, Hu Jie shook her head firmly and said, "I'm okay with everything, really." He turned back to Jingzhi and asked, 'What about you?'

Jingzhi smiled reluctantly and stood up from the sand. He patted the sand on his body and said, 'I'm out of trouble for a long time, you see.'

'Alright then!' Fang Xin had no choice but to compromise.

After everyone got up from the sand, Du Zijuan suddenly asked, "This place is so big, and there is mud and sand everywhere, where can we find it?"

Fang Xin stretched out his finger and pointed to one place and said, "Let's go there and have a look. Before that, I felt that something was wrong with that place. Because I found Teacher Hu and Jingzhi, I haven't had time to check it yet.'

The place Fang Xin was referring to was a towering sand dune. It is estimated that the area can reach twenty or thirty square meters, and the height is about five or six meters. It can be said that it is the highest point of their sight.

So, under the leadership of Fang Xin, a group of five people headed towards the small sand dune.

The area of the entire vortex eye is not big or small. If you walk on foot and go around this circle, I am afraid that you will not be able to finish it in three hours.

Therefore, it looks like the small sand dunes are very close, but they really have to walk up, giving the illusion that they are out of reach. It seems that the little dunes are getting farther and farther away instead of getting closer to them.

Of course, the end result was that the group still reached the small sand dune.

Strictly speaking, it shouldn't be called a small sand dune. Here, most of it is silt at the bottom of the lake, which is soft and sticky to step on, which is extremely uncomfortable.

Ruan Xiaotian was the first to run to the top of the dune. He seemed to have discovered something and dug around the top of the mound. At the end, as if he had dug up something, he raised his hands and said, 'Damn, look, what have I found.'

It turned out that he was holding a large porcelain bowl with a missing corner in his hand. It may have been buried in the mud for too long and looks gray and bare, without a bit of luster.

Du Zijuan jokingly said: "Ruan Xiaotian, it may be an antique, quite valuable."

'Holy.' Ruan Xiaotian snorted unremittingly, and threw the big porcelain bowl casually.

However, at this time, Fang Xin seemed to see that the mud around Ruan Xiaotian seemed to be moving. Fang Xin blinked vigorously, confirming that the sludge was really moving. And, in the collapsed mud, it seemed that something black, spiky had appeared.

Fang Xingang wanted to shout: 'Ruan Xiaotian, be careful!'

Before he could shout, the entire small sand dune suddenly collapsed, taking Fang Xin and the five of them with him. (To be continued......)