Obviously, this is a trumpet-shaped tunnel. The deeper we go, the larger the inside of the tunnel we see. The river surface is nearly ten meters wide, and the tunnel height has reached more than twenty meters.
The strong light appeared insignificant in the darkness, it could only illuminate the road under your feet, occasionally turning your head, the beam of light was submerged in the river water, as if sinking in, no refraction or reflection was seen.
This makes me feel a chill that is colder than water.
Big eyes asked: "You said, can we really get out from here?"
Zhang Ling and I almost said in unison, "Yes, it must be!"
At this time, we no longer think about whether we can find the Shambala Cave. Our only idea is to go out alive. Because of the desperation in the ice cave, we have realized what is the most precious.
There is no concept of time, and we don't know how far we have traveled. When we came to an empty place, under the burst of searchlights, a splendid and colorful underground river world appeared before our eyes.
The underground river, which was originally black as ink, turned into amethyst under the strong light, and the walls were covered with smooth rocks, like a miniature version of stone forests stacked on top of each other, thousands of folds.
The light moved down, and the riverbed was sunken, forming a smooth porcelain basin, more like a blooming lotus. There are countless goose egg-sized stone balls in the basin, smooth and clean like pearls, rolling endlessly under the impact of water.
The river bed in the distance is as flat as a marble paved, and the amethyst reflects the light. It outlines golden snakes in the river, twisting uncontrollably; the sparkling waves are projected onto the cliff above the head, where there are still a few stones. The stalactites hung down like vines, as if they corresponded to the stone forest beneath the water.
The water of the river is like a mirror, and the surface of the river is a mirror, and everything is clearly illuminated from top to bottom.
However, we have seen the Crystal Palace and are in such an environment, so no one is in the mood to express any emotion or remarks about the scene in front of us.
We just stopped for a while, and then continued to advance in the dark underground river.
On the way, we found dozens of small tributaries, and the black holes do not know where they are flowing, so we chose the largest river channel to continue on.
Gradually, in this quiet underground world, many aquatic creatures appeared one after another: an axolotl with agile stature, and a slight fluctuation quickly flashed into a small cave: blind shrimp and blind crab, happy
We wielded the claws under the water to pick up the sand. We were slightly disturbed when we walked. They immediately turned into the underwater caves and disappeared.
Everything is so harmonious, no one knows how long they have lived happily here. We wanted to find some fish to eat, but we didn't find anything.
After about two more hours of walking, the first big turning point appeared in the underground river.
Unexpectedly, after this turning point, the river course of the underground river has undergone great changes, the water flow speed has increased significantly, and the river bed has begun to tilt downward. The river course has also gradually become narrower and steeper. The rock walls on both sides seem to be close together, and the water is rushing as if the river water on the outside is "crashing".
The road along the shore has also become extremely difficult to walk, and sometimes we need to wade through the water.
When we arrived at a flat place, the three of us sat down and rested. At this time, we were all hungry. Our chests were attached to our backs. Big eyes regretted and said, "When we were in front, we should catch a few shrimps to eat."
I smiled bitterly and said: "Who can get to the back will become more and more urgent, and then all creatures will be gone."
Zhang Ling said: "Don't be discouraged, there will be food. There will be creatures in the upstream, and naturally there will be creatures in the downstream. When the water flow becomes smoother, there will be creatures in the water again."
Big eyes shined forward with a searchlight and said, "But how long are we going to walk? We should have been walking for a long time now." He shined the searchlight on his head again and said, "Where are we?"
I also raised my head and sighed and said: "On the road to life, as long as we persist, just... big eyes, big eyes, don't light the lights. Stop, yes, stop!"
I grabbed the searchlight in Big Eye's hand and shot it into the air. Under the shining of the light, I saw an extremely surprising scene!
It's a boat!
A large ship about two meters wide but ten meters long hung upside down above the heads of the three of us. It hung in the air quietly and peacefully, as if waiting for the next passenger forever.
Under the light, we first saw the inside of the ship, like a snake with an open belly; the hull was made of unknown material, it was thick and extremely tough, the hull was round like a barrel, and the keel and ribs were "rich". "The shape stretches the entire ship.
I don’t know if it’s the bow or the stern. The two ends of a shuttle shrank suddenly, slightly rolled up into a semi-arc shape; the keel and the tip of the boat were completely combined to form a bulging tuberosity.
Know the purpose; besides, there is no decoration or shape, as simple as a canoe.
As the light moved, we saw the whole ship.
This is a shuttle-shaped canoe, but it is twisted like an "S" in the middle; the tip of the two ends is high and the tip is high, one is high and the other is low, and the lower end is also curved upwards than the tip of the Venetian dinghy It's even higher; the tops are all trochanters connected to the keel, which looks a bit like a huge living snake.
The serpentine ship was firmly stuck between several thick stalactite pillars. The slightly curved pillar was like the claws of a giant beast. It firmly grasped the ship and hung in the air, in the incomparable darkness. Among them, without special attention, no one can discover its existence.
Although the shape of the ship is weird, we have never seen such a ship, but the appearance of this thing at least shows that someone has walked here before, and we are not pioneers. Since someone has come before, and we have brought in a ship, then It shows that we are walking on a way out.
Big Eyes said in surprise: "Why is the ship hanging in the air?"
Zhang Ling pondered for a moment, and said: "It should be the water level. The water level of the underground river will rise and fall. The boat stays on it when the water retreats."
Big Eye said: "Could it be that the water level has risen to that height? When the water rises, we haven't got out yet, won't we all drown?"
Zhang Ling said: "It won't rise that high for a while. This boat looks a bit like a cowhide boat."
"The cowhide boat?" I was puzzled.
Zhang Ling explained: "The cowhide boat is the most commonly used water transportation tool by ancient Tibetans. This kind of cowhide boat has a keel on the inside and a cowhide on the outside. The bottom of the boat is usually stretched with a whole piece of skin. Five pieces of leather are stitched together. After entering the water, the cowhide is softened by water, just like that beef tendon. It is extremely tough and elastic. No matter how violently it collides, it can be evaded.
After a pause, she said again: "If the water level really rises above that height, then it must have been turned over and squeezed between the stone pillars under the impact of the rapids. It can be seen that it is very elastic. But what is it? What kind of skin is used? You know, the bottom of the cowhide boat cannot be spliced, because it is difficult to ensure that it does not enter water. And most of the cowhide boats are simple square or wedge-shaped, so I have never seen this. The exterior of the ship."
(End of this chapter) (End of this chapter)