This piece of iron is much smaller than what we saw before, about the size of a thumb. What surprised me is that this iron is relatively smooth. Although it is also rusty, it is much cleaner than the piece from the oil bottle, and the patterns on it are still clearly discernible. I once wondered if the ugly appearance of the iron block under the oil bottle was due to someone treating it with acid, and it seems that was indeed the case. This type of iron should originally look like this, rather than the piece from the oil bottle that looks like a toad. Moreover, the exquisite decorative patterns on it clearly indicate that it belongs to a highly skilled piece of art.

The small iron block also has irregular breakages, clearly not a whole piece, but rather a fragment of something else. These iron pieces should come from one or several large iron objects. As I waded through the water, my mind raced, and I felt that everything was beginning to connect. Now the questions started to become clear, pointing to roughly two points.

I need to verify whether my speculation is correct: did an archaeological team get swapped out here? We must continue to search for the equipment and traces they threw into the lake. I suspect that those bodies might also be nearby; this doesn’t seem too difficult.

Then there’s the issue of the ancient village at the bottom of the lake. How could there be a submerged village at the bottom of a lake in the deep mountains? These iron pieces come from this village; what were they originally and what were they used for? Why did the archaeological team know about this and decide to salvage them? Damn, there might be a lot of tricks involved here that we can’t even begin to fathom. I can only roughly inquire about the lake with A Gui, but I feel he won’t have much information to give us.

The answers to these two points lie at the bottom of the water. I sighed, realizing what we should do next. We must carefully observe the lake bottom and retrieve whatever we can find down there to examine. It seems we’ll have to stay in the water for a long time.

Unfortunately, the grass ropes we had are already frayed and unusable, and my physical strength isn’t enough for another dive; otherwise, I would really want to go down and take another look. We marked the area in the water with nylon rope and floats, and the three of us returned to the shore to rest. Yun Cai was shocked to see my condition and hurried to help me. I stuffed two cloth strips up my nose and squatted in the grass to change my clothes, feeling as if my bones were cracking from the inside, which left me too weak to exert any effort. The fat guy and the oil bottle pulled the raft out of the water, lifting it like a stretcher, along with the rotten cowhide bag on it, all the way to the dry area on the shore.

Yun Cai and the others were very curious about what we had retrieved from the water. Since there wasn’t anything particularly special, the fat guy let her take a look, but when she actually saw it, she found it disgusting. The sun was scorching; the underwear tossed on the rocks would dry by itself. We ate a few wild fruits to replenish our sugar levels, and while eating, the fat guy asked A Gui if he knew about the submerged village. A Gui was completely puzzled and had no concept of it, saying he had never known there was a village at the bottom of the lake.

Just now, my vision in the water was blurry, and I couldn’t make out many details. However, based on the thickness of the sediment above, I knew that this village must have been submerged at the bottom of the lake for quite some time. I asked A Gui to think again if there were any legends about this matter in the nearby villages, even if they were very old, as long as they were related. A Gui shook his head, swearing that there were definitely none. He said, “Actually, I also find it a bit strange. We all know there’s a lake here, but it doesn’t even have a name, and the elders don’t mention it often.”

The胖子 and I exchanged glances. I expected him not to know too much because, after all, it was a legend; whether it could be passed down depended on luck. However, I didn’t think he would be so absolute about it.

Yangjiao Mountain has many legends and strange occurrences because it has historically been the boundary between deep mountains and hunting areas, and human activity basically doesn’t extend beyond this point. So, it’s normal to have legends. However, with such a large lake in Yangjiao Mountain, there should also be legends, yet it seems insulated, with no stories at all, which I found a bit strange.

The胖子 said, “Could this be the old village you mentioned that was burned down by a forest fire? You said your old village was also burned to the ground in Yangjiao Mountain, but in fact, it was submerged under this lake? That’s why you all say there are no traces left on the surface.”

A Gui shook his head: “It’s been too long. Even the legend of the burned old village dates back to the Ming Dynasty. I really can’t say what the connection is between the two.”

Looking at A Gui, I could tell he wasn’t lying. So, I lay down, smoked a cigarette, and massaged my painfully throbbing temples, thinking that I really had to rely on myself.

The胖子 pointed to the deepest part of the lake, which I estimated, and said, “What’s the situation at the bottom of this lake? It looks like it was hammered out with a nail hammer. How do you think it was formed?”

I replied, “This isn’t a natural formation; such a drop usually only occurs in canyon rivers between mountains. This lake should be a dammed lake, possibly formed hundreds of years ago.”

“Was it because of an earthquake?” Yun Cai asked curiously from the side.

I shook my head: “The underwater village is relatively well-preserved. If it were a major earthquake, we wouldn’t see such neatly arranged stone paths and fences, which indicates that the village was submerged under relatively gentle conditions.” I pointed to the deepest part the胖子 had just indicated and shared my speculation, “It’s possible that due to geological movements or some other reason, hundreds of years ago, a hidden river connected to the nearby underground water system suddenly appeared in the mountains across from us. Because this village is located in a low-lying area, the sudden influx of water completely submerged the entire village.”

The reason I mentioned the water from the underground water system is that I hadn’t heard A Gui mention any larger lakes nearby. I also hadn’t heard of any large lakes in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. However, the karst underground rivers here are quite famous. This area is close to the tropics, with frequent rainfall, so this water definitely has to go somewhere. The rivers flowing on the surface eventually merge into the underground major rivers.

Last night’s siphon tide must also have been due to this outlet.

The胖子 said, “It seems I was right. The thing we need to find must be in the deepest part. We probably won’t be able to find it.”

I shook my head and said, “No, these wooden buildings are like a filter. Most of the things sucked into the lake bottom by the siphoning tide will be caught by the fences and wooden buildings on the outskirts of the ancient village. So, we just need to search this circle, and we should find something. Otherwise, I think we can admit failure.”

The depth of this circle isn’t very deep; I estimate it’s only a little over twenty meters. As long as we have a bit of patience, we will definitely discover something. The fat guy looked at the sun and suddenly got excited, saying, “Let’s finish today’s business today; let’s go into the water right now.”

I immediately shook my head; that was impossible. Based on our previous diving experience, free diving is quite challenging. If we want to carefully and leisurely investigate the bottom of the ancient village, we definitely need professional diving equipment. We absolutely cannot proceed immediately; we need to return to the county town first and then arrange to have the equipment brought over through our connections.

This is a big project. The diving gear is heavy, and we might need to hire a dozen people to transport it into the mountains with mules, which goes against our initial intention of keeping a low profile. Moreover, this kind of equipment isn’t easy to obtain. Besides the oxygen tanks, we also need to prepare an oxygen pump to refill the tanks. That thing isn’t small; even a mule might not be able to carry it in. It would have to be disassembled for transport, which would take even longer.

I was anxious; if I had to wait any longer, I feared I would be driven mad. The fat guy was also reluctant to go back, but he was more rational than I was. After thinking for a moment, he said, “There’s no need to think about this. If we want to explore thoroughly, we definitely have to go back and bring the scuba gear; there’s no other option. However, based on our previous diving situation, if it’s just a simple search at the bottom, we don’t necessarily need scuba gear. We can split up: one person can go back to get the equipment while the other two start retrieving the sunken items here. These two tasks can be done simultaneously.”

“Then who will go back?” I asked.

“From a relationship standpoint, it’s obviously most suitable for you to go back since you have the most connections. I and the little brother can stay here to do the salvage. Just think about it: you know so many people; you can directly ask a few to help you procure the equipment. Once you explain everything, you can come back much more conveniently than we can.”

I cursed, “Damn it, isn’t it the same? I’ll still be suffocating.”

“One person suffocating is better than three people suffocating together. Plus, think about it: it’s definitely not possible to send the little brother. My connections in Beijing are much less convenient than yours. If I go to handle it, you’ll have to wait even longer. It’s nice to see the scenery in a place like this, but even a month here would be hard for you. So, trust me, it’s ideal for you to go back and get the equipment,” the fat guy said grandiosely.

I looked at the fat guy’s expression; it was really punchable. But upon reflection, what he said did make sense. I could just call Panzi, and within a few days, everything could be arranged. I could also bring Wang Meng and a few guys from San Shu’s shop to help. I really didn’t feel at ease with the unreliable fat guy going out to handle things. I had no choice but to nod in agreement. We decided not to waste time and aimed to return early the next morning to resolve everything quickly.

So, I arranged with A Gui that he would take me back tomorrow while Yun Cai stayed here with the fat guy and the quiet oil bottle. I thought about how hard it was for A Gui to go back and forth like this, and since we really needed him now, I decided to offer him a good price to win him over.

“In the following time, I was completely immobilized, hardly getting up at all. The Fatty and the Silent Oil Bottle went diving twice more, bringing back some things, but they were all in a state of severe decay, nothing of value. Among them was a submachine gun from that time, which was as useless as a burnt stick. Fatty cherished the gun and lamented how unfortunate it was.

Fatty also saw the village submerged underwater and was surprised by its large scale. He said it was a pity they didn’t have diving goggles; otherwise, they could have seen things more clearly instead of just pulling up garbage. He then searched everywhere for a substitute, rummaging through all the equipment, and finally found something: the head of a flashlight. However, this thing was unlikely to be sealed properly. Fatty made a rather absurd decision: he stuck the flashlight head onto his eye, sealing the gaps with tape and grease, then pressed down hard to ensure that one eye could see far underwater. He tried diving into shallow water to test it, but immediately the water pressure forced him into the tube, making the method unworkable.

With no other options, he had no choice but to ask me to remember that he and A Gui would go back to the county town to find a sports store and bring back some ordinary gear to make do.

That night, there was nothing to say. The next morning, I left Goat Horn Mountain. As I was leaving, the sky was overcast, and it seemed like it was going to rain heavily. I waved goodbye to them and then walked up the mountain path. When I reached the mountainside and looked back at the lake, seeing that patch of dark clouds, I suddenly had a strange premonition that something was about to happen.”