Abandoning literature for martial arts, starting by unleashing the beauty's bow.

The stone path was very narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass slowly.

In some narrower places, barely enough room for half a foot, you have to turn sideways and be very careful to get through.

Moreover, the height of the stone path is not consistent, sometimes high and sometimes low, sometimes requiring climbing upwards, and sometimes it is a downward slope.

If it weren't for the unevenness of the rock face, with many places to hold onto, it would be impossible for a person to pass through.

Lu Fengnian held his breath and carefully walked along the stone path.

After walking about thirty feet, I was surprised to see a dark figure slowly swimming across the river below.

Upon closer inspection, the dark shape was about the size of a palm-leaf fan, with a flat, broad, and round body. Its wide, soft skirt undulated slightly with the water flow, moving steadily and slowly, much like a turtle, but with a shorter snout.

sea ​​turtle!

Lu Fengnian immediately recognized the dark shadow beneath his feet as a turtle.

Sure enough, there are turtles in the Old Turtle Cave.

However, this size turtle is only half-grown and far from being an old turtle.

The softshell turtle underwater was clearly coming up for air. It slowly floated to the surface, head down, body tilted, with its back exposed above the water. It slowly poked its head out, its nostrils slightly opening and closing.

A moment later, it slowly sank back to the bottom of the water and disappeared.

Lu Fengnian speculated that the dark shadow that the ancestors of Mao'er Village saw underwater when they entered the Old Turtle Cave was likely a turtle.

The turtles they saw were much larger than the ones Lu Fengnian had seen, which frightened them so much that they immediately turned back.

Meanwhile, he initially speculated that the reason why the water flowing out of the Old Turtle Cave had decreased was likely also due to the turtle.

Giant softshell turtles prefer to stay permanently in deep water bays and shallow waterways.

They often sink to the bottom and lie dormant, taking root in one place, crowding out narrow water passages and slowing down the water flow.

Meanwhile, the long-term activity of the soft-shelled turtle stirs up the silt, causing local siltation, raising the riverbed, gradually narrowing the cross-section of the river, causing river blockage and reducing water flow.

However, he wasn't entirely sure.

The river in Laoyuan Cave is more than ten zhang wide in some places and four or five zhang narrow in others.

With such a wide river channel, ordinary turtles simply cannot block it.

With questions in mind, he continued onward, walking for about half a mile in total, when the stone path ahead plunged straight down into the water, making it impossible to go any further.

Lu Fengnian looked around but couldn't find a way forward, so he had to give up, turn around, and head out of the cave.

Soon, he walked past the next corner and disappeared.

About six breaths later, a dark figure slowly rose from the bottom of the water right below the stone path where he had just stopped.

It was flat, broad, round, and thick, with a completely black body. When its body was spread out, it was as big as a basket. It was also a soft-shelled turtle, but it was several times larger than the one Lu Fengnian had seen before.

…………

The next day.

As dawn broke, people in the camp gradually woke up.

At this moment, Lu Fengnian came up from the riverbank with four large fish strung on hemp rope.

It is one to two feet long, with a streamlined, spindle-shaped body, fine scales, and its body is covered with plum blossom-shaped black spots.

This fish is called the fine-scaled salmon, and its flesh is delicious. It generally lives in high-altitude rivers.

In the river at the entrance of Mao'er Village, you can't even find a single crab, but high up in the mountains, there are such large fish.

Lu Fengnian got up early in the morning and saw that everyone else was still asleep, so he went to the river, shot four big fish, and cleaned them.

A moment later, a campfire was lit, and the aroma of fish filled the air.

Originally, the men who were chosen to investigate the Old Turtle Cave thought this trip was likely to end badly, and most of them came reluctantly.

However, along the way, they certainly had a great time eating.

Among them were men who hadn't had oily food in a long time. These past two days, they ate with grease and grease, feeling completely satisfied. Their worries and unhappiness had long since vanished.

After eating the fish, bury the bones and scraps in the soil to prevent attracting wild animals.

Then, the men prepared to go down into the river and enter the Old Turtle Cave.

Lu Feng said in a young voice, "We still have some things to do before we can enter the cave."

Last night, I went into the Old Turtle Cave to investigate.

The cave was very deep, and it seemed to run directly through the entire mountain range. I walked about half a mile along the stone path beside the cave, and then there was no path to follow. I could only take the waterway.

We need to make four rafts, four people per raft, and use them to explore the cave.

The cave is spacious enough, and the current isn't too strong, so you can swim upstream.

Upon hearing this, apart from the man who had been on duty last night, everyone else was both surprised and moved.

Last night, they had a good night's sleep, but Lu Fengnian risked danger and went into the cave alone to explore.

Early in the morning, I prepared breakfast for them again.

In particular, the seven men from Mao'er Village originally thought that Lu Fengnian had never worked in the fields and, apart from his excellent archery skills, must be completely clueless about going into the mountains.

Who could have imagined that his familiarity with the mountains and forests was no less than anyone else's, and perhaps even superior?

One of the men couldn't help but ask the reason, and Lu Fengnian only replied with four words: "Exceptional talent."

…… ...

Lu Fengnian has now established enough prestige within the team, so when he says these words, no one else will doubt him.

Zhao Tie looked around and said, "Bamboo is the best material for making rafts."

But there were no bamboo trees in the nearby mountains, so we cut down some fir trees instead.

Lu Fengnian added, "Besides the cedar trees, we also need to cut down some pine trees."

Inside the Old Turtle Cave, it was pitch black. Although we brought torches, it was better to have extra just in case.

Upon hearing this, everyone else looked puzzled.

Yang Yinfeng said in a low voice, "Brother Fengnian, freshly cut pine wood can't be used to make torches. Not only will it not burn, but the smoke will be too pungent."

Lu Fengnian nodded. "Of course I know that. When you're cutting down pine trees, remember to cut the ones with more resin. Leave the rest to me."

At this point, he said to Yang Kai, "We don't know how deep the Old Turtle Cave is. Before we go in, we should prepare some food. You take two people to the nearby mountains and forests to see if we can hunt some prey."

After making these arrangements, he said in a low voice, "Let's just make preparations today, and we'll go into the cave to explore first thing tomorrow morning."

The men nodded and quickly dispersed into the nearby mountains and forests.

Some chopped wood, some searched for vines, and some hunted.

Lu Fengnian then went to the Old Turtle Cave, not to continue exploring, but to observe the river channel, especially focusing on the fast-flowing and narrow sections, in preparation for entering the cave the next day.

…………

Those selected from Mao'er Village and Shangjie Village are naturally the best in terms of physical strength.

Around noon, men were already carrying cedar and pine logs down the mountain one after another.

Afterwards, some men stayed at the camp and began processing the cedar wood to build rafts.

Originally, these cedar logs should have been dried in a well-ventilated place for about half a month before the raft was made, so that the buoyancy would be greater.

But there's definitely no time for that right now. Wet cedar wood can be used to make rafts, but it's less buoyant and not durable enough.

However, these rafts are only used for exploring the cave, and that's enough.