Capítulo 4: Chapter 4: Discovering the Secret Room

The mountain path had even steps with a gentle slope, making the ascent not too strenuous. However, there were no street lamps, but fortunately, Du Jun had thoughtfully prepared flashlights to illuminate the way for everyone.

Surrounded by rocks and dense forests, the occasional strange bird calls in the night, coupled with the cool breeze, gave off an eerie feeling.

Thankfully, with many people around, even if they did encounter any wild animals, they could scare them off simply by charging at them together, which was essentially the courage that comes with numbers.

The mountain was not famous and thus not very tall, but it still had thousands of steps. When they reached halfway up the mountain, there were inevitably some who were out of shape and started clamoring for a rest.

Du Jun agreed to let everyone rest for a moment on the spot. Looking back, they could see the scenery below the mountain. Under the night sky, the brightly lit ancient town contrasted starkly with the surrounding darkness, which instead highlighted the beauty of the town's night scene. Standing higher up might offer a different perspective.

As everyone rested, chatted, and drank water, Lin Xi and a few other girls laughed and talked. Suddenly, the conversation turned to Gu Fan, asking Lin Xi why her boyfriend hadn't come.

Lin Xi tactfully made an excuse for Gu Fan, saying he was feeling a bit unwell, probably due to not being acclimated to the local water and soil, thus covering for him. This was also why Gu Fan liked Lin Xi so much, as she was a gentle, considerate, and understanding girl, not to mention beautiful with big eyes and great skin—what man could resist?

While everyone's attention was on the scenery, the girls quietly discussed with Lin Xi how nice Du Jun was, saying they initially thought Lin Xi would end up with Du Jun but Gu Fan swooped in unexpectedly. Still, they felt Lin Xi and Du Jun were more compatible.

To this, Lin Xi just smiled lightly and said no more, knowing these girls had a good relationship with Du Jun, so speaking well of him made sense, but whether Du Jun asked them to do so was unknown.

Suddenly, a male classmate joked, "Do you think there might be ghosts in these deep mountains and forests?"

Upon hearing this, everyone tensed up, feeling a chill, followed by strange bird calls from the dark forest, scaring several timid girls who told the male classmate not to spout nonsense.

At that moment, Du Jun said, "Don't worry, all these ghosts and spirits are fake. We should believe in science. Besides, if this mountain really had ghosts, the townspeople would have known and stopped us, but they said nothing."

Everyone found Du Jun's words convincing and felt momentarily reassured, but thoughts of demons and ghosts still flickered through their minds from time to time, causing them to feel a bit scared.

During the break, Du Jun casually shone his flashlight around and noticed something odd not far off: the forest was not fully intact as if a large part had collapsed.

Du Jun informed everyone of his discovery and said he would take a closer look since it wasn't far. He didn't seek everyone's consent before heading there, and no one really minded as they all trusted Du Jun and knew he wouldn't act recklessly.

Suddenly, a startled cry made everyone jump. Turning around, they discovered that Du Jun had vanished, and his flashlight wasn't emitting any light.

"What happened, where is Du Jun?" Lin Xi's face paled, and others were panic-stricken. A sudden cold breeze made everyone involuntarily shiver, and even a few timid female classmates turned pale, with thoughts of demons and ghosts racing through their minds again.

A male classmate mustered the courage to shout three times, "Du Jun, Du Jun, Du Jun," but received no response, leaving everyone almost petrified. How could a perfectly fine person just disappear? Was this place really haunted?

Lin Xi tried to calm herself and said, "Don't be scared, let's go check it out together."

"Okay... okay…" The remaining people clung tightly together, advancing slowly towards the spot where Du Jun had disappeared, their hearts racing, and their breathing nearly halted from the tension.

As they neared, the leading male classmates felt an icy coldness and their bodies trembled slightly, unsure if it was their own fear or that of the girls behind them.

Lin Xi, though usually strong-willed, was still a girl and stayed behind the boys, wishing that her boyfriend Gu Fan was there with her, as he would undoubtedly protect her.

Suddenly a light appeared, startling everyone. They then saw a disheveled figure climbing out of a hole, who complained, "My goodness, I wasn't watching my step and accidentally fell down."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief as it was just a false alarm.

Lin Xi couldn't help but chastise, "Du Jun, do you know you almost scared us to death?"

Du Jun, covered in dust and dirt, apologized, "Sorry, I didn't expect the ground under my feet to suddenly collapse. Thankfully I'm okay, otherwise it would have been terrible."

Someone raised doubts, "Since you fell into a pit, why didn't you respond when we called you?"

Du Jun immediately explained, "I was also stunned from falling. It seems it wasn't just a pit; there is a man-made passage below, and even a door." Having said this, Du Jun immediately took his flashlight and shone it on the large pit that had caused him trouble.

Everyone crowded around and looked down. Indeed, just as Du Jun had said, it wasn't simply a pit. Below was an iron door which seemed to have been inadvertently opened when Du Jun fell. Behind the iron door were steps that seemed to lead somewhere else.

Someone couldn't help exclaiming, "No way, we haven't discovered the legendary underground chamber, have we?"

Another person expressed a different view, "Maybe it's someone's tomb. Seeing how rusty the iron door is, and that it opened so easily when Du Jun bumped into it, it must be very old."

Lin Xi furrowed her brows, "Strange, why haven't the residents of the ancient town mentioned anything to us? Could it be they don't know?"

To this, Du Jun shook his head, "Look at the traces around here. This place seems to have been exposed only after the recent collapse of the ground. I guess it's related to the previous earthquake."

"Oh, I see. You mean the chamber was well concealed originally, even the residents of the town beneath the hill didn't know about it. But the earthquake caused some landslides, and as a result, the chamber was exposed."

Du Jun nodded, "It's just a guess, though. The actual situation is uncertain. But now that we've found this chamber, what do we do next? Does anyone want to go down with me to take a look? There might be treasure."

Hearing the word "treasure," a few male students suddenly lit up, thinking, "Yes, perhaps this is a stroke of luck from God, allowing them to strike it rich and struggle twenty years less after graduation."

However, there were also some who were fearful, picturing ghosts and goblins in their heads, thinking about the possibility of it being a haunted tomb.

Everyone felt an intense unease about this unclear, mysterious place that appeared to be a chamber or a tomb. Someone suggested that it might be better to mind their own business and just return the way they had come.

Du Jun boldly stated, "What is there to fear? If there really are ghosts, and they actually scare us to death, we'll just haunt them back once we become ghosts."

Hearing this, everyone still thought it made sense. After all, there's safety in numbers, but they were still scared of ghosts.

Seeing that everyone was hesitant, Du Jun knew he couldn't back down, especially in front of Lin Xi. He needed to show his courage and outdo his rival, Gu Fan.

So, Du Jun adopted a resolute stance, "Alright, those with guts come down with me, let's see what's actually down there. If there's nothing, we'll come right back up, just consider it an adventure."

At this moment, the four boys who usually hung out with Du Jun stepped up to support him since he often treated them to meals. It was their time to show their worth.

Thus, five brave boys crossed through the rusty, crumbling iron door and walked down the steps together. The five flashlights they had borrowed from the residents of the ancient town were now reduced to three. They just hoped the boys would return safely.

Initially, their footsteps and the light from their flashlights were visible, but gradually, as the footsteps became fainter and the light dimmed, everyone's nerves tensed again.

Finally, when the light completely vanished and they had no idea how deep Du Jun and his group had gone, the possibilities loomed large—whether they would encounter something, even if not ghosts, perhaps some mechanical traps in the chamber.

The more they thought about it, the more everyone worried for the group of five; the dark night and chilly wind, accompanied by eerie bird cries and occasional fluttering in the woods, made every sound nerve-wracking.

They waited a long time, and when Du Jun and his group didn't return, everyone began to fear the worst, silently thinking perhaps something had happened. "Oh no, I knew we shouldn't have let them go down. Men always try to show off. Perhaps it's still not too late to rush back to the ancient town for help."

Just when everyone outside was extremely anxious and undecided, suddenly, Du Jun's voice came from below, "Everybody, come down. It's safe here; it's just a strange chamber. Come and see."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing had happened, which was a huge relief; their hearts couldn't have handled any more stress.

Then, one by one, the remaining people began descending the stairs, heading towards the strange chamber Du Jun had spoken about.

At that moment, Gu Fan also encountered something odd.

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