Chapter 36

Dong Ku and Shanzi changed their clothes and sat in the cab. After the two men on motorcycles disappeared at the end of the road, he ordered the truck to turn into a side road, bypassing Mishan, and headed straight for Dahuishan.

On the way, Dong Ku's standard Japanese and his lieutenant's uniform allowed them to pass through several checkpoints without any hindrance. They smoothly bypassed Beifeng Mountain, which they had once made a mess of, and drove the truck into the forest. They dismantled the wheels, steel plates, and all the metal parts that could be removed, buried them, and then entered the depths of Dahuishan.

In a ravine, the group, who had not had a fire for several days, gathered around a bonfire, roasting their wet shoes and pants, eating heated food, and drinking water boiled in their mess tins. The feeling of being home made the atmosphere very pleasant.

"Liu Zhong, is there a place nearby where we can live long-term, suitable for both winter and summer, and not easily surrounded?"

Dong Ku, while knocking off the dry mud from a roasted tree chicken, asked.

"There is such a place, but it's too far, and it's inconvenient to go in and out of the mountains."

Liu Zhong said without hesitation.

"Far is not a problem, as long as it's dry and hidden. We can't keep wandering in the mountains like this."

"Brother Zhong, are you talking about Heixiagou?"

Huzi interjected as soon as Dong Ku finished speaking.

"Yes, Heixiagou. The terrain there is complex, the forest is dense, and there are many shrubs, as well as large patches of dogwood and schisandra vines. Even hunters dare not go there easily. Especially in summer, the forest is so dense that sunlight can hardly penetrate." Liu Zhong paused and continued, "Two years ago, I chased a black bear weighing over 500 pounds into that area and found a cave. The cave entrance is in a crevice between rocks, and there are rocks blocking the front. The inside is quite spacious, but it's full of snakes, toads, and pheasants."

"Are there snakes?"

Dong Ku nodded. Snakes do not enter dead places, and this saying has been around for a long time. A cave with snakes means the geological structure is not bad. Once people live there and the smell of fire spreads, the snakes will leave and find another place.

"Alright, let's go there."

After a brief discussion, they arranged for someone to keep watch, and everyone had a comfortable sleep, thoroughly resting their tense nerves and tired bodies...

The night passed without incident. In the morning, Dong Ku and his group, with their backpacks, left the campsite and headed straight for Heixiagou.

Two days later in the afternoon, after passing through more than thirty miles of Noxiatangzi, they stood at the entrance of a canyon, their heads covered with withered leaves and debris. This was the Heixiagou that Liu Zhong had mentioned.

Heixiagou is not named after black bears but because once you enter this area, which covers about forty to fifty kilometers, it's as dark as a blind person's world, and you can't find your way around. The mountains here are similar in shape, and without enough experience, even hunters do not easily step into this area. Another reason is that in autumn, the mountains are covered with red schisandra and green dogwood, which are the favorite foods of black bears. Every late autumn, black bears from the surrounding areas gather here to enjoy the feast.

Liu Zhong has an extremely strong sense of direction. Not to mention with his eyes open, they once bet that even on a pitch-black, starless rainy night, he could roughly find the location he wanted in the mountains.

"Everyone, rest for five minutes. Quickly gather dry wood. If we act fast, we can stay in the cave tonight."

Dong Ku, satisfied after putting down his backpack and looking at the environment and the rock covered with dogwood vines that Liu Zhong mentioned, said.

Half an hour later, the area around the rock was piled with dry wood. The area around the rock had been thoroughly cleaned, even the wet decaying leaves were moved to one side to avoid causing a forest fire when they lit the fire.

After a short rest, Liu Zhong was the first to carry dry wood into the back of the rock, stepping on the snow that had blown into the cave, and entered the rock crevice like a screen.

With the help of a flashlight, Dong Ku saw that this was a shale mountain, and this cave was probably formed during the crustal movement that created the mountain. The internal space of the cave was quite large and not at all stuffy. Perhaps it was just after winter, and apart from a faint smell of blood, there was no sign of dampness inside.

"Stack the wood at the head of the snow and clear the cave entrance."

Following Dong Ku's instructions, the dry wood was piled up about thirty meters from the cave entrance, leaving the entrance clear.

"Let's go, Liu Zhong, let's check inside."

Dong Ku, with a flashlight, walked into the cave. Liu Zhong responded and followed him, heading deeper into the cave.

A few minutes later, the two returned. Dong Ku smiled bitterly and said, "I don't know if we can take it over. There are too many snakes inside, in groups, probably all the snakes from the surrounding mountains have come here to hibernate."

"Indeed..."

Liu Zhong's scalp also tingled. The various colored snakes, stacked in piles, filled every corner of the cave, and the thickness was probably measured in dozens of centimeters.

"Alright, let's get more wood." Returning to the group, Dong Ku ordered, "Shanzi and Huzi, go around and see if you can find any frozen mushrooms, dried wood ear, or something. The rest of you continue to gather wood. We might be eating grilled snake meat soon."

The group didn't know what the two had seen, but they responded. Sun Tao hung a lantern on a rock covered with snake droppings and turned to walk out of the cave with everyone else.

Half an hour later, Dong Ku lit a bundle of dry grass and threw it onto the pile of wood, then turned and walked out of the cave.

"Huh? Why isn't there any smoke?"

Everyone looked at the cave entrance, finding it very strange. The cave should be smoking.

"Maybe it didn't catch fire..."

Dong Ku, puzzled, walked towards the cave entrance. Before he turned the corner of the large rock, he suddenly stopped.

He felt the wind. Here, the vines climbed up the trees, and even in winter, the wind was not strong. But now, Dong Ku clearly felt a wind of at least level three.

"What's going on?"

Dong Ku cautiously approached the rock. The closer he got, the stronger the wind felt, and he could hear the whistling sound of the wind.

"Could it be..."

Dong Ku quickly turned the corner of the rock and was delighted to see the wood burning fiercely, the flames rising several meters high, rushing into the cave. The wind, carrying sparks, flew into the cave along the direction of the flames. There was no smoke at the cave entrance, only a slight increase in temperature.

"There must be another passage inside!"

This thought flashed through his mind, and Dong Ku quickly left the cave and ordered, "Bring some wet leaves in. We can sleep on a warm bed tonight..."

The group, seeing Dong Ku return and say something incomprehensible, followed his orders and carried wet leaves into the cave. Once inside, they understood that the fire was burning too quickly and needed wet wood to increase the smoke.

Being experienced in the forest, after throwing the wet leaves, they all pulled out their thick-bladed knives and went outside to cut fresh branches.

Soon, the cave was filled with thick smoke, which, carried by the wind, quickly spread throughout the cave, rolling and churning but not spilling out of the entrance.

On a mountain top about 200 meters high, Huzi and Shanzi found a patch of frozen mushrooms that had already thawed. They were crouching by the tree roots, using their knives to dig them out, when suddenly, Shanzi's nose twitched, and he looked towards the nearby area in confusion.

"That's..."

A thin wisp of smoke slowly drifted out from a nearby rock crevice, swaying and dispersing in the air.

"How can there be smoke?"

Shanzi, puzzled, stood up, ready to investigate, when suddenly, Huzi dropped the frozen mushrooms and ran to the other side, scooping up a two-meter-long pine snake from the ground and excitedly shouting, "Brother Shanzi, there are snakes here, we can make soup tonight."

Shanzi, seeing this, knew it was a good thing. Whether stewed or grilled, it would be delicious. Just as he was about to praise Huzi, his scalp tingled, and he urgently shouted, "Come over here!"

Huzi, startled, instinctively looked around. The sight made his scalp tingle. He saw snake heads emerging from the ground and rocks, wriggling and entangled like bubbling springs, spreading everywhere.

"Ah!"

Huzi screamed and ran, taking a few steps to the place where he had been digging the frozen mushrooms.

Shanzi, though he didn't know what was happening, saw the wisps of smoke floating around and, not wanting to take any risks, quickly grabbed the frozen mushrooms and ran with Huzi.

On the way, they encountered several snakes, but they didn't have time to catch them and hurriedly ran down the mountain.

"Brother Dong, there are snakes everywhere on the mountain, covering the ground..."

Huzi, his scalp tingling, said nervously.

"Hmm? They all ran up there?"

Dong Ku, looking at the mountain covered with schisandra vines, said doubtfully.

"I saw smoke everywhere on the mountain. There must be a crack connecting the cave."

Shanzi added.

"Good, if they are connected, it's better. We can save the trouble of driving all the snakes out. Now, let's get more fresh branches and push the fire inside. We need to smoke them out for a few days for the small snakes to leave..."

After more than three hours of hard work, by nightfall, the fire in the cave had advanced about thirty meters, exposing the hot rocks. As long as they laid down dry grass, it would be as good as a heated bed.

Thus, Dong Ku's first home in this time and space was established...

---

The blockade in Baoqing had been in place for seven days, with nearly a division deployed. Unfortunately, apart from finding traces of rest at Hutou Village, there was no sign of the armed group. At Dahetown, a company had arrived, and the investigation showed that Xiaolin Kōichi and the 106 soldiers he led had all perished, the cause of death being their own poison gas.

"Where could they have gone?"

Commander Nanzirou, rubbing his temples, frowned. The involvement of Americans and Russians made it difficult to guess their intentions, causing him great distress.

After much discussion, they could not determine the size of the group or where they had gone. In the end, they decided to abandon the encirclement but strengthened the guard at the checkpoints to prepare for any unexpected events.

After more than three hours of hard work, by nightfall, the fire in the cave had advanced about thirty meters, exposing the hot rocks. As long as they laid down dry grass, it would be as good as a heated bed.

Thus, Dong Ku's first home in this time and space was established...