LRAB Chapter 34 The Sense of Being Watched From Behind
Chapter 34 The Sense of Being Watched From Behind
"By the way, what's the deal with that Buddha head? Is there another Buddha statue in White Dragon Pool?" Li Jiu asked.
"Didn't you say it was my hallucination?"
"Where did I say that? Think about it again."
"Okay..." Tang Mubai hesitated, "To be honest, I don't know either. I just saw a super huge Buddha head..."
"Oh right! That Buddha head is just a head, it doesn't have a body, it looks like it broke off from a large Buddha sculpture and rolled to the bottom of the water."
"Hey, you said those snakes...could they just be seaweed? Maybe I'm hallucinating because I'm so scared? I'm seeing seaweed as snakes, and the shadowy figures as Buddha heads?"
The more Tang Mubai recalled, the more his mind began to fill in the gaps, as if his instincts were constantly trying to fill in the gaps in the bizarre scenes he was seeing in order to stabilize his sanity.
However, Li Jiu fell into deeper thought.
The massive stone Buddha head, silent beneath the water... is still severed...
When he looked at White Dragon Pool just now, it seemed as if he saw something strange open its eyes at the bottom of the pool and stare at him fiercely.
Could it be... that Buddha's head is staring wide-eyed?!
"Hiss—" Thinking of this, Li Jiu subconsciously gasped again.
Li Jiu gasped, and Tang Mubai shivered as well: "This drenched chicken is really freezing in the wind! Old Li, I don't think I can leave for now. How about I listen to the professor and stay in the Mushroom House for a few days?"
"Hmm." Li Jiu nodded, then asked with a serious expression, "By the way, how many mouthfuls of water did you drink from the pool just now?"
"I don't know... I definitely drank some, but I didn't choke on more than a few mouthfuls. What's wrong?"
"Didn't the visitor information for Bailongtan mention drinking water and swimming, or something like that?"
Tang Mubai rubbed his head, trying to think but his head felt throbbing. A gust of wind made him yawn even more. "Whatever! We're going back to the Mushroom House anyway. I'll just tell that pretty girl at the front desk when we get there. Let's go!"
Li Jiu nodded: "Yes, go take a shower quickly, or you'll really catch a cold."
"That's definitely a must." Tang Mubai nodded without hesitation. "Let's go... Oh right, my phone is probably ruined after being soaked in water. Call me later so I can tell my old man what happened. What a crappy helicopter! It made me lose face. It's so unreliable."
"no problem."
Li Jiu responded, but his gaze involuntarily drifted to a spot not far away.
The white driver also climbed ashore using the lifebuoy he had thrown out, but he seemed to have been severely traumatized. He stood there like he had seen a ghost, muttering something incessantly, and his mental state seemed extremely unstable.
Fortunately, the people at the Mushroom House responded quickly when the helicopter crashed, and now that Tang Mubai is out of danger, he has already seen many people rushing towards White Dragon Pool.
Those who came included the staff of the Mushroom House and the mountain patrol and rescue team, as well as some people who seemed to be from a medical team and some faces they had met a few times at the summer camp.
Seeing so many people arrive, Li Jiu ignored the somewhat mentally unstable white driver and sped up to take Tang Mubai to the Mushroom House.
However, at that moment, a sharp, needle-like chill suddenly shot through the back of his neck. His scalp tightened, and he instinctively turned his head sharply.
"...Old Tang?"
Tang Mubai was taken aback: "What's wrong?"
"...It's nothing." Li Jiu frowned slightly, staring at Tang Mubai for a while before quickly glancing at the calm surface of the White Dragon Pool behind Tang Mubai. He slowly suppressed the strange feeling in his heart. "...Maybe I'm just imagining things."
"Ugh, alright, alright! Never mind, let's go!" Tang Mubai scratched his arm in frustration, then rubbed his neck vigorously. "This pool is weird, it's so itchy, I need to take a shower right now!"
He scratched himself with great force, and in no time his body was covered in scratches. His skin even seemed to be wrinkling, and it looked like it had a scaly texture.
Urged on by Tang Mubai, Li Jiu put aside his doubts: "Okay, let's hurry up! If we're any later, we might miss the main group's gathering for the climb."
The two quickened their pace and headed straight for the Mushroom House.
……
As soon as Tang Mubai arrived at the entrance of the Mushroom House, he encountered Su Xiaoyi coming towards him.
Su Xiaoyi's gaze quickly swept over Tang Mubai's disheveled and soaking wet appearance, and she asked with concern, "Tang Mubai, are you alright? Should you get checked out?"
"No need, no need, no need... I feel perfectly fine." Tang Mubai waved his hands repeatedly. How could someone be examined while completely soaked?
That would be too damaging to their image.
Besides, he's a respectable person.
Besides, even if I were to get checked, I should first wash myself clean and change into dry clothes. Right now, I'm itching all over, so I should take a good shower first.
Li Jiu and Tang Mubai swiped their cards and entered the Mushroom House. Watching their backs, Su Xiaoyi frowned slightly, feeling a strange unease in her heart.
Especially Tang Mubai after the plane crash. He seemed perfectly normal, but when they brushed past each other just now, she could vaguely sense an indescribable sense of unease about him.
At this moment, Zhao Zhengmeng slowly walked out from the side, and Zhou Hao, who was fully armed, also came over.
Zhou Hao was wearing khaki trousers and a dark gray windbreaker, with a DSLR camera hanging on his chest and a bulging bag with several lenses on his back.
Zhou Hao gazed in the direction of Bailongtan, clicking his tongue with lingering fear: "Tsk... It was one thing that the drone couldn't take off back then, but now even helicopters can't fly out... This Fulong Mountain is really strange!"
Su Xiaoyi frowned and pondered softly, "That's really strange. Could there be air turbulence in Mount Fulong?"
Zhao Zhengmeng said, "How could there be any air turbulence in a place like this? I've served in the military for so many years and I've hardly ever encountered any turbulence. It's even less likely to be in such a low-altitude area."
"Furthermore, even with turbulence, why can drones and helicopters land smoothly, but are only restricted during takeoff?"
"I always felt that there was something unseen enveloping Fulong Mountain, making it impossible for anything to leave once it entered."
Su Xiaoyi glanced at Zhao Zhengmeng with some surprise, finding it hard to believe that this materialist would utter such metaphysical words.
But thinking about it, it's normal. The fact that Zhao Zhengmeng could join Professor He's summer camp as a member of the S City Folk Customs Association already says something.
"It really is weird..." Zhou Hao nodded seriously, but instead of fear, his face was filled with a restless excitement. "But that's what makes it interesting!"
He stroked the DSLR camera on his chest, his eyes growing increasingly fervent: "If I could take some fantastical photos of Fulong Mountain, who knows, I might win some awards!"
"Your purpose is too obvious." Zhao Zhengmeng seemed somewhat disdainful of this. "Let's go see if Professor He has any other plans. If not, perhaps we can form a mountaineering team to go together."
"If we follow the path prescribed by Professor He, we will definitely not be able to discover the secrets of Fulong Mountain... Sometimes it is appropriate to explore further."
"The three of us are different from those students. Professionals should try some professional things."
"Is a trio enough? Two men and one woman, a very reasonable team." Zhou Hao glanced at Su Xiaoyi, feeling quite satisfied.
Zhao Zhengmeng looked at Su Xiaoyi for her opinion: "What do you say?"
Su Xiaoyi's gaze swept across the corridor next to the Mushroom House lobby, where Li Jiu and Tang Mubai's figures had just disappeared.
She hesitated for a moment, then looked away and said to the two of them, "I'm the team doctor, and theoretically I have to deal with all sorts of emergencies... I just hope you don't mind me holding you back."
Zhou Hao immediately patted his DSLR camera on his chest, brimming with confidence: "Great photos come from challenges! The more trouble, the more explosive the material!"
The three exchanged glances, nodded in tacit agreement, and a temporary summer camp adventure team was formed.