Cruel Heart

The cave entrance was quite spacious, with a height of about four to five meters from the ground. At first glance, it seemed to be nearly a hundred square meters. To the left front of the entrance, there was another dark passage, suggesting perhaps another chamber. The cave was surprisingly dry, with clean stones on the floor showing no signs of water or corrosion, which was indeed peculiar. This side of the mountain should be damp, and Shennongjia isn’t known for being dry. However, not being a geologist, I thought such phenomena might not be that rare. While the students were disappointed and eager to explore what might be behind the next passage, I heard Liang Yingwu whisper, “It’s kind of strange.” I turned to look at him. “Yeah, it’s too dry.” I agreed. “Not only that, have you noticed? There are no bats here, and there’s no moss or grass on the ground. In Shennongjia, having such a ‘clean’ cave is unusual.” Our conversation was quick and quiet, as we couldn’t determine the cause of this phenomenon and didn’t want to alarm the students unnecessarily. “Should we go?” Liang Yingwu looked at the entrance, a hint of hesitation in his voice. He was responsible for the students’ safety and couldn’t recklessly venture further. I glanced at the eager students; Zhao Gang and He Yun had already turned on their flashlights, pointing them into the passage. I gave Liang Yingwu a wry smile. “What do you think?” “I’ll go first, you follow, be careful,” Liang Yingwu said. I nodded. We maneuvered past some large stones lying haphazardly on the ground, following Yuan Qiuhong into the passage. Honestly, I felt an eerie sensation. Perhaps the villagers’ tales of this being forbidden ground had cast a shadow over my psyche. The place felt lifeless, oppressive, and devoid of vitality. Who knows what awaited us on the other side of this passage?
Of course, perhaps like the empty space we just saw, there was nothing here. This is a corridor about one or two meters wide, seemingly formed naturally, with no signs of human excavation. Occasionally, a protruding rock would suddenly appear, requiring careful navigation to avoid injury. We walked one after another in a quiet cave, the only sounds being our footsteps. By the light of my flashlight, I saw the girls in front holding hands, likely feeling a bit scared. The passage was uneven, with ups and downs; sometimes we had to climb, sometimes descend, requiring some effort to keep from stumbling. Everyone had their flashlights on, the beams focused and straight, but the illumination was limited due to the uneven terrain. With fourteen beams of light scanning around, it still felt very dark ahead. The passage was deep; I estimated we had walked about seventy or eighty meters when I heard Liang Yingwu exclaim, “A dead end?” The light beams shone forward, revealing a rough, pitted rock wall. However, after a few more steps, we realized it wasn’t a dead end but a sharp bend. This turn was very pronounced, forming an acute angle with the original passage. After making the turn, the sunlight from outside could no longer reach, creating a stark contrast between the darkness and the fourteen beams of flashlight. We walked another eighty meters or so to another sharp turn. I mentally calculated that with these two turns, we were essentially moving in a triangular path, which should bring us back to a place similar to where we started, probably another dead end. However, such a long naturally formed corridor was quite rare. Although many caves are deep with many twists and turns, few have such a straight path followed by two sharp bends.