Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared-Chapter 127: Mirage in the City by the Sea

Heading south, everyone embarked on the journey with a gambler’s mindset. According to Gu Fan’s plan, if they succeeded, that would be great; but if they didn’t find what they were looking for, it didn’t matter, they would leave as planned.

Looking at the ancient map, south of the Qianye Country was an area of hills and a river, but there was no such notation on the modern map. It was apparent that the hill could be a small, negligible one, and the river may no longer exist.

After a long journey, Gu Fan and his group came across the well again, which brought back unpleasant memories for Lu Yi. He had nearly fallen into it before.

Gu Fan thought that there shouldn’t be just one well, perhaps there were others along the way that had simply been hidden by the sand dunes. They were lucky to have found this well.

However, Lu Yi had a different opinion. He argued that it wasn’t good luck, but rather a fluke, given that he himself had nearly fallen into the well.

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh at this. It seemed that without Lu Yi to lighten the mood along the journey, they would not have made it to this point.

The scorching sun was testing everyone’s will. After almost twenty days, everyone was tired and wanted the journey to end soon. They finally understood why wanderers longed to settle down after a long period of drifting.

Gu Fan kept telling himself to persist for just a little longer. If they did not find anything, they could return home. They had done their best and it was not just doing their best, but going all out. Such effort was a tribute to their twelve missing classmates.

In this way, they continued heading south for two more days. They were tired, and had lost track of time, but one thing was certain - the time taken had already exceeded their expectation.

According to Ouyang Jin’s estimate, for safety reasons, if they found nothing by the next day, they would have to leave due to insufficient water supply.

There was no disagreement with this plan, even Professor Luo, who was the most unwilling to let go, concurred. Teacher Liu comforted the team, stating that at least there was some gain from this trip - they had a general idea of the location of the Qianye capital city.

Professor Luo contemplated whether to abandon the search and report the situation to the authorities, apply for funding, mobilize more resources, and then return with a larger team. He simply couldn’t believe they couldn’t excavate the capital city of Qianye.

Suddenly someone shouted: "There’s a mountain range ahead!"

Everyone lifted their heads, looking at the distant mountain range. Beneath it was lush greenery and several animals in motion. It was a rare sign of life, indicating that they had reached the hills and river south of the Qianye capital city.

As always, Ouyang Jin immediately marked the location. Gu Fan used binoculars to study the scene and squinted his eyebrows: "This mountain, the vegetation beneath it, and the surrounding desert... Haven’t we seen all of this before?"

Su Hui smiled faintly: "Of course we have, during the mirage."

Everyone remembered the mirage they had seen. They didn’t expect that its source lay here, and that they had accidentally stumbled upon it. Everyone was whispering about it, feeling like it was destiny.

"Maybe this is meant to be, and the way we’re meant to find is right here." It was not only Gu Fan who thought so, but others did too. They all believed that moving south was the right choice for Gu Fan.

Only Du Jun showed scorn and poured cold water: "Even if we found the place, whether we can find the entrance, or even if there is an entrance, it’s another story. Remember, we only have one day left."

"One day is enough. We have done all we could do. It’s time to go back." Gu Fan’s words signaled to everyone. He was not demanding anymore, but placing the safety of the crew at the forefront, it was not necessary to take further risks.

Upon hearing that Gu Fan was considering giving up, Du Jun’s face changed slightly, as if he did not like this decision.

Exhausted, they decided to rest for the night at the foot of the mountain and continue with the search tomorrow. Based on the vegetation at the foot of the mountain, it was clear that it had an underground water supply.

Success or failure, to proceed or to retreat, depended on whether they could find the underground river the next day. First, they could find the entrance to the Qianye capital city, second, they would no longer be troubled by a shortage of water.

Gu Fan thought that even if they couldn’t find the entrance, they could at least dig up some water to solve the water problem, and then they could afford a long-lasting battle here.

Professor Luo agreed with Gu Fan’s idea. What they lacked was not time, but water. It could be said that if there was sufficient water, there would be sufficient time. Given enough time, they could take their time searching and digging.

Upon hearing that the next task was to find water, everyone felt optimistic as locating water seemed less challenging than digging up a city in the desert.

"Alright, everyone, conserve your energy. Whether we win or lose depends on whether we can find water tomorrow." Gu Fan spoke energetically, but deep down he was quite worried. One day was simply too short, and the likelihood of leaving empty-handed was high.

With a heavy heart, Gu Fan found it impossible to sleep, so he decided to take over Lu Yi’s shift. This puzzled Lu Yi. At a time when everyone was tired, it was strange that someone could not sleep.

Gu Fan didn’t mind, he felt the cool breeze, gazed at the night sky, and reminisced about how they had all come to this point. All this, to him who had never ventured into the wilderness, seemed almost dreamlike.

Gu Fan was not the only one who couldn’t sleep. Su Hui also got up and walked out of her tent, greeting him. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Gu Fan was puzzled: "Why aren’t you sleeping, Sister Su? Isn’t it said that staying up late is harmful to women’s skin?"

"Don’t fuss, once in a while won’t have any impact." After saying this, Su Hui gestured for him to lower his voice. From her solemn expression, it appeared that she might have discovered something crucial.

"Gu Fan, I feel something is about to happen... I fear our return journey won’t be smooth sailing," Su Hui’s words made Gu Fan’s heart tighten. He immediately thought of the other team they had met last time, and still felt there was something off about that seemingly coincidental encounter.

Su Hui sighed: "That’s not the only thing I’m worried about, remember the twelve missing students’ files I showed you?"

Gu Fan nodded: "Yes, these twelve students were all born on the same year, same month, same day. It’s not a coincidence, they were targeted from the beginning. Not just during our time in the ancient town, a bold concept occurred to me, these twelve students were targeted right from their birth."

"We can’t rule out such a possibility. The twelve students were all born on the same year, the same day and given the rumor of the twelve sacrifices, it seems they really do fit the criteria for being the sacrifices. The more Su Hui spoke, the heavier her expression became, as though her insomnia was fuelled by ominous instincts.

After a long and intense thought, Su Hui added: "All the signs are pointing in that direction... Why do you still have doubts?"

To that, Gu Fan could only grimace: "I just can’t figure out the reason... I don’t want to assume the worst-case scenario."

"Suit yourself, but let me remind you, if we don’t take action ASAP, we’ll be the ones to suffer," saying this, Su Hui flung her hand dismissively and went back into her tent.

"Thank you for your advice", Gu Fan murmured to the dark surroundings, lost in deep thought. Su Hui’s words really made sense. In order to avoid passive reaction later, maybe it was time to act.

Morning approached swiftly. Gu Fan got up early and began to dig. Digging tirelessly, his sweat drenched his back. His thought was simple, if they don’t find water today, they have to wrap things up and go back. Hence, he must give his all.

Once the others woke up, they saw Gu Fan had dug a gigantic hole. He couldn’t climb out for a moment, inspiring awe at his relentless determination.

However, even at such a depth, there was no sign of water gushing up, which disappointed everyone. This again led them to wonder if finding the underground water was more difficult than they had imagined.

Next, Gu Fan brought a bamboo tube and inserted it deep into the hole, but there was no sign of any water oozing out. There was a possibility that further digging would also be futile.

But Gu Fan didn’t seem to mind. He held the bamboo tube to his ear, signalling the others to be quiet as he tried to discern any sound of water flow from below.

As expected, he heard the gurgling sound of a river beneath them. There really was an underground river, and elated at his discovery, Gu Fan decided to keep digging. Exhausted, he handed the shovel to Lu Yi.

"Alright, alright, I’ll take over and continue your great expectation - that’s what best buds are for." Saying this, Lu Yi jumped into the hole, showing a fearless determination.

Although Gu Fan was tired, he didn’t rest. He circled the mountain with Teacher Liu and Professor Luo, hoping to find a cave that could provide direct access to the underground river in order to spare everyone from exerting too much effort in their digging.

Unfortunately, whether they went round the mountain or climbed it, no such cave was found. It seemed the idea of finding an entrance from the mountain was unrealistic.

Back in the camp, seeing the deep holes that had been dug and everyone sprawled on the ground, too exhausted to move, disillusionment dampened their spirits.

"It’s no good, we’ve given our best, but we’ve dug up nothing," Lu Yi said weakly, even talking seemed to require effort.

"How deep is this underground river?" Gu Fan was extremely anxious. The sun was starting to set. Even if they were to exert every last bit of their energy and dig throughout the night, odds were the effort would still be fruitless. It seemed the situation was unchangeable.

In despair, Gu Fan announced: "Folks, we have come a long way but unfortunately, we must leave and search for water tomorrow. As we had agreed earlier, I hope we have no objections."

There was no other choice. Even Professor Luo, who initially insisted on persisting, agreed. Seeing the exhausted young students, their efforts useless, even the passionate and determined veteran couldn’t persist. Had it not been for his keen interest in the archaeology of exotic lands, he would’ve collapsed by now.

Seeing no disagreements, Gu Fan sighed and retired to his tent, leaving the rest to ponder upon what he might be thinking. After putting their all into the task, Gu Fan felt regret and guilt perhaps.

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