Mysterious Country 1: Mist-Shrouded Champa,Volume 5: Chapter 5: The Answer That Is Not an Answer

The strange plant Udumbara stretched out countless root veins. It had almost merged into one body with the entire Savage Mountain giant rift valley, including the temple palace that had sunk into the earth’s depths a thousand years ago, and the City of Four Million Pagodas built by King Anu Jaya. That cocoon layer beneath the marsh was actually the fruit borne by the Udumbara. Although the chemical defoliant had destroyed this plant, its root veins distributed within the mountain body were both deep and extensive, not completely destroyed. And its recovery speed was astonishing.

A Cui had also heard an old monk in a Myanmar temple speak of the Udumbara. Not only ancient India and Sri Lanka had this strange plant. Near Borneo and Sumatra in Indonesia, there were also traces of it. But from ancient times to the present, she had truly never heard of anyone having such a rare and uncommon opportunity to personally see a blooming Udumbara. What was seen were mostly decayed and withered roots and stems of hundreds or thousands of years, without any signs of life. At this moment, she watched that plant resembling a downy Chenopodium album cushion growing larger and larger. From it flowed threads of thin mist, lingering in the air and not dispersing. And the nearby fog had thickened a few degrees more. Only then did she realize that the mysterious dense fog in the Savage Mountain rift valley had its source precisely from the Udumbara buried deep underground.

The reason Sima Hui recognized the Udumbara was from when he studied under his “literature and martial arts teacher” and had read the strange book “Bowu Zhi” written by Zhang Hua of the Jin Dynasty. It extensively described strange realms and exotic things, all encompassing. It recorded many bizarre plants, fish, and insects. Unfortunately, this ancient book was not completely transmitted down. What remained in later generations was no more than one or two tenths. Among it was one passage involving related records of the Udumbara. But during Emperor Wu of Jin’s time, the Central Plains did not yet use the name Udumbara. According to the ancient name, it should be Shi Rou, also called Ming Gen.

But whether it was the old monk in the temple, or Zhang Hua who recorded these strange plants in “Bowu Zhi,” perhaps they also didn’t know where they had heard it by the ear. They had not necessarily seen the real object with their own eyes. So their descriptions were not detailed. If Sima Hui and the others had not reached the absolute depths of the Savage Mountain rift valley, they would also have no way to know that the vast fog at the bottom of the earth was actually produced by the Udumbara.

The situation that could be confirmed at present was that this giant Udumbara had at least two weaknesses. First, it could be destroyed by special chemical defoliant. Second, it feared water. The heavy rain brought by the tropical storm system “Pagoda” caused the Udumbara in the upper layers of the rift valley to dissipate completely. So when Sima Hui and the others entered the marsh to search for the Mosquito special transport plane, they did not encounter accidents. After the marsh collapsed, mud and water poured into the earth’s depths, causing the dense fog near the Golden Spider City to also be dispersed. But at this moment, the chemical defoliant’s effect had reached its limit. The Udumbara hidden at the bottom of the rift valley was gradually reviving again. It obscured the rain and mist falling from above. If not for the mud water and dampness from the marsh accumulating here, the growth speed of these subterranean plants would be even faster.

The space and time left for the four survivors of the expedition team to escape were already nearly exhausted.

Additionally, a British expedition team, after falling into the rift valley, used strong light searchlights for illumination. The result was that they drew out a great lifeform from the earth’s depths and suffered attacks. And those American ten wheeler transport convoys appearing in the jungle. These inconceivable and terrifying events all seemed related to the dense fog in the Savage Mountain rift valley.

Although everyone knew the source of the fog was that ancient Udumbara, they knew the what but not the why. Through contact, they quickly discovered that those mist like plants, apart from their somewhat strange odor, did not pose a direct threat to the human body. So they believed there must be something else in the fog. When the fog thoroughly covered this place, that was when it would appear.

Everyone discussed a few sentences. They all felt there was no feasible strategy. Their hearts grew increasingly desperate. At this time, if they wanted to escape from the Savage Mountain rift valley, unless they could find another earthquake bomb loaded with chemical defoliant.

Sima Hui said they must now remain calm and composed. Groping blindly in the surrounding darkness would only lead to death. They absolutely must not act rashly. Think it over carefully. This Udumbara growing underground is extremely fearful of water. Once it contacts rainwater, it dissipates without trace. And the violent winds and rain brought by “Pagoda” caused mountain floods to rise greatly, filling gullies and ditches. Since waterways were the safest route into the rift valley. But why did the British risk their lives to fly in from the air? Could it be that with their equipment and experience, they couldn’t find underground water veins?

Yu Feiyan thought for a moment and said: “This rift valley is a dry mountain deep crack terrain. External water veins do not connect to the valley bottom. Additionally, the British certainly knew that the various water systems in the Savage Mountain jungle all harbored large numbers of Cambodian man eating leeches. This deadly threat is extremely difficult to guard against. Therefore they were forced to take desperate risks.”

Sima Hui nodded and said: “It was also their bad luck. Fortunately, we luckily escaped this calamity. And our internal blood and qi are insufficient. Walking waterways again would not attract Cambodian man eating leeches. So now we should clarify our action target. Search as much as possible for areas with underground water. Whether it’s a subterranean river or a hidden flow. As long as we find a water source. We can avoid the dense fog.”

Luo Big Tongue agreed: “It seems you still have the most schemes and tricks. I wasn’t born with those twisted intestines. Can’t eat the sickle’s head.”

Yu Feiyan also felt this plan was feasible. Even if they encountered Cambodian man eating leeches in the water, they had previous experience dealing with them after all. That was still better than being devoured by the terrifying creature roaming in the dense fog. But saying it was easy, doing it was hard. Seeing the surrounding fog gradually forming, where could they find a hidden flow?

Sima Hui hurriedly explained the plan: “If the compass loses function and we rashly enter the fog, then we can never think of getting out again. I see this underground jungle, and the palace temple of the ancient Cham kingdom, originally existed on the mountain surface. Hundreds or thousands of years ago, affected by the sinking of underground water veins, they sank to the very bottom of the Savage Mountain giant rift valley. Beneath our feet, there are very likely hidden flows or water caves. As the saying goes, people walk toward high places, water flows toward low places…”

As he spoke, he raised the searchlight and looked around. He saw the accumulated mud and water at his feet were all slowly flowing in one direction. It seemed there must be a downward seeping area at the lowest point.

Everyone followed the traces and looked. Where the light circle fell was precisely that isolated and self contained broken wall and remnant pillar. Under the cover of tree vine remains, faintly visible were towering stone statues and ancient pagodas, their forms ancient and strange. These ruins composed of brick stone and plants were like a labyrinth without end. Silently, they locked countless secrets deep in the darkness. Compared to the weak illumination distance of the searchlight in Sima Hui’s hand, it was almost insignificantly tragic. Seeing the outer fog growing thicker, Sima Hui and the others had no other way out. Seeing that the accumulated water had signs of slow flow, they had no choice but to stake everything on one throw and venture in to search for the entrance to the underground hidden flow. Just as everyone was about to set out, the searchlight in Luo Big Tongue’s hand suddenly went out. He struck the lamp head hard with his hand. The weak light circle finally flickered back on half dead. It seemed the battery was nearly exhausted.

Only then did Sima Hui realize that compared to limited time and space, the greatest obstacle to their escape was the excessive consumption and loss of equipment. The ammunition, food, and batteries found in that British expedition team’s transport plane had mostly been lost when the marsh collapsed. Now beside the four people, only half a pack of waterproof matches and two chemical signal sticks remained. The searchlights and focused beam flashlights had completely run out of replaceable energy sources. Although there was still one emergency camping lamp, in such a dim and damp underground space, apart from the handheld searchlight using halogen tungsten as a light source and signal candles, other electrical light sources were almost useless.

Sima Hui deeply knew that without sufficient light sources for illumination, wanting to grope their way out of this underground abyss would be easier said than done. But matters having reached this point, they fundamentally couldn’t afford to worry about much. They could only take one step and look at the next.

The four redistributed their remaining weapons. Fortunately, guns never left their hands. The situation of scattering and losing them was relatively limited. Luo Big Tongue’s large caliber four barrel elephant hunting gun was still there. A Cui had a Tokarev TT30 pistol for self defense, which she always carried on her back. The first aid kit on her back had also not been lost. And Yu Feiyan had previously given her spare Browning HP-35 to Sima Hui. She later found another Soviet made pistol in the British expedition team’s cabin. Now seeing Sima Hui only had a hunting knife in his hand, she again handed him the pistol and ammunition, instructing: “Only two spare magazines. Use them sparingly.”

Sima Hui took it in his hand and looked. It was not unfamiliar. That was a Soviet made Stechkin automatic pistol. The gun body was entirely made of steel structure, without a wooden shoulder stock installed. As a pistol, it was somewhat heavy. But it also had a double action trigger and a double row double feed large capacity magazine loaded with twenty rounds of 9x18mm ammunition. Additionally, the most obvious advantage of Soviet weapons was their ability to adapt to various harsh environments. Whether extreme cold or hot and damp mud, they could always fire. They were absolutely better than continuing to use the cold weapon in his hand. So he nodded to Yu Feiyan to express thanks.

Sima Hui also found several throwing type white phosphorus grenades from the Dodge truck, distributing them to the other three to carry on their bodies. When this thing burned, it could produce large amounts of thick smoke. But at critical moments, it could also use the fuel agent inside the projectile body to provide short term illumination. To save battery consumption, everyone only used one searchlight for light. Disregarding the mud under their feet, they pushed aside the withered vines blocking the path ahead, walking toward the depths of the broken wall and remnant pillar ruins. Under the constantly swaying beam of the searchlight, towering giant stone warrior statues emerged one after another. Although collapsed and damaged to a severe degree, their scale was still magnificent, beyond imagination. They were like countless soldiers guarding the secrets of the ancient empire. Their facial expressions were very vivid. But they were all identical, without any difference. All had solemn expressions, appearing cold and blank. It made people feel as if some mysterious power was hidden in the darkness, coldly observing everything through the eyes of the stone statues.

Although modern science grows increasingly prosperous and bright, in the depths of human hearts, there is still no way to escape the fear and dread of darkness. Perhaps because only deep darkness is the eternal existence in this universe. Or perhaps because there are truly too many things in the darkness that humans cannot cognize. Just like the stone hall ruins buried in the jungle remains before their eyes. No one could predict in advance what lay behind that death like quiet.

Sima Hui and the others looked at the surrounding situation. They all felt somewhat creepy because of the unknown. They couldn’t help but ask: “What kind of place is this?”

Luo Big Tongue explained knowingly: “I think this is an ancient central office. Maybe it’s the place where the supreme leader announced in the early morning ‘All you beloved ministers, if you have matters, report them early. If you have no matters, roll up the curtains and disperse the court.’ What did they call that?”

Sima Hui looked at the nearby stone statues, each one with strange and ghostly faces. He said to Luo Big Tongue: “You mean the Golden Throne Hall? But I think this place is more like a temple.”

Yu Feiyan said that although records of the Golden Spider City in history were nearly blank, descendants of the Cham dynasty still existed. The palace capital city ruins of that time were at the border between present day Laos and North Vietnam, far from here. Additionally, Myanmar’s divine buddha religion mostly originated from ancient India. The stone walls everywhere had carvings with heavy Vedas coloration. So it should be an ancient temple or shrine. Before they entered the Savage Mountain great rift valley, they saw many destroyed and damaged Cham ruins. Their appearances were already long blurred and hard to distinguish. But this ancient temple that sank into the earth’s depths along with the Golden Spider City was instead relatively well preserved.

Sima Hui, hearing Yu Feiyan’s words, thought: the entire bottom of the Savage Mountain rift valley was wrapped by a giant Udumbara. The strangeness of the situation truly made it difficult for people to imagine with common sense. It really lived up to the saying of ancient temple with deep flowers and trees. He only hoped it also had winding paths leading to secluded places. If they couldn’t quickly find an underground hidden flow, they would be trapped and die underground, becoming living burial statues. Although his heart was anxious, the terrain was rugged. And everyone’s physical strength was already overdrawn. They could only barely support themselves. So their movements were extremely slow.

At this moment, they saw ahead a stone pagoda with half its wall base collapsed. It leaned against a patch of withered tree vines as thick as beams and pillars. Because the pagoda body leaned sideways, when passing around its side, one could see the overall shape of the ancient pagoda. Together with that one wall of exquisite carved reliefs, they were all taken in before the eyes.

Those reliefs covering the pagoda body were very similar to those on the ancient city walls. Similarly, there were pythons coiling and winding. Sima Hui initially didn’t pay much attention. But now approaching close by, he felt something strange. But he couldn’t say what was not quite right. So he unconsciously looked a few more times.

A Cui also saw some clues from it. She said to Sima Hui and the others: “These pythons are very strange. They seem somewhat different from ordinary ones.”

Sima Hui answered casually: “They are somewhat different. So thick… is it a python or a snake?”

The surroundings were pitch black. The stone python coiled on the pagoda was both long and thick. Seeing the tail but not the head. For the moment, it was difficult to see its full appearance. So he walked forward while again raising the lamp to illuminate.

The other three followed closely behind and looked for a while. They all felt somewhat abnormal in their hearts. Yu Feiyan said in surprise: “Ancient pagodas and pythons are terrifying totems in the Cham dynasty’s religious system, having the meaning of death and destruction. I have previously handled several ancient objects. Among them were this kind of mark. It wasn’t considered very rare. But why do I also feel these underground python carvings are somewhat strange? On the snake body… there seems to be something extra.”

Luo Big Tongue said in surprise: “Something extra on the snake body? Wouldn’t that be ‘drawing legs on a snake’?”

He asked Sima Hui, “Do you think I’m using this idiom appropriately?”

Sima Hui walked along the collapsed stone pagoda examining it. Hearing Luo Big Tongue’s question, his heart moved. He asked himself: “Drawing legs on a snake? Snake growing legs… then that’s a four legged snake. Many lizards survive at the bottom of the Savage Mountain rift valley. Perhaps in ancient times, this four legged snake was regarded as a true snake. We can hardly use modern people’s concepts to speculate about the ancients’ true intentions…”

As he spoke, he had already walked to the end of the stone pagoda. He discovered this stone pagoda had a strange form. Its entire body was round. Wide in the belly, narrow at the top. The inner walls were all sealed shut. It was a dead pagoda. The eaves corners had ancient style decorations of thorns and branches. The python coiled on the pagoda body was also merged into one body with the ancient pagoda. Its strange body wound in and out of the pagoda niches, half hidden, half visible. It seemed the ancient pagoda was the python, and the python was the ancient pagoda. They were difficult to separate. The strangest thing was that on both sides of the python’s body were carved spiral shaped circular short fins, divided into several pairs. They were absolutely not the grass green dragon lizard commonly called four legged snake.

Luo Big Tongue was still puzzled: “This isn’t just four legs. I think six or eight legs wouldn’t be enough either. Maybe it’s not a python, but a giant centipede…”

A Cui said: “A centipede isn’t like this. These side fins also don’t look like feet. Creatures in water have fins. Could it be the eight legged catfish that appears in the Irrawaddy River?”

Sima Hui listened to everyone’s discussion. In his brain, he had already turned over and over eight or nine times. He suddenly grasped the main point and comprehended the heavenly secret: “I think this ancient pagoda entwined by the python is very likely a secret sign. Precisely because of its existence, someone would risk their life piloting a Mosquito special transport plane into the rift valley.”

Translation Notes:

Bowu Zhi (博物志): A famous Chinese encyclopedia of strange phenomena, written by Zhang Hua (232-300 AD) during the Jin Dynasty. It recorded natural wonders, exotic creatures, and supernatural events.

Stechkin automatic pistol (斯捷奇金式冲锋手枪): A real Soviet selective fire pistol, the APS (Avtomaticheskiy Pistolet Stechkina), capable of fully automatic fire. It was widely used by Soviet special forces and security services.