Putting in a great deal of effort only to make a tiny dent—at this moment, Huang Zhong looked so ridiculous that anyone watching would likely burst out laughing.
However, it had to be admitted that the damp soil beneath the fallen leaves, once frozen solid, was incredibly hard. Its hardness was practically comparable to reinforced concrete; it was extremely difficult to break through using mere human strength.
After the laughter subsided, a thought suddenly flashed through Wang An's mind, but by the time he tried to grasp it, it had slipped away.
Wang An knew he had definitely overlooked something.
Unfortunately, after pondering for a long while, he remained just a tiny bit short of the answer, still unable to recall it.
That feeling was truly fucking frustrating; in fact, many people have experienced it.
For example, when working on a very complex geometry problem, a flash of inspiration strikes and you have a crystal-clear path to the solution, but in the time it takes to draw a single auxiliary line, you fucking forget the logic.
Consequently, Wang An's eyes began to dart back and forth between the hole he had dug and the hole Huang Zhong had smashed.
Wang An was certain that his previous train of thought must have been related to the holes he and Huang Zhong were digging.
Just then, he heard Huang Zhong say
"Big Brother, do you think that old rascal Song Ping didn't hide the stuff in this pit at all? Maybe he just passed through here? And then Song Shuanzhu saw him, but he actually hid the stuff somewhere else?"
Wang An instinctively shook his head and said
"Probably not. This place is so remote, and there's miasma in the pit; hardly anyone would come here. Besides, look—there isn't even a single animal footprint. It's a perfect place to hide things."
Back then, facing the threat of immediate death, and considering that Song Shuanzhu had searched twice and found nothing of value, it was unlikely that the man was lying.
Huang Zhong nodded, his face full of bewilderment as he said
"In such a small place, where could that old rascal Song Ping have hidden the stuff?"
After speaking, Huang Zhong bent down to gather the shovels, pickaxes, and other tools, arranging them all together. This way, when they left the "Dead Man's Pit," they wouldn't have to worry about leaving any tools behind.
Just as Huang Zhong was about to finish tidying up, he suddenly kicked at the dried branches, fallen leaves, and withered grass he had just cleared and remarked
"The layer of dead grass and rotten leaves here is really thick. It's gotta be a foot deep, right?"
At this moment, Wang An was still trying to recall his previous flash of inspiration. Upon hearing these words, it was as if a sudden light had been switched on in his mind, and his eyes instantly widened!
Then, Wang An suddenly burst into loud laughter out of nowhere, leaving Huang Zhong completely bewildered. He instinctively asked
"Big Brother, what's wrong with you? Did you smell too much of the miasma and get poisoned?"
After a pause, Huang Zhong suddenly leaped to Wang An's side in two quick strides, grabbed Wang An's arm, and tried to drag him out of the pit, saying anxiously
"Big Brother, let's get the hell out of here. You'll be fine once you get some fresh air."
It was clear that Huang Zhong thought Wang An had been poisoned by the miasma, leaving his brain clouded.
However, with Huang Zhong's small frame, how could he possibly drag Wang An, who weighed around one hundred and seventy or eighty jin?
Thus, Wang An grabbed Huang Zhong back and yanked him back. Then, Wang An laughed and said
"Xiao Zhong, I know how that Song Ping hid the treasure."
Looking at Wang An, who had returned to normal, Huang Zhong didn't press him about the treasure, but instead laughed sheepishly
"Big Brother, you're alright? You weren't poisoned by the miasma in here?"
Wang An rubbed the top of Huang Zhong's head and said, speechless
"Poisoned? How could I be poisoned so easily? If it were before summer, I probably couldn't have withstood the miasma here, but in this fucking freezing cold weather, the miasma isn't frost-resistant either."
What Wang An said was absolutely correct. The reason there was so little miasma in the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains was because it was too cold, and the formation of miasma required a certain high-temperature environment.
The reason there was still miasma in the Dead Man's Pit despite the cold was simply because the miasma generated during the summer had not yet fully dissipated.
After Wang An finished speaking, Huang Zhong just chuckled foolishly without saying anything. Wang An continued
"Xiao Zhong, you said the layer of rotten leaves and dead grass here is a foot thick, and basically no one comes here, nor do animals build nests here. If you wanted to hide something, would you even bother burying it in the soil?"
Huang Zhong's eyes instantly lit up, and he instinctively said
"I definitely wouldn't. Burying it under the leaves is the same as burying it in the dirt."
Wang An laughed loudly, his face full of excitement
"Exactly! That's just it. I reckon that Song Ping definitely thought the same way, hahahaha..."
As Wang An laughed, Huang Zhong immediately joined in.
For a moment, it was as if zombies were rioting in the Dead Man's Pit, as two arrogant bursts of laughter echoed from within.
After laughing, Wang An said
"This time, we'll dig in the dry pine areas up the slope. I reckon that old rascal Song Ping couldn't have hidden the stuff at the bottom of the slope; otherwise, before the rains come, wouldn't the bottom be soaked in water?"
The entire Dead Man's Pit was like a tilted washbasin.
Because the pit was located at the summit of a small hill, when it rained, only the rain falling naturally from the sky would drop into the pit; water from other areas would not flow in.
Therefore, although it was a pit, there was no standing water at the bottom. The rainwater either evaporated or was naturally absorbed by the dead branches and leaves.
However, since "water flows downward" is a law of nature, the upper slope was bound to be drier than the lower slope.
After Wang An spoke, Huang Zhong quickly agreed
"Yeah, Big Brother, I reckon that's how it is. Uh, Big Brother, I'll go to the plow and bring back the fork."
Wang An patted Huang Zhong on the shoulder and said
"Yeah, go on. Bring the 'two-toother' as well."
The "two-toother" mentioned here had nothing to do with a measuring ruler.
To be precise, this tool should be called a "two-pronged rake" or a "two-pronged hoe." The rake used by Zhu Bajie had nine prongs; this thing only had two. Of course, there were also three-pronged ones called "three-toothers."
Its primary use was for turning soil or digging through manure piles.
Huang Zhong agreed and turned to leave the Dead Man's Pit.
Wang An stood at the edge of the pit, surveyed the area, and walked toward the upper slope.
A short while later, Huang Zhong returned with the two-toother.
Wang An took the fork and, without hesitation, began digging into the dead grass and rotten leaves on the ground. Meanwhile, Huang Zhong used the shovel to continuously push the debris Wang An dug up to one side to keep the line of sight clear.
Come to think of it, the two of them actually coordinated quite well. (End of Chapter)