Chapter 19 golden city

On the night Tarzan the ape was elected leader of the Wanqirui tribe, 200 miles west of him in the Atlantic Ocean, the woman he loved was lying in a small boat waiting for death to come.When he danced among his naked wildling friends, his hillocks of muscle swelled by firelight, he was the embodiment of strength and fitness.However, the woman he loved was described as panicked, skinny, hungry and thirsty, and unconscious. After Taishan took office as the chief of the Wanqirui tribe, in the first week, he fulfilled his promise and sent people to send the slaves of the Arabs, the Manzhima, out of the northern border of the Wanqirui tribe.Before sending them away, Taishan made them swear that they would not bring any "expedition team" of any race to harass the Wanqirui tribe in the future, otherwise they would be severely punished.The group of Manzhima had learned enough about the tactics of the leader of the Wanqirui tribe, and of course they dared not accompany the predatory bandits to set foot on their territory.

After Taishan returned to the village, he immediately started preparing to lead an expedition to find the collapsed golden city that old Wan Qirui had described to him.He selected fifty of the strongest warriors from the tribe, and they were all willing to go with him on the arduous journey, and to share all the dangers that a new hostile race might bring him. Ever since Van Qirui told how they came across ruins and experienced all kinds of dangers completely by chance, the incredible wealth of that fabled city has always haunted him.The main thing that motivated Tarzan to go on this expedition was his desire to take risks.However, the temptation of gold has to be said is also an important reason.Because he had seen from civilized people that there was literally nothing impossible for a person who possessed this magical, yellow metal.As for the use of gold in this uncivilized wilderness, it never occurred to him at all.For him, it seemed that having the power to perform miracles was enough, even though he would never have the chance to use it.

So, on a sunny morning in the tropical jungle, Tarzan— The leader of the Wanqirui tribe, walking in front of 50 well-proportioned, dark-skinned warriors, started an arduous journey for adventure and gold.They followed the road that old Wan Qirui had described to Mount Tai.I walked along one river for many days, crossed a watershed that was not too high, walked along the second river for several days, and encountered a third one.Finally, on the 25th day, they set up camp on the side of a big mountain, hoping to see the strange golden city from the top of the mountain. Early the next morning, they climbed the steep, almost right-angled cliff.This is the last and most difficult natural barrier between them and their destination. The 50 warriors climbing the cliff look like a thin line connected end to end.Mount Tai is the "thread head" of this "line". At noon, he was the first to climb over the last few boulders and rocks, and stood on the top of the mountain as flat as a stone table.

On both sides of the "Stone Table" are mountains thousands of feet high, so the top of the mountain just now becomes the pass leading to the deep and untouched canyon. Behind him was another large canyon covered with forests, in which they had been walking for many days.The low mountain ridge on the opposite side of the canyon is the boundary of their territory. But what caught his attention the most was the sight in front of him.At the foot of the mountain was a forlorn canyon, neither deep nor wide, filled with dwarf "old man trees" and filled with huge boulders.A majestic city appeared in the distance beyond the canyon, with thick walls and towering spires.The temple's towers, minarets, and vaulted roofs are red and yellow in the sun.The city was far away from Mount Tai, and there were no traces of dilapidation. In his opinion, this city was indeed a majestic and magnificent city.In his imagination, he seemed to see that the broad streets and the magnificent temples must be full of people, full of happy and lively people.

The little expedition rested for an hour on the summit, and then Tarzan led them down the valley below.Although there is no ready-made path here, it is much easier to walk than the steep cliffs of the mountain.After entering the canyon, the forward speed is even faster.They were therefore at the base of the towering walls of the ancient city before dark. The outer layer of the castle wall was 50 feet high where it did not collapse. And as far as they could see, even the collapsed parts were still 30 to 40 feet high.Therefore, this is still a very difficult castle to conquer.Several times, Taishan felt that something was shaking behind the collapsed city wall not far from them, as if someone was hiding behind this ancient building and watching them.And he always felt that there was a pair of invisible eyes staring at him, but he couldn't be sure if it was true or if he was just nervous.

They slept outside the city that night.In the middle of the night, he was suddenly awakened by a piercing scream from inside the city wall.It was high-pitched at first, then gradually became lower and lower, and finally became a series of painful moans.The miserable cry frightened the negroes, and everyone was restless, and it was about an hour before they fell asleep again.The next morning, the warriors of the Wanqirui tribe were still terrified, and they dared not take a look at the strong and formidable castle towering in front of them. Wan Qirui's warriors all wanted to give up this adventure, hoping to cross the canyon immediately, climb down the cliff yesterday, and return the same way.Taishan was both rational and emotional, but none of them worked.Afterwards, relying on the authority of his tribal leader, he issued an order and threatened him to enter the city alone, and everyone agreed to take the risk with him.

They walked along the castle for 15 minutes before finding their way into the city.They saw a gap in the wall about twenty inches wide, and in the gap a row of concrete steps, worn and dented with age. The steps rose only a few steps in front of them, and turned into another passage with a sharp turn. Tarzan climbed up the narrow steps sideways, and the black warriors lined up behind him.The steps disappeared at the bend, and the passage connected to it was flat, but twisted and twisted like a long snake.Then, it turned suddenly into a narrow platform, and on the opposite side of the platform rose a large wall that was as high as the outer city wall.There are many circular towers on this second city wall, and in the middle of the towers are pointed stone pillars.In some places stone pillars fell and walls collapsed.

But in general, it is better protected than the outer wall. Following a narrow passage through this wall, Tarzan and his warriors found themselves standing before a broad avenue.Across the street, there are dilapidated tall buildings, huge blocks of granite standing out, black and intimidating.Above the ruins grew trees, tangled in vines, crawling in and out of the empty windows.But the building facing them was not so overgrown with trees and trees, and it was better kept.It was a majestic building with a huge round roof and tall stone pillars on both sides of the gate, each pillar was carved with a whole block of stone with a big bird of strange shape.

Tarzan and his companions stood gazing at the ancient city deep in Africa with varying degrees of wonder.At this moment, several warriors felt that there was some movement in the tall building, and there seemed to be figures walking back and forth in the darkness.In fact, they didn't see anything, they just had a mysterious idea in a place where life could not exist at all.In this mysterious "dead city" that has long been destroyed, all living things seem to have disappeared. Taishan remembered that in the Paris library, he once read from a book that, in the legend of the African indigenous people, there was a group of Caucasians who multiplied and lived in central Africa, and then for unknown reasons, this race suddenly disappeared.Taishan wondered if the palace he was looking at now was the relic of an ancient civilization established by this strange race in the midst of wilderness and chaos.Now, would any descendant of an extinct race still live in these ruins?For some reason, he felt that there was something sneaking around in the hall again.

"Come here!" he said to the warriors. "Let's go and see what's behind those broken walls." The samurai were unwilling to go there.But seeing their chief enter the hall bravely, they had to huddle together and follow behind him, showing a nervous and frightened look.Suddenly the blood-curdling cry heard the night before resounded in the hall, and the warriors turned and ran in fright until they reached the narrow passage in the wall that connected with the outside world. After Taishan walked into the hall, he clearly felt many pairs of eyes staring at him. There was a rustling sound from a nearby corridor.As he entered a dome-shaped hall, he saw a hand withdraw from a vent opening in the vaulted roof above his head.

The floor of the rotunda is made of concrete, the walls are smooth granite, carved with grotesque figures of people and beasts, and there are many yellow plaques inlaid on the walls. He went to a plaque, and saw that it was made of gold, and many hieroglyphs were carved on it.In addition to this rotunda, there are several similar halls in the hall.Behind these dome-shaped buildings, the main hall derives many side halls. Taishan walked through several halls and found many examples of how rich the people who built this temple were.In one room the columns were made entirely of pure gold, and in another the floor was paved with gold.As he searched forward in this way, the black warriors huddled together and followed behind him.They always seem to have strange shadows dangling around, but they are never close enough to make you feel that there is something there. The warriors of the Wanqirui tribe were very nervous.They begged Taishan to evacuate the hall as soon as possible and return to the bright sunshine.Such an expedition, they said, would not end well, because the ruins must be haunted by the ghosts of those who lived here before. "They're watching us!" whispered Bussuri. "When we're brought into the deepest recesses of the hall, they'll rush in and tear us to pieces with their sharp teeth. That's what ghosts do. My mother's uncle was a wonderful medicine man, and he told me many such stories." Taishan laughed: "Go out, my brothers, and I will go to you after I have searched this ancient temple and found that there is gold hidden in it, or there is no gold at all. The pillars are too heavy to move. Go. But we can at least pry off the gold plaque on the wall. And there may be a lot of gold in it, and you can easily take it away. Now, you go out, the air is fresh, you can Breathe more freely." Some warriors readily agreed, but Busuri and others hesitated.On the one hand, they love and be loyal to their king, on the other hand, they are superstitious and deeply fearful of unknown dangers.Then, something completely unexpected, made everyone act decisively without hesitation—in the dead silent and dilapidated temple, there was again the terrible scream that they had heard in the previous night, and they left. Very close, as if right next to the ear.Screaming in terror, the black warriors turned and fled from the empty halls of the ancient building. Tarzan stood there, watching their backs, a calm smile on his lips, waiting for the imaginary enemy to pounce on him.But the surroundings fell into silence again, except for a slight sound, which reminded people of the sound of bare feet walking furtively. Taishan turned around and continued walking towards the deep part of the hall.He went through room after room until at last he came to a rough, closed door. He pushed the door hard with his shoulder, and what seemed to be a warning scream sounded beside him.It was evident that the cry was a warning to get out of here and not to desecrate this particular house.Taishan thought, maybe this is the secret room where the treasure is stored. In any case, this strange, invisible guardian must have good reasons for not wanting him to enter this secret room, and this all the more whetted Tarzan's appetite to go in and have a look.He pushed hard on the door, though the ghastly voice kept shouting in his ears, until the wooden hinges creaked and it opened at last. The hut was pitch black, with no windows, not even the faintest ray of light.The corridor connected to the door itself was dark.Therefore, although the door is wide open, there is absolutely no light coming in.Taishan probed the way with the spear in his hand, and walked into the darkness like the Styx.Suddenly, the door closed behind him, and at the same time, countless hands reached out to him from all directions in the darkness.Out of self-esteem and anger, Tarzan exerted all his strength to fight hard.But even though he felt that his punches hit the target, and his teeth gnawed on the soft skin, there was always a new pair stretched out to replace the ones he repelled.They finally brought him down slowly and with the weight of the gang ①Stygian: In Greek mythology, the river Stygian surrounds hell. superior.Then, one of his hands was tied behind his back, and his feet were also tied. He heard nothing but the heavy panting and struggle of his opponents, and had no idea what kind of animals had captured him, but from the mere fact that he was tied up he supposed they were men. After a while they lifted him from the floor, dragged and pushed him, out of the dark hut, and into the courtyard of the great temple through another doorway. Only then did he see the true colors of those who arrested him.There were about a hundred of them, and they were short, stocky men with beards hanging down over their hairy chests. They had low foreheads and a mass of thick hair that fell in a mess over their shoulders and back.The bandy legs are short and stubby, the arms are long and muscular, the waist is wrapped in leopard or lion skin, and around the neck is a "necklace" made of the claws of these animals.Rings of solid gold are worn on the arms and legs. As a weapon, each of them carries a heavy "mace stick", and a long, ugly waist knife is hung on the belt tied with animal skin. But what shocked Tarzan the most was that they belonged to the white race.These people bear no resemblance to black people in terms of skin color or appearance.But the low forehead, the evil little eyes that are very close, and the mouth full of yellow teeth all show that they are far from completing the evolution of human beings. While wrestling in that dark room and carrying Tai Shan to the courtyard, they didn't speak a word.But now, a few people began to chatter in a language that Tarzan had never heard of.After a while, they threw him on the concrete floor and walked out to the courtyard together on his lower legs. Taishan lay on the ground and saw the courtyard surrounded by the buildings of this temple. Moreover, the walls are so high that only a distant blue sky is left.There was a place where lush greenery could be seen, but it was hard to tell whether the trees were growing inside or outside the temple. Around the courtyard, the Great Temple has rows of open windows from the ground floor to the top floor.From time to time, Taishan saw pairs of shining eyes staring at him from the window under the thick shaggy hair. Tarzan slowly tried to free himself from the ropes that bound him, and found that if he tried hard, it was not impossible to break free.But he will proceed cautiously, and will not act rashly until it is dark, or until he is sure that no one is watching him. He lay there for hours before the first rays of sunlight entered the well-shafted courtyard.Almost at the same time, he heard the sound of bare feet stepping on the ground in the corridor around him.After a while, I saw that the upper window was crowded with sly faces again, and more than 20 people walked into the small courtyard. They were on their backs, each pair of eyes fixed on the midday sun.Then a low, strange hymn was sung in unison by the people at the windows and in the courtyard.After a while, those standing around Tarzan began to dance to the beat of their solemn hymn.They danced slowly and awkwardly around him, not looking at him, but always looking at the sun in the sky. They sang and danced monotonously, tossing and tossing for about ten minutes, suddenly stopped and raised the "mace" in their hands, howled, and rushed towards Mount Tai with a very ferocious expression on their faces. Just at this critical moment, a woman rushed into the group of bloodthirsty monsters.She waved a "mace" made of gold in her hand, and blocked the men who rushed forward.