At that moment, Lei Hu imparted the incantations of the Moving Mountain Technique to Maxwell one by one.
Maxwell had an excellent memory and was able to recite the incantations fluently backwards within less than an hour. Lei Hu said, "Ashing, give it a try and move this stone away."
Maxwell nodded, silently recited the incantations in his heart, and then let out a soft shout, "Up!" The stone slowly floated up, about a foot off the ground, but then it fell back to the ground with a thud.
Maxwell's face flushed red.
Lei Hu stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Just now, the force you used wasn't pure. When using the Moving Mountain Technique, you must have a clear and uncluttered mind, with no distractions, and solely rely on the power of your thoughts to drive it. Try again."
Maxwell nodded and once again silently invoked the incantations. Suddenly, the stone passed through the wall and disappeared without a trace.
Maxwell was overjoyed. It was his first time practicing the Moving Mountain Technique, and he had achieved success in one go.
Lei Hu nodded continuously and said, "Good boy. That's all for today's learning. Tomorrow, Master will teach you the art of Shifting Shapes and Changing Shadows."
Maxwell bowed to Lei Hu and slowly backed out.
Just as he stepped out of the door, someone gave him a heavy pat on the back, startling Maxwell. He turned around and saw Doha with his hands behind his back, looking at him with a grin.
Maxwell said, "I was just about to look for you."
Doha said mysteriously, "Guess what I have in my hand?"
Maxwell frowned and said, "Just tell me if you want to. I'm not going to guess."
Doha stretched out his left hand from behind his back, and in his palm was a snake-shaped object. It was about a foot long, curved like a snake, and covered with rust. Nobody knew where Doha had gotten it from.
Maxwell asked, "What is this? Where did you get it from?"
Doha pointed to the bamboo forest behind the council hall and said, "From there."
Maxwell was puzzled and said, "We play there every day. How come I didn't see it?"
Doha said, "I was waiting for you there just now. You didn't come for a long time, so I got bored and walked deeper into the bamboo forest. As I was walking, I saw a sign with some words on it. Then I walked another few dozen yards further in and saw a cave. It was pitch black inside, and I couldn't see anything. I took a few steps inside, tripped over something under my feet, and it seemed like I stepped on something. I reached out and picked it up, and when I brought it outside to have a look, it was this thing. Seeing that it was getting late, I came to look for you."
Maxwell asked, "What words were written on the sign?"
Doha tilted his head to look at him and said, "You know me. Those words know me, but I don't know them."
Maxwell pursed his lips and smiled. It turned out that since they were three years old, Aunt Li Si had been teaching Doha and Maxwell to recognize characters and read books. However, Doha would get a headache whenever it came to reading. He would disappear every time they were supposed to study. Aunt Li Si had even broken several broom handles while trying to discipline him, but it was all in vain. Doha just refused to learn. Later on, Aunt Li Si became disheartened and focused on teaching Maxwell wholeheartedly.
Maxwell blinked his eyes and asked Doha, "So, what do you want to do?"
Doha said, "What else is there to think about? Let's go and have a look. Let's go."
Maxwell said, "Okay." Actually, Maxwell had long wanted to find out what was going on with that cave. Teenagers are always extremely curious. He just wanted Doha to be the one to suggest it so that Aunt Li Si wouldn't blame him later.
Doha turned around and was about to leave. Maxwell said, "Are we just going like this?"
Doha frowned and said, "What do you mean?"
Maxwell said, "We should take a fire striker and some weapons. It's pitch black inside the cave. There might be some monsters popping out and eating us up."
Doha said, "No way. Our place here is surrounded by beautiful mountains and clear waters. How could there be any monsters?"
Maxwell said, "It's better to be careful. Last month, Aunt Li Si told me that we could play everywhere except in the medicine storeroom and the Forbidden Area of Tiyun Valley. The medicine storeroom is behind the Ancestral Hall, and the smell of medicine is so strong that you can smell it from a long distance. I guess the place you just saw might be the Forbidden Area of our valley."
Doha nodded and said, "Sounds about right. Well then, you wait here for me. I'll go and get a fire striker and bring my father's shotgun along." After saying that, he turned around and ran towards his home.
After a while, Doha came back excitedly. The iron snake that was more than a foot long in his hand was nowhere to be seen. He was holding a fire striker in his hand, and his trouser pockets were bulging. Doha patted his pocket and said with a smile, "I've got the shotgun too."
Maxwell asked, "Did anyone see you?"
Doha shook his head and said, "Don't worry. We'll just go in and take a quick look around the cave and come out. Nobody will know." Then he grabbed Maxwell's hand, and the two of them slipped into the bamboo forest.
It was already dusk. The bamboo forest was quiet and still, without a single breeze. The two of them walked on tiptoe. After walking about a hundred and eighty yards, they had reached the depths of the bamboo forest. The bamboo leaves brushed against their faces, making them feel itchy and tingly. After walking for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, they still hadn't seen the entrance of the cave. Not to mention the entrance of the cave, they hadn't even seen the stone tablet.
Doha was so tired that he sat down on the ground, muttering curses, "What a lousy bamboo forest! I'll burn it down tomorrow!"
Maxwell was just about to scold him a few words, but seeing that he was also extremely tired, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
Doha looked at Maxwell and asked, "What should we do? Should we keep looking or not?"
Maxwell saw that Doha was a bit discouraged and quickly comforted him, "Why not? Maybe if we walk a bit further, we'll see the entrance of the cave."
Doha stood up and said, "Okay, let's keep looking." Then he walked ahead. After walking another twenty or thirty yards, Doha let out a cheer. There, at the end of the bamboo forest, a pitch-black entrance of a cave appeared.