Petru carried Mrs. Larry down the steps to the bottom of the altar.
This place is about half the size of a playground, piled with huge stones of various shapes, like a stone processing factory.
As soon as Petru stepped inside, he felt a sense of familiarity. These stones were peculiar; their color, shape, and texture were very similar to the stones of Tabuli on Tubuai Island.
In fact, he had already discovered this from above. He remembered that the natives of Tubuai Island had said that Tapu was the site of an ancestral temple, and that Tapu meant taboo or rule, and that no one could break the rule or approach the taboo.
He was taking a gamble—these islands in the Pacific Ocean shared common ancestors and beliefs, and this primitive Tubuai Island, followed the Tapu rules and would not enter forbidden lands.
If it weren't for this thought, Petru would have preferred to fight his way out with a dagger rather than trap himself in this desperate situation. If he had guessed wrong, this crater would have truly been a dead end, with nowhere to go, and as Mrs. Larry had said, it would have become their final resting place.
The steps and crevices of the altar were covered with moss, weeds, and vines, but the space beneath was completely bare. This was consistent with the characteristics of the Tapu on the other islands, Qingmu and Su Huilan to suspect that the Tapu's underground contained radioactive material.
This gave Petru some confidence. His only concern was the distribution of Mental Power on the island. Judging from the other islands, Tapu was always the center of the Mental Power Field, with Mental Power surrounding Tapu like an energy shield. This island was filled with Mental Power, but it clearly wasn't centered around this altar. And if this was Tapu, then what about the hot spring lake Petru discovered on his first visit to the island?
As he searched for a suitable hiding place, he asked Mrs. Larry, "Madam, you said you saw cannibals praying at the altar. Do you know how they worship? Could they possibly come down here?"
Mrs. Larry said, "I don't know, because I only saw them from a distance. They were praying in front of the altar, but I didn't see the whole ceremony, and I didn't know that the altar wasn't a platform but a pit."
"So, with your extensive experience in archaeology, what do you think this place was used for?" Petru asked.
"I used to think it was just a place to worship gods, but now it seems more like an unfinished project," Mrs. Larry said.
"An unfinished project?" Petru looked around and said, "Building houses? If it's such a big stone house, it's much better than their wooden huts, but if they have the ability, why don't they build a few smaller houses? Besides, the walls of this house are too thick; it's even hard to open a window."
Mrs. Larry said, "Dead people don't need windows."
Petru was startled. "You mean—this is a tomb?"
Then he found a pile of large rocks that looked like a good hiding place. He put Mrs. Larry down, then peered out to make sure that the person hiding in the pile of rocks was not visible from any angle on the altar.
Mrs. Larry sat on the ground, leaning against the cold stone, and said, "I'm just guessing. Judging from the shape, it might be an unfinished tomb. But the population of this primitive tribe is not large enough to support such a large project, unless they put in the effort for several generations, but that goes against the progress of civilization. Primitive tribes like this are on the verge of survival; their primary task is the reproduction and survival of their race. They would not build such an ornate and impractical large tomb for some empty fantasy after death."
"So, according to you, is it a tomb or not?" Petru was confused.
"I'm not sure. If so, it means this race was once much larger than it is now." Mrs. Larry stroked the dark brown stone with her hand. "Have you noticed how special these stones are? I haven't seen these kinds of stones anywhere else on the island."
Petru said, "I've discovered it; nothing grows here. In fact, my companions and I have seen these stones on other islands as well. Madam, have you ever heard of something called ' Tapu '?"
" Tapu?" Mrs. Larry repeated the word several times, seemingly trying to figure out Petru's pronunciation. "You mean those ancient ruins found on some islands in the South Pacific, as described in the pictures?"
Petru nodded.
Mrs. Larry said, "I've heard that... a friend of mine... has done research in this area; he's a Maya expert. He said these things might be related to some ancient civilizations that have disappeared, but there's a lack of sufficient evidence. And ' Tapu ' aren't widely distributed; they're only found on a small number of islands in Polynesia. So, in the archaeological community, almost no one pays attention to them. If it weren't for my... friend researching the peripheral influences of Maya civilization, traversing the entire South Pacific from Chile, he wouldn't have noticed them, and I certainly wouldn't know. Are you saying this is a Tapu?"
Petru said, "I'm not sure, but these stones do look a lot like the stones I've seen in Tapu, and all the Tapu are barren. My friend said it might be because these stones contain radioactive elements, which is why Tapu is considered a forbidden place in indigenous legends."
Mrs. Larry shook her head and said, "Oh, I've never heard of that."
Petru didn't believe the stones were radioactive either; otherwise, he would have run into trouble long ago after living in Tabuli for so long.
Just then, some sounds came from above. Petru put his index finger to his lips, signaling Mrs. Larry to be quiet.
He secretly peeked up through the crack in the rocks and saw the figures of several savages on the edge of the altar, with the chieftain holding a scepter in the middle.
The savage chieftain stood atop the altar and glanced down. Petru shivered. He quickly looked away, hiding himself and daring not to peek out again.
He and Mrs. Larry hid behind the rock, listening intently to the sounds coming from above. At first, they could hear the voices of a few savages talking, but they were too far away to make out what they were saying. After a while, all the sounds stopped.
Petru guessed the savages were gone. He was glad he'd guessed right; this was a forbidden place, and the savages wouldn't come down. However, he didn't dare go out yet; who knew if they'd gone far? Perhaps they were still lying in wait!
The shadow of the boulder blocked the sunlight, and the wind blowing from above swirled among the rocks, making a whistling sound, and felt cool on the skin.
It was only then that the two of them suddenly realized they were both naked. Petru felt a little embarrassed, and Mrs. Larry also squeezed her legs together, crossed her arms, and turned her face to the side.
The wind suddenly stopped, and the distant howls of the wild men also ceased. The world suddenly fell into boundless silence. Only the sound of heartbeats could be heard, loud as if someone were beating a drum. Time slowed down very, very slowly, like a quartz clock that had run out of power, the second hand unable to climb any higher.
Petru suddenly heard a strange hissing sound with a foul, fishy smell. A familiar sense of danger washed over him. He turned to look at Mrs. Larry and saw a large black snake lying on the rock on top of her, its triangular head raised, spitting out red roe.