As Li Zhuoyuan was about to speak a warning, a voice barely left his throat when suddenly, a scout leapt into the air.
Everyone was startled and quickly looked up, many beams of flashlight cutting through the darkness above in a frantic attempt to see what was happening.
In the chaos, they could only make out a thick body rising high into the night, swaying back and forth.
This scene caused an immediate panic among the crowd.
The body that had been raised rapidly descended, and those lantern-like eyes shone two beams of red light across the night sky, then charged straight toward the cave.
Everything happened too fast, too suddenly.
The scouts outside were either stunned and stood frozen, or fell to the ground, scrambling in panic but unable to get back up.
Among them, many were screaming and shouting purely out of instinct.
If it were any other sudden incident, this group of organized and experienced scouts would not have panicked like this.
But faced with such a creature emerging from the darkness of the night, being struck dumb was the only natural reaction.
In contrast, the four who had experienced many bizarre events—Li Zhuoyuan and his companions—seemed calmer.
While others remained in confusion, Runsheng had already grabbed Li Zhuoyuan’s arm, preparing to carry him, while Xue Liangliang and Tan Wenbin helped each other to stand.
From a purely rational perspective, they now had a better chance of evading than the others.
Yet, strangely, those "two lanterns" seemed to ignore the others, charging directly towards them.
This was its cave; it was returning home.
The four who were inside the cave found themselves with no escape.
Standing still meant being either swallowed whole or crushed to death within the cave.
Runsheng picked up Li Zhuoyuan and turned to run deeper into the cave, with Tan Wenbin and Xue Liangliang quickly following behind.
They reached the cavern inside without hesitation and collectively leapt down.
At the moment of jumping, Runsheng pulled Li Zhuoyuan close to shield him, using his body as a cushion underneath.
It seemed that this creature often traversed here, for the tunnel walls were smooth and well-worn, almost like a slide.
As the four plunged down, they slid down rapidly as if on a slick ramp.
Behind them came the harsh sound of something gliding across smooth ground, like a truck tire struggling for grip, accompanied by the tunnel vibrating violently.
Protected by Runsheng, Li Zhuoyuan glanced back.
The giant red lanterns followed closely behind, and he could vaguely see the two legs swaying below the lanterns—those belonged to the scout who had been bitten in earlier.
At that moment, Li Zhuoyuan heard a sound from below resembling fierce wind.
This meant the end of the tunnel was approaching, and the bottom likely led to emptiness.
The four of them could be killed in the fall!
There were two pressing issues: first, there were no other feasible measures; even if they could try to stabilize and slow their descent, doing so would mean being swallowed whole by the monster following behind.
Second, if they were to choose a fate, it felt better to be swift in falling than to be eaten by that thing.
Soon enough, they felt weightlessness as they slipped out of the tunnel, then plummeted down.
Even while falling, Li Zhuoyuan continued to look up toward where they had emerged from, noticing that the pair of red lanterns had stopped, remaining at the tunnel’s exit, failing to follow.
In this way, the red lanterns appeared smaller and more indistinct in his view.
“Splash! Splash! Splash!”
They landed consecutively in water.
As the water hit his back, an acute pain shot through him, but at the same time, relief washed over him.
He knew they had temporarily saved their lives, thanks to two skilled swimmers in their group.
Not moving chaotically, they worked together.
Runsheng quickly pulled Li Zhuoyuan to the side and started swimming.
Though the current was deep, it wasn't wide, and soon they reached the shore.
“Xiaoyuan, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Runsheng, and you?”
“I’m tough.”
Li Zhuoyuan took out his flashlight, tapped it a couple of times, and turned it back on.
Each member of the exploration team had this waterproof flashlight secured on them, which they would not lose under normal circumstances.
The only problem was that it was a bit clunky and often malfunctioned, but fixing it was simple—just needed to hit it against a rock.
“Tap! Tap! Tap!”
Li Zhuoyuan kept switching the flashlight on and off.
Before long, a similar response came from across.
The underground river was roaring loudly, causing echoes, making it impossible for them to communicate over a long distance.
After the boy pressed the switch twice, indicating that there were two of them here, the opposite side performed the same action.
It seemed Xue Liangliang and Tan Wenbin had also made it to the shore from there.
Holding his flashlight, Li Zhuoyuan waved a beam of light, signaling that they shouldn’t rush to regroup but check on the situation on their respective shores to see which direction was more suitable.
Xue Liangliang waved back, indicating he understood.
This wasn't a silent communication, but rather based on mutual understanding.
Next, Li Zhuoyuan started using the flashlight to observe his surroundings.
To save power, Runsheng kept his flashlight off for the moment, and the opposite side followed suit, leaving only one beam of light.
The shore on Li Zhuoyuan’s side was not narrow at all; on the contrary, it was quite spacious, with a distance of over ten meters from the rock wall to the dark current.
However, the rock wall was shockingly smooth, like a giant mirror.
Runsheng tried to climb up using just his hands but ultimately had to give up; there was simply no way up.
Li Zhuoyuan felt no disappointment; after all, that thing was at the top, and even if he could climb up, there was a chance they might encounter it.
At this moment, the opposite bank started signaling with their flashlights, initially flickering quickly and then swaying vertically.
“Runsheng, it looks like Liangliang and Wenbin found something over there. Shall we go check it out?”
“Sure.”
But just as Li Zhuoyuan was about to put the flashlight back on his body, its light swept across a figure.
At first, the boy thought he was imagining things because in the darkness, he trusted his ears more.
When he shone the light back, the figure was there again.
A person stood still, their right hand grasping the rock wall, one leg slightly extended, with half of their face peeking out, as if spying.
Runsheng immediately stepped forward, positioning himself in front of the boy, clearly having seen it too.
“Xiaoyuan, do you want to take a look?”
Runsheng knew that the boy would usually choose caution in the face of danger, but this time, to his surprise, Li Zhuoyuan replied:
“Runsheng, let’s move forward.”
“Alright.”
Being cautious, Li Zhuoyuan had only explored the area around the shore before; he hadn’t ventured forward.
But by the figure’s posture, it was evident there was a recessed area to the left of the person.
Either there was a prominent corner there, or there was a new opening within.
He roughly calculated the time it took for the four of them to slide down from the tunnel, factoring in the vertical drop.
By blindly following the underground river’s current, the most probable outcome wouldn’t be the sunlight after exiting the waterfall cave, but something deeper still.
The best way to leave here was to find a path that led upward.
The flashlight remained focused on that “spying” figure, which not only did not avoid the light but stood completely still.
Could it be… not a person?
As the distance closed enough for the flashlight’s light to finely reflect the texture of stone, Li Zhuoyuan felt a sense of relief—it was indeed not a person, but a stone sculpture.
However, the shape of the sculpture was rather eerie.
Li Zhuoyuan couldn’t tell if the sculpture had once been painted, as now there was no color visible.
From its figure and posture, it appeared to be a woman.
She wasn’t spying… she was observing.
The two terms were similar but carried completely different meanings; the former focused on Runsheng and himself, while the latter centered on the stone figure.
Li Zhuoyuan turned his flashlight to the left of the sculpture, revealing a cave inside, complete with stairs.
Then, he turned the flashlight back onto the sculpture, this time from behind.
Now, it became clear that the sculpture had feminine features.
He could even see the design of the skirt, which thanks to admiring Arli’s attire daily, allowed him to envision what the skirt's pattern might look like based on the existing lines on the sculpture.
She wasn’t placed there as an ornament; rather, she was carved directly into the rock wall, many parts of her upper body blended seamlessly with the stone.
Li Zhuoyuan stepped back a few paces, with Runsheng following closely, both returning to face the stone sculpture again.
“Xiaoyuan, this is a bit creepy…”
What could scare Runsheng would never be the physical object, but the atmosphere.
Li Zhuoyuan, however, wanted to seek that very atmosphere again.
When he had approached step by step earlier, he felt a sense of familiarity, and now that feeling had returned, and he realized where it came from.
The main chamber positions in many ancient tombs often depicted a "Woman Opening the Door" mural on the wall above the tomb owner's coffin...
There were many interpretations within academia regarding this; Li Lan believed it symbolized the spirit of the deceased being welcomed into another world by a different realm.
Of course, this other realm didn’t refer to Hell, but rather could signify various places depending on the period, region, and religious beliefs.
Some serve to welcome the deceased into the immortal realm, while others may simply mean returning to another residence no less luxurious than the living world, where they could indulge as before.
In short, it would not be a place for the living to tread.
Then considering the stone stairs in the back of the cavern…
This wasn't the main chamber, nor a normal burial path—so why was the sculpture here? Who was it meant to guide?
Li Zhuoyuan tilted his head toward the surging underground river.
When rational thinking fails, it’s time for a shift in perspective.
The underground river could be likened to the Yellow Springs, and then having the stairs and the woman’s statue standing here, wasn’t it meant to welcome souls from the Yellow Springs?
If this truly were a tomb, how warm and welcoming must the owner have been in life, to greet wandering spirits after death?
Li Zhuoyuan looked to the opposite bank, where the light remained steady after acknowledgment, occasionally swaying to indicate that they were still alive.
The boy began signaling for them to come over.
Both sides had their findings; where they should gather depended on who could best communicate within the team.
Soon, a response came from that side, and they went into the water.
Runsheng waited at the shore, and before long, the two, soaked from head to toe, were helped up by him.
“Phew… Phew…” Tan Wenbin knelt on the ground, catching his breath.
Xue Liangliang spat a few times and approached Li Zhuoyuan. “Xiaoyuan, we found a boat over there, but it’s a stone boat, carved right into the rock.”
“Then check what we have over here.”
Xue Liangliang raised his flashlight, first looking at the stone sculpture and then at the stairs leading into the cave.
Li Zhuoyuan explained the meaning and interpretations of "Woman Opening the Door" to Xue Liangliang, and after that, he immediately agreed, “Then the boat we found on the other side must be the ferry boat of the Yellow Springs?”
Li Zhuoyuan nodded. “It does seem to align quite well.”
Xue Liangliang asked, “Xiaoyuan, should we go up the stairs, or...?”
Li Zhuoyuan replied, “We wait for rescue.”
At that moment, Tan Wenbin called out, “The water level's rising!”
Li Zhuoyuan and Xue Liangliang hurried to check and indeed saw the water level climbing.
When they had first emerged, there had been a drop, but now the drop had leveled off and water was spilling onto the shore.
Li Zhuoyuan pointed his flashlight upward toward the rock wall. “No wonder the stone wall above is so smooth; it was due to rising water flushing against it.”
Xue Liangliang remarked, “This is truly a marvel of nature.”
“Liangliang, this doesn’t seem like the time for admiration.”
“It doesn’t matter now, because we have only one choice left.”
“Let’s go.” Li Zhuoyuan made the decision, “We can only go up from here.”
Runsheng walked in front, while Li Zhuoyuan and Xue Liangliang walked side by side, with Tan Wenbin bringing up the rear.
There was no need for a rehearsal; it seemed everyone inherently knew their positions.
The stone stairs were smooth and lacked any handrails, so everyone had to bend down carefully as they climbed, occasionally using their hands to steady themselves.
Tan Wenbin joked, “If only they had an elevator like in a hotel.” Xue Liangliang shot back, “Are you planning to lie down and rest in a room after reaching the top?”
“Of course! And it would be best if they served a pot of tea as well.”
After a long climb, they finally reached the top.
The top was dark red, featuring doors and windows, with the door ajar.
Li Zhuoyuan felt that the stone sculpture at the bottom of the stairs would be better placed here.
Tan Wenbin exclaimed, “I was right; there really is a room here!”
Runsheng asked, “Xiaoyuan?”
“Let’s go in, Runsheng.”
“Okay.”
There was no turning back now.
They had initially held onto a tiny sliver of hope for rescue, but that hope had been slim from the start, as the rescue team first needed to deal with the giant creature above.
Now, with the underground river’s tendency to rise, hoping for rescue held little significance.
Runsheng stepped through the door, followed closely by Xue Liangliang.
Li Zhuoyuan paused before entering to check the window beside the door, finding it made of the same stone, beautifully colored yet slightly murky.
This indicated that even if the water continued to rise, it wouldn’t reach this room.
These double doors were fixed and could not be pushed open, only remaining ajar.
Upon entering, the interior was adorned entirely with stone sculptures: two rows of long benches, a bed, and a tea table, complete with tea sets.
The teapot had no lid; when shining the flashlight down, they could see white liquid inside.
Looking up, they noticed that the ceiling wasn’t flat but had many stone protrusions descending from it.
The largest and thickest of them was pointed directly at the opened teapot.
Xue Liangliang pointed at the teapot. “Bingbing! Your tea!”
Tan Wenbin inquired curiously, “What is this? I think I’ve seen similar photos in magazines.”
Xue Liangliang replied, “Stalactite.”
Tan Wenbin sighed, “With that scientific name, it instantly loses its classy appeal.”
Li Zhuoyuan surveyed the surroundings, saying, “There’s no way out.”
The stone house wasn’t large, just about the size of a typical living room, but apart from the entrance they came in through, the other three sides were all rock walls.
Tan Wenbin commented dryly, “Seriously? We went through all that effort to build such a long staircase just for this?”
“Let’s keep searching, see if there’s another hidden passage.” After Li Zhuoyuan spoke, he made his way to the bed, reached out to feel it, then climbed on top, directing his flashlight into the bed’s seams but found there were none.
Xue Liangliang was focused on the tea set, inspecting this and that. “Everything here is fixed stone; look for anything that’s not fixed; there could be a mechanism.”
“Alright!” Runsheng squatted down to check the chairs.
“Good, looking for traps,” Tan Wenbin said, yawning as he walked to the east wall, rubbing his eyes.
He wasn’t lazy; he was genuinely tired, having been busy all day, and now it had turned into the early hours of the morning; he should have been competing with Runsheng to see who snored louder in the tent at this time.
Instinctively resting a hand on the wall, Tan Wenbin blinked hard, trying to shake off his drowsiness.
After squeezing out a bit more energy, he decided to press on with the search, only to look at his left hand in shock, realizing that it had actually sunk into the wall.
“What the hell!”
Tan Wenbin instinctively tried to pull his hand out, only to find that the more he strained, the stronger the pull became from the other side.
When the other three turned to look at his shout, they witnessed Tan Wenbin pressed flat against the wall.
Runsheng reacted quickly, wanting to pull him back, but just as he reached out, Tan Wenbin vanished completely into it.
As he sank, the wall began to soften and tremble.
“Bingbing seems to have found an entrance.”
Li Zhuoyuan remarked, stretching his hand forward.
His fingertips naturally penetrated through, and upon reaching in a bit further, he felt the pull coming from within.
The boy offered no resistance but instead leaned forward slightly.
The next moment, he felt himself being drawn into a gelatinous substance, but this state didn’t last long as he was soon expelled and only managed to keep his balance after running several steps forward.
Aside from being soaked again, there was no other discomfort.
Li Zhuoyuan looked ahead and saw Tan Wenbin sitting slumped over, facing away from him, and as he raised the flashlight, his pupils dilated in fright—a massive snake head loomed before him.
“Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!”
Tan Wenbin screamed loudly.
Li Zhuoyuan approached and tapped his arm. “It’s a fake, it’s a stone sculpture.”
“Ah! Ah! Ah!” Tan Wenbin continued to scream, looking at Li Zhuoyuan, his voice slowly mellowing.
His hands began searching the ground. “Hey, where’s my flashlight?”
Unsurprisingly, after entering here he had instinctively shined his flashlight, facing the stone snake head directly and was utterly terrified.
Li Zhuoyuan lifted his flashlight to help him find it but soon discovered he couldn’t illuminate anything ahead.
“Bingbing, stop!”
Tan Wenbin halted and then reached out, feeling ahead. “Xiaoyuan, there’s a cliff in front, my flashlight fell!”
“It’s fine as long as you’re okay.” Li Zhuoyuan moved to the edge and continued to scan, but it was too deep and dark below to see anything.
At that moment, Runsheng and Xue Liangliang entered, both soaked.
Tan Wenbin quickly cautioned, “There’s a stone snake head in front; be careful not to get scared.”
However, even with the warning, when the light illuminated it, the two halted briefly.
Li Zhuoyuan had already arrived below the snake head, initially thinking it was just a separate stone carving, but it turned out he was mistaken as the head was part of a larger snake body extending to the platform they stood upon—all upright.
The body was intricately carved with scales, perfect for handholds.
Li Zhuoyuan pointed upward. “Let’s climb.”
There was no hesitation; currently, there were no other choices, and if they wanted to leave, moving upward was the only option.
Plus, the direction the snake’s body led was in line with survival.
The four climbed onto the snake’s head, ascending step by step like a ladder.
As with their previous ascent, they shone their flashlights upward as they climbed.
Suddenly, the flashlight illuminated a figure standing at the tip of the snake’s tail above them.
Was it another stone sculpture?
That was Li Zhuoyuan's first thought, but soon, reality shattered his habitual reasoning as the figure stepped backward—it was moving!
The four clambering up the snake clearly saw this change; after all, they all looked upward while ascending.
At this change, all four simultaneously paused, unsure whether to continue climbing.
“Xiaoyuan?”
“Runsheng…”
Just as Li Zhuoyuan opened his mouth to speak, a sharp pain shot through his head, and he couldn’t help but lean against the scales for support, using the cold surface to regain composure.
At that moment, the snake's body he gripped seemed to have come to life, beginning to twist.
But as Li Zhuoyuan lifted his head again, the sensation of movement vanished.
Was it a hallucination?
“Xiaoyuan?” Runsheng asked again.
Li Zhuoyuan shook his head vigorously, forcing himself to calm down. “Runsheng, go up!”
“Okay!”
Runsheng accelerated his climb, reaching the top.
When Li Zhuoyuan followed suit, he discovered another platform ahead, and shining Runsheng’s flashlight forward revealed yet another gigantic snake head.
“No, something’s off…”
Li Zhuoyuan clenched his teeth as a strange feeling washed over him.
At this moment, Tan Wenbin and Xue Liangliang climbed up as well, both panting heavily.
Runsheng asked, “Xiaoyuan, do you want to keep climbing?”
Li Zhuoyuan raised his hand, signaling for Runsheng to hold on, needing to think through what exactly felt wrong.
He began recalling every detail since they had entered the staircase, along with various conversations among the four.
The feeling of unease intensified, raising questions about why he had not detected it sooner.
Unexpectedly, at that moment, his own voice echoed: “Runsheng, keep climbing; this is the ladder! As long as we keep climbing upward, we will definitely get out!”
Li Zhuoyuan's eyes widened in shock—who was imitating his voice?
But just as the boy intended to warn them, he discovered in horror that he could not produce any sound!
He grasped his throat tightly with both hands, trying to force a warning, yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not.
He wanted to rush forward and grab Runsheng but found his legs weighed down as if filled with lead, completely unable to move.
“Bingbing, Liangliang, hurry! Just hold on a bit longer! Once we reach the top, it’ll all be over!”
“Yeah, persevere!”
“I’m fine, Xiaoyuan.”
Tan Wenbin and Xue Liangliang continued to move forward while Runsheng had already made it to the top of the snake’s head.
Can’t you see that I haven’t moved? Can’t you realize that I’m not here?
But as Xue Liangliang’s flashlight swept over, Li Zhuoyuan stared in disbelief as Runsheng, who had reached the top, turned around and bent down to lift a little boy up.
Once the boy was lifted, he intentionally looked back, meeting Li Zhuoyuan’s gaze.
A mocking smile curled on his lips.
What are you?
No, what is this place?
Li Zhuoyuan shut his eyes, trying to walk into the shadows; usually, in such peculiar situations, seeking the shadows allowed one to see things invisible in reality.
However, he failed—it was his first failure since learning to move in shadow.
Of course, there was another possibility, which was…
Maybe he was already dreaming!
Li Zhuoyuan looked up, beginning to visualize himself surfacing through water, as he had done previously to end a shadow walk, imagining himself rising, rising…
He woke up, opened his eyes, and found himself standing in water, which had reached up to his neck, perilously close to submerging his mouth and nose.
Looking to his side, he saw all four stood neatly below the stone staircase, not yet having stepped onto the first step.
Runsheng, Tan Wenbin, and Xue Liangliang were all still with their eyes closed, unaware of their surroundings.
Strangely, Li Zhuoyuan felt a gaze upon him from behind; he immediately turned around to look.
Originally, the woman’s stone sculpture, which should have faced away from the staircase, was now facing it directly.
Initially, she displayed her right hand, right leg, and half of her right face, with the other half fully integrated into the rock.
Now, she revealed her left hand, left leg, and the left half of her face.
This side of her face curved into a mocking smile.
(End of this chapter)