Chapter 66

Li Li Zhuiyuan was about to open his mouth to warn them, but the sound had only just reached his throat; before he could shout, one of the survey team members suddenly soared into the air.

The crowd was shocked and looked up one after another. Many flashlight beams hit the sky, and in the panic, they only saw a thick, sturdy body standing high and swaying incessantly.

This scene caused the entire situation to collapse instantly.

The raised body descended violently, the pair of lantern-like eyes casting two red beams of light across the night sky, and then it charged straight toward the cave entrance.

Everything happened too fast and too suddenly. Some of the survey team members on the riverbank were so frightened they stood frozen in place, while others fell and scrambled, their knees too weak to stand. Mixed in were screams and shouts born of pure instinct.

If they had encountered other sudden accidents, this group of survey team members, who worked outdoors year-round and possessed a certain level of organization, would not have been so panicked. But facing such a creature suddenly emerging from the darkness of night, being frightened out of their wits was the normal human reaction.

Comparatively, the four of Li Li Zhuiyuan, having experienced multiple supernatural events, had stronger endurance. While the others were still dazed and at a loss, Lu Runsheng had already grabbed Li Li Zhuiyuan's arm, preparing to hoist him onto his back, while Zhao Yi and Tan Tan Wenbin used each other as support to stand up.

From a purely rational perspective, they should have had a better chance to dodge and relocate than the others, but as it happened, those "two big lanterns" ignored everyone else on the riverbank and charged straight at them.

This was its cave, and now it was coming home.

The four people trapped inside the cave lost their only exit, and continuing to stand there meant either being swallowed by that thing or being crushed to death inside the mountain cave.

Lu Runsheng hoisted Li Li Zhuiyuan onto his back and turned to run deeper into the cave. Tan Tan Wenbin and Zhao Yi followed closely behind. The four of them reached the pit inside the cave and, without a moment's hesitation, jumped down together.

At the moment of the jump, Lu Runsheng pulled Li Li Zhuiyuan in front of him, shielding him with his own body to serve as a cushion.

Perhaps because that creature frequently entered and exited this place, the rock walls of the tunnel had been polished until they were very smooth—one could even call them slick. After jumping, the four of them slid diagonally downward at high speed, much like riding a slide.

Behind them, the ear-piercing sound of grinding like truck tires skidding on a smooth road echoed incessantly, causing the tunnel to tremble violently.

Because he was being shielded by Lu Runsheng, Li Li Zhuiyuan was able to look backward. Those two huge red lanterns were following closely behind, and he could vaguely see two legs dangling beneath the red lanterns—it was the survey team member who had been bitten and dragged away at the start.

At this moment, Li Li Zhuiyuan heard a sound from below, like a massive gust of wind.

This meant the tunnel was coming to an end; there should be an empty space below, and the four of them would likely fall to their deaths!

But at this moment, there were no other feasible measures. Even if they could do something, attempting to stabilize their bodies to slow down would only result in being swallowed by the thing behind them.

Secondly, if he had to choose an ending for himself, it seemed better to fall to his death for a quick release than to be eaten by that thing.

Soon, the sensation of weightlessness appeared. The four of them slid out of the tunnel and then fell rapidly.

Even while falling, Li Li Zhuiyuan kept looking up at the place where the four of them had slid out. Those red lanterns stopped, halting at the tunnel exit without following them down.

Just like that, the red lanterns became smaller and blurrier in his field of vision.

"Splash! Splash! Splash!"

Successive sounds of falling into water.

Li Li Zhuiyuan felt the stinging pain of the water surface hitting his back, but at the same time, he felt a sense of relief. He knew that their lives were temporarily preserved because there were two people in the group who were excellent swimmers.

Without moving recklessly, they simply cooperated. Lu Runsheng quickly grabbed him and swam toward one side. The undercurrent was deep, but it wasn't wide, and soon, the two of them reached the shore.

"Xiao Yuan, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Brother Lu Runsheng. How about you?"

"I've got thick skin and sturdy flesh."

Li Li Zhuiyuan took out his flashlight, tapped it, and turned it on again.

Every member of the survey team carried one of these waterproof flashlights attached to their person, and they would never be left behind except in special circumstances. The only problem was that these things were a bit clunky and often had poor contact, but the method of repair was simple: find a rock and give it a knock.

"Click! Click! Click!"

Li Li Zhuiyuan kept switching the flashlight on and off.

Before long, the same response came from the opposite side.

The underground river was loud, and the echoes were severe; shouting over long distances was impossible.

The boy pressed the light twice with a long interval, meaning there were two people on his side. The opposite side quickly performed the same operation. It seemed Zhao Yi and Tan Tan Wenbin had landed on the other shore.

Li Li Zhuiyuan raised his flashlight and waved the beam, signaling not to rush to meet up, but for each side to check their own shore first to see which was more suitable.

The other side also waved their light beam, signaling they understood.

This wasn't light-code; the basis of communication was the mutual understanding between the two parties.

Next, Li Li Zhuiyuan began to observe his surroundings with the help of the flashlight. To save battery, Lu Runsheng's flashlight was temporarily unused, and the same was true for the opposite shore—there was only one beam of light.

The shore on his side was not narrow; rather, it was quite spacious, with a distance of over ten meters between the rock wall and the undercurrent.

However, the problem was that the rock wall was too smooth, like a giant mirror. Lu Runsheng tried to climb it barehanded but eventually had to give up; there was simply no way to get up.

Li Li Zhuiyuan didn't feel disappointed by this. After all, that thing was at the very top, and even if they could climb up like this, they might run into it again.

Just then, light-code flashed from the opposite shore—first rapid, high-frequency flashes, followed by vertical swaying.

"Brother Lu Runsheng, Brother Zhao Yi has made a discovery on that side. Let's go over."

"Alright."

But just as Li Li Zhuiyuan was about to hang the flashlight back on himself, the beam swept across a human figure.

At first, the boy thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, because in an environment dominated by pitch-black darkness, he trusted his ears more.

He shone the flashlight back, and the person appeared again. They were standing there, right hand gripping the rock wall, right leg extended, revealing half a face, as if peeking.

Lu Runsheng immediately stepped forward, placing himself in front of the boy. Clearly, he had seen it too.

"Xiao Yuan, should we go take a look?"

Lu Runsheng knew that when in dangerous situations, the boy always chose stability. But this time, the boy's answer was:

"Brother Lu Runsheng, let's walk forward."

"Alright."

Out of caution, Li Li Zhuiyuan had only scouted the immediate area after landing; he hadn't checked the area ahead. But judging by the posture of that figure, it was clear that there was a recessed area to the figure's left.

Either there was a protruding ridge there, or there was a new cave entrance inside.

He had roughly calculated the time it took for the four of them to slide out of the tunnel and the time they spent in freefall, managing to estimate a vertical drop. In such a drop, blindly following the flow of the underground river would likely not lead to sunlight after exiting a water curtain cave, but rather further downward.

The best way to leave this place was to find a path that led upward.

The flashlight beam remained fixed on that "peeking" figure, but the person didn't dodge; instead, they remained motionless.

Could it be... not a human?

When they were close enough, the flashlight's feedback confirmed the stone texture. It was indeed not a human; it was a stone carving.

It was just that the style of this stone carving was far too eerie.

Li Li Zhuiyuan didn't know if the stone carving originally had paint, but now, not a trace could be seen. Judging by the figure's shape and posture, it should be a woman.

She wasn't peeking... she was observing.

The two words were close in meaning, but they represented completely different states of mind. The former focused on him and Lu Runsheng, while the latter focused on the stone figure.

Li Li Zhuiyuan shone the flashlight behind the stone figure's left side, revealing a cave that contained stairs.

Immediately after, Li Li Zhuiyuan shone the flashlight on the stone figure again, this time from behind.

Now he could clearly see the female characteristics, and he could even see the design of the skirt. Thanks to admiring A Li's attire every day, Li Li Zhuiyuan could now mentally reconstruct the style of the skirt based on the existing patterns.

She hadn't been carved elsewhere and placed here; she had been carved directly into this corner of the rock wall, with many parts of her front body integrated with the rock.

Li Li Zhuiyuan retreated several steps in the direction they had come, and Lu Runsheng followed, the two of them returning to the state of facing the stone carving head-on.

"Xiao Yuan, this is a bit scary..."

What frightened Lu Runsheng was never the physical object, but the atmosphere.

And what Li Li Zhuiyuan was trying to find again was precisely this atmosphere.

He had felt a sense of familiarity when approaching step by step, and now, that feeling had returned. He also realized where it came from.

In many ancient tombs, the main burial chamber—specifically the wall above the tomb owner's coffin—would feature a painting of... "The Lady Opening the Door."

There were many academic speculations about this. Li Lan believed it symbolized the tomb owner being welcomed into another underworld world after death.

Of course, the "underworld" here didn't refer to the hell of Yama, but rather a destination that varied depending on the period, region, and religious beliefs. Some symbolized ascension to immortality, while others simply meant returning to another residence no less luxurious than the one in the world of the living, where one could indulge in pleasure just as they did in life.

In short, it was not a place for the living.

Combined with the stone stairs in the cave behind...

This wasn't the location of a main tomb, nor was it a normal tomb passage. So, who was this stone carving here to welcome?

Li Li Zhuiyuan turned to the side and looked at the surging underground river.

When rational thinking hit a dead end, one had to switch perspectives.

The underground river could be compared to the Huang Quan or the River of the Huang Quan. So, were the stairs and the "Lady Opening the Door" statue placed here to welcome ghosts from the Huang Quan to visit?

If this really was a tomb, how hospitable must the tomb owner have been in life to want to welcome ghosts from all directions after death?

Li Li Zhuiyuan looked at the opposite shore. The light there had remained on, swaying occasionally to indicate they were still alive.

The boy began to signal, indicating for them to come to his side.

Both sides had made discoveries. As for where to meet, it depended on who had the final say in the group.

Soon, a response came from the other side; they had entered the water.

Lu Runsheng waited on the shore, and before long, the two soaked figures were pulled up with Lu Runsheng's help.

"Huff... huff..." Tan Tan Wenbin knelt on the ground, catching his breath.

Zhao Yi simply spat out a few mouthfuls of water and walked toward Li Li Zhuiyuan. "Xiao Yuan, we found a boat over there, but it's a stone boat, carved into the rock on the shore."

"Then take a look at what we have here."

Zhao Yi raised his flashlight, first looking at the stone carving, then at the stone stairs inside the cave.

Li Li Zhuiyuan introduced the meaning of "The Lady Opening the Door" and his own thoughts. After listening, Zhao Yi immediately echoed, "Then the boat we found on the opposite shore must be the ferry boat of the Huang Quan?"

Li Li Zhuiyuan nodded. "It seems it really does fit."

Zhao Yi asked, "Xiao Yuan, should we go up the stairs, or..."

Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Wait for rescue."

Just then, Tan Tan Wenbin shouted, "The water is rising!"

Li Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi immediately went to check. The water level of the river was indeed rising.

The drop that existed when they first landed had not only been leveled, but the water from the river was also beginning to overflow onto the shore.

Li Li Zhuiyuan raised his flashlight to shine on the wall above. "No wonder the rock wall above is so smooth; it turns out the water level rises and washes up to that height."

Zhao Yi: "This is the uncanny workmanship of nature."

"Brother Zhao Yi, now doesn't seem to be the time for reflections."

"It doesn't matter, because we only have one choice left."

"Let's go." Li Li Zhuiyuan made the decision. "We can only go up."

Lu Runsheng walked in front, Li Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi walked side by side, and Tan Tan Wenbin was at the back. They hadn't rehearsed this, but everyone seemed to naturally know their positions.

The stone stairs were very smooth and lacked a handrail, so everyone had to bend over and walk up cautiously, occasionally needing to press their hands against the steps to maintain balance.

Tan Tan Wenbin joked, "If only there were an elevator like in a hotel." Zhao Yi responded, "Then would you also be hoping for a room with a bed so you could lie down and rest once you get up there?"

"That goes without saying, and it would be best if someone brewed a pot of tea."

After walking for quite a distance, the flashlight finally shone on the top.

The top was dark red, with a door and windows, and the door was open.

Li Li Zhuiyuan felt that the stone carving at the bottom of the stairs would have been more appropriate here.

Tan Tan Wenbin: "I was right; there really is a room."

Lu Runsheng: "Xiao Yuan?"

"Let's go in, Brother Lu Runsheng."

"Alright."

There was no turning back. In fact, the hope for rescue had been slim from the start, because the first problem the rescue team had to solve was the big thing above. Now, combined with the characteristic of the underground river rising, pinning hope on rescue no longer had any meaning.

Lu Runsheng entered the door, followed by Zhao Yi. Li Li Zhuiyuan checked the window next to the door before entering and found that, like the door, it was made of stone, but the color was still vibrant, albeit a bit dim.

This meant that even if the underground river rose again, it wouldn't reach here.

These double doors were fixed and could not be pushed; they could only remain open.

After entering, the furnishings in the room were all carved from stone: two rows of long benches, a bed, and a tea table with a tea set on it.

The teapot had no lid. Shining the flashlight into it revealed a white liquid. Looking up, he found that the ceiling wasn't flat but had many stone ridges extending downward, the largest and thickest of which pointed directly at the open teapot.

Zhao Yi pointed at the teapot. "Brother Binbin, your tea."

Tan Tan Wenbin asked curiously, "What is this? I seem to have seen similar photos in a magazine."

Zhao Yi: "Stalactites."

Tan Tan Wenbin: "Sounds expensive. Can it be drunk?"

Zhao Yi: "Calcium carbonate deposits."

Tan Tan Wenbin sighed. "Once the scientific name comes out, it immediately loses its sense of luxury."

Li Li Zhuiyuan looked around. "There's no way out."

This stone room wasn't large—about the size of a normal living room—but there was only the door they had entered through, and the other three sides were all rock walls.

Tan Tan Wenbin said speechlessly, "No way, they went to all that trouble to build such a long stone staircase just to display this?"

"Everyone, look again to see if there are any hidden passages," Li Li Zhuiyuan said, then walked toward the bed. He reached out to touch it, then climbed up and used the flashlight to check the gaps, only to find the bed had no gaps.

Zhao Yi focused on studying the tea set, touching and twisting it. "Everything here is fixed stone. Look for anything that isn't fixed; maybe there's a mechanism."

"Alright!" Lu Runsheng crouched down to check the chairs.

"Alright, looking for mechanisms." Tan Tan Wenbin responded while yawning, walking toward the east wall. He reached out to rub his eyes—not out of laziness, but genuine exhaustion. After all, he had been busy all day, and in the first half of the night, he had been searching for people. It must be the second half of the night now.

A few days ago, he would have been in a tent competing with Lu Runsheng to see whose snoring was louder.

Subconsciously leaning against the wall, Tan Tan Wenbin blinked hard, trying to drive away the sleepiness.

After squeezing out a bit more energy, he intended to continue helping, but then he looked at his left hand in surprise, stunned to find that it had disappeared into the wall.

"F*ck!"

Tan Tan Wenbin instinctively wanted to pull his hand out, but the harder he pulled, the stronger the suction from the other side became.

When the other three heard his shout and turned to look, they witnessed Tan Tan Wenbin sticking to the wall. Lu Runsheng's reaction was fast enough; he wanted to pull Tan Tan Wenbin, but before his hand could touch him, Tan Tan Wenbin had completely disappeared into the wall.

As he entered, the wall began to soften and shake.

"It seems Brother Brother Binbin found the entrance."

Li Li Zhuiyuan said, extending his own hand. His fingertips naturally passed through, and after reaching in a bit further, he felt the suction from within.

The boy didn't resist; instead, he leaned forward. The next moment, he felt himself being pulled into a gelatinous substance, but this state didn't last long before he was thrown out. After running forward a few steps, he regained his balance.

Other than being soaked through again, he felt no other discomfort.

Li Li Zhuiyuan looked forward and saw Tan Tan Wenbin sitting on the ground with his back to him. When he raised the flashlight, his pupils shrank—a giant snake head was hanging right in front of him.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Tan Tan Wenbin screamed at the top of his lungs.

Li Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward and patted his arm. "It's fake; it's a stone carving."

"Ahhhhhhh..." Tan Tan Wenbin continued to scream while looking at Li Li Zhuiyuan, then his voice gradually subsided. His hands began to grope on the ground. "Wait, where's my flashlight?"

Clearly, after entering, he had shone his flashlight and come face-to-face with this stone snake head, scaring him out of his wits.

Li Li Zhuiyuan raised his flashlight to help him search, but the light couldn't reveal anything ahead.

"Brother Brother Binbin, stop."

Tan Tan Wenbin stopped. He saw it too and reached forward. "Xiao Yuan, there's a cliff ahead; my flashlight fell down."

"It's fine, as long as you're okay." Li Li Zhuiyuan walked to the edge to continue searching, but it was too deep and too dark below to see anything.

At this moment, Lu Runsheng and Zhao Yi entered, both soaked in water.

Tan Tan Wenbin immediately warned, "There's a stone snake head ahead; be careful not to get scared."

But even with the warning, when they shone their flashlights, both of them froze.

Li Li Zhuiyuan was currently checking the area below the snake head. At first, he thought it was just a separate snake head carving, but it turned out he was wrong. Only the snake head extended to the platform where they were now; its body was complete, just standing upright.

The snake body had dense scale carvings, making it easy to use as handholds and footholds.

Li Li Zhuiyuan pointed upward. "Let's... climb up."

There was no need to hesitate, as there was no other choice. To leave this place, they had to follow this path to the end. Most importantly, the snake body led upward, which was the direction of survival.

The four of them climbed onto the snake head, climbing level by level like a ladder.

Just like when climbing the stairs earlier, everyone was looking up while climbing, shining their flashlights upward.

Suddenly, the flashlight shone on a figure standing at the snake tail above.

Another stone carving?

This was Li Li Zhuiyuan's first thought, but soon, the fact overturned his cognitive habits: that figure moved backward. It was moving!

The four people climbing the snake clearly saw this, as everyone was looking up while climbing.

Because of this change, the four of them stopped moving simultaneously, not knowing whether they should continue upward.

"Xiao Yuan?"

"Brother Lu Runsheng..."

Before the boy could finish his sentence, a sharp pain shot through his brain, and he couldn't help but press his forehead against the scales, using the coldness above to clear his mind.

At this moment, the snake body he was gripping seemed to have come back to life, beginning to writhe.

But when Li Li Zhuiyuan looked up again, the writhing sensation disappeared.

A hallucination?

"Xiao Yuan?" Lu Runsheng asked again.

Li Li Zhuiyuan shook his head hard, forcing himself to stay calm. "Brother Lu Runsheng, go up!"

"Alright!"

Lu Runsheng accelerated his climb and reached the top.

When Li Li Zhuiyuan climbed up, he found another giant snake head on the platform ahead.

"No, this isn't right..."

Li Li Zhuiyuan gritted his teeth; he felt something was wrong.

Just then, Tan Tan Wenbin and Zhao Yi climbed up, both panting.

Lu Runsheng asked, "Xiao Yuan, should we continue climbing up?"

Li Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand, signaling Lu Runsheng to wait, allowing himself to think carefully about what exactly was wrong.

He began to recall every detail since climbing the stairs and all the conversations between the four of them. The feeling that something was wrong grew stronger, and he began to wonder why he had only noticed it now.

Who would have thought that at this moment, his own voice would ring out:

"Brother Lu Runsheng, continue climbing up. This is a ladder; as long as we keep climbing up, we will definitely get out!"

Li Li Zhuiyuan's eyes widened. Who was imitating his voice?

But just as the boy wanted to open his mouth to warn them, he was horrified to find he couldn't make a sound.

He gripped his throat with both hands, forcing himself to make a sound to warn them, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do it.

He wanted to rush over and grab Lu Runsheng, but his legs felt like they were filled with lead and wouldn't move.

"Brother Brother Binbin, Brother Zhao Yi, hurry up. Grit your teeth and persist; once we get up, we'll be out, and we won't be tired anymore."

"Yeah, persist!"

"I have no problem, Xiao Yuan."

Tan Tan Wenbin and Zhao Yi continued to walk forward, while Lu Runsheng, who was already at the snake head, turned around, bent over, and hoisted a little boy up.

After the little boy was hoisted up, he specifically turned his head to look at him.

The corners of his mouth curled into a mocking smile.

What exactly... are you?

No, what exactly... is this place!

Li Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes and began to attempt "walking the yin." Usually, when encountering such special situations, walking the yin could reveal things invisible in reality.

However, he failed; the attempt to walk the yin did not succeed.

This was the first time he had failed since learning to walk the yin.

Of course, there was another possibility:

He was actually already dreaming!

Li Li Zhuiyuan looked upward and began to follow the method he used to end walking the yin, imagining himself floating up in the seawater—floating up, floating up...

He woke up, opened his eyes, and found himself standing in the water, with the water level already reaching his neck, very, very close to submerging his nose and mouth.

Turning his head to the side, he found all four of them standing neatly at the bottom of the stone stairs, not having climbed even the first step.

Lu Runsheng, Tan Tan Wenbin, and Zhao Yi all had their eyes closed, completely unaware.

Vaguely, Li Li Zhuiyuan sensed a gaze behind him. He immediately turned around in the water and looked behind him.

The "Lady Opening the Door" stone carving, which should have been facing away from the stone stairs, was now facing them directly.

At first, she had revealed her right hand, right leg, and the right half of her face, while the other half was fused with the rock wall.

Now, she revealed her left hand, left leg, and the left half of her face.

The corner of the mouth on this side of her face was curled upward, wearing a mocking smile.

(End of chapter)

This side of the face, the corners of the mouth raised, carrying a mocking smile.

(End of chapter)