"Well, that's the crux of it. We all know that branch is the culprit, but we haven't figured out how to deal with it," Old He mused thoughtfully.

"How about we try lifting Xiao Shu?" I suggested.

"No, that's far too dangerous. That spear is a meter long, sticking out from the base of the stone and impaling his entire body. Never mind if we can even lift him; even if we could, without proper medical equipment, the tissues pierced by that sharp object would bleed out rapidly. By then, not even half an hour would pass before he’s gone," Old He analyzed. "The only viable way to save him right now is to trigger the mechanism and retract the spear from the stone. If the entire world reverts to its original timeline along with the spear, just as you experienced that night, Xiao Shu might return to us completely unharmed."

"But what if triggering the mechanism doesn't revert things, but makes them worse, even more severe?" I questioned.

"So, it’s a true dilemma," Old He sighed, stretching his back before sitting beside Xiao Shu, gazing silently at the crimson sky. He fell into a deep, wordless quiet.

Life is often like this: when there are no responsibilities, one craves adventure; when burdened with duty, hesitation sets in. I searched my mind for any other way to save Xiao Shu, glancing around. The world was utterly desolate, little better than hell itself. Perhaps we were already in the underworld, and Xiao Shu was merely the unfortunate one being tortured by it. Soon, it might be my turn, or Old He's. In short, this world possessed no vitality whatsoever; of the only three living beings remaining, one was already clinging to life by a thread.

"If we don't trigger the mechanism, we won't even have a chance to go back. Wang Jue is still somewhere in the village, waiting for us to save him," after a long silence, I finally gathered my courage and whispered, "Let's try it. It's the only thing we can possibly do."

Old He remained silent, staring blankly at the tree. Its leaves, like all the others, had withered and drooped yellow, leaving only two branches standing listlessly upright.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, asking, "How exactly did you trigger that branch just now?"

I walked over, recalling the moment, "It was completely accidental, I just sort of reached out and pulled it." As I spoke, I gestured with my hand.

"Then pull it again," Old He stood up from the stone, walked over, and reached out to tug the branch.

Nothing strange happened. The entire world remained bathed in a scarlet glow; the blue sky and white clouds showed no sign of returning. He reached out and pulled again, but everything stayed the same, except for a slight quiver of the dry leaves clinging to the branch—no other reaction.

Seeing this, I grew anxious. I stepped forward, gripped the branch with both hands, and shook it up and down with all my might. The withered leaves rustled and scattered across the ground, yet the world remained unchanged.

"What do we do?" I felt utterly lost. Now, not only was saving Xiao Shu the issue, but finding a way to return home had become paramount.

"How could this be?" Old He scrutinized the tree from top to bottom, his eyes mirroring my own frustration.

"Perhaps we should try walking down the mountain?" As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. While focused on finding the corpse and figuring out how to save Xiao Shu, I had only paid attention to the sky changing above, completely failing to notice the transformation below the mountain.

The winding gravel path that had led us here was now a crimson stream, flowing sluggishly toward the mountain base, carrying a bloody sheen. Where there had been low bushes and shrubs, a turbulent river of red now devoured those small creeks.

This patch of land was now utterly unrecognizable from when we first arrived.