Sakurako was leading Congcong toward the stone structure when a flash of golden yellow suddenly darted past them. The figure feinted, drawing itself up before them, and immediately slipped into a crevice beside the stonework.

A moment later, just as Sakurako was wondering who had vanished inside, the figure sprang out from between the stones, hopping and scrambling until it stood atop the structure, waving at her.

It was Mao Mao! Sakurako started, recalling the events: she had taken the body suit from Mao Mao’s mouth, put it on, and plunged into the Sea of Lost Souls. She had been so preoccupied with Congcong and the phantom fish that she hadn't paid the slightest attention to when Mao Mao had followed her.

Seeing Mao Mao wave, pointing toward the gap beneath the stone, signaling her to come over, Sakurako guided Congcong to the rock. She peered inside; it was pitch black, barely large enough for half a body to enter. When Mao Mao saw her hesitating outside, he simply wriggled into the crevice himself, poked his head out, and winked at her again.

Sakurako understood; Mao Mao wanted her to enter. Unfortunately, the opening fit him, but not her. She had no choice but to grope underneath the stone gap with both hands until she felt the soft, yielding silt, then exerted all her strength to shove it aside. The stone shifted just thirty centimeters, revealing a dark, gaping hole. Sakurako patted Congcong’s little claws gripping her neck; the little one instantly zipped off her back, following Mao Mao’s path and burrowing into the opening. Sakurako closely followed Congcong into the tunnel.

It turned out to be a long, narrow passage. The front section was submerged, allowing her to splash her arms a little, but the latter half was solid stone, completely untouched by moisture. Since the monkey was small, it could walk bent over, but a person could only advance by crawling.

Having no other recourse, Sakurako dropped to all fours and followed the two monkeys forward. Suddenly, she thought of Andy crawling through the sewage pipe to escape prison in The Shawshank Redemption. In that very moment, she too was enduring an arduous trial, just like Andy. If she could only emerge from this Sea of Lost Souls, or perhaps rediscover a lost loved one—whether father, mother, or Xing'er—how dramatically cinematic that would be. Her life, which had almost shed all its bonds, would reignite with the brilliant gleam of hope.

Lost in thought, Mao Mao and Congcong vanished ahead of her one after the other. Sakurako panicked, thinking some new disaster had struck, and frantically called out their names, stretching her hands forward blindly. But ahead of her, beyond the stone walls, there was nothing at all to touch. After a long pause, following a few soft chha-chha sounds, a faint spark of light illuminated the way from ahead. Then, with several loud hong-hong thuds, the area about a meter in front of Sakurako was bathed in light as bright as day.

The exit was near! Sakurako let out a long breath, secretly laughing at her own alarm. Using both hands and feet, she scrambled to the opening in just a few movements. She cautiously poked her head out and saw a stone chamber. Weapon racks stood leaning haphazardly along one wall, a pool of dark blood stained the floor, and a blood-flecked dagger lay tossed in a corner—it seemed someone had recently engaged in fierce combat here.

It turned out that Mao Mao and Congcong had preceded her, scrambling out of the tunnel first. Having lived with humans abroad for some time, Mao Mao was familiar with their tools. As soon as he cleared the wall’s base, he felt around on the ground and found a lighter. With two quick clicks of the gas valve, the lighter produced a faint spark. Using that tiny light, he located the torches jammed into the four corners of the room, scaled the rock wall by himself, and lit them. Thus, our Sakurako was suddenly enveloped in a light as bright as day.