The stone chamber was brightly lit at this very moment, with no one else present, leaving only Sakurako standing in the center, holding the iron chain. As she curiously reached out and her fingers brushed against the very first link at the top end, with a sudden clang, a circle shimmering with golden light mysteriously materialized from within that link. Picking up the other end of the iron chain and following the same procedure, the second circle indeed appeared. Sakurako cautiously slipped her left hand into the loop; the iron chain lying on the floor rattled with a crashing sound, and in the blink of an eye, the loop tightened to the thickness of a wrist, fitting perfectly around her hand.

What a perfect set of shackles, Sakurako praised inwardly! Just as she was about to mimic Da Mao's action and lock the other end of the chain to the wall, she worried she wouldn't be able to unlock it once secured. She finally wound the chain on the floor around her arm, preparing to leave the stone chamber.

As she turned, she suddenly recalled the Blood Kin Compass she had seen in the inner stone chamber last time. The stone wall now appeared sealed, showing no hint of its former mystery, as if someone had cleaned up the battlefield after they left. Thinking this, she mimicked Da Mao's posture from before, walked over to the weapon rack, gripped the supports at both ends with her hands, and shook it with all her might.

Strangely, no matter how hard she strained, the weapon rack remained utterly still; it wasn't nearly as easy to shake as it had been for Da Mao last time. Back then, she had assumed the thing was old and rickety, ready to fall apart with a gentle push, but now she saw that was entirely untrue. At least in this moment, the weapon rack stood firm, looking utterly unbreakable.

Helplessly, Sakurako abandoned the plan to open the wall to the inner room, picked up the chain, and slipped into the tunnel. Crawling and swimming, she was soon back at the Sea of Lost Souls. Da Mao was crouching on the stone roof, waiting for her.

She had assumed Da Mao had long since left, never expecting such loyalty; it squatted stubbornly on the roof. Seeing her emerge from the tunnel, it coiled and sprang forward, grasping the chain fastened to Sakurako's hand, making a motion as if to release it, then pointed a claw towards its own head. Sakurako immediately understood its meaning. Mimicking how Da Mao had unlocked the chain in the stone room, she focused her mind, silently chanting for the chain to loosen. With a crisp clang, the cuff fastened to her wrist vanished instantly. The iron chain fell to the bottom of the lake like a soft serpent, returning to the state it was in when Da Mao handed it to her. It was a treasure, after all. Delighted, Sakurako picked up the chain, looped it around her waist, and left the heart of the lake, following Da Mao as he paddled his arms.

With Da Mao guarding her on the journey back, there were no further troubles, and they reached the shore in just half an hour. The person and the monkey had barely climbed out, still shaking off the water droplets, when a large monkey zoomed past Sakurako and Da Mao, seemingly carrying something on its back. Sakurako froze in surprise for a moment, then turned to look at Da Mao, who was frowning, squinting his eyes, looking distinctly displeased.

Just as Sakurako was about to follow and investigate, another large monkey, carrying Ah Li, suddenly leaped to a stop directly in front of her. Ah Li was slick with sweat and streaked with tears; she threw herself onto Sakurako and immediately burst into loud sobs. While crying, she mumbled, "Auntie, I never want to ride a monkey again!"

"What on earth happened?" Sakurako gently asked, lifting Ah Li's head, which was buried in her embrace.

Ah Li choked out between sobs, "It wasn't me... who wanted to ride the monkey... Xing'er... Xing'er put me on the monkey's back... and the monkey ran faster than the wind..."