"Hmm, I'll get to the bottom of this matter later. No wonder I always felt Yang Baosan's son wasn't quite like him. Yang Baosan’s wife really was having an affair with someone from our village. If that had been discovered, it would have been a serious offense against public morals." With that thought, Young Master Liu could only offer a wry smile: "Right, Tian Guoqiang, from now on while you're at home, keep a close watch on Granny Zhang, don't let anything happen to her again. How is Granny Zhang's cat doing?"

"En, it's fine. Granny Zhang stays with her cat every day, nothing much is happening," Tian Guoqiang replied with evident relief.

"Good, good, that’s a relief. You can head back now; there’s nothing more needed here," Young Master Liu told Tian Guoqiang.

Tian Guoqiang returned to where his vehicles were parked, then gestured toward the two battered bicycles, saying, "Young Master Liu, if you need a ride in the future, just come to me. The ownership of this bike now belongs to me."

Young Master Liu looked enviously at this tycoon—having both cars and a house—it truly made one’s stomach churn with envy.

Young Master Liu said, "It seems this object is connected to that strange incident in our village. We need to discuss this matter carefully."

Fan Debiao quickly asked, "What exactly happened in your village that dragged this major construction project into it?"

Hu Beikang and the others were also curious about what had occurred back in their village, all pressing Young Master Liu to tell them what had really gone down.

Young Master Liu cleared his throat and began, "The truth is, things aren't as simple as we might think. This issue likely involves more than just a few problems with the construction."

"Master Liu, what is it really? You need to tell us brothers straight up. We’re straightforward folks, no need for these mind games," Fan Debiao grew impatient, abruptly tossing the cigarette butt in his hand onto the ground, stomping it twice with his foot, and fixing his gaze on Young Master Liu.

Young Master Liu, fearing that Fan Debiao might get serious, immediately explained: "When I was back home initially..." Young Master Liu recounted every detail of what had happened back home to everyone present. As they listened, the others gasped in amazement, looking at Young Master Liu as if he were some kind of freak.

Young Master Liu said to them, "No need to look at me like that. I learned this skill from my master since I was small; I’m just using it for a little adjustment now. Alright, follow me inside now and let’s see if we can manage to open this crack." Having spoken, Young Master Liu gathered his courage, coughed, snatched a pickaxe from Hu Beikang’s hand, and walked up to the gap in the rock, swinging the pickaxe down hard.

Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!

The sound that echoed from the fissure was like the beating of gongs and drums. Young Master Liu was jolted back three steps before he could finally stop himself. He could even feel a numbness creeping up his hand, the pickaxe feeling as though it might drop at any moment.

The clamor of gongs and drums continued, and it took nearly half a day before the noise finally subsided.

Fan Debiao’s mouth hung wide open, his stomach almost turning inside out. This... this thing was too incredible; yesterday it sounded like metal clanging, and today it had turned into this ear-splitting symphony of drums and gongs.

"Master Liu, what in the world... what is going on?" Fan Debiao looked at Young Master Liu, utterly bewildered and frustrated beyond measure.

"This... damn it, even I don't know. To hell with it, let’s not worry about this fellow for now. Let’s see what games this thing wants to play. We should start digging on the other side first," Young Master Liu stated.

At his words, everyone froze. With Fan Debiao present, when was it Young Master Liu’s turn to give orders?

However, seeing everyone else stunned, Fan Debiao spoke up, "Are you all idiots? Didn't you hear Master Liu speak? Get over to the other side and start working!"

Only then did the laborers snap back to reality, wondering what capabilities this Young Master Liu possessed—he just looked at the rock, admitted he didn't know what was going on, and yet Fan Debiao was acting completely subservient.

But never mind that now. Everyone quickly moved to the other side of the mountain to start chiseling at the other section.

The sun set late here, as they, like the rest of the people in this area, were accustomed to working from dawn till dusk.

Another quiet night descended.

The mountain was dead silent, an utter stillness where the sound of someone urinating seventy or eighty meters away could be heard clearly.

Suddenly, a loud BOOM! startled the workers, who were sleeping as soundly as the dead, awake. They blinked their eyes open, listening curiously to the rumbling sound, which felt like an earthquake.

Someone shouted, "Earthquake!" Instantly, everyone bolted out, not even bothering to pull up their trousers.

But when they reached outside the tent, every single one of them was paralyzed with fear. The cat’s eyes they had seen on the mountain during the day were now glowing with a dazzling light, truly like a sun. Or perhaps like a massive cat's eye—a glowing feline orb.

That cat’s eye stared intently at the crowd, and then it twitched slightly.

With that minor movement, the ground immediately began to rumble beneath them—a slight tremor.

So, the noise from before wasn't an earthquake; it was this creature causing the commotion.

Fan Debiao scrambled out of his private sleeping quarters: "What's going on? Wh—"

Before he could finish the word, he saw the massive stone and was utterly shaken, his mouth forming a perfect 'O' shape as he slowly walked closer.

The cold wind was biting, but the people had forgotten to put on their clothes.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, gusts of icy wind swept past, amplified by the intimidating presence emanating from the cat’s eye, causing them to lose their footing momentarily.

"Master Liu, what... what is this?" Fan Debiao moved cautiously to Young Master Liu’s side and whispered.

"I don't know. Keep watching..." Young Master Liu merely uttered these few words, and Fan Debiao immediately fell silent, obediently watching the large stone as instructed.

Rumble, rumble. The smooth, massive stone that resembled a cat’s eye actually began to move. Finally, it rolled free from one end of the mountain.

To everyone's astonishment, instead of tumbling down the mountainside, the stone began rolling up toward the peak.

This... this was unbelievable! How could this thing climb a mountain?

Everyone present stared at the strange monolith, speechless.

Fan Debiao walked forward and stammered, "Young Master Liu, should we pursue it? What if this is a cat's eye gem..."

"Chase it. Let’s see where this thing is heading." With that said, Young Master Liu was the first to pick up a large shovel from the ground, then turned to the group and commanded, "Su Yougui, Hu Beikang, Huang Shitou, Fan Debiao, you follow me. You’ve been to Mount Pusa before, so you know the area best. I have a feeling this thing is rolling in that direction."

With that, he led the few of them in pursuit of the stone’s direction of travel.

They tracked it by following the sound of the rumbling and the deep, foot-long impressions left on the ground.

In the pitch-black night, broken only by the occasional sound of human footsteps, even these tough men felt a touch of fear. They took out the talisman they had kept from last time, handed one to each man, and ventured deeper.

Up ahead, the rumbling sound had vanished. Since the ground here was almost entirely paved with stone, the tracks were faint and easily missed if one didn’t look closely.

The group followed the barely visible traces, searching.

But after searching for a long time, they found no clues whatsoever, because for some inexplicable reason, those tracks had completely disappeared. Even though the ground was laid with stone, there shouldn't be absolutely no impression, right?

Could the massive stone have somehow taken flight?

Young Master Liu looked up and immediately froze: "Oh, my heavens! That big stone... it’s flying!"

Hearing Young Master Liu’s cry, the others quickly looked forward. They stared at the rock soaring in mid-air, as if it had sprouted a pair of wings. Their minds went blank as they gazed ahead.

"What are you staring at? Hurry up and chase it!"

Young Master Liu cursed, then took the lead, being the first to give chase.

The large stone flew on relentlessly, its speed seemingly even faster than before. Young Master Liu knew that he and his group wouldn't catch up, so he stopped, gasping for breath.

"Master Liu, why... why... aren't we chasing... anymore?" Fan Debiao wheezed, trying to catch his breath. "Let's hurry and go see where that stone ended up."

"Stop chasing. I know where the stone went," Young Master Liu replied, then turned to Huang Shitou and the others, saying, "Let's go. That stone flew toward Mount Pusa."

Fan Debiao and the others stared wide-eyed at Young Master Liu: "Mount Pusa is quite a distance from here. How do you know it flew there?"

Young Master Liu seemed to sense their doubts and explained, "Look, do you see that tiny black speck above the stone? That speck is actually the corpse of the infant from Mount Pusa."

At this, Huang Shitou nearly vomited: "What? The corpse of the infant from Mount Pusa is on top of it? Damn it, I thought it was some kind of immortal elixir or precious medicine, I even licked a few times!"

Fan Debiao glared at Huang Shitou: "Look at your lack of dignity."

Young Master Liu, however, seemed intrigued and asked, "Kid, what did that stone taste like?"

"A little salty," Huang Shitou admitted sheepishly.

"Damn it, I pissed on that thing!" Su Yougui burst out.

Gag.

This time, Huang Shitou actually threw up.

When the group returned to the dormitories, the workers were already awake, waiting outside for them to return. As they arrived, the workers eagerly asked, "Young Master Liu, did you chase it? Did you see where the stone went?"

"It went to Mount Pusa," Young Master Liu replied lazily, then retreated to his own bunk and promptly fell into a deep sleep.

"Oh, so what exactly is that stone, and why did it start moving on its own?" Countless eyes fixed on him, demanding an explanation, but Young Master Liu offered none, lying down and sleeping soundly.

Since Young Master Liu was asleep, the others turned their attention to Huang Shitou.

Fan Debiao cursed loudly: "Damn it, you old fools! That stone was blown away by the wind. If any of you dare spread rumors, you’ll be labeled as devils and monsters, and I’ll have you dragged out for a struggle session! Now get back to sleep. We have work tomorrow."

Huang Shitou seemed relieved to be let off the hook, lay back down on his bunk, and drifted off to sleep.

When morning broke, everyone wearily opened their eyes and slowly pulled on their clothes. Last night’s commotion had been too intense, and none of them had slept well.

But when they opened their eyes and looked at the mountain, they discovered a huge, dark hole had appeared there. Some brave workers cautiously approached the mountain and peered into the chasm, but they couldn't see an end to it.

Some people started shouting excitedly: "Everyone look! There’s a sinkhole up here!"

With that announcement, everyone who hadn't fully woken up snapped to attention, their spirits instantly rejuvenated. Every head craned upward to look at the mountain, confirming the existence of a pitch-black void.

Fan Debiao was also startled awake. He pushed open the window, saw the massive hole, and, without bothering to dress, jumped straight out of the window and sprinted toward the opening.

He looked into the dark, seemingly bottomless cavern, which radiated profound mystery.

It had been too dark last night, so everyone’s focus had been solely on the giant sphere, meaning no one had noticed this cavity.

"Where is Master Liu? Go get Master Liu to see what this thing is!"

"I'm here." Young Master Liu finally emerged slowly from the crowd, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and looked at the flat-bottomed hole. He slowly squatted down, scooped up some earth with his hand, finding it damp. He then brought it to his nose to smell it, before erupting in a curse: "Damn it all, that bastard kid pissed up here!"

The crowd erupted in laughter. Young Master Liu ignored their roaring amusement, turned around, and grumbled, "Someone give me a torch so we can see what’s going on inside!"