The walls on both sides were still lined with the skull lanterns, yet Nion insisted he hadn't ordered them lit—he hadn't even known such mechanisms existed within! Which meant there were others! Others in the cave!

What now? The three of them exchanged worried glances, plus the unconscious Old Li; there was no retreat. No one knew when those monsters would finally die off. They had no choice but to press forward… but… whether the person lighting the lamps was friend or foe, human or spirit, they had no idea. If it was one of their own, it was manageable. But if it was an enemy, everything was lost.

Now, everyone looked to Nion for a decision, watching him expectantly, waiting for him to speak. He pondered for a moment and said, "We'll wait until Li Zeng wakes up."

Old Li had merely suffered temporary exhaustion from severe mental strain and woke up not long after, though his spirit seemed low. "Technician Luo! Did the door open?" Still preoccupied with the Nine-Heart Lock, he asked me immediately upon regaining his senses.

I nodded. "It opened… we're safe for now." This was to ease Old Li's worry, but even as I said it, I couldn't help but offer a wry smile.

Old Li quickly noticed the strangeness of the group and repeatedly asked what was wrong.

Nion briefly explained the situation to him, then ordered them to continue moving forward. Old Li and I were somewhat composed; having some foundation, we could manage self-preservation even bare-handed in a normal confrontation. Nion, clearly a valiant and robust man, was no concern. It was Xu Zhiwu who perfectly embodied the old saying, "The scholar is useless in all things." Hearing Nion declare they must proceed, he didn't argue about following but simply had his legs trembling violently, his whole body shaking like a sieve. Though everyone else was uncertain and afraid, none were as panicked as he.

Nion gave Xu Zhiwu a disdainful glance that went unnoticed. Then, as if recalling something, he reached toward his waist, his expression brightening. "Good heavens, fear made me forget." He then held up an object for them to see with both hands. In the dim, yellow light, a long, narrow Tibetan knife gleamed with a fierce, sharp coldness. Tibetans habitually carried knives, and Nion was no exception. Finally, they had something they could call a weapon—though whether it was merely decorative or truly sharpened for killing and saving lives remained to be seen.

After they had clearly seen the knife, Nion looked at Xu Zhiwu and pressed the Tibetan knife into his hand. "Take this for self-defense." Xu Zhiwu accepted it without ceremony, his face alight with gratitude.

Even though the frail scholar Xu Zhiwu holding the knife might not be able to handle whatever situation arose, the weapon nonetheless bolstered everyone's courage. We mobilized every pore on our bodies to remain vigilant and cautiously began to move forward again.

The flames of the skull lanterns flickered slightly, and our shadows danced erratically on the ground. However, as long as there was light, it was infinitely better than nothing. I even started to find the human skulls strangely endearing and approachable.

Yet, this terrifying turning into the adorable did not last long. After advancing perhaps only twenty or thirty meters, the entire cavern suddenly plunged into absolute darkness. I gasped in horror, desperately grabbing Old Li beside me in a panic and shouting, "What happened, what happened, what happened!"

In the darkness, another hand trembled as it gripped mine—it was Xu Zhiwu, his hand as icy as the Tibetan knife. "The oil is spent," he said, trying hard not to shake.

Then Nion's voice echoed, laced with an ineffable panic, stumbling over his words for the first time. "We're… we're done for… the lights are out… we’re… we’re dead…"

We were already terrified enough, but when Nion, the one who should have been the most composed, lost his footing, I instinctively felt my heart leap out of my chest and plummet downward, and downward…

Everything ahead was unknown; who knew what they would encounter if they proceeded. "Let's go back, turn back," I yelled almost hysterically. But as soon as the words left my mouth, Old Li urgently hissed at me to be quiet and signaled me to listen carefully.

I focused, straining my ears, and the sound of flesh being torn and chewed came with terrifying clarity from the way they had come. Incredibly clear—clearer than the frantic beating of all our hearts!

There was no turning back. That was my first thought. The second was to flee immediately, quickly, lest that thing caught up and took a few bites. Given how weak our limbs felt, before it could take a second bite, all our lives would be forfeit.

"Run!" I couldn't afford to think about returning. I immediately bolted forward, but my legs felt like dead weight. Calling it running was generous; it was more like shuffling my feet. In this state, who dared think of retreating! At the same time, everyone else snapped out of their shock, daring not make a sound, biting their lips as they desperately shuffled forward.

Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the conditions in the cave, and I realized it wasn't as utterly dark as it first seemed. I could clearly make out the surroundings. This somewhat diminished the terror of some monster or strange figure suddenly emerging from the blackness, and I regained a little composure.

"We can't just run blindly. We have to figure something out…" I stopped, turned back to check, and seeing nothing pursuing them, I plopped down onto the ground and said, "We need a plan…"

"There is no plan…" Nion’s face was ashen, murmuring, "The skull lanterns were used to suppress the cave guardians… the lights going out means the monsters could appear at any moment… we have nowhere to run… nowhere to run…"

Hearing Nion’s words, facing utter despair, I suddenly became incredibly calm. I had already overcome so many dangers on Mount Qiangbake; could any monster be worse than the Qing soldiers' corpses crawling from coffins, or that faceless official? Not to mention the terrifying creature known as qishi (risen corpse).

Though I had often claimed not to fear death, feeling that living was merely a torment, when truly facing the absolute brink of death, the will to survive surged stronger than ever.

"Since there's a wolf ahead and a tiger behind, death is certain either way," I stood up calmly. "Being afraid won't help. We still need to keep moving forward."

Everyone else was completely lost. As soon as I spoke, they looked at each other, then, with a tacit understanding, hesitantly began shuffling forward.

Truthfully, I felt afraid the moment I finished speaking. I had no idea what we would encounter ahead… but then I reconsidered: whatever it was, it couldn't be as bad as having half my back ripped off by that monster. So, I followed them, moving forward with the group.

No one spoke. In the dimness, we groped our way forward slowly, an atmosphere of dread clinging to everyone. As they walked, Nion suddenly shouted, followed by a thud, and he vanished!

My mind went blank. Nion had been eaten by a monster! Nion had been eaten! I turned to flee, but my legs refused to obey.

"Crack, crack!" It sounded like bones snapping, surely the monster was tearing into Nion. My liver and gall turned to ice; I wanted to escape but had no strength. In that instant, I bitterly wished I had wings…

The crackling grew louder and faster. Before my eyes, I saw Nion’s entire body being torn by the monster into small, bloody shreds. Heavens… I…

"Pull me up!" Just as I was on the verge of collapse from fear, Nion’s voice actually rose from beneath the ground. "Pull me!" he shouted again.

Then, a thick arm shot out from the earth, waving frantically.

My mind couldn't process it. Was that Nion? How could he still speak?

Fortunately, Old Li reacted quicker. He stepped forward, grabbed the frantically waving hand, and hauled Nion up. Nion’s face was bloodless; he pointed at the ground, gasping "Ah, ah," unable to form words, but gesturing for them to look.

Only then did I notice that Nion had fallen into a large pit. It was about two meters in diameter, and not terribly deep, or Nion's hand wouldn't have reached the surface. But as for what was in the pit, I lacked the courage to look. Just seeing Nion’s face was enough to drain my will to see what horror lay within.

Old Li, however, mustered his courage and glanced a few times into the pit. Upon seeing it, he seemed immensely relieved. "It's just a charnel pit. No monsters."

Nion looked at us with a complex expression, opening his mouth several times but failing to speak. After several tries, he finally managed to get words out. "How could you be so reckless! All these skeletons were eaten by the monsters! I told you… without the skull lanterns, we are all doomed!" By the end, his voice had completely changed pitch.

"That's not right," surprisingly, it was Xu Zhiwu’s voice; he hadn't been completely terrified. "This isn't right." He repeated himself.

Perhaps having witnessed so many strange and horrifying things, I didn't find it particularly strange. Hadn't they just walked all the way here from the dried corpse cave? The bones in this pit were nowhere near as terrifying as those in the previous cavern.

"It's wrong!" Xu Zhiwu’s voice was much calmer now. "This should be a sacrificial pit… but… it doesn't match the style of the dried corpse cave, nor does it match Tibetan sacrificial styles…" He truly was an academic; as soon as doubt arose in his mind, he completely cast aside fear and jumped into the pit to investigate thoroughly.

"I…" Old Li hesitated, uncertain. "I think I've seen something like this before…"

I looked at Old Li suspiciously, waiting for him to elaborate. "It seems to be in Sichuan…" Old Li slapped his head hard, trying to recall. "It's in Sichuan… but… but… how could it be!"

I was utterly confused, not understanding what Old Li meant. Xu Zhiwu suddenly clapped his hands loudly and took over. "Yes! That’s it! Sichuan! Sichuan Sanxingdui!" he said, climbing out of the pit.

"Sanxingdui?" Nion repeated. "How is that possible? This is Tibet."

Indeed, how could it be? This was the site of the ancient Guge Kingdom, steeped in traditional Tibetan culture, easily fifty-four thousand li away from Sanxingdui in Sichuan, if not farther.