The crowd was momentarily stunned by Lu Zong's odd behavior, clustering around the crystal to peer inside, checking if the figure within had shifted again. But to their disappointment, the corpse remained silently still, utterly unchanged.

Ma Xiong asked Lu Zong, a touch of curiosity in his voice, "Lu Zong, what did you find that's making you so mysterious?" Lu Zong replied, "No, it's not that simple. What we just saw felt like more than just a mere illusion.

Ma Xiong, go stand by the crystal again, and tell me what you see this time?" Ma Xiong stood up, somewhat perplexed, walked to the crystal, and gazed into it. To his surprise, this time he saw Lu Zong.

He exclaimed in astonishment, "Lu Zong, I see you this time." Lu Zong, however, showed no surprise, as if he had already known. He then turned to Fatty and said, "Fatty, stand where I was standing and look; what do you see?" Fatty rushed over to Lu Zong's spot and peered intently into the crystal.

After a long moment, he spoke, his voice filled with awe, "I see Ma Xiong." Ma Xiong shot back testily, "What? You have a crush on me?

Why else would you see my reflection?" Lu Zong laughed heartily. "Haha, I finally understand!

No wonder everyone sees something different. It's because of the angles.

Look, if I stand here, and Ma Xiong looks at me from the direction of the crystal, his line of sight passes through the crystal, and the refraction points him right at me. If we change the angle, another person standing opposite can see them.

Does that make sense?" Yet, only Lu Zong was laughing; the rest stared at him blankly. Lu Zong immediately sensed something was wrong and quickly asked, "What's wrong?

Did I miss something?" Fatty spoke up, "If what we're seeing is just a true reflection of a person, then how do you explain what Ma Xiong and I saw—Han Chong and Lu Sha? Were they standing opposite us just now for us to see them?" At those words, Lu Zong shivered violently and quickly scanned the dark surroundings.

The visibility was no more than four meters in the blackness. Lu Zong told Ma Xiong to light a flare, and instantly, the narrow tunnel was illuminated as if transparent.

Lu Zong looked around. It was all loose sand and gravel, so unstable that a careless move could cause a collapse, endangering their lives.

But there was no trace of Lu Sha or Han Chong. If his explanation just now was correct, it meant Han Chong and Lu Sha had been here, so why were they gone now?

Could his explanation have been flawed? Were those things illusions after all?

He couldn't decipher the matter anymore. His mind suddenly grew hot again: "If my second explanation is true, then that dried corpse should also be somewhere in this chamber, not inside the crystal." His gaze searched the cavern anxiously, hoping to find a body, but after a long while, he found nothing.

Only slightly above and to the right of the ceiling, there was a hole the thickness of an adult's waist. He walked over, took the Luoyang shovel from Fatty, and began excavating that hole.

Unexpectedly, the earth in that hole was incredibly loose. The shovel went in, and the soil cascaded down like snow.

Lu Zong quickly backed away, waiting for the dirt to settle before approaching to see what was what. When the dust cleared, they saw something that looked like another passageway.

The tunnel they had been digging was mere inches from connecting to this one—just short of Lu Zong's last scoop. Lu Zong asked, "Fatty, did you dig this tunnel?" Fatty walked over, stuck his head into the opening, estimated the width and height, and then answered with firm conviction, "This is definitely not a tomb tunnel.

It feels like the corridor we just came through. It might be a yongdao [passage/corridor]." "A yongdao?

Didn't we just exit one? Why is there another one here?" Are there two yongdaos?

Does this tomb have two passages? Ma Xiong muttered to himself, and Lu Zong was equally uncertain.

Fatty offered, "I think maybe this is the case: didn't the first yongdao close off? It's likely these two are connected.

When the passage over there closed, this one naturally expanded to become a new route. If I'm not mistaken, this passage should also close off soon." Lu Zong nodded in agreement.

Ma Xiong glanced at Fatty, ignored him, and asked Lu Zong, "Lu Zong, what exactly are you looking for?" Lu Zong said, "If my second explanation is correct, then the female corpse we saw must also be a real body, seen through the refraction of our sightlines. Therefore, I believe that female corpse truly exists?" "Truly exists?" Ma Xiong involuntarily repeated, "You mean, that female corpse is real?" Lu Zong nodded.

The three found it incredible and turned to stare at the crystal. Looking from the side, they could still see the female corpse lying peacefully within.

"Wait a minute, Lu Zong, why can we still see the female corpse inside? We can see her even if you're standing in front of it." Lu Zong thought for a moment, then stood on top of the crystal and told them, "Look again." This time, they saw Lu Zong positioned as if he were sitting right on top of the female corpse.

It was terrifying. Startled, they quickly looked up to confirm Lu Zong was alone before nervously looking back down to observe.

But after watching for a long time, they still felt the female corpse was inside the crystal. Lu Zong asked, "Hey, what do you see?

Do you see me? Is the female corpse still inside?" The others looked at the self-assured Lu Zong and nodded sheepishly.

Lu Zong looked utterly bewildered. He jumped down from the crystal, then told Ma Xiong to climb onto it while he looked in from the side.

Sure enough, the female corpse lay there as quietly as before. He scratched his head, unwilling to let his theory be so easily defeated.

He jumped back onto the crystal, then climbed onto the dirt layer directly above it, ordering Ganda to support him while Ma Xiong and Fatty observed the crystal from the sides to see if the corpse was still visible. Ma Xiong and Fatty’s expressions turned to sheer terror.

They rushed forward and yanked Lu Zong off Ganda's back, panting, as if they had just witnessed something horrifying. Lu Zong hurriedly asked them, "Did my body block the view of the female corpse?

Is she still inside the crystal?" Ma Xiong and Fatty were still shaken, swallowing hard; whatever they had seen clearly terrified them. They remained silent for a long time.

Seeing their state, Lu Zong knew something bizarre had just occurred. But seeing how utterly dejected they were, he decided to let them rest while he went to check what was on the ceiling he had just been underneath.

However, before he could even climb up to the ceiling, he was violently pulled down by Ma Xiong and Fatty. Ma Xiong cursed, "Damn it, are you trying to get yourself killed?"