After a long while, they heard the Fatty’s roar echoing from within, shaking the entire cavern until it hummed, causing Lu Zong and Ma Xiong to clamp their hands over their ears. Following that came an absolute, deathly silence from inside the cave. Once the quiet settled, they heard the sound of the Fatty’s frustrated yells mixed with the sounds of the shamans chasing and beating him.

The Fatty’s voice grew closer, and Ma Xiong and Lu Zong quickly hid themselves away. Not long after, the Fatty bolted past them from below, the light from behind him no more than ten meters away. Both men held their breath for him.

When the sounds finally faded, the Fatty and Lu Zong swiftly jumped down from their hiding spot and headed toward their quarters. They saw two people tied to a sacrificial pillar. Despite the arduous torment of the past few days, their faces showed exhaustion mixed with deep sorrow, yet this only made them look all the more captivatingly lovely.

At that moment, Han Chong and Lusha also spotted the two, just about to call out, when Lu Zong suddenly rushed forward, covering both their mouths and making a soft shushing gesture, signaling them to remain silent. He then quickly untied the ropes binding them.

Lu Zong embraced Han Chong, and Ma Xiong pulled Lusha close. The two young women, having suffered immense fright, were pale as ghosts. Now that their saviors had finally appeared, they were overwhelmed with gratitude and couldn't hold back, bursting into loud sobs.

Lu Zong held Han Chong tightly, afraid that the shamans might return and discover them, which would create even greater trouble. He asked Han Chong, “Han Chong, did you notice if there’s another exit around here?”

Han Chong pointed overhead and replied, “There’s a culvert below that leads to a reservoir. They store fresh water and food down there. We should be able to escape from there.”

Lu Zong immediately pulled Ma Xiong and Lusha, holding Han Chong, and headed toward the underground waterway.

The reservoir was about thirty meters long and appeared to be a natural pit. Lu Zong arranged for the two girls and Ma Xiong to stay below while he went up to find Lu Zong.

He looked at the two beautiful women, their faces still shocked, and told them, “You two wait here for a moment. Ma Xiong will protect you. I’m going to find a friend.”

Naturally, in the eyes of Han Chong and Lusha, that friend was Ganda, not the Fatty who had joined them later. So, they nodded. Han Chong said to Lu Zong with concern, “Lu Zong, if you can’t find him, come back quickly. We finally got back together; please don’t let us separate again.”

Lu Zong gently stroked Han Chong’s cheek and then left.

He hadn't taken many steps when he heard a burst of heavy panting ahead. Judging by the vibrations, it had to be the Fatty returning. Just as the Fatty’s face appeared, Lu Zong quickly called out, “Fatty, hurry the hell up! Everyone’s waiting for you.”

The Fatty’s face was ashen as he cursed, “Oh my god, that scared the life out of me. These shamans are real idiots; they just kneeled quietly to let that giant seal eat them. The seal just swallowed the whole person whole. The scene was so gruesome it spattered blood all over me—look…”

Lu Zong quickly pulled the Fatty back, cursing, “Stop talking! Escaping is what matters now.” He then shoved the Fatty down into the pit and said, “Let’s go quickly, before those damned shamans find us.”

Han Chong looked at the Fatty and asked curiously, “Why did Ganda get so fat when we all got skinny? How did he get fatter?”

Lu Zong quickly explained, “Ganda had a small problem. The Fatty only joined us later; it’s a long story. We’ll talk about it later. For now, let’s just focus on getting out.”

It seemed this wasn't actually a reservoir. Ma Xiong plucked a strand of hair and placed it on the surface of the water, noticing it flowed toward the outside of the cave. He said, “If we head east now, we might end up even farther underground. In my opinion, this is likely an underground river.”

Lu Zong looked up at the ceiling. “This is the real underground river—the underground of the underground. I wonder if we’ll end up in the eighteenth layer of hell. Let’s hurry; let’s not worry about that right now.”

With that, he took Han Chong’s hand and started walking down. Seeing this, Ma Xiong also took Lusha’s hand and followed. The most pitiful was the Fatty; looking at Lu Zong and Ma Xiong each holding a small hand, he felt envious. He had no choice but to hold his own left hand with his right and trail behind the group.

It was clear that the river’s current wasn’t very fast, suggesting the river wasn't very steep. This gave the group a lot of confidence; perhaps they would find some exit up ahead, and then they could return home the way they came.

However, things did not unfold as they had anticipated. The further downriver they went, the more urgent the current became, as if a large whirlpool lay ahead, into which all the water was flowing.

Lu Zong couldn't stand it anymore and asked Ma Xiong, “Ma Xiong, what do you think is up ahead? Why is the water flowing so fast?”

Ma Xiong replied, “I don’t know either. It seems like we’ve hit some massive waterfall or something. Fatty, why don’t you go ahead and check if there’s any trouble? We’ll wait here with Lusha and Han Chong. If you run into any danger, just shout, and we’ll rush to save you immediately.”

The Fatty was already brimming with suppressed resentment. But he hadn't expected Ma Xiong to still assign the most dangerous task to him even now. Just as he was about to get angry, he realized Ma Xiong was being cunning; he had even involved the two beauties. If he didn't go scout ahead, he would look like he lacked any manly spirit. He didn’t say anything, just bottled up his frustration, and started walking downstream along the river to see what the terrain ahead looked like.

But the further the Fatty walked, the stranger things felt. He had the strange sensation that something was spinning in place up ahead.

The Fatty grew increasingly curious and hurried over to see what it was. To his surprise, he found that the object spinning in place was a corpse. Based on the clothing and facial features, it looked like the person had died quite recently.

He was startled, fearing an ambush of some sort, which would be disastrous. So, he quickly returned to report.

The others gathered around to see what the situation was.

Lu Zong suggested, “Maybe he starved to death here. Look, there are no signs of injury on his bones.”

Ma Xiong flipped the body over and confirmed there were no signs of fractures. So, they continued onward, as they no longer had a way to retreat.

But the more they walked, the more corpses they found, and most of them carried antiques. It looked as if they had been robbed from a tomb.

Lu Zong said they must be grave robbers. Judging by the antiques on them, they must have stolen them from tombs. But why did they all die here together?

Han Chong suddenly spoke up, “I’ve seen these people before.”

Lu Zong quickly asked, “Seen them? Where?”

Han Chong paused and said, “These people actually came here before you all. They originally intended to rescue the two of us, but unexpectedly, they were cornered by the shamans in the cave. They ended up jumping into this underground river. In the end, only one of their companions escaped. By the way, have you seen their companion?”

Ma Xiong’s face grew somber as he said, “He’s already dead, died in that quicksilver river. Right, Han Chong, how much do you two know about this place?”

Han Chong glanced at Lusha, who also looked puzzled. It seemed the two of them didn't know much about the place either.

Finally, Lusha spoke up. “It seems the people here are quite afraid of seals because they are always kneeling to them, and they even wanted to offer the two of us to the seals.”

“Oh, Lu Zong, I can understand their language. Do you know what they call this place?”

Lu Zong asked, “I don’t know. What do they call this place?”

Han Chong said, “Actually, the language they speak is the ancient language left behind by the shamans. This language died out three thousand years ago with the extinction of the shaman people, but to hear their voices here again is truly an honor. They actually call this place Hell.”

“What? Hell?” The three men were greatly astonished; it seemed their earlier deductions were correct. But they didn't say anything more and continued walking.

At this point, the corpses grew increasingly numerous. As the river gradually stabilized, the current became less turbulent, and the bodies stopped moving, remaining perfectly still.

Ma Xiong said, “Wait, they didn’t come in from the outside. Look at the direction their heads are facing.”

They glanced over and noticed that their bodies seemed oriented as if they had been running out of the cave entrance—their postures all had their heads facing the cave mouth and their feet pointing inward. This suggested the cave had another exit, but the posture of the dead indicated that exit was likely fraught with peril, as their positions brought to mind a scene: people fleeing desperately, trying to escape something, while a large monster behind them destroyed them mid-run toward survival.

But where did the front lead? Why had so many grave robbers died here? Lu Zong’s mind was filled with questions.

The only explanation now was that there must be a massive tomb ahead. These Mojin Xiaowei had looted antiques from it, but for some unknown reason, they died here.

Ma Xiong said, “No, there’s another explanation.”

They quickly asked what the other possibility was.

Ma Xiong explained, “These Mojin Xiaowei were hired by the tomb owner to construct the tomb’s mechanisms. The tomb owner must have intended for them to be buried alive once the construction was finished. This cave is the escape route they secretly built.”

They nodded in agreement. If Ma Xiong was right and the tomb owner could afford so many Mojin Xiaowei, then the tomb owner must have been of noble status. That meant a treasure trove awaited them ahead, but also death.

They debated what to do. They couldn't retreat now; advancing seemed equally dangerous. They were gambling with their lives.

According to the Fatty and Ma Xiong, they should press on; hadn't they seen so many antiques ahead? They were about to get rich.

However, Han Chong and Lusha’s opinion was that they should observe for a while and then leave.

The final decision now rested with Lu Zong. The greatest advantage of remaining silent was that one often held the decisive vote, becoming the focal point of attention, and one could even savor the godlike thrill of making the final call—what an honor.

Lu Zong was torn. But ultimately, the treasure ahead tempted him. Lu Zong declared, “Let’s go. We’ll brave the Gates of Hell too.”

Lu Zong’s words proved effective; it seemed the earlier saying held true. Those other two people ultimately deferred to Lu Zong’s decision.

The deeper they went into the cave, the larger the space became, and the more obvious the signs of artificial carving appeared. They walked for another half hour; the cave ceiling was now four or five meters high, and the width was about two meters. Portions of the walls on both sides were very smooth and level. Upon closer inspection, they noticed faint scratches that looked like they were made by a hard object, though not very distinct. Ma Xiong suggested these must be places where the burial attendants recorded events from their escape while fleeing. Ancient people cared greatly about the judgment of posterity. Thus, they were always ready to inscribe their deeds to secure their names. Lu Zong traced the lines of the grooves and indeed saw traces resembling writing.

But after so many years, many of the markings had disappeared, and some were not clear enough; what was written could no longer be known. However, one thing was certain: the person who carved the markings certainly knew how to write.

They continued moving forward.

The tunnel ahead did not change drastically, but its length and width seemed to increase systematically. There were not many corpses here now, unlike before when they stumbled over one every few steps.

Lu Zong faintly heard the sound of a waterfall, and it grew clearer.

Lu Zong asked, “Fatty, did you hear the waterfall?”

The Fatty replied, “I heard it. It sounds like the underground river. It seems their chances of survival here have increased slightly; at least they won’t die of thirst.”

Lu Zong countered, “Maybe not. We still face the threat of drowning.”

Lu Zong asked the others, “Did any of you hear the sound of running water?”

Ma Xiong said, “Look up.”

Lu Zong tilted his head up and looked ahead. A waterfall appeared before them.

Lu Zong exclaimed in surprise, “A waterfall? It’s a waterfall!” Lu Zong craned his neck to look upward, but above was solid, hard rock. This meant they were still underground; the waterfall was the result of a massive drop in the underground river. The sound they heard earlier originated from here.

This waterfall was almost twenty meters high, leaving less than a meter of space between it and the cave floor. The water that struck the ground seemed to flow toward the left side of the waterfall, suggesting there was another tunnel on the left.

They approached the water flow, wanting to get a clearer view of the situation before them.

To the left of the waterfall, there was indeed another opening. It was smaller than the main tunnel. Judging by the rapid sound of the water below, there must be some sheer drop or cliff face inside, making this narrow path impassable for them.

But the only path forward was blocked by the waterfall. Their only option now was to pass through the waterfall.

What to do? They asked Ma Xiong. Ma Xiong said, “We have to cross this waterfall now. Look, isn’t there something white shimmering on the other side of the falls? It might be sunlight. If we get through, we might be out.”

Ma Xiong’s encouragement re-ignited their adrenaline, and they were eager to try.

The Fatty acted first, hooking his grappling claw onto the edge above the waterfall. He easily traversed the falls and reached the other side. But the Fatty didn’t return for a long time, and they waited anxiously.

After a long wait, the waterfall finally showed a reaction. An opening broke through from below, and the Fatty swung over, his face alight with excitement.

Lu Zong asked, “Fatty, what made you so excited?”

The Fatty didn't say anything, just smiled and said, “Who wants to go next? It’s very safe on the other side, and there’s an unexpected surprise waiting for you.”

Ma Xiong was the first to be tempted. Hearing the word ‘surprise,’ the first word that sprang to mind was ‘treasure.’ He asked the Fatty to carry him over.

The Fatty gave them a strange smile and then whisked Ma Xiong away, flying across.

Lu Zong suddenly felt a sense of dread about the Fatty’s smile. Lu Zong noticed that the Fatty’s smile seemed to carry another layer of meaning, and his tone of voice was slightly different. When he spoke previously, he never added suffixes, but Lu Zong distinctly heard the Fatty rigidly add an “oh” at the end of his sentence just now. Lu Zong realized that there was likely a shock mixed with the surprise on the other side, and he tried to stop the Fatty, but they were already at the edge of the waterfall, about to pass through.

Lu Zong watched them vanish behind the waterfall, his heart momentarily stopping. Lu Zong felt the world become utterly silent.

Suddenly, a mournful wail erupted from beyond the waterfall. Lu Zong’s heart lurched violently.

He rushed forward to see what had caused his heart to leap.