He actually managed to grab hold of something amidst his wild flailing, and when he yanked hard, he realized it was quite sturdy, which immediately put him at ease. He took a deep, gasping breath. From overhead came Han Chong’s shout: “Lu Zong, are you alright? Can you hear me?”

Lu Zong’s heart warmed instantly, realizing Han Chong was the one who truly cared for others, so he looked up and shouted back, “I’m fine, don’t worry, I’ve got hold of something!”

Then he looked at the lifeline in his hand—it was the seal’s whisker, after all. He felt immense gratitude. The seal’s whisker had saved him so many times, yet now he had caused it to fall down a cliff; he felt deeply apologetic. But this wasn't the time for repentance; he swore to thank it properly once he crawled back ashore.

Saying that, he scrambled and tumbled his way onto the bank, finally completing the arduous feat under the drive of his will to survive, quickly dragging himself into the cave.

He gasped heavily, realizing the effort he’d expended just now had been considerable. Han Chong walked over and wiped the sweat from his brow: “Look at you, you were mesmerized by that thing again just now.”

Lu Zong sat up, offering an embarrassed smile: “Heh heh, I lost focus for a moment, didn’t pay attention…”

Lu Sha sneered: “You always do what’s on your mind. Look at us two women, we aren't fighting over each other. If you ask me, men are the biggest mistake in the world—so petty, you deserve to fall.”

Ma Xiong, hearing Lu Sha say that, retorted without restraint: “How can you say that? If it weren’t for us men, who would support you? How would you survive?”

Lu Sha became even angrier upon hearing Ma Xiong’s words: “What? You still have the nerve to say that? What were you thinking just now? Wasn’t it just greed that drove you to fight for it? And Lu Zong, he was actually trying to act like a scoundrel! If this young lady hadn't reacted quickly, those two virgins would have already been ruined by you three shameless, great villains.” Ma Xiong was even more unconvinced: “So what if we men are greedy? In the end, you women spend it all anyway. You two just sit at home expecting us to provide your meals every day…”

Lu Sha shot back: “Who told you to be men?”

The clueless Fatty chimed in at this moment: “I always thought that in this world, everyone is equal; there’s fundamentally no distinction between male and female…”

Ma Xiong and Lu Sha both roared at the Fatty in unison: “Scram!”

The Fatty nearly tumbled out of the cave, but fortunately, his heavy base kept him grounded.

Lu Zong seized the moment the argument paused and quickly tried to smooth things over: “Let’s look for an exit quickly, or we’ll suffocate in here.”

With that said, his gaze darted around, searching for any weak point through which they could leave.

Ma Xiong then walked up to Lu Zong, fixing him with a menacing stare, and asked, “Lu Zong, did you really have lustful thoughts about those two women just now?”

Lu Zong managed a wry smile, surprised that Ma Xiong was still preoccupied with that matter. He didn’t elaborate, just looked at Ma Xiong and then said, “Look behind you quickly, that protruding rock.” He then hurried away.

In truth, Lu Zong hadn’t noticed anything unusual; he just felt he needed an excuse to leave. As his eyes drifted behind Ma Xiong, he spotted a protruding stone and used that as his justification. He hadn't actually expected it to be an exit.

But as Lu Zong approached it, the stone looked increasingly familiar. Wasn't that protruding stone shaped exactly like a large ear? His heart began to thump. He walked slowly toward it, and only when he was right up close did he notice that there was a gap between that stone and the surrounding rock, and the outer silhouette of the stone was indeed shaped like a large ear.

He called Han Chong, Ma Xiong, and the others over. Together they strained to pull the stone out. What they saw hidden inside shocked them: a corpse. The four of them jumped back, especially Lu Zong, who was at the front; his hands trembled, and he quickly backed away.

Han Chong unconsciously leaned against Lu Zong. Lu Zong, feeling the need to maintain his composure as a man, reassured everyone: “It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s just a dead body. Don’t be afraid.”

Lu Zong noticed Lu Sha glance up at Ma Xiong before angrily pulling her hand out of Ma Xiong’s waist. The worst off was the Fatty, who instantly sank to the ground, his facial muscles twitching spasmodically.

Lu Zong walked forward again, examining the corpse. “It’s mummified. Must be over three thousand years old. Just a dead person.”

Ma Xiong stammered, “Didn't you feel it was strange that he was stored in the Hall of Yama? This corpse must be related to Yama. Could this be Yama?”

Lu Zong inspected the mummy thoroughly, finally shaking his head: “No, this is just a rather ordinary mummy.” With that, he yanked the corpse out of the recess, frightening the four of them into retreating repeatedly. But Lu Zong, wanting to preserve his masculine image, laughed and said, “Nothing to it, it’s dead.”

As soon as he spoke, he saw the fear on the faces of the four others, and then he realized there must be something wrong with the mummy. Just as he turned to look back, the mummy suddenly fluttered its arm, breaking free from Lu Zong’s grasp. The mummy then dropped onto the floor.

Next, with the speed of lightning, the mummy flipped up from the ground, let out a cry that echoed throughout the great hall—a sound piercing to the bone, sharp as a knife thrust—and then flew out of the stone chamber.

Before the five of them could fully react, the great bird had completely exited the stone room and was circling and crying overhead. Lu Zong asked Han Chong: “What kind of bird is that? Did you learn about it?”

Han Chong thought for a moment and replied, “I didn't learn about it specifically, but I’ve heard of it. In the Hall of Yama, there is a bird called the Bird of Life and Death that specializes in delivering news of death to the living world. It works for Yama; it should be the Yin-Yang Bird.”

Lu Zong offered no commentary on the answer, just glanced outside and said, “I have a feeling this bird has gone to find its companions. We should move quickly. Let’s get out of this stone chamber before we actually get attacked by the Yin-Yang Bird; that would be a huge problem.”

He peered back into the recess where the coffin had been and noticed the hole was nearly ten meters deep, with a faint light visible at the very bottom.

He pulled his head back and told everyone, “Now we face a serious problem: we have to traverse it.”

“Traverse?!” the others asked anxiously. “What traversal? Traverse where? How do we traverse?”

Lu Zong looked at their anxious faces and said, “Don’t rush, let me explain slowly. What I mean is, we must pass through this coffin hole, not actually traverse to another dimension. We just need to get to the other side of the hole.”

The Fatty shouted: “You scared me half to death! I thought we had to be disassembled and reassembled in another world! I was worried about how much trouble it would be to reassemble this heavy frame of mine. It’s just crawling through a hole? Why didn’t you say so earlier? Fatty will be the first to actively answer the Party’s call!”

Lu Zong looked at the Fatty, who seemed unbothered by backaches, and pulled him toward the hole barely wide enough for a seven-year-old child: “Alright, you answer the Party’s active call.”

The Fatty didn't say another word. He approached the hole, feeling around it with his hands, and said, “Open the mechanism, and I’ll crawl through.”

Lu Zong asked confusedly, “What mechanism? You just need to crawl through this hole.”

The Fatty turned around indignantly: “You enjoy joking with Fatty, don’t you? Even if you split me into three pieces, I probably couldn’t squeeze through.”

Han Chong looked at the hole and said, “Indeed, how can one get through such a narrow hole?”

Ma Xiong, who had been standing by, spoke up: “Lu Zong, didn’t we see that boiling oil pot for frying people earlier? Maybe we need to get fried until we’re cooked before we throw ourselves down?”

Lu Zong nodded: “Then you go get fried first, and then try crawling through.”

Ma Xiong looked at Lu Zong, his voice losing confidence: “Never mind, if I get fried to death, I’ll just be someone else’s breakfast.” The Fatty muttered beside him, breakfast again. “At this point, I’d rather be someone’s breakfast. Look at me, I’m so hungry I’m about to turn into a thin person.”

Lu Zong looked at the Fatty and confirmed he had indeed lost some weight. Han Chong, however, delivered a blow: “No, I think you’ve gotten fatter again. You’re the fattest person I’ve ever seen.”

The Fatty fell silent. Han Chong quickly asked Lu Zong what was going on. Lu Zong explained: “He briefly thought he was pregnant.”

Han Chong burst out laughing. The Fatty roared: “Lu Zong, dammit, stop badmouthing me in front of women!”

Perhaps because the Fatty’s volume was too loud, his voice echoed throughout the entire room, sounding as if it came from directly overhead. Everyone froze for a moment. Han Chong was the first to react; he pointed at the coffin hole and said, “It’s that coffin hole! That coffin hole transmits sound! This Hall of Yama is actually an excellent sound transmission chamber. If you shout in here, the sound travels through the tunnel to other places. Fatty, shout again!”

The Fatty walked up to the coffin hole and yelled into the large opening: “Damn your mother!”

Sure enough, the Fatty heard curses directed at him echoing from all directions, and because the sound was so intense, it reverberated in the room for a long time, sounding just like special effects in a movie. He stared at the coffin hole in amazement, then attempted a second shout: “Fatty is so handsome, I like you!”

Indeed, voices from all four directions echoed back proclaiming their affection for the Fatty, the effect no less impressive than Jay Chou’s worldwide concert tour. Ma Xiong stared at the coffin hole in shock: “In the future, if I want to indulge in fantasy, I won’t need to read online novels anymore; I can just shout here and be revered by thousands!”

The Fatty seemed ready to shout again, but Lu Zong stopped him, roaring: “Stop talking! You’ve stirred up trouble, dammit! Listen, don’t you hear the sound of the Yin-Yang Bird?”

The Fatty held his breath and listened intently. Sure enough, he heard a bird cry from above. He quickly asked, “Did I summon them?”

Lu Zong nodded.

The Fatty became excited: “I can’t believe Fatty can summon monsters! That’s amazing!”