Lu Zong glanced at the fatty's swollen face, then stepped forward and brushed the air in front of him. His hand touched something cold. Could it be glass?

He called the others over, saying, "Hurry up and look at this, what in the world is this thing? We can't see it, but it's stopping us? Oh, right, how did Ma Xiong manage to pass through?"

Ma Xiong also noticed behind him and hurried back, saying, "What the hell is going on? Are you guys coming or not? What are you doing here?"

Lu Zong said, "Ma Xiong, come over and try. See if you can come across."

Although Ma Xiong didn't know why Lu Zong wanted him to come over, he figured there was no hostility, so he walked across.

Who knew that Ma Xiong crossed so swaggeringly, smoothly, encountering no obstruction at all. Lu Zong wiped the air again; the membrane was still there.

Could the trick lie in the clothes Ma Xiong was holding?

He took the garment from Ma Xiong’s embrace and said, "Alright, it’s fine now, you can go across."

Ma Xiong looked at Lu Zong doubtfully and cursed, "You’re seriously messed up." With that, he shot a look of disgust and walked toward the pane of glass.

Unexpectedly, because he had been angry and rushed too quickly, he slammed right into that pane of glass. He stumbled down with a muffled thud. He looked ahead—nothing but empty space. He scratched his forehead, then tried to walk across again, only to bump into the invisible glass once more.

He scratched his head, looked at the fatty collapsed on the ground, and asked curiously, "What’s up, Fatty? Were you also blocked by this transparent glass?"

The fatty nodded and said, "You still have the mood to joke after being played by Lu Zong."

Ma Xiong glared at Lu Zong and said, "I knew you good-for-nothing never had good intentions."

Han Chong and Lu Sha looked at Ma Xiong’s miserable expression and chuckled. Lu Zong covered his mouth with his hand, forcing himself not to laugh. Then he said, "Actually, the mechanism for this glass is in this garment. It seems they gave us these clothes for a reason." With that, he handed the garment to the remaining four people and instructed, "Hurry and put them on. Look how good the Queen is to us; she bathed us and clothed us."

Ma Xiong grinned happily and said, "I also think the Queen is wonderful. Do you think there’s any other place besides a bathhouse where one can enjoy such treatment?"

Lu Sha shot back, "You go to bathhouses all the time?"

Ma Xiong put on a very manly facade: "Of course. I’m the one collecting protection fees for the bathhouses."

They quickly put on the clothes. Lu Zong specifically looked at Han Chong and Lu Sha’s sets; the thin, transparent gauze barely concealed their tender, snowy skin, especially the two large melons of their chests, which made the three men drool. It wasn't until Lu Sha puffed out her chest and scolded, "Don't stare, you three perverts, or I’ll tell the Queen, and she’ll have you captured to be male concubines."

The fatty smiled with a lustful look and said, "That wouldn't be bad either. Being a male concubine means at least having a woman."

Lu Sha looked at the fatty, thinking that being a male concubine was too easy a fate for him.

Lu Zong took the lead at the front of the group and said, "Today I’ll show you all how capable I, Lu Zong, am," and then he walked forward and passed through the invisible glass smoothly.

Ma Xiong and the fatty followed, and it seemed to present no difficulty. Han Chong and Lu Sha exchanged a look, then walked across as well.

Where to go next?

They looked around blankly. At this moment, it was as if they had emerged from a tunnel into an empty desert—nothing around them.

The sky was gradually darkening. It seemed the geothermal yeoman had retreated. He looked around and said, "Let's camp here for the night and set off at dawn tomorrow."

Ma Xiong looked around and said, "I think we should go back. If we go back, there will be shelter from the wind and rain. I won’t mind sleeping here, but what about those two delicate, tender girls? What if they can’t handle it?"

The two beauties sent him a wave of energy. He knew it was gratitude.

As if encouraged, Ma Xiong quickly turned to slip back into the original tunnel. But the moment he turned, he saw that the scene behind him had changed drastically. The tunnel, previously covered in ruins, was now slowly vanishing, sinking under the encroaching darkness until it stopped descending only when it was level with the horizon.

Ma Xiong quickly called the others to look at the scene behind them; they were all stunned.

The fatty said, "What in the world is happening? Why did they disappear?"

Lu Zong said, "I feel like they just sank, only temporarily. They might float up again tomorrow. They’ve gone home to sleep. We aren't the only guests here; their task isn't finished yet. Future guests will perform a series of rituals inside, rituals necessary before meeting the Queen."

The group said nothing, just looked for a relatively comfortable rock nearby and huddled beneath it, waiting for the sun to rise normally the next day.

Lu Zong held Han Chong close, affectionately gazing at the girl’s smiling lips despite all the turmoil they had endured, and kissed her. Ma Xiong scrambled and crawled over to Lu Sha’s side. He had heard that foreign women were more open, but he was immediately cursed out by Lu Sha the moment he rolled near her. She snapped, "This isn't a bathhouse, don’t come near here."

Ma Xiong quickly thought of something and said, "Look behind you, there's a head."

Lu Sha jumped, startled, and leaped into Ma Xiong’s embrace, only then realizing she had been tricked. However, she found Ma Xiong’s embrace quite warm and comfortable. She thought that even the Simmons mattress at her home wasn't this reassuring, so she simply fell asleep in his arms—why waste the opportunity if it was offered?

The hardest off was the fatty, who could only sulk by himself, staring at the sky, regretting not finding a woman outside before coming in. Seeing the two big lechers succeed, he could only stew in jealousy. But it didn't matter; his psychological resilience was strong; there was no need to stoop to their level. Those women were just a heart, some skin, and a few blood vessels, right? He had those too.

The long night was truly boring. The two women beside him were asleep; he was the only one counting the stars, which he couldn't even identify. Slowly, drowsiness washed over him. His eyelids grew heavy and closed together; even they could find their other halves.

Suddenly, under the illumination of those lights, he noticed faint reflections rippling nearby. At first, he thought he was dreaming, but when he saw Han Chong slowly stand up, walk toward the light source, and slowly vanish, he realized something was wrong. He quickly called out for Han Chong not to leave, but Han Chong was already gone. He looked at Lu Zong’s embrace—it was empty. Han Chong had truly disappeared into thin air.

He wanted to shout, but his throat wouldn't make a sound. He wanted to chase after her, but his body couldn’t move. For some reason, the drowsiness grew stronger. Although he tried hard to fight it, warning himself that danger was present, he was ultimately defeated by the heavy fatigue and drifted into a hazy sleep.