The Company Commander realized his own overreaction and signaled his men to lower their weapons, saying, "Didn't I tell you? We're all in this together now, like grasshoppers on the same vine. Where could we possibly run to? We're all on the same team; why act like this? I admit, this was all my fault. Fine, we'll wait right here until Fatty catches his breath."

Ma Xiong managed a wry smile. This insincere apology from the Company Commander felt unsettlingly unfamiliar. He said nothing, just watched Fatty in his arms, hoping the man would wake up soon.

Lu Zong saw the Company Commander had a canteen and asked for it, giving Fatty a few sips. Only then did Fatty begin to recover slightly. Seeing everyone focused on him, he managed an embarrassed smile, and the tension in the air finally eased a bit.

Ma Xiong asked, "Fatty, what exactly did you see just now?"

Fatty’s face instantly darkened. He looked mysteriously at the group and said, "Ma Xiong, help me up."

Ma Xiong helped Fatty rise. Fatty then instructed everyone to step back, told them to take the wooden lids off the surrounding coffins, use them to cover this particular coffin, and then burn it all to ashes.

Only when the very last ember faded did Fatty dust off his arms and say, "It's done. Let's keep moving."

The Company Commander was still puzzled by the earlier incident and asked again, "Fatty, what did you actually see?"

Fatty looked down, silent for a moment, then suddenly lifted his head and declared, "I can't say. Not yet. I can only tell you when we reach our destination."

Seeing Fatty's solemn expression, as if he'd lost a father, they stopped pressing him. They simply followed him as he navigated around the row of coffins.

Unexpectedly, the coffins seemed to move aside on their own. They saw that most of them were empty; the creature was nowhere to be seen, not harassing them anymore. Watching Fatty walk confidently among the coffins, the others felt less worried.

Only Fatty knew that they were now slowly walking toward death. Even now, thinking about what was inside those coffins made him tremble uncontrollably.

However, if he told them now, one of them was sure to die a horrible death.

Soon, they passed through the array of coffins. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief, feeling they had completely escaped the ghastly presence of that creature.

What greeted them next was a vast expanse of thick, white fog.

The Company Commander asked anxiously, "Fatty, could this be miasma from the corpses?"

Fatty swept his hand through the mist, sensing that the air was circulating relatively well. He said, "It’s fine. This is just ordinary fog. Just breathe normally."

This mist seemed to have settled here for years; it couldn't be dispersed by any means. Even their torches couldn't drive it away. Their effective visibility was limited to three meters.

With this meager three-meter range, they could just make out a pit in front of them, easily three meters deep, as they could see the bottom. It looked like a large pit deliberately dug by the architect of this place. The visual range stopped exactly at the edge. The group walked a circle around the pit, returning to where they started, only to realize there were no exits around the perimeter; the only way forward was down into the pit itself.

According to the map of the Demon Tower, they were indeed supposed to descend to the bottom of this pit.

With no other choice, they found steps leading down the side. Fatty instructed, "Wait here. I’ll scout ahead. Only descend when you hear my command."

With that, Fatty started down the steps. Since they could only see three meters, Fatty disappeared from view as soon as he reached the bottom. Ge Mei anxiously called out, "Professor Fatty, can you hear us?"

Fatty’s voice floated up from below: "All clear down here. You can come down now."

Then, silence.

What was that? The voice sounded slightly different from Fatty’s, Ma Xiong thought suspiciously, turning to gauge the opinions of the others.

Lu Zong nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it had a strange depth, a kind of aged hoarseness. It didn't sound like Fatty; it sounded like it came from above us."

The Company Commander scoffed, "If that wasn't Fatty’s voice, whose was it? I heard Fatty. Maybe it’s just the acoustics, bouncing off the ceiling, causing some distortion. Hurry up and go down!"

Seeing the Company Commander had the majority, they couldn't resist and followed him down. Yet, they remained uneasy. Although the voice was generally like Fatty’s, there were subtle nuances if one listened closely. Ah, never mind that. We’ll find Fatty, and then we can just ask him.

Not long after descending, they actually found Fatty. Seeing everyone had followed him down, Fatty’s face soured, and he asked, "Who told you to come down?"

Ge Mei replied, "Didn't you just call us down?"

Fatty frowned for a second, then quickly smoothed his expression. "Oh, right, right. I forgot for a moment."

Ma Xiong noticed the flicker in Fatty’s expression. Fatty, you can fool them, but you can't fool me. That wasn't Fatty calling them down just now. If he didn't cover for the voice, everyone would panic. Ma Xiong said nothing and simply kept walking behind Fatty.

They were all now immersed in the dense fog. The surrounding tomb walls were made of slick, smooth concrete. Fatty took a few steps and announced, "You can step onto the floor now. It’s solid."

They carefully stepped onto the floor, trailing quietly behind Fatty.

The moment their feet touched the floor, the fog seemed to react as if under instruction. It suddenly lifted, floating upwards until it clustered densely above their heads, encircling the three-meter-high opening of the pit like a veil of white silk. Now, they couldn't see the outside sky, but inside the pit, things were drastically different—they could see clearly across to the opposite wall.

The pit itself was a very ordinary large hole, perfectly square everywhere except for a towering statue positioned precisely in the center.

Fatty called from ahead, "Hurry up and come over here."

It was that same voice again. This time, Ma Xiong heard it clearly—it absolutely was not Fatty’s voice. Yet, the others had already moved forward, so Ma Xiong reluctantly followed. Lu Zong lagged at the rear, waiting until Ma Xiong caught up before speaking. "Ma Xiong, that voice isn't Fatty's. They haven't talked to Fatty much, but we know his gravelly sound, don't we?"

Ma Xiong nodded. "I suspected it early on, actually. I didn't say anything so as not to frighten everyone. But if that wasn't Fatty calling us, who was it?"

Lu Zong pondered. "Do you remember when Fatty fainted in the coffin array after seeing what was inside those coffins? I think it has to be related to those coffins. Otherwise, given Fatty's years of experience and training, he wouldn't have been scared senseless by whatever was in there. He must have seen something he shouldn't have."

"Something he shouldn't have seen? What could that be?" Ma Xiong muttered to himself.

Just then, Fatty called out from the front, "Hey, you two back there! What are you doing? Hurry up and catch up, damn it!"

Now that’s Fatty’s tone, Ma Xiong thought, hurrying to catch up.

They stopped about ten meters from the statue. The faint mist only allowed them to make out the sculpture's silhouette. It was clear the sculpture wasn't particularly successful; the body was too bloated, and the pose was rather ungainly.

Ma Xiong suddenly had an idea and whispered to Lu Zong, "Lu Zong, look at that statue. Doesn't it resemble Fatty a bit? I feel like Fatty is the main subject of this whole expedition. That’s why he was terrified by whatever was in the coffins. Look at the statue's physique—it's similar to Fatty's."

Lu Zong squinted. "You’re right. Look at that corpulent body; it makes me sick. But we can’t see clearly. Even so, it couldn't possibly be Fatty. If there's any connection, it's only possible if there was someone exactly like Fatty walking around back in Cao Cao’s era. Let's move on. It just looks like a particularly heavy-set person to me."

Arriving before the statue, Ma Xiong deliberately needled Fatty. "Fatty, look at that statue. It looks a lot like you, hehe. Seems like you were born a thousand years ago to be worshipped."

The Company Commander, Lu Zong, and the others all laughed. Fatty laughed too, but his smile was noticeably forced. Ma Xiong was now certain that the statue and Fatty were connected somehow; otherwise, his laughter wouldn't have seemed so unnatural.

Just as Ma Xiong was about to press further, Fatty suddenly stopped him. "Everyone, be careful. There’s something wrong with this statue. Let’s just ignore it for now and check the surroundings for an exit."

He then took the lead and walked away.

The Company Commander and the others followed suit. Since Fatty had spoken, they felt it inappropriate to press the issue further.

But Ma Xiong had a nagging feeling that Fatty was acting evasive out of guilt. Today, he resolved to sneak a look and find out what was going on.

However, the moment his foot lifted to take that first step, he felt a hand grab his arm from behind. He whipped around to see Fatty looking at him with a wronged expression, pleading in his voice, "Ma Xiong, please, can you just not look? Let’s get out of here."

Ma Xiong grabbed Fatty’s arm tightly. "Fatty, what is going on? Just tell me."

Fatty looked at Ma Xiong with terror. "Ma Xiong, I promise you, you will know everything when the time is right. Let's go, quickly!"

Ma Xiong sighed in resignation and moved away from the statue.

Fatty said, "This fog array is just a small formation. The exit is likely on these tomb walls. Look closely—is there anything protruding, like a button or a loose brick?"

As he was speaking, a shriek suddenly erupted from behind them. It was Ge Mei, seemingly from the direction of the statue. Ge Mei clearly yelled, "Professor Fatty?"

Then, silence.

Fatty bolted toward the statue like a madman.