Although feeling strange, it was inconvenient to ask more questions here, so he could only watch Old Qian depart quietly ahead of him.

Old Qian spoke a word, "Go," to the air behind him, leaving Ma Xiong standing in place, and then walked toward the pressure again. Just as another pressure was about to arrive, Ma Xiong saw Old Qian tell the air behind him, "You stay here, and follow the method I just told you." This time, Old Qian walked a very long distance, and when he sensed the surroundings growing brighter again, he turned back but found no trace of Ma Xiong. They figured they must have turned several corners.

Time was growing increasingly short. Before Old Qian could get a clear look around, he covered the air behind him with a cloth, then tied a loop of rope around his waist.

"If I pull the rope, you pull my rope, and then run toward him—Ma Xiong—following the rope!"

Old Qian nodded and smiled. Ma Xiong thought that perhaps those two unseen mysterious figures had understood Old Qian's intentions.

"No matter what you hear, don't open your eyes!"

Old Qian nodded again.

Old Qian immediately turned and walked toward the next area of pressure.

Ma Xiong no longer looked at Old Qian, standing there alone, holding a candle up with one hand, his eyes peering intensely at the flickering light through the black cloth. With his other hand, he gripped the rope tightly. The rope connected to Old Qian’s end was pulled taut, almost suspended in mid-air. Ma Xiong dared not pull hard, fearing Old Qian would mistake it for a signal, forcing him to follow if he tried to run toward the exit.

Time passed in an indeterminate manner; every second felt like a year. Ma Xiong felt a chill pervade his entire body.

It was utterly silent around him, not a single sound. Ma Xiong found the feeling of fear uncontrollable, yet he dared not move at all, only staring intently at the candle flame, terrified it might extinguish at any moment. He constantly reminded himself internally: there were two others here besides him; he was not alone, and nothing had happened, nor would anything happen… But despite all that, vast amounts of cold sweat poured from him, soaking his clothes, his nerves threatening to snap at any second.

But this was definitely not the totality of the terror.

Suddenly, Ma Xiong felt the candlelight flicker. Instinctively, he wanted to tug the rope connected to Old Qian’s side, but he noticed the light hadn't gone out—it had merely flickered, though it seemed different now, having turned green…

Ma Xiong wanted to release the hand gripping the rope and pull off the blindfold, but remembering Old Qian’s instructions, he dared not do so…

Whoosh!

At that moment, a sudden gust of wind blew through. Ma Xiong jolted instantly, his body growing cold. Simultaneously, he heard a sound, seemingly a faint "Mi," a terrifying, almost non-existent noise. What chilled him most was its shifting location: now on his left, now on his right, and then seemingly all around him…

Ma Xiong was utterly chilled to the bone, trembling, feeling utterly vulnerable to slaughter.

Then, another identical sound echoed, weaving around him, and the volume was increasing… They were about to strike! The opposition was about to strike!

At that instant, the rope bound around Ma Xiong suddenly tightened, yanking him to the ground and dragging him a meter or two in one direction until the tension between him and the other end was pulled tight, stopping the drag. The candle in his right hand dropped to the ground, but in that very split second, he felt an intense tightening around his waist—so tight he immediately connected it to the rope being pulled from Ge Mei’s side. But he was certain Ge Mei lacked that kind of strength. For a moment, he felt extremely curious, but curiosity had no time now; he had to move quickly. Old Qian on the other end might also have been dragged down by now.

Ma Xiong struggled to his feet and, without considering the consequences, began running toward Ge Mei’s side, dragging the rope connected to Old Qian. As he hit the ground, his head struck something hard that felt like a stone. He instinctively snatched the stone up, clutching it tightly, intending to use it for defense.

As soon as Ge Mei’s end slackened, the rope immediately straightened again. Ma Xiong gathered the rope as he sprinted wildly. Old Qian on the other end mirrored his actions, pulling the rope taut whenever it slackened, clearly running just as fast.

The surrounding sounds grew louder, accompanied by gusts of fierce wind. The environment was indescribably terrifying, but Ma Xiong had no time to pull down the black cloth to look. He focused only on running, and ultimately, he couldn't keep pace with the speed at which the rope was pulling him, causing him to trip and fall again. But he held onto the rope tenaciously, allowing the pull ahead to drag him along the ground, his other hand never letting go of the stone—his only weapon for survival!

Thump! Ge Mei was dragged into the passageway.

The pain of the fall was immense, yet he was still being dragged forward. At this point, Old Qian, who was behind, caught up. When Old Qian jumped down, he landed directly on Ma Xiong. Ma Xiong, not realizing it was Old Qian, swung the stone in his hand to strike, but missed. Only then did he hear a voice cry, "Quick!" realizing it was Old Qian, he didn't swing a second time, nor did he have the chance, as he was still being dragged along, unable even to stand. This continued until he was hoisted back to the surface. When Ge Mei and Old Qian pulled him up near the cave entrance, he was covered in blood, his skin sliced open in countless places. He collapsed weakly to the side, his legs giving way, but he didn't pass out. Instinctively, he kept one hand tightly gripping the rope and the other clenched around the stone. Only when Old Qian ripped the blindfold from his face and he saw the myriad stars overhead did he awaken as if from a dream, finally able to believe the nightmarish experience he’d just endured.

Yet, he never imagined that the true nightmare had only just begun!

The few of them crouched on the ground, gasping for breath, growing impatient, especially Ma Xiong, whose worry for Lu Zong had exceeded his capacity to endure. He looked at Old Qian, his mind in a frantic state, and asked, "Old Qian, what do we do now? Lu Zong is inside, his life or death unknown. Please, think of another way, quickly."

Old Qian was also shaken. He wondered where exactly the plan had gone wrong, but after deep contemplation, he couldn't pinpoint it, leaving him frustrated.

Ge Mei, who had remained outside, looked as if she had just returned from the gates of hell. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with her breaths, appearing strikingly beautiful—so much so that Ma Xiong’s mouth started to water. Nevertheless, he still had many questions, such as how Ge Mei’s side could have mustered such enormous strength to pull the rope earlier, and exactly who Old Qian had been speaking to. All remained unknown.

Seeing Ma Xiong's stunned expression, Ge Mei seemed to grasp his thoughts. She chuckled lightly and said, "Ma Xiong, are you wondering why I was talking to the air earlier? Heh heh…"

Ma Xiong quickly nodded. "Yes, yes! I saw you talking to the air the whole time. I thought you had gone crazy from the shock of being in that cave. I was actually thinking of suggesting we come out and rethink our strategy. I deeply regret not doing that then."

Old Qian understood that Ma Xiong was blaming him for not bringing Lu Zong out, so he patiently explained, "Do you know who I was talking to? I was actually speaking to Lu Zong. I saw Lu Zong's soul drifting inside the cave, so I tethered his spirit with the rope. I didn't expect you all to pull the rope for some unknown reason, dragging me back before I could find Lu Zong. Alas, it’s all your fault."

Ma Xiong looked at Old Qian with a mixture of shock and joy. "What do you mean, Old Qian? Are you saying you were confident you could rescue Lu Zong, but a small accident prevented success? Does that mean we still have a chance? Can't we try one more time, Old Qian? How about we try again?"

Old Qian laughed heartily. "Forget it, forget it. Since we laid the foundation just now, all I need to do is slip back in at dawn, and everything will be settled. We just need to rest here for the night, regain our strength, and I guarantee you’ll see a fully alive Lu Zong emerge before noon tomorrow. Everyone, hurry to sleep and rest; it’s getting late. Ge Mei, who are you sleeping with tonight?"

Old Qian’s last sentence was meant to lighten the mood and provoke some banter, but it failed to have any effect. No one answered; everyone maintained their gloomy expressions, which in turn frustrated Old Qian, draining the last bit of confidence he had. Turns out, his attempts at humor were entirely unsuccessful.

Ma Xiong walked toward the massive tent—no, at this point, it should be called a tomb—and knocked on its wall. He then shouted inside, "Lu Zong, don't worry. Old Qian will bring you out tomorrow. Get a good night’s sleep tonight."

But there was no reply from the other side, only the sound of emptiness spreading. Ma Xiong grew anxious and shouted again, "Hey, person inside, Lu Zong, are you still there? If you are, say something. I'll wait here for you to return, wait for you to come back to see the peach blossoms bloom. I’ll wait for you to return and celebrate joyfully."

But no matter how much he sang, there was no response from Lu Zong. Ma Xiong became worried and shouted again, "Old Qian, what’s wrong with Lu Zong? Why isn't he answering me?"

Old Qian cursed, "You pig brain! Didn't I just say Lu Zong's soul was tied to the rope? His soul isn't even in his body; how can he answer you?"

Ma Xiong suddenly understood, though he still had one lingering doubt. "Why would his soul leave his body? Why wouldn't it just stay inside?"