Lu Zong looked at Ma Xiong with interest and then asked, "Ma Xiong, tell me clearly, did you actually see who those five people were? There are only two of us right now; it's too late to breed even if we wanted to. Besides, the two of us together don't have the functional capabilities of females. You must have seen wrong. I think it's more likely that the two of us are kneeling before two stone statues."

Ma Xiong shook his head and said, "No, no, you're a bit too extreme, kid. Even if you are genuinely a bit crazy, you couldn't possibly think I meant that."

Lu Zong showed no intention of yielding. He just glanced at Ma Xiong and said, "Then the prophecy is false, and his words are all lies. In this world, everything happens randomly; how could it possibly be predicted? Have you ever seen anyone point at Wenchuan and say, 'A great earthquake is coming to Wenchuan'?"

Ma Xiong shook his head and said, "No, no, that's true, but why did he predict everything that happened to us there, and so accurately? Don't you think there's any credibility to it at all?" Lu Zong fell silent again. He looked at Ma Xiong and said, "Actually, I feel that the prophet could serve as a reference for us. Let's think about what his words actually mean. If his words are correct—I'm assuming his prophecy is correct—what does that imply? Does it mean we are lucky or unlucky? What do you think, Ma Xiong?"

Ma Xiong thought carefully and replied, "I actually feel both are possible. If you were to divide the two of us into five people, they would certainly split you in two and me into three."

Lu Zong asked curiously, "Why split me in two and you in three? Why not split me in three?"

Ma Xiong looked at Lu Zong with genuine astonishment and said, "You can't even figure that out? You're so dense. Of course, think about it: you are shorter than me. If you were split into three parts, wouldn't we need a magnifying glass to see them? We'd truly be dead tragically then."

Lu Zong glared at Ma Xiong, who was barely suppressing a smile, and cursed, "Damn it, how boring! What time is it, and you're still making jokes like that? Don't look at mine being shorter; sometimes mine gets much longer than yours."

Ma Xiong was unconvinced. He looked at Lu Zong and said, "You dare say that? If you're unconvinced, let's take them out and compare?" With that, he started to undress, but halfway through, he seemed to recall something and quickly put his clothes back on, saying, "Damn it, what were we just doing? Why are we arguing about this? We must have too much time on our hands."

Lu Zong also looked at Ma Xiong and said, "I was just saying that. Look how guilty you look. Forget it, let's stop arguing about this. Now, tell me your thoughts." Ma Xiong scratched his head awkwardly and asked, "Right, where was I? Remind me for a second."

Lu Zong replied, "You were saying whether it would be beneficial or detrimental to us if the prophet was telling the truth." Ma Xiong thought again and answered, "Then I think it should be beneficial. Think about it: we gain three more companions traveling with us, wouldn't that be safer? Plus, more people mean more strength; wouldn't that be better?" He looked at Lu Zong, who then said, "En, yes, I think so too, but I wonder what those three extra people are for. Who do you think those three people will be?"

Ma Xiong answered without hesitation, "I feel it must be Fatty and the Company Commander, because I don't think there could be anyone else in this tomb. We've gone so far as to find this place; no one else would probably find this location, which might not even be in the universe, or perhaps not even in the same spatial plane as humanity."

Lu Zong questioned him without holding back, "I considered that possibility too, but we've already seen the corpses of Fatty and the Company Commander. Can they possibly come back to life?" However, Ma Xiong quickly reacted. He looked at Lu Zong and said, "But we also saw our own corpses, yet here we are, alive and well in the mortal world. Does this mean we've actually started slowly accepting the reality?"

Lu Zong looked at Ma Xiong and asked curiously, "Are you suggesting that Fatty and the Company Commander have also transformed into this ghastly state we are in now? But I always feel that such coincidences are unlikely. We came to this place under the guidance of Ge Mei and Elder Qian and smoothly transformed into this spiritual state. But Fatty had no guide. I suspect he must have turned into some wandering, solitary ghost."

Ma Xiong countered, "Who says Fatty and the Company Commander had no guide? I doubt anyone could reach this place without one. I suspect Fatty and the Company Commander's navigator was Han Chong—that Han Chong who looks like Ge Mei. We didn't see Han Chong's corpse back there, did we? Han Chong must be playing the same role as Elder Qian and Ge Mei."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zong suddenly shuddered. He looked at Ma Xiong. Due to the dim light, he could only see a faint glimmer reflecting from Ma Xiong's face—that was Ma Xiong's eyes, currently flashing with reflected light from some unknown source. He said, "So, if your logic holds, it means Fatty is nearby right now. Let's search; maybe we can actually find Fatty and the Company Commander. We'll celebrate properly then."

The mention of celebration made Ma Xiong's stomach rumble twice, but celebrating was unnecessary now, as he realized his stomach no longer required sustenance. He scanned the surroundings. It was pitch dark, and he could only vaguely make out some general shapes, but that was enough, because Ma Xiong had always liked the night; he found darkness inherently sexy.

Ma Xiong looked at Lu Zong and said, "Lu Zong, should we keep moving or search for Fatty here? I feel we absolutely must trust that prophecy, as it's currently our only motivation. The prophecy clearly tells us that if the five of us enter together, we can emerge safely. Maybe we can even walk out of this tomb alive. If that happens, I will definitely find a wife and live the rest of my life peacefully and quietly, never stepping out again. I won't even attend other people's funerals, let alone enter another bizarre tomb like this."

Lu Zong looked at Zhi Xiong (assuming Zhi Xiong is a typo for Ma Xiong based on context, or a third party in this line) and said, "How about we search for Fatty here? Maybe we really can find that guy. He always seems to appear and disappear mysteriously; perhaps he's hiding from us right now, maybe because his conscience finally kicked in." Ma Xiong thought carefully. Yes, along the way, he and Lu Zong had noticed the communication between Fatty, the Company Commander, and Ge Mei. Perhaps he felt too ashamed to face them, which is why he was hiding. Lu Zong had carefully examined the two corpses; their level of decomposition was similar to his and Ma Xiong's bodies, meaning they arrived around the same time. Therefore, they must be nearby. He just needed to search carefully and say some comforting words to summon Zhi Xiong out.

Just as he finished thinking, he shouted within the narrow gorge: "Fatty, Company Commander, I know you two are also here. I beg you to come out quickly. Now we are on the same side. Come out, the four of us go in together, and we still have a chance to survive!"

The entire narrow space echoed empty, without any sound; any noise that did return was distorted by the jagged rocks, creating that legendary echo that could sometimes comfort the soul.

Zhi Xiong shouted again loudly, "Hey, Company Commander, I know you two weren't fair to us before, but I don't hold a grudge. After all, people are selfish. Please come out." But his outcome was the same as before—no one answered him, only his own voice returned.

Ma Xiong said, "Lu Zong, what do we do? They probably aren't very close to us, because our voices can travel far. Given the structure of this place, I estimate the whole narrow gorge could hear us. Since they refuse to answer, it means they are too ashamed to face us. What should we do now?"

Lu Zong gritted his teeth and said, "Keep shouting! I don't believe we can't get a result by shouting!" So he yelled toward the valley again: "Hey, Company Commander, come out quickly! We are waiting for you here. We understand our current situation, and we understand your feelings. Believe me, if we unite, even the Great Wall will eventually fall. We will have a day to turn things around! Defeat Japanese Imperialism, defeat the landlord class!"

Ma Xiong was completely surprised that Lu Zong was so invested, even dredging up language from the Cultural Revolution, but he could still understand him completely. Seeing there was still no response from the surroundings, he quickly tried to comfort Lu Zong by replying himself, "Hey, Lu Zong, I'm here, but I feel too ashamed to face you, which is why we aren't coming out. I beg you, I let you down. I am willing to be your son in the next life. I beg you to let us go, forgive our sins. I know we were truly heartless before."