I had a whole bellyful of questions churning inside me, but I figured the immediate priority was finding Qin Bing'er. As for the questions brimming in my gut, letting them steep a little longer wouldn't cause them to ferment and evaporate; I could deal with them later.

Ever since I broke free from the Water Bamboo Forest, all worry and anxiety had vanished, replaced instead by a profound sense of calm, a feeling of weighty relief, as if Qin Bing'er were in no danger whatsoever. Despite this feeling, I knew I wouldn't be truly at ease until I saw her standing alive right in front of me.

Only when Ji Ye mentioned the strange stone cavern did I recall the crevice I had overlooked, and then, Hua'er. Where had that little fellow gone? Why was there not a single sound? Had he found Qin Bing'er? Logically, if Hua'er had truly found her and if she were in danger, he would have bolted back to warn me. His current absence meant only one of two things: either he hadn't found her yet, or she was safe. Naturally, I preferred to believe the latter.

The opening before us, strictly speaking, wasn't a typical stone cave, but rather a crevice three or four meters high formed by a jumble of enormous bluestones propping each other up. The largest of these stones likely weighed four or five tons, while the smallest were the size of millstones. The stones were irregular and varied wildly in shape; some had edges as sharp as blades. The supports between them were incredibly precarious, with most contact points being frighteningly small. What was most jarring was that generally, the smaller stones were at the bottom, and the larger ones rested precariously above, making one dizzy as the massive stones overhead seemed ready to topple at any moment. The beam of the flashlight shone into the gap, which was about a meter wide. At its widest, it could fit three people abreast, but at its narrowest, only one could squeeze through prone. Inside the fissure, boulders jutted out everywhere, interlocking like a set of jagged teeth. The ground was carpeted in sharp, fragmented stones, large and small, where not a blade of grass could grow.

The stack of bluestones extended towards the cavern walls on both sides, winding away into a distance we couldn't discern due to the limits of our sight.

Ji Ye and I exchanged a look and offered dismissive smiles; such scenes were commonplace to us. The year I graduated from university, to earn money for daily necessities, I had followed Ji Ye to drill blast holes and swing sledgehammers on the mountain where the "One Bowl of Water" spring was located. The lower part of that mountain had already been hollowed out by quarrymen. When we were sweating profusely inside, massive stones resembling cleavers hung directly above our heads. When I first started, I was terrified, worried those stones might suddenly shear off and slice us into ribbons of "year-meat." After a time, seeing that no accident occurred, my heart gradually grew numb.

"Let's go!" Ji Ye said. "Don't be afraid. We don't know when this pile of rubble got here. As long as we’re careful, it shouldn't collapse!" With that, he stepped forward, cautiously scouting inside for a moment before slipping in.

Man Niao Niao and I filed in behind him. Of course, Man Niao Niao took the lead, and I brought up the rear guard, hehe! The reason was self-evident.

As I squeezed into the crevice, the bamboo bow strapped to my back accidentally scraped lightly against a bluestone. The stones around my head immediately began to rumble and shift violently, the kǎ lālā sound incessant, as if a collapse was imminent. Coarse and fine rock dust rained down upon our heads.

My own two stones—my testicles—seemed to shrink up in fright. A rush of heat shot up from my lower abdomen, causing even the hairs that usually kept themselves discreetly covered to feel as if they were standing on end, let alone the hair all over my body.

Man Niao Niao and Ji Ye also turned ashen. "Quick, back out! Back out! This place is coming down!" Ji Ye panicked, shoving his backside backward, triggering a domino effect that sent me tumbling out of the crevice and onto the ground. Without thinking, I scrambled back several steps, turning to see Ji Ye and Man Niao Niao also collapsed in terror on the ground.

The pile of rubble roared and shook for a while, then gradually quieted down. The stone stack did not collapse, and the crevice remained unchanged.

The three of us stared at each other, pale and petrified, each thinking that if those bluestones had fallen, we’d have been flattened into Tujia wife-cakes.

"What now?" After a long pause, Man Niao Niao asked, his voice trembling.

Ji Ye got up, shone his flashlight, and carefully examined the edge of the crevice. He cautiously pushed against a bluestone with his hand, but it didn't budge an inch. The massive stones hanging overhead showed no signs of shifting either. Still uneasy, Ji Ye pushed against other stones; they were as immovable as if they had taken root.

"Niao Niao, you're strong. Push these stones and see if they move," Ji Ye called out to him. Man Niao Niao rolled up his sleeves, found the bluestone that seemed to offer the weakest support, braced both hands against it, puffed out his belly, held his breath, and roared, "Hiiii!" But the stone, which looked like it should topple with ease, completely ignored Man Niao Niao, whose face was purple with exertion. I also got up from the ground and tried other stones, but couldn't move any of them.

"Damn it! When we want them to move, they don't, and when we don't, they shake, you son of a bitch!" Man Niao Niao started cursing again.

"There’s no other way forward; we have to squeeze through here. I estimate that when we went in, we must have nudged a stone loose, causing the pile to shake. Now, the stones have probably settled into place. We have to be extremely light-footed when we go in again," Ji Ye advised.

Startled by the previous scare, we became even more cautious as we re-entered the crevice. I adjusted my bamboo bow securely along my back, trying my best not to let my body touch any of the stones. Ji Ye, carrying his bundle of firewood, held the flashlight, hunching over and inching forward step by step. Man Niao Niao followed Ji Ye closely, his mouth shut tight, looking as if a single breath might bring the pile down; when he reached a narrow spot, he even managed to suck in his stomach and hold his chest out.

Thankfully, after we crept along cautiously for a stretch, the supporting bluestones remained either flat or upright, entirely motionless.

Seeing this, the tension in our hearts slowly eased, and our pace gradually quickened.

The crevice twisted and turned, offering no side paths; we felt as if we were wriggling through a section of a wrinkled pig's intestine.

After a few more minutes, Ji Ye suddenly slowed down and whispered, "Easy now, it's tight here. I’ll crawl through first and see." I peered past Man Niao Niao’s rear and caught a glimpse of Ji Ye setting down his bundle and slowly squeezing into an opening just large enough for the bundle. "Wait until I drag the bundle through, then you two follow!" Ji Ye tugged the straps of the bundle, pulling it into the opening. The edge of the bundle scraped against a bluestone, making a squeaking sound.

However, the unexpected happened right then!

As the bundle scraped against the bluestone, it was as if it touched a nerve; the stone began to tremble lightly, and then the surrounding stones started to shake. The horrifying rumble sounded like muffled thunder, and the sound of the bluestones grating against each other made our teeth ache and itch. Large quantities of rock dust rained down with a shua shua sound, kicking up a cloud of dust.

What is being caught between a rock and a hard place? That's us right now!

What is heart-stopping terror? That's us now!!

What is being utterly annihilated? That's us immediately!!!

Man Niao Niao and I clung to each other, eyes shut tight, ready for the thousand-pound boulders to crash down and smash us into a pulp. On the other side of the opening, Ji Ye abandoned all pretense of his elder status and began swearing loudly: "I'll [curse] its grandmother! Are these damned bluestones allergic to itching? — I told you two little cowards to be careful, be careful—I'll [curse] its grandmother, pity this old man is about to die without a burial plot, I'll [curse] its grandmother..." While cursing, he wildly waved the flashlight around.

Hearing Ji Ye's unique barrage of curses for the first time, Man Niao Niao and I exchanged glances.

In the gloom, I could only make out the general outline of Man Niao Niao's face, and I was filled with chagrin. To have died and be buried with this bastard—though we wouldn't sleep in the same bed in life, we'd share the same hole in death! Man Niao Niao and I had finally fulfilled the wish of "the bachelor never leaves the spinster, the scale never leaves the weight"—this was truly the biggest failure of my life!

Man Niao Niao held his composure better. He let me hold him tightly, remaining silent, grimacing, his hands braced against a bluestone directly above his head, seemingly trying to prevent the massive rocks from collapsing. Through his clothing, I could clearly feel the tension of the muscles surging with effort.

Of course, all this happened in the flash of a heartbeat.

At this moment, my concern shifted back to Qin Bing'er. If we three Tujia men lived, perhaps Qin Bing'er would have a slim chance of survival... No, Qin Bing'er must be fine; my intuition told me so. But if we were buried beneath this rubble, even if Qin Bing'er managed to escape, she would surely suffer greatly...

At the threshold of life and death, people often freeze, unsure of what to do. The three men stood like wooden statues amidst the soul-shaking roar, guessing what it would feel like the instant those hard bluestones crushed them.

Fortunately, after jostling and swaying for a while, the stone pile gradually ceased shaking, and the rumbling faded. The rock dust leaking from the gaps only fell sporadically. The pile ultimately did not collapse; even the relative positions of the bluestones seemed unchanged. The trembling of the stones grew weaker until they finally stopped moving, and everything returned to silence, which only made the labored breathing and heartbeats of the three men sound exceptionally clear and distinct.

Once we felt slightly safe, I realized my limbs were soft as cooked ciba (glutinous rice cake), and cold sweat was pouring down my body. The three of us slumped to the ground, gasping for air, no longer speaking. At that moment, we truly felt the preciousness of life, and at the same time, we were immensely relieved that the three of us were still flesh and blood.

After a long silence, a question suddenly struck me, and I rasped toward Ji Ye, "Ji Ye, could we have taken a wrong turn? How could that monkey-head eagle possibly drag such a big living person through here? We've come this far and haven't seen any sign of him. By rights, a monkey-head eagle that big should have left behind a feather if he came this way, right?"

"I'll [curse] its grandmother... You’re right. In such a tight space, Miss Qin likely wouldn't have been injured, right? If she was injured, there should be bloodstains?" Ji Ye's voice trembled, laced with deep doubt.

"How did you guys get through the Water Bamboo Forest?" I asked. "Did you not see any other way in that pot-like structure?" I asked this because if they had come through the Water Bamboo Forest too, the poison from the huoma grass on them would have worn off, and they wouldn't have gotten ahead of me. I assumed they must have come from somewhere else.

"You dare ask! It makes me mad just thinking about it. With Bing'er missing, An-ge and I weren't exactly relaxed! You know, when you jumped into the huoma thicket, An-ge and I were already weak-kneed from that monkey-head eagle you mentioned. An-ge nearly broke his leg. And you, with your little tofu-heart, were half-dead. Could we abandon you? Who knew, once you woke up, you were spitting mad about 'biting the egg' and beat us soundly without asking any questions, then jumped in! That scared An-ge and me half to death, and we chased after you through the huoma thicket, scrambling over everything. Now look—it wasn't worth accompanying your son of a bitch to take a trip to the underworld..." Man Niao Niao spewed this torrent of words, his hot breath like a machine gun firing rapidly.

"It's not Eagle's fault; he was anxious too... We followed the path you chopped, all the way to the edge of the Water Bamboo Forest. We vaguely saw you thrashing around in there. We shouted for you, but you wouldn't answer. Niao Niao thought you were still angry and ignoring us, and he was about to charge in to drag you out, but I suddenly realized something was wrong. I grabbed him and didn't have time to explain; we both clung to the monkey grass on the cave wall, slipping and climbing over to this side. After we got over here, we saw you several times about to step out of the Water Bamboo Forest, but for some reason, you turned back. When we called, you didn't respond, and I knew things were complicated. I was figuring out how to drag you out, but unfortunately, Niao Niao and I were terribly irritated by the burning itch (it was intense), so we were hugging each other to detoxify, planning to figure things out once we felt a bit better. Then you came out. Before you emerged, we had also inspected the surroundings carefully; apart from those few fissures in the cave ceiling, we saw no other way out. You calling it a 'cauldron' is quite apt. By the way, what did you actually encounter?" Ji Ye's account made me inwardly alarmed. Just as I was about to recount my experience, Man Niao Niao roared impatiently, "What the hell are we still chattering about? We need to find a safe place! I have no desire to be squashed into meat paste!"

His shout snapped Ji Ye and me back to reality. Man Niao Niao had a point; now wasn't the time for idle chatter. But the problem remained: where should we go? Should we press forward or retreat the way we came to make new plans?

Just as we were at a loss, Ji Ye shouted excitedly, "There seems to be a light ahead! Could it be the exit?" The sound shook down some mud and sand.

Hearing Ji Ye say there was a light ahead and that it might be the exit, Man Niao Niao and I became as excited as dying men hearing a doctor say, "There's still hope." We sprang up from the ground, eager to crowd over and confirm if there was truly an exit.

Unfortunately, the bundle stuck in the rock opening blocked our view. It turned out that when Ji Ye had just dragged the bundle halfway into the opening, the stone pile began to shake violently. In his panic, Ji Ye hadn't had time to pull the bundle clear, so it remained lodged there.

"It really looks like an exit!" Ji Ye exclaimed excitedly from the other side. "Wait until I drag this bundle out, and then you two come through! I'll [curse] its grandmother, I calculated long ago that I shouldn't die this early!"

Man Niao Niao and I were equally excited, urging Ji Ye to hurry and drag his blasted firewood bundle through. The sooner we escaped this place, the greater our hope of survival; neither of us wanted to stay another second in such a perilous situation.

Ji Ye tugged hard on the strap from his side, and Man Niao Niao and I simultaneously cried out, "Stop! The rocks are shaking again!" Ji Ye startled and immediately stopped pulling; the firewood bundle remained stuck in the opening.

After a few minutes, the stone pile stopped shaking.

Ji Ye cautiously tugged the strap again. The bundle scraped against a bluestone, and the stone pile began to shake again—it was exactly as if the bundle had scratched the stones right on their itch.

"Damn it, why are these rock-heads as sensitive as people?" Man Niao Niao cursed again.

Sensitive to itching? I recalled that the first time the stone pile shook, it was because my bamboo bow scraped against a rock; at the time, it hadn't drawn much attention. Then, when we entered the second time, I had carefully positioned the bow against my back, paying close attention not to touch the stones. Now, seeing the bundle's edge scraping the stone twice and causing the pile to shake, I felt a wave of confusion—could these damned bluestones really be ticklish like animals?

With this thought, I said to Ji Ye, "Sir, try pulling the bundle again!" Ji Ye complied, tugging the strap. The edge of the bundle scraped the bluestone, and sure enough, the stone pile began to shake. I quickly stopped him and listened intently. Seeing the trembling gradually weaken, I urged Ji Ye to pull the strap again, and the stone pile began to shake anew!

Full of doubt, I cautiously extended my finger and gently scratched the bluestone a couple of times. Again, the stone began to shake. I quickly pulled my hand back. Once the stone stabilized, I nervously pushed against it, but it didn't react at all. I gradually increased the force, but I pushed with almost all my might, yet the bluestone remained utterly unmoved, showing no sign of vibration. I scratched it again, and the stone began to shake!

Man Niao Niao and I were stunned speechless by this phenomenon. We had only heard of "Sensitive Plants" in the world, but never a "Ticklish Rock"!

"Ji Ye, these bluestones really seem afraid of being tickled!" I said. "Judging by the previous shakes, the stones were only lightly scraped; there wasn't much external force. The first tremor was caused by my bamboo bow scraping against a stone!"

"Itchy rocks? Damn it, have these bluestones gained sentience?" Ji Ye was also baffled and began speculating about spirits and sprites.

"I say, the fire's nearly burning our asses, and you two still bicker! Who cares if they're ticklish? An-ge, pull your boyi bundle out so we can pass! We can talk once we reach the exit, can't we?" Man Niao Niao, seeing Ji Ye and me about to relapse into our old habit of endless theorizing, rushed to urge us on.

"Alright! I'll [curse] its grandmother, if it wants to be tickled, let it be tickled more—I'm pulling it now!" Without waiting for our reply, with a huālā sound, Ji Ye yanked the firewood bundle clear of the opening. Instantly, the stone pile began to shake violently, and the tremors showed an increasing intensity. The sound of the stones grinding against each other was like muffled thunder, approaching from afar.

Seeing this, Man Niao Niao and I forgot our fear. We bent low and scrambled through the opening like hunted dogs.