I merely paused for a moment, then decisively declared, "In this pitch-black darkness, what good would you be? I can see; I have the natural advantage!" Man Niao Niao grumbled a couple of times and stopped arguing with me.

I looked around. It was impossible to clamber down the slope to the bottom of the pit; for one, I had no idea what the situation below was, and secondly, the rock face beneath the stone beam was perfectly vertical. I dared not risk my "eggs" against the stone. The only viable method was to slide down the vertical axis of the "Leizi" (Grinding Mill), which was my specialty—a skill honed from climbing trees for birds' nests as a child. No need to elaborate further.

I swapped places with Man Niao Niao and, upon reaching out, confirmed there was indeed a smooth, round column directly beneath the platform, not too thick, just right for an embrace. I adjusted my backpack, hooked my hands over the edge of the platform, cautiously tested the column with my feet, and slowly slid down after letting go.

The moment my feet touched solid ground, a wave of sorrow and indignation surged within me. The pit was indeed not deep, perhaps just a little over three meters. For someone as tall as Man Niao Niao, if he had hung from the stone beam with his hands, his feet would have been less than twenty centimeters from the ground. This meant that the agonizing effort where Man Niao Niao and Qin Bing'er nearly dislocated my shoulders and hips was entirely in vain. Even if they had fallen, they wouldn't have lost a single feather. Yet I had been worried sick, terrified they would shatter into pieces upon impact. — This joke was too much; if I wasn't indignant, who would be?

The bottom of the pit was flat and remarkably clean. Apart from the four vertical rock walls and the single circular column in the center, there was no other debris.

Hua'er lay not far from the column. Seeing me descend, the creature tried to push itself up to crawl toward me. I rushed over and touched it, discovering that both of its hind legs had severely swollen knee joints, almost rivaling the size of the large blister already on its leg.

Had this fellow perhaps slipped down from above? While wondering, I examined its injuries. Besides a few tufts of missing fur on its rump, there seemed to be no other serious harm. That large blister was also intact, still dangling securely on its leg, hard and substantial. What surprised me even more was that Hua'er was actually holding the discarded embroidered shoe in its mouth. I was overjoyed. I took the shoe and tucked it into my backpack, then returned to carefully examine its hind legs.

With my meager medical knowledge, I judged that Hua'er's hind legs were dislocated. This was manageable; even if I hadn't eaten pork, I had certainly seen pigs run. I had witnessed barefoot doctors treating dislocations many times as a child, so I could likely mimic the procedure. I supported Hua'er’s left hind leg with my left hand, held its front paw lightly with my right, gave it a few gentle shakes, and then gave a sharp tug. With a kacha sound, Hua'er cried out in pain. I wiggled its leg and found it could move freely now. Relieved, I followed the same steps to fix Hua'er's other hind leg. After resting on the ground for a while, Hua'er was indeed able to stand up smoothly.

"Ying Ying, how is it down there?" Man Niao Niao’s rusty voice boomed from overhead, full of energy.

"Come down!" I replied briefly.

Hearing this, Man Niao Niao first lowered Qin Bing'er by holding her hand, then he too scrambled down, sliding along the stone pillar.

As soon as he landed safely, Man Niao Niao’s foul mouth couldn't stay quiet. "Damn it, I was clinging to that upper stone beam like I was half-dead, my fingers nearly tore off, and it turns out it wasn't even that high! If I had known, I would have just jumped down. Why did I risk my life pulling your hand? ... Ying Ying, are your hands okay?"

Okay? Hardly! My hands and legs still felt weak and limp!

"Actually, you had a much more direct way to avoid the agony back then..." Man Niao Niao said with a grin.

"Huh? What way?" I was quite surprised. Had this guy's brain finally started working?

"That would be to just leave me and let me fall!" Man Niao Niao continued.

I froze, muttering, "Really, why didn't I think of that? Your hundred-odd pounds of fat 'gaga' (meat) certainly aren't as important as one of my arms!"

Man Niao Niao also froze, paused for a moment, and then grumbled discontentedly, "You son of a turtle, you actually planned to abandon me? Did Hua'er eat your conscience?" As he spoke, he started jumping around exaggeratedly, as if he had suffered the greatest injustice.

"You..." Just as I was about to counterattack, Qin Bing'er intervened in time. "I beg you two young sirs, can we stop bickering? Let's look for a way out of this place!" Man Niao Niao was still trying to assert seniority, but I impatiently brushed past him and walked to the pit wall to examine it closely.

This was indeed a massive "Leizi." Judging from the narrow gap at the bottom of the wall, this "Leizi" was also formed by two grinding millstones interlocking. The interlocking joint was a wave-shaped trough about waist-high. What was depressing was that the seams between the two millstones were perfectly tight, offering absolutely no passage for a person to squeeze through. Now what?

While I was sinking into despair, Hua'er let out a deafening howl from over there. I heard Man Niao Niao’s voice, filled with intense dissatisfaction: "Damn it, if your brother can use your water [tears], why can't I?" I immediately understood Man Niao Niao's intention. I inwardly cursed Man Niao Niao’s IQ as truly failing; did Hua'er’s tears come so easily? Moreover, even if Hua'er had tears now, they probably wouldn't be easily obtained by you, its natural enemy! It was like a beggar asking for bitter herbs—asking for trouble.

I couldn't be bothered to manage the ruckus between Hua'er and Man Niao Niao, my heart growing increasingly hopeless. It looked like the bottom of the millstone offered no exit to the outside. If the upper and lower halves of the millstone had shifted slightly so that the crests of the stone troughs aligned, the resulting space might accommodate a person. But now, the crests aligned with the troughs, locked tightly, not even a mouse could squeeze through, let alone a few living people and a dog nearly the size of a person?

I plopped down onto the icy bottom of the pit, dejected, thinking to myself, had we walked onto a path of no return?

My mind churned through many ideas, even considering forming a human ladder. Qin Bing'er, Man Niao Niao, myself, and Hua'er combined amounted to only six or seven meters. Even standing on the stone beam above, based on my impression when I fell, the height achieved by a human ladder would be far from enough. Even if, for argument's sake, we managed to send the lightest and most agile Hua'er to the top of the pit, what methods could it possibly devise to free the other three?

There is an idiom: "Even a trapped beast fights." We were neither beasts, nor did we wish to be trapped alive here. We needed to regroup and find another way.

The chill in my backside reminded me: since water flowed down the rock walls, if this place were truly sealed, it should have become a pool long ago. Why was it only damp and cold? Where... where did the water go?

Excitedly, I got up and felt my way along the rock wall. When I reached beneath the stone beam, I was delighted to find a gap near the bottom of the pit, and a gust of humid, chilly wind was surging in. However, when I bent down for a closer look, my spirits plummeted—the gap wasn't large, about two feet in both length and width. Unless I possessed the magical art of bone contraction, there was no way I could squeeze through.

I reasoned that since cold air was entering, this gap must connect to the outside; at least it offered us a sliver of hope. The current problem was finding a way to enlarge and widen this gap. As long as it was large enough for our bodies, we could escape. The problem was that we were well-equipped for entering the Anle Cave, but stumbling into this place was pure chance. I had nothing on me except a backpack and one embroidered shoe. Looking around, the pit bottom was completely empty of any helpful items. That rascal Man Niao Niao, with his head held high between his shoulders, was dirt-poor in terms of useful tools. Qin Bing'er needed no mention.

How could we possibly enlarge this gap? Chew it open with our teeth?

I sighed helplessly and walked back to Man Niao Niao and Qin Bing'er, relaying my findings one by one. Man Niao Niao was speechless, but Qin Bing'er suggested, "Why don't we have Hua'er crawl out first and find Uncle An or someone else to rescue us?"

Right! I slapped my thigh. For the three of us, squeezing through this gap was harder than scaling heaven, but Hua'er’s physique offered the advantage of escape—it should be no problem for it to squeeze through!

The question remained: once Hua'er got out, could it find Master Ji? If not, wouldn't all our efforts be for naught?

Never mind. As a certain philosopher said, seize the throat of fate; my destiny is mine to command, not heaven's. Let's try first!

With that thought, I held Hua'er’s head and quietly explained our plan. Hua'er seemed to understand vaguely. When I led it to the gap and pointed, it seemed to grasp the idea; it lowered its head and crouched down, slipping into the opening.

I turned back to the groping Man Niao Niao and Qin Bing'er with a wry smile and said, "Wait."