"Wait?" Man Niao Niao managed a wry smile in the darkness—a bitter sort of grin. "Wait until when? By the time your little brother finds someone to rescue us, the day will be long gone..." With that, he slumped onto the ground, landing in an ungainly posture, staring blankly with dull, glazed eyes. My grafted dog eyes took in the entire scene with perfect clarity.

Qin Ping'er, however, held her composure, leaning on my arm and nestling close to my shoulder like a timid bird seeking shelter.

Seeing Man Niao Niao's mouth, capable of prying open a cesspit, enraged me to the core. In An Le Cave, this brute had stolen my first kiss—something I never imagined even in a million erotic dreams, severely impacting my mental well-being. To hear him spewing such filth now, even if my tirade sent him straight to Buddhist nirvana wouldn't be enough to cover my losses. But, as the saying goes, one must foster harmony; one should be as warm as spring to comrades. So, I chuckled darkly and said, "...Why are you droning on? When the man crosses the river, the egg crosses too. With me here, I won't abandon you, rest assured!" Originally, the word "man" in that phrase contained two rather vulgar characters—the neighbor of the "egg"—which was also the totem Man Niao Niao often mouthed. However, upon reflection, if I used those two characters as the subject, wouldn't I be taking the greater loss? Not worth it. Thus, I made a slight innovation and substituted the word "person."

Qin Ping'er burst out laughing. I jumped, cursing myself for being careless with my words. Unexpectedly, Qin Ping'er took no offense, saying, "That metaphor of yours is quite vivid!" Man Niao Niao became furious. "You two, hey! Are you two spooning and wearing the same pair of pants? 'Vivid' my ass..." His remark left both Qin Ping'er and me momentarily speechless and awkward.

Given Man Niao Niao's nature, he would usually have scoured his mind for obscure allusions to trade barbs with me. Yet, for some reason, seeing me and Qin Ping'er silent, he merely sighed softly, clamped his mouth shut, and swallowed the rest of his retort. The atmosphere became somewhat heavy.

I was inwardly surprised. Could Man Niao Niao already know about the rapid development in my relationship with Qin Ping'er, but was holding back due to our years of friendship? Regarding this matter... there was no room for negotiation. Since Qin Ping'er never had that kind of relationship with Man Niao Niao from beginning to end, why should I be polite? Strike first, suffer later... Then again, I hadn't exactly unleashed my "killer move" on Qin Ping'er yet; a few pecks hardly counted as a monumental achievement.

The waiting was agonizing, especially in such a foul mood.

Seeing Man Niao Niao lost in his own thoughts, I patted Qin Ping'er's hand and leaned down to peer into the gap. It was pitch black inside with no end in sight, and gusts of cold wind blasted back in my face. This sparked a glimmer of hope in me; the wind meant that the flower—whatever it was—had successfully slipped through the opening. As for whether we could find Ji Ye or anyone else, we could only pray to heaven for mercy.

"CRASH~" A massive, dull thud erupted suddenly, startling me so badly I nearly fell backward onto the ground. Qin Ping'er quickly ducked down, clutching my shoulder, her voice trembling like plucked silk strings, "What was that noise? Where did it come from?"

Man Niao Niao, usually timid as a mouse, let out a hearty chuckle. "Where did it come from! Where did it come from!" I glared back at him, ignoring his suggestive commentary, and judged from the lingering sound that the noise originated outside the gap. Just as I was wondering, a sound like muffled thunder rolled both in front of and behind me. I was horrified to see that the enormous millstone was slowly turning. Squinting for a closer look, I was even more aghast to discover the two-foot-square gap was gradually widening! Great swathes of frigid air seemed to chill my very bones.

My senses felt hazy as I stared fixedly at the widening gap. Soon enough, to my surprise and delight, the two halves of the millstone had shifted, positioning the crests opposite each other, and the gap now perfectly aligned with the stone trough of the bottom stone. What excited me almost enough to leap up was that the millstone, after turning a tiny arc, had stopped. The deafening thunder faded, its lingering echo softly dissipating.

My reason for excitement was self-evident: the height of the gap plus the trough below was just enough space for a person to pass through.

Man Niao Niao and Qin Ping'er, only hearing the sound and not seeing the sight, heard my ragged breathing and repeatedly asked, "What happened?" "What's going on?" Their questions, one in standard Mandarin and one in Cai Pu dialect, further stimulated my nerves. I exclaimed excitedly, "There's a way out! A path has opened!" I pulled Man Niao Niao and Qin Ping'er toward the widened gap, shaking them by the hands. "The way is open! The way is open!"

Man Niao Niao and Qin Ping'er were completely at my mercy, like two blind people. But they quickly became excited too, and both involuntarily squeezed my thigh. A shooting pain barely managed to pierce through the heavy surprise in my heart. To my embarrassment, Qin Ping'er’s small hand nearly brushed against my most sensitive area. Alas, perhaps "pain mixed with joy" perfectly described this situation.

"Was that loud noise just the millstone turning? You mean we can crawl out through here?" Qin Ping'er asked, confused.

"Yes!" I interjected quickly, unable to suppress my excitement.

"The problem is," Man Niao Niao took over, his voice serious, "that the millstone turning is too bizarre, isn't it? What if we're halfway through and it starts turning again? I certainly don't want to be squashed into a ham sausage..."

"...?" I paused for a beat, but instantly made up my mind, blurting out, "Palm leaf wrapping the ding-ding—screw it, risk it! If it's fortune, it's not disaster; if it's disaster, it can't be avoided. Enough nonsense, let's crawl. If Uncle Bird wishes to stay here for the rest of his life, then you stay, and I'll come back for you after I've eaten my fill..." Before I finished speaking, Man Niao Niao showed no politeness, immediately wiggling his rear end and plunging into the gap in the dark. (Rao Qi: To go all out/Take the plunge)

Seeing Man Niao Niao disappear inside, I quickly shoved Qin Ping'er, "Follow him!"

"And you?" Qin Ping'er resisted slightly, whispering.

"Don't worry about me, just crawl! I'll be right behind you..." I emphasized my words and pushed Qin Ping'er again. Qin Ping'er remained silent but stopped insisting and, obeying, slipped into the gap.

Although I projected an air of fearlessness, I was actually terrified deep down. What if Man Niao Niao's jinxing mouth was right and the millstone turned halfway through? That wouldn't just be about being a ham sausage; it would be... I couldn't let my imagination run further, as it would compromise my actions. Therefore, I followed Qin Ping'er closely into the gap.

Though the gap accommodated my body, the hard stone on all sides gave me an overwhelming sense of oppression. While my mind urged myself not to worry, my actions raced ahead of my thoughts. Using my hands and feet, I repeatedly urged Qin Ping'er and Man Niao Niao ahead to quicken their pace, paying no mind to the cold water flowing along the stone trough.

"Damn it, it's... hot!" Man Niao Niao grumbled ahead.

Hot? I paused, but my actions were unaffected. "Hurry up even if it's hot!" I roared, while simultaneously noticing that the stone trough indeed felt less cold. Perhaps it was just the result of this strenuous physical labor, I reassured myself.

I roughly estimated we had been crawling for over a minute without hearing any report from Man Niao Niao ahead. Impatiently, I yelled, "Uncle Bird, crawl faster, faster!" Man Niao Niao retorted indignantly, "Are you rushing me to my death?" I thought to myself that this was precisely a rush to death. Just as I was about to flare up, I heard Man Niao Niao cheer, "Reached the exit!" Overjoyed, I forgot all about the customary rules of propriety concerning men and women. I gave Qin Ping'er a push on the rear. Qin Ping'er lurched forward, and a wave of hot, humid air washed over my face.

I didn't care about niceties anymore. I scrambled a few more steps and squeezed out of the gap. Looking up, I blinked against the sudden light and found that Man Niao Niao and Qin Ping'er had vanished. My heart lurched, and my nerves snapped taut. Just as I was about to shout loudly, I heard heavy breathing coming from both sides. Turning my head, I saw Man Niao Niao and Qin Ping'er standing with their arms stretched straight, pressed tightly against the stone wall, balancing on a ledge barely wider than a palm. I breathed a sigh of relief, then looked down: beneath my feet was a narrow, crescent-shaped strip of ground, with a third of my straw sandal dangling in the empty air.

Recalling the situation carefully, I suddenly understood: when the two halves of the grinding stone turned, the inertia always left such a narrow space at the seam. Back when I helped Grandpa turn the millstone, I watched the snow-white corn flour sprinkle down from that very spot and harbored strange thoughts: If my body were shrunk dozens of times, standing in that spot, what would I do? I never expected that now I would truly experience it, only this time, it wasn't my body that shrank, but the millstone that had grown larger.

With the void beneath my feet, my head swam with dizziness, feeling as if we were suspended among the clouds. I could only press myself against the stone wall like Man Niao Niao and Qin Ping'er, panting, my mind racing through a thousand thoughts, trying to find a practical way to escape.

The air wasn't actually that hot; it was just unusually stagnant, and combined with the sheen of oil sweat we'd broken out in and the enveloping thick vapor, the sensation of heat was completely understandable.

After catching my breath for a long time, I opened my eyes and saw patches of white light in the distance—blindingly bright!

"Ping'er... is that firelight opposite us?" Since I couldn't distinguish any color other than black and white, I had to ask Qin Ping'er for confirmation. "Yes!" Perhaps exhausted from climbing or simply frightened, Qin Ping'er only answered my question briefly.