The burning ancient corpse rushed close to Liang Qian, and then, in an instant, dissolved into countless sparks, scattering away into dust and nothingness...

Silence suddenly descended upon the secret chamber; only the blue flame atop the camphorwood coffin still flickered faintly.

After a long pause, Da Xiong finally swallowed hard and asked, "Chuanzi, did... did you see that?"

My own expression was one of utter bewilderment, and I nodded at him.

"This is damn strange. Why did I feel like that Wei King was trying to embrace Liang Qian? Do those two really have some kind of connection?" Da Xiong scratched the back of his head.

I said I didn't know, then turned to see Liang Qian still frozen there, looking as if she’d been thoroughly terrified. I walked over, intending to help her up.

Unexpectedly, Liang Qian suddenly straightened up, staring at me with a near-hysterical intensity, muttering, "It's bad... I have to go immediately!"

With those words, she whirled around, shoved open the stone door, and darted out.

"Hey! It's dangerous out there!" I couldn't grab her in time, so I had no choice but to chase after her.

Da Xiong and Xie Yuting shouted a couple of warnings from behind and quickly followed.

The corridor was the same one we had traversed before, with pitch-black stone walls on either side, so dim that even holding out a hand, you couldn't see a thing. Liang Qian’s slender figure was quickly swallowed by the darkness. I switched on my flashlight, but she was already gone.

My physical condition was never great to begin with, and these last few days of exertion had nearly drained my last breath. My legs felt like two pieces of limp noodles; after just a couple of strides, I couldn't keep up, and Da Xiong and Xie Yuting soon overtook me.

Seeing how winded I was, they stopped. They too were gasping for air.

Looking at the two of them, I knew the anxiety and fear of the past few days, the sleepless nights, had pushed all three of us to our absolute limits. If there had been a mirror handy, I probably would have looked no better than those dried corpses.

Da Xiong leaned over, hands braced on his knees, panting heavily, "I... damn it, if it weren't for the fact that this old hero's stomach... was rumbling, I’d absolutely drag this girl back here and demand to know if that Wei King was her ancestor..."

I managed, "Just drop it. You still have the energy to crack jokes."

Xie Yuting chimed in from the side, "I... maybe we shouldn't chase her. This woman wasn't really aligned with us anyway. At our current state, if we run into any monsters or ghouls, we won't be able to save anyone, and we'll all end up dead."

I nodded. "That’s the only way. Let’s head back, rest up, and then strategize."

They both agreed. So, the three of us, like battle-weary veterans who had suffered a defeat, trudged back to the secret chamber with heavy steps.

The fire on the coffin had been extinguished, leaving only a bare stone sarcophagus. Inside, black smoke billowed from the darkness. Even if there had been any treasures left, they were likely burned to ash.

Xie Yuting turned to me. "Did you notice? We didn't change locations this time we came in."

I nodded, slid down to lean against the wall, and let my gaze go slightly blank. I asked Xie Yuting for a cigarette, lit it, and began trying to unravel the mystery of that passage.

I started hypothesizing, trying to use every bit of knowledge I possessed to construct a plausible scenario to convince myself. In the past, when people asked me about things I didn't know, I could always spin what I thought were perfectly reasonable explanations that made the other person—and eventually myself—believe them. But now, I couldn't even formulate a single coherent hypothesis; I felt like my brain was about to explode.

Xie Yuting next to me was smoking, using his flip phone with his left hand to play a black-and-white version of Snake, but his eyes kept drifting aimlessly. I knew he, too, was wrestling with the puzzle of it all.

Da Xiong seemed to have a last reserve of energy. He told us to spread out, then heaved the several-hundred-pound stone sarcophagus over to the doorway to block it.

He clapped his hands. "Damn, that thing was hot, but we're much safer now. Time for a proper sleep."

I told him, "This door opens outwards. They can't push in, but they can still pull it open. How is that safe?"

Da Xiong sighed impatiently. "Ugh! Comrade Xiao Chuan, enough already. Let’s just sleep. If I don't get some rest, 'Big Xiong' is going to turn into a giant panda."

I, covered in grime, my dark circles already extending to my temples from my already dusky face, laughed and replied, "You're already a giant panda, the kind that hasn't bathed in years."

Da Xiong ignored me, cleared away the copper dish on the ground, lay down, and was asleep.

Xie Yuting, still playing on his phone nearby, said to me, "You should sleep too. I’ll keep watch."

I looked at the Snake game on his phone. The snake had grown so long it nearly filled the entire screen, yet he hadn't died, and his eyes barely registered the display. I thought to myself, this kid is truly a master; he must not be as tired as he looks.

Just as I thought that, a snore rumbled from his nose—