Seeing that they had fallen silent, a nameless fire suddenly ignited within me, and I roared, "How long are you going to keep this from me! I’ve gone through life and death countless times, from Heilongjiang to Lop Nur—what for? Wasn't it all to uncover Grandpa's secret? If a respected elder you’ve cherished since childhood suddenly turned cruel and brutal, to the point where you suspect he might not even be human, how would you feel! That's my grandfather; you can never understand the place he holds in my heart!"

My eyes were bloodshot as I grabbed my hair and crouched down, feeling a surge of chaotic energy in my chest, sharp, wrenching pains twisting through me.

At that moment, Da Xiong sighed, squatting down beside me, and spoke softly, "Xiao Chuan, do you think keeping the truth from you makes it easier for us? Take me, for instance; the torment I endure inside is no less than yours. I have nightmares every single day."

He paused, then continued, "But if I tell you the truth now, it will do you no good. In fact, it will only harm you, because a person's psychological capacity to endure is finite. If you knew, you would go mad."

Hearing this, my expression softened slightly, and I managed a bitter smile. "Da Xiong, forgive me. Given your position, I truly thought you would side with Nie Haiyun. I never expected that your goal, along with Boss Wu’s, was to protect Nie Chuan. Thinking about it now, the best way to protect Nie Chuan is to go to Nie Haiyun's side and pave the way for him. I never realized you were a double agent; I truly underestimated you."

I didn't understand the dialogue between them because I was still grappling with another matter. So, I said to Da Xiong, "Fine, I believe you. Maybe you’re right; maybe the final answer is too much for me to bear. If you don't want me to know the answer, then why bring me to Heilongjiang and then to Lop Nur? If I’m not mistaken, both of those dangerous excursions were arranged by you, Xie Yuting, and Boss Wu, weren't they?"

Da Xiong nodded, then shook his head, saying, "You’re partly right, but not entirely. The first time, I didn't want you to enter the underground of Heilongjiang. If you hadn't gone, you could have completely avoided this entire affair and remained just a college student, free from struggling against fate."

"But later, Xie Yuting told us that even if you hadn't gone to Heilongjiang, given your grandfather's nature, he would have involved you in his scheme sooner or later. That's why, when your grandfather sent Feng Ze to trick you into Heilongjiang, I didn't intervene to stop it. Furthermore, the only exit from Heilongjiang at that time was being monitored by your grandfather's men. Xie Yuting’s people were outnumbered by your grandfather’s forces, and we couldn’t expose your grandfather’s plot, or we would all have been in danger. So, the only solution was for me and Xie Yuting to escort you underground."

"Actually, when the door inscribed with numbers was opened, your grandfather's men—Old Huang and the others—were already scattered by the massive influx of Ku Rong, losing their ability to control you."

"We should have taken you out of Heilongjiang then, but the flash flood collapsed the entrance; we were trapped. That's why we ultimately decided to bring you deep into the Ghost Eye at the very bottom."

"This was incredibly risky. If you had reached the Ghost Eye and been captured by your grandfather’s people, his conspiracy would have succeeded. At that point, the entire Sichuan province would have faced a catastrophic disaster, resulting in millions of deaths."

Hearing this, I was completely stunned. My grandfather's goal was to cause a catastrophe? Why? And what power did the Ghost Eye possess that could generate such calamity, requiring me specifically to trigger it?

Da Xiong continued, "As for encouraging you to come to Lop Nur the second time, that was indeed planned by Wu Laoban and me. After all, you are the key to this entire affair. If in Heilongjiang you were the sole catalyst for the plot, then in Lop Nur, only you could disrupt the conspiracy your grandfather has been meticulously planning for so long. I imagine your grandfather would not want to see you here, so you need to be careful."

"What do you mean?" I was becoming increasingly bewildered.

Da Xiong gave a wry smile. "When you meet your grandfather, you will naturally understand. Let's go..."

With that, he walked toward the broken opening in the ground.

At that moment, * also walked over, patted my shoulder, and said, "Perhaps resolving everything without you being aware of the full picture is the best outcome for you, so stop trying to guess."

I gave a cold laugh. "I am not a tool, and I detest being manipulated. If you won't tell me, I'll find out myself! I have eyes and a nose, and my brain isn't stupid."

"*Oh? That's wonderful. I hope you manage to figure it out," * replied with a cryptic smile.

Just then, Da Xiong shouted from the edge of the hole, "Hey, *! Since I've confessed and shown good faith, why don't you untie my rope? How am I supposed to get down otherwise?"

shrugged, walked over to Da Xiong, pulled out his combat knife, and kicked him to undo the bonds on his wrists.

Da Xiong flexed his reddened wrists and jumped down through the hole.

The impact of the fall sent a shooting pain through my entire right arm, making me grimace as I clutched it.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Da Xiong walked over with concern, rolled up the sleeve of my right arm, then gasped, "What in the hell is this? Damn it, did the Green Thorn Monster possess you?"

I didn't have time to deal with him; I simply ripped the entire sleeve off.

And then I saw it: the green spikes had already grown halfway up to my right chest. At this rate, my entire body would soon transform into a Green Thorn Monster.

At this point, * interjected, "While that hand of yours possesses immense strength, if the spikes cover your whole body, you’ll probably die."

I nodded, sighing. "Actually, if these thorns didn't spread, I wouldn't mind having this hand."

Da Xiong burst out laughing. "What are you dreaming about? You could stab yourself to death just trying to wipe your backside with that hand. Forget about masturbation; I doubt your sex life will be harmonious when you get a girlfriend."

I knew Da Xiong's mouth only spewed nonsense, so I gave him a glare and rewrapped my hand with the scarf.

Then I couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh no!"

They both looked at me simultaneously. "What is it?"

My face instantly flushed red, and I cursed, "It’s all your fault for talking nonsense, Da Xiong! Now I desperately need to take a dump!"

Hearing this, even the usually serious * let out a snort of laughter.

And Da Xiong, winking and adding fuel to the fire, teased, "Do you want big brother to wipe your butt for you?"

I retorted, "Get lost! Even if I stab myself to death, I won't let you wipe my backside."

Da Xiong pouted. "It was a good intention; if you won't accept it, fine."

I told them to wait for me where they were, walked a little ahead, found a secluded spot at a bend in the passage, and squatted down, undoing my belt.

While relieving myself, I pulled out my phone and was shocked to find the battery level had dropped; it was now only at eighty-six percent.

Of course, I had no idea why this was happening, so I just continued tending to my business.

Midway through, I felt a wave of intense warmth in my trouser pocket.

I jumped, thinking I had soiled my pant leg, but when I reached into my pocket, I realized that wasn't the case.

It was the bead inside my pocket that was radiating a fierce heat.

I pulled the bead out and saw that it was shining brilliantly, so bright it was almost impossible to look at directly.

"What’s going on?" I recalled the last time the bead shone so brightly—it was inside the jade plate of the white marble statue.

"Could it be that this bead has reacted to that white-clad girl?"

The thought instantly vanished my urge to defecate. I pulled up my pants and stood up.

Just then, I heard Da Xiong and * behind me both cursing loudly.

Da Xiong’s shout was the loudest: "Holy hell, what’s happening? Did the old man actually succeed?"

Hearing the curses, I rushed back and witnessed an astonishing sight.

The beams of their flashlights illuminated Feng Ze’s corpse on the ground.

Feng Ze’s body, already withered and highly decomposed, was slowly trembling.

Then, his broken legs, where bone was visible, began to slowly mend, growing new flesh and bone.

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