I raised my hand, glaring furiously at Xie Yuting. A commotion sounded from behind me at that moment.

A man was being escorted in by a group of men in black; it was Xiao Feiyang. I let out a sigh of resignation, looking at his bruised and swollen face.

“And who is this? Your new lackey?

He’s much weaker than that Da Xiong fellow. At least that fatty had brute strength, but this one seems mentally unstable, babbling nonsense,” Xie Yuting chuckled.

Before I could speak, the battered Xiao Feiyang shouted, “Are you Lu Jinfat with the Six Fingers? I didn’t expect you to be so young…” I shot Xiao Feiyang a look of distress, signaling him to stop talking nonsense.

Seeing my look, Xiao Feiyang sighed profoundly and said, “Officer Nie, what’s wrong with you? This isn’t your style.

Since we’ve been caught, there’s nothing left to hide. We still need to say what needs saying, otherwise, when we’re dead, there will be nothing left to say.” I was speechless, thinking to myself, Can’t you just shut up for a minute, big brother?

“Officer Nie? When did you become a police officer?” Xie Yuting asked, sounding increasingly surprised and bewildered the more he listened.

Finally, I couldn’t hold back and spoke up, “It’s none of your business what you do with us. Just release Guo Jing; she has nothing to do with this.” Unexpectedly, Xie Yuting nodded and replied, “Fine.

Not only will I release her, but I will release all of you too. However, you might have to suffer a little before that happens.” Then he turned to the young man wearing sunglasses and said, “Tie these two up as well.

We’ll move them out together tomorrow.” Xiao Feiyang and I were bound tightly by the man called Xiao Hei. Xie Yuting then pointed to the surrounding walls and said, “Xiao Chuan, I imagine you must be very curious about the content of these murals, having overheard our conversation just now.

I am a person who loves to see others’ wishes fulfilled. I’ll leave this mining lamp lit for you; you have the entire night to study these murals.” With that, he turned to the men in black surrounding them and said, “Let’s go.

We’ll deal with them tomorrow.” Afterward, Xie Yuting and the others walked toward the tunnel entrance and vanished into the darkness. Though my teeth were grinding in impotent fury, there was nowhere to vent it.

Once the sound of their departure faded completely, the four of us remained silent. Finally, Guo Jing broke the silence, saying, “Thank you, Xiao Chuan.

You rushed in to save me, didn’t you?” I gave a wry smile. “There’s nothing to thank me for.

I failed to save you and ended up trapped myself, even dragging Xiao Feiyang into this mess.” Hearing this, Xiao Feiyang immediately spoke up, “It’s fine; this was my choice. But there’s one thing I need to ask.

I looked at that person’s hand just now—he didn’t have six fingers. And he seemed utterly confused by what we were saying.

Officer Nie, are you hiding something from me?” I managed another bitter smile. “I’m sorry, brother.

Stop calling me Officer Nie. I’m not a police officer at all, and the story about Lu Jinfat was something I made up.

I didn’t want you to know the truth because being involved in this would do you no good.” Xiao Feiyang was silent for a moment, then said, “That might be the case. Earlier, I heard them mentioning the Tang Dynasty, the Ayyak people, Russians, and Han people.

These words are too massive. I have a vague feeling that this is a monumental affair, so…” I expected him to say he wanted no part in it, but seeing his expression slowly shift to excitement gave me a bad premonition.

Indeed, he exclaimed with palpable excitement, “So I am incredibly lucky! I feel like something truly interesting is about to happen!” I was left speechless, though I was already accustomed to his peculiar temperament.

Guo Jing started laughing then, remarking, “Your friend, this ‘Little Fatty Sheep,’ seems quite interesting.” “I’m not Little Fatty Sheep; my name is Xiao Feiyang—Xiao, like in Chopin, and Feiyang, meaning to soar,” Xiao Feiyang corrected her seriously. “Alright, alright, I know, Xiao Feiyang.

But look at our current predicament—aren’t we like fat sheep awaiting the slaughter? So, Little Fatty Sheep it is,” Guo Jing teased.

I hadn't expected that even in this situation, this girl Guo Jing could maintain such lighthearted banter. It truly shifted my perception of her.

A silence fell over us again. I calmed myself down and began to examine the surrounding murals.

The more I looked, the more astonished I became; the content of these murals delivered a profound shock. The narrative content was actually quite simple: each wall depicted a single event.

The wall to our left showed an ancient stone well, over which loomed a colossal statue of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, its hands pressed downward. The scene depicted cracks appearing across the statue, followed by its collapse.

Then, a coffin painted entirely with blood-red lotuses opened, and a long-haired woman in silk garments crawled out. This clearly represented the scene when we destroyed the Kṣitigarbha statue in Black Bamboo Valley.

What was truly startling was that while we hadn't seen the face of the woman in gauze during our time in Black Bamboo Valley, here I could see it clearly: the woman’s face bore an uncanny resemblance to my cousin. I wondered if all beautiful women depicted in murals looked this way.

If not, then the woman in gauze was very likely the white-clothed maiden we encountered in the underground cave at Lop Nur. The final panel of this sequence was quite difficult to comprehend.

It depicted the gauze-clad maiden leaping off a cliff, seemingly entering a tunnel. Next, the mural on the side near the wooden door showed the maiden passing through that tunnel and emerging into an area filled with dense forest.

This likely depicted the subterranean environment beneath Lop Nur. Beneath Lop Nur, the maiden created numerous straw figures using trees and weeds to fight those spiky green monsters, and then she rode the giant Kǔlóng King into the interior of the colossal tree.

The subsequent panel did not show our entry into the cave, but it depicted the rhythmic beating of the giant tree’s immense heart. Seeing this, I realized that everything had indeed been arranged long ago by the white-clothed maiden.

Looking further down, the mural on our right wall depicted something identical to what I had seen at the ceiling of the giant tree’s hollow: the revival of the great tree, its emergence from the earth, and the resurrection of the dead. However, this depiction was more detailed than the scenes inside the tree, showing the giant tree absorbing something resembling sunlight from the outside.

I surmised this represented the Fire-Generating Wood absorbing time; the missing time was indeed being absorbed by the giant tree. Watching countless dead people crawl out of their graves sent shivers down my spine.

I imagined how terrifying it would be if this scene actually materialized. Eager to see what would happen next, I turned to the mural directly opposite us—the one behind the coffin.

Just as I did, Professor Andrei suddenly stood up and blocked my view, uttering a panicked phrase in Russian. I looked toward Guo Jing, who translated, “Professor Andrei says you cannot look now; it will do you no harm to wait.” I shook my head.

“I’m bound to find out eventually. Please move aside quickly.” But before Guo Jing could translate, Andrei angrily kicked the mining lamp on the floor, sending it flying against the wall where it shattered.

With the lamp broken, the chamber plunged into absolute darkness. I instantly became enraged, cursing, “Damn foreigner, who do you think you are?

What are you doing! Believe it or not, I’ll kill you!” At that moment, Andrei quickly spoke a string of Russian phrases, his tone filled with apology.

Guo Jing translated, “Mr. Andrei says he is absolutely not deceiving you.

If you see it, you will surely be unable to accept it and go mad. He apologizes for this, but he swears he stands firmly on your side.” I was speechless, just about to say something.

Then Xiao Feiyang interjected from the side, “Actually… I saw it all…”