Wielding the glow stick closer, I spotted it then: a cigarette butt lodged in the crack of the stone. Recalling how Boss Wu had been unwilling to discard his cigarette earlier, I realized this was why.

It seemed Boss Wu possessed foresight, leaving this stub as a marker to prevent us from getting lost. When we had been using apples to lure out whatever was in the bronze cauldron earlier, Boss Wu had managed to place this marker without us noticing.

Boss Wu had clearly already seen this mark just now, which is why he was so certain my deduction was wrong. Seeing my expression, Boss Wu sighed and said, "Alright, I take back my previous comment about it being childish.

This maze is indeed quite baffling; at least, I can’t think of any other reason for it." "I might have another reason that could explain it," I suddenly recalled the murals from before and said to Boss Wu. "What possibility?" Boss Wu looked at me with keen interest.

"This bronze cauldron might not be a single, unified object," I stated with confidence. "Oh?

What do you mean?" Boss Wu stood up, seeming to grasp a critical point. "This cauldron could be composed of countless minute particles, or perhaps it is merely an illusion," I continued.

Boss Wu smiled, then immediately shook his head: "I know what you mean, and I encountered some illusions on my journey here, but illusions are always silent. This bronze cauldron, however, emits a sound like a great bell." Boss Wu mentioning this detail was indeed something I hadn't considered moments ago.

Saying that, the disappearance of the bronze cauldron truly became inexplicable. Thinking of this, I remembered being trapped in a maze back in Heizhugou; it felt like the exact same situation—no explanation possible, and it remains a mystery to this day.

But back then, we kept entering the same door only to find different rooms. This time, even the door is gone, which is far more bewildering.

Boss Wu tossed the pebble in his hand again and said, "Since we can’t explain the cauldron’s vanishing act, let’s analyze why the original entrance disappeared. I think this problem is simpler than the last one." I nodded and agreed, "That’s right.

I can only think of three scenarios: First, this cave has a hidden door, and we accidentally triggered a mechanism that caused it to drop. Second, the light from outside vanished, so we can't see it anymore.

Third, there’s smoke or fog ahead blocking the light from the entrance." Boss Wu shook his head and countered, "None of those fit, because we could verify any of those three possibilities just by walking toward the entrance. But think, what would happen if we tried to walk to the entrance now?" "Return here again?" I answered.

"Exactly. We can try it if you don't believe me." With that, he raised his foot to walk toward the opening.

But I grabbed him, saying, "No need. Even thinking about it tells us: our first three guesses were too naive.

If the problem were that simple, we wouldn't be trapped here." Boss Wu nodded, conceding, "Now we only have the old method left. You stay here, and I'll walk forward.

See which side I reappear on." I shook my head, worried, "What if I don’t see you reappear at all?" Boss Wu paused, realizing that was a real possibility, and sighed, "Then what should we do?" I rubbed my hair, desperately trying to formulate a counter-strategy, but found no lead whatsoever. Boss Wu sat back down, his brow deeply furrowed.

We sat in that spot for half an hour until our legs went numb. Finally, I stood up and began pacing back and forth.

While I was lost in thought, Boss Wu found a corner and drifted off to sleep. Seeing me stand up, he immediately opened his eyes and asked, "Well?

Did you think of anything?" I shook my head, feeling a dryness in my lips, and took a swig from my canteen. After that sip, I noticed the water level in my canteen was very low.

Seeing me frowning at the water inside, Boss Wu said, "Don't worry, I still have water and food. We should be able to hold out for two days." "Two days?" My head spun.

No matter how dire the situation had been before, I had never been stuck in one place for two days. The most crucial thing was a deep sense of frustration; the entrance had been right there moments ago, so why had it vanished?

This maze shouldn't be that complex; I felt we were on the verge of the answer, yet we couldn't get out—it was intensely agitating. It might also be that although I had encountered extremely perilous predicaments before, they were generally resolved quickly, which fostered this impatient disposition in me.

Noticing my anxiety, Boss Wu frowned slightly. "This maze is certainly not simple, but even though I said that, it doesn't necessarily mean we'll wait that long.

I was just preparing you mentally." He paused, then continued, "Our immediate priority isn't whether we'll spend the night here; it's that in a little while, it will be time for those Will-o'-the-wisps to hunt again. We best retreat into that crevice we found earlier to shelter." Though my mood was poor, I knew Boss Wu was right, so I nodded and said, "Let's go then." The stroke of luck in this misfortune was that even though we were trapped, the gap formed by the cauldron's wall was still there.

We walked forward a short distance and spotted it. Boss Wu and I went in, one after the other, and saw the ground, scorched by the monsters, still faintly smoking.

I wasn't in the mood to inspect it and immediately sat down. Boss Wu said nothing, unstrapped the simple tent from his back, and began unfolding it.

Seeing him working alone, I went over to help him set up the tent. Both our phones were dead long ago, but fortunately, Boss Wu still carried a Rolex.

He checked the time and announced, "It’s two in the morning. We should rest early.

With a clear head tomorrow, maybe this maze won't be an issue at all." I sighed and pulled out a few cans of soybeans from my backpack, handing them to Boss Wu. Boss Wu’s face lit up instantly.

"You brought this stuff? Doesn't it weigh you down?

I thought we’d be eating compressed biscuits tonight; this is way too luxurious a meal." I managed a strained smile and said nothing more. Boss Wu took the cans, then gestured toward the tent.

"You sleep first. I'll take the initial watch, and you can take the second half of the night."