Chapter 65.3: The Thing That Returned Home

Xue Liangliang replied, “So are you also hoping there’s a room with a bed waiting at the top so you can lie down and rest?”

“Of course. Hopefully with a pot of tea, too.”

After walking for quite a while, the flashlight finally lit up the top.

It was dark red up there, with a door and windows—and the door was open.

Li Zhuiyuan thought that the stone carving at the base of the staircase would’ve made more sense carved here instead.

Tan Wenbin said, “Damn, I was right—there really is a room.”

Runsheng said, “Xiaoyuan?”

“Let’s go in, Runsheng-ge.”

“Mm.”

There was no turning back now. In truth, from the start, the chances of waiting around to be rescued weren’t great, since the rescue team would have to deal with that massive thing up top first. Now, factoring in that the underground river was prone to rising, hoping for a rescue was basically meaningless.

Runsheng entered first, followed by Xue Liangliang. Before stepping in, Li Zhuiyuan checked the window beside the door and found, just like the door, it was made of stone. But the color remained vivid, albeit a bit dim.

That meant even if the underground river rose, the water wouldn’t reach this place.

The twin doors were fixed in place—unable to move—so the opening would remain exposed.

Inside, everything was carved from stone: two rows of benches, a bed, and a tea table, complete with tea sets.

The teapot had no lid. When the flashlight shone into it, a white liquid could be seen inside. Looking up, the ceiling wasn’t flat; many stone ridges jutted downward, the thickest one positioned directly above the open teapot.

Xue Liangliang pointed to the teapot. “Binbin, your tea.”

Tan Wenbin asked curiously, “What is this stuff? I think I saw a similar photo in a magazine once.”

Xue Liangliang replied, “Stalactite.”

Tan Wenbin said, “Sounds expensive. Is it drinkable?”

“Calcium carbonate sediment.”

Tan Wenbin sighed. “Well, the moment you say its scientific name, all the elegance just disappears.”

Li Zhuiyuan looked around and said, “No exit.”

The stone room wasn’t large—about the size of a typical living room. The only door was the one they entered through; the other three walls were solid rock.

Tan Wenbin said speechlessly, “Seriously? All that effort to build such a long stone staircase just for this?”

“Let’s search the place. See if there’s a hidden passage,” Li Zhuiyuan suggested, walking toward the bed. He ran his hand across it, then climbed on and checked under the mattress with his flashlight—only to find there were no gaps at all.

Xue Liangliang focused on the tea set, touching and twisting every part. “Everything here’s carved into the stone. Let’s see if anything isn’t. There might be a mechanism.”

“Okay!” Runsheng squatted down to inspect the benches.

“Yeah, let’s look for a mechanism.” Tan Wenbin yawned as he responded, walking to the eastern wall and rubbing his eyes. He wasn’t slacking—he was genuinely exhausted. After working all day and searching through the first half of the night, it was likely well into the second half now.

Just a few days ago, at this hour, he and Runsheng were probably in their tents, competing over who could snore louder.

Leaning against the wall absentmindedly, Tan Wenbin blinked hard, trying to shake off his drowsiness.

As he managed to gather a bit of focus, he was about to help search when he suddenly looked down at his left hand—and was stunned to see it had sunken into the wall.

“What the hell!”

He instinctively tried to pull his hand out, but the harder he pulled, the stronger the suction force from the other side became.

When the others heard his shout and turned, they saw Tan Wenbin plastered against the wall. Runsheng reacted quickly and rushed to pull him back, but before his hand could reach him, Tan Wenbin was already completely swallowed into the wall.

As he disappeared, the wall began to soften and tremble.

“Looks like Binbin-ge found the entrance.”

Li Zhuiyuan extended his hand toward the wall. His fingers easily slipped through. A bit farther in, he felt a suction force from within.

Instead of resisting, the boy leaned forward willingly. The next moment, he felt himself pulled into a jelly-like substance—but that sensation didn’t last long. He was promptly spat out and stumbled forward several steps before regaining his balance.

Aside from getting soaked all over again, he felt fine.

Looking ahead, Li Zhuiyuan saw Tan Wenbin slumped with his back toward him. When he raised his flashlight, his pupils shrank sharply—a gigantic snake head hovered right in front of him.

“AAAAHHHH!”

Tan Wenbin screamed at the top of his lungs.

Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward and tapped his arm. “It’s fake—it’s a stone sculpture.”

“AAAAHHHH…” Tan Wenbin kept yelling as he turned to look at Li Zhuiyuan, then slowly quieted down. He began patting the ground. “Huh? Where’s my flashlight?”

Clearly, he’d shined his flashlight after arriving, only to come face-to-face with the stone snake head and get scared senseless.

Li Zhuiyuan helped search by shining his light downward, but saw nothing.

“Binbin-ge, stop.”

Tan Wenbin froze, seeing it too. He reached out cautiously. “Xiaoyuan, there’s a cliff ahead. My flashlight fell down.”

“No worries, as long as you’re okay.” Li Zhuiyuan walked to the edge and kept shining the beam down, but the drop was too deep and too dark—he couldn’t see a thing.

Just then, Runsheng and Xue Liangliang arrived as well, both dripping wet.

Tan Wenbin quickly warned, “There’s a stone snake head up ahead—don’t get spooked.”

But even with the warning, when their flashlights hit it, both of them still froze for a moment.

Li Zhuiyuan was already beneath the snake head, examining it. At first, he thought it was a standalone sculpture, but he quickly realized he was wrong. Only the snake’s head extended to their platform—the rest of its body was intact, rearing upward.

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