Chapter Seventy-Five: The Light Within the Cave

Zhou Yi shook his head. They had only entered two of the caves and knew too little about this place. Relying on guesses was useless; if they wanted to uncover the secret, they would have to explore each one in turn. Besides, the world outside was nothing but a barren desert—there were no cities, no traces of human activity. They might as well thoroughly investigate here. If it weren’t important, the control panel wouldn’t have marked it.

“Guessing is pointless. There’s a storm outside, and a pack of wolves is keeping watch. We can’t get out right now. Instead of waiting here for death, it’s better to explore.”

Fatty nodded eagerly. There was nothing shameful about being loyal—when it came to matters of the heart, Zhou Yi had once risked his life to save him. On that score, Cheng Zhi couldn’t compare. Fatty grinned broadly.

“Alright, boss has spoken. We’ll follow. By the way, it’s really warm in here.”

At this, Cheng Zhi nodded as well and reached out to touch the stone wall.

“Our clothes can regulate temperature, but you can feel it more clearly with your hands. This stone chamber is at least seven or eight degrees warmer than the other one.”

Zhou Yi frowned. Even if this room was farther inside, the temperature difference shouldn’t be so great. He feared there might be something unknown lurking within.

He didn’t voice his concerns and continued to inspect the stone chamber. In the far right corner, there was another opening—an exit in a completely different position from the previous ones.

“There’s a passage!” Fatty, closest to it, rushed over first. This opening was much larger and allowed him to enter easily. He shone his flashlight around, then stepped aside to let the others in, his face filled with astonishment as he looked at Zhou Yi.

“Boss, come and see!”

Zhou Yi didn’t hesitate. It seemed there were no animals here, so he quickly crawled inside.

Cheng Zhi followed, letting out a startled cry as the torch they’d brought finally burned out. As he entered, the charred tip fell off and nearly struck his foot, giving him quite a scare.

“Hey, Cheng Zhi, you okay?” Fatty asked.

Cheng Zhi smiled and shook his head. “I’m fine. Just a shame the torch is gone. I’ll look for some wood to make another one.”

Zhou Yi waved him off and tossed him a flashlight instead.

Rather than heading further in, Zhou Yi returned to the entrance, took out a reflective marker, and drew two overlapping triangles—a hexagram.

Cheng Zhi, puzzled, nudged Fatty. “What’s that for?”

Fatty folded his arms. “Our boss has this same mark on his chest—it’s the symbol of the hexagram. We don’t know how many passages we’ll have to take, so marking them is safer.”

Zhou Yi came back at that moment and waved for them to follow.

“Let’s go. We don’t know what’s inside. We need to be careful. Those wolves wouldn’t go in—I’m worried there’s danger here.”

At this reminder, Fatty shuddered, his hair standing on end. Right—the wolves. They hadn’t died when they jumped down; they were probably still circling nearby, waiting for an opportunity to attack. After all, it was much warmer here than outside—why would they leave? The wolves must have thought they were intruders trying to steal their territory, which had caused the earlier conflict. Now that the three of them weren’t attacking, the leader had likely led its pack away for now, but if more wolves showed up and tried to chase them into the cave, they’d be in serious trouble, especially in these narrow tunnels.

“We really do need to be careful. But with the temperature rising so much, could it be that—”

Before Fatty could finish, Cheng Zhi clapped a hand over his mouth. Fatty’s last prediction had already come true; best not to jinx them further.

Zhou Yi shot them a glance. Fatty hunched his shoulders, looking innocent as he raised his hands in surrender.

“I’ll keep quiet. Boss knows best.”

Without another word, Zhou Yi crawled into the next passageway.

This cave was completely different from the previous two—very narrow, only a quarter of their size, but with four small exits leading off in the four cardinal directions. In the center was a pool with edges so straight they seemed carved. Zhou Yi squatted down to examine it.

The water was inky black, its depth impossible to gauge. In the center of the pool sat a stone, and atop that stone was a statue. As Zhou Yi’s flashlight swept across it, the image became clear.

At first glance, it looked like a person. But upon closer inspection, it was no human. Its face was sharp and monkey-like, limbs long and thin, the body squat and hunched, perched atop the stone with chains wrapped around it. Its features were ferocious, fangs protruding, more like a demon from hell than anything human.

Cheng Zhi, usually the calmest of the group, shivered at the sight, nearly dropping his flashlight.

“What on earth is that?”

Fatty came closer. “It’s not human, that’s for sure!”

“At least we’re seeing signs of human handiwork. There are four tunnels here—excluding the one we came through, that leaves three. Should we split up or stick together?”

Fatty didn’t hesitate. “Stay together.”

Cheng Zhi smiled. He wasn’t as afraid of death as Fatty, but staying together was best.

“It’s safer if we stick together. If something happens, we can look out for each other.”

Zhou Yi nodded. He examined the three tunnels; nothing seemed special about them. The statue couldn’t be reached—who knew how long that water had been there, or if it was poisonous.

With that, Zhou Yi walked toward the center-most tunnel, marked it again, and crawled in first. Fatty and Cheng Zhi hurried after him.

This tunnel was long—after crawling more than twenty meters, they still hadn’t reached the end. Zhou Yi’s nerves were taut. Then, the passageway bent, and ahead, a glow appeared.

Zhou Yi froze.

Light?

Could there be an exit, or perhaps this was the other side of the mountain?

Excited by the thought, Zhou Yi quickened his pace toward the bend. The closer he got, the more puzzled he felt. The light was red, and it radiated heat.

After just twenty meters of crawling, they were drenched in sweat. Behind him, Fatty was panting heavily—this was no mild warmth; it felt as if their faces were on fire.

“Boss, what’s up ahead? Why is it so hot?”

Zhou Yi didn’t answer. He had reached the opening and quickly crawled out, immediately holding out an arm to stop the others.

“Don’t move. Watch your step!”

At his warning, Fatty and Cheng Zhi slowed, crawling out to stand beside Zhou Yi. Only then did they see what lay before them.

“What in the world is this place?” Cheng Zhi gasped, pressing himself against the edge, afraid to move forward.

Beneath Zhou Yi’s feet was a ledge barely half a meter wide. Below, about a meter down, was a platform. The cave was square, but the ceiling appeared to be naturally formed, not carved by human hands.

In the middle of the platform was a deep pool—not of water, but of bubbling, fiery-red magma. Only the edges of the pool were blackened, as if the temperature there was slightly lower.

The light and heat came from here.

Outside, the wind was freezing; in the previous caves, there had even been water. Yet here, someone had created a pool to contain lava. What kind of place was this?

If the lava spilled over, the entire chamber would be engulfed. Or had the magma been diverted here by someone? Even in his own era, humans revered nature—no one could control a volcano or redirect lava.

He watched the churning, bubbling pool, the red light flickering eerily. The scene was utterly bizarre.

Fatty sidled up to Zhou Yi, pointing at the center of the lava pool and shouting,

“Look! Right in the middle—what is that?”