A sudden thought struck me, and I said, "There's another exit in this cave."
Chief Xiong and Old Daoist Xiao both froze for a moment. Chief Xiong spoke first, "Another exit? Where is it?" Old Daoist Xiao had already started scanning the surroundings.
It was Sun Fatty who gave me a look and said, "The pit that the Frozen Colossus jumped into? I guess that counts as a path. Problem is—who's got the guts to go down there?"
I walked up to the edge of the pit and said, "When the Frozen Colossus jumped down just now, I clearly heard it running further below—there's a path down there, probably a drainage channel. And when we first found this pit, it was full of water, but it drained away pretty quickly. That must've been through that channel. If we follow it, we should be able to reach the exit downstream."
Hearing this, Sun Fatty came over and looked down into the pit. "Lazi, you sure about this? What if the Frozen Colossus is still down there waiting?"
I replied, "Based on how it acted earlier, if we do run into it, the one running will probably be the Colossus. I'll go first—it should be fine."
Chief Xiong and Xiao Heshang came over too. They hesitated but didn't object. Chief Xiong even tried to argue about going down first, but I, as the 'Director,' sternly refused him.
Sun Fatty found a length of rope on one of the corpses, tied a flashlight to it, and circled it around inside the pit a few times. Seeing no sign of the Frozen Colossus lying in wait, I drew my short blade and jumped down into the hole.
Once inside, with the aid of the Heavenly Eye, I could see clearly in the dark. Below was a narrow path a bit over a meter wide, with wet stains all around. Just as I suspected, this must have been the water channel used to drain the pit above.
"It's safe. Come on down," I shouted up. Sun Fatty jumped in first, followed by Old Daoist Xiao, and then Chief Xiong.
I led the way toward the lower ground. Because of the potential danger, none of us spoke. We just moved forward cautiously.
After about five minutes, a flickering light appeared up ahead. Chief Xiong shouted excitedly, "There's light! That must be the exit—we're getting out!"
But only he was excited. Sun Fatty, Xiao Heshang, and I remained silent, staring coldly at the scene ahead.
Chief Xiong noticed something was off. "What's wrong? What do you guys see?" he asked, raising his shotgun—but there was no target in sight.
I saw it clearly—it wasn't sunlight up ahead, but a few flickering oil lamps.
In a place like this, who would be lighting oil lamps?
And that wasn't the worst of it. As we got closer, I began to sense wisps of Yin energy seeping from the walls…
Aside from the Yin aura, I couldn't detect anything else—but it was enough to make me cautious. I turned to the others and asked, "Should we keep going?"
Even Sun Fatty hesitated. Unexpectedly, Xiao Heshang stared straight at the glow of those oil lamps, entranced.
Without any warning, Xiao Heshang suddenly bolted toward the flickering lights. For a man pushing seventy, he moved with surprising agility. As he dashed past me, I didn't even manage to stop him. "Old Xiao! What are you doing?" I shouted after him multiple times, but he acted like he didn't hear me and kept running.
With him running off like that, we had no choice but to follow. Before long, we saw two rows of Soul-Guiding Lanterns hanging on both walls—becoming denser the farther in we went.
Eventually, Old Daoist Xiao stopped running. In front of him was a dead end, the wall densely covered with oil lamps, illuminating the area as brightly as daylight.
We'd run quite a distance. Chief Xiong and I were fine, but Sun Fatty was doubled over, panting heavily. "Hey… old man… if you saw something… couldn't you have just said so instead of running off like that?" he complained.
But Xiao Heshang ignored him completely.
He walked to the end and began fiddling with the bases of the lamps one by one. I noticed something odd and asked, "Old Xiao, is there some kind of mechanism in the lamps? What kind? I'll help you find it."
I reached for the nearest oil lamp.
"Don't touch it!" Xiao Heshang suddenly shouted, startling me.
"These aren't ordinary lamps. They're Soul-Guiding Lanterns—they burn Yin-fire, meant to guide the dead. If you extinguish one, the ghosts who can't return to the Yin Realm will come after you for revenge. You won't walk out of here alive."
Hearing that, I quickly pulled my hand back and watched as Xiao Heshang kept searching. "You won't let me touch it, but what are you doing?" I asked.
He shot me a sideways glance. "What do you know? This Soul-Guiding Array was pioneered by our Special Case Handling Office. Someone I know has been here before."
With that, he finally found something on the base of one of the lamps. Carefully, he took it down. I saw clearly that it was a brass plate. On the front was a complex set of sigils, but Xiao Heshang wasn't interested in those—he flipped it over. On the back, written in red cinnabar, was a single character: "达" (Da).
Seeing that character, Xiao Heshang's hand trembled slightly. Then he suddenly shouted into the air, "San Da—Xiao Sanda! Is that you?"
Xiao Sanda—I'd heard Xiao Heshang mention this name before. He'd asked who held the reins at the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation—Gao Liang or Xiao Sanda?
Judging by the timeline, Xiao Heshang, Gao Liang, and Xiao Sanda had all been part of the Special Case Handling Office, the predecessor to the Bureau. At the very least, they were acquainted. And Xiao Sanda was strong enough to compete with Old Gao for the position of Bureau Chief.
Xiao Heshang shouted a few times, but no one responded. He fell into a daze, staring blankly at the wall of Soul-Guiding Lanterns. Sun Fatty and I flanked him, worried he might accidentally knock over a lamp.
"Forget it," Xiao Heshang sighed. "Looks like in this life, we'll nev—"
Before he could finish, a loud bang echoed. I jumped, thinking the Frozen Colossus was nearby, and prepared for a fight—but then I saw a door-sized opening appear in the wall about twenty meters away.
Seeing the entrance, Xiao Heshang's spirits lifted. "Xiao Sanda! Was that you? Are you letting us in?" he shouted again—but still, there was no reply. He was about to shout more, but Chief Xiong and I stopped him.
"Old Xiao, calm down. If that Xiao Sanda left a door for you, it means he wants us to go in. Whatever you want to say, say it inside," I told him.
Sun Fatty chimed in, "Exactly. You think he's gonna send a fancy palanquin to carry you in? He already showed you the way—that's generous enough. What are you waiting for? If he changes his mind and shuts the door, you'll really be outta luck."
As he spoke, the Wealth Rat in his pocket poked out its head and squeaked excitedly toward the door. Huh? Not even paying attention to Sun Fatty anymore—whatever's inside must be more tempting than Sun Fatty himself.
Xiao Heshang nodded. "Let's go in. Hopefully, there's still an old friend waiting for me inside."
By the time we reached the entrance, Chief Xiong had already gone ahead. He was gripping his shotgun, craning his neck to peek inside.
"Chief Xiong," I said as I walked up beside him, "see anything?"
Xiong Ba shook his head, then nodded. "When I got here just now, I felt like someone—or something—was watching me from inside. That feeling went away when you guys arrived."
That reminded me to stay alert. I glanced inside a few times, but didn't notice anything unusual. Xiao Heshang didn't hesitate—he was the first to stride inside. I didn't have time to investigate further and followed right behind him with Fatty Sun and Xiong Ba.
The interior led into a single path—unlike the upper and lower routes we saw before. This passage wasn't long, and right at the entryway stood a small bagua mirror—identical to the one Xiao Heshang had used earlier to reflect the frozen corpse. Xiao Heshang's confidence noticeably grew after seeing it.
At the end of this path, two exits appeared before us, and we all froze in place. Judging from how the door earlier had opened on its own, it was clearly inviting us in—but now there were two exits. Logic told us: one path led to life, the other to death. But without any hints, what was Xiao Sanda trying to do?
Might as well ask the one who knew him best.
"Old Xiao, did you and Xiao Sanda have any secret signals or markers between you back in the day?"
Xiao Heshang paced back and forth in front of the two exits for a while, then paused in deep thought. Finally, he pointed at the left-hand one. "Men left, women right. Knowing Xiao Sanda's temperament, he'd go with this one." With that, he moved toward the left exit.
"Wait. That's not the one," Fatty Sun suddenly stepped up to block him.
Xiao Heshang froze. "Little Fatty, what makes you so sure?"
Fatty Sun replied matter-of-factly, "I just feel like the right one's correct."
I chimed in, "Old Xiao, you'd best trust Sun Desheng—he's never chosen the wrong path."
Xiao Heshang didn't think much of Fatty Sun's so-called luck. Determined, he insisted on taking the left exit. Fatty Sun, however, refused to go with him. In the end, we split up. I went with Fatty Sun, while Chief Xiong followed Xiao Heshang down the left-hand path.
"Dasheng, are you sure about this?" I asked as we walked down a winding trail.
Fatty Sun curled his lip. "Lazi, when have I not been reliable?"
"Well... maybe once or twice," I replied with a grin.
After walking for a bit, Fatty Sun's expression started to darken. A few minutes later, he clutched his belly and muttered, "Lazi, hang on—I need to take a leak. Don't stray too far, I don't feel too great being alone right now."
I waited, a bit annoyed. Over ten minutes later, the fat bastard finally emerged, adjusting his waistband. Even though I had moved some twenty meters away, the smell in the narrow tunnel was suffocating—it was sealed off, and the whole place reeked of ammonia.
"Dasheng, what the hell did you eat? Stir-fried chives, radish, and soybeans?" I asked, pinching my nose.
Fatty Sun grinned shamelessly. "You're being dramatic. Besides, we ate the same food. What you had, I had. Take it easy—eating, drinking, pooping… it's all part of the natural order."
I held my breath, ready to toss a few more jokes at him, when I suddenly noticed something strange—his coat pocket was completely still.
"Dasheng, where's your wife? She's gone quiet. Don't tell me she ran off with someone else?"
"There's only two of us here. If she ran off with anyone, it'd be with you," Fatty Sun joked as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the Wealth Rat.
The little thing looked groggy—probably passed out from the stench. After breathing a bit of fresh air, it perked up somewhat. But when it looked at Fatty Sun again, its usual affection was gone. It bared its teeth and started screeching at him.
"Dasheng, even your wife's fed up with you already? That honeymoon phase didn't last long," I said with a smirk, watching the increasingly agitated Wealth Rat.
"No worries—probably just low on oxygen in my pocket," Fatty Sun said, giving the rat a quick pet. Seeing it wasn't as limp as before, he tossed it back into his coat.
But I kept watching him. The more I looked, the more uneasy I felt.
Something about him was off. I couldn't say exactly what—but my gut kept ringing alarms.
We walked on, side by side. Fatty Sun still kept up his usual nonsense talk. I replied casually, but in my mind, I knew—something wasn't right with him.
Just then, the Wealth Rat started thrashing inside his pocket—scratching and biting violently.
Fatty Sun yelped and yanked it out, pinching the skin on the back of its neck. "What the hell, you little psycho? You drew blood!"
That's when it hit me.
Fatty Sun hates rats. Even after knowing this one was a Wealth Rat, he never dared to touch it. But now he was grabbing it without a second thought?
"Dasheng, let me hold your wife while you check that wound," I said casually, smiling as I spoke.
He handed the Wealth Rat to me. The moment it was in my hands, it quieted down. It even raised its little paw, pointing and squeaking toward Fatty Sun—like it was trying to warn me.
Fatty Sun pulled up his shirt and inspected the mess of bite marks. "Damn… it really tore into me. What'd I ever do to you?"
I looked at the Wealth Rat, still gesturing frantically. I chuckled. "Hitting means affection, scolding means love. This is how she shows it.
Hey Dasheng, remember the first time we met? Our old squad captain, Lao Wang? He called me a few days ago. Mentioned you—said you've got great luck with women and wanted to set you up with someone. Want to meet her?"
Fatty Sun buttoned up his coat and grinned. "Sure, why not? Idle time is useful time—wait, Lazi, what are you saying?"
He looked up and saw I'd already drawn my pistol—aimed straight at his head.
"Lao Wang died back in the Water Curtain Cave. You saw it with your own eyes. So tell me—who the hell are you? Don't give me that 'long-lost twin' crap."
"Hehehehe..." Fake Fatty Sun grinned, and there was something in that smile that made my scalp tingle.
"You figured it out that fast? Not bad. I had faith in my skills. Thought I could follow you back to the Bureau and no one would notice. Didn't think I'd be exposed in under ten minutes. Tell me—what gave me away? I'd like to know, so I can improve next time."
His words were so sincere I couldn't tell if he was mocking me or genuinely asking.
"Next time?" I sneered and raised the barrel an inch higher—right to his temple.
"Wanna see if I'm bluffing?"