Carrying Cao Jinhua on his back, Cao Yanhua complained incessantly. Meanwhile, Yan Hongsha was anxious, finding him too slow and constantly urging him to hurry.

The cave entrance was indeed well-hidden. Yan Hongsha missed it at first glance and walked right past, only to be called back by Cao Yanhua.

The side path into the cave was somewhat narrow, making it difficult to carry Cao Jinhua. The two of them—one lifting her shoulders, the other her feet—managed to move her inside.

Yan Hongsha turned on her flashlight and examined the outline of the cave, still finding something puzzling.

So she asked Cao Yanhua, while the cave entrance was well-concealed, the mountain was indeed close to the village. Over the years, with so many villagers climbing the mountain, how had no one discovered this cave?

Cao Yanhua snorted: “When we were children, the village kids and I often played on the mountain, exploring every gap we could find. We even dug out several rabbit holes. If there had been an opening like this, would we not have discovered it back then?”

So what was the implication? Yan Hongsha looked at Cao Yanhua.

Cao Yanhua said, “We truly never discovered it back then, and no one in the village ever mentioned it—after much thought, there can only be one reason: this cave entrance was originally sealed.”

He pointed it out to Yan Hongsha: “There are many loose rocks on the mountain. Four or five large boulders would completely seal the entrance, requiring at least ten people to move them. With the vines and trees covering it outside, even children playing around wouldn’t possibly discover the entrance.”

Yan Hongsha found this reasonable but still had questions: “Then who opened the cave entrance?”

“It might have been opened recently, most likely by Ya Feng.”

Thinking of Ya Feng, Cao Yanhua felt his hand still throbbing with pain: “Sister Hongsha, don’t be fooled by Ya Feng’s chicken-like appearance—I’m telling you, her strength is truly immense. When she gripped my fist, my bones nearly shattered. If the evil bamboo slip is on her, moving a few hundred pounds of stone probably wouldn’t be a problem.”

Yan Hongsha frowned: “But Ya Feng is an outsider, isn’t she? During our conversation, Cao Jinhua told me that Ya Feng met Qing Shan while he was working in the county town, and she only came to live in the village for the wedding—how could an outsider who’s only been here for a few days discover a cave that no one in your village found for decades?”

Cao Yanhua was stunned for a while before squeezing out a sentence.

“Perhaps the evil bamboo slip has been here before?”

“The evil bamboo slip carries memories?”

“Why couldn’t it?” Cao Yanhua argued confidently, “Maybe the evil bamboo slip is like a USB drive—when it reaches the right person, their magnetic fields align, and boom, the past becomes clear as day.”

His imagination suddenly expanded: If that were true, maybe Ya Feng’s mind contained a clear image of Laozi—in history books, Laozi, Confucius, and Wu Daozi were all depicted similarly. If Ya Feng could restore Laozi’s appearance, that would be a great contribution.

Yan Hongsha didn’t continue this line of discussion: “Where is the trapdoor?”

She spoke while walking deeper into the cave. Cao Yanhua’s scalp tingled with fear as he quickly pulled her back, then pointed to a spot in the center of the cave.

“Where’s the mechanism for the switch?”

“I don’t know.”

After thinking, he added: “There are at least two switches, because when my little Master fell, Ya Feng wasn’t present. But when Brother Luo went down, Ya Feng clung to him as they fell together, so there must be a mechanism elsewhere, and one on that trapdoor too. Sister Hongsha, don’t step carelessly! If you fall through, too, we’re finished.”

His words made Yan Hongsha uneasy. The flashlight beam moved forward, illuminating a large rock inside.

Cao Yanhua said angrily: “That’s the rock I was tied to for several days.”

Yan Hongsha thought for a moment, then took out a climbing rope from her tactical bag. She walked along the cave wall to the rock, securely tied the rope around it twice, and fastened the other end around her waist. Only then did she carefully approach the trapdoor area—this way, even if she accidentally triggered the mechanism, the rope would protect her.

Reaching approximately the right position, she began stomping, jumping, and bouncing. Cao Yanhua watched with his scalp tingling, fearing that in the blink of an eye, she would disappear below.

However, nothing happened. The trapdoor must be very thick; no matter how forcefully she jumped or bounced, there was no hollow sound.

Yan Hongsha knelt down and carefully examined the ground, then puffed out her cheeks and blew away the dust. The stone joints had been covered with soil; after blowing it away, she could see that the edges fit together tightly, making it impossible to pry open.

She asked Cao Yanhua: “Where exactly was Ya Feng lying when she fell? Help me recreate how her body and hands were positioned when she collapsed.”

Cao Yanhua could only recall a rough approximation.

Yan Hongsha pretended to be Ya Feng, twisting her body as she lay down, her right hand searching around. After a while, she felt an inconspicuous protrusion.

She quickly shined her flashlight for a closer look. Sure enough, around the protrusion were very slight scratch marks on the stone.

Yan Hongsha became excited. Her grandfather, Old Man Yan, had told her about old mechanisms from earlier years and taught her how to identify them—this kind of protrusion was a downward-pressing mechanism. Because it had been pressed recently, there were discernible scratch marks.

Yan Hongsha placed both hands on the protrusion and used all her strength to press down.

It didn’t move.

She stood up and jumped on the protrusion a couple of times. Still no movement.

Cao Yanhua joined in, helping her press and step on it. They even tried the half-baked idea of having him carry Yan Hongsha on his back to jump on it, but it still didn’t work.

This proved that Ya Feng’s strength truly was extraordinary. It made sense, though—if the switch could be easily toggled, that would be too careless.

Yan Hongsha sighed resignedly: “Should we look for the other mechanism?”

Before Cao Yanhua could answer, a weak moan came from behind them.

Cao Jinhua seemed to be waking up.

Cao Yanhua panicked and quickly pushed Yan Hongsha: “What… what should we do?”

Yan Hongsha had no experience either: “Hit… hit her again.”

Cao Yanhua instinctively disagreed: “That’s her brain! What if you make her stupid?”

During this hesitation and delay, Cao Jinhua opened her eyes.

Her head hurt, burning intensely, with a lump when she touched it. Opening her eyes, she saw Cao Yanhua and Yan Hongsha, but the first thought that came to mind had nothing to do with either of them.

—Risk truly is everywhere, fortunately I have insurance myself. The coverage should include this kind of accidental injury, with about an 80% reimbursement rate. Plus, if hospitalized, there would be a daily allowance of 20 yuan…

This gaze seemed somewhat vacant. Yan Hongsha felt uneasy: Had her blow made the woman stupid?

Cao Yanhua swallowed hard, also stammering a bit: “Sister Jin… Jinhua, it’s all a mis… misunderstanding. We’re good people, on this point, I dare guar… guarantee with my integrity.”

Cao Jinhua’s gaze finally focused on Cao Yanhua and Yan Hongsha.

Why was her company’s customer service colleague with Cao Tudun, who had been tied up earlier? Who hit her on the head? Did Yan Hongsha know Cao Tudun? Did Yan Hongsha hit her?

Yan Hongsha noticed that Cao Jinhua’s gaze toward her had changed. She jumped up and kicked Cao Yanhua on the buttocks: “You… you explain. I’ll go find the switch.”

She turned and left.

Cao Yanhua was nervous, extending one hand forward as a barrier between himself and Cao Jinhua: “Sister Jinhua, stay calm! Just calm down! I’ll emphasize only one point, just one!”

In a moment of quick thinking, he found a way to reassure her: “Sister Jinhua, look, from the threshing ground to this mountain, you’ve been unconscious for so long. If we were bad people, we would have finished you off long ago, but we didn’t, right? Not only that, but after you woke up, we were very polite, continuously explaining things to you. This alone proves our sincerity—you’re a rational, educated person with professional qualities, so think carefully about what I’m saying.”

Cao Jinhua wasn’t confused; this logic was immediately clear to her. Besides, there were two of them, so even if she caused trouble, she probably wouldn’t fare well.

Her head still hurt, and she reached to touch the back of it.

Cao Yanhua immediately assured her: “We’ll take responsibility. Medical expenses or any aftereffects—we’ll take responsibility for everything.”

Cao Jinhua remained silent. Meanwhile, Yan Hongsha was struggling to knock and tap around the cave.

If the mechanism on the trapdoor was so difficult to activate, the other one certainly wouldn’t be as simple as being embedded in the cave wall. Yan Hongsha suddenly remembered that time in Sizhai Mountain, where the woman who had been killed by her grandfather could freely climb on the cave ceiling. What if Ya Feng could do the same? What if the other mechanism was located on the ceiling?

She looked up.

She wasn’t Mu Dai; she couldn’t stick to stone walls. Even if she did, she couldn’t exert enough force on the trapdoor, much less on the ceiling.

She came back dejected, not even acknowledging Cao Jinhua as she pulled Cao Yanhua aside: “I can’t find it. Let’s try the first one again.”

So they tried again, their four hands stacked together, using all their strength to press down, then desperately stepping on it—you step, then I step.

Cao Jinhua watched them as if they were ghosts, finally unable to resist asking: “What are you two doing?”

Yan Hongsha was irritated and didn’t bother to answer. Cao Yanhua felt he should explain thoroughly: “We’re trying to press down this stone. It’s a downward-pressing mechanism, but we can’t move it.”

As he spoke, Yan Hongsha angrily stomped on the protrusion a couple more times, nearly crying from frustration.

Cao Jinhua said, “Why are you both so stubborn?”

“There are so many heavy rocks on the mountain. Why don’t you two carry one in and smash it down with all your might?”

Her words awakened them from their stupor. Yan Hongsha and Cao Yanhua hurried outside to search, their faces flushed as they carried in a rather heavy stone, resting every three steps and panting every two.

When they brought it to the trapdoor, Cao Jinhua helped direct them: “A little to the left. Too far. A bit more to the right. Good, it’s aligned now.”

Cao Yanhua was a bit nervous. Yan Hongsha repeatedly cautioned him: “As soon as we let go, jump to the side, understand? I have a rope, so I’m not afraid, but if you fall, we’re finished. One, two, three…”

She successfully frightened Cao Yanhua, who jumped away before she even finished saying “three.” On this end, Yan Hongsha was caught off guard. Unable to hold the stone alone, it crashed down with a boom. Suddenly, there was nothing beneath her feet. Top-heavy and bottom-light, she flipped downward as the stone quickly fell past her.

With a tremendous crash, almost simultaneously, the rope around her waist reached its limit and pulled taut. Fortunately, Yan Hongsha often practiced rope descents, so she immediately grabbed the rope and pulled down to balance herself in mid-air—an ordinary person would likely have had their waist nearly severed by such a violent drop.

From above, Cao Yanhua’s voice faintly came through: “Sister Hongsha, are you alright?”

Yan Hongsha laboriously reached for the side pocket of her backpack, took out her flashlight, and turned it on. She first waved it upward to indicate she was fine.

Then she shined it downward.

The rope indeed wasn’t long enough to reach the bottom. She estimated there was still about ten meters to go. Below was a large cavern. The flashlight beam moved around, scanning the surroundings…

Her heart suddenly jumped. She quickly moved the flashlight back to where she had just illuminated.

Yes, it was Luo Ren, standing below with his arms crossed, looking at her. Beside him was Mu Dai, her head tilted back, lips slightly parted, seemingly a bit stunned.

Yan Hongsha could hardly believe her eyes.

This hole was very deep, truly very deep. Earlier, she had many negative thoughts. As she fell, her body weightless in mid-air, she instinctively feared she might see something she didn’t want to see.

The surprise came too suddenly—two people, alive and well, standing right there.

Yan Hongsha was overjoyed but also somewhat dissatisfied with their reaction.

She was the trump card, after all! When she dug Yi Wansan out of the earth, and when Cao Yanhua saw her, he had wept with joy, hadn’t he?

She shined her flashlight deliberately at Luo Ren: “Well, you poor thing, don’t you feel like I’m a little angel descending from heaven?”

With one hand holding the rope and the other holding the flashlight, she began flapping the latter like wings.

Luo Ren stared at her, then, after a moment, brushed off one side of his arm once, twice, three times.

He asked her: “Which little angel, when descending from heaven, first pushes down a rock that could kill someone?”