“What’s wrong?” Ashalina asked urgently. “Is there something wrong with this mural?”

“What they’re holding in their hands should be meat.” Shen Mo reached out and gently traced the mural. “These black lines… are blood. The dead minotaur is being roasted over the fire, and the hero and the humans offered as tribute are sharing in eating the minotaur’s flesh.”

Leonid didn’t understand. “Why would they cover up a mural like this? And lock it behind a door?”

Bai Youwei said: “Naturally, it’s because… completing the fourth step is what truly counts as clearing the maze. If I’m right, anyone who enters the maze must eat the minotaur’s flesh to truly be saved.”

She turned to face everyone and emphasized once more: “We need to get back to Du Lai as fast as possible. If he couldn’t hold out and left the maze through the exit, there could be serious trouble. The maze upgrades our physical condition — would it also upgrade the lice? If the lice make it to the outside world, will they continue to affect people’s minds? Could they spread to others?”

Everyone’s expressions shifted at once.

If these lice were truly brought by Du Lai into the outside world, it would be catastrophic.

The group rushed back.

In their haste they took a wrong turn, circled around, and finally found the stone chamber where the minotaur had been slain.

The door was pushed open — the glowing square was still there, but Du Lai was nowhere to be seen.

Everyone’s hearts lurched.

Had Du Lai really run out of patience and left ahead of them?!

They swept their flashlights around the chamber, and finally, not far from the minotaur’s corpse, spotted a dark mass on the ground.

Du Lai was covered head to toe in black swarming insects — he lay silently on the ground, his condition even worse than Shen Mo’s had been before!

There was no time to find alcohol. They pulled several bottles of water directly from the mountain spirit’s magic pouch and poured them over Du Lai, drenching him and scattering the insects!

Shen Mo turned Du Lai over — unexpectedly, Du Lai came to and lunged forward, biting down on Shen Mo’s hand!

Blood welled up instantly, and even Leonid, standing nearby, lost his composure — his eyes glazing over, saliva dripping uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth.

Chen Hui, quick-eyed and fast-handed, immediately grabbed Leonid’s arm and hauled him away — preventing him from continuing to smell the blood.

“The collar!” Shen Mo pinned Du Lai down and turned to shout at Bai Youwei. “Quickly!”

Bai Youwei passed the collar over. Each of them put one on in turn; the aggressive urges finally weakened — but the black insects still swarmed relentlessly, flying at them from all sides.

Shen Mo stripped Du Lai’s lice-covered shirt off, lit it with a lighter, and threw it to the ground.

Bai Youwei opened the dollhouse and called out to the people inside, who carried out an armful of firewood. A bonfire was lit.

The scorching firelight and the pure white glow of the square played off each other, illuminating the entire stone chamber.

Then —

Shen Mo walked to the minotaur’s corpse and cut off a piece of flesh.

Under ordinary circumstances it would have been revolting, but they had been tormented by the lice until their minds were warped — staring at the bloody mass of flesh before them, they felt not the slightest revulsion.

Only Bai Youwei and Chen Hui could not bring themselves to accept it.

In the end, they each took two small slivers, roasted them over the fire until cooked, then wrapped them inside bread and forced them down, unwilling even to chew.

It was impossible to say what the taste was — only that once it was swallowed, they immediately felt a psychological sense of relief.

The lice on Shen Mo, Du Lai, Leonid, and Ashalina gradually dispersed; many dead lice shook loose from their clothes and fell away like dandruff with a light brush.

The six of them looked at one another. For the first time, they felt truly, genuinely at ease.

“Roast a few more pieces.” Bai Youwei looked at Shen Mo. “Teacher Cheng and the others need to eat some as well.”

Shen Mo: “…”

Without a word, he went and cut another small piece.

—