We were all stunned. Our back-and-forth had only taken about five minutes, and there was no way anyone could have moved our gear in such a short time. Besides, there was only one path from the ear room to the tomb passage; where could all this stuff have gone?

The three of us exchanged glances, and our expressions were grim. Just as one problem seemed to settle, another arose. At this moment, the fat guy started to panic and said, “Could there be more than one zongzi here?”

I waved my hand; this wasn’t the time to discuss zongzi. We could still fight against this zongzi, but without diving equipment, how could we traverse the dozens of meters of underwater tomb passage? This was a serious problem; we could end up trapped at the bottom of this watery tomb.

I asked the fat guy, “You were the last one to take off your gear. When you put it down, did you move it anywhere?”

He replied, “Of course not! These eight steel cylinders are so heavy; do you think I’m just bored and moving them around?”

I thought about it—it made sense. We were all there at that time; if anyone had moved the gear, they would have known. Moreover, the equipment was indeed heavy; it was nearly impossible to move it all at once.

We stood there in a daze for a while. Seeing that just standing around wasn’t helping, the fat guy suggested we search the area. He said that even if a ghost had come to move things, there would surely be some clues left behind. I thought that made sense too, so I started moving one porcelain jar after another to see if anything was hidden behind them. This was a bit of self-deception; in such a small space, if anything were there, it would be visible at a glance. But at that moment, we could only hope for the best.

We searched meticulously for about five or six minutes. The more I searched, the more uneasy I felt, but I didn’t know what the problem was. I just sensed something inexplicably strange about everything here. In the end, it was the fat guy who discovered it. He suddenly shouted, “Damn it! This isn’t the place we were just in!”

I turned to look and saw his flashlight shining in a corner. In my memory, there had been nothing there, but now there was a stone pillar, one side embedded in the wall and the other side exposed, intricately carved with various exotic birds and beasts. This was a completely different structure from the tomb we had just been in. We quickly checked the other three corners, and sure enough, all four corners had similar changes. I started to sweat; this was not just illogical—it was downright unfathomable.

I looked at the mute oil bottle, and he nodded, saying, “He’s right. This seems to be another room. The baby coffin in that corner is also gone, and the arrangement of the burial goods is very different. And look at the ceiling—”

I glanced up and was shocked to see that the yin-yang star map on the ornate ceiling had transformed into two giant snakes intertwined, coiling around the entire circular beam, carved so vividly that it seemed like they were about to pounce and bite me. I felt a chill run down my spine and quickly lowered my head, saying, “What’s going on? Did we enter the wrong door?”

The fat guy replied, “How could that be? This is clearly the only path to Huashan since ancient times. This place is so big; we came here from that broken passage, got turned into a porcupine in that passage, and then ran back here. There’s no mistake! Damn it, how could I possibly get it wrong?”

At this moment, I had realized that we might have encountered the same thing that Uncle San faced twenty years ago. However, the current situation was somewhat different from what he had described, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had changed. Back then, Uncle San had not removed his diving gear, which allowed him to escape from the spring, while I had come in knowing that such a thing could happen but had taken no precautions at all. Thinking of this made me feel a bit guilty.

The胖子 (Fatty) was a bit dazed and asked me, “Aren’t you from the Southern school? Aren’t you familiar with the mechanisms in ancient tombs? Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

Of course, I had never seen anything like it. I sighed and said, “There’s no one else here, so I’ll tell you the truth: this is only my second time in a tomb. Don’t even mention clever stone mechanisms; I can’t even name these jars and bottles properly, so don’t expect anything from me.”

Fatty still didn’t believe me and said, “Hey, don’t scare me! I was really counting on you to figure something out.”

I gave a bitter smile, unsure how to respond. I told him, “Given how bizarre this situation is, even if I were an expert in this field, I probably wouldn’t be able to help. Just look at how in just a few minutes, what mechanism could change all the furnishings in a room and even alter the structure of the house? It’s impossible; there must be another reason.”

The 闷油瓶 (Mysterious Bottle) nodded slightly in agreement, and Fatty scratched his head, saying, “Then what is it if not a mechanism? Is it magic?”

Hearing him mention that, I remembered something and said, “Well, there is that possibility. I once heard a story about a tomb raider who entered an ancient tomb and found it magnificent, like a palace. There was even a person inside drinking. When the person saw him, he not only invited him to drink but also gave him a belt. They drank several cups together, and he ended up passed out in the tomb. When he woke up, he found himself lying next to a broken coffin, and that belt turned out to be a snake. Doesn’t that sound a bit like our current situation?”

Fatty replied, “What the hell? At least he had wine to drink; we only have water. How can we compare?”

I realized he had a point. At that moment, I hesitated about whether to tell them about Uncle San’s situation. Mainly, it was a convoluted story, and sharing it might involve the Mysterious Bottle. I still didn’t know his stance, and if I said something wrong, it could lead to more trouble. After thinking it over, I decided to share part of the story while keeping some details hidden.

Fatty was still sighing, so I asked them to sit down and shared some details about Uncle San. Fatty kept interrupting, and I found it hard to continue, so I had to be increasingly concise. In the end, Fatty even cursed, “You little brat! How could you know so much and not say anything? It’s infuriating! Look at the mess we’re in now!”

The Mysterious Bottle listened intently and suddenly grabbed me, asking, “What did Uncle San say when he was unconscious? Say it again!”

Seeing his serious expression, I stammered, “He, he said ‘elevator.'”

The Mysterious Bottle exclaimed, “Oh!” and suddenly smiled, saying, “So that’s what happened—”