This opening should be a key point in the entire event. The memories of the “Mysterious Oil Bottle” come to a halt here, and what happens next remains a mystery. What is inside the cave? How did he get out? Did others lose their memories like him? All of these are mere speculations with no solid basis.

I carefully examined the cave. From the outside, it can only be described as an artificially created door in a rather unreasonable location (aside from the tunnel warfare, I have never seen anyone open a door in such a place). Inside the door, the visible area is made of the same yellow clay bricks as the outside, and structurally, it is very ordinary. I have seen countless such openings in charcoal factories in Shanxi, all used as skylights for brick kilns. However, placed here, it seems very out of place in the layout of the tomb, leaving me puzzled about its purpose.

In my memory, almost all tomb chambers have a symmetrical structure, and it is rare to find a passage or an extra room opened inexplicably unless the tomb owner had such a peculiar preference. If that is not the case, there are only two possibilities:

The first possibility that came to my mind is that there might be some hidden burial items inside. This wouldn’t be surprising; according to my grandfather’s notes, many people who designed secret rooms in their own tombs exist. However, these secret rooms are generally well disguised. This hole has no hidden door and no concealment; it simply has a mirror placed outside, which seems rather childish.

The second possibility is related to feng shui. My reasoning is that mirrors are very important tools in feng shui, and placing one here should have a specific meaning. Generally speaking, opening a door in a room represents “communication” in feng shui, meaning to bring something in or let something out.

This is minor feng shui, which differs greatly from the major feng shui of ancient times, much like the distinction between Mahayana and Theravada in Buddhism. Minor feng shui emphasizes transformation, using certain methods to change the bad into good within a small area. I find this area of knowledge quite interesting, and I know it better than major feng shui.

I followed the diagonal line of the mirror to explore other areas, hoping to find some clues. The arrangement of the entire room is exactly as described by the “Mysterious Oil Bottle,” but since it has maintained its appearance from twenty years ago, only the four directions are illuminated by night pearls. The central model of the heavenly palace is hidden in darkness, and I can only use a flashlight to see a few parts. After scanning the room a few times, my attention was drawn to the shadow paintings on the wall.

I have previously described the content of these four shadow paintings, but at that time, I was also relying on the description from the “Mysterious Oil Bottle,” which was quite vague. Now, seeing them for myself, I find that these paintings are actually very realistic. If you are attentive enough, you can discern many specific details.

First, I immediately noticed that the snow-capped mountains depicted in the painting are likely the northern slopes of Changbai Mountain in Jilin. This is not due to my exceptional memory; rather, the main peaks of Changbai Mountain are very distinctive, and anyone who has been there should be able to recognize them.

Secondly, I noticed that in the second painting, the funeral procession consists entirely of women dressed in ceremonial robes. This implies that the person in the coffin must have been a prominent noble of the Yuan dynasty. Therefore, the construction of the Cloud-top Heavenly Palace likely took place during the transitional period at the end of the Yuan dynasty. In such chaotic times, having the resources to build such a massive tomb indicates that the tomb’s owner must have been extraordinary.

Thirdly, what surprised me the most was that the entire funeral procession was made up of women, which is quite unreasonable. I’m not familiar with the burial customs of the Mongolian people, but having a funeral conducted entirely by women is truly unheard of.

There are many other small details like this; I don’t know if they were intentionally left as clues by the sculptor or if it was simply their way of doing things.

At this point, I was already very clear in my mind that with these clues, if we could find a local mountain dweller familiar with the terrain, it would definitely be possible to locate this palace. However, it is buried under layers of snow that have accumulated over hundreds of years, and the permafrost is very soft. If we are not careful while excavating, even a small avalanche could bury us forever beneath the snow.

However, these hints should have nothing to do with the hole in the corner. I went on to check the mirrors in several other corners and the walls behind them, but found nothing special. It seems that all the problems could only be answered by entering that hole. I returned to the entrance of the hole and saw that the oil bottle was still staring, with a rare hesitation in his eyes, as if he was contemplating something. When he saw me approach, he suddenly said to me, “I might have to go in again.”

“No way,” I was shocked to hear this. “Aren’t you just going to your death? If you lose your memory for another twenty years, everything will be meaningless.”

He replied calmly, “I am different from you. For you, what happens here is just a bizarre experience, but for me, it is a huge knot in my heart. If I don’t untie it, even if I remember everything, I won’t be able to live well for the rest of my life.”

Hearing this made me anxious, and I repeatedly said it was not possible. I actually understood him, but the environment we were in did not allow for complications; getting out quickly was what we should focus on. Otherwise, no matter how many secrets of the world I knew, if the air ran out, everyone would suffocate and die, and those secrets would immediately lose their value.

I expressed my concerns to him, and he appeared somewhat conflicted, asking me, “How confident are you that we can get out?”

Hearing his question reminded me that I hadn’t closely examined the treasure dome here, so I hurriedly looked up. In all the notes I had read, the top of the Ming tomb was described as being very sturdy, with what was referred to as seven horizontal and eight vertical beams. According to my understanding, this treasure dome should have been constructed with an arch structure to withstand pressure, being higher in the center and lower on the sides. However, it now appeared that it followed the method of underground tombs, resulting in a flat top. Therefore, making a hole in any part of it wouldn’t matter much.

The宝顶 (Treasure Peak) is over ten meters high, and there’s nothing to stand on here. We can only start by working on the nearby pillar, using the camera tripod to knock out a few pits on it, then climb up, break the surface of the white clay, and start working on the blue bricks. We don’t need to be too careful; as long as we time it right, once the load-bearing structure on top is damaged, a hole will naturally collapse. We just need to wait for the seawater to fill this tomb, and we can easily escape.

The key to this plan is timing. If we don’t do it during low tide, once the load-bearing structure is compromised, the entire宝顶 might be washed away by the rushing seawater, trapping us inside.

I explained all this to the muted oil bottle (闷油瓶), emphasizing that our chances of getting out are quite high. However, once we do, the tomb will be completely ruined. But the tomb won’t disappear; everything that should be inside will still be there. He can always come back with the right equipment in a few days, so there’s no rush.

He nodded, finally convinced by my reasoning. The胖子 (Fatty) couldn’t hold back any longer and said, “Since that’s the case, why wait? Let’s just get started now and deal with this pillar first. No need to be flustered later.”

I glanced at my watch; there were still six hours until low tide, so we had plenty of time. I shook my head and said, “We’ve exhausted a lot of energy just now, and we haven’t eaten at all. Our physical state is very low right now. We should rest well. After we get out, we don’t know what we might encounter. The boat above might have already left. If we lack strength, we could drown after escaping, which would be too much of a loss.”

The胖子, who had been very enthusiastic, found my reasoning valid and scratched his head in frustration. “Damn it, we still have to wait? Fine, I’ll take a nap. Just call me when it’s time to work.”

I also found a place to lean against, but my mind didn’t stop. I was calculating how to navigate if the seawater started flooding in. The passage to the stone tablet at the bottom of the pool was already sealed. Although it wasn’t airtight, water would definitely enter slower than it would exit. A large amount of water would first rush into that strange wall hole. I just didn’t know where that low hole led. If it connected to other rooms, it would be very troublesome; it could create a whirlpool that would suck us in completely.

Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but glance into the depths of the hole, pondering if there was any way to block it. Then I thought I could stack those models together. I estimated the height and width of the hole, considering how to block it effectively.

However, at that moment when I concentrated, an extremely strange feeling suddenly surged in my heart.

In the darkness of the doorway, a force was strongly drawing my gaze. This force was not only intense but also had a certain compulsion. I wanted to turn my head away but found that my neck wouldn’t move at all, not even my eyeballs.

At the same time, I immediately felt a sense of restlessness. This restlessness was hard to describe, like a person who is extremely hungry, finally getting a pack of food but unable to tear open the packaging. This restlessness quickly turned into a strong impulse in my heart, urging me to go into that door and take a look.

Everything happened in an instant, without any warning. By the time they sensed something was wrong, it was already too late. I suddenly pushed aside the person in front of me, charging into the cave. I was very close to the entrance, so I dashed into the darkness in just a few steps, and he couldn’t pull me back in time. At that moment, I didn’t think about what I was doing; I was solely focused on reaching the deepest part of the cave to see what was there. I didn’t even turn on my flashlight and ran wildly into the darkness, completely ignoring what was beneath my feet. I didn’t pay attention to whether anyone was chasing me from behind.

But after just a few steps, a sudden gust of wind hit me from behind, and then a sharp pain shot through my left knee. My entire foot went weak, and I collapsed to the ground.

I fell hard, hitting my forehead against the floor, which made my head buzz with pain, and I even bled from my nose. However, after stumbling forward, my anxiety suddenly vanished, and everything returned to normal.

A jolt of unease ran through me; I felt an indescribable strangeness. This cave was incredible; just seeing a mass of darkness could drive someone mad. I had been so absorbed in my thoughts that I had fallen into its trap.

I turned back and saw that the person in front of me and the fat guy had already chased in after me. A flashlight lay on the ground nearby; it seemed to be the thing that had struck my knee.

They both came to my side and, without saying a word, tried to drag me out. But with one knee injured, I couldn’t stand up. They struggled to lift me a few times but failed, and the dim light made the situation extremely chaotic.

The fat guy found it inconvenient to use one hand, so he tucked the flashlight under his arm and used both hands to pull me. His movements were quite rough; I felt like I was on the verge of passing out from the strain.

At that moment, the beam of his flashlight swept over a spot, and my eyes caught a glimpse of someone crouching in the darkness. The light moved too quickly for me to see clearly, but I was certain it was a person. I immediately thought of my third uncle and shouted, “Wait, there’s someone ahead!”

The fat guy heard me, turned back, and shone the light on a figure, but the person had already stood up and was quickly running deeper into the cave.

At that moment, all three of us saw clearly, but we couldn’t make out who it was. The person in front reacted the fastest, immediately shouting, “Quick, chase!” Without hesitation, he took off after the figure, and the fat guy cursed loudly before following.

I mustered some strength, barely managing to stand up, limping along behind them. By this time, the person in front had already grappled with that figure, and soon the fat guy joined in, both of them pinning the person to the ground. When the fat guy shone the flashlight on the figure, he exclaimed, “Ah!” and shouted, “It’s An Ning!”

I rushed over to look and was taken aback. She was disheveled, her diving suit torn, and she emitted a foul odor. Blood was visible around her nose and mouth. I had no idea what had happened to her to end up like this. However, I soon realized that the three of us were not in much better shape, especially the fat guy, who was covered in wounds and looked utterly pitiful.

The fat man felt angry when he saw the woman and pointed at her nose to start cursing. However, after just a few insults, the muffled oil bottle suddenly stopped him and said, “Wait a minute, there’s something off about her!”