We took a few steps back and discovered that faint blue mist was rising from the gaps between all the stones around us, and it was happening at an astonishing speed. Almost in an instant, the mist began to swirl around our knees, and a layer of fog seemed to envelop our vision, continuously rising. Soon, the flashlight’s beam was almost ineffective.

Immediately after, we heard a series of antler horn sounds coming from one end of the ravine, echoing melodiously several times. Countless shadowy figures, following the sound of the horns, formed a long line, appearing in the mist at the end of the ravine.

For a moment, I couldn’t react. The people here had either died or fled, and the situation had long since become chaotic. How could so many people suddenly appear? Could there be other groups here? But it didn’t seem like it… there were just too many of them.

The fat guy beside me had turned pale, as if he already knew what was happening. His mouth stammered for a long time before he could say it all: “Yin soldiers borrowing a path!”

Yin soldiers? I was confused and wanted to ask him more, but he covered my mouth and made a gesture indicating that I should absolutely not speak. We put down the flashlight and retreated directly behind a large rock.

The procession walked toward us at a leisurely pace. I even saw the shadow of a flag being waved by the person at the front. The group consisted of four people walking in perfect formation, and they quickly moved from the distant end of the ravine to right in front of us. Under the flashlight’s beam, the shadows in the mist became increasingly clear.

As I watched, I couldn’t help but feel a chill run down my spine. The people at the front of the procession were wearing tattered armor from the Shang Dynasty, holding flagpoles, and someone behind was carrying a horn. Despite the heavy load, they walked as if floating, making no sound and moving extremely quickly. When I looked at their faces, I nearly bit my tongue; each one had an unnaturally elongated face, the length of their heads being about twice that of an ordinary person. All of them had expressionless faces, extremely pale.

The procession passed through us like a ghost, not noticing our presence, and walked straight into the crevice of the bronze giant door. All the soldiers looked identical, almost as if made of paper.

Neither the fat guy nor I dared to speak, hoping these figures would move on quickly. Suddenly, the fat guy’s hand that was covering my mouth twitched. I quickly focused my gaze and saw that the Mummy was also wearing the same armor, walking in the middle of the procession. His normal human face contrasted starkly with the monstrous faces around him, and we recognized him at a glance.

I almost shouted out. Could it be that the Mummy was dead, and his soul had been taken by this group of Yin soldiers?

But then I noticed that behind the Mummy was his black-gold ancient knife, and his walking movements were completely different from those of the Yin soldiers. I immediately realized he was still alive.

What did he want to do? Did he… I suddenly had a bold thought—did he intend to blend in?

This guy is crazy! My heart began to race, a long-lost fear surged within me, and my breathing quickened. I wanted to rush over and stop him, but the fat guy held me tightly, not letting me move.

I saw that the Mummy had noticed us, turned his head slightly, and caught sight of my and the fat guy’s faces. He suddenly smiled meaningfully and moved his lips, saying, “Goodbye.”

He then walked into the giant bronze door and instantly disappeared into the darkness. I stared at him in shock, my mind nearly exploding. Soon, the entire squad of “Yin soldiers” entered the bronze door, and the ground suddenly shook as the massive door closed tightly, forming a solid barrier.

I collapsed to the ground, a wave of helplessness washing over me. What was happening? What did the sealed bottle want? Were those really Yin soldiers? The fat guy ran over to pick up the flashlight and looked at the giant door with a bewildered expression, a bit mentally disoriented.

But there was no time for us to be dazed; the mist around us gradually dissipated, and we soon heard the sporadic calls of strange birds coming from the end of the ravine, growing louder and louder. The fat guy suddenly reacted and shouted at me, “Run! Those birds are coming back, and this time we definitely won’t be so lucky!”

When he yelled at me, it felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over me, and I snapped back to reality. I quickly turned around and followed the fat guy toward the other end of the ravine—the direction where Panzi and the others had escaped.

The stones at the bottom of the ravine were like hills, extremely difficult to climb. We had just crawled a short distance when the calls of the strange birds became very close. I couldn’t help but pray in my heart; if I had to die just now, so be it, but if I escaped one disaster only to die in the same place, that would truly be in vain.

Our wounds had gone from painful to numb. Some say that people forget pain when they are tense, but now I couldn’t even feel my own feet, and I couldn’t run fast enough to grit my teeth. The fat guy and I had no choice but to support each other and push forward desperately, unable to stop; once we stopped, it would be impossible to muster any more strength.

We rolled and crawled deeper into the ravine, and soon I was almost unconscious, not knowing what I was doing. After climbing over a boulder the size of a small hill, we came to a fork in the ravine, where three massive fissures appeared before us. I was a bit dazed—what to do? Which path to take? We had thought the ravine would lead straight through to the exit, where we might meet Panzi. We had no food or water on us, and in this state, even if we could escape through all three paths, not reuniting with them would mean a dead end.

When we reached the fork, we suddenly saw a very ugly arrow engraved on the edge of one of the enormous fissures. The arrow indicated a direction.

The fat guy cursed, “That old Panzi is indeed lazy; he can’t even make an arrow look nice!”

I hadn’t expected they would leave us an arrow. I said, “Forget about that; as long as it’s useful!” Without saying more, I gritted my teeth and squeezed into the gap.

The gap here was much narrower than the ravine, making it difficult for the strange birds to fly smoothly. Once inside, we felt much safer as the chances of being hunted decreased significantly.

Soon, I saw the light of a flashlight ahead, and my heart jolted. I thought to myself, given their pace, they should have run deep by now; how could there be flashlight light here? Had they encountered some unexpected trouble and died here?

Just a few steps later, I saw Panzi and a few foreigners, loaded with ammunition, walking back. It seemed they intended to come back to rescue us. Upon seeing us, Panzi was overjoyed, then stunned, asking, “Just the two of you? Where are the others?”

I said, “Don’t even mention it; it’s too tragic. Hurry up and run; those birds are still following us!”

Here, I can hear the calls, but I can’t see anything in the sky; there are no flares, and using a flashlight to look for the strange bird is futile. Panzi waved and quickly went back. The last person lit a cold firework to lead the way. A foreigner, seeing my injuries, picked me up on his back, and our group quickly retreated to the end of the crevice.

I haven’t been carried by someone for a long time, and it felt quite unfamiliar, but the cold firework illuminated the numerous murals on the rock walls surrounding the crevice, suddenly piquing my interest. Unfortunately, we were moving too quickly to take a closer look.

The desolate calls gradually faded, indicating that the strange bird had begun to give up the chase. In fact, as soon as we saw Panzi, we felt much more at ease, knowing that we were unlikely to die. The people he brought were all sharpshooters from Anning’s team, so even if we did encounter a battle, we wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.

Thinking of Anning’s team reminded me of Anning, and I asked Panzi if he had seen her. Panzi reassured me, saying that the beautiful girl had been knocked out and brought back.

After running for a long time, the crevice became narrower, and eventually, we could only pass through one by one. The air suddenly warmed up, and we slowed down. At that moment, two people appeared ahead; they were the night watchmen. Upon seeing us return, they cheered with joy.

I wanted to ask why the temperature was rising here, but I already spotted several hot springs near Panzi’s camp. Instantly, I felt completely relaxed, and a wave of weakness washed over me, almost causing me to faint right there.