Wen Jin was running ahead, and I could barely see her. I was chasing after the figure of the chubby guy. In this kind of lighting, if you fall behind even a step, you might lose sight of the person entirely. I thought to myself, this time I absolutely cannot let her escape; we have too many questions to ask her.

We ran out of the camp and into a wide area before entering the jungle. In this place, the silent oil bottle (a nickname for one of the characters) was incredibly fast and quickly cornered her near a large boulder. The three of us surrounded her again. She leaned against the boulder, seemingly with no way to escape, only her heavy breathing could be heard.

“Big sister, what are you so afraid of?” the chubby guy asked. “We’re the good guys. Stop running; it’s like we’re the Japanese chasing a flower girl.”

Wen Jin suddenly shouted something, but I couldn’t make out what she said. She abruptly turned and climbed up the boulder with a few swift movements. Her actions were extremely nimble, clearly indicating she had trained in some martial arts, and there was not a hint of hesitation.

Among us, only the silent oil bottle could keep up. He immediately flipped over and grabbed Wen Jin from behind. As she struggled, the two of them rolled together and fell behind the boulder, followed by a splash, as if they had fallen into the water.

The chubby guy and I rushed over and saw that behind the boulder was the same kind of pool we had seen earlier. It was the low-lying part of the temple, deep and bottomless, with corridors and passages leading into the ruins. After the silent oil bottle fell in, he had to let go of Wen Jin to avoid suffocating her. He surfaced, and I thought to myself that this time we had her for sure. The chubby guy and I stood on the shore, ready to grab her the moment she climbed up.

However, with three of us—two on the shore and one in the water—when the surface of the water calmed down, Wen Jin didn’t come up.

After waiting a few seconds, I immediately thought, this is bad. What if she can’t swim and has sunk? That would mean we’re in big trouble! The silent oil bottle immediately dove down, searching for her.

Bubbles kept rising in the water, and after half a minute, he finally resurfaced and said to us, “It leads to other places down there. She must have slipped in!”

“What do we do? Isn’t she doomed? We need to get her out immediately!” I exclaimed.

The structure in these ruins was extremely complex, with corridors intersecting everywhere, and there were definitely a lot of collapses. Even if we went in with oxygen tanks, it would be risky.

“No, it seems like these pools are interconnected,” he said just as we heard splashing and heavy breathing from behind us.

We immediately turned and rushed toward that sound. After a few steps, we indeed found another pool, with wet ground around it and footprints leading straight into the forest. Clearly, Wen Jin was very familiar with the water routes beneath the temple.

We immediately followed the footprints, running hard. After just a few steps, we heard urgent breathing and footsteps ahead, so we accelerated. Just then, a heavy black shadow appeared above me. I was startled to realize that we had chased into the rainforest.

I paused for a moment, thinking this isn’t good. What if we get lost in here? Just as I hesitated, the silent oil bottle and the chubby guy ran ahead. I cursed under my breath and could only follow. Now, I could only hope that the silent oil bottle at the front could catch her quickly; otherwise, I felt things would not end well.

Although the fat guy analyzed that the mist in the forest was not poisonous, who knows if that assumption is correct? If I suddenly went blind in there, it would definitely be the end for me. However, Wen Jin in the rainforest was like a loach, weaving through the gaps between the trees as if in a realm devoid of people. This chase was truly disorienting; I ended up colliding headfirst into a low branch and was knocked over before I could stop. When I got back on my feet, the fat guy and the oil bottle were nowhere to be found, and all I could hear was the distant sound of movement through the bushes, which I could no longer discern in which direction it came from.

My head was spinning, and I squatted down, gasping for breath for a while until I finally calmed down, feeling as if my lungs were about to burst. I looked around but couldn’t make out any direction, and I instantly felt anxious. Following the rough direction for a few meters, I stopped, afraid to chase any further, and started shouting for them to stop pursuing; it was too dangerous.

After calling out a few times, I heard the sound of rustling leaves and panting nearby, as if they were running back. I immediately chased after the direction of the sound. I crossed several nearly impassable vines, but then I lost them again. I thought to myself that this was like playing cat and mouse, always going in circles.

Once again, I tried to discern the direction of the sound. Suddenly, someone called out behind me: “Little Third Master.” The voice sounded like it was pinched at the nose, extremely sneaky, and it was a woman’s voice that sent chills down my spine.

I was startled and immediately turned around, shining my miner’s lamp in that direction. “Wen Jin?” Behind me, the thick fog enveloped everything, and I couldn’t see a thing. But that voice was indeed genuine; I knew I hadn’t misheard. I immediately asked, “Who is it?”

In the depths of the fog, someone called out again: “Little Third Master?” I adjusted the direction of my miner’s lamp toward that sound and took a couple of steps forward, but still saw nothing.

I felt a bit strange; the voice was very close to me, definitely within the range of the flashlight, so why couldn’t I see anyone? Was that person hiding?

“Who are you?” I asked again. There was no answer. I sensed something was off and shone the flashlight around, looking for something to defend myself with, but it was too dark to see anything. I didn’t dare let the flashlight beam stray too far from my front.

“Are you one of Third Master’s people?” I asked again.

“Little Third Master?” The voice sounded again, this time moving to my left. I was startled and quickly shone the miner’s lamp in that direction. Still no sign of anyone.

This person must be hiding, I thought nervously. But then I reconsidered; if they could talk, they must be human, and since they called me Little Third Master, they definitely knew me. They should be one of Third Uncle’s associates. From the sound of it, they seemed to be circling around me. Could it be that they also couldn’t see clearly here and were afraid to reveal themselves?

Thinking of this, I immediately said, “I am Little Third Master; which of Third Uncle’s halls are you from?”

There was no reply, and I wondered what they were being cautious about. I moved the miner’s lamp toward the direction of the sound as I walked, saying, “Come out; I’m a person, not a ghost.”

I walked straight for six or seven meters when a large tree appeared ahead, but I still hadn’t seen anyone. I started to feel puzzled and hesitated for a moment. Suddenly, I heard a voice coming from behind the tree, calling out, “Little Third Master.”

I thought to myself, is this guy deaf? I raised my voice and shouted, “I’m right here!”

Suddenly, the bushes behind the tree rustled. I thought I didn’t have time to waste with this, so I dashed over. When I reached the back of the tree and looked, I was surprised to find that it was actually a sheer cliff. Before I could steady myself, I suddenly stepped into thin air and fell down.