The other party smiled, blinked, and said to Li Cu: “I know you won’t believe me so easily. This matter is inherently hard to believe. So let me finish, and you’ll understand why I am in this situation now.” He thought for a moment and continued, “I’ll be straightforward with you: to bring anything out of this place requires a certain preparation. If I entered this cave without any such preparation, not only would I be unable to take anything out, but I would also undergo an unimaginable transformation.”

Li Cu shook his head. He was tired of this way of speaking. He knew that this person wanted to use an emotionally infectious way of communicating. Li Cu was smarter than most in this regard; he would not be deceived by the plot of a story. He had already been fooled once by Wu Xie and had told himself he would never believe in anything logically confused again.

The man continued, “Do you believe that the way this world operates is completely different from our understanding?”

Li Cu replied, “Get to the point. No need to change the subject.”

The man seemed ready to speak directly. He pulled out a notebook from his pocket; it was a very old leather-bound notebook. He handed it to Li Cu and said, “You can take a look at the things I’ve drawn first, make your own judgment, and then I’ll explain why I came to this cave for the second time, whether I’ve been inside the cave, and why I still have nothing.”

Li Cu flipped open the sketchbook and found it filled with many small objects drawn in very skilled lines. The drawing style wasn’t what one would typically consider technical; it was more of a sketch with a hint of cartoonish elements. This reminded him of the work of an illustrator named Dao Dao, but the person in front of him was a man.

Had Lan Ting deceived him while chatting with Wu Xie? Or was there something more to it? There were many dramatic scenarios that could be concocted, but at that moment, his attention was gradually drawn to the various items in the sketchbook.

The first thing he noticed was a series of sketches of jewelry. These jewels were very peculiar; although the sketches didn’t capture their luster, it was easy to see from the perspective and technique of the drawings that these jewels were exquisitely detailed and numerous. Most of the compositions were visually centered around a pile of jewels, drawn from different perspectives.

Li Cu tried to reconstruct the scenes in his mind, imagining someone walking around a large room filled with wealth, constantly searching for different angles to draw what interested him.

Next were some sketches of people. As Li Cu flipped through a few pages, he suddenly saw a drawing of Wu Xie’s face. His heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to remain calm and not show any reaction. However, after flipping through two more pages, he suddenly stopped. He knew he could not pretend that nothing had happened because these were precisely the things the other party wanted him to see.

He saw a face drawn in the sketchbook, a face that was his own—Li Cu’s face. In the drawing, Li Cu was holding a sketchbook, and his expression showed surprise. Through the delicate rendering in the sketchbook, he could see what was drawn inside it. Li Cu closed his eyes and opened them again, wondering to himself, is this a psychological trap? What does he want? But he soon noticed that the Li Cu in the drawing was carrying a water bottle and a very oddly shaped package.

He looked at himself; the water bottle belonged to Liang Wan and was used for collecting urine, and the very strange package was the one he had taken from Su Wan’s bag containing serum, which he had carelessly pocketed after getting the injection, fearing he would forget it.

Could this person be a quick sketch artist? Did he draw this while chatting with me just now? Li Cu had also studied sketching; he knew that such a detailed drawing could not be completed in a short time. Furthermore, he hadn’t seen this person take out the sketchbook at all. Even if he had, it would have been impossible to draw under the scrutiny of their conversation.

Li Cu closed the sketchbook and did not continue looking. He stared at the person and said, “Please explain.”

The other person smiled and said, “Actually, even if I don’t tell you, you will find out tonight. But I will tell you anyway. The last time I arrived here, this cave had nothing—just a pile of stones. We were very frustrated. That day, I drank a lot and fell asleep on one of the stones. That night, I had a dream. I dreamed that I returned to the city, impoverished and helpless. In despair, I came back to this place and met a few young people. These young people were carrying a lot of gear, and they entered the cave with me. I saw the scene inside the cave; those stones turned into jewels and gold. From that day on, as long as I rested my head on that stone, I kept dreaming that dream over and over again. I gradually realized that in this dream, I could make choices. If I went down alone, I would still see stones, but only when I went down with those young people would treasures appear in the cave.

The dreams became clearer and clearer, and later I decided to give it a try. I came back here, and sure enough, after I went in, I met you all. I know you might not believe me, but you can look at this sketchbook; I have depicted all the scenes from my dreams. I remember my dreams clearly, and this sketchbook can dispel all your doubts.”

Li Cu flipped through the sketchbook and found that the pages after the first few depicted their entry into the cave. After entering, they saw a wealth of treasures, and the later dreams were very simple and rough.

Li Cu thought for a moment, then looked at the person and asked, “What is the ending of this dream?”

The other person replied, “The ending of the dream is that we take the treasure out and part ways at the cave entrance.”

Li Cu’s perception of this person changed somewhat because the sketchbook indeed contained things he could not explain.

The man took a stone out of his backpack and said to Li Cu, “Tonight, when you sleep, use this stone as your pillow. You might dream about it, and then you will believe me.”

Li Cu took the stone; it was about the size of a palm. It had been brought out of the desert and was now being brought back. What a hassle!

At that moment, he suddenly heard someone calling him. Li Cu turned around and saw Su Wan emerging from the darkness with a flashlight. His head felt a bit dizzy all of a sudden, and everything around him suddenly became clear. Su Wan, with his face covered in white powder, approached him and said, “We found you! Are you okay? You scared us to death.”

“I’m fine,” Li Cu replied. “That person saved—”

He turned his head and found that the handsome man in front of him had vanished. There was nothing there, not even the wind lantern.

“Who?” Su Wan asked, puzzled.

Li Cu looked at the stone in his hand, touched his mouth, and thought to himself, Damn, have I got a concussion?