When the eldest uncle heard Song Laosan's request, he did not refuse: "It's getting late now, and the villagers have been busy all day and need to rest. I'll have Wenru arrange a place for you to stay first, and we can talk about the rest tomorrow."

When I heard my uncle's words, I wanted to insist on seeing the others, but Liu Guang interrupted, "My uncle is the most respected person in the village. No one here can go against his wishes."

Seeing that Liu Guang had already said that, I had no choice but to compromise: "Thank you, Uncle, for taking us in."

"Guests are guests, and no matter why you came here, we are all in the same boat. Since we are staying here, we should do our best to be hospitable."

The uncle smiled and then said to Liu Guang, "Our village hasn't had any guests for many years, so we must make sure to treat you two well."

"Don't worry, Uncle."

Liu Guang agreed and then led us away from my uncle's house, taking me and Song Laosan to a private residence: "You two, stay here tonight, and I will arrange for a doctor to treat your injuries tomorrow."

Old Song clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your help today, Mr. Liu. Are there any taboos in this village?"

"We are just a group of country folk, what taboos do we have?"

Liu Guang waved his hand and led us into the courtyard: "But the cave is dark and the visibility is very poor at night. There are also fish ponds and such around here, so you'd better not wander around to avoid accidents because you are not familiar with the terrain... The small jar in the room contains kerosene, so keep it away from fire sources."

Song Laosan clicked his tongue in amazement: "You were trapped in this cave, with such primitive industrial methods, yet you were still able to produce kerosene?"

"This kerosene was brought in by the first group of people to come to the mountains. The reserves are quite abundant. When we were raising livestock, we also produced a lot of animal fats."

When Liu Guang brought this up, he pointed to the flashlight on Song Laosan's waist and said, "I think your light is pretty good, is it electric?"

"Yes, a flashlight."

Old Song took down the flashlight and handed it over: "There's a switch on it to control the lighting. If Mr. Liu likes it, I'll give this little gadget to you as a gift!"

Liu Guang took the flashlight, looked at it with a pleased expression, and then handed it back: "Never mind, we don't have batteries here. I heard that when our ancestors first went into the mountains, they brought generators and other things, but unfortunately they were all destroyed by the earthquake."

Song Laosan explained, "This thing is solar-powered; it charges using sunlight. You just need to let the sunlight shine on it when the sun is out, and it will charge!"

"Has the outside world developed to this extent?"

Liu Guang stared at the flashlight in his hand, his eyes filled with shock: "I heard from the village elders that when our ancestors fled here, there was widespread starvation and people were living in misery! And in just a few decades, they've even invented this thing?"

"This is nothing! Back when we were fighting the Liberation War, we were still using millet and rifles! Now we've even built aircraft carriers, China's military strength ranks among the top three in the world, and we're one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council!"

Song Laosan said proudly, "Today's China is the complete opposite of the China you have in mind."

Upon hearing Song Laosan's story, Liu Guang sighed, "What a pity, he'll never have the chance to go out and see the world in his lifetime."

When I heard Liu Guang say that, I pressed him for an answer: "Mr. Liu, is there really no way out of these mountains?"

“If there really were a way out of these mountains, we wouldn’t have been isolated from the world for decades.”

Liu Guang shook his head: "For decades, we have been trying to repair the road out of this mountain, but with limited manpower and resources, it is simply an impossible task. The story of Yu Gong moving the mountain is just a myth... It's late, you should rest first. If you are interested in this, I will take you to see the blocked road tomorrow."

After Liu Guang left, Song Laosan and I lay down on the straw in the room.

I glanced at my watch; it was 3:30 a.m., more than three hours after we entered the mountains.

Song Laosan lay in the haystack, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep: "Xiao Duan, something about what happened today feels so strange to me. According to Liu Guang, they've been living in this cave for decades. Didn't they discover what's going on at the other side of the cat ear cave?"

"Perhaps it is because they know about and have seen the Gu creatures in the cave that they say there is no way out of this mountain, because even if they went to the cave where we fell down, they still wouldn't be able to get out."

I took a deep breath: "They've been searching here for decades without finding a way out, which means this place is very likely completely isolated! If that's the case, we might end up like these villagers, trapped here for the rest of our lives!"

"Damn it! This is worse than death!"

Song Laosan couldn't help but curse: "These people have lived here since birth, so they may not feel anything, but we have seen the outside world and are completely different from these frogs in a well. If I really had to live here, I would rather commit suicide!"

I touched the throwing knife at my waist and whispered, "Let's scout out the village tomorrow. If there's really no way out, we'll have to risk going back to the cat-ear cave and into that other space!"

Song Laosan sat up abruptly: "I was just complaining a bit, and you really want to go and die? We've already sacrificed Nie Guangzhi to get here!"

“You’re right. I won’t allow myself to be trapped in a cave for the rest of my life! We were well-equipped before, with the Beidou system, satellite phones, manual and solar power generation devices. If this place really is a dead end, I’d rather risk my life to go back to the starting point and find the lost equipment.”

I chatted with Song Laosan, and soon I lay down on the straw pile and fell into a deep sleep.

I was woken up by knocking on the door.

I groggily got up and opened the door. Liu Guang, who was standing outside, greeted me with a big smile and said, "Friends, the village has prepared breakfast to welcome you. Come and have some with me."

"Mr. Liu, did something happy happen to you?"

Seeing Liu Guangxin's overjoyed appearance, I was a little confused. Could it be that the flashlight that Song Laosan gave us yesterday could bring us so close?

When Liu Guang heard my question, he smiled and said, "Our village's grain production was reduced this year. After all the calculations, we were still short of food for half a month! So we split into two groups to go out and find food. Although my group didn't find anything, the other group found supplies. They not only made up for the shortfall but also had enough food for several months. Everyone says you are our lucky stars and wants to meet you."