Following the rope left by the Butterfly Man, Song Laosan and I descended and soon reached the bottom of the ventilation duct.

What's called the bottom is actually just a fork in the road.

What was originally a pipe that was only wide enough for one person has become a space of about two square meters at this point. Years of rain erosion have turned the stones here into a honeycomb pattern. Next to us is a hole that is forty centimeters wide and thirty centimeters high.

Song Laosan looked at the debris on the ground and shone his flashlight on the hole: "These are marks left by power tools. The person who came down was very professional, but it shouldn't be Qu Ruilin, because we didn't bring this kind of equipment."

"Be careful, go inside and take a look."

Of course I knew the person in front of me wasn't Qu Ruilin. I threw a sentence at Song Laosan and then crawled forward along the hole that Butterfly Man had dug.

The tunnel was only three or four meters long. After we crawled out, we found ourselves in another space.

It's another long corridor.

The long corridor is arched, with rough, red stones on both sides that look like dried coral or the skin of a bayberry.

I don't know how the Butterfly Man found this tunnel, but judging from the terrain here, we have once again arrived in a completely new space.

Song Laosan stepped forward and used his dagger to scratch the rocks on both sides of the tunnel: "I've never seen rocks like this before, Xiao Duan, do you know what these are?"

"I've never seen it either!"

Looking at the dark red, "fuzzy" stones on both sides, I felt my trypophobia was about to kick in. I even chopped at them a few times with a knife: "The texture of these stones is too clear. They could never have been carved by man. Although they resemble coral, they are not fossils. They must have been formed naturally, perhaps related to magma. Of course, this is just my guess."

Old Song nodded: "No matter what, we've finally found a way out. The fact that the ropes inside the ventilation duct haven't been removed means that the people who came in are probably still here. We still need to be careful."

As we continued exploring, I frowned slightly and asked Song Laosan beside me, "Can you smell anything?"

"There's a faint, rotten smell in this cave, like something's gone moldy."

Old Song sniffed hard: "It doesn't smell like a corpse. It smells more like rotten fruit from home, but that doesn't make sense! The tunnel behind us was only recently dug, and those honeycomb-shaped stones are a natural filter. How could there be anything in this tunnel?"

"Perhaps there isn't just one exit here."

I continued walking forward: "The ventilation duct of that prison was just a natural cave, but there may be more than one cave in this mountain. It's the rainy season now, so maybe some wild fruit was washed in by the rainwater through the cave, which is why it smells like that."

Song Laosan remained noncommittal: "I hope the person who came in before was an expert and really led us into the Golden Bull Cave, otherwise if we keep going around in circles like this, I'm really about to lose my way... Waaah!"

I was listening intently to what Song Laosan was saying when he suddenly started crying, which startled me: "Are you crazy? Why are you crying all of a sudden?!"

While I was speaking, Song Laosan had already drawn his knife: "This noise wasn't made by me!"

"Waaaaah!"

Sure enough, as Song Laosan was speaking, the crying reached my ears again.

It sounded like a woman was crying, and the sound wasn't coming from afar, but right next to us.

Song Laosan shone his flashlight around, but there was nothing in sight except rocks: "Xiao Duan, have we run into something again?"

"Run!"

I couldn't answer Song Laosan's question either, so I quickened my pace and walked forward, trying to determine whether the sound was coming from nearby or had been circling around us.

As I walked forward, the sobbing sound gradually faded away.

I turned around and shone my flashlight on the spot where we had just been standing.

There was nothing there but stones.

However, the howling sound seemed to only exist in that direction.

Although I didn't know the origin of the crying, the eerie sound still gave me a very uncomfortable feeling, which made Song Laosan and I speed up.

"call out--"

Just as the woman's crying faded away, a piercing shriek, like the cry of an eagle, rang out again, startling me who was already on edge.

A blinding light flashed through the corridor, making me instinctively look away.

"It's a flare!"

Song Laosan shone his flashlight ahead: "It seems we've found the people ahead, but we don't know if they fired the signal flare because they encountered danger or discovered a target."

"Go and see for yourself!"

I knew the person who fired the flare must be Butterfly Man. I thought he would leave us far behind, but I didn't expect the two sides to meet so quickly, which means that the cave should not be very deep. He has probably already found Taurus.

Since the first attack I suffered at the hands of the man in black robes in Shenyang, the Butterfly Man has saved my life several times.

Although he always kept his identity a secret from me, there is no doubt that we are friends, not enemies.

Even so, I made the decision to grab something while I was running.

I don't know why Butterfly Man protects me again and again, but I have to get my hands on the bull's head. Only then can I negotiate with that madman Cao Xiong and ensure Jiang Man and the others' safety.

As I ran, I lifted my shirt and gripped three throwing knives in my hand.

I was knocked unconscious by the butterfly man before because my close-combat skills were inferior, so this time, to win, I must take him by surprise.

I've already planned it out. When I meet the Butterfly Man, I'll first pretend to gain his trust, and then, before he gets close, I'll use a throwing knife to injure his leg.

Although this is repaying kindness with enmity, it's the only way to save people. As for the butterfly man's anger, I can only find a chance to make it up to him slowly.

After making up my mind, I grabbed a flashlight and ran down the corridor. After running for about ten meters, the flashlight shone on the wall in front of me.

This is a dead end!

When Song Laosan saw the flashlight beam shining on the wall, he was dumbfounded: "Xiao Duan, what... what's going on here? We clearly heard a sound coming from this side, and there was even light shining in. How could this be a dead end?"

"Waaah..."

Just then, the sound of a woman crying came faintly from behind us once again.