After we climbed through the deep pit in the passage, we encountered several more traps ahead, all consisting of falling rocks and pitfalls. In one place, half of the wall had collapsed, and the space behind it contained many stone carvings and some rotten wood, making it impossible to tell what the traps originally were.

After passing the location of this mechanism, I could see the exit of the cave ahead. I wrapped the flashlight back in the cloth and stepped forward.

At the end of this cave is the shape of a well opening, with the exit about four meters above our heads.

The monkey walked to the bottom of the well, looked at the thick layer of mud on the ground, and then looked up at the well opening above: "This place is quite strange. There's clearly no roof above, so why is there such a thick layer of mud on the ground? Could it have been sealed off originally?"

"I think I understand why those people from Ping'an Village chose to leave and seek treatment after their companion was injured."

Jiang Man picked up a handful of debris from the ground and took out a relatively intact piece: "This thing is not mud, but snake molts! It means that there used to be a lot of snakes in this cave, but these snake molts have been weathered up very badly. Without the recently shed skin, these snakes may have died out long ago."

"Perhaps they have migrated to other places. Since we have found traces of snakes here, everyone should be careful! From now on, we will assume that there are snakes in this area."

I glanced at the footprints on the wall and said, "The people from Ping'an Village climbed up from here. Monkey, go up first, and once you've confirmed it's safe, the rest of you can follow!"

After we swung the climbing rope up, the monkey was the first to climb up. About ten seconds later, it quickly returned to the cave entrance: "Young Master Duan, there's a fire outside!"

After hearing what the monkey said, I suddenly looked up: "Is it far?"

The monkey replied, "It's quite a distance, but the light up there is too dim. I can't see the terrain clearly, I can only see the firelight in the distance. Remember to turn off your flashlights when you come up, otherwise the other side will definitely see you."

"good!"

After listening to the monkey's words, I handed the flashlight to Jiang Man and climbed up as well.

After the light inside the cave was lost, the outside space became pitch black, making the distant firelight extremely glaring. Everything in sight was black, except for that little bit of orange-red.

We are still very far from where they live. Apart from the flickering flames, we can't see what's happening there. However, there is a huge difference in elevation between us, making it look like we are standing on a cliff looking down.

Soon, Jiang Man and the others climbed up as well. As the flashlights went out, our vision was completely dark, to the point where we couldn't see our own hands in front of our faces. Jiang Man looked at the distant firelight and asked in the darkness, "Duan Shenxing, do you think the firelight down there is a campfire or something else?"

I stared at the distant light and said, "The location of the fire is fixed, and it looks like a campfire. The fact that the fire can keep burning means that there are people around! I just don't know what these people are trying to do by lighting a campfire. Logically speaking, under these circumstances, no one should reveal their location."

"Brother, do you think the people of Ping'an Village lit this bonfire to attract attention?"

Lin Que chimed in from the side, "When we saw the altar just now, didn't you say that we were almost at the location of the second gate? Do you think the people from Ping'an Village might be guarding that gate? Did they light the bonfire to make themselves known and then set traps around it?"

Jiang Man interjected, "The people down there might not necessarily be from Ping'an Village. Even if there are many passages here, they all lead to the same destination in the end! Maybe it's Duan Jinyan's group down there!"

“I don’t think that’s possible,” the monkey added. “Duan Jinyan and the others have a second key. If they found the door, why didn’t they go in instead of playing with fire here?”

Manjing's voice came: "Who are the people down there? Why don't we go and see for ourselves?"

"The problem now is, how do we get down?"

Lin Que was somewhat worried: "This is a completely underground space. Even night vision goggles are useless in a place like this. If we use flashlights, the people by the campfire will definitely see us. Without a light source, I can't even see my own hand clearly. If we trigger a trap, we won't even know how we died!"

"Crawl forward!"

Jiang Man suggested a solution: "We should all lie down on the ground and crawl forward by touching the ankles of the person in front of us. The person at the front should wrap the flashlight head with several layers to prevent the light from spreading, and at the same time use their travel bag to block the view from the campfire. This will reduce the chance of being exposed!"

"I think it's unlikely."

The monkey sniffed: "This space is so dark. In such darkness, you can see clearly not even a cigarette butt, let alone a flashlight, even from dozens of meters away."

"We have no choice but to use Jiang Man's method."

I glanced at the campfire in the distance and said quickly, "Regardless of which side these people are on, they must be resting here because they lit a campfire. Let's move over slowly and try to stay hidden. If we're discovered, we'll just charge at them together!"

"What if the people in front aren't Duan Jinyan's, but from Ping'an Village? Wouldn't that put us in trouble?"

Upon hearing my plan, the monkey chimed in, "Our primary target in coming to the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace is Duan Jinyan. However, those lunatics from Ping'an Village are on the opposite side of everyone. If we clash with them, it will result in a lose-lose situation, essentially clearing the way for Wei Shengnan and Duan Jinyan!"

After listening to the monkey's analysis, I asked in return, "So what's your opinion?"

"wait!"

The monkey succinctly stated one word: "Since the first person to rush in will take the risk, why don't we wait here for others to make the first move? That way, we'll go from being the ones taking the risk to the ones reaping the benefits! If the next group arrives and clashes with the people below, even if we rush out, they probably won't notice us, or by the time they're all entangled, it will be too late!"

"What if the people down there aren't gatekeepers?"

Lin Que found the flaw in the monkey's plan: "Since some people from Ping'an Village have already been injured, what if the ones lighting the bonfires below are the wounded they left behind? Wouldn't we have been waiting for nothing? Or the situation could be even worse, with both Ping'an Village and Duan Jinyan's groups ahead of us. What if they have already clashed?"

Lin Que's two questions really struck a chord with me, leading me to make a decision without hesitation: "We can't wait any longer. Let's use Jiang Man's method and sneak over!"