I had a very, very long dream.

In my dream, I was lost in a valley, shouting the names of my friends.

But apart from the echo, no one answered me.

I was starving and thirsty, and once again I walked to the front of the ghost temple.

This time, many monks came out to greet me, and they told me that there was plenty of food in the temple.

Physical exhaustion made me lose my resistance, and I went into the temple with them.

I wolfed down the food on the table and drank large gulps of wine.

But suddenly the scene changed, and I was surrounded by a graveyard. I was holding a baby and eating it, and the wine on the table had turned into human blood.

I tried desperately to escape, but the monks caught me and brought me back.

They stripped me naked, tied me up, and threw me into a vat of boiling oil.

The scalding pain made me scream in agony.

I was woken up by the cold!

When I opened my eyes, my hands were still unconsciously tugging at my clothes.

This is how it is in extremely cold environments: blood from the limbs will flow into the body to protect the internal organs. When the body is exhausted and unable to control itself, the blood will flow back to the capillaries in the skin, making people feel extremely hot. Therefore, many corpses that freeze to death are those that have voluntarily taken off their clothes.

Fortunately, my ancestors protected me and I woke up at the crucial moment; otherwise, I might have really died in that nightmare.

The space I was in was frighteningly cold, like lying in a refrigerator. My hands and feet were so cold that I had lost all feeling. I could only lie on the ground and keep controlling my muscles to repeatedly tighten and relax, using this method to warm up simply.

My flashlight had fallen nearby, providing basic illumination for the surrounding area.

I was standing on a mountain wall, which didn't look like it was carved out, but rather like a naturally formed cave. There was a hole in the wall with obvious signs of artificial excavation, and there was a broken iron chain on the ground, which should be the pipe through which I fell.

Besides, there was a small mountain of rubble around me, as well as some stones that looked like tools.

Judging from the traces, this is the starting point for digging the tunnels and mechanisms in the Demon Monk's Tomb.

It took me a long time to recover, and my stiff body finally recovered somewhat, but my joints and fingertips still hurt terribly.

The first thing I did after getting up was to take off my rat-patterned clothes, untie the grain bag from my waist, and gulp down the roasted grains inside to replenish my strength and energy.

Because the kettle had been abandoned, I choked on the food and stared wide-eyed. Then I picked up the flashlight and headed deeper into the cave.

For some unknown reason, the temperature inside the cave was extremely low, and even the walls were covered with a thick layer of white frost.

As I continued forward, I discovered many corpses.

Because of the low temperature in the cave, these bodies did not decompose; they just appeared somewhat shriveled after losing moisture.

Most of these people were barely clothed, and many were holding stones in their hands. There were also traces of chiseling on the surrounding walls.

A rough count suggests that at least several hundred people must have died here.

Besides the bodies that had frozen to death from the cold, there were also some that were clearly murdered, as well as some dismembered bodies and bones scattered all over the ground.

On a fairly smooth wall, there were many characters carved on it. Although I couldn't understand them, I could roughly guess what they meant.

These corpses should all be laborers who were imprisoned here back then, and were driven to this place after the tomb was completed.

The younger children tried to escape through the pipes, but they all ended up trapped and died inside. The ones we found in the river were probably the ones closest to freedom.

These adults, being too large to fit into the pipes, had no choice but to stay and wait to die.

Gradually, some people, unable to bear the hunger, chose to eat their own kind.

The outcome is self-evident; no matter what efforts they make, they ultimately meet the same end.

I continued walking forward and saw a huge sealing stone.

The area in front of this rock is littered with corpses, and it is covered with signs of digging.

Looking at the marks all over the surface, I instantly lost all my strength and staggered to the ground.

I have nowhere to go!

At that time, I was just like the people here, with nothing but a little food and no tools.

If those hundreds of people who gathered here back then couldn't escape, then it's even less likely that I could achieve this goal.

"Smack!"

"Smack!"

I lay on the ground and slapped myself twice in the face.

I regret not listening to my grandfather and obediently guarding Wangyunzhai.

He also hated himself for overestimating his abilities, daring to challenge the famous feng shui master Li Chunfeng with his mediocre skills.

Now look what's happened. Because of my arrogance, I'm about to die in this dark cave, just like the slaves here.

The flashlight beam shone on the wall to one side. I looked at the unfamiliar characters, picked up a stone, struggled to my feet, and staggered toward the wall.

"Bang!"

I picked up the stone and smashed it down with all my might.

I want to leave my name and place of origin here. Even if I die, I don't want to die in a foreign land without knowing why. If this tomb is ever opened, I will make sure they know who this body is.

"Bang! Bang!"

I had just made a sound when a muffled thud came from inside the cave.

At first, I thought the sound was an echo from my tapping, but I quickly realized something was wrong.

Because the knocking sound was continuous!

Could it be that Wei Shengnan and the others are looking for me and sending me signals?!

In an instant, my extinguished will to survive reignited, and I ran toward the stone gate, wanting to respond.

"boom!"

Just as I was running, a deafening sound suddenly rang out, and the shockwave knocked me over.

I lay on the ground, dazed and confused, breathing with my mouth wide open, feeling as if I had been slapped across the face by a strongman. My ears were ringing and I was dizzy.

I don't know if my flashlight was thrown away or if there was something wrong with my optic nerve, but everything in front of me was pitch black.

Immediately afterwards, a beam of light swept through the dust in front of me, followed by a familiar voice: "Song Laosan, are you fucking reliable? Where have we ended up?"

Then Song Laosan's voice rang out: "How could it be unreliable! I learned demolition in the army! Look, we've found a way out... Oh my god, how come there are so many corpses? You scared the hell out of me!"

Hearing those two voices felt like someone who'd been constipated for a week finally getting a suppository—I was overjoyed: "Monkey! Third Master! Is that you?!"

"Shenxing? Is that you?! Duan Shenxing! Where are you?!"

The sound of monkeys suddenly rang out, followed by the sound of them running wildly.

I looked at the two beams of light ahead, and I don't know where the strength came from, but I suddenly jumped up: "Here! I'm here!!"