Cruel Heart

The passage widened slightly, allowing two or three people to walk side by side, and the ground became a bit flatter. Liang Yingwu, at the front, let out another soft “huh.” In the belly of the mountain, his exclamation, though light, was still audible to everyone. I shone my flashlight forward and immediately understood his surprise. The beams illuminated a vast, shadowy space ahead, dark and deep. I recalled the large square at the cave’s entrance we had thoroughly inspected, which had only one path; there shouldn’t be another way back here, right? This thought was fleeting, quickly dismissed as the darkness ahead clearly indicated this was a different place. The two turns and three passages must have led us to a space either above or below the initial cave. I hoped it wasn’t above because, judging by the path we’d taken, if it were above, the rock wall separating this cave from the one below wouldn’t be thick. With so many people walking, I didn’t want to risk a collapse. Driven by curiosity and a slight, inexplicable worry, I quickened my pace to get a better look at what was ahead. This mysterious cave system had such an unusual corridor, leading to what kind of place?