After a while, it was time for the routine hourly tunnel exploration again. If we couldn’t find our way out after 24 hours of continuous exploration, then the notion that the gate of the formation would open at a certain time, which was already unlikely, could be considered dead. This time, it was He Yun Kai and Liu Wenying’s turn. They stood up, took the flashlight that could only emit a dim yellow light, and walked towards the tunnel. When He Yun Kai stepped out of our living area and into the pile of bones again, he kicked a skeleton hard, scattering it. After kicking, he suddenly stopped, then shouted, “Damn, why didn’t I think of this earlier? We can use bones as markers.”
“Good idea,” I exclaimed. Such a simple solution, yet none of us had thought of it earlier; our minds must have been clogged. Place a marker every ten meters; if there are no markers ahead, it’s a new path; if there are, we’ve turned back.
“It’s a good idea, but you might encounter markers both ahead and behind in the second or third section of the tunnel. Then you should split up, one going forward and one backward, to see what tricks this ghost cave has up its sleeve,” Liang Yingwu added. It was another seemingly perfect and foolproof plan, and I was curious to see how the tunnel’s force would manifest this time.
“But, using bones as markers?” Liu Wenying clearly had reservations.
“What’s the problem? If you’re not up for it, we can find a brave guy to do it,” He Yun Kai said with vigor.
“But carrying a bunch of bones around isn’t convenient. I have a knife here; you can carve marks on the stone walls. With the flashlight, you won’t need to throw bones all the way,” Liang Yingwu said, handing over a small steel knife.
“If you sense something’s wrong, don’t be stubborn, escape if you can,” I added.
He Yun Kai and Liu Wenying acknowledged and entered the tunnel. This time, everyone stepped out of our living area, waiting at the tunnel’s entrance for their return. Ten minutes… twenty minutes… thirty minutes… forty minutes… My God, even I, not a Christian, found myself silently invoking Jehovah. How could it be, already an hour? Even if marking took time, they should have been back twenty minutes ago. The darkness seemed to have swallowed the two students forever.
“He Yun Kai, Liu Wenying, where are you?” someone suddenly shouted, and then everyone, including Liang Yingwu and I, started shouting. The loud echo reverberated through the cave, clear enough to be heard deep within the tunnel, but there was no response. We shouted for a good ten minutes before stopping.
“Maybe they got out,” Lin Zhupu suddenly said. This thought pulled everyone from fear. Indeed, maybe they did get out. If He Yun Kai and Liu Wenying really made it out, despite his bravado, He Yun Kai would likely not dare re-enter this cursed cave, not knowing if he could escape again. Calling for rescue would be the best strategy. But what if they didn’t get out?
“I’ll go in and check. If I also get out, I promise to come back and tell everyone,” I said. “I’ll go with you,” said Liang Yingwu. “No, if anything happens, it’s better if you stay here with the students.” “Then, take care of yourself.” Liang Yingwu did not insist further. Indeed, if both of us went and did not return, these students would soon fall apart. I grabbed a flashlight that was out of power, removed the batteries, and inserted two new ones I had in my pocket. Upon turning it on, a dazzling beam of light shot straight ahead, lighting up a path in the tunnel. Following this light path, I entered the tunnel once again. I carefully observed my surroundings and easily spotted the marks made by He Yun Kai and his team on the left wall. Every few meters, there was a triangle carved deeply into the stone, clearly He Yun Kai’s work, deep enough to feel with a touch, if I could still trust my senses. After rounding the first bend, the markers continued straight ahead. In the second section of the tunnel, there were no signs of the two. I shone my flashlight on the markers, still etched with force, and the triangles were relatively neat, indicating nothing unusual had occurred. However, in the quiet tunnel, there was only the sound of my own footsteps; apart from the markers on the walls, there was no trace of the two individuals.
Soon, I reached the end of the second tunnel segment without any findings. I paused, then turned the second bend into the next section. By tradition, I should be on my way back to the White Bone Cave. The flashlight beam caught the markers on the wall, still well-carved triangles. The beam then swept forward, and still, no one was in sight. What was going on? Had these two just vanished without a trace? I continued forward, paying even closer attention to the markers on the wall, not wanting to miss any detail. However, until I was halfway through this section, nearly at the entrance of the White Bone Cave, the markers appeared every six or seven meters.
Finally, about ten meters from the cave entrance, I suddenly saw a marker that was quite different from the others. It was still a triangle, but very clearly, the hand that carved this one was trembling, making each line crooked and uneven. Moreover, it was deeper than the previous marks, undoubtedly also carved by He Yun Kai. It was here that something had happened to the two, causing He Yun Kai to lose control of his panic, unable to steady his strong arm. However, carving this marker would have taken some time, suggesting that whatever they encountered allowed them sufficient time to leave a sign. Wait a minute, if something happened, why did they only leave a marker and not a warning message? This was indeed strange.
All these thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant. As I pondered these, I quickly stepped back, my flashlight scanning the surroundings, staying alert. Although close to the cave entrance, He Yun Kai and Liu Wenying had encountered something here, and I could not afford to be careless with my life. As my gaze followed the beam of light forward, I suddenly understood why He Yun Kai and Liu Wenying reacted the way they did. On my way here, my attention had been largely on the markers on the wall; otherwise, I should have noticed it much earlier. Not far ahead, where I had naturally assumed the passage would lead to the White Bone Cave, there was no cave entrance in sight, but instead, another bend, leading to yet another unknown tunnel, the fourth segment. Thus, He Yun Kai and Liu Wenying were shocked. This time, marking the path had revealed a new tunnel!
I took a deep breath and turned the third bend. Before me lay another tunnel segment, similar to the previous ones. I swept the flashlight beam around, seeing markers on the walls. Shining forward, the end was not clear, but it did not look like an exit, just a dark void. Following the side with the markers, I walked slowly forward. If the markers continued, there might not be any danger. Just keep going straight. Now I understood why the two hadn’t returned—they had ventured into a new area. Soon, this tunnel segment ended, and there was another bend, leading to yet another tunnel.
By the time I reached the eighth segment, I felt something was off. How long was this tunnel, and how many bends were there? From entering until now, about half an hour had passed. If He Yun Kai and Liu Wenying had gone this far, they should have returned immediately or at least stopped advancing and come back to report. Yet here I was, still not encountering them. Moreover, each segment of the tunnel, though I hadn’t paid close attention, seemed eerily similar. How could nature produce such identical tunnels? After several more bends, the markers beside the bends became fewer and more carelessly made, until they ceased altogether. I realized this wasn’t due to an emergency; rather, the two had lost the will to mark their path.
