Chapter 2 With a Torch

With the torch's light, the once grim and terrifying staircase felt much better, of course, provided no one let their imagination run wild.

They carefully avoided the collapsed sections. The fatty stuck to the wall, feeling his way inch by inch, fearing he might fall. This made it very inconvenient for Jiang Cheng, who had the same idea and was walking ahead of him.

So he turned around and whispered a few words in the fatty's ear.

In the next second, the fatty's massive frame instantly sprang away from the wall, his hair almost standing on end. He looked at the wall as if it were some kind of monster.

"Don't touch it," Jiang Cheng whispered. "You'll bring whatever's on the wall to life."

Based on previous observations and the sense of touch, the walls of the staircase were also engraved with obscure patterns of yin纹 (yin wen), which were invisible to the eye and could only be felt by hand.

The method was similar to that of the first stone door.

They should have been made by the same group of craftsmen.

The fatty immediately had the image of that strange beast in his mind, and his throat involuntarily rolled a few times. He wondered if the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* included such a creature.

The loli girl and the tall man walked at the back, holding the torch very low so they could see the steps clearly.

When the fatty had climbed halfway and was about to stop for a breather, he turned around and glanced behind him.

The loli girl and the man were about ten meters behind the group, walking very slowly, even somewhat carelessly.

The fatty thought that those two were really carefree. If it were him, he wouldn't dare to be so far away from the main group.

Jiang Cheng leaned against the wall, seemingly resting, but his chest rose and fell steadily, and his face wasn't red or sweaty.

But just as the young master, who had also stopped to rest, turned to look at him, Jiang Cheng immediately seemed to transform into a different person.

First, he coughed for a while, then he gasped for breath, his face flushed red, as if he was about to die.

The fatty: "..."

The young master held up the torch in one hand, and his face, exposed to the light, revealed an inscrutable smile. "Brother Hao," he said with concern, "it seems your body needs more exercise."

Jiang Cheng waved his hand while gasping for breath, making the fatty feel awkward.

Finally, Jiang Cheng cleared his throat forcefully, and then used a voice weakened by extreme exhaustion to say, "Brother Chen, you don't know, I'm different from you. I was dragged into the nightmare while working." He patted his waist, pushed forward hard, and said, tilting his head, "So, I'm really too tired."

After seeing Jiang Cheng's action of supporting his waist, the fatty frowned suddenly. He suddenly had a bad feeling.

The young master didn't seem to understand what Jiang Cheng said. After a few seconds, he asked doubtfully, "Didn't you enter the nightmare from a dream?"

"Yes."

"Then how..."

"My job is different from your job," Jiang Cheng said, supporting his waist in a circular motion, "I can make money lying down."

"Lying down..." The young master was stunned, then sized Jiang Cheng up for a long time. It was clear that his curiosity about Jiang Cheng had reached a peak.

Just as Jiang Cheng squinted his eyes, slightly opened his mouth, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and waited for him to ask that question so he could show off, the fatty suddenly walked over and urged, "Let's go, it's not safe here."

"Okay," the young master nodded, then took one last glance at Jiang Cheng and turned to leave.

He left...

"Doctor," the fatty said with a look of enlightenment at the frustrated Jiang Cheng, "let's go too."

Then, without waiting for Jiang Cheng to reply, he walked straight ahead of him.

Standing in front of the second stone door, feeling the light and warmth coming from the half-open crack, the group finally felt relieved.

The rock climbing girl, who hadn't shown much presence along the way, was the first to squeeze into the room.

A moment later, just as Jiang Cheng was waiting to take revenge on the fatty, planning to give him some trouble before forcing him into the doorway, a cry of surprise suddenly came from inside.

It was the rock climbing girl.

Jiang Cheng paused for a moment, then immediately pulled the fatty, who was already in the doorway, and threw him behind him.

The fatty was dizzy from being thrown, and he also had a deeper understanding of the doctor's strength.

Jiang Cheng and the young master both stepped back from the stone door, neither of them intending to go in. The two relied on each other, one on the left and one on the right, showing amazing coordination.

The cry inside only sounded once, then stopped.

Clearly, something was wrong.

The young master lowered his voice and asked towards the door, "Are you okay?"

"I... I'm... okay," the rock climbing girl's voice sounded again from inside. Her voice sounded very strange, and her tone seemed to be trembling.

She was terrified.

But compared to fear, it was more like she had discovered something incomprehensible.

"Come in and see, they're gone!" the rock climbing girl's voice sounded again.

No one outside the door moved. Everyone held their breath, even thinking that it would be best if they didn't have to breathe at all.

The rock climbing girl's voice seemed to be constantly moving.

After a long while, Jiang Cheng suddenly spoke, "Miss Yin, what did you see when you were in a group with me just now?"

The sound of movement inside suddenly stopped.

Jiang Cheng and the young master both retreated at the same time, the latter even glancing at the stairs behind him, as if looking for a way out for them.

The next second, there was suddenly a sound of footsteps quickly moving towards the door. Before anyone could react, the rock climbing girl rushed out, revealing most of her body. She said urgently, "Come in and see!" Then, as if she had thought of something in a moment of desperation, she said with a bitter face, "The gentleman who was in a group with me just now is this one, and my last name isn't Yin, I'm a person! Not..."

After everyone entered the room, they were surprised to find that the motorcycle girl and the elderly woman... were gone.

This room wasn't big to begin with, so how could these two living people have disappeared?

"Could it be those people who did it?" the fatty said. "They took advantage of the time when we were talking downstairs, and then some other people sneaked up and grabbed them?"

"No," the young master shook his head in denial without even thinking about it. "There are no signs of fighting here. Those two couldn't have been captured without any reaction. They wouldn't be so unguarded."

"If we rule out any supernatural phenomena, then they most likely left on their own," the young master continued.

"We're not at that stage yet. Let's first assume that they left on their own," Jiang Cheng said very naturally. He slowly looked around the room and continued, "Think about why."

"They encountered some kind of danger and actively fled from here," the rock climbing girl said tentatively.

This was the only possibility she could think of. After all, this location was excellent, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there was also a flame that looked reassuring.

"It's also possible that they discovered something extremely important," Jiang Cheng said suddenly, stroking his chin, "and wanted to go down and notify us."