Chapter Fifty: Ungrateful

This was an opening at least five or six hundred meters deep, its surrounding cliffs jagged and bizarre, with many places sprouting growths that resembled fish scales. The strangeness of it sent a chill through anyone who gazed upon it.

Su Ye studied it intently for a while and analyzed, “If this opening truly functions like a furnace, then it must have been submerged in seawater for years, only recently becoming fully exposed.”

Mu Xia nodded in agreement, saying, “I’ve heard from my family that there’s a special entrance around the island that leads all the way beneath this cavern. The seawater must have receded through that passage. The coldwater clam shells that Steward Zhang mentioned should be down below.”

Li Haoxuan, a little fearful of heights, glanced down and cursed, “Then how are we supposed to get down there? There’s nowhere to set foot. Who knows if there’s seawater or just jagged rocks beneath? Falling down means certain death!”

It was indeed a dire problem. Even if there was water below, falling from such a height would be no different from smashing into steel—anyone would be reduced to a mangled heap.

Su Ye said, “We’re not the first to come here. Since people have completed tasks here before, there must be a way down. Let’s circle the edge of the opening—we’re bound to find something.”

“Right! Let’s split up and search!” Mu Xia heartily agreed.

Li Haoxuan, however, was unwilling. If they split up, pairing with Mu Xia would be ideal, but judging by how things had gone so far, that was unlikely.

“Hey, I object! We made it here, but who’s to say there isn’t danger? We shouldn’t split up—we should watch out for each other. This opening may be big, but if we search in the same direction, it won’t take much longer, right?”

Su Ye thought for a moment and nodded. “Yes. If we find the way, we won’t need to wait for anyone—we can go down immediately.”

Li Haoxuan glanced at Su Ye in surprise. With such a golden opportunity, Su Ye could have easily paired with Mu Xia, yet he didn’t seize it, agreeing instead with Li’s suggestion. Was there something wrong with Su Ye’s head?

Not that Li Haoxuan dwelled on it—being able to stay with Mu Xia was good enough for him.

The group began to carefully search around the massive cavern. Each step was cautious, for fear that one misstep would send them plummeting.

In several places, small streams trickled from the grass into the abyss, forming miniature waterfalls that glittered in the blades of sunlight streaming down, making for a beautiful sight.

Mu Xia couldn’t resist taking out her phone to snap a few photos, saying she’d post them to her social feed once she had a signal.

Su Ye only smiled—he was in no mood for that now.

They circled the edge for a long time until they suddenly saw several huge stone blocks ahead, with what appeared to be carved inscriptions, though they had become almost illegible with time.

“There’s steel cable here—it must be the spot!” Mu Xia exclaimed in delight, dashing forward.

Su Ye followed, and upon closer inspection, found three or four steel cables, each as thick as a chopstick, tied around the massive blocks. The other end disappeared into the depths below, its length uncertain.

“This is it! These cables can hold up to five thousand jin. The last group must have descended from here.”

Li Haoxuan tugged on the cables, finding them immovable, but hesitated. “How long have these cables been here? Exposed to the elements—are they still safe? What if they snap halfway down? And what if we run into those damned monkeys below? Or what if the cable only reaches halfway, leaving us dangling? Have Zhou Yuyang and his group already gone down? What if there’s nothing left for us?”

At his words, Mu Xia frowned. She truly disliked people like Li Haoxuan—always raising problems as if they were someone else’s fault, yet never offering solutions.

She was annoyed, though she held back her temper, and asked, “Su Ye, what do you think?”

“There’s not enough time. It’s already past five. Let’s rest and recover our strength, and go down tomorrow,” Su Ye said, glancing around for a relatively dry spot.

At his suggestion, everyone suddenly felt exhaustion wash over them, as if endless drowsiness had descended.

They’d been on the island for two days and a night without proper rest, nerves strung tight while fleeing for their lives, and many had been injured in the fight with the water monkeys. If not for their martial training and the special pills from home, they would have collapsed long ago.

Now, none of them cared about the dirt. They lay down, ate a little, and before many words had been spoken, sleep overtook them.

The weather was mild, so there was no fear of catching cold.

Night fell, and the sky slowly filled with a blanket of stars.

Lying with his hands behind his head, Su Ye gazed at the stars, realizing he couldn’t recall the last time he’d truly observed the night sky. In recent years, his life had been tumultuous; whenever he went out, it was always in the rain, and in Yang City, such a starry sky was impossible.

Looking at the bright moon, he suddenly thought of his parents. If he were still in that family, he might now have the right of inheritance…

Su Ye sighed deeply, wishing for sleep, yet it eluded him.

Around four in the morning, he suddenly heard distant noises. Instinctively, he rolled over and peered into the dark, catching the faint glimmer of lights.

He nudged his companions, finding them all fast asleep—Li Haoxuan was even snoring.

Left with no choice, he crept over and gently shook Mu Xia, whispering, “Mu Xia, wake up.”

Groggy, Mu Xia opened her eyes to find a blurry figure approaching. She was about to cry out, but a hand quickly covered her mouth, leaving her to utter only muffled noises.

Then she heard Su Ye’s voice: “Don’t make a sound—it’s me.”

Relieved, Mu Xia patted his hand to signal him to let go, but her mind was suddenly in turmoil: Goodness, why did Su Ye come over so suddenly? What’s he trying to do? Did he sneak over to talk, or for something else? And from the look of it, he’s half-lying down—does he want to sleep beside me? This… this…

“You… don’t do this, I… I wasn’t prepared for it…” Mu Xia whispered, her face flushing red.

Su Ye frowned, perplexed. “Don’t talk. Someone’s coming. Judging by the sound, it’s probably Zhou Yuyang and his group!”

“Huh? Oh—Zhou Yuyang? Where?”

“Over there… It looks like they’ve just arrived. If they find us, things could get tricky. We’ll head down first thing in the morning… I’ll wake the others.”

Su Ye knew well that he and Zhou Yuyang were rivals. Having come this far, he couldn’t let Zhou Yuyang ruin things now.

But as soon as he roused the others, Li Haoxuan, upon hearing that Zhou Yuyang’s group was approaching, burst out laughing.

“Where are they? Where? We beat them here… Since there’s only a few of us, let’s team up with them right away!”

Su Ye hissed, “Are you insane? Have you forgotten their attitude before? And you still want to join them?”

“Hey, Su Ye, you’ve got it wrong. They’re targeting you, not me! Traveling with you nearly got us all killed. Now that we’ve made it here and found the steel cable together, I have every right to do as I please. It’s no business of yours!”

Li Haoxuan then turned to Mu Xia. “Mu Xia, come with me to join Zhou Yuyang’s group! They have more people, more strength. If we go down together, we can at least get a share. Otherwise, we’ll lose everything.”

“Are you crazy? They just arrived—they must have run into trouble. You think they’d want to team up with you?” Mu Xia retorted angrily.

“Hmph, so you look down on me too. Well, well, what a pair of lovebirds—you two can stay, I’m going!” Li Haoxuan shouted, shining his flashlight toward the other group.

Sure enough, those across the way spotted Su Ye and the others at once.

A chorus of startled yells erupted, mixed with curses and angry shouts:

“They got here ahead of us! It’s Mu Xia and her group—”

“Damn it, I knew it was them! Listen up—hand over your food and water, all your antidotes and bandages, now! Hurry!”