I held my breath and looked up. By the dim light, I discovered a pitch-black opening high up on the stone wall. Could there be a path above? A glimmer of hope ignited in my heart. Without a second thought, I leaped up, grabbed the edge of the opening with both hands, and hauled myself upward with all my might.
The opening was narrower than I had imagined. It took every ounce of strength I had to climb through, only to find myself in a dense forest.
Not daring to stay long, I got my bearings and bolted away from the Black Market as fast as I could.
I ran for I don't know how long, until I was utterly exhausted, before collapsing onto a boulder and gasping for breath.
"This won't do. I need to find a safe place to hide. Those people certainly won't let this go..." I looked around and realized I was in a secluded valley. Sheer cliffs flanked both sides, with only a narrow mountain path leading out. It was easy to defend and hard to attack—truly a good place to hide.
Dragging my weary body, I followed the mountain path deeper into the valley. After walking a short distance, the view suddenly opened up. A huge cave appeared before me, its entrance overgrown with moss, giving it an exceptionally eerie and terrifying appearance.
Could this be... A thought stirred in my heart, recalling the records in my family's secret history about the treasure map: the map was hidden within the Lu Family forbidden area, and the entrance to the forbidden area was a concealed cave.
Suppressing my inner excitement, I cautiously walked up to the cave entrance. Before I even had a chance to go inside, an aged voice rang out in my ear: "Who goes there? How dare you trespass into the forbidden area!"
Startled, I spun around to see an old man in a grey robe standing behind me out of nowhere. His hair and beard were completely white, his face withered, and he leaned on a walking stick, radiating an oppressive aura from head to toe.
"Who are you? What is this place?" I asked vigilantly.
"This old man is Zhao Xuan, commanded to guard this place. No one is permitted to enter!" the old man said coldly. "If you know what's good for you, leave immediately, or don't blame this old man for being discourteous!"
It dawned on me instantly that this old man must be the guardian recorded in the family's secret history. I only wondered whose orders he was following when he spoke of being "commanded."
"Senior..." I took a deep breath and said, "I mean no disrespect, it's just..."
"This is not a place where you should be," Zhao Xuan interrupted harshly. "Leave at once!"
I clenched my teeth, knowing that if I didn't speak the truth today, I probably wouldn't be able to enter the cave. "Senior," I dropped to my knees with a thud, "my surname is Lu, and my given name is Chen; I am a descendant of the Lu Family! My family has been wronged and suffered annihilation, all because of a single treasure map! I have come here today at the risk of my death to seek the truth of those years and clear my family's name!"
Hearing this, Zhao Xuan's cloudy eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. He looked me up and down, as if trying to find some flaw in my face.
"You say you are a descendant of the Lu Family. Do you have proof?" Zhao Xuan asked in a deep voice.
I had prepared in advance. I pulled a quaint jade pendant from my bosom and offered it up with both hands. "This is an heirloom passed down through generations in my family. Please examine it, Senior."
Zhao Xuan took the jade pendant and scrutinized it closely. After a long while, he let out a long sigh. "Ah... how fickle fate is!" He handed the jade pendant back to me, his tone carrying a bit more pity. "Very well, since you are a descendant of the Lu Family, this old man will make an exception and let you in. However..."
"However what?" I asked eagerly.
"The secret cave is riddled with mechanisms and is exceptionally perilous. If you want to go in, you had better think it through," Zhao Xuan said solemnly.
"I am not afraid!" I said without the slightest hesitation. "For my family, I am afraid of nothing!"
Zhao Xuan nodded, turned to walk toward the cave entrance, and pressed an inconspicuous stone. With a rumbling sound, the moss at the entrance slowly parted to both sides, revealing a pitch-black opening.
"Go on in," Zhao Xuan pointed at the opening and said. "Remember, caution above all."
I took a deep breath, bowed deeply to Zhao Xuan, and said, "Thank you, Senior!" With that, I dove straight into the cave.
The cave was pitch black, utterly devoid of light. A damp, chilly air rushed at me, mixed with a rotting stench that was quite nauseating. Groping along the wall, I cautiously moved forward, terrified of triggering some mechanism.
After walking for I don't know how long, a faint glimmer of light appeared ahead. Joy surged in my heart, and I quickened my pace.
"Finally..." I was just about to let out a sigh of relief when my foot seemed to step on something. With a crisp "crack," an ominous premonition suddenly rose in my heart... The "crack" sounded exceptionally grating in the silent cave, and my heart instantly leaped into my throat. Before I could even react, countless cold glints suddenly flashed before my eyes, immediately followed by a whistling sound of air being torn apart.
"Oh no! Arrows!" Terrified out of my wits, I threw myself into a roll right where I stood, narrowly dodging the arrows shooting straight at me.
Unable to care about the pain in my body, I scrambled backward using hands and feet. Yet the arrows seemed to have eyes, pursuing me relentlessly. I dodged left and right, looking thoroughly wretched.
"Damn it! Why are there so many mechanisms in this secret cave?" While dodging the rain of arrows, I cursed inwardly. This secret cave was bizarre at every turn, and the slightest carelessness would cost me my life. It seemed Senior Zhao Xuan's words were no exaggeration.
After who knows how long, the arrows finally stopped. I collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath, my clothes long since soaked through with cold sweat.
"Whew... I managed to salvage my life after all..." With lingering fear, I looked around. By the dim light, I discovered I was in a narrow, long passageway, the walls on both sides densely covered with small holes. Those arrows must have been shot from there.
I did not dare to linger. Enduring the pain in my body, I continued forward. However, before I had taken a few steps, the ground beneath me suddenly vanished, and my whole body fell uncontrollably downward.
"Ah!" I cried out in alarm, flailing my hands wildly in an attempt to grab something, but it was all in vain.
With a muffled "thud," I crashed heavily onto a hard surface. The intense pain made me let out a groan.
I struggled to my feet and, by the dim light, found that I had fallen into a deep pit. The bottom of the pit was damp, cold, and emitted a sickening, moldy odor.
"Damn it! Another trap!" I cursed inwardly, extremely irritated. Who on earth was the owner of this secret cave, and why had they set up so many dangerous mechanisms?
I looked up and saw that the opening above my head was only the size of a single person; there was no way to climb up.
"Am I going to be trapped here to death?" Despair welled up in my heart. At that moment, my gaze was suddenly drawn to a stone on the pit wall.
That stone looked no different from the others, but a strange pattern was carved onto it. After examining it closely, tumultuous waves rose in my heart. This pattern... was unmistakably the family insignia of the Lu Family!
"Could this place be..." Filled with extreme excitement and ignoring the pain in my body, I hurriedly reached out to touch that stone. At that very moment, a sudden change occurred!
I felt a violent tremor beneath my feet, and a deafening, rumbling roar came from the opening overhead. Immediately afterward, countless rock fragments tumbled down from above...
"Oh no!" My expression changed drastically. I realized I might have triggered some mechanism, but it was already too late...