Li Lin searched this patch of scorched earth for more than two hours, but found nothing at all. Seeing that the path ahead was coming to an end, blocked by another sheer cliff rising straight to the sky, he figured this must be the right-hand side of the U-shaped Sunset Mountain.
Roughly estimating, walking from the other end to this one had taken half a day, yet he still hadn't found a way out. He couldn't help feeling a bit worried and discouraged, a look of bitter distress written all over his face.
Just as Li Lin was about to turn back to conduct a more thorough search, his peripheral vision caught sight of something on a nearby rock wall.
Although everything here was pitch black and seemed normal, that particular spot was noticeably much paler than the surrounding darkness.
Li Lin immediately rushed over. Only upon getting close did he realize it was actually the opening of a cave. This made Li Lin hesitate a bit: should he go in or not? Would it be dangerous? What if a ferocious beast lived inside?
Li Lin thought to himself that since he couldn't find a way out anyway, he might as well go in and see what was actually inside.
Gritting his teeth, he decided to take a gamble. Instead of waiting here to be trapped, he might as well check if there was an exit inside this cave.
Still feeling uneasy, Li Lin picked up a few stones from the ground and hurled them hard into the cave. Seven or eight stones were thrown in succession, but there was no reaction whatsoever.
This gave Li Lin considerable peace of mind, suggesting there were probably no beasts inside, otherwise they would have jumped out long ago.
Seeing that the interior was pitch black without a shred of light, Li Lin looked around and gathered a few thick, blackened dead branches about the size of an arm, then rummaged around on the ground for a good while.
Finally, he found two pieces of flint. He then attempted to ignite the dead branches to make a torch so he could search the cave.
*Click.*
*Click.*
The sparks generated by the friction of the flint failed to light the dead branches as he had hoped.
Li Lin stood up and looked around, hoping to find something flammable, but he was met with disappointment. It was completely barren; apart from a few charcoal-like dead branches, he found nothing at all.
Li Lin sighed and lowered his head, only to see that his clothes had been torn, with the cotton wadding inside exposed.
*"Should I tear a piece off my old cotton-padded jacket to start a fire?"* Li Lin couldn't help thinking to himself.
No sooner thought than done. He slowly pulled the cotton wadding apart until it was fluffy, and a faint smile appeared on Li Lin's face.
*Click.*
*Click.*
In no time at all, he succeeded.
The sparks landed on the cotton wadding and immediately ignited. Li Lin hastily held one end of a dead branch to the fire. The dead branch caught fire instantly, and within a moment, all three dead branches were blazing.
Li Lin gathered the three dead branches together, held them aloft, and walked into the cave.
The cave entrance was less than person-high, requiring him to stoop as he entered and walk slowly inward by the light of the fire.
The space inside gradually grew larger and taller. The cave was not stuffy at all; instead, a faint breeze blew gently, carrying a trace of coolness.
From barely person-high at the beginning, the cavern now reached a height of two zhang, bearing clear signs of having been chiseled out. This indicated that someone had been here before, and he couldn't help feeling a slight surge of joy.
After walking a bit further, the view suddenly opened up as he arrived at a large hall. At a single glance—one, two, three... six. Exactly six branching cave tunnels appeared before Li Lin.
Li Lin thought that since he had come this far, he might as well make the best of it, so he would start searching from the leftmost tunnel. Thinking this, his feet didn't stop, and he walked straight in.
In a short while, Li Lin came running back out with an ugly expression on his face. It turned out that the interior was completely empty, with what looked like insect eggs on one of the walls. He had also found some unknown droppings in a corner—truly disgusting.
Undiscouraged, Li Lin walked toward the second tunnel. As soon as he stepped inside this time, he discovered several rows of bookshelves, accompanied by several large chests, a round cattail hassock on the ground, and a small wooden table.
Li Lin looked at the bamboo slips on the bookshelves. That's right, what sat upon them were rolls of bamboo slips. Li Lin could recognize a few characters, so he casually picked up a roll and began to read.
As a result, after flipping through several rolls in a row, they all seemed like heavenly books—he didn't recognize a single character, and his face flushed slightly.
When he opened the large chests, they were entirely filled with bamboo slips as well, with nothing else to be found. Aside from bamboo slips with characters, there were only blank ones. Li Lin had no choice but to retreat helplessly.
Li Lin sat on the ground and ate a fruit. After a little while, he got up and continued his search with the third tunnel.
Upon entering, he found rows upon rows of various weapons neatly arranged: sabers, spears, staffs, clubs, whips, halberds, swords, and bells of great variety.
However, since Li Lin didn't know any martial arts, he felt they were of no immediate use and took none of them. Once again, he had to withdraw.
Li Lin headed toward the fourth tunnel, which differed from the others.
The entrance was shrouded in a thin layer of mist. Walking into it, Li Lin felt a wave of chill wash over him.
The further he went, the heavier the cold became. The torch in Li Lin's hand flickered unsteadily, as if it could go out at any moment.
Just then, he saw a beam of light ahead. He quickened his pace, and upon drawing closer, saw that it was actually a stone door.
The door leaves were tightly shut, carved with strange patterns that emitted a faint glow. Li Lin tried to push it open.
He pushed, but the door didn't budge an inch. He searched all around to see if he could find a mechanism to open the door, but after half an hour, he came up empty-handed.
Li Lin had no choice but to give up, and instead turned to examine the other furnishings in the cave.
A solitary cattail hassock sat alone on the right, while against the left wall stood a stone bed. Its surface was smooth and flat, as if polished, but unlike an ordinary family bed, it had no reed mat and no bedding.
Beside the stone bed was a stone table holding several items: a wolf-hair brush, an inkstone, two rolls of blank bamboo slips, a small knife, and an archaic bracelet.
On the ground there was also a chest filled with various treasures, along with pattern-engraved bamboo slips whose meaning Li Lin could not fathom.
After flipping through them a few times, he gave up. He patted this and tapped that, but could make neither head nor tail of this cave either, and could only retreat in frustration.
He proceeded to the fifth tunnel. As soon as he stepped inside, a fragrance drifted over that made his mind clear and his body feel light, as if his very soul had been sublimated.
Right in the center stood a huge iron furnace, taller than Li Lin by a good margin and wide enough for three people to embrace. The fragrance was emanating directly from this iron furnace. Li Lin stepped forward to examine it closely, but still couldn't make out what it was.
He could only look toward the table on the left, where bottles and jars were arranged in neat rows. He had no idea what was inside—whether they were poisonous or not.
Walking to the right-hand corner, he found some kind of leftover dregs casually strewn about, though perhaps due to the passage of time, it was impossible to tell what they had been.
Behind the iron furnace was another tabletop holding some unidentified withered branches and fallen leaves, along with murky or brightly colored liquids—some odorless, others emitting a faint fragrance.
Unfamiliar with any of these things and not daring to act rashly, Li Lin retreated and turned his gaze toward the final tunnel. For some reason, Li Lin suddenly felt a bit uneasy, as if something was watching him.
Yet his curiosity was intense, so gritting his teeth, he stepped inside.
Upon entering, he found that this cave was significantly taller and larger than the previous ones, and even the ground was somewhat smoother.
Walking further in, he discovered there was actually a faint glow inside. After turning a corner, the view suddenly opened up.
It was a gigantic cavern.
Li Lin was completely dumbfounded, his jaw dropping wide open as if he had just laid eyes on something utterly unimaginable.