Er Duo guessed there must be a secret passage beneath the water.

  Er Duo guessed that this passage must lead somewhere.

  Er Duo guessed that something must be hidden in this pce.

  There was indeed a secret passage underwater. From beneath the water, it looked like a well covered by a heavy stone lid. With a slight push of a small stone sculpture shaped like a hand beside the lid, the cover would move aside. With the flow of the water, one would naturally be drawn in. The stone lid would close instantly, blocking the water outside. The passage, which was supposed to be dark, had become considerably brighter due to the arrival of Lao Fu, Xu Mama, and Mo Bai. The walls on both sides were now lit with the torches they had brought. Er Duo casually grabbed one of the torches.

  The secret passage didn't go far before it split into two directions. Er Duo hesitated for a moment but chose the right path. After walking a few steps, he came to a rge door. He gently pushed it open. Inside was a room, square and orderly. There was only a table, a bed, a stool beside the bed, and a basket next to the stool, filled with things. Er Duo walked up, casually rummaging through the basket, but all he found were tattered scraps of cloth. He was too zy to search further and turned to look at the bed.

  A piece of unfinished fabric y on the bed. Er Duo couldn't tell what shape it was supposed to be, but the scissors left on the cloth confirmed it hadn't been fully cut. The fabric had faded over time, losing its original color, but the bright red still stood out, resisting the wear of the year. Er Duo picked up the cloth, and a strong smell of dust filled the air, along with a cloud of gray particles. He couldn't help but cough a few times before tossing the cloth back onto the bed.

  "Ah!" Er Duo couldn't help but excim as he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his hand, as if something had pricked him. He lowered his head to take a closer look. His middle finger had a small red mark, feeling slightly cold. Blood! A round, murky drop of blood fell onto the torn fabric. Er Duo felt a surge of irritation. Carefully, he picked up the cloth and examined it closely. Finally, amidst the gray, he spotted a thin silver gleam.

  The sewing needle was very fine, and if one didn′t look carefully, its presence would be almost impossible to notice. Er Duo reached out and pulled at the needle. It came out, but something seemed to be holding it back—a thread was firmly attached to it. The fabric was torn, yet the thread remained intact, and Er Duo couldn′t help but grow curious about this thread.

  The thread was thin and bck, although it may not have originally been bck. When Er Duo touched it, he felt a rough texture. It resembled thread but felt different, almost as if it wasn′t thread at all. He tossed the fabric aside, and this time he could clearly see where the thread was positioned. It was deeply embedded in the gap along the edge of the bed.

  Er Duo tugged on the thread with force, just to test how strong it was. He was certain it would snap. But... the thread didn′t break. Instead, the bedboard snapped in two, revealing a rge hole in the middle. The hole was dark, exuding a mysterious aura. Er Duo felt a surge of excitement. He knew he had discovered something significant.

  Raising his firestick, he shone it into the hole. However, nothing was visible except for a crooked, winding stone staircase that seemed to stretch far down, with no end in sight. Er Duo made up his mind to descend. He was certain there was something waiting down there.

  The stone staircase turned out to be even longer than Er Duo had imagined, winding and twisting in every direction. It went up, then down, and soon Er Duo couldn′t tell where he was anymore. The path became narrower and narrower until he had to crouch and crawl on all fours, inching his way forward. Er Duo felt like a dog, taking one step at a time, unaware of what awaited him at the end.

  When he finally reached the end, he saw a door. Opening the door, he stepped into a room, and there, he saw three people.

  Lao Fu looked at Er Duo.

  Xu Mama looked at Er Duo.

  Mo Bai looked at Er Duo.

  The three of them stood upright, but they... were standing in coffins. The coffins were upright, and they were dead.

  They were dead! Er Duo was stunned. Just moments ago, he had seen them enter the water, but now they were dead. Er Duo couldn't accept this fact, and instinctively, he took a few steps back. He tried to steady his breathing, doing his best to stay calm and retain the crity he had just moments ago.

  No... something felt off! Er Duo couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was wrong. He touched his head, hoping it would help him think clearly.

  If a person has just died, their skin should not have changed color.

  If a person has just died, their skin should still have some esticity.

  If a person has just died, their eyeballs should not be cloudy.

  If a person has just died, their body should still retain its original size.

  If a person has just died...

  They looked as if they had been dead for over a decade or two. Their bodies were already stiff, their skin had turned a sickly blue, their skin was wrinkled, and their eyeballs seemed to have disappeared. Their bodies had shrunk. Er Duo noticed the truth—they weren't really Lao Fu, Xu Mama, or Mo Bai. They were simply three people who looked exactly like them, exactly the same.

  Exactly the same! Er Duo′s heart raced as he suddenly wondered, Who was the real Lao Fu, Xu Mama, or Mo Bai?