The four of them shifted the object, shaped like a cupboard, that covered the door leading to the secret passage. Since there were four of them, they could do it quickly. After opening the door, Shanquan asked his friends to come in first. It just liked the story that Yiren had heard before. This time, Shanquan also didn't forget to lock the door from the hallway.
They didn't carry kerosene lamps. Purposely, they left the lights in the dungeon. They walked with just flashlights for lighting. Because they already knew the way, they could move quickly. They had arrived at a large hall shaped like a hexagon without realizing it.
Yiren was amazed to see the room. He looked at the stone bench that Shanquan had told him about earlier. Lots of questions popped up in his mind. But he couldn't stay there for long. The other three friends left quickly to enter the next hallway.
As they almost reached the end of the passage, Shanquan, who was walking in the front, stopped. He shone his flashlight at the hallway wall. Yiren saw a candle holder attached there. Shanquan grabbed the candleholder and pulled it until it was tilted at a ninety-degree angle. There was a slow rumbling sound, more like a buzzing sound. The left wall of the passage slid closer and then stuck to the right wall. Exactly the same as Shanquan's previous narrative.
"You stand guard here." Shanquan patted Xinxiu on the shoulder.
Xinxiu said nothing. He just nodded.
Shanquan then reached into his trouser pocket, pulling out a key. The key was to lock the basement door in their backyard. He gave it to Yiren. "Don't forget, later, you have to lock the door before you climb up to the surface."
Yiren nodded vigorously.
The door had no handle. I don't think this will be easy.
Shanquan, Yixiong, and Yiren walked into the room, where there was a dressing table that was probably made of first-class wood. Same as before. Yiren could not linger standing in front of the dressing table. The three of them walked across the room filled with the items. Then, they entered the next room through the dog door one by one. They stood huddled together in the next room, which turned out to be a closet.
"Please pay close attention to what I'm doing," Shanquan asked Yiren to focus on such an important thing.
Yiren observed what Shanquan was doing. He listened carefully to how to open the wooden wall that separated the closet from the cupboard in the next room.
"Don't forget, we can only open the dog door from here when this wooden wall is closed." Shanquan's voice was firm.
After the wooden wall opened completely, Shanquan and Yixiong quickly stepped into the closet.
"You stay there," said Shanquan. "This cupboard is very narrow. It won't fit all three of us standing in it."
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After Shanquan opened the cupboard door, he and Yixiong immediately stepped out of the cupboard. Yiren looked at them with mixed feelings. He was silent because he didn't know what to say.
Shanquan and Yixiong turned their bodies. Yiren came face to face with the two people. Both of their faces were so serious.
"After we leave this room, you close this closet door from the inside. After that, return to where Xinxiu stands guard!" Do you understand?" Shanquan's voice sounded so clear.
Yiren nodded again.
This atmosphere makes me shudder. But I can't show them that.
Shanquan turned around after he finished saying the last instructions. The man and Yixiong moved swiftly. There were so many things strewn about in the room. The two had to be careful with their treads.
Watching them, Yiren couldn't resist the movement of his feet. Automatically, Yiren left the closet and stepped into the cupboard. He shone his flashlight at his two friends, who were seen walking away from the cupboard. They walked carefully among the piles of things in the room. Not long after, Yiren could hear the door being opened. Shanquan and Yixiong then disappeared behind the door.
Yiren couldn't hold back his mixed feelings. He stood there, dumbfounded. It was only about fifteen seconds later that he started to move. Yiren closed the closet door, entered the closet, closed the closet wall, and entered the next room through the dog door. He hastened towards the alcove in the wall next to the wooden dresser without wasting much time. Once inside the hallway, he walked over to Xinxiu.
"Is everything going well?" Xinxiu's face looked bored. Standing tall and alert next to the candle holder was not an interesting thing to do.
Yiren nodded. "Come on, now let's go back."
Xinxiu realigned the candle holder. After the hallway walls closed, they rapidly turned around and walked home. Even though they were trying to walk as fast as possible, Yiren felt the passages were too long. Finally, they arrived at the end of the passage. Following Shanquan's instruction, Yiren soon locked the door of the hallway. Exactly as he had thought. Locking the door was not as easy as locking the doors in their homes.
Xinxiu and Yiren did not restore the position of the cupboards as before, covering the hallway door. Apart from the fact that the cupboard looked so heavy, they also thought that it was likely that Yixiong and Shanquan would return home through the passage again. If that's the case, then if they now slide the cupboard to cover the door, they'll have to slide it again later to be able to open the door again.
Yiren tapped on the iron step on the hole wall that led to the backyard above. No answer. After waiting for some time, there was also no answer.
Where did Yige go? Could it be that he fell asleep because he was too tired?
"What now? It seems Yige is not guarding on the side of the pit!" Xinxiu started to panic.
"I'm afraid something has happened up there." Yiren accidentally said those words. One second later, he regretted it. Xinxiu looked even more panicked.
"Let's go up now." Xinxiu reached out his hand to touch the iron bars embedded in the hole's wall. "I'm sure these iron rods are still strong enough to support our weight."
"You or I go up first?".
"Renge, you climb up first, please. I'll keep watch here."
Yiren went to the surface right away. Actually, he was a little doubtful. Even though the iron rods looked solid, they didn't know how long they had been stuck in the hole's wall. There might be parts that were not as solid as they seem. But he realized he had to set a good example in front of Xinxiu. After all, he was older than him. So he shouldn't look scared. Slowly, Yiren stepped on the iron rods. Little by little, he finally arrived at the end of the hole. When only a few centimeters left, a hand outstretched from above.