“This…”

I froze, utterly at a loss. Wei Qiuying, who’d rushed up behind me, stood stunned too, gripping my shoulder as she panted heavily.

“This… who *is* she?”

Mom slowly stepped beside me, her gaze dazedly fixed on the other “mom” already halfway up the third crystalline step. I noticed her eyes reddening, lips trembling uncontrollably—she clearly knew something.

Silently, the three of us watched the mysterious figure’s back. She stood unsteadily on the third platform, paused a moment, then shifted forward slightly.

Suddenly—she plummeted downward as if yanked from midair. In a blink, she vanished from the platform.

Mom instantly pulled me into her arms, rubbing the back of my head. Confused, I didn’t resist.

If *this* was our long-awaited reunion… then who’d held and comforted me moments ago while I sobbed?

I swallowed hard. Had missing Mom driven me to hallucinate? Impossible—we’d all seen her disappear.

A cold sweat prickled my skin.

What truly baffled me wasn’t her identity, but the seamless, heartbreakingly familiar warmth of her embrace. Unless a ghost had truly clouded my mind… I had no explanation.

…

“Sister Yanzi, I know you and your daughter share a deep bond—but we’re running out of time!” Wei Qiuying murmured, still wearing her human-skin mask, clutching her small compass.

Mom finally released me. Her eyes were damp—she’d been wiping tears while holding me. My confusion deepened.

…

“That box…”

To hide her emotion, Mom waded toward the second crystalline step, yanking the necklace from her chest. Wei Qiuying and I followed.

Without hesitation, she swung the red cord—*smack!*—slamming the pendant onto the platform. The oval red glass vial shattered instantly, but the end attached to the cord split cleanly into a tiny key shape.

So the necklace was a disguised key! Realization hit me—then doubt:

“Did the Dragon Tamer Clan invent keys and locks *that* early?!” I blurted, bewildered.

As far as I knew, Lu Ban pioneered locks in China’s Spring and Autumn period. Keys? Ancient Egyptians, over 4,000 years ago. Yet this lock looked strikingly modern. Had the Dragon Tamer civilization really crafted locks identical to ours?

I took a shaky breath. Unbelievable.

“That casket was a priceless Han Dynasty treasure—mutton-fat jade carved with black gold inlay!” Mom huffed, voice tight with anger. “But that scoundrel Wei Chuanyi *insisted* on carving a lock onto it, making a key for his ‘private use’… utter sacrilege!”

“The jade’s purity, the carving’s artistry, the black gold edge—there’s no second piece like it in the world. And now? He slapped a cheap Wenzhou Jinma-brand lock on it…” She let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head helplessly.

Wei Qiuying stood behind me, staring blankly at the casket.

…

“He said taking treasure without leaving something equal would bring retribution,” Mom continued, scraping red lacquer off the key. She inserted it. *Click.*

A blinding white light erupted, flooding the cave. I yelped, stumbling back and plopping into the water.

Wei Qiuying, already wearing sunglasses, smirked. *A subwoofer? Sunglasses?* I thought, dazed. *Is this standard tomb-raiding gear?!*

…

Wei Qiuying smugly hauled me up. Mom lifted a grape-sized oval from the box—radiating such fierce white light I couldn’t stare directly. Wei Qiuying tossed her a black cloth. Mom wrapped it swiftly, tucked it away, then cleared her throat, meeting my puzzled gaze:

“You said humans can’t survive without the sun. True. Yet the Dragon Tamer Clan thrived here for millennia without daylight—*because of this*. It was their ‘sun’ for thousands of years.”

“We call it the ‘Golden Crow Jade’—the palace’s most sacred treasure. And the reason we came.”

She hesitated, words catching in her throat.

…

I frowned. “Wait. When you said Dad took the treasure… you meant *this* Golden Crow Jade?”

Mom nodded.

“Then why is it *back* in the box now?”

Her face tightened. She glanced at Wei Qiuying—who tilted her head like a clueless fool—then looked down silently.

“Later… he returned it. The Golden Crow Jade can only be *borrowed*. Keeping it too long… invites a curse.”

“A *curse*?!” I scoffed. “That’s superstitious nonsense.”

“It’s true,” Mom whispered, her voice strained, face pale.

I frowned harder. She was hiding something—something painful.

“Time’s short, Xiao Ji. Trust me. When I’m ready, I’ll tell you everything. You *will* know.”

She pointed to the high rock wall behind the platform. “The exit’s there—a hidden passage carved into the cliff. But we must leave within two hours.” She glanced back at the crystalline steps, lips pressed tight.

…

“Wait!” I cried out. My head spun—too many questions, too much confusion.

“You can explain slowly later. But *one* thing—I need the truth *now*.”

“That woman just now! Don’t say you didn’t see her!”

“Who was she? Where did she go? *You know*, don’t you?!”

I stepped back, exhaustion and burning curiosity fraying my control. I spun around and scrambled up to the third crystalline step.

To my shock, Mom didn’t stop me. She stood frozen, eyes red-rimmed, silently watching me with a look of hurt and helpless anger—tears glistening.

But I couldn’t turn back. Not now.

Why did this platform make people vanish? Today, I *would* see for myself.

…

…