Gripping the jade handrail, I surveyed the third-tier crystal dais. At its center yawned a pitch-black hole—wide enough for a person to jump straight down.

Where it led, I had no idea. Instinctively, I climbed a little higher, peering down to check for anything inside… or even the bottom.

Just then, Wei Qiuying behind me lunged forward and grabbed my calf.

“Careful… don’t fall in.”

I turned to meet her pale cheeks. Behind the human-skin mask, her bright eyes held a pleading look—urging me back. After a long silence, I gave a slow, silent nod.

With her support, I jumped down and returned to my mom’s side, replaying the woman’s leap in my mind. If the hole’s depth matched the dais height, I should’ve seen her crouching or standing inside. But I saw nothing. I’d peered straight down—the void held only thick, swallowing darkness.

She vanished after jumping in…

Suicide?

For some reason, the scene felt like those ancient tales: a woman with no escape in war, choosing a well to end it all. Recalling that lonely, desolate silhouette sent a chill through me.

“As you see,” my mom said, steadying her voice, “it’s a well.” She gripped my arm and pulled me firmly toward the passage behind the dais. Wei Qiuying led; we followed.

Questions piled in my head like a mountain, yet I calmed. If escaping this underground palace meant racing time, pressing further would just make me look foolish.

...

After entering the narrow stone passage—Wei Qiuying ahead, me in the middle, my mom guarding the rear—we walked in silence for a long while. Then my mom murmured,

“That woman… what was your impression of her?”

“Feeling?” I sighed.

“Close…? I guess.”

I refused to revisit the ache of her embrace. It left me hollow. My mom said nothing. We kept moving.

...

The passage, carved raw into rock, was narrow and rough. Jagged edges lined the walls, snagging skin.

(Only my arms were scraped raw.)

...

First came a long uphill stretch. Thin air and darkness weighed heavy. Then the path leveled—easier on the lungs. But my mind stayed trapped on her leap.

Why jump the moment Mom and Wei Qiuying arrived?

Where did the well lead? Would falling kill you?

What caused the wails from the Royal Citadel?

Most of all—who *was* she?

No logic. No clues. World-class mysteries.

Maybe another team came before us… she alone reached the Palace of the Corrupted Heart… and her back just happened to mirror my mom’s.

...

Then why not turn? If she were a stranger, wouldn’t curiosity make her glance back?

Why hug me? Why leap?

My head throbbed.

...

I finally let it go. If Mom wouldn’t tell me—fine. Call it a ghost. Move on.

...

We trudged on, dazed. Suddenly Wei Qiuying signaled something unclear. My mom’s hand shot to my shoulder, yanking me back against her.

“We’re here,” she whispered in my ear.

I nodded, exhaling relief.

...

Ahead lay a narrow opening. We crawled out on our bellies. Once all three emerged, I gasped—staring in shock.

We’d circled back to the fork beyond the coffin field.

Sweat stung my wounds, but a faint breeze brushed my skin—strangely soothing.

Tension snapped. Exhaustion and hunger crashed in.

“Let’s go out,” my mom said, glancing back at the dark tunnel. Her expression softened.

We reached the edge of the coffin hollow, pausing before the sea of shadows.

...

Wei Qiuying, night-vision goggles on, turned with a grin and clapped my shoulder.

“Congratul—”

*BOOM!*

A flash. A shot. Wei Qiuying crumpled, tumbling down the slope.

Before I processed it, my mom yanked my neck, rolling us both into the coffin field.

[What the—?!]

A roar echoed above:

“Yan Huayi!”

My blood ran cold. *That’s Second Brother’s voice?!*

...

“Don’t. Make. A. Sound.”

Mom’s grip tightened. We crouched low, weaving deeper.

I glanced back at Wei Qiuying’s still form. Hot tears spilled down my cheeks.

...

I wiped my eyes, dodging blindly—

*Swoosh!* Cold flares rained down. Gunshots cracked. Bullets whizzed past my ear. I froze.

One struck a rotting coffin. *KABOOM!* Flames erupted across the field.

“Yan Huayi! Hand over the Golden Crow Jade!” the voice bellowed. “Or I swear—I end Wei Chuanyi’s line *now*!”

*Clink.* A crisp cock of the gun.

The blast hurled me back. My vision swam.

I lay gasping, tears blurring a burly figure advancing… pistol raised…

Air grew thin. I curled up, coughing violently, fighting for breath…