It had been six hours since Huo Ziping led his team deep into the tunnel.
With no movement at either end of the tunnel.
Somewhere high up on the mountain facing the top end of the tunnel.
A massive boulder, almost five meters wide, was slowly moved to reveal a vertical passageway leading downward.
Inside.
A group of Asians, dusty and disheveled, quickly emerged.
Even Huo Ziping, the team leader, was in a rather difficult situation, his braids chopped off by some weapon, his black hair wildly strewn over his shoulders. Scratches marked his cheeks, shoulders, and waist, and numerous splinters needed urgent removal.
Huo Ziping was the last to come out.
The mysterious laughter echoing from the lower end of the passageway was still audible. Out of the corner of his eye, he could vaguely see a white-haired old woman, half-human and half-puppet, her face decayed, trailing behind them. Because of the passage's restriction, she could not follow.
