The second installment.
******************
Xuanji followed the secret passage for less than a quarter of an hour when she suddenly realized there was no way forward; what she felt was a thick stone wall. Strange, could this secret passage actually be a dead end created to confuse the eye?
She was not willing to give up and groped around the stone wall, her fingertips suddenly touched a protrusion—upon reaching higher, it turned out to be a black iron candlestick. Her master had once said that if one encountered a dead end, one should pay more attention to one's surroundings and push things with one's hands; perhaps a new path might be discovered.
She tugged hard at the candlestick downwards—no response; she pushed it upwards—still no response.