Yihshyong, Jenqyih, and Shannchyuan were already standing right in front of the wide-open door of the underground passage. They put drinking water and first aid kits in one corner of the room. While they would bring the kerosene pressure lanterns into the underground passage. Yihshyong and Jenqyih, besides carrying flashlights, each carried a kerosene pressure lantern, while Shannchyuan only carried a flashlight.
"Are you ready?" The question slipped out of Shannchyuan's mouth just before they entered the passage.
Yihshyong and Jenqyih nodded quickly. Shannchyuan invited Jenqyih and Yihshyong to first step into the dark alley. After the three passed through the door, Shannchyuan locked the door from inside the passage.
"Eh?" Yihshyong exclaimed.
"I don't want anyone else going into the cellar under our backyard while we are exploring this passage."
Jenqyih and Yihshyong nodded.
<
Wasting no time, the three walked down the dark passage deeper. Jenqyih walked in the front. Shannchyuan was in the middle, and Yihshyong was in the back. Slowly, they moved forward. A moment later, they came to a very sharp bend. The bend led to the right. Jenqyih carefully passed the bend. Shortly after disappearing behind the bend, Jenqyih reappeared in front of them.
"Nothing suspicious," said Jenqyih briefly.
<
"Let's continue our journey." Shannchyuan smiled. He immediately stepped forward.
"Wait a minute!" Yihshyong said in a low voice.
"What is it?" Shannchyuan, once again, stopped walking.
"Look at that!" Yihshyong shone his flashlight at the wall of the hallway around the bend.
"Jenqyih! Let's stop here first." Shannchyuan's tone was unyielding. He also highlighted the wall there.
"What is it?" Jenqyih approached them.
"Didn't you see this earlier?" Yihshyong pointed at the hallway wall.
Jenqyih looked very surprised to see the strange writings on the wall. "Sorry, Dahge, I was too focused on the front. So I didn't pay attention to the walls of this hallway."
"It's okay," Shannchyuan said. "I didn't notice either. It's a good thing our Yihshyong this time is sharp-eyed."
The three of them noticed the scribbles on the wall. For Yihshyong, it was just doodles. But he was sure that Shannchyuan and Jenqyih must have had a different opinion.
"What do you think?" Shannchyuan was still shining his flashlight at the wall.
"I do not know." Jenqyih shook her head. "I've never seen anything like it."
"I know that you must be very eager to research this. But, this time, we have something else to do," Shannchyuan said.
Jenqyih nodded. "I understand."
"Let's continue our journey again." Shannchyuan gave the command.
They all passed from the bend. After that, they encountered a winding passage. Yihshyong, who was the last to walk, tried to estimate the distance they were then, from the underground room in their backyard.
"How far have we walked?" Yihshyong finally asked after his head heated because he wasn't sure of his own ability to make predictions.
"According to my calculations, we've walked about two hundred and fifty to three hundred meters since departing from the dungeon earlier. But because this passage is so winding, I don't really know how far this place is from that room." Jenqyih's voice sounded so sure.
Shannchyuan, who was walking behind Jenqyih, said nothing. The three of them continued walking with great vigilance.
"Stop!" Jenqyih suddenly shouted loudly. He stopped walking.
"What is it?" Yihshyong was worried that they would have to face an obstacle so quickly.
"The passage in front of us is a little wider than the one we've been through." Jenqyih's tone sounds a little different from before.
Shannchyuan advanced ahead of Jenqyih. He shone his flashlight around the place. "This is the confluence of two passages," said Shannchyuan. "So, if we walk from the direction of the wider hallway, then we encounter a branching passage. The one to the right leads to a dungeon in our backyard. While the one to the left leads to an unknown place. Which one we should check? The one that forks to the left or the slightly wider passage?"
"I think the left branch of the passage leads to the dungeon in someone else's backyard. Probably this wider passage leading to the exit." Yihshyong was very excited when he said those words.
"I agree with Shyongge," Jenqyih said. "I think we should check these two passages. But right now, our priority is to find a way out. This wider passage makes more sense."
"Alright, let's explore this wider passage," said Shannchyuan.
The three of them walked down the wider passage. Their position was the same as before. Jenqyih in the front, Shannchyuan in the middle, and Yihshyong in the back. Unlike the previous passage, the passage they were going through didn't have many turns, and the distance was relatively short. About a hundred meters from the fork, they had arrived at the end. Cautiously, Jenqyih stopped at the end of the passage. Shannchyuan once again got ahead of Jenqyih. He walked into the room at the end of the passage.