Chapter 51 The Fifty-first Chapter Fire Evil's Ability (2)

  The water demon child put away the dusty curtain, and Huo Xiao's face was covered in dust, but he still looked very happy and said: "It's open!"

  A large black hole appeared on the ground, with a wooden ladder leading down to it. The inside was filled with swirling dust, making it impossible to see anything.

  The water demon child looked into the hole, pulled out a piece of tattered cloth from the rubble, took out a fire seed from her backpack and lit it, throwing it into the pit. The tattered cloth slowly descended, still not extinguished.

  "Not bad! You can go down!" The water demoness took a look, threw a black veil to Huo Xiao Xie and said, "Wrap it around your mouth and nose."

  Huoxiao Ye Ting Shui Yao Er Ding Zhu, ba sha jin bang hao, sha jin cou dao bi zhi bian, cai wen dao yi xiang pu bi, jing shen ye wei zhi yun.

  Shuiyao'er led the way, Huoxiao'e followed behind, and they descended into the pit via the ladder. Huoxiao'e reached out with one hand and pulled down the half-closed lid, slowly covering it, without making a sound. The lid closed tightly, and the light was suddenly lost; in the darkness of the pit, you couldn't see your own fingers when you stretched out your hand.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié and Shuǐ Yāo ér climbed down the ladder, about five or six people's height, before reaching the bottom of the cave. Huǒ Xiǎo Xié stomped on the ground, which was very flat, as if it had been pounded and paved with earth. In the darkness, Shuǐ Yāo ér said: "Huǒ Xiǎo Xié, don't move for now, I smell lamp oil."

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yī responded, standing still. Although the size of the pit couldn't be seen, it could be felt that the airflow inside was urgent and the wind blew from the dark front. The voice of Shuǐ Yāo ér speaking was short and echoed, as if the pit wasn't spacious but very deep.

  The water demon child took out the fire signal from his hand, shook it, and the flame jumped up, flashing a thread of light in the darkness. Before Little Fire could notice, the water demon child had covered the fire signal again, and it was pitch black once more. All that could be heard was the sound of the water demon child's footsteps fading into the distance, and then there was silence. Little Fire wasn't afraid of the dark, but suddenly being unable to see or hear the water demon child made him feel a bit uneasy, and he couldn't help but call out in a low voice: "Water Demon Child, where are you going?"

  In the distant darkness, a bright light rose again, and soon it became brighter and brighter. The entire cave was lit up quickly. Shuiyaoer adjusted the oil lamp on the wall, and the flame jumped and burned fiercely. Shuiyaoer turned her head to Huoxiaoyi and said: "What's wrong, are you afraid? Afraid of staying here alone?"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié said with a hint of embarrassment, "That's not it." Huǒ Xiǎo Xié avoided Shuǐ Yāo ér's gaze and quickly took a few steps back, looking around. Shuǐ Yāo ér smiled lightly and stopped looking at Huǒ Xiǎo Xié, also starting to observe her surroundings.

  This cave beneath the kitchen of the fallen horse inn is only about two square meters in size, roughly the same as the guest rooms and halls of the inn. The walls and ceiling are very flat and smooth. In one corner of the cave, there is a giant wooden winch that stands upright from the floor to the top of the cave, with both ends buried in the ground. This winch is not like those used for wells, which lie horizontally, but instead stands vertically, wrapped around with dozens of thick hemp ropes, although most have fallen off and are scattered on the ground. In another corner of the cave, there is a large pile of excavation tools of various types, many of which are rusty and have broken handles, covered in dust, clearly not having been used for many years. Further towards the oil lamp, there is a passageway that is roughly the same height as Fire Little Evil's body, about two people wide, extending straight into the darkness, where nothing can be seen inside.

  The water monster walked to the edge of the pulley, picked up a rope and pulled it, then looked up at the top end. These ropes were drilled out from the round hole above the pulley and then forked in different directions before being wound around the pulley.

  Shuiyao'er said, "I suppose this is the mechanism that triggers the giant pit array. No wonder Qian Zhanggui's two partners are both tall and strong, ordinary people can't handle this wheel."

  Huoxiao Ya pulled on a rope and asked, "Is this mechanism broken?"

  Shuiyao'er shook her head and said, "I don't know the principle of how the giant pit array works either. But looking at these ropes, they seem to be hanging down from the roof, passing through the walls. Maybe each rope is a trigger line for a giant pit. Monkey, let's not stay here for long, let's go ahead and take a look."

  Shuiyao'er went to fetch the oil lamp, and Huoxiao'e circled around to a corner of the cave, selecting a relatively intact hoe from a pile of discarded tools. He picked it up and hurried after Shuiyao'er. Shuiyao'er smiled faintly, neither approving nor disapproving of Huoxiao'e's actions. Holding the oil lamp, Shuiyao'er led the way, with Huoxiao'e closely following behind. The two entered the tunnel, slowly making their way forward.

  The path was very narrow, just enough for two people to pass shoulder to shoulder, and the height was about the same as Fire Xiaoyao's. Water You'er was petite and walked in front with ease, while Fire Xiaoyao was half a head taller than Water You'er and had to drag his hoe, so he could only follow closely behind with his head lowered.

  The ground and walls were still relatively flat for thirty paces, but further back they became increasingly uneven. It was clear that the deeper you went, the fewer people came this way. The two of them walked another twenty or so paces before seeing a fork in the road ahead, leading off in three different directions, with the ground sloping downward, seemingly leading to even greater depths underground.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé looked around in three directions, and inside it was pitch black, with no signs of an end in sight. He couldn't help but say: "Shuǐ Yāo ér, could this be a maze? It looks endless."

  "What labyrinth? Labyrinths aren't so crude."

  "But how can you be certain?"

  The water demon child smiled lightly and said, "Stupid monkey, you've never been to a maze, so you wouldn't know. If it's a complex maze underground, one of the most important things is that after walking in, you can't feel any wind, not even a hint of wind, because even the wind can't get out, and the air seems to be stagnant, which is very scary. Unlike here, where we can feel such strong mountain winds." The water demon child raised her hand and stroked the air, "This wind comes straight from that direction, mixed with a earthy smell of the mountains and wild fields, it must be blowing from that road." The water demon child pointed to the left side.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé nodded and said: "You've gained experience! Shuǐ Yāo ér, which is the most formidable labyrinth you have ever been to?"

  The Water Goblin's body suddenly paused, and then slowly and coldly said: "The ten-mile-long palace under Genghis Khan's mausoleum, the masterpiece of Tianshiqiu, the 34th generation of the Tu family, is divided into ten layers. If you enter rashly, not to mention being able to come out, you will suffocate and die before even exploring the first layer." As she spoke, the Water Goblin didn't look back, but walked towards the passageway on her left hand.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé chased after him and asked: "The Ten Mile Labyrinthine Palace? The Earthly House? How could Genghis Khan build such a large maze?"

  "It's because Genghis Khan wanted to keep something by his side, and never let it leave him."

  "Isn't Genghis Khan's tomb always lost?" Huo Xiaoxie asked.

  "It's not that it can't be found, it's just that you common people don't know the method of orientation and entering the palace. There are some places where only our five major family members know about them throughout the world, but unless absolutely necessary, we won't go looking for them."

  "What is that thing? Is that thing still there?"

  "It was taken out by Mokuō of the Mokū Family." Mizukiyori said coldly, unwilling to answer the previous question.

  "Can a single family destroy this magnificent palace that stretches for ten miles?"

  "Yes, the Mok family is the nemesis of the Tu family's maze."

  "You wouldn't go even if you had to, would you?"

  "For that thing, nothing is impossible!"

  "What is it exactly?"

  "Wu Xing Sheng..." The Water Demoness said up to this point, then suddenly stopped and said with a bit of anxiety, "Huo Xiao Xie, don't ask so many questions anymore. The less you know, the better it is for you! Did you hear? I've already said too much!"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié looked at Shuǐ Yāo ér's back and knew that Shuǐ Yāo ér had turned into that cold and icy demeanor again, so he didn't dare ask anymore. He pushed aside the doubts in his mind and silently followed Shuǐ Yāo ér as they continued walking forward. Huǒ Xiǎo Xié thought to himself: "Shuǐ Yāo ér, if you were just mischievous all the time, that would be fine, but changing back and forth like this is really frightening! Alas, why are you so unpredictable? Are all people from the Shuǐ family like this?"

  The two walked silently for a while, sometimes going up and sometimes going down, fortunately none of them were steep slopes. Along the way, there were huge rocks embedded in the tunnel walls, and they had to bend over to pass through. After bypassing several huge rocks, the wind blew more urgently, making a loud noise, and indeed, when they looked up, they found that they had already reached the end of the tunnel, and this gust of wind was blowing in from a large collapse at the top of the tunnel wall.

  The water demon walked to the wind mouth, probed with her hand and said: "How did a hole break? Is it a pit outside?" The water demon turned her head, looking at Huo Xiao Xie, who was afraid of her icy expression, shrinking his neck. Unexpectedly, the water demon's face showed a gentle lady-like smile. She smiled faintly: "Monkey, come and give me a footstool."

  Huǒ Xiǎo Jiā hastily squatted down and said: "Come on, step on my back."