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The group shouted for a long time in the same spot but received no response, intensifying their anxiety.
Where could Shen Erlang have vanished to on this open and flat road?
Recalling the earlier situation, they realized that most of them had been shouting from their original positions. Shen Yu’an had been moving toward Sanlang’s location.
On Sanlang’s right side, there was a dense thicket of thorns and grass, where Shen Erlang had been standing.
Now, there was a trace of something having been pressed down in that thicket of grass.
Shen Yu’an picked up a wooden stick and used it to part the entangled thicket of grass.
Underneath the grass, a smooth hole appeared, winding downward at an angle. It was impossible to see the end of it from where they stood.
Shen Yu’an spoke up, “It seems that Second Brother fell down through here.”
..
…
About fifteen minutes earlier, as Shen Erlang was walking along, he suddenly had a whim and stirred up the grass on the side of the road. That’s when he noticed the large hole.
Just as he was about to turn around and tell everyone about this strange discovery, he stumbled and tripped over his own feet, falling directly into the hole. He slid down along the unknown path, not knowing where it would lead.
Before he had a chance to cry for help, there was only a startled exclamation.
Fortunately, he made a sound, or else it would have been difficult for the Shen family to find this place again once they moved on.
Zhao Shi rushed to the edge of the hole, crying and calling Shen Erlang’s name. She even wanted to jump in to find him.
The others quickly stopped her. They didn’t know what the situation was down there. Jumping in recklessly could be dangerous.
Song Shi hurriedly held Zhao Shi and consoled her, saying, “Don’t panic, let’s think of a solution.”
Zhao Shi cried out, “What solution can we think of? Erlang must be inside this hole.”
Ji Xun approached the hole and said, “This hole seems to be man-made.”
Just as he finished speaking, he slapped his forehead and said, “Could this be the danger we predicted yesterday?”
Upon hearing Ji Xun’s words, Shen Yuan’s eyes swept coldly over him.
“You said there was no danger yesterday?!”
Ji Xun took two steps back, feeling guilty, but stubbornly argued, “You asked me if there was any life-threatening danger. I omitted these minor troubles in my calculations because there was no life-threatening danger.”
Shen Yuan realized that she had indeed asked about life-threatening danger yesterday.
But this Ji Xun, he had already calculated the danger but didn’t bother to give them a warning! He simply ignored it.
However, she didn’t miss the implication in Ji Xun’s words.
Their group had not been in any life-threatening danger all these days.
So even though Shen Erlang had disappeared, their lives were still secure, if Ji Xun could be trusted.
And there was a voice in Shen Yu’an’s heart telling her that her recent uneasiness was somehow related to this place.
She made up her mind and turned to the others, saying, “I will go down and find Second Brother. You all wait here.”
Everyone was stunned to hear that Shen Yu’an wanted to go down and find someone. Zhao Shi suggested, “Why not let your Second Uncle go down?”
Song Shi also nervously pulled Shen Yu’an, not wanting her to go down.
After some persuasion from Shen Yu’an, and with the condition that Fei Yanchen accompanied her, they finally reluctantly agreed.
Shen Grandma couldn’t help but worry and cautioned, “Be careful when you go down.”
Shen Yu’an and Fei Yanchen nodded and jumped down one after the other from the opening of the cave.
Once inside the tunnel, they couldn’t control their descent and kept falling downwards.
The underground passage was extremely smooth, and Shen Yu’an felt her back getting hot and sore from the friction.
After a while, their sliding speed slowed down, and a faint light appeared ahead.
After a moment, Fei Yanchen was the first to slide out of the tunnel and steadied himself, catching Shen Yu’an as she came out.
Shen Yu’an felt the strength supporting her from below and turned her head to meet Fei Yanchen’s gaze.
She jumped out of Fei Yanchen’s arms and said, “Thank you.”
Fei Yanchen rubbed Shen Yu’an’s head with his hand, remaining silent as he looked around.
Shen Yu’an adjusted her tousled hair and thought to herself, “Hmph, what’s with him? Always rubbing my head like an old man, even though he’s not much older than me.”
Of course, she was referring to their mental age. In her previous life, Shen Yu’an was already twenty-six years old, which was indeed older than the just-turned-twenty Fei Yanchen.
With these thoughts in mind, they didn’t forget to observe their surroundings.
The place they were in now was still a forest, and if it weren’t for the absence of the Shen family, they would have thought they hadn’t moved from the original spot.
However, this forest was noticeably more organized, unlike the chaotic and overgrown trees they had encountered in the past few days.
When they slid down from the upper opening of the tunnel, they noticed that this was the only exit available. So, if Shen Erlang had fallen down, he would have had to come out from here.
But strangely, there was no one here at all.
They looked around nearby and found several footprints, so they followed the direction of the footprints.
After about half an hour of walking, they noticed that the trees around them gradually decreased, and there was no forest ahead.
There were signs on the ground, as if someone had been living there.
The two of them slowed down their pace and remained vigilant, keeping an eye on their surroundings.
But before they could take a few more steps, they encountered an elderly person carrying firewood on their back.
The old man halted and looked at Shen Yuan and Fei Yanchi with caution. He asked, “Who are you two, and how did you end up here?”
Shen Yuan quickly put on a smile, trying to appear innocent and harmless.
“Grandpa, we were walking with our companions in the forest when we accidentally got separated. We are looking for them. Do you happen to know where we are?”
The old man stared at Shen Yuan for a while, observing her expression, and then he said, “This is a village. If there’s nothing urgent, I suggest you leave quickly.”