Chapter Nine: How to Leave

He reached out and touched Danzi’s head; the temperature was normal. He checked Danzi’s eyes—the traces of blood had almost disappeared. Examining Danzi’s neck, the toxin had shrunk to the size of a soybean. It seemed Danzi had basically recovered. Glancing at his watch, it was already four o’clock in the afternoon.

Given Danzi’s just-recovered state, it would be best to return as soon as possible and get a checkup, to guard against false recovery. Longzi was about to speak, but Danzi cut him off.

“I’m fine! Tough as nails, Longzi. Without you, I’d have woken up in the underworld, facing the King of Hell!” Danzi exclaimed.

“So long as you’re alright. Let’s hurry back and get you checked, just in case,” Longzi said, worry still evident in his tone.

“Don’t fret, I’m fine! How did you find the antidote?”

Longzi paused at the question. All he’d done was let Danzi drink some rainwater; rainwater couldn’t possibly contain antidotal properties. That left only one option—the tree before them. The tree was the antidote. After being washed by rainwater, the tree now contained the cure.

“This tree is the antidote,” Longzi said, pointing at the huge tree before them.

Danzi trusted Longzi’s abilities—his keen insight from the start, and his bold yet careful approach. To have found the antidote and saved him so quickly filled Danzi’s heart with gratitude; after all, he owed his life to Longzi.

“You mentioned heading back earlier. But look at this tree—it’s bare, and there’s water all around. How are we supposed to climb up?” Danzi, though recovered, was still weaker than before, and spoke with concern.

“Let’s check if there’s enough rope in the backpack. We can hook a military shovel onto a branch and climb up, then find a way from there,” Longzi said. He knew even if they managed to climb up, the gap between the branches and the ground was still considerable—it would be hard to jump down safely. If they slipped, injuries could be severe, making returning all the more difficult.

“I’ll go up first and see if it’s possible. If I make it, you follow,” Danzi said, preparing to climb.

“Let me go. You’ve just recovered, your body’s weak. If your grip fails, it could be dangerous!” Longzi insisted, not wanting to risk another disaster.

Danzi insisted, but Longzi eventually persuaded him. After preparing their gear and picking a spot—steady, precise, and decisive, like anchoring a ship—Longzi took a running leap. With a clang, the military shovel hooked onto a high branch, spinning twice. Longzi tugged to ensure it held, tied one end of the rope to his waist, donned gloves, and began to climb slowly.

Longzi cursed under his breath—the trunk was slick, and he was breathless halfway up the rope. He used every ounce of strength, pausing only when he could grip a branch with his grappling hook. Each rest was brief.

Danzi watched from below, ready to help if anything went wrong, determined to keep Longzi from falling. After half an hour of struggle, Longzi finally reached the big tree. But once at the top, he realized only by climbing high enough and jumping down could he reach the opposite side. But the height posed its own danger; a leap could easily break a leg, and with a broken leg, returning would be impossible.

If they tied the rope to a high enough branch, the dense foliage would prevent them from swinging across like on a swing. Longzi ended up sliding back down, turning to Danzi:

“It’s no use—the distance is too great. Jumping is impossible, and the rope gets caught in the leaves. The only option is to retrace our steps.”

Longzi estimated they couldn’t return as Uncle Nuo had instructed. He tried the radio for a long time, but there was no response. Being underground, with so many signal-blocking obstacles, there was simply no reception. Suddenly, they remembered something—before leaving, Uncle Nuo had left a note.

Longzi told Danzi to open the note quickly, to see if there was any clue. On it were a few lines:

When danger threatens, there’s always retreat;
When the path is perilous, there’s always escape.
Seek the essence in illusions,
Stay calm in adversity.

“Damn, that’s a quatrain—almost a regulated verse! There’s nothing useful, what now?” Danzi cursed.

He’d hoped for a hint from Uncle Nuo, some way out, but now all routes were blocked—they were trapped.

“Don’t panic. Since we can’t go back, we need to think calmly,” Longzi said. He firmly believed Uncle Nuo wouldn’t have written those lines without reason—especially since they were meant to be opened in times of trouble.

“I’ve got it! ‘Danger threatens’ means you were poisoned. ‘Retreat’ means there’s an antidote nearby. ‘Path is perilous’ means we have no way forward, but ‘escape’ means there’s another way out,” Longzi reasoned, stacking their recent experiences together.

“We still have five paths we can take!” Longzi said to Danzi.

“You’d better come down first,” Danzi called up.

Getting down was much easier for Longzi. He reached the fork, cut the rope from the shovel, retied the end to a branch, wrapped the rope around the shovel twice, and slid down smoothly. After landing, he hopped twice to shake off leaves and rainwater.

“We wasted a bit of rope,” Longzi said, still picking sticky bark off his clothes.

“As long as we’re alive, there’ll be plenty of rope, right?” Danzi slapped Longzi on the back, knocking him to the ground in a classic pratfall.

Danzi was about to laugh, but Longzi waved him silent. After a moment, Longzi stood up and said,

“I just heard water flowing underground. Rainwater doesn’t just sit here—it must feed into an underground river!”

“We can find an exit!” Danzi said excitedly.

“Follow the direction the rainwater flows. We’re bound to find an exit. Most likely, it’s heading towards the sea,” Longzi nodded confidently.

“I was just thinking of jumping straight into the pool to see where the water goes,” Danzi said, trying to sound serious.

“Why don’t you go in and take a look—maybe you’ll find some treasure!” Longzi joked.

“Come on, how could there be? We’ve found our way already,” Danzi replied, feigning innocence.

“I’m serious. You should really check. The rainwater has healing properties—fill a bottle for drinking on the way,” Longzi said.

“Bro, I was just kidding. Why are you taking it seriously?” Danzi protested, feeling a bit aggrieved.

Longzi stared at Danzi in silence, but his determined gaze made it clear Danzi had no choice. Danzi reluctantly stripped off his shirt and boots, left only in his underwear. At this time, back home, it would have been winter—the coldest time.

Danzi shivered, cautiously dipping his toes in the water, then cupped some water over his body. Gradually, he acclimated to the rainwater’s temperature. It was from the sea—not nearly as cold as he’d expected. In a sudden burst, Danzi dove in, disappearing for quite some time. Finally, he surfaced, grinning at Longzi.

“Longzi, you won’t believe it! It was worth it—I found an underground passage!” Danzi wiped his face.

“I heard the water—rushing underground! It’s definitely an underground river, and the space must be big!” Longzi said.

“So, how do we get through? Swim?” Danzi asked.

“Swim!” Longzi replied.