Zhu Yu tiptoed to the back of the stairs, where the space was relatively low. Even she, the shortest among the four, had to crouch.

She carefully stepped on the ground there, but the sensation underfoot revealed no obvious differences.

It seemed this place was just where someone might hide to eat rather than a proper entrance or exit.

Zhu Yu asked Fu Lu for the flint he carried, crouching and using its dim light to illuminate the dusty ground.

Because few people had walked here and no one had cleaned, over the years a thick layer of dirt had accumulated. Illuminated by the flame, there were footprints and drag marks visible, appearing to be left recently.

With closer observation, there were some less distinct footprints, like those sporadically left over time and then covered by dust again. So they weren’t as obvious as the traces from two days ago when they first entered, but still noticeable upon closer attention.

Following those inconspicuous footprints and tracing the direction they pointed, Zhu Yu slowly and cautiously reached a corner of the wall.

The footprints vanished right up to the wall corner.

Zhu Yu looked at the footprints reaching the corner and frowned.

Clearly, there were still footprints, so the entrance to the passage couldn’t be here.

But if not here, where else could it be? Could it be on the wall?!

As soon as this thought emerged, she couldn’t help but turn her gaze to the wooden panel wall in front of her, reaching out to cautiously push it. The panel had a faint sense of movement but couldn’t be opened.

Zhu Yu then pushed the other side of the wall, which did not feel the same.

The folding "wall" was evidently an actual hidden door, just blocked from inside with something, able to be opened from within but impossible to push open from outside.

The gap accessible for pushing was barely enough, not even a hand or finger could fit through.

Zhu Yu retrieved her toolkit from her pocket and drew out the longest small knife. The thin blade was just able to fit smoothly through the door gap.

She carefully probed with the knife blade and indeed encountered an obstacle, seemingly a wooden strip. She tried to pry at it a few times, and the wooden strip inside began to slightly loosen.

Then she cautiously repeated this action over and over, gradually prying the obstructing wooden strip loose, and the slightly loosened wooden door could be easily opened to a width of about half a foot.

Behind the wooden door was pitch black, nothing visible at first glance.

The door’s opening width allowed Zhu Yu and Fu Wen to pass through smoothly, while Lu Qing had to squeeze in slightly, and Fu Lu couldn’t even think about getting through.

Lu Qing, seeing this, gestured for Fu Lu not to risk breaking the door and to guard the entrance unless absolutely necessary.

Although Fu Lu felt a bit frustrated, leaving someone outside was indeed a prudent arrangement, which he had no objection to, solidly nodded, and silently patted his chest.

With the flint in hand, Fu Wen illuminated the path ahead, being the first to squeeze through the door gap, with Zhu Yu following closely and Lu Qing bringing up the rear.

Originally thought that the slightly open wooden door would be the hardest part to get through, but unexpectedly, once squeezed inside, the space was also incredibly narrow, with a large stone right next to it. After three people squeezed in, they could only hunch along a narrow passage downhill.

Zhu Yu walked while trying to confirm their position.

This small wooden building was built against a steep hill, all stone walls, and the door disguised as a wall panel they just passed through should be right next to the stone wall.

So now this path downward... where might it lead?

With these doubts, Zhu Yu stepped along behind Fu Wen, a faint light flickering ahead, Lu Qing closely following behind herself, feeling not very scared, but unable to stop pondering this: such a narrow corridor, if the opponent suddenly appeared in front, meeting them head-on, it would be difficult to escape or pursue.

Walking along, the scenarios she contemplated didn’t occur. The passage ahead also gradually widened and raised slightly, requiring Lu Qing to stay hunched, while Zhu Yu only needed to tuck in her neck to mostly straighten herself.

Finally, after who knows how long, the view ahead suddenly expanded.

Fu Wen stopped with caution, squinting to scrutinize the surroundings, quickly discovering an identical thin wire ahead not far from his feet.

He signaled to Zhu Yu and Lu Qing, the three of them stepped over the hidden wire without touching it, entering a relatively open space.

Zhu Yu stood, looking back at the thin wire on the ground, following it meticulously to one side, finding not far a copper bell hanging in a stone wall crevice. The bell connected to the thin wire, which would probably ring immediately if tripped.

She continued searching along the wall and discovered another copper bell not far away, only its wire went upward.

Presumably going to the one outside the door.

With this discovery, Zhu Yu continued searching along the stone wall, turning half a circle, finally finding a rough bamboo tube stuffed with rag cloth on the stone wall.

The doubts in her mind instantly unraveled.

As she analyzed before, the smoke goes upwards.

The person indeed hid below, the "alarm" system composed of wire and copper bell at the entrance provided immediate alerts upon someone’s intrusion, then used this bamboo tube to spread the seductive fragrance from underground into the wooden building to subdue intruders.

After everything became stable, the person could climb up from below to drag the captivated people out and discard them in the wild.

This revelation explained all previous events.

Then the only remaining curiosity was one question—where is this person hiding?

Facing the barely open area, appearing square, like a house built underground, except for the four walls, nothing else showed traces of habitation.

And right in the center, stood a giant rectangular stone, taller even than Fu Lu, incongruously placed there.