Baozi is indeed Baozi, after all these years, he hasn't changed much, his voice is still so rough, and his story is what I'm most looking forward to, it's been many years since then, what exactly happened?

  It all started from their last trip into the mountains:

  "You don't know, there's a mechanism under that coffin. As soon as I lay down, the mechanism opened and I slid straight down, no idea where I ended up. At first, I was still calling out, but later on, I just gave up and tried to conserve my energy to find a way out and meet up with you guys. It's pitch black in here, no light or time, just darkness all around. When I woke up, I'd continue searching, when I got tired, I'd sleep. Days passed, and I even forgot how long I've been trapped here. Luckily, I'm a patient person, so I'd pass the time by counting stones. I don't know how many times I dreamed of being with you guys, and one time, I even dreamed that Little Yi was smoking." Fatso said with a bitter smile: "It felt just like real life, I saw you right in front of me."

  My heart skipped a beat, last time in Yangguan, Gansu that night, I also felt like I saw Fatso, isn't this too much of a coincidence? Is this what they call "heart connection"?

  "Alright, I don't even know how many times I've dreamed of you, each time it felt so real, but when I woke up it was all just an illusion." I comforted the fatty saying: "It's been many years now, and you're still alive which is already the greatest victory. Once we get out, I'll definitely take you to the best bathhouse, eat at the best banquet, and live in the best house! Ah, by the way, how did you survive in this crappy place? And after all these years, why are you still so fat?"

  "Is this how it's going to be? Day and night, without end."

  I also laughed and said: "I'm talking about what you eat, how can you still maintain such a good figure?"

  "Eat?" The fat-faced man opposite me changed color, and suddenly I felt the air around us solidify. Ye Qiu's nose twitched slightly, but I didn't notice this subtle change. However, the fat man seemed to have discovered something, and he reached out to touch his bulging belly: "Xiao Yi, how long has it been since I left you guys?"

  "It's been about two and a half years now."

  "Two and a half years..." Fatty said blankly: "It's been two and a half years, I don't think I've ever felt hungry before, and it seems like I've never eaten anything either."

  When the fatty said this, I didn't react at first. I turned my head to look around and suddenly caught sight of something white in the corner. I exclaimed: "Huh, what's that?"

  Fatso was about to look back, but unexpectedly Ye Qiu grabbed him and said, "Don't look!"

  It's often like this, the more you worry about something happening, the more it will happen... At first glance when I saw that thing, my intuition told me: Isn't that a dead body?!

  Ye Qiu stared at me with a dead gaze, his eyes telling me three words: Don't move!

  But Fatso wasn't having it, he was born with a strong curiosity, much stronger than mine. So he followed up on what I said: "Really? What's that thing over there, how come I don't know?"

  Suddenly, a chill rose up in my heart, and that uneasy emotion surged towards my eyes. Slowly, I felt as if there was a liquid swirling around in my eyes. I wanted to say to Ye Qiu: "Old Two, please tell me this isn't real, is it?"

  Some things, when you want to change them, they won't change; when the change has already happened, it's changed, and wanting to stop it is impossible.

  The fat boy got up, and I saw him slowly walking towards that pile of white things, one step, two steps, the fat boy's footsteps became slower and heavier...

  I can no longer bear to look at the distant scenery. Death may not be the most terrifying thing, but what's terrifying is being dead yet thinking you're still alive.

  The thoroughly rotten corpse, the small black spots are the marks left by flies. Looking at those yellowed teeth, can you still remember your smile from years ago? The ribcage like fish bones no longer has the swaying body of years past, and all that can be identified is your tattered and worn-out clothes.

  The fatty is dead, his physical body has rotted away, but his soul still guards his shell without knowing...

  This is the answer we found!

  I saw the fat man slowly start to kneel down, his body slowly curling into a ball, he began to sob, he started to tremble...

  There is a saying that if no one reminds the soul, it will not know that its physical body has died. Therefore, when someone passes away, their children have to cry and mourn to inform the soul. Just like many people do not want to admit their failure, the soul also does not want to admit its own death.

  Looking at that back, I remembered the first time we met: "My name is Shi Gangdang, Taishan Shi Gangdang, you can call me General Shi!"

  I never thought I'd be facing death at my age, especially with my friend.

  The fat boy left, his shadow slowly faded away, but my eyes began to blur. He had been lonely for a long time, it was time for him to leave.

  "Chubby!" My wailing cry was heart-wrenching, I knew he could no longer hear me. Perhaps we'll meet again in our dreams.

  I rarely hug, especially with men, I think that's a very girly behavior, and even more impossible is that I actually hugged Ye Qiu. I cried, I'm not some kind of strong person, I don't even have the courage to take a look at Chopper's corpse, I'm scared, I'm afraid I'll never forget for my whole life.

  "Help me." I choked out, unable to speak further: "Help me take him out."

  Where is this? Nobody knows? Why did the fat man die here? Even more nobody knows.

  I sat aside, Ye Qiu was collecting his things not far away, he spoke as usual with few words, perhaps he didn't have the same feelings for Fatso as I did, or perhaps he was born without emotions.

  "What about Wen Bin?" he asked me as he turned around.

  I shook my head, I really don't know where he is. Ah, Wenbin, where are you?

  There was a small mound of earth on the ground, which Ye Qiu had dug up with his dagger. He stood up and said to me: "The person has passed away, after all, you got to see him one last time. Those who should leave will always leave, now it's our turn."

  "Are you asleep?"

  "At the moment, it's about finding a way out. He doesn't belong outside, he and I both belong here." I didn't understand what Ye Qiu meant by this until much later, when I finally grasped why he and he were both not from the outside.

  "My mind is a blur at this moment, I don't have any thoughts left, all I can say is: 'I'll follow you.'"

  "I saw you guys." I wiped away tears and said: "In a big pot, I saw you and Fatso together, didn't expect..."

  "Oh" His response was filled with indifference, as if all of this had nothing to do with him.

  "Didn't you know he was gone long ago?"

  "Mm." His response remained the same, and with the tall and slender figure in front of me, I felt like a helpless child, my eyes still blurry, but he walked away resolutely.

  He finally stopped.

  "Why didn't you leave?" I asked.

  With his back to me, in my memory, this was the first time he comforted me: "People are bound to die, I've died once already, you're still alive, so you have to keep living."

  "Uh-huh!" I replied strongly to him.

  It seems that behind every door is the same endless road, endless circles, and after turning around in circles, Ye Qiu and I returned to the starting point. The only difference is that there is no such cauldron here.

  "It's back again." I said in a low voice.

  He didn't make a sound, quietly leaning against the stone wall, after a long time he said: "I don't have his skills."

  "You're already very great." I comforted him, "Without you, many times I might not be here either, this time is the same. At worst, just stay here and keep him company." What I said was about Fatso, now Fatso's pit is only a few steps away from me.

  Ye Qiu said faintly: "What I mean is that I couldn't find him."

  "Are you saying you're looking for Zhang Wenbin?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "I thought you were looking for the way out!" This guy, he's really getting on my nerves. "Zha Wenbin hasn't come in, this door, every time you walk through it, it's a different world! You're wasting your time looking for him here, you won't find him!"

  "I feel he's not far from me." Ye Qiu pointed to the direction where Pangzi was buried and said, "If you want to get out, just climb up, that's the exit."

  "How did you know?"

  "Everything except death is false." He pointed to his eyes and said to me, "Don't look with these!" Then he gently pointed to his chest and said, "Look with your heart." How similar are his words to those of Zhuangzi?

  He saw that I still seemed a bit dazed and walked towards me again, saying: "Want to see what kind of world this is?"

  I nodded, although I didn't know what he meant, but the smile on his face made me a little regretful.

  "Give me your hand." He said as he pulled up my palm and placed it in his, softly saying "Bear with it a bit, it's going to hurt."

  A cool sensation swept through the palm of my hand, a sticky feeling slowly spreading from the palm. He picked up my hand and said, "Apply it to your face, cover it completely."

  I did it as instructed, a strong bloody smell stimulating my pores, I really think this is a very perverted thing, who would smear their own blood on their own face.

  "Open your eyes slowly," he began guiding me. "Remember, don't scream, everything is just as it should be, because that's how it was meant to be."

  I did as I was told, and the moment I opened my eyes slightly, I was stunned. How could this be! No! It must be fake! This can't be! I actually appeared in Hongcun!

  ...