Taking the water skin, she dripped water little by little onto the clay figure's head. The dried mud dissolved far quicker than Li Bai had imagined. Before long, Hu Jingyi's head emerged.

But the Hu Jingyi before them now was vastly different from the fair-skinned art teacher they remembered. His eyes were gone, replaced by two bloody holes. His entire face was twisted into a horrifying grimace, the shriveled skin clinging tightly to the bone, as if drained dry.

Most chilling of all was his mouth, the corners torn, the gums exposed. Li Bai could imagine the Zhusheng Niangniang's (Child-Giving Goddess) fleshy tentacles forcing their way in.

The torn mouth continued to twitch incessantly, emitting a faint sound.

In his current state, Hu Jingyi couldn't see them, but he must have recognized their voices, using the last of his strength to call out their names.

"How are you?" Li Bai dripped water into Hu Jingyi's mouth, who was clearly severely dehydrated.

"Heh... heh..."

To Li Bai and Zhang Yuanchao's dismay, all Hu Jingyi could manage were their names and meaningless grunts from his throat, like a dying old man struggling for breath.

Zhang Yuanchao swallowed hard, nudging Li Bai with some reluctance. "Kid, there's no saving Teacher Hu. We can't... we can't take him with us like this."

Li Bai understood the logic. Save those who could be saved, but there was nothing to be done for those who couldn't. But she wondered if Hu Jingyi still had a sliver of consciousness, she might be able to glean some information, like who had brought him here and encased him in clay, and maybe even how to escape.

With that in mind, Li Bai fed Hu Jingyi more water. "Teacher Hu, can you hear us? It's Li Bai."

"Girl, this place is no good to stay. Don't let kindness harm you."

Seeing that Li Bai had no intention of leaving, Zhang Yuanchao grew anxious. After all, the Zhusheng Niangniang statue was still watching them like a hawk not far away.

"Li Bai..."

"Zhang... Zhang Shanke..."

Li Bai's expression changed instantly. Zhang Shanke was what Hu Jingyi and his group called Zhang Yuanchao. The name Shanke (Mountain Guest) described someone who guided people into the mountains, like a tour guide in modern terms.

While Hu Jingyi was still conscious, Li Bai quickly asked the most crucial question. "Hu Jingyi, do you know how to get out of here?"

"Heh... heh..." Hu Jingyi's shriveled face twisted even more grotesquely. His body, encased in dried mud, began to convulse uncontrollably as if in immense pain. "Below... heh... heh heh... stom... stomach..."

"Ah... aah!"

Hu Jingyi, who had been weak and listless, suddenly screamed wildly, the piercing shriek nearly shattering eardrums. Along with the scream, a horrifying scene unfolded. A frantic scratching came from inside Hu Jingyi's body. Then, the mud shell on his abdomen burst open, and a pitch-black infant's hand emerged, its sharp fingernails glinting coldly.

Zhang Yuanchao, squatting on the ground, didn't react in time and was nearly scratched by the flailing infant hand.

As the grotesque infant hatched, Hu Jingyi twitched a few times, his head lolled to the side, and he died.

Li Bai grabbed the paralyzed Zhang Yuanchao and pulled him to his feet. The two turned and ran deeper into the tunnel.

The scream from Hu Jingyi before his death triggered a chain reaction. A chorus of scratching sounds began to echo through the once-silent tunnel.

More and more grotesque infants were awakening. Li Bai didn't know what kind of monsters they were.

"Li Bai!"

"Zhang Shanke!"

...

Eerie calls echoed through the depths of the tunnel, seemingly coming from all directions.

The grotesque infant that had crawled out of Hu Jingyi's stomach was already chasing after them with incredible speed. Li Bai glanced back and saw the dark figure darting through the shadows along the tunnel's edge, stepping on the mud figures as it pursued them. Li Bai couldn't see it clearly, but its outline resembled a hairless monkey.

"Careful!"

Suddenly shoved, Li Bai staggered and almost fell. A gust of wind swept past her, blocked by the burly Zhang Yuanchao.

Li Bai quickly got up, her eyes fixed on a mud figure a few meters away. Perched on the figure's head was an infant, its body a livid, blackish-blue.

The infant's face was twisted in pain and ferocity, one claw raised, the flesh on it melting away, revealing small, pale white bones.

Zhang Yuanchao stared blankly for a few seconds, then looked down at the water skin at his waist. The water skin had just taken the blow for him.

But the water skin had been punctured and was now gushing water, marked with several claw marks.

"Quick, plug the water skin!"

Li Bai immediately realized these things were afraid of water. Water was like concentrated acid to these grotesque infants. The infant bones at the bottom of the well were a clue.

No wonder... no wonder the villagers kept telling them they couldn't leave Blackwater Village. These things were afraid of water, and the village was surrounded by the Blackwater River, with no bridges across it.

The wounded grotesque infant flew into a rage, screeching as it lunged at them again. This time, Li Bai prepared some water in her palm and splashed it at the infant.

"Wa! Screech screech... Waaah!"

The monkey-like grotesque infant was hit squarely in the face, writhing on the ground in agony, no longer able to attack.

Li Bai and Zhang Yuanchao turned and ran. Judging by the sounds, more grotesque infants were awakening and chasing after them.

They used water to repel several waves of grotesque infants during their escape. The grotesque infants were also learning, aware of the power of the water, constantly testing them, but few actually attacked.

Li Bai was running out of breath. "This... this won't work. They're using up our water."

They didn't have much water left. They only had three water skins in total. They had used one for Hu Jingyi, and Zhang Yuanchao's had leaked considerably. After what they'd used, they had at most only one left.

The path ahead was still endless, and Li Bai suspected that even if they got out, they would just end up back at the plaza.

What to do?

What to do?

Just as Li Bai was growing frantic, Zhang Yuanchao gradually stopped.

"Kid, don't run. It's no use."

Staring at Zhang Yuanchao's suddenly calm face, Li Bai stopped the words of urging at her lips. Zhang Yuanchao suddenly felt different, complex, heavy, and... unfathomable. She suddenly couldn't understand him.

"This road is the road of vengeful spirits. Those educated fortune tellers call it the 'Lost Path.' Places where many people have died have a lot of resentment, and these monsters easily come out."

Zhang Yuanchao sighed and said slowly, "It's not that those grotesque infants won't let us go, it's that these people... these people who died here won't let us go. They hold resentment in their hearts and want to keep us here too."