Chapter Thirty-One: The Black Stone

“Ah…”

A mournful sigh echoed through the dim cave, lingering in the air. Shen Wan sat on the ground, his thoughts drifting back to his parents, teachers, classmates on Earth, as well as Liu Lei and Er Gou, whom he’d beaten up.

Their faces flashed across his mind like scenes from a film, one after another. Yet aside from these familiar faces, his mind was a blank.

He ran his fingers along the cold stone wall beside him, then scooped up a handful of water clinging to it and splashed it harshly across his face.

Rising, he plunged into the nearest tunnel. As expected, it was a dead end. He hadn’t gone far before a thick stone wall barred his way. After double-checking, he had no choice but to turn back and search for another tunnel.

One, two, three… He tried dozens of passages in succession, but every single one was a dead end; the longest stretched only a few dozen meters.

Anxiety crept into his heart. He had been in the darkness so long that even his nerves had begun to dull. The cave was damp, and aside from the black robe draped over him, the clothes he’d worn through from Earth were soaked through.

They clung to him uncomfortably, as if freshly washed. But what bothered Shen Wan most was the Doraemon boxers he wore.

Beads of water trickled down his thighs, the shorts scrunched up, tightly wrapping his golden triangle. Doraemon held not a dorayaki, but a… fried dough stick…

“Damn, what a mess.”

Shen Wan grumbled impatiently, intending to just lie down and give up for a while.

But at that moment, he caught a faint “thump” in his ear.

“Hm?”

His body tensed reflexively, freezing in place, entering a state of stillness. The sound was soft, but he was sure he hadn’t misheard.

He couldn’t tell where it came from. Tilting his head slightly, he strained his ears.

The cave remained eerily silent.

In a particularly awkward posture, Shen Wan dared not move, but after a long while, he heard nothing besides his own breathing.

This made him frown unconsciously.

His neck was sore; he exhaled softly and relaxed his body.

“Did I imagine it?”

He tapped his ear uncertainly.

Perhaps he was hallucinating; his head felt fuzzy and sluggish. But after this bout of tension, his urge to give up faded.

He smacked his lips, the will to survive reigniting, and, giving himself a pep talk, prepared to continue exploring the remaining passages.

“Thump.”

Another faint sound reached him.

His just-stepped-out foot halted midair, and his gaze shifted toward a certain direction.

This time, he was sure he hadn’t misheard. Perhaps his mind was clearer; not only did he hear it distinctly, but he also pinpointed the direction.

The sound came from the deepest part of the cave.

What did the physics books say? Force is mutual—if there’s a sound ahead, there must be two forces colliding.

But in such a lifeless cave, what could cause those forces to meet?

It was wind!

Yes, definitely wind.

If there was wind ahead, that meant there was a way out!

Shen Wan felt his deduction was spot on, an epiphany flooding his heart.

“Just when all roads seem blocked, a new sound appears! Hahaha…”

The urge to survive surged from his heart to his brain, stirring him all over. Before his brain could issue commands, his feet had already sprung into action.

He didn’t care how dark the cave was. Right hand skimming the stone wall, he dashed forward.

If thirst could be quenched by hope, then that was exactly what he felt now.

The sound of his footsteps echoed endlessly in the cave, rippling the water clinging to the walls.

Right now, with only a single-minded determination, Shen Wan didn’t consider what he’d do if the sound belonged to some beast.

What then? Kill it and eat it!

Either way, death awaited, but with his temperament, he refused to die hungry.

Perhaps he’d explored too deep earlier; after running a short while, he reached the cave’s deepest point.

Here was noticeably brighter than outside, though still dim, yet Shen Wan could see at least ten meters around him.

The cave was large, the stone walls covered with a layer of water, nothing unusual.

He scanned carefully several times, his heart sinking; there was no exit as he'd hoped.

Not even a crack in the walls.

Now Shen Wan truly felt doomed.

“Damn it, Heaven won’t spare me—nowhere left to go!”

He squeezed out a despairing comment, abandoning any thought of returning to try more tunnels.

Though he’d never studied the Five Elements or Eight Trigrams, it was clear there was no “life gate” here.

He plopped down, a sense of grievance rising within him.

Beautiful Earth had cast him out, and even this world had no place for him.

Sniffling, his trembling lips seemed to await a tear to slide down.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Shen Wan noticed something before him.

He wiped away the impending tear and focused. Floating in the air not far away was a black stone.

It hovered as if embedded in the space, like an eye watching him.

Sitting on the ground, Shen Wan’s mind blanked out; his consciousness leapt, leaving him dazed for a while.

After regaining his senses, he squinted, studying the stone.

It was naturally black, blending seamlessly with its surroundings; easy to miss if not observed closely.

Curiosity gnawed at him, and after a long look, Shen Wan grew restless.

He stood cautiously, inching toward the stone, stopping about a meter away.

Up close, it was indeed a stone—odd-looking, but still a stone, nothing to fear.

He circled it twice; nothing happened.

He circled the other way; still nothing. It floated quietly, unmoving.

He measured it with his hands—slightly larger than his palm.

He waved above and below it; nothing supported it, like magnetic levitation on Earth, neither novel nor surprising.

“What is this thing?”

Shen Wan wondered, but didn’t dare touch it rashly.

He circled it once more, then suddenly blew hard at it and leaped back several meters.

With a whoosh, the stone trembled slightly, then settled.

After a while, nothing happened. Frowning, Shen Wan returned to the stone, less cautious now.

“Hmm…”

He pondered, then extended both hands and gently slapped the stone.

“Pa.”

The sound was crisp but not loud.

This time, the stone didn’t move, but instead gave a “thump.”

“Whoa!”

Shen Wan instinctively jumped back—so that was the source of the sound.

At last, the mystery was solved, and Shen Wan’s spirits lifted.

Seeing no danger from his earlier tests, he grew bolder.

He slapped it again, harder, and the sound was louder.

Instantly, the stone responded.

“Thump!”

The volume was unchanged, still crisp and pleasing.

“Pa pa pa pa…”

Shen Wan slapped it several times in succession, and the stone answered with a series of “thump thump” sounds.

“Hey, in all my years, this is the first time I’ve talked to a stone.”

His interest piqued, he straightened and continued slapping away.

He made up a tune, humming cheerfully in his mind, though it had no real melody.

And the stone kept pace with his rhythm, echoing each slap.

“Thump thump thump thump…”

The sounds mingled with the cave’s echoes, chaotic yet delightful to Shen Wan.

But as he swayed his head, the black stone suddenly emitted a soft “crack.”

The sound was small, but stood out amid the “thump thump” echoes.

Shen Wan paused, then saw a piece of black material fall from the stone, drifting in the air before landing on the ground.

Before he could see what it was, his peripheral vision caught a faint halo on the stone.

The glow emanated from where the piece had fallen.

“Whoa!”

Startled again, Shen Wan moved immediately to the glowing spot.

The light was dim, but in the pitch-black cave, it was dazzling.

It seemed the stone wasn’t truly black.

Perhaps the black layer was ancient dust covering its surface, shaken loose by its own vibrations.

Determined to reveal the stone’s true form, Shen Wan stopped slapping it.

Since only sound affected it, he decided to make the sound bigger.

He raised his voice and shouted at the stone.

His yell, amplified by echoes, made the stone’s response much louder, and its body began to shake violently.

“Crack crack crack…” Finally, the black surface fractured and fell away in large flakes.

One, two, three…

As the layers peeled off, the stone’s true appearance was finally revealed.

Gazing at its crystal-clear brilliance, Shen Wan’s eyes widened.

Damn, wasn’t this just a piece of dog’s urine moss?!