“Hah! Just so you know, there didn’t even use to be a road on this mountain! This footpath here is the product of us mapping out the mountain for years! This path is considerably easy, you know? Some of the more difficult terrains require us to climb!” scowled Stanton—who was taking the lead—in a joking tone.
While the trio appreciated the old man’s light-heartedness, it didn’t change the fact that all this hiking was a challenge for them. Even so, they were well aware that this was the only way they were going to be able to locate that cave… As they said, ‘No pain, no gain…’
Regardless, after about an hour of trekking, the group finally arrived at an area with relatively flat land. Judging from how high up the mountain they were, they were possibly halfway up the mountain as well. With that in mind, looking down at the deep valley—that was now hundreds of feet below them—would make anyone feel giddy…
Just as all three of them were trying hard not to think about how high they were, they quickly snapped out of it when Stanton called out, “Gentlemen! That’s the cave right there!”
Turning to look at where Stanton was pointing, the three men could immediately see the two stone pillars standing before the blocked cave entrance… It was exactly like how Stanton had described the night before…
Seeing that this was their stop, Gerald then nodded before saying, “So it would seem! Thank you for guiding us up till this point, chief! We’ll be heading there on our own now!”
“Got it! Speaking of which, do be careful in there… Once you’ve located whatever it is you’re looking for, do return to the village!” replied Stanton in a kind voice.
“Loud and clear! We appreciate all the hospitality, chief!” declared Gerald and his party in unison before bidding goodbye and heading toward the cave…
Stanton—and the other villagers—themselves continued on their own journey further up the mountain…
Regardless, upon standing before the mouth of the sealed-up cave, Rey couldn’t help but say, “That’s one massive stone wall blocking the entrance… Still… Do you think there’s some kind of mechanism to get it to open, Mr. Crawford…?”
“I do, and I’m pretty sure it’s around here somewhere,” replied Gerald.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry and find it!” declared Yann in an enthusiastic tone.
All nodding in agreement, the three then began searching the area… and soon enough, they found the mechanism they were looking for…
“…Say… doesn’t the mechanism resemble The Eight Diagrams…? The one from Feng Shui…? Have you heard about it, Mr. Crawford…?” asked Rey as favonovel.com looked at Gerald.
Nodding slightly in response, Gerald then replied, “I have. While I’m not particularly knowledgeable in the art of Feng Shui, I do know that The Eight Diagrams are also known as the eight doors, and each door bears different meanings!”
From the looks of it, the only way they were going to get the cave to open was by solving this Feng Shui-based puzzle…
“I see… but… if even you don’t know much about Feng Shui, then doesn’t that mean that we’ve hit a dead-end…?” muttered Yann in a slightly defeated tone.
“It’s still too early to give up! While it’s true that I don’t know much about Feng Shui, I believe that whoever made this contraption wouldn’t have made entry into the cave all that difficult. After all, the hard part is usually getting out of such areas. With that in mind, I’m sure we can at least make it inside if we just use our heads!” replied Gerald as favonovel.com looked at the two.
