One More Elder

The waterfall thundered. Tan Bazhang led Liu Xiaolou into the Flying Dragon Waterfall on the left. The cave behind the waterfall was vast; after turning two corners, the sound of the water quickly faded. Before them lay a cave hall about half a mu in size, divided by natural stone stalagmites into several chambers. One of them was fairly square, with cabinets and shelves around it and an animal hide spread across the ground.

Liu Xiaolou looked around and said, "I came by almost every year over the past few years. You said you hid here for three years—how did you manage it? I never noticed a thing!"

Tan Bazhang smiled. "Come with me."

He led Liu Xiaolou farther inside until they reached a narrow crevice. It lay between two stone pillars protruding from the cave wall. Looking in, it was more than a zhang deep and could barely hide one person; once inside, it was exceedingly cramped.

"You weren't hiding in here, were you?" Liu Xiaolou was astonished. If Tan Bazhang had hidden here, Liu Xiaolou would absolutely have sensed him. He would not even have needed to sense him—one glance while passing by would have revealed him.

But Tan Bazhang squeezed in, then turned around—and vanished. Liu Xiaolou stared blankly for a moment before following him inside, only to discover a secret passage on the right side of the crevice. After walking along it for a while, he crawled out through another crevice and found himself at the Flying Horse Waterfall on the other side.

"You rascal..." Liu Xiaolou laughed as well. Wulong Mountain truly hid no shortage of secrets. Even at Dragon Horse Waterfall, so close by, there were places he knew nothing about. A secret passage connected the cave halls behind two waterfalls—no wonder he had