Song Qingshu felt a chill rise down his back as well. He had clearly been going downstairs the entire time, so why had he somehow ended up above them?
His first reaction was to look at Elder Usun, thinking he had created some illusion. But he quickly dismissed the possibility. Although Usun's mental power was vast, he still lacked the strength to deal with him. Besides, Huo Qingtong and the others had just run in the opposite direction, only to end up here. That could not have been Usun's doing, could it?
It seemed this staircase was a closed loop. No wonder they could never reach the end.
After he voiced his guess, everyone's first reaction was disbelief. Even Huo Qingtong forgot that she was a captive, blinking in confusion. It was truly difficult to imagine a staircase like this existing in the world.
Usun did not believe it either. His relationship with the Water Moon Great Sect Master could hardly be called good, and he feared the man was deliberately deceiving him. He thus took a Mongol soldier and headed back the way they had come.
Song Qingshu and Öchen remained where they were. He looked at the captive Huo Qingtong, then at the utterly unguarded Öchen. If he made a move to save her now, no one would be able to stop him.
Yet he dismissed the thought. Huo Qingtong would not be in danger for the time being. He could simply wait for the right opportunity later. With his martial arts, even if Usun were here, he could not stop him.
Instead, he was more worried about Aman. He had no idea how she was doing.
Meanwhile, Walalaqi led Aman out of that eerie staircase through the secret passage. Aman struggled constantly along the way, pounding on