City of Isoville

"Click."

His thumb moved, flicking the metal switch on the side of the powerful flashlight to "on." A bright beam shot into the narrow passage, driving back the darkness and revealing a cramped path leading down.

Dust motes drifted through the beam, a hazy glow spreading outward from its bright edges.

Xia Lun held the flashlight in a reverse grip in his left hand and the Revolver in his right. Resting his right wrist on his left, he walked slowly into the cold, silent corridor.

With twenty points of Extraordinary Perception, Xia Lun had no need for a flashlight. But there might be Wild Men in the corridor, and they did not know he could see in the dark. He switched it on, hoping to bait them into extinguishing the light first.

"Thud, thud. Thud."

His boots struck the slick stone, each footstep drawn out by the dead silence. Yellow light scattered across the dark gray walls, where jagged shadows writhed like ravenous Wraiths.

The farther he went, the steeper the ground became. At first it sloped only slightly downward, but after about an hour, the incline was nearly thirty degrees. Even Xia Lun had to slow down to keep his balance.

Judging by how far I've descended, I should be below ground level by now. Following the traces Monkey had left on the ground, Xia Lun thought, I never imagined this island had such a vast underground space. I still know far too little about it.

The deeper he went, the colder it grew. Xia Lun almost felt as though the chill in that dead, dark passage could freeze the dampness out of the air and leave behind a dry, icy powder.

Abruptly, Xia Lun stopped. A massive, ancient stone door stood at the end of the beam, and