With a coquettish pout, Baobao reached out and lightly punched his shoulder, her beautiful eyes sparkling in the darkness. A little farther on, they reached the end. Looking up, they found that the shaft rose straight overhead. Hu Xiaotian began to think of retreating. "That's awfully high. I'm afraid we won't be able to climb it."
"How can you give up halfway?" Baobao said. "If you won't climb, I will!"
Hu Xiaotian shone the lantern over the walls and found hollows spaced along the shaft, clearly intended as handholds and footholds. Once again, Baobao eagerly took the lead and began climbing. After going a short distance, she reached down and motioned for Hu Xiaotian to pass her the lantern. With no other choice, he followed her up. They took turns holding the lantern as they climbed. Halfway up, the candle was nearly spent, so Hu Xiaotian replaced it. He thought to himself, Things really aren't like they used to be. A powerful flashlight would solve all these problems.
After climbing roughly seventy feet, they found a small opening on the right. Baobao peered through it, but everything beyond was pitch-black. She took the lantern from Hu Xiaotian and was about to bring it closer when a cough suddenly sounded inside. She hurriedly blew out the lantern.
A series of coughs followed from inside, only subsiding after quite some time. Then someone said, "Eunuch Li, this is the fifth volume of the Great Kang Annals, which Lord Qiu has just completed. Please put it away."
Hu Xiaotian could not hear clearly, so he climbed a little higher until his shoulder pressed against Baobao's thigh.
Baobao glared at him in the darkness, tempted to kick the wretch straight down the shaft. Afraid of exposing their presence, however, she could only swallow her