The stairs went deeper than they had imagined.
Li Wei descended the stairs, staring ahead. The short, stout detective followed behind him, panting constantly. Clearly, he was nervous too, and with that build of his-well, if they had to run from a bear, he would definitely be the one at a disadvantage.
"I should have gone on a diet."
The stout detective muttered and wiped the sweat from his forehead again. By then, they had reached the bottom. It was pitch-black here too, so dark they couldn't see their hands in front of their faces-or that was what they would have said, if the faint light spilling from a passage nearby hadn't immediately caught their attention.
That wasn't surprising. The drag marks they had found earlier had already confirmed that this place wasn't unoccupied, so it seemed perfectly natural for someone to have lit lamps down here.
Both men tightened their grips on their weapons and moved forward.
As detectives, they were well versed in picking locks, sneaking into places, and other such shady business. Now, like burglars breaking into a house, they slipped silently into the passage. Torches were fastened to both sides, placed there at some unknown time, their flames burning listlessly.
"This doesn't look man-made."
The stout detective studied the walls on either side and spoke quietly. Li Wei nodded. Although torches had been set around them, the walls looked nothing like a constructed passage. Instead, they resembled a natural cavern.
This secret chamber was feeling stranger and stranger.
The exit was now just ahead, but Li Wei suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong?"
The stout detective looked at Li Wei and asked, but Li Wei shook his head.
"Be careful. Things up ahead could get tricky."
"Right."
The stout detective agreed with Li Wei's assessment.