In a village in Great Hua, sparse wisps of cooking smoke rose.
Several women washed clothes beside a ditch running through the village, carefully scrubbing the garments in their hands as they chatted about everyday family matters.
Their talk was of nothing more than their husbands or their children...
An unmarried woman kept covering her face as she blushed, drawing teasing laughter from the other women beside her, as though their conversation had touched on something that embarrassed her.
A group of men returned to the village from work, carrying what looked like game or farming tools.
One of the women washing clothes nudged the unmarried woman with her elbow and pursed her lips toward the men returning to the village.
The unmarried woman turned for a glance, then immediately lowered her head, blushing. The married women burst into laughter.
Among the returning men, a strapping young fellow spotted the unmarried woman washing clothes beside the ditch. His eyes lit up, and he was about to approach when a discreet glare from her drove him back.
The strapping young fellow immediately withdrew the foot he had just stepped forward with, scratched his head, and chuckled.
A burst of laughter rose through the quiet village.
The unmarried woman's face flushed, and she bent her head even lower.
This village was peaceful and happy...
Only an old man who looked like the clan chief gazed at the pitch-black passage that had appeared out of thin air in the village, his eyes filled with sorrow and worry.
Just then, a commotion came from outside the village. Dozens of cultivators came swarming in, their eyes lighting up at the sight of the passage.
"We finally found it!" An elderly cultivator gazed excitedly at the pitch-black passage in the village.
"Is this the legendary passage