"I have no way of knowing for sure. That's exactly why I'm feeling so frustrated," I replied.
Just then, Fatty limped over and said with confidence, "Let's go this way. I've got a hunch we'll find our way out of here."
With that, he thrust a large bag of specially processed glutinous rice flour into my hands. "If anything goes down, I can handle myself, no problem," he boasted.
I sighed, not knowing what to say to this stubborn guy.
We crept forward cautiously in the darkness. Fatty was hobbling painfully, sweat pouring down his face as he gasped for breath. "This is killing me! It's way too tough," he groaned.
I turned to look at him, suppressing a laugh. "Come on, look at yourself," I said, helping him up.
As we moved on, I had a strong feeling that something was waiting for us ahead. My instincts were usually spot - on.
"Hey, bro, maybe this place is actually welcoming you," Fatty joked.
I knew what he meant. Ever since we arrived, it was clear that this place had some strange connection with me.
After crawling for about half an hour, we collapsed on the ground, exhausted. There was only one bottle of water left in our bag. I took it out and handed it to Fatty. "Here, have a drink," I said.
Fatty took it, sipped carefully, wiped his mouth, and reluctantly put it back. "Hey, do you still have that booze?" he asked.
I thought to myself, he's really got his priorities straight. Even in this situation, he's thinking about drinking! But then I figured the small bottle of liquor was probably useless anyway, so I handed it over.
Fatty took it, wiped his lips, and stuck out his tongue. His expression was quite strange, which piqued my curiosity.
"You don't look so good," I said worriedly.
"What's wrong?"
I was really concerned about him. "Could it be that something bad happened because of those vines?"
Fatty shook his head, looking like he didn't want to talk anymore. "Can you wish me some good luck? I'm tough as nails. It'll take more than that to take me down. No way I'm giving up!"
But I had a bad feeling. The next moment, Fatty's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground without warning.
I stared into his eyes, swallowing hard. "Wait," I said, pulling him to the side. "Can't you hold on for a bit?"
Just then, we heard knocking outside, and I thought I heard a familiar voice. It was Uncle's!
This was so strange. We had crawled out of the tunnel, but how could we be near the surface? We were surely dozens of meters underground. It was impossible for Uncle's voice to be here. I even suspected that I was hallucinating, just like Fatty might have been.
Fatty was mumbling in his semi - conscious state. I put my ear close to his mouth to hear what he was saying. "Hey, what's wrong with you?" I asked.
I helped him up, and he suddenly opened his eyes, staring at me with a strange look. "I just had a dream," he said.
I was startled, then let out a sigh of relief. "You really scared me. As long as you're okay," I said.
I helped him stand up, wiping the sweat from my forehead. But Fatty still looked terrified.
Was it really that bad? I joked, "You look so pathetic. Even an ordinary person would be better than you."
Fatty stood up unsteadily, forcing a smile. "It's not a hallucination. I heard Uncle's voice too."
I thought to myself, how cheeky. He's always acting like Uncle is his relative too. But joking aside, if Fatty heard it too, it was actually good news for us.
I carried Fatty on my back. He was so heavy that he almost crushed me, but we managed to stand up.
Fatty said with a bitter smile, "Go on without me. Uncle's coming. Let him and his men rescue me."
"What are you talking about? Do you really think Uncle will just rescue you like that?" I rolled my eyes at him, clearly thinking he was being naive.
I didn't say anything else, but our heavy breathing filled the air. If I was alone, I might have broken down, but thankfully, we were together. It was better to have a good brother by my side.
Fatty looked like he was on the verge of collapse. I worried that in the end, I might be the only one left alive. What would be the point of that? Our steps forward became more and more sluggish.
"Where are you, my nephew? Fatty, where did you take my nephew?" Uncle's angry voice was easily recognizable. For the first time, I found his voice so comforting.
I staggered towards the source of the sound, but then my vision went black, and I fell to the ground. The sound of my body hitting the ground was loud. The next moment, a bright light shone down, followed by a thud.
I tried to open my eyes and struggle, but my consciousness was fading fast.
"What's going on?" a serious voice asked, as if interrogating a criminal. I wasn't sure, but it was probably due to over - exhaustion, the shock I'd endured, and the fact that I hadn't had a proper meal in days. It was normal after all the traveling.
I heard a strange girl's voice in my ear. I wanted to speak, but someone stabbed my arm hard. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't.
I sighed and rubbed my arm. I tried to open my eyes, but something seemed to be weighing down on my mind, making it impossible to wake up.
The person behind me whispered, "If anything happens to my nephew, you'll pay the price."
I shivered and immediately realized that Uncle was really angry. But his concern warmed my heart.
After a while, when Uncle saw me wake up, he let out a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?" he asked, helping me up from the ground, his eyes full of worry.