The unknown is the greatest fear.
Xianan Ye and Jin Zhou stood before the dark void leading into the dungeon, their legs trembling uncontrollably.
"Scared?" the leader of the Golden guards asked with a faint, almost amused smile.
Xianan said nothing. Her palms were damp with sweat as she tightened her grip on Jin Zhou's hand. Without giving herself time to hesitate, she shut her eyes—and leapt.
A violent wind howled around them as they fell, sharp and relentless, forcing their eyes shut. Time seemed to stretch endlessly in the darkness. Then, without warning, they hit the ground hard.
When Xianan opened her eyes, she found herself inside a vast spherical cavern. Above them rose a domed ceiling covered in glowing evening primroses, their pale light illuminating the space with an eerie softness. The cavern was enormous—like a bottomless abyss—and they lay at its very base, as insignificant as ants.
Behind them, a sound stirred.
Xianan turned and saw a group of people kneeling together, their hands clasped tightly as if in prayer. Their clothes were ragged, their faces smeared with dirt, and dried blood stained their bodies. There were over a hundred of them.
At the noise, they all turned, their eyes filled with fear as they stared at the newcomers.
"Excuse me…" Xianan asked, steadying her voice. "Is this the dungeon?"
A young man among them nodded. "Yes."
"What's in here?" Jin asked. "Is it really impossible to get out?"
The young man let out a dry, humorless laugh. He lifted his sleeve and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth before pointing into the distance. "Look."
Xianan and Jin Zhou followed his gesture—and instantly froze.
Corpses lay everywhere.
Not just in one place, but scattered across the cavern in several grotesque piles. Some bodies were torn apart, some beheaded, others slashed open with wounds still bleeding. The metallic smell of blood hung thick in the air.
Farther away, heaps of white bones rose like small hills, silent and terrifying.
"Xian… Xianan…" Jin Zhou's voice shook as he clutched her hand tighter.
Xianan forced herself to remain calm. "What happened to them?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
Before the young man could answer, a deafening crash echoed through the cavern. It was followed by a strange, distorted melody—something almost musical, yet deeply unsettling.
The crowd recoiled instantly, panic spreading across their faces.
Xianan turned—and saw a section of the cavern wall slowly rising. Something was being released.
The creature stepped into the dungeon.
It resembled a hound from the Wood Realm, but its size was monstrous, towering as tall as five grown men. Its body was covered in iron-like plates, leaving only its eyes, nostrils, mouth, and tail exposed. Every movement it made carried a terrifying weight.
For a brief moment, everything seemed to stop.
Then—
It charged.
"Run!" Jin shouted.
Chaos erupted. Screams rang out as the crowd scattered in all directions, pushing and stumbling over one another in desperation. But it was already too late for some.
A man was caught.
The creature's claw slammed him to the ground with brutal force. It lowered its head, its jaws opening wide to reveal rows of sharp, metallic teeth.
In the next instant, it bit down. Blood sprayed into the air as the man was torn in half.
More screams followed.
One after another, people were dragged down, their cries overlapping into a chorus of terror. Bodies fell, blood spread, and the cavern became a scene of pure slaughter.
Xianan's heart pounded violently as she ran with Jin, pushing forward without stopping. Her lungs burned, her legs trembled, but she didn't dare slow down.
They had to get away.
At last, her strength began to fail. She staggered to a stop, gasping for air.
In the distance, the creature let out several low roars. The sound was eerily similar to barking.
Xianan froze.
A thought flashed through her mind. Hounds rely on scent, not sight. If this creature is related to Wood Realm hounds… there might be a way.
Her gaze dropped to the ground.
Without hesitation, she grabbed several stones and hurled them into the distance. The sound echoed sharply as they struck the ground.
The creature reacted immediately, rushing toward the noise. It lowered its head, sniffed briefly, then turned away.
Xianan's eyes lit up.
"Everyone!" she shouted. "Smear the blood on your bodies! Hide among the corpses! Don't move!"
She pulled Jin down behind a pile of bodies and quickly spread blood across her clothes and skin. The smell hit her instantly—rot, iron, decay—but she forced herself to endure it.
They lay still.
Not moving.
Not breathing.
The creature passed nearby, its heavy footsteps echoing as it searched for prey.
But it did not stop.
It worked!
Hope flickered among the survivors. Some began to follow her lead, crawling toward the corpses and hiding themselves among the dead.
A sudden force struck Xianan from behind. Xianan stumbled forward and fell to the ground. The sound echoed sharply in the cavern.
Too loud.
Xianan turned—and saw a plump middle-aged man crouched behind the corpse pile she had been hiding in. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he panted, his eyes avoiding hers completely.
He had taken her place.
"Xianan—!" Jin Zhou cried out, then quickly covered his mouth.
But it was too late. The creature turned. It had heard. It began moving toward her.
"Don't come!" Xianan shouted hoarsely. "Jin, don't come!"
Her heart pounded wildly as she forced herself to lie still. Sweat streamed down her face, stinging her eyes, but she didn't dare move.
The creature drew closer.
Step by step.
Xianan shut her eyes tightly and forced herself to remain calm. Her fingers dug into the dirt, clutching a handful of sand.
If it came any closer, she would throw it. It was her only chance.
The creature stopped beside her.
She could feel its breath—hot, foul, suffocating—as it lowered its head to sniff.
Her heart roared in her ears.
Just as she was about to move—
A loud crash echoed from afar.
The creature lifted its head instantly and turned, rushing toward the new sound.
Xianan gasped as air rushed back into her lungs. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably.
She was alive.
Jin Zhou rushed over and helped her up. Together, they staggered toward another pile of corpses and hid again.
Time passed slowly.
Then, once more, the eerie music sounded.
The wall lifted.
The creature left.
"Xianan… are you alright?" Jin asked anxiously.
"I'm fine," she said softly, though her lips were pale and her face was smeared with blood and dust.
Rage surged through Jin. "I'll kill that bastard!"
He rushed toward the man who had pushed her, grabbed his collar, and struck him hard across the face.
"Why did you push her?!"
The man burst into tears, trembling as he clasped his hands together. "I—I panicked… I had no choice… I was too scared…"
"No choice?" Jin Zhou raised his fist again—
"Stop, Jin," Xianan said quietly.
Jin froze.
The man seized the chance and fled.
At that moment, another man approached. He looked weathered, his face lined with hardship, though his body remained strong.
"Are you alright, girl?" he asked.
"I twisted my ankle… Was it you who made that noise just now?" Xianan said.
The man scratched his head and smiled. "Just a small trick. Let me take a look."
He examined her ankle briefly, then gave it a quick, practiced pull.
The pain vanished instantly.
After speaking with the man, Xianan and Jin learned his name was Wei. Though he appeared older, he was only forty and came from Dragon Village in the Soil Realm. He had been traveling through the Wood Realm when he suddenly collapsed. When he woke up, he was already in the dungeon. He wasn't even sure what had happened—perhaps the Golden guards had mistaken him for a criminal and brought him here.
Xianan and Jin began calling him Uncle Wei.
"What was that monster?" Jin Zhou asked.
"I don't know," Uncle Wei said, his face pale. "It attacked once before you arrived."
"What should we do, then?"
Uncle Wei shook his head.
A clear female voice suddenly cut in.
"You figured out how to survive pretty quickly."
A tall, thin girl stepped forward, her sharp eyes glinting with intelligence.
"I'm Hanxiang Wang," she said. "Just call me Han."
After brief introductions, Han continued calmly, "The creature appears every five hours."
Uncle Wei frowned. "There's no way to tell time here. How do you know?"
"I count," she replied. "My heartbeat. My breathing."
Xianan felt a flicker of admiration. Then her expression turned serious.
"That creature resembles a hound from the Wood Realm," she said. "If it's truly related to Wood Realm hounds, hiding like this won't work forever. It will eventually pick up our scent."
Silence fell.
"What if we fight it?" Han suggested. "We could dig a pit and blind it."
"Too risky," Jin said immediately. "We don't have the strength and enough people to do that."
Xianan thought for a moment. Then she spoke. "We dig—but not a trap. Instead, it can be a hiding pit."
Han agreed. "That might work."
"Let's start digging," Jin said.
"Wait," Xianan said, looking toward the remaining survivors. "We should tell them."
Han frowned. "Why? One of them nearly got you killed."
Xianan didn't hesitate. "People will die."
She turned and pulled Jin with her, walking toward the crowd.
"Listen to me!" she called out. "If you want to live—start digging."
What they didn't expect was that an old woman would step forward to stop them.
And that before long, she would nearly get Xianan killed.