Just as Lin Sanjiu ducked into the shadows, a small path opened up in the distant stone wall, and a figure stumbled out. The person was clutching what looked like a short, black stick—likely the flashlight that had just flashed for an instant before being immediately extinguished.
Heavy, ragged gasps, so loud they sounded like they might tear the person's chest apart, were clearly audible even from dozens of meters away.
The figure tentatively raised the flashlight but hesitated for a moment and decided against turning it on. He had only taken two steps forward when a hand shot out from behind and grabbed his collar.
"Don't go!" a woman's voice whispered urgently.
The shadowy figure said nothing, only panted.
"There's no one on this path," the woman said hastily. "That must have been some kind of trick!"
