The Big Tree

Li Ming Hao prepared their meal while Chen Chen was tasked to take as many pictures as he could of the monolith. Su Xin Yu dozed off after taking the painkiller. Rocky sniffed the water of the river and determined that it was okay to drink.

After an hour, they had finished their meal and were ready to depart. Su Xin Yu chose to travel beside the river. It would be easier for them that way to trace their way back, if required.

She stood up and was about to take the step when Li Ming Hao hugged her from the side, providing support to the left leg which had almost sprained ankle. Su Xin Yu was very thankful to him. He was carrying a heavy bag on his back and then he was supporting her.

It seemed to her he had more stamina than she had previously thought. She looked at him gratefully and tried walking. She was quite comfortable but still kept taking his support just in case. He made sure she was not putting much weight on her left leg.

Then she glanced at the monolith behind sadly. She could not even touch it by herself. It was faraway and she had to take rest for they had to move on.

"It's okay, this is closer to the entrance, we can always come back," Li Ming Hao whispered in her ear to console her. She nodded and looked ahead, with her eyes shining thinking about what they were to discover.

They slowly walked along the river. The river actually was just a thin stream of water for now. It was flowing in the same direction where they were going. As they entered the darker portion of the cave, the rocks started becoming colder and the temperature inside the cave also dropped drastically. It was becoming hard to take support of rocks.

"Are you sure these are rocks? They are as cold as metal," Chen Chen trembled as he accidently touched another rock. He was leading the group, the way for not was pretty straightforward. The flashlight in his hand was also reflecting a straight way only. The chances of any traps being here were very low according to Su Xin Yu.

The stream of water, however, was becoming wider and wider, occupying much of the space to walk.

"Do you think it has become much deeper as well?" the magnetic voice of the guy echoed in the cave.

"Shhh… keep your voice lower, for we do not know what is there. Darn, why is this so dark?" Su Xin Yu cursed in her low voice. With just three flashlights, it was so hard to see.

"Chen Chen, take out the powerful one. We have not seen any animals for past one hour. The smaller ones would go away because of Rocky, so there should not be a problem," she instructed Chen Chen again. They had kept the intensity of the light low on purpose till now. But now they were really into the cave, with no light visible behind or in front of them.

Chen Chen took out the powerful flashlight from his bag and turned it on, blinding everyone for once. It could really light up the cave till far!

Su Xin Yu had begged that Dean Li for two days for this expensive one and she had only one with her. She always entrusted it with Chen Chen, so thankfully, that was not stolen. She made a mental note to buy one herself when she got out from here.

"Whoa! That is like having the flood lights in a stadium!" Li Ming Hao exclaimed.

"Right?" Su Xin Yu was very proud of her purchase.

"Hey guys, do you hear that sound?" Chen Chen stopped them and the trio listened carefully. A whistling sound was increasing in volume as they were advancing ahead.

"Wind! It is wind! That means there is an exit somewhere," Li Ming Hao became excited. They had been walking for about one hour? Two hours? But nothing interesting had come up besides a rat here and a bat there.

"Well, this is not the main cave to begin with. This is just the starting point. Remember I showed you the faraway mountain at the sunrise point? That is our real destination," she explained to Li Ming Hao, squashing all his hopes for finally starting their adventure.

"By the speed we are going, I don't think we will be able to explore that area this time. Might have to return home and then come back with a month's supply," Chen Chen, a little bit annoyed by the delay in their progress, had already formed the conclusion in his mind.

Suddenly, Rocky barked quietly and ran ahead.

"Ah! Rocky, don't run like this what are you…," Li Ming Hao looked ahead where Rocky had gone, increasing his pace.

Su Xin Yu had, for the most part, started walking on her own. The space to walk had become narrower and narrower, it was difficult for two people to walk side by side. Still, Li Ming Hao had never left her hand, even once. That was, perhaps, the warmest thing in the freezing cold temperatures here.

Now that he wanted to run towards his dog, Xin Yu was a bit… disappointed perhaps? She still let him go. Li Ming Hao looked back in gratitude and ran away after the dog.

"Oh my God guys, you should see this!" Li Ming Hao's voice came from some distance.

"Why? Did you find some gold?" Chen Chen mocked but a hope did spark in his heart. Perhaps they would not need to go all the way, maybe they would find the treasure just here and could leave?

He also hurried up, only to be met with disappointment. There was a huge network of wooden branches, tangled together. Some light was pouring in through the top, giving this place a spooky etherealness. It was like they had entered a place of meditation and just could obtain nirvana if they chose to spend some time here.

Chen Chen looked at the top. There seemed to be something hanging from the branches. Were they fruits? How could a tree, majorly underground bear fruits here?

"Be careful!" Su Xin Yu cried from behind.

Chen Chen had stepped ahead and splashed into a big pool of water.