The Jigsaw Puzzle

"What happened?" Li Ming Hao asked smiling.

Su Xin Yu could feel that the atmosphere currently was weird. Chen Chen was sitting on the ground, kneeling? What did this guy do to him?

One thing about Chen Chen was that he was never an obedient person. He always did whatever he felt like. Except Dean Li, no one could tame his free soul. But him behaving like this right now was a surprise. Su Xin Yu gave two thumbs up to Li Ming Hao in her heart but eyed him suspiciously.

"There is a chamber right after this statue and a huge jigsaw puzzle. I need help in taking the tiles down," she replied. She had become a lot more warmer than when she had met Li Ming Hao. The guy was really enjoying this change. He knew this strategy would work since the beginning.

The best way to get a girl's heart was to just be present around her. And this journey provided him twenty four hour access to this girl. He flashed a brilliant grin once again, feeling proud of himself. "Sure, we are coming."

He glared at Chen Chen with his cold gaze once again before leaving to the room. Chen Chen trembled and followed the two to the chamber.

The first thing they noticed there was the ceiling. Su Xin Yu was so busy checking for the traps and exit mechanisms that she did not pay attention to the ceiling. She also looked up.

The ceiling was another intricate design with layers of rocks and a green translucent substance through which the natural light was pouring in.

"Is… Is that Jade?" Chen Chen's eyes gleamed with greed once again. He has forgotten the hell he and gone through just now.

"We must be on the surface for that much light to come in. Did we enter second day already?" Li Ming Hao surmised.

"These layers of rocks and Jade are intertwining with each other in two spirals. Damn! I wonder how they made it. I am seeing this theme again and again. I wonder what the significance is," Su Xin Yu kept her hand on her waist. This was getting more complicated. If they had to see till now, they had constantly been encountering spirals and sea serpents. The goddess was something new in all this and she was yet to see where it would recur.

"Anyway, let's do what you were asking us. We could spend the whole day admiring that craftsmanship. Does make one think why they even did this much hard work. All I see around is those paintings," Li Ming Hao stepped forward and checked the walls. He directly went to the section where Su Xin Yu had removed the tile from.

"Is this it? How many do you want removed?" he asked.

"Anything you find lose. Although, I do not think that those upper tiles are movable. If they are, then we are screwed. We do not have any ladder or anything," she replied. Just to open that door, why would her ancestors make her do all this? Was there something she was missing?" She went into deep thought but Li Ming Hao had started working already.

He had built his body after much hard work. Now it was surely coming in handy. He knocked on each tile and took out what he could easily remove. Su Xin Yu started on the other side of the room. No one cared about Chen Chen, but he also, out of fear of Li Ming Hao, stood up by himself and copied them both.

In about two hours, they had finished removing the tiles.

"What about the top?" Su Xin Yu patted her back. This was really exhausting but they were just a step away from outer world. She really needed some sunlight. Just in two days, her bones felt old, she wasn't even twenty yet!

Wait, was there a time-space issue here too? That could not be, she had only read this in movies and dramas. Damn! What if they go back only to find that years had passed? That Dean would kill her for kidnapping his son.

"I do have one idea," Li Ming Hao pondered over it and then looked at Chen Chen, who took a step back immediately. Su Xin Yu glanced at her cousin, what did they talk about when she was not there, that this guy is flinching at every action of Li Ming Hao?

Half an hour later, Li Ming Hao was standing on Chen Chen's shoulders who would hand over more loose tiles from the top layers. The walls had five rows of those square tiles. Three they could remove individually but top two were too high up for even six feet tall Li Ming Hao to reach. Ultimately, it was decided that they would check it this way.

And they did find a few loose tiles. This chamber, which looked circular at first glance was actually octagonal. Each wall had twenty five square tiles, out of which sixteen were loose here and there, without any pattern. At least they had some fixed design to work with.

After some more hard labor, all the sixteen tiles for each of the eight walls were taken out. Now was the time to rearrange them and complete the puzzle.

"Let's us start assuming that the wall paintings are independent and then try," Su Xin Yu suggested.

"I hope so, otherwise this is will take days. I would rather blast those doors out," Li Ming Hao looked at the 128 tiles on the floor and frowned. To find a perfect space for each tile was going to be so so difficult. Were they even ready for this?

"Let's just think of this as a fun game I guess? We do have these random tiles remaining, so they should be enough to provide the hint." At least, there were only 16 pieces on each wall. Imagine if they were small rocks rather than tiles. She shuddered at the thought itself and started working on solving the puzzle.

When she completed the first wall after three more hours, the door produced a violent sound, indicating something had moved.

"I think it's working!" she exclaimed happily. They would get to go outside finally!

"We need to increase our speed too!" Li Ming Hao had almost completed his wall as well. Chen Chen was struggling but he did contribute immensely and with joint effort, the three people and Rocky had finished almost all the walls.

Putting last tile into the final slot, everyone looked towards the door in anticipation. What would that bring?

The heavy door opened with a thud. There was no dust generated, nothing. The three people inside simultaneously flashed their light towards the gate.

A figure was standing there, with white colored robes from head to toe. His face was handsome, he did not seem like a being from this world.

"An immortal?" Su Xin Yu exclaimed loudly!