I kept falling for a little while until I landed in another puddle with a splash. The impact almost shattered my bones, and I let out an ouch.
Just where had I fallen to?
Fortunately, the night pearl managed to follow me even through that strange hole in the ground—which must've been a spiritual seal of some sort, now that I thought about it—and I could slowly start to see my surroundings in its soft light. This chamber looked similar to the earlier parts of the cave that we went through, only with more carved columns and fewer puddles. Judging from the faint sound of the underground river beneath me, it seemed that I was now further above it than before, as if falling through that mysterious portal had somehow sent me higher, instead of lower, from the bottom of the cave.
I got back to my feet. "Bai Ye?" I called. My voice resounded loudly in the darkness beyond. No responses came back. Did the seal not let him through?