Chapter 126: Getting on the Bridge

Seeing the three of us standing there like statues, Han Jian quickly circled around from behind. I felt that regardless of whether the plan was feasible, we had to inform Han Jian. We needed proper communication to adjust our strategy. Lu A’yao clearly shared my thoughts, so as soon as Han Jian arrived, he candidly explained everything we had come up with so far.

This platform was quite large. While they were talking, I moved a few steps to the side, finding the best angle to shine my flashlight. Looking at the rocks, I began to think. The stone here was so brittle that a large chunk could be hacked off with just a knife. Even long-term water erosion shouldn’t have reached this extent.

He Yu stood beside me and suddenly drew his blade, hacking into the nearest rock wall. He sliced off half a piece of stone, weighed it in his hand for a moment, and then tossed it to me: “Here, take a look. Study it.”

It seemed he and I were thinking along the same lines.

The two of us sat directly on the ground, circling the rock to observe it. The previous situation had been too tense for us to spare any thought for the stones, but now that the flashlight beam hit the rock, I immediately saw the secret within.

On the cross-section of these rock walls, countless tiny holes remained. These holes were extremely small and packed so closely together that they made one’s skin crawl. Such dense clusters of holes made me think of one possibility: insect eggs.

He Yu listened to my explanation and let out an “oh” of realization: “You mean, these are all hatching grounds for those Stone Horseshoe Crab Insects? You… you… you mean almost all the rocks here have been infested by insects? Then this place has become one giant insect nest!”

Han Jian had been talking with Lu A’yao, but hearing He Yu’s shout, he leaned over to look at the stone in our hands. I was basically certain of my theory, so I told Han Jian and Lu A’yao directly.

Lu A’yao didn’t show much of a reaction after hearing it, only saying: “Then this place is even more dangerous than we thought.”

Just as he finished speaking, I could feel the rock wall vibrating slightly from the rushing river water. At the same time, the ground began to tremble. The structure here had been so eroded by the insects that it was becoming increasingly unstable. It was likely to collapse before long.

I looked up: “Regardless of whether it collapses or not, we have to climb up to that Buddhist Pagoda first.”

Everyone clearly agreed with this. Han Jian called his men over, and several people began connecting the spare ropes as quickly as possible. He Yu told me to drop the stone in my hand and then pulled me along to stand behind Lu A’yao.

“It’s safer here,” He Yu said with a chuckle.

I estimated the distance from the platform to the Buddhist Pagoda. It was a bit far, exceeding the capabilities of a normal person. Therefore, Han Jian and the others planned to lower ropes from the platform. Without disturbing the dormant Stone Horseshoe Crab Insects, we would quietly cross the stone bridge connecting to the shore and then enter the pagoda.

Chen Canghai finished connecting a section of rope and came to my side. He pointed at my leg and asked: “We’ll be rappelling down in a moment. Is your leg any better? Do you need to readjust the splint?”

If he hadn’t mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten I was injured. Lately, running for my life had become a daily routine, and when I started running, I completely ignored the pain in my leg.

So, I shook my leg to show him and patted his shoulder: “Thanks for the concern, I’m fine. The injury is mostly healed. But you should still put me at the back later. I’m slow, and I don’t want to hold you guys back.”

“What are you talking about?” He Yu slapped a hand onto my head and ruffled my hair. “What do you mean ‘hold us back’? I don’t like hearing that. We came here together, so we leave together. Fine, your hand is still injured too. Let the wounded go first later. I’ll talk to Han Jian and make sure I’m right in front of you.”

Lu A’yao turned back to look at us, seemingly wanting to say something.

Chen Canghai drew the Mauser C96 from his waist and made a gesture to me, meaning: “Then I’ll cover the rear for you.”

Han Jian finished connecting the ropes and walked over with a smile, resting his hand on Lu A’yao’s shoulder: “Not bad. It seems you’ve all been getting along quite well lately. I know you’re close, but you have to leave at least one person for me to lead the charge. Don’t all shrink to the back.”

“I’ll go first to scout the way down.” Lu A’yao shrugged his shoulder to brush off Han Jian’s hand. Without looking back, he walked to the front of the group to help the men lower the ropes.

He Yu crossed his arms and leaned against me, whispering: “Well, Little Yao, we won’t be able to take a stroll like we did before. Our general is gone.”

He said it so seriously that I almost burst out laughing.

We had no spare rope left this time. The drop from the platform to the ground was about ten meters, but if handled poorly, it was enough to kill someone. To reduce weight, we took only the essential gear and discarded everything useless.

Once the rope was lowered, Lu A’yao took the lead, descending against the rock wall. His form was excellent and not stiff at all, making him very agile in the air. He landed quickly and quietly. Once on the ground, he tugged the rope to signal for the next person to descend.

Han Jian and two or three of his men went down one by one. Before He Yu went down, he pressed a cloth bag into my arms. It felt hard and lumpy, like stones. He insisted it was an amulet he’d requested from a Bodhisattva and made me carry it. I couldn’t win the argument, so I just put it in my pocket.

After He Yu went down, it was my turn. My descent had improved significantly compared to before, and it was quite smooth. However, because of the cut on my palm, I had to switch hands mid-air, so my speed was still a notch slower than the others.

He Yu was waiting for me below. After unhooking my safety buckle, he gestured for me to look at the dormant Stone Horseshoe Crab Insects crawling all over the rocks. I took one glance and immediately made a shushing gesture at him.

Ahead of us was the stone bridge Han Jian had mentioned. The bridge was directly in front of us, spanning across the entire pool of stagnant water filled with floating corpses. I shone my flashlight across and could see that Lu A’yao and the others had already crossed the bridge and reached the area directly beneath the Buddhist Pagoda.

Chen Canghai landed, and He Yu and I rushed over to help him with his safety buckle. Then, as the last group to cross, the three of us began moving toward the center of the stone bridge. One thing must be noted: the sound of running was far too loud. Fearing we would wake the Stone Horseshoe Crab Insects floating in the water, the three of us could only inch slowly across the bridge.

After walking about ten meters, my eyes felt as if they had been pricked by something. Almost simultaneously, He Yu, who was in front of me, instinctively froze in his tracks.

Before I could figure out what was happening, some idiot suddenly fired a signal flare toward the top of the Buddhist Pagoda. The flare shot into the air with a flash of red light and a piercing screech. Immediately after, I felt every corner of the cave begin to vibrate slightly.

The Stone Horseshoe Crab Insects were awakened by the sound of the flare, and the entire stagnant pool seemed to come to life!

“Damn it! Who was that!” He Yu cursed.

We didn’t even have time to wonder who had fired the flare. He Yu roared, “To hell with it, run!!”

I instinctively started sprinting forward after him as fast as my legs could carry me.

For the first time, I realized just how long this bridge was. We had only reached the middle when several deafening gunshots exploded from diagonally above. One of the bullets grazed the tip of He Yu’s foot.

“Son of a…!” He Yu cursed and quickly ducked.

I looked up and cursed inwardly. Those bastards! How were these people like unkillable cockroaches? Even that many ants hadn’t managed to kill them!

That bastard Qiao Sangui was standing on a platform on the side of the cliff, with Tian Xiaoqi behind him. They were pretty beat up and didn’t have many men left, but they had plenty of guns and ammunition. Now, they were all leveling their weapons, preparing to spray us with bullets!

Our situation was absolutely dire. We were halfway across the bridge with no cover, completely exposed to their fire.

Chen Canghai gave me a shove forward and decisively drew his Mauser C96. “I’ll cover you! They’re after you! Run!”

I didn’t have time to hesitate. At a moment like this, being overly polite would be my own fault. I followed He Yu, running like a mad dog while dodging bullets, wondering what kind of deep-seated hatred they had. Was it really worth it? How could that bastard hold such a grudge!

Han Jian’s group also stopped, and the two sides began an immediate firefight. Suddenly, my ears were filled with nothing but the sound of bullets whistling through the air and the splashing of Stone Horseshoe Crab Insects churning out of the water.

The three of us still on the bridge felt particularly helpless.

“Little Yao, run! Don’t stop! Just a little further, we’ll be fine once we reach the pagoda!”

He Yu was so focused on talking to me that he didn’t notice a flash of fire in my peripheral vision. A bullet was heading straight for him. In such an emergency, he wouldn’t be able to dodge it on his own.

“He Yu!” I shouted. In a moment of heat, I lunged forward and shoved him hard from behind with my shoulder. He stumbled forward from the force, narrowly avoiding the bullet’s path and falling flat on the ground.

A sharp pain flared through me as my arm scraped against the stone bridge, the surface tearing a layer of skin right off. I went head over heels and tumbled into the water.