Chapter 57: First Brush with Death

The ringing in my ears vanished a split second before the cloud of scales descended. All I could hear was the roar of water, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Li Wanchou, his bloodied eyes shut tight, breaking the surface of the lake.

He must have taken me for his last hope of survival. He grabbed onto me in desperation, probably thinking I could pull him up to the stone path. What he didn’t expect was how terrible my balance was.

His sudden yank caught me completely off guard. I was already barely above the water, just a palm’s width from falling in. With that pull, I lost my footing and crashed right into him. Poor Li Wanchou had just managed to surface, only to be kicked back underwater by me. I choked on a mouthful of lake water, and the shock jolted my mind halfway back to clarity.

But even after coming to my senses, I didn’t immediately swim up. I stayed submerged, holding my breath until the swarm of butterflies passed overhead. Then I turned back, searching for Li Wanchou, who I’d just knocked back down.

What I saw underwater chilled me to the bone.

That stone statue head, which had been sticking out of the water earlier, had somehow slipped beneath the surface without a sound. Li Wanchou, unaware of the danger, was being dragged down by it. He was struggling with all his might, so I swam over to help.

The moment I reached him, he grabbed my hand. At the same time, I felt a tremendous force pulling both of us deeper into the lake.

This time, I saw it clearly—the statue’s hand was curled tightly around Li Wanchou’s calf.

I held my breath and pulled on him with everything I had, trying to drag him back up. But it was no use. The statue was far stronger, and it was dragging both of us down fast. We’d already been underwater for nearly five minutes. Li Wanchou’s face had gone deathly pale.

I was running out of air too. I decided to surface for a breath and then come back down. But just as I was about to let go, Li Wanchou clung to me with a death grip. I turned to look at him—and saw blood streaming from his eyes as he stared at me with a gaze so fierce it could devour me whole. It was more terrifying than the statue itself.

I tried to pull my hand free, but he wouldn’t let go. That’s when it hit me—damn it, I was trying to save him, but this bastard was trying to drag me down with him!

Panic surged through me. I started prying at his fingers, but his grip was ironclad. I tried twice and still couldn’t break free. My lungs were screaming, my head pounding, and rage flared up like wildfire.

I thought, I came down here trying to be a good guy, and not only do you not appreciate it, you want to take me down with you?! Without hesitation, I kicked him square in the forehead. He let go with a grunt of pain, and I didn’t look back—I shot straight for the surface.

Just as I broke through the water, I saw Xiao Wu diving in from nearby. The stone steps were swarming with butterflies. The memory of that cursed statue flashed through my mind, and I shouted to him, “Get back! Don’t come down! There’s something in the water!”

But Xiao Wu ignored me and swam over, grabbing hold of me. We supported each other as we made our way toward the shore. He climbed up first, and I was just about to reach for his hand when something clamped down hard on my calf.

Shit!

The next second, I was yanked back under by brute force.

You’ve got to be kidding me!

With half a breath left, I looked down—and saw another statue, now just an arm’s length away. Both its hands were locked around my leg. The statue was heavy, and the pull downward was swift. But soon I realized this wasn’t just from its weight.

I squinted through the water and saw that the statue’s lower half was shackled by a thick iron chain, as wide as a bowl. The chain extended into the silty depths, silently dragging the statue—and me—downward.

I quickly pulled the claw knife from my waist and hacked at the statue’s hands with everything I had. These stones had been soaking underwater for who knows how many years; I figured they’d be brittle by now. But my blade was too damn weak. After seven or eight strikes, I only managed to chip off a small piece.

I was about ready to cough up blood from frustration when Xiao Wu dove down from the surface. He swam fast, grabbed my shoulder, and gave me a quick glance before shifting me toward the statue’s hands. Then, without hesitation, he drew the machete from his waist and brought it down.

With one clean strike, the statue’s hand split in two.

He grabbed me and we shot upward, swimming hard toward the shore. I glanced back one last time—Li Wanchou was now a lifeless, pale corpse, being dragged by the statue toward the stone forest at the bottom of the River Channel.

Xiao Wu hauled me onto the shore. Chaos had broken out above. Hou Jinshan, wearing a diving mask, was waving a lighter in front of the stone gate, trying to fend off the butterflies. When he saw us, he shouted:

“You two! Hurry up! I can’t hold them off much longer!”

Coughing up water, I leaned on Xiao Wu as we scrambled up the stone steps. Halfway up, Xiao Wu slowed down and said, “The scales on those butterflies’ wings are poisonous. How are we supposed to get through?”

“If we stay, we die. Close your eyes and run through!” I spat out a mouthful of water. My strength was slowly returning. Without waiting for his reply, I covered my eyes with a sleeve and charged toward the stone gate.

It was only about ten steps away. Xiao Wu followed close behind. In less than a minute, we both made it through. Lai Qi and Chou Zai were quick—just as we crossed the threshold, they slammed the door shut behind us.

The first thing I did was brush the butterfly scales off my body. But after a quick check, I found only a few specks, and they came off easily. No real threat.

Hou Jinshan shoved the hot lighter into his pocket. Lai Qi and Chou Zai collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. No one spoke for a long moment.

“Li’s dead?” Lai Qi asked.

Chou Zai replied, “Probably. Who cares? We’ve got the money—no loss for us.”

Listening to their conversation, I couldn’t help but feel a jolt of shock. It hit me just how easily a life could be snuffed out—one moment someone’s speaking, and the next, they’re gone, their soul already on its way to the underworld.

Though Li Wanchou certainly deserved his fate, I couldn’t deny that I’d delivered the final blow. If he hadn’t harbored ill intent toward me first, I might’ve actually been able to save him.

Hou Jinshan took a breather, and once he’d caught his breath, he came over and grabbed me, motioning for me to step aside. As soon as we were clear, he asked, “You’d better explain yourself—what the hell is going on here? If we can’t make sense of this, then none of us are going any farther. We’ll just stop right here.”

What’s going on with me? What’s there to make sense of?

I looked at him, confused. “What are you talking about, Marquis Hou? You’ll have to be more specific—I don’t get what you mean.”

Hou Jinshan took a deep breath, clearly frustrated by my answer, like he was disappointed I wasn’t catching on. He asked again, “Besides that box, did you bring anything else in with you?”

I blinked at him.

He scratched his head and rephrased, “Alright, let me put it another way—before you came in here, did Tian Yuqing or that kid from the Lu family give you anything? Something that probably isn’t clean—something from a tomb.”

As soon as he said that, I remembered the Luan Bi hanging around my neck. But I wasn’t about to show it to him just yet—I decided to play it safe. “Why? Is there something wrong with it?”

“You little punk, are you really this clueless, or are you just playing dumb with me?” Hou Jinshan snapped. “Haven’t you noticed? Ever since we entered this cave, you’ve managed to avoid every single trap. The only time you got caught up in anything was when you jumped into the water to save that bastard Li—and even then, it was him who set you up.”

“When you first stepped through the gate, those butterflies didn’t attack you. That’s the only reason you and your crew made it through unscathed. Otherwise, you’d have been poisoned to death the moment you crossed the threshold.”

I didn’t need Hou Jinshan to tell me the Blood Jade had protective properties—it was common knowledge that it warded off evil. But I didn’t believe everything that had happened was solely because of the Blood Jade. Lu A’yao also had a piece, and judging by the dangers we faced last time in the Nine-Bend Corridor Ruins, the Blood Jade could repel evil, but it couldn’t neutralize true threats.

In the end, it all came down to human effort. The Blood Jade was just a tool—nothing more. I’d always believed that.

Then a thought struck me. “Now that you mention it, I did get something when I went to Gansu with Tian Yuqing. Supposedly, it’s part of a set that matches the Lu family’s ancestral treasure. I figured I’d bring it along and see if it was useful. Turns out, it might actually be.”

Hou Jinshan had a thing for treasures—especially ones from tombs. And if it had something to do with the Lu family? His eyes lit up instantly. He gave a sly grin. “Seriously? Let me take a look. Just a quick peek.”

“You wanna see it?” I grinned back at him.

Hou Jinshan nodded eagerly.

“Well, I can’t just let you look for free, can I? This is a real gem. Even the young master of the He Family said it was top-tier. You might only get one chance in your whole life to see something like this. So if you want a peek, you’d better cough up something good in return.” I laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.