Chapter 90 – A Rash Decision

The water below was pitch-black, and the nighttime chill cut straight to the bone. Honestly, if it had been daytime, I probably wouldn’t have jumped into the river so easily. As someone from the Central Plains, I’d grown up learning about the Yellow River.

So I knew all too well that the most dangerous things in rivers weren’t the visible currents, but the hidden undertows and whirlpools. Those could silently drag even the strongest swimmers to their deaths. That was the first thought that came to mind the moment I dove underwater.

But what struck me as strange was how unusually calm the river was at night. The current wasn’t particularly strong, and there weren’t many rocks or silt at the bottom to buffet my legs. I had no trouble keeping up with Lu A’yao.

Lu A’yao wasn’t swimming fast. I could tell he was deliberately slowing down to wait for us. This wasn’t like being on land. With three people moving forward in such pitch-dark water, we had to stay hyper-focused. I was in the middle, so I had to keep an eye on both Lu A’yao in the lead and He Yu bringing up the rear.

Lu A’yao gradually slowed down, and we followed his lead as he began to ascend. After swimming for so long, I had completely lost my sense of direction, but I could tell we hadn’t gone very deep. It didn’t take long before we broke the surface.

Lu A’yao surfaced first. He scanned the surroundings, then turned to help me up. I found a jagged rock nearby and pulled myself out of the water. My eyes finally began to function again. He Yu surfaced right behind me.

I wiped the water off my diving mask and saw Lu A’yao pointing upward. “Climb up,” he said.

I blinked at him, then followed the direction of his finger. Carved into the rock was a crude set of steps, likely made with primitive tools. To call them steps was generous—they were more like uneven pits and grooves chiseled into the stone.

He Yu glanced at them and couldn’t help but twitch his lips. “So we dive through freezing water just to go rock climbing afterward? This trip’s getting more and more ridiculous.”

Lu A’yao stepped aside. Before I could react, he suddenly shoved me upward with the arm he’d used underwater, lifting me straight onto the first ledge. I had no choice but to cling to the rock, caught between a rock and a hard place.

“Are you serious? I’m afraid of heights and you want me to go first?!” I turned back and glared at Lu A’yao, eyes wide with panic.

He gave me a calm, expressionless look, nodded, then glanced off in a certain direction. When he turned back, his voice was even more urgent. “No time. Climb!”

His tone startled me, and my limbs started moving on their own, scrambling up the rock face using the carved-out footholds. He Yu grabbed onto the stone as well and began climbing with all his strength, just a step behind me.

It was my first time leading, and the pressure was intense. I hadn’t even climbed ten meters before I was drenched in a mix of sweat and river water, my whole body sticky and uncomfortable. But I’d already forgotten all about that discomfort. He Yu was right below me, and if I lost focus and fell, I’d take him—and Lu A’yao at the bottom—with me.

I was determined to give it everything I had. But that resolve didn’t last long, because when I reached about ten meters up, I saw a faint light coming from the cliffside.

It was a massive cave.

Climbing was tough, but thankfully a hand reached out and pulled me up just in time. If not for that, with my arm strength, I probably would’ve landed face-first on He Yu.

“Thanks,” I gasped, crawling to the edge of the cave. That’s when I realized the person who’d helped me was the mute guy who’d been curled up in the corner earlier. Luckily, I still remembered his name—Chen Canghai.

The cave was huge, but he was the only one inside. Deeper in, there were piles of rotting coffin planks. This place must have been used for hanging coffin burials. Chen Canghai’s face was unreadable—no fear, no emotion.

I couldn’t help but admire him. If it had been me, and Lu A’yao told me to wait here alone, I’d have refused no matter what. Yet he’d even managed to start a fire by himself using the broken coffin wood.

We turned back to help pull up He Yu, and finally Lu A’yao. The moment He Yu climbed in, he yanked off the oxygen tank strapped to his back and rolled his shoulders. “It’s fine in the water, but lugging this giant bottle around on land is pure torture!”

The climb had worn me out. I lay flat on the ground, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chen Canghai pointing at me while making a few hand signs I didn’t understand. Lu A’yao’s expression immediately turned serious. Without even taking off his gear, he walked straight toward me.

I was puzzled, unsure what he was about to do.

“Did a snake bite you?” he asked, crouching beside me.

Only then did I suddenly remember. I quickly rolled up my sleeve to show my wrist. Lu A’yao’s voice had been loud enough that He Yu let out an “Ah!” and rushed over. In no time, I was surrounded like some rare specimen.

“That snake moved so fast I barely reacted. I didn’t get a good look at it—no idea if it was venomous. Old Lu, take a look. Can this still be treated?” He Yu started rambling in a panic.

I cursed at him. “Can’t you think something positive for once? I just climbed a ten-meter cliff in one go and I’m still breathing!”

Lu A’yao examined the bite carefully. The area around the puncture was already swollen. He had me lie flat and started rummaging through his bag. “Judging by the wound, it was probably venomous. There are a lot of Green Bamboo Vipers around here. You likely ran into one.”

“What?! Those things are seriously poisonous! Damn it, there’s no hospital anywhere nearby. Even the closest one would take ages to reach. Is it still possible to call for help?” He Yu was so flustered he nearly bit his own tongue.

“No need to panic. It was probably a juvenile. Less venom. If it had been an adult, Gan Ji would’ve passed out in the water already.” Lu A’yao pulled out a pre-packaged syringe from his bag.

Just then, Chen Canghai handed him a small transparent vial from his own large pack.

I looked at the vial and asked Chen Canghai, “What is this?”

Chen Canghai typed something on his phone, then held it up in front of me.

“Antivenom serum.”

Then he pulled the phone back and typed another message for me.

“Before I came here, I gathered a lot of information about this area. There are many highly venomous snakes around here, so I prepared some antivenom serum in advance specifically for them.”

I was momentarily at a loss for words. Suddenly, I realized that my earlier judgment of Chen Canghai might have been far too hasty.

Because in our country, Green Bamboo Viper antivenom serum is notoriously hard to obtain. That package of his was quite large, and judging by its shape, I guessed it might be a temperature-controlled storage case. For him to have access to so much antivenom serum—just how powerful is the intelligence network this man has at his disposal?

Lu A’yao tossed the used syringe aside and said, “We have antivenom serum, but that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down. We were submerged in cold water for quite a while just now, and while that does slow the spread of venom to some extent, I still can’t guarantee you’re completely out of danger.”

“In short, the next week is going to be a critical period for you. If you notice anything unusual with your body, you must tell me immediately.”