Young Master Liu glared fiercely at the Merman. "Guns are useless against this thing. I've fought him twice and found his weakness is the head—we have to twist his head off!"

Fan Debiao immediately looked miserable. "That’s out of the question, brother! You're a master martial artist, and you have the Celestial Master Sword. Of course, you dare engage in close combat. But we have no martial arts skills and no decent weapons. If we charge in, one swing and we'll be 'returned to our posts'!"

Hearing Fan Debiao, Young Master Liu was so angry he felt short of breath. "All you do is whine about such things! If I go in for close combat, you'll be shooting from behind me. Before the Merman even gets me, I’ll likely be finished off by your muzzle! What I meant was, don't cause trouble, understand?"

Fan Debiao snapped back, "So you look down on us, huh? Fine! Big Gourd, let's go watch the show from the sidelines." With that, he angrily started walking toward the side of the tomb passage.

Big Gourd saw Fan Debiao stewing in his complaints and immediately shot him a harsh look. "Get back here! Look at the time—what are you throwing a tantrum about now?" Fan Debiao grumbled but reluctantly walked back after hearing him.

Fan Debiao noticed everyone had been discussing for quite a while, yet the Merman remained unnervingly still. He asked Young Master Liu, "Young Master, we've been talking this long, why hasn't the Merman attacked? Is he playing the 'stand still if the enemy doesn't move' game?"

Young Master Liu shook his head. "How would I know? His brain is attached to his head. Maybe we can twist it off and take a look later?"

Fan Debiao made a face of disgust at Young Master Liu's words and turned to stare at the Merman.

After a moment, the Merman emitted a low, guttural sound—"Heh... heh..." Where scales had previously fallen off his body, new ones were visibly sprouting.

Big Gourd yelled out, "Bad news! This bastard is regaining his vital energy!"

The words had barely left his mouth when Young Master Liu, moving with the speed of lightning, charged toward the Merman, sword raised.

Fan Debiao remarked, "That son of a gun is sly, putting on a front. He was just recovering his energy. If I'd known, I should have given him a couple more bursts."

Cai Qingchong ignored Fan Debiao, his eyes fixed on the furious clash between Young Master Liu and the Merman. He watched as every time the Merman swung a hand to strike Young Master Liu, the latter blocked it with the Celestial Master Sword, neutralizing the attack.

Fan Debiao stared, thinking that the Celestial Master Sword was truly miraculous. The Merman struck with such force, yet the sword didn't break and even deflected the blow.

Seeing that he couldn't harm Young Master Liu with one hand, the Merman freed his other arm. This put Young Master Liu in a tight spot; he could only parry and dodge simultaneously.

Even so, he managed to find openings to strike at the Merman's head, but each attempt was deftly deflected.

Big Gourd saw that Young Master Liu alone couldn't subdue the Merman, so he pulled out his dagger and rushed forward to join the fight.

Seeing Big Gourd engage, Cai Qingchong moved toward Su Yougui and Fan Debiao. "You two stand back. If we can’t handle it, run!" With that, he charged forward, dagger in hand.

Young Master Liu, Cai Qingchong, and Big Gourd were all skilled fighters, and their varied strengths, combined, caught the Merman completely off guard. They formed a triangle formation: Cai Qingchong and Big Gourd attacked the left and right flanks, while Young Master Liu maintained the frontal assault. In the instant the Merman’s hands were occupied by Cai Qingchong and Big Gourd, Young Master Liu instantly drove the Celestial Master Sword into the Merman’s throat.

Just as he prepared to swing horizontally to sever the head, the Merman suddenly slashed at Young Master Liu with his left hand. Since the Celestial Master Sword was already embedded in the Merman’s throat, there was no way to pull it out fast enough to parry given the Merman’s speed. It looked as if Young Master Liu was about to be cut down. Suddenly, three shots rang out—tata-ta—and the Merman's hand recoiled from the bullets. Seeing his opening, Young Master Liu swung his sword across horizontally, and the Merman’s entire head fell to the ground.

The moment the head hit the dirt, the body collapsed.

Young Master Liu turned around to see Fan Debiao triumphantly holding his Thompson submachine gun. "See? In the end, eliminating this Merman still depended on me!"

No one paid any attention to Fan Debiao. Big Gourd lit a tinder and tossed it onto the Merman’s body. The fierce flames quickly reduced the creature to ash. Cai Qingchong dealt with the severed head nearby.

The Merman was finally destroyed, and everyone was gasping for breath, utterly exhausted. Fan Debiao suggested that his constitution was weak and he’d fall apart if he fought more, asking for a rest. Young Master Liu nodded in agreement.

The group slowly exited the passage and entered the tomb chamber, which was about the size of half a basketball court, to rest.

From the entrance, they had faced Yin Sha, the Man-Eating Flowers, and now the Black-Scaled Merman. Everyone was utterly spent. Reaching the chamber, they didn't bother analyzing the surroundings and simply collapsed to rest.

As Young Master Liu noticed a small red light nearby, blinking on and off, he thought, We just finished off one monster; is another one about to pop out?

Staring at the red dot, Young Master Liu dared not make a sound and crept closer cautiously.

Just as Young Master Liu neared the red light, a beam suddenly shone in his face, accompanied by a voice from the light source: "Why aren't you resting, you brat? What are you fumbling around for?"

Hearing the voice, Young Master Liu realized it was Big Gourd. The red dot was Big Gourd smoking—no wonder it was flickering on and off.

He couldn't help but laugh, walking up to Big Gourd and asking him to hold his flashlight steady. "You too! Smoking over here, causing me to think I ran into another monster."

Big Gourd took a drag. "Damn it, we can't all crash at once! If something pops out, we’re all finished. I’m keeping watch for you guys!"

Hearing this, Young Master Liu said, "Oh," then addressed Big Gourd, "Big Gourd, why do you smoke all the time? Too much smoking isn't good for your health, you know!"

Big Gourd replied, "It’s an old habit from years ago. I remember once we were robbing a tomb in Yingtan, Jiangxi, and ran into a giant 'Zongzi' [a type of reanimated corpse]—that thing was tougher than anything here. That Zongzi caught me, and I figured I was done for. So, I prepared to light my last cigarette before 'returning to my post.' Unexpectedly, as soon as I lit up, the Zongzi acted like it was possessed, scrambling around in terror. While it was freaking out, my comrades and I took it down. Ever since then, every time I go tomb raiding, I smoke. It just became a habit."

As Big Gourd recounted the tale with relish, Young Master Liu’s eyelids grew heavy, his head bobbing as he fought sleep. Seeing that Liu was nodding off, Big Gourd stopped talking and patted his shoulder.

"Brother Liu, you go get some sleep. I’ll keep watch, don’t worry!"

Young Master Liu nodded, gave an embarrassed smile, and found a spot to finally sleep.