As Wang Zhicai started rolling his eyes too, Young Master Liu felt a surge of helplessness. He had told them to jump into the pool, yet they couldn't escape danger—what a massive embarrassment.

While feeling utterly vexed, a sudden force pulled him. Young Master Liu thought, just as one wave settled, another rose; surely it wasn't the Water Ghost's turn to perform now.

Before he could process it, with a muffled oomph from Fan Debiao, the man was dragged relentlessly downward, as if a powerful suction device was operating below. The group thrashed about inside, feeling like they'd been tossed into a washing machine, making Young Master Liu feel nauseous to his core.

This turbulence lasted for about ten seconds before a sudden tumble dropped them into yet another pool.

The previous agitation had left him disoriented, and falling into successive bodies of water only compounded his confusion. Young Master Liu was nearly oxygen-deprived underwater. Throwing caution aside, he kicked violently, and his head burst above the surface. Ignoring his surroundings, he immediately took a deep, gulping breath.

Next came a few splashing sounds as the others surfaced. It was pitch black here; he couldn't see his hand even when held directly in front of his face.

"Damn it, where the hell are we?" Fan Debiao's voice came from beside Young Master Liu.

"This place is all water. Maybe an underground river," Wang Feifei said from his left.

Young Master Liu didn't linger on debating their location. The most important thing was whether everyone was unharmed. "Is everyone here? If you are, make a sound."

"I'm here," Jackson replied, followed by old man Kramer, Lin Miaoke, and Wang Zhicai, whose voice sounded strained. Wang Feifei and Fan Debiao had already spoken, but Wu Bai remained silent.

"Where's Wu Bai? Where is he? Did anyone touch him?" Young Master Liu asked urgently, worrying that the wretched Wu Bai might have been spirited away during the chaotic tumbling.

"Oh no, Wu Bai is failing fast," Lin Miaoke's voice drifted from the darkness.

Saving someone is like fighting a fire. Hearing that Wu Bai wasn't accounted for, Wang Feifei quickly urged everyone to search for any source of light.

With a sharp fizz, a beam of light stabbed directly into his eyes, momentarily blinding him. After a long moment of adjustment, Young Master Liu slowly opened his eyes. Two illumination flares were burning in the air, fired by Jackson. Young Master Liu knew Jackson always kept his signal gun on him, but he hadn't expected him to carry it even while sleeping.

Young Master Liu surveyed the surroundings. They were in an underground river, beneath a massive opening in the ceiling—the hole that had sucked them down. Along the riverbank stood two neat rows of stone pillars. Between them was a walkway paved with stone, heavily weathered, with some sections eroded down to mere sand.

The walkway was about sixty meters long. One end had stone steps leading up toward the path's origin, and the other featured a large stone door, which stood ajar, revealing only impenetrable blackness inside.

No one had time to study the environment; they needed to administer first aid to Wu Bai immediately, or he would truly be lost.

Wu Bai was a big man, about ten centimeters taller than Young Master Liu, easily weighing over two hundred catties. It took considerable effort for Young Master Liu, Fan Debiao, and Jackson working together to haul him onto the walkway.

Young Master Liu recalled how, during the earlier encounter, he and Jackson had managed to carry Wu Bai at a hundred-meter sprint pace. The thought alone made him feel less than human, though he secretly admired their capability.

The group consisted mostly of university graduates—everyone except Fan Debiao. Despite being intellectuals, only Wang Feifei possessed basic first-aid knowledge.

Young Master Liu and Fan Debiao laid Wu Bai on the stone path. Wang Feifei pried open his eyelids, examined him closely, and announced, "He's drowned. We need to perform CPR." With that, she bent down, preparing to give Wu Bai mouth-to-mouth.

Young Master Liu inwardly cursed, Damn it, Wu Bai truly has the luck of a fool who gets into trouble; not only did he drag us all down, but now he gets a kiss from the beauty. He actually started fantasizing about how nice it would be if he were the one drowning. He slapped himself mentally—when did he become so impure? Saving a life was paramount; why was he being so petty and jealous?

Wang Feifei administered several breaths, but Wu Bai showed no signs of improvement. Fan Debiao walked up to her side and declared, "Miss Wang, my lung capacity is huge, and my breath is strong. Let me try. I guarantee I can wake him up in two breaths."

Fan Debiao was indeed a formidable diver, but he had no idea how to perform CPR. He mimicked Wang Feifei's previous motions, took a deep breath, and applied himself with surprising earnestness, ending up kissing Wu Bai with audible smacking sounds.

Disgusted, Young Master Liu quickly urged Fan Debiao to stop. If Wu Bai woke up to see that sight, he’d probably kill himself, and Fan Debiao would be the murderer.

Just then, Wu Bai suddenly awoke. Seeing Fan Debiao's face plastered against his, he shrieked, rolled behind a stone pillar, and screamed about a ghost.

Fan Debiao lost his temper and cursed at Wu Bai, "You're the ghost! I just sacrificed my first kiss to save you, and you call Fatty me a ghost?"

Wu Bai ignored Fan Debiao's tirade. His eyes were glazed over, fixed intently on Fan Debiao, as he continuously muttered about a ghost and let out strange laughter.

Seeing Wu Bai in this state, Fan Debiao felt anger surge uncontrollably. He picked up a stone from the ground, intending to knock Wu Bai unconscious again.

Young Master Liu stopped him. "Fan Debiao, something is wrong with this kid. He looks like you scared him into shock."

Fan Debiao sighed dramatically. "You're kidding me? I'm this handsome; scaring me into insanity doesn't align with logic."

"This is hardly the time for jokes. Wu Bai is genuinely gone," Young Master Liu insisted.

Fan Debiao refused to believe it. He hefted the stone and rushed over, adopting a striking posture, but Wu Bai remained utterly unresponsive, head bowed, mumbling about a ghost. Suddenly, Wu Bai looked up at Fan Debiao and emitted a chilling laugh that sent goosebumps across everyone present.

Fan Debiao retreated in fright back to Young Master Liu's side, his forehead slick with cold sweat. "This isn't shock, this is possession," he gasped. He then pulled out his Mojin Talisman from his chest and retrieved a Black Donkey Hoof from his pocket, preparing to deal with Wu Bai.

Wang Feifei watched Fan Debiao's actions, asking in confusion, "Consultant, what are you doing?"

Fan Debiao replied, "This place looks like a subterranean palace. There are unclean things here. I need to take care of it."

"Unclean things?" Wang Feifei was completely bewildered. While Chinese people instinctively knew what 'unclean things' meant, the others were startled. Having grown up in France, Wang Feifei didn't grasp Fan Debiao's implication.

Jackson, having accompanied them through Bodhisattva Mountain, had some familiarity with the Black Donkey Hoof and explained the concept to Wang Feifei.

Once informed, Wang Feifei strongly disagreed with Fan Debiao’s approach, insisting on a scientific explanation. The idea of ghostly possession was unacceptable to her. In her view, Wu Bai was suffering from acute shock leading to nervous breakdown, and prompt treatment might reverse it. She then moved to comfort Wu Bai.

Although Young Master Liu and Fan Debiao generally favored scientific explanations, they couldn't outright dismiss possession, given their past experiences. Young Master Liu motioned to Fan Debiao, while he himself quickly pinched a protective talisman, following closely behind Wang Feifei. He thought that if it were just a nervous breakdown, fine, but if it was possession, he and Fan Debiao would subdue the man instantly.

When Wang Feifei was about two meters away from Wu Bai, he suddenly burst into loud laughter, the sound grating painfully against the ears in the confines of the space.

Wang Feifei suddenly stopped, her shoulders beginning to tremble slightly. Young Master Liu and Fan Debiao instantly sensed trouble and quickly adopted the stance of the Kui Xing Ti Dou (a martial posture) preparing to charge. But as they straightened up, they saw Wu Bai convulsing violently beside the stone pillar, his entire body gradually turning black, and white foam beginning to froth at his mouth.

Suddenly, Wu Bai’s body went limp and collapsed onto the ground, instantly transforming into a shriveled, black corpse. All this happened in a matter of mere seconds.

Lin Miaoke screamed upon seeing the sight. Young Master Liu and Fan Debiao both gasped sharply. Wang Feifei was so shocked she lost her voice, and her entire body began to shake.

In a momentary lapse, Young Master Liu saw Wu Bai's body twitch faintly. Before he could fully register it, a black snake shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow, flying directly toward Wang Feifei.

The snake’s impact force was immense, streaking straight for her.

Wang Feifei stood frozen, body trembling slightly, seemingly paralyzed by the sudden, horrifying event.

The black snake opened its mouth wide, revealing a blood-red interior. Its two upper fangs were dripping fresh blood; it appeared this snake was the cause of Wu Bai’s demise.

Just as the snake’s fangs were about to reach Wang Feifei’s neck, Young Master Liu roared, "Feifei, watch out!" He then launched himself forward, grabbed her shoulder, and yanked her sideways, causing the snake to miss its target completely.

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