The moment Old Li spoke, a flash of insight lit up my mind; what he said made a certain kind of sense. Didn't Daoism always preach that all things in the universe are mutually restrictive? Wasn't the antidote for the love-flower poison in The Return of the Condor Heroes the Heartbreak Grass that grew right beside it?

But... the thought brought hesitation back. A novel is, after all, just a novel... Ah, my head was spinning.

Mattis was a sinologist; he understood Old Li, but he sneered, "That's philosophy, not real-life experience... It lacks scientific basis, you understand?"

Old Li shot Mattis a look of disdain. "And where do you think philosophy comes from, if not from life itself?"

Seeing Mattis open his mouth to argue about philosophy again, I quickly interrupted. Now was not the time for philosophical debate; figuring out how to climb up and break through the swarms of face-monsters was the real task. "Why did these waterweeds suddenly disappear right here? Mattis, do you know what's going on?"

Mattis was clearly still annoyed by Old Li’s words, muttering, "How should I know... But... from a geological perspective, perhaps there's a mineral here that repels them, so they refuse to grow in this spot."

His explanation serendipitously aligned with Old Li's. Coupled with the fact that I had felt dizzy and lightheaded near the Blood Spring earlier, only to become instantly clear-headed upon arrival, putting it all together gave me a sudden certainty: Old Li might actually be right. It was worth a try.

"How about this, let's test it. Stop arguing," I suggested to them both.

"How do we test it?" Mattis’s condescension was palpable.

Ignoring him, I turned and walked over, tearing off a branch of waterweed through my clothes. I placed it into the Blood Spring water and waited to observe. Indeed, Old Li was correct; Jin Yong hadn't made it up—the Blood Spring water was the bane of the waterweed. In moments, it withered completely, its leaves drying up, the previous lush green vitality vanishing without a trace.

Seeing my successful experiment, Old Li looked at Mattis with unconcealed triumph. "Do you want to take this dried-up weed back for analysis now and draw some profound conclusion?"

Mattis fell silent.

I too fell silent, because even knowing the Blood Spring water could counteract the paralyzing toxin in the waterweed was one thing. The waterweed was on the ground; we could simply be careful not to let bare skin touch it. Even if the weeds released toxic gas into the air, based on our experience so far, it would take considerable effort to poison us into unconsciousness that way.

The biggest problem remained: the stone wall was too smooth—how could we climb it? And then there were the dense clusters of face-monsters. Even if they didn't attack us actively, or their lethality was low, their sheer numbers overwhelmed us. They swarmed above us, blotting out the sky; we certainly couldn't sprout wings and fly through them.

Old Li probably grasped this issue too, remaining quiet for a long time.

It was Mattis, still swaying on his feet from walking, who had the audacity to wander around aimlessly, though I couldn't tell what he was searching for. I paid him no mind.

Unexpectedly, perhaps from being unconscious for so long, his body was weak. He hadn't gone far when he stumbled, falling to the ground with a thud. Old Li and I were shocked and rushed forward. However, the moment we stepped out, the menacing face-monsters immediately swarmed down, layering themselves densely onto him until he was completely obscured.

This sight left Old Li and me paralyzed with horror. We dared not advance further and quickly retreated back to the side of the Blood Spring. Though we had been bickering with Mattis, I truly didn't want him to die. If he was devoured by the face-monsters, the next in line would be either Old Li or me. Besides, he was a geologist... very useful to us.

I decided we had to save him. I told Old Li to draw his military dagger, and we cautiously advanced toward Mattis. At first, he remained silent, but when he sensed us approaching, he began screaming hysterically, "Help! Luo! Help!" As he shouted, he thrashed and rolled, crushing several of the face-monsters clinging to him. These creatures let out strange shrieks, immediately broke away, and flew back up into the air.

Holding my dagger, trembling, I hadn't gone more than a few steps before this development forced me to halt dead in my tracks, uncertain what to do.

Seeing the creatures gone from his body, Mattis scrambled and crawled toward us. Once at my feet, he completely collapsed, gasping, "Luo... help me..." His face was bloodless, and his hands clutched my ankle desperately.

I quickly called Old Li over, and together we carried him back to the Blood Spring. Mattis was truly paralyzed by terror, a limp mass beside the water, completely unmoving. Seeing this, the face-monsters immediately began surging toward us again, but seemingly fearful, they dared not charge fully, instead surrounding the area densely, staring fixedly at Mattis.

Observing this situation, I caught on. I told Mattis to move his arm or leg slightly, anything to prove he was still alive. Mattis strained to turn his head, then moved a leg—and sure enough, the face-monsters shrieked again and scattered.

Now I understood: the face-monsters only preyed on the dead; they seemed uninterested in the living. This was good; as long as we stayed alive, they probably wouldn't bother us.

Old Li had an idea too. He retrieved one of the face-monsters Mattis had knocked unconscious onto the ground and asked me to hold the tactical flashlight steady for a close look. Examining it, I realized it wasn't as terrifying as I first thought. The creature resembled a bat, but its face was that of a wide-eyed, smiling human, and it was many times larger than a bat, perhaps the size of my two palms. Its mouth was pointed and its teeth sharp.

"Technician Luo... look, it seems easily subdued. A simple press from Mattis knocked it out," Old Li observed.

I looked at Old Li, knowing he had something else in mind, and nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"I want to see what reaction it has to the Blood Spring water," Old Li said. "You keep an eye on the others. I'm worried they'll come seeking revenge if they see me tormenting their companion... Keep your dagger ready too..."

I had the exact same thought. As soon as Old Li spoke, I turned and stared intently at the swarming monsters. Old Li pinched one wing of the immobilized creature between his fingers and dipped it into the Blood Spring water. The unconscious monster instantly struggled weakly, but after two or three feeble movements, it lay still. The monsters hovering above let out a collective, mournful cry, but they dared not approach, instead retreating several steps backward.

"That's it. Just like that. The face-monsters fear the Blood Spring water too," Old Li stated. He pulled the creature out and held it under the flashlight beam, examining it closely. "Is it dead?"

I saw that half its hide was already scorched, its eyes rolled back, life clearly gone. "Yes. It's dead," I confirmed.

Old Li looked up at the circling, wailing monsters above with a cold sneer, tossed the creature far away, and clapped his hands. "We have solutions for the waterweed and the face-monsters. All that's left is figuring out how to get up."

Mattis, showing resilience, had recovered somewhat in this short time. He picked up Old Li's thread, weakly asking, "What is on the stone wall? Perhaps I can figure something out?"

Old Li turned and gave him a cold look. "Grow steel claws on your hands and dig us some large holes in the wall so we can climb, why don't you."

Taken aback by Old Li's retort, Mattis dared not speak further, shaking as he slowly stood up.

I, too, was preoccupied with climbing. Even if the face-monsters feared the Blood Spring water, I couldn't immediately devise a way to toss all of them into it. They had wings, and even if harmless, they wouldn't be easy to manage.

Mattis swayed over to me, perhaps afraid of losing his balance, and placed a hand on my shoulder, adopting a surprisingly amiable and solicitous tone. "Luo Technician, you... accompany me... to look at what's on the stone wall, alright? I... I am a geologist, after all..."

A geologist would certainly see the true nature of the wall more clearly than us laymen. Though I disliked his arrogance, it was a fact. Without another word, I supported Mattis as we walked over. As Mattis moved, the face-monsters stirred again, and two more swooped down in front of us. But I was used to it; the moment they approached, I immediately drew my dagger and brandished it at them with a grimace, causing them to flee back instantly.

Reaching the stone wall, Mattis leaned in close, scrutinizing it meticulously. He then reached out and lightly scraped a bit of the slick, wet substance on the wall with his fingernail. I was an amateur and didn't understand what he was doing.

After studying it for a while, Mattis declared with certainty, "It's not water. It's waterweed."

I stared at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"That on the wall isn't water... what you see as wet and slick isn't. It's also an algal plant, belonging to the same family as the waterweeds on the ground," Mattis announced, his face brightening with excitement.

Hearing this, I was overjoyed beyond measure—if it was the same family as the ground waterweed, that meant it feared the Blood Spring water too!

"..." I was too excited to speak. There was a way out! A way out! I screamed silently in my mind, but no words came out.

Old Li walked over too and asked, "Mattis, how do you know it’s algae?"

Mattis replied, "I'm a geologist, trust me. I can stake my life on it that this isn't water. Water adhering to stone fosters moss, it doesn't stay this clear and luminous..."

"But even if it is an algal plant, how do we get up? How can we clear it? And those face-monsters—there are so many of them. Are we supposed to toss them one by one into the Blood Spring to drown them?" Old Li asked calmly. "Technician Luo, you're celebrating too soon."