Han Chong frantically asked Lu Zong, "What happened to them? They were fine moments ago, how did they suddenly become so ferocious? Did they get possessed?"

Ma Xiong initially felt that the two must have been possessed as well, otherwise they wouldn't have suddenly gone so wild. Lu Zong thought for a moment; their madness seemed to have started the moment they saw that hat. He immediately said to Han Chong and Lu Sha, "I'll hold them down in a moment, you two focus on chasing that hat back. Damn it, these two brats must have been entranced by that hat."

Without another word, he sprang up, rushed between Fatty and Ma Xiong, and separated them with a single punch. The hat clattered to the ground. Lu Sha and Han Chong rushed forward and clutched the hat to their chests, terrified that Fatty and Ma Xiong would try to snatch it back.

Seeing the hat in Han Chong's embrace, the two immediately disregarded any notion of gentleness toward the fairer sex and lunged forward recklessly. Fortunately, Lu Zong was prepared; he swung a large stone down at the two men's heads. They landed mid-air and immediately passed out.

Lu Zong didn't overthink things. He ripped a piece of cloth from Fatty's clothes to bind Fatty's wound, then tore a piece from Ma Xiong's to wrap Ma Xiong's injury. After tending to everything, he spat into his palm and cursed angrily, "Damn these two reckless boys, they don't even value their own lives."

He then squatted on the ground to rest, feeling genuinely weary after the series of exertions.

Han Chong walked over and handed the hat he was holding to Lu Zong. "Take a look and see if there's anything different about it. Why did those two get possessed?"

Lu Zong took the hat and examined it repeatedly. Suddenly, he felt his head grow heavy, his eyes shone brightly, and his consciousness blurred. He felt the surroundings suddenly become illuminated and exquisitely decorated.

He felt himself lifting off the ground. He shook his head frantically, but the shake only made the scene before him clearer: Han Chong was looking at him with a seductive melancholy. Han Chong then removed his outer garment and lay down in Lu Zong's arms. Lu Zong, hazy and confused, embraced Han Chong and inhaled that natural, feminine scent coming from him. Unable to control himself any longer, he felt as though he had been transported back to his adolescence, that hormone-driven era.

He held Han Chong and kissed him desperately, gradually losing himself, throwing himself into a land steeped in sin. He thought he saw his parents watching him, and he mumbled something for them to listen to Jay Chou's "In the Name of the Father." The indistinct sound was utterly confusing, much like his current sensation: Merciful Father, I have fallen into a realm of sin; please forgive my arrogance.

Just as he was reveling in it, he felt a burning pain across his cheek. His muddled mind finally cleared. The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was Lu Sha and Han Chong staring at him with sharp gazes, each holding a stone.

He then realized he had been bewitched by the hat. The two were trying to use his own trick on him—to knock him unconscious. Lu Zong scrambled to his feet, waving his hands. "Don't hit, don't hit! I'm fine, I'm fine, please don't strike!"

The two finally let out a breath of relief, dropping their stones. Lu Sha let out a chirping sound, "You idiot, you were almost about to..."

Han Chong quickly clamped a hand over Lu Sha's mouth and explained, "It's nothing, nothing. You just wanted to grab the hat back."

Lu Zong knew exactly what had just happened, but he was too embarrassed to say anything. He laughed awkwardly and said, "Oh, I must have been unconscious just now. I don't remember anything, don't know what I did. By the way, I didn't hurt either of you, did I?"

Han Chong kept his hand over Lu Sha's mouth and chuckled, "No, no."

Lu Sha wrenched free from Han Chong's grasp and muttered, "Good thing I reacted fast, otherwise..."

Lu Zong decided it was best to drop it; if this girl Lu Sha blurted it out later, it would be disastrous. He said no more.

He walked over to Fatty and Ma Xiong. Their pulses were normal, and their breathing was even; they seemed fine. He promptly slapped Ma Xiong twice, as payback for the two slaps he’d received earlier. "Ma Xiong, wake up, wake up! Here's your hat."

Ma Xiong finally opened his eyes slowly, looking at the hazy world. He patted his head, rubbed his eyes, held his throbbing skull, and mumbled, "My head hurts so much. What happened to me? I felt like I went crazy."

Lu Zong said, "Nothing much, just being too greedy. That's why the King of Hell's Hat confused you. You two almost killed each other just now."

Seeing Ma Xiong recover, Lu Zong went to Fatty and patted his cheek. Fatty slowly regained consciousness. He looked at Lu Zong, then felt his head and cursed, "Ouch, you kid hit me like you were trying to kill me! Couldn't you have been gentler?"

Lu Zong asked curiously, "You could see me hitting you just now?"

Fatty and Ma Xiong both gasped out their angry replies simultaneously, "Of course we knew! Even though we couldn't control ourselves, we still knew what we were doing."

As they spoke, Han Chong and Lu Sha glanced at Lu Zong, who quickly averted his gaze. "Let's not discuss this now. Anyway, this King of Hell's Hat is an evil thing. If we keep holding it, who knows who it will enchant next."

He glanced at the hat with a look of regret, then walked to the edge of the cliff, intending to throw it down.

But the moment he prepared to cast it off, an irresistible emotion surged through him: Am I really going to throw it away? This treasure I barely managed to obtain—I risked my life and prepared countless breakfasts for others just to trade for it. Should I really discard it?

The more he thought about it, the less worth it seemed. Faint voices came from behind him: "Don't throw it away, don't throw it away!" He turned to see Ma Xiong and Fatty walking towards him. He immediately clutched the hat to his chest, terrified they would try to grab it.

But the more afraid he was, the closer they came. Finally, he threatened them, "Don't come any closer, or I'll jump off here!"

Ma Xiong and Fatty smirked wickedly, "Jump then! If you jump, that hat will be mine."

Lu Zong looked at the approaching pair, a sorrowful expression washing over his face. He then looked behind him: a massive waterfall plummeted thousands of feet below. Could anyone survive a jump from here?

As he nervously watched behind him, he didn't realize Fatty and Ma Xiong had crept up. They actually reached out to snatch the hat from Lu Zong's grasp. Fortunately, Lu Zong reacted quickly, pulling his hand back, but his body recoiled slightly, and then he tumbled straight off the cliff.

In that split second, the hat slipped from his grasp. A burst of light flooded his vision, and he instantly realized he had been bewitched by the hat again. He thrashed wildly, grasping for a life-saving straw.