Ma Xiong clapped the Company Commander on the shoulder to comfort him. "You don't need to worry too much. That crocodile chased them right up to the city wall, and once they scrambled over, it just waited below. Crocodiles are incredibly patient creatures. Seeing it still guarding the spot now, even if it isn't still guarding it, it most likely won't return to the pool immediately. It's quite a distance from the wall to the pool, and that crocodile moves quite slowly when it isn't in pursuit. Besides, there's a pile of bones by the pool, suggesting the beast is hardly short of food. And at a critical moment, we still have the Wolf's Eye flashlight; we can blind it for a good while."

Although Ma Xiong said this to the Company Commander, he still felt uneasy in his heart. Ma Xiong’s greatest reliance was that this Emperor Crocodile had not yet returned to the pool, alongside the Wolf's Eye flashlight, which the crocodile had previously shown considerable fear of. Perhaps that crocodile was starving when it attacked before; now that so much time had passed, it might very well be full.

Thinking of this, Ma Xiong couldn't help but feel curious again about the bones left behind by the crocodile. He wondered what changes had occurred in the creature's stomach that it couldn't digest bones. Looking at the bones, he couldn't tell what they were from, but he hoped they wouldn't encounter whatever they belonged to. Following this water-filled passage, they reached an exit that opened into a stone chamber. The chamber was sealed on all four sides, with only a deep pool of water beneath. Seeing the path end, everyone stopped.

Lu Zong glanced at the pool inside the stone chamber and said to Ma Xiong, "Ma Xiong, it looks like the * is inside."

Ma Xiong replied, "Looking in here, perhaps there's an exit below. We can dive down from here."

After speaking, Ma Xiong shone his flashlight into the water, trying to see the situation below. Although the Wolf's Eye flashlight had powerful penetration, the water inside was somewhat murky, preventing him from gauging the depth. Ma Xiong roughly estimated it was no less than three meters!

The Company Commander said, "This *—even if there is an exit inside, Ma Xiong, I worry there won't be enough oxygen. If some mechanism triggers and we get trapped inside, it'll be over."

Fatty nodded and said, "That is a serious problem. Ma Xiong, someone needs to scout ahead."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zong immediately took off his backpack and declared to the group, "Ma Xiong swims well, Ma Xiong will go down!"

Ma Xiong said, "I'll go down with you, Lu Zong. It's better to have two people for support."

After everyone agreed, Ma Xiong and Lu Zong stripped off their gear and slowly slipped into the water. The water was intensely cold, and the moment Ma Xiong entered, he shivered violently. This sudden shock sobered him up considerably. He immediately felt that their group, ultimately, had not been cautious enough; most likely, everyone had been so terrified by this cursed palace that they were willing to risk encountering the giant crocodile by emerging from the pool.

But there was no turning back now. Fatty had mentioned the bloody handprint on the tombstone earlier seemed like a curse, and who knew what deadly things they might encounter if they went back. In any case, the poem mentioned escaping via the waterway, so they might as well give it a try.

At this point, Lu Zong called out to Ma Xiong, "Be careful!" He then took a deep breath and plunged into the water. Ma Xiong followed Lu Zong and began to dive down as well.

Due to years of sediment, the water wasn't overly dirty. Ma Xiong expelled some of the air from his chest and continued diving with Lu Zong. After diving about three or four meters, they reached the bottom. A thick layer of silt covered the bottom. Ma Xiong swept the Wolf's Eye around and found nothing underneath the silt.

Lu Zong slowly reached his hand into the silt, probing down about half a palm's depth before hitting the floor. Then, Lu Zong began feeling along the bottom through the muck, and Ma Xiong followed suit, extending his hand into the silt to feel the ground below. The floor beneath felt solid, somewhat coarse, and by touch, appeared to be stone.

Before long, Ma Xiong suddenly felt a protrusion. Based on the sensation in his hand, it felt like a trapdoor. Seeing this, Ma Xiong quickly pulled Lu Zong over and signaled for him to help clear the silt away from that spot.

Once they had brushed away all the silt covering it, a stone slab immediately came into view. The slab wasn't thick, but it was secured by two iron chains. The chains were severely corroded; Ma Xiong pulled one casually and it snapped, and for the second chain, Ma Xiong and Lu Zong worked together to break it free. By then, their lungs were empty of air. Ma Xiong tugged at Lu Zong and they began to ascend.

The moment Ma Xiong’s head broke the surface, Fatty, waiting on the bank, called out, "How is it? Is there a way down there?"

Ma Xiong wiped the water from his face and said, "There's a cover plate down there, but they haven't opened it yet."

Lu Zong said, "It's likely an exit inside, but we don't know how long the water passage is. Damn it, why didn't the 'Heaven's Punishment' gear include any diving equipment?"

Ma Xiong chuckled, "Even if the gear had diving equipment, you probably would have dumped it somewhere on the way here because it was too heavy. Let's stop talking and go open that slab to see what’s inside!"

The Company Commander said, "Be careful, and if anything feels wrong, get out quickly."

Ma Xiong nodded to everyone, then motioned to Lu Zong, and they submerged again.

Reaching the bottom once more, Ma Xiong and Lu Zong found the stone slab. Then, each grabbing one chain, they pulled. The slab wasn't heavy, and with the water's buoyancy, they lifted the cover easily and tossed it aside.

As they removed the cover, a dark opening was revealed beneath. The opening was about two feet wide and three feet long, enough for one person to pass through. Ma Xiong shone his flashlight inside, discovering that the opening descended about a meter before beginning to extend horizontally. Ma Xiong patted Lu Zong, signaling him to wait above, and then Ma Xiong slowly eased himself into the opening.

Submerged below, he found a passage narrow vertically but wide horizontally. Ma Xiong continued to feel his way forward along the passage. He monitored his oxygen consumption, estimating that if he hadn't reached an end after another twenty seconds, he would turn back.

The stone walls in the passage were very rough, with sharp angles appearing in some places. Ma Xiong accidentally scraped his knee, instantly drawing blood. As Ma Xiong was silently cursing to himself, he suddenly spotted what seemed to be an exit in the ceiling under the beam of his flashlight. Seeing this, Ma Xiong ignored his remaining oxygen and quickly swam forward.

Reaching the spot, Ma Xiong angled upwards through the opening in the ceiling. After ascending just over a meter, his head suddenly broke the surface of the water! The moment Ma Xiong breathed fresh air, a wave of relief washed over him. Just as he was about to relax, a hand suddenly grabbed his ankle!

Ma Xiong was startled by this sudden touch and immediately thought of the Southern Barbarian Ghost Palace—perhaps there were monstrous things in the water too. Though inwardly shocked, Ma Xiong couldn't let whatever was below drag him under. He immediately tried to kick with his other foot, when suddenly he felt a hard slap across his backside.

Only then did Ma Xiong realize that whatever was down there seemed to be human. He quickly kicked his legs, signaling it to let go. Soon, the hand released his ankle, and Ma Xiong scrambled up onto the ledge. Shortly after, a head popped up from below—but it wasn't that kid Lu Zong?

Ma Xiong pulled him up and asked, "Son of a bitch, weren't you told to stay up there? Why did you follow me down?"

Lu Zong replied, "You vanished the second you went in, and I waited a long time for you to come out, so Ma Xiong just followed."

Ma Xiong shrugged and said, "Go back and tell everyone to come over. I'll wait here." "Okay," Lu Zong replied, took a deep breath, and dove back down.

Only then did Ma Xiong stand up and survey his surroundings. He immediately realized that not far ahead was the massive pool bordering the palace grounds! This place was built directly over the pool's surface. Across the water, Ma Xiong could even illuminate the clusters of buildings outside with his flashlight; it appeared they were at the rear of the palace.

Ma Xiong walked to the edge of the water and estimated the distance to the opposite shore—a mere twenty-odd meters. He silently congratulated himself that the shorter the distance, the better. When Ma Xiong swept his flashlight back, he suddenly noticed a dugout canoe moored right at the bank, complete with a few oars! Ma Xiong was delighted at the sight and hurried over to inspect it!

However, upon approaching, he saw that the canoe was too severely damaged to carry anyone. Just as he was feeling disappointed, Lu Zong appeared, bringing the others with him. One by one, everyone climbed out of the water. Once everyone was out, they saw the huge pool ahead and became somewhat excited.

The Company Commander spotted the dugout canoe behind Ma Xiong and exclaimed happily, "Hey, a boat!"

Ma Xiong shrugged, "This boat won't carry us, Ma Xiong thinks we should swim."

Unexpectedly, Fatty suddenly gave a mysterious smile and said to Ma Xiong, "Maybe not. See what I have here?"

As Fatty spoke, he rummaged through his backpack and pulled something out. When Ma Xiong saw it, he was instantly stunned—wasn't that an inflatable boat? Ma Xiong remembered Fatty’s inflatable boat had been left by the outer moat; how did he have another one?

Seeing everyone looking confused, Fatty explained that this inflatable boat belonged to Monkey. After Monkey died, Fatty had found this item in his pack, thinking it might be useful near the palace's surrounding pool, so he kept it.

Fatty's leg was injured, and Ma Xiong's hand was also hurt; having a boat would certainly be best. Seeing the hope of escaping the palace grow brighter, the tension gradually eased from the group. Just as Ma Xiong was about to tell Fatty to open the automatic inflation valve on the inflatable craft, he suddenly felt a tight grip around his neck—something worm-like had coiled itself there. Before Ma Xiong could react, the thing yanked backward violently, instantly dragging him into the water!

Everyone cried out in alarm, and Lu Zong jumped in without a second thought to save Ma Xiong. Ma Xiong felt the thing pulling him straight down. In desperation, Ma Xiong quickly drew the dagger from his waist and slashed viciously at the thing wrapped around his neck! The dagger was sharp, and the thing was fleshy; with one cut, it instantly snapped in two. The half still clinging to Ma Xiong's neck lost all tension and slipped free.

This thing looked like the long-tongued monster they had encountered before. Once free, Ma Xiong, fearing another attack from behind, quickly turned around and shone the Wolf's Eye down into the water!

When Ma Xiong looked, he was greatly astonished. Crouched beneath the pool were several of those monsters! Illuminated clearly by the Wolf's Eye, Ma Xiong realized those monsters seemed to be some kind of giant toads!