I jumped, thinking to myself, has this damn lightning gone completely insane, flitting from one spot to another? Man Niao Niao was probably fried into Kentucky Fried Chicken by now!

But Ji Ye and Hua'er were flesh and blood too; why didn't they leap up? I scrambled over for a closer look, only to realize that Hua'er had somehow climbed onto the walkway from the shallower water. And Ji Ye, this old fellow, despite his age, was surprisingly agile; he was currently clinging to the outside of the walkway like a piece of dried jerky. The event had happened too suddenly, and even the experienced Ji Ye was clearly stunned by Man Niao Niao's predicament, momentarily frozen and unable to rescue the floating form of Man Niao Niao—his eyes were wide as bull testicles, his mouth agape like a dried sweet potato hole, completely lacking the composure expected of a Tujia Tima.

I wiped a bead of cold sweat, gripping the railing of the walkway with both hands, ready to jump down and pull this partner Man Niao Niao out. Ji Ye snapped out of his daze upon seeing me, shouting urgently at me with a flushed face, "Don't panic, there might still be electricity in the water…" Just then, the deafening thunder began to fade away, sounding like a tractor rumbling past upstairs.

My action faltered, but my mind raced. Come on, the lightning has stopped; how could there still be electricity in the water? I didn't skip physics class; I should at least have this basic common sense, right? Still, as the saying goes, caution ensures a long voyage, while carelessness invites trouble. Since Ji Ye, this old codger, spoke up, it was best to assess the situation first.

I had time, but Man Niao Niao didn't! This fellow was currently submerged headfirst, ripples spreading out around his body, but he himself was motionless. I couldn't tell if he was still breathing. Seeing that Man Niao Niao wasn't twitching as Ji Ye had feared from an electric shock, I didn't hesitate. With a thud, I plunged into the water and charged towards him with the strength to move mountains and conquer the world.

The farthest distance in the world wasn't how far I was from Man Niao Niao, but that just as I lunged, less than two meters away from him, another blinding bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, moving so fast that no words could adequately describe it. The lightning struck like a sharp sword precisely between Man Niao Niao and me, cutting off my path. As soon as the lightning vanished, the eardrum-splitting thunder exploded right next to my ears. Damn it, that noisy tractor was making a return trip! My ******* two eggs instinctively retracted so tightly into my abdomen that I feared they would be rendered useless should any mishap befall me.

Though I couldn't control those two brothers of mine, my mind remained relatively clear. My first thought was: hell’s bells, the lightning struck the water, and water conducts electricity—why didn't I feel any shock from that destructive strike just now? Of course, I couldn't dwell on it. Seizing the moment the lightning vanished, I swiftly lunged to Man Niao Niao's side, grabbed him by the collar, and desperately dragged him toward the shallower water like hauling a dead dog.

Thankfully, during those few short seconds, neither the Thunder God nor his consort chose to strike again. I managed to pull the weight of a hundred-odd jin that was Man Niao Niao's body onto the shore.

I was gulping air when the sky suddenly flashed, and another bolt of lightning streaked past my eyes. With a boom, it struck something unlucky on the walkway. A huge, blackened object shot up nearly ten feet high, accompanied by the roaring thunder, and landed with a heavy thud in the water not far from Man Niao Niao and me, splashing water all over us. In an accidental glance, I saw countless beads of silver-white mercury blooming in the sky like fireworks.

It turned out that black object was another broken piece of a bronze tripod!

I am from the countryside, so I’m quite accustomed to lightning and thunder. I've never personally seen anyone killed by lightning, only hearing rumors about someone struck down for being unfilial and wasting grain, or perhaps a demon dwelling inside a great tree attracting a lightning strike—such fanciful nonsense. My firsthand experience was pitifully rare, but these few bursts of thunder now filled my heart with profound dread. If it were a genuine thunderstorm, I could accept it. But this was under a clear sky, with the sun blazing overhead, and there was no sound between heaven and earth other than the thunder. This situation was far from simple.

Naturally, I had no time to ponder anything else. As the thunder quieted slightly, I dragged Man Niao Niao and fled. This fellow Man Niao Niao had been floating in the water for so long, yet he was completely unharmed. He was now staring at me with his wide, bovine eyes, looking both bewildered and vacant, asking wordlessly what we should do.

What to do? Run!

Without a second thought, I hoisted Man Niao Niao and found a spot to get back onto the walkway, sprinting towards Ji Ye. This old rascal had already scrambled onto the walkway while I was dragging Man Niao Niao, and now he was shouting something at us, waving his arms wildly. Unfortunately, the sound from his cracked vocal cords was far too weak compared to the thunder; they were incomparable. I couldn't make out what he was yelling, so I just kept running for my life.

Isn't it bizarre? As we ran, those streaks of lightning followed right behind our heels, and the thunder grew more intense with each peal. By the end, I couldn't even hear the thunder anymore, only a buzzing in my ears, and my vision started blurring. I just chased the vague silhouette of Ji Ye. Of course, this was subconscious; I hadn't really considered what good it would do to reach Ji Ye—even if he was a distinguished Tima, compared to the forces of nature, wasn't he just like someone trying to block a carriage with his arm?

Just as I was about to reach Ji Ye, a blinding flash erupted behind me, followed by a rumble, and I felt the ground under my feet suddenly shake, sending my body airborne. When my senses cleared slightly and I looked around, damn it, the winding walkway beneath my feet had buckled! Half of it plunged into the water, and the other half was elevated into the air, forming a slanted bridge. Ji Ye was standing at the broken edge on the far side of the walkway, his arms currently whirling like windmills, desperately trying to keep his balance. His accursed eight-panel skirt fluttered noisily, giving him an almost ethereal appearance. Man Niao Niao and I were suspended about a third of the way down the sloped bridge, nearly tumbling backward like dry kindling. Fortunately, the walkway surface was carved with strange shapes of birds, flowers, insects, and fish, so it wasn't perfectly smooth, and the incline wasn't too steep; otherwise, we would have slid right off. Nevertheless, I quickly employed the legendary 'Thousand Jin Drop,' then lunged forward, pulling Man Niao Niao along to flop onto the slanted walkway.

Just as I was about to turn back to see how the walkway broke, a burst of sparks erupted behind my backside—another lightning strike was coming. I didn't dare look back, ready to abandon Man Niao Niao and flee alone, but at that critical moment, I instinctively grabbed Man Niao Niao’s arm and dragged him, scrambling desperately toward the higher end of the sloped bridge.

And Man Niao Niao? At that moment, there was no thought of catching his breath. Taking advantage of my momentum, he leaped forward, climbing faster than me! Those streaks of lightning kept stabbing down just behind my heels, as if to say, "Damn you guys, hurry up and climb, or I'll fry you, hehehe…"

I certainly didn't dare challenge the Thunder God and his consort head-on. Although those two haven't killed me yet, my courage was nearly shattered by them. I scrambled forward with hands and feet faster than ever. In a situation like this, sluggish movement meant certain death, Amitabha!

When Man Niao Niao and I finally finished our arduous climb up to where Ji Ye had been standing, the old man was gone. My heart skipped a beat; had he fallen into the water? Just as I was about to lean over to check the water, Man Niao Niao grabbed my arm and pointed towards the opposite side, shouting wildly at me. Unfortunately, due to the thunder, even though they were close by, I still couldn't hear what this fellow was mumbling. But my eyes saw it: Ji Ye was standing inside the mouth of that bird head sculpture, and next to him stood a delicate figure—wasn't that Tan Ping'er?

This man, this woman, one old and one young, all had faces pale with anxiety, shouting and gesticulating wildly, clearly motioning for Man Niao Niao and me to jump into the bird's mouth for shelter. The "tractor" overhead showed no sign of stopping, completely drowning out the cries of Ji Ye and Tan Ping'er!

I blinked my own hazy eyes hard at Man Niao Niao, pointing ahead, signaling him to hurry up and jump. Man Niao Niao understood. He grabbed the edge of the broken walkway with both hands, braced his feet against the slope, stepped back, and launched himself with all his might. His portly body arced through the air in a less-than-perfect curve, landing squarely inside the bird's mouth, knocking the unprepared Ji Ye and Tan Ping'er heels over head.

I dared not delay. I straightened up directly at the break in the walkway, bent my knees, and leaped with incredible swiftness toward the bird’s mouth. Upon landing, I heavily crushed the just-recovering Tan Ping'er beneath me.

It was strange. After I managed to get up from on top of Tan Ping'er and sat up, I looked outside again. The lightning had stopped, and the rumbling "tractor" had faded away. The intense sunlight was still scorching, and everything was quiet again, as if nothing had happened. If it weren't for the collapsed, shapeless tiger-shaped walkway and my shivering companions beside me, I would have seriously suspected that I had just experienced a bizarre nightmare!