I saw he wasn't joking, so I crouched down to touch the ice. Sure enough, a wave of warmth radiated up from the frozen surface.

I felt utterly bewildered, but before we could make sense of what was happening, the sound of cracking ice erupted from all directions.

Innumerable plumes of steam burst forth from the fissures in the ice sheet, and we realized the surrounding frozen expanse was beginning to collapse.

I tried my best to steady myself, a realization suddenly striking me. I had noticed before that the structure of these ruins strongly resembled a volcano; the colossal mountain we first entered was a dormant one, and our current location was clearly another of its craters.

I just hadn't expected such a dormant volcano to erupt. Perhaps the awakening of the giant Juhui beneath the earth had disrupted the Lingqi flow within the earth veins—that was the Feng Shui explanation, at least.

King Wei was a master of Feng Shui during the Tang Dynasty, meaning he likely used these principles to set traps.

With that thought, I yelled to Da Xiong, "Damn it, I said that even with the Juhui's massive body, it couldn't generate the power of an earthquake! This is about to be a volcanic eruption! We are standing right on the crater!"

King Wei's helmet was too small, and Da Xiong's large head couldn't seat it properly, so he had to wear it askew, which made him look ridiculous now.

He adjusted the helmet and remarked, "Huh? Isn't that perfect? Let it blast us out."

I cursed back, "By the time it blasts you out, you'll be roasted pork."

I paused to think, then added, "However, this might actually be a good thing. The water here is so cold; the intense heat right before the eruption will superheat the water, causing its volume to expand dramatically. Coupled with the massive influx of gas into the lakebed, the underground river ahead will surely flood backward, flushing us out through the river mouth."

Da Xiong froze again, smacked his lips, and said, "Whoa! You university student really do have some knowledge. Hell, I'm signing up for Peking University once I get out! So, what do we do now?"

I started walking forward, saying, "The water temperature is about to hit boiling point. If we aren't drowned, we'll be scalded to death. Hurry, let's get to the riverbank and find the boat."

Saying that, we broke into a desperate sprint, but the ice surface had thinned; every step threatened to shatter it. We plunged into the water several times, struggling to climb back onto the ice before continuing our frantic dash.

It was fortunate that the current water temperature was being moderated by the melting ice blocks, or we would have turned into dumplings long ago.

Even so, I felt like an ant crawling on a hot pan.

Soon, we encountered a new problem: the centipede-spiders of the ruins.

Seeing us charge into the structure, the centipede-spiders clinging to the cavern ceiling shrieked and dropped to the ground, but they quickly smashed through the thin ice and fell into the water.

What surprised me was that these things could actually swim, moving with incredible speed underwater.

Luckily, Da Xiong possessed brute strength. He seemed to be going all out, grabbing a massive chunk of ice like a bear and swinging it like a gigantic sledgehammer. Any centipede-spider that charged him was smashed away, flung a great distance with green ichor spraying everywhere.

We continued to run forward. The heavy, ancient structures of the Wei Kingdom, unable to bear the weight of the ice, began to creak loudly before puncturing the surface and sinking into the lakebed. I felt the entire world was giving way, a sensation of utter apocalypse.

Running on the ice was treacherous; we nearly slipped with every two steps. Already battered, our knees and elbows were now bleeding profusely—the scene was gruesome.

Every time Da Xiong fell, he protected his face, determined not to lose his lower front teeth, which would be too unsightly. Fortunately, wearing King Wei's silver helmet, he wasn't injured too badly.

Thus, fighting off the centipede-spiders, dodging collapsing stone houses, and constantly risking falling through the ice, we stumbled and staggered our way to where the boat was moored.

Thankfully, the boat was still there, already afloat, and Jie Yuting sat aboard, waving us over.

I shouted, "My savior!" and leaped, being the first one onto the boat.

Da Xiong, steadying the little mustache behind me, then shoved him toward the boat.

Then, he hesitated on the bank.

I called out loudly, "What are you thinking! Get on!"

Da Xiong rubbed his head and said, "Damn it, I dropped my helmet and the painting. I'm going back to get them!"

I snapped, "You lunatic, this is not the time for—"

Before I could finish, a giant centipede-spider dropped suddenly from the cavern roof, landing right on Da Xiong's back. It opened its massive chelicerae and bit down hard on his shoulder, instantly spurting blood.

Da Xiong cried out in pain, snatched one of the spider's legs with his free hand, and hurled it far away.

My face turned instantly pale, because I knew these things were undoubtedly highly venomous.

Da Xiong touched the wound, cursed, "Damn it, I'm poisoned! Forget it!"

With that, he exerted himself and jumped down. The boat dipped sharply, nearly capsizing. I rushed to hold him steady and examined the wound; it was already turning black.

Sweat broke out on my forehead. I tore open his ragged cotton coat and, mimicking ancient methods, began to suck the blood out of the wound.

After a few draws, Da Xiong started chuckling and pushed me away, saying, "Stop sucking, it tickles!"

He only managed a few laughs before he started gasping like an asthmatic, clutching his neck, his face turning an alarming green—a clear sign of respiratory distress.

Jie Yuting panicked, shoved me aside, and said, "This poison is too strong! Rinse your mouth quickly, let me handle this!"

As I scooped up a handful of scalding water from the pool to rinse my mouth, I watched Jie Yuting pull a disposable syringe from his pocket and inject Da Xiong.

I tried to ask what medicine it was, but my tongue instantly felt stiff, my mouth numb as if I'd eaten half a catty of Sichuan peppercorns, completely refusing to obey me.

Then my head began to spin. My entire jaw felt alien.

I watched Jie Yuting, drenched in sweat, lay Da Xiong flat on the boat and begin pressing on his chest, administering artificial respiration. A wave of despair washed over me.

But the poison was indeed potent. I felt everything around me—the scenery—beginning to blur and spin. I heard the roar around us like tidal waves, felt the water level rising rapidly, and then the boat started moving, drifting toward the dark river in the distance.

My consciousness faded. I felt tears streaming down my cheeks. My last desire was: Da Xiong, please don't die...

The day before yesterday, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck Ebian County, Sichuan Province, with the epicenter located in the Heizhugou Scenic Area. There were some minor landslides within the area, but fortunately, there were no casualties. The Earthquake Bureau stated that this tremor was an aftershock of the Wenchuan earthquake. Although the tremors were strongly felt in Chengdu, experts predict that no major aftershocks will occur in the near future.

Holding the remote control, I lay in a room near the window of a ward, looking out at the gentle sunshine and the birds frolicking on the lawn, listening to the news report playing nearby. I couldn't help but let out a cold sneer: "The Earthquake Bureau is unreliable, as always."

Just then, the ward door opened. Jie Yuting entered, wearing a pink dress shirt and black slim-fit trousers, hands tucked into his pockets.

His first words were, "Well, look who's awake. How does our mummy feel?"

Every inch of my body was injured, requiring bandages for two days, so I did indeed resemble a mummy.

Furthermore, my tongue was still numb. Although I could speak with effort, my speech sounded like a fool's, and I drooled uncontrollably.

Faced with Jie Yuting's teasing, I maintained my composure, offering a slight smile that felt utterly coy, like a sheltered young maiden.

Jie Yuting also had his right hand bandaged and a bandage strip taped across his cheek.

He sat down beside me, sighed, and said, "Things here are mostly settled. I need to head back to Hangzhou; there was a bit of chaos at the establishment. Fatty Da Xiong's condition is stabilized now, but he's still in shock and will likely need to rest for a month or so. Don't worry too much; just focus on healing."

He then pulled a slip of paper and a stack of cash from his pocket, placing them on the table. He looked at me and said, "There are still many mysteries regarding the 'Ghost Eye' affair. I'm taking what we found in the ruins back for research. I'll call you if I discover anything. This note has my address and phone number in Hangzhou; feel free to look for me if you need anything. Your family knows you're hospitalized, but they won't arrive for a while. Use this money for your medical expenses for now."

I estimated the stack of cash was at least one hundred thousand yuan. I thought to myself, how could my River Da Xiong possibly need that much money? Did he view me as a partner for future tomb raiding ventures?

After saying this, Jie Yuting stood up and walked toward the door.

As he walked, he waved to me over his shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, we'll have a chance to meet again."