I knew this stone hand wouldn't have simply sprouted from the Wisteria vines. Nor could it be the hand of a stone statue.

Because statues don't move, and the owner of this hand was capable of motion. Thinking it over, there were only two possibilities: either someone was moving the statue and accidentally exposed the hand, or the stone had somehow come to life.

The thought of the stone coming to life made me inwardly scoff; only an unreliable person like Da Xiong would entertain such a bizarre notion. Remembering Da Xiong’s ultimate miserable state, I couldn't help but sigh again.

Ultimately, the first possibility was the most likely. Evidently, Long Jia thought the same, giving me a meaningful look—an unspoken instruction to go check what was moving the statue.

I nodded, calmed the frantically agitated Xiwei, and prepared to head toward the Wisteria with it. However, at that moment, Xiwei showed no intention of advancing, remaining crouched, emitting low, warning growls from its throat.

Seeing me about to move forward, Xiwei finally sprang up, clamped its jaws onto my pant leg, and pulled me backward. I frowned, unsure what Xiwei was afraid of.

But then, Long Jia suddenly shrieked, "Look! The hand moved!" I quickly looked toward the hand, and there, reflecting the stone's faint gleam, the large, dark hand actually shifted its fingers.

Its fingers were remarkably agile, no less so than a human hand. I watched as several fingers twitched, seemingly testing their mobility.

Finally, four fingers curled inward while the index finger pointed upward, forming a gesture as if indicating a direction. But it wasn't pointing the way; it was pointing at me.

I was somewhat perplexed, thinking, Why is this thing pointing at me? What exactly is it?

Amidst my confusion, I also felt a strange sensation, a deep intuition that there was some obscure meaning hidden here. Just then, I suddenly felt an itch on my scalp, assuming some insect had fallen from the roof into my hair.

So, I lowered my head and scratched my hair, finding nothing unusual. At that moment, Long Jia, standing beside me, looked at me with wide, terrified eyes, and I turned to look at her.

Instantly, I realized that her hair, just like mine, appeared strange. Several strands of her shoulder-length, medium-dark hair were standing straight up.

As I wondered what was happening, more and more hair on Long Jia's head stood erect, rising one strand at a time like noodles. Seeing her gaze at me in horror, I touched the hair on my own head and discovered that because my hair was short, nearly all of it was standing straight up—no wonder I had felt that persistent itch earlier.

Next, I noticed it wasn't just the hair standing on end; a faint white smoke began to slowly rise from the skin on the back of my hands, accompanied by stinging pain radiating from my arms. In terms of scientific knowledge, I had more experience than Long Jia, so I immediately shouted, "Water!

Pour water on yourselves, quick!" As I shouted, I pulled the water flask I always carried from my backpack and poured it over my own head. A wave of icy coldness made my whole body jump.

After doing this, I saw that Xiwei beside me also had all its fur standing up and was emitting wisps of greenish smoke, so I quickly poured the remaining water over it. Long Jia, across from us, followed my instructions and emptied her own water flask over herself.

Long Jia’s chestnut-brown long hair, soaked by the water, plastered itself against her face. Usually meticulous about her appearance and always maintaining a cold, distant expression, she looked rather comical in that moment.

I smiled faintly, preparing to walk over and offer comfort to the still-shaken woman. But after taking only three steps, Long Jia thrust out a hand, making a stopping gesture, and said tensely, "Don't come closer, stop, stop right there." I looked at her, utterly bewildered, and asked, "What's wrong?" Long Jia pointed to the ground between us and said, "Do you see it?" At first, I didn't notice anything on the ground, but following Long Jia’s pointed direction, I gasped, a chill running down my spine.

Because I saw a faint, bluish line on the floor, rising briefly like a tiny tree, extending upward until it connected with the gilded ceiling six or seven meters above us. This blue line emitted a soft glow, unstable, twisting and swaying intermittently like a water snake or a seductive woman swaying her hips.

I recognized the blue line for what it was: electricity! Even weak currents could form visible lines; people familiar with the electronic igniters in lighters knew that pressing the button would emit a visible spark of current.

This kind of current wasn't strong enough to burn someone, only causing a brief, tingling numbness on the skin. The tiny thread of current before us wasn't much thicker than the spark from a lighter, so I shouldn't have been worried.

But what horrified me was that there wasn't just one thread of this faint current, but dozens scattered around us, some skimming so close they nearly grazed my skin. More terrifyingly, these small currents were constantly combining, merging with each other, slowly growing thicker.

And every time one current was absorbed, a new one would generate. In the single minute Long Jia spoke to me while I observed the currents, those fine threads had thickened by at least threefold.

I knew that being touched by any one of them now would be unpleasant, and staying here meant we would eventually be scorched by the electricity. So, I disregarded caution and lunged forward to grab Long Jia and flee.

But as soon as I moved, Long Jia cried out, "Don't mind me! Don't come closer, you need to leave!" I didn't understand what she meant, but after a quick observation, I saw Long Jia’s entire body was trembling slightly, and thin tendrils of white smoke were rising from her.

Looking back at the ground, I realized why. The water she poured on herself had dripped down her body and formed a puddle around her feet.

This puddle was spreading along the ground, increasing in area, and intersecting with many of the electrical lines. These currents were conducting through the water to Long Jia’s body, causing her to suffer the searing effects of several arcs simultaneously.

Although there was also a puddle of water beneath my own feet, I was wearing lightweight hiking boots designed to insulate against power, and I was still standing on the piece of wooden plank Zoya had given me. Long Jia, finding the plank troublesome, had long since discarded hers.

Watching the puddle expand and attract more and more currents, I desperately wanted to slap myself, thinking, Why did I preach about pouring water on ourselves instead of running away immediately? While water could handle static electricity, I hadn't expected such a powerful electric field to exist here; I had inadvertently harmed her!

Seeing Long Jia trembling violently, I swallowed hard and said, "Don't panic, sister, I'm coming to save you now. If I can just move you out of that puddle, I can carry you out." Long Jia didn't speak; the smoke rising from her body intensified, and she bit down hard on her lower lip, clearly in immense pain.