We were both startled by the shadowy figure and hastily stepped back a few paces.

But upon closer inspection, we realized the figure was actually a person.

This person wore a tattered hoodie, the cap pulled low, with long bangs completely obscuring their face.

They were entirely soaked, steam rising visibly from their body.

Seeing the two crossed, cruciform blades on their back, I immediately recognized him and shouted, "Little Brother Zhang!" The young man surnamed Zhang wiped the water from his face, pulled down his hood, glanced at me and Nie Chuan, then at Da Xiong and Xie Yuting lying on the ground.

After a long silence, he asked, "What happened to these two...?" I didn't know how to answer him, merely stating, "They're injured, pretty seriously." "How did they get hurt like this? I told you all to leave, didn't I?" Little Brother Zhang asked, glancing around as if casually. "Actually...

they were hurt by someone...

but I'm not entirely sure," I mumbled hesitantly.

Little Brother Zhang then pulled off his jacket, revealing a muscular yet lean torso, and continued in that same casual tone, "It seems you encountered the same thing...

There is no Bronze Gate here at all.

We were all tricked; everything is..." He stopped mid-sentence.

I suddenly noticed a thin black line appearing on his formerly smooth skin, circling his waist and extending outward, branching into an intricate pattern that finally solidified into a living Qilin tattoo. "This..." I was stunned.

I had never seen a tattoo that could automatically hide and then appear, so I asked, "Thermal sensing?" Little Brother Zhang suddenly made a 'shush' gesture and said, "Danger nearby!" So this tattoo was a danger detector? That was incredibly advanced.

I needed to ask him where he got it done later.

Thinking that, I looked at the water level rising beneath the rock.

The temperature had reached boiling point, and the vapor surrounding us obscured our vision to only about five meters. "What kind of danger could be in water this hot? Could it be a dead pig?" I asked in a low voice.

Nie Chuan, having excellent hearing, asked me, "What dead pig or live pig?" I gave an awkward smile and replied, "Only a dead pig isn't afraid of boiling water..." "Splash..." Just as Nie Chuan was about to roll his eyes at me, a distinct sound of water erupted around us.

I heard it clearly—less than ten meters behind us.

The gazes of the three of us instantly snapped around, but in the thick mist, nothing was visible.

Moreover, the water sound had been very faint, like the sound of a fish struggling violently as it’s pulled out of the water while fishing.

After a few seconds, the movement stopped.

I said to Little Brother Zhang, "It looks like the creature isn't large; it probably isn't a major threat, right?" Little Brother Zhang remained silent, but one hand had already picked up the two blades from the ground. "Be vigilant.

The danger is drawing closer..." he said in a deep voice.

Seeing that he wasn't joking, I inexplicably tensed up.

Splash...

The faint sound of water returned, but this time it came from our left.

It seemed the entity had likely circled the rock and was waiting for an opportunity to attack.

As I was thinking this, a splashing sound suddenly came from our right.

As soon as I turned my head, I heard splashing sounds all around us, like the commotion when fishermen haul in a net, with many fish thrashing on the surface. "There are that many of them?" I asked, surprised, leaning back-to-back with Nie Chuan. "It's not about quantity; it’s a diversion tactic!" A few seconds later, Little Brother Zhang delivered a phrase that jolted me awake.

I asked, "A feint? To divert whom? And for what purpose?" As I spoke, I suddenly saw Da Xiong's body seem to shift slightly.

Thinking he had woken up, I looked down.

Then Da Xiong's body moved again.

This time I saw clearly: he wasn't moving because he was waking up; he was being dragged by something.

Puzzled, I quickly reached out and grabbed one of Da Xiong's legs, yelling to Nie Chuan, "Quick, see what's under him!" Nie Chuan crouched down and forcibly rolled Da Xiong onto his side.

We then saw a shriveled, small black hand gripping Da Xiong's hair near the back of his neck, pulling downwards.

Not far ahead, a small black head, its features obscured, peeked over the stone platform. "Damn it! It's a Jiangshi! Gear up!" I thought this because the figure was far too thin; even its head was only half the size of a normal person's—only a Jiangshi would have such a build! Nie Chuan braced Da Xiong with one hand and reached for his gun with the other, already sweating profusely from fear.

But Little Brother Zhang's speed was clearly far greater.

A flash of cold light cut through the air, and one of the long blades was instantly plunged into the hand that the Jiangshi had extended.

We heard no screams or roars; we just saw the dark figure dissolve like smoke and vanish abruptly.

I was dumbfounded and muttered to myself, "This isn't another hallucination I'm having, is it?" "Quick, move them both toward the center.

That thing isn't a Jiangshi, and it's much harder to deal with!" "Damn, what the hell was that? How did it just disappear?" Nie Chuan asked in shock. "Stop dawdling and move the two injured men toward the center of the rock.

If this fat guy hadn't been heavy enough just now, he might have already been dragged into the water," Little Brother Zhang said with a frown.

Seeing that his usual composure was gone and he was sweating nervously, I knew this was definitely an unusual situation.

Even when dealing with the enforcers from the Bronze Gate, Little Brother Zhang usually remained calm.

So, while dragging Da Xiong and Xie Yuting, Nie Chuan and I asked, "What exactly is this thing? Do you know its origin?" Little Brother Zhang opened his mouth as if about to tell us something, but before the words escaped, a splashing sound erupted from our right, and a completely black entity leaped onto the large rock.

Its shape was somewhat similar to a human, but it moved on all fours, hunkering down, lifting its head, and silently staring at the three of us.

Little Brother Zhang said, "Get over here! Behind me!" As he spoke, he drew both blades from their sheaths, holding them crossed in front of him, adopting a posture of intense defense.

Nie Chuan and I weren't cowards, but standing next to this young man, we felt utterly weak.

If he was afraid, how could we possibly confront it head-on? However, hiding behind him would damage our manly pride, so we ended up standing just to his left and right, encircling the two wounded men in the middle.

The black humanoid monster was initially quite calm.

The moment it saw the blades in Little Brother Zhang's hands, it seemed to flinch slightly.

It had to be a bizarre creature, because when it was relaxed, the black gas drifting from its body was as faint as light smoke, slowly swirling around it.

But when it tensed up, the black smoke immediately condensed and returned entirely to its body, making the whole figure as black as ink.

Seeing that the humanoid monster feared him, Little Brother Zhang seemed to gain some confidence and slowly stepped forward.

At this move, the black monster crouched even lower and slowly retreated a step.

I guessed that this monster should have been ferocious, as patches of black flame ignited where its feet touched the stone, causing the rock to melt.

But Little Brother Zhang was no pushover either.

This was like a lion encountering a tiger; without knowing the opponent's strength, neither dared to move rashly.

Yet, this probing was filled with murderous intent.

Indeed, just as I thought that, the humanoid monster suddenly leaped up without warning and lunged toward Little Brother Zhang.

But Little Brother Zhang's reaction was equally swift; almost simultaneously, he threw one of the blades.

Then we heard a thwack, and the monster was cleaved in half by the flying blade, dissolving into a cloud of black smoke and vanishing.

My breath hitched.

The blade that struck the monster was now embedded in the ground, and the blade itself was instantly melting into molten iron, as if splashed with acid.

Little Brother Zhang sighed beside me, "Village Elder, it seems our fate together has run its course.

What a pity." I felt as though the Cunzheng demon blade emitted a faint, mournful cry as it melted.

Little Brother Zhang seemed to hear it more clearly than us, slowly closing his eyes.

After all, the Cunzheng demon blade had helped us before, and a sense of regret welled up in my heart.

However, this feeling had barely formed when, suddenly, the water all around us began to boil violently.

It seemed that the monsters surrounding us were enraged by the death of their comrade.

Then we heard several whoosh sounds as over a dozen black humanoid monsters jumped onto the large rock.

This time, we tightened our circle even further, and fear was evident in everyone’s eyes.

I swallowed hard with effort and asked Little Brother Zhang, "How many more blades do you have?" Little Brother Zhang shot me a look, glanced at the Black Gold Ancient Blade in his hand, and ran a hand along its spine.

This blade seemed to have been with him for a long time, as he handled it with evident reverence.

Judging by his demeanor, even if the humanoid monsters melted him later, he was determined to protect this knife.

As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers.

Facing over a dozen of these black monsters, they had gained some collective confidence and no longer feared Little Brother Zhang, growing restless and preparing to pounce.

I knew that even a slight touch from them would cause one to dissolve into viscous fluid, just like that blade.

These things were indeed far more formidable than Jiangshi or those so-called Executioners.

It seemed that although we had escaped the ancient ruins created by illusion, we were ultimately still doomed to die.

But at that moment, a flash of inspiration struck my mind.

I asked myself aloud, "That thing touched Da Xiong earlier, so why didn't Da Xiong melt?" A moment later, I figured out the reason and slapped my thigh, exclaiming, "Hair! They can't destroy hair!" However, this discovery seemed useless, as our hair was too short to cover our entire bodies for a fight, right? Little Brother Zhang just glanced back at me and said, "And then?"