The raft sped up more and more.
After drifting forward for several hundred meters, the cave ceiling ahead was finally clear—no more hanging human-skin figurines.
Hu Ba Yi and Wang Pangzi had just let out a breath—
When suddenly—
The raft lurched violently.
"Not good—did we hit something?!"
As the raft collided with whatever lay beneath, a harsh metallic scraping sound rang out through the water.
The grating noise made their teeth ache and their heads throb.
"Must be an underwater mechanism!" Shirley Yang said.
Wang Pangzi immediately cursed, "That damned King Xian! Even in death he's still setting traps!"
The mechanism had been triggered—
But before its effects appeared, the tension was unbearable.
No one knew what kind of terrifying thing might emerge next.
Hu Ba Yi, Shirley Yang, and Wang Pangzi were sweating profusely, scanning their surroundings.
Wang Pangzi had already raised the Jianwei air rifle, ready to fire.
Meanwhile—
Xu Lang stood calmly at the rear of the raft, a faint look of anticipation on his face as he stared at the stretch of water they had just passed.
Wang Pangzi couldn't hold back any longer.
"Lord Lang… what are you looking at?"
Xu Lang placed a finger to his lips.
"Shh. Listen."
Wang Pangzi blinked. "Listen to what—"
Before he could finish—
From behind them came a series of plop… plop… plop sounds.
Something was falling into the water.
The sounds were dense and continuous—
Like a sudden summer rainstorm.
Hu Ba Yi, Shirley Yang, and Wang Pangzi were all sharp.
They immediately understood.
Those sounds—
Were the hanging human-skin figurines falling from the bronze chains into the river.
Wang Pangzi's face instantly turned pale.
"Not good! Those things are turning into water ghosts to chase us! Take this—Fatty's steel pellets!"
He raised the air rifle at once.
But even after all their flashlights and headlamps were focused on the river behind them—
Nothing appeared.
After a long moment—
"Row! No matter what it is, we need to get out of here first," Hu Ba Yi said.
Wang Pangzi lowered his rifle and began pushing the raft forward with all his strength.
Xu Lang, however, remained unhurried.
The real show—
Had yet to begin.
The raft continued to accelerate.
The waterway remained straight.
Shirley Yang shone her wolf-eye flashlight ahead—
And saw that the cave ceiling in front was once again filled with hanging human-skin figurines.
Perhaps stirred by the airflow—
The figures swayed slowly in midair.
Like rows of hanging corpses.
Hu Ba Yi and Wang Pangzi were drenched in cold sweat.
The scene was simply too horrifying.
At that moment—
Xu Lang extended his left arm and dipped his hand into the water beneath the raft.
The water was clear and icy cold.
The Golden Silkworm Gu tattoo on his arm began to stir restlessly.
Soon—
The semi-transparent Golden Silkworm Gu emerged once more.
But this time—
It did not take flight.
Instead, it swam through the water.
Its small wings moved like fins, gliding smoothly beneath the surface.