They weren’t moving randomly. They were waiting for the prey to fall into the river and be their feast for today.

"What do we do?" Lu Shixun asked, his voice tight. "Should we shoot them?"

Ye Chen shook his head immediately. "We don’t have enough bullets for that. Just cross the bridge. Once we reach the other side, their attacks won’t be able to reach us."

Lu Shixun nodded quickly. "Right. Let’s just avoid them."

Though it sounded simple.

But reality was far from that.

The moment they started moving again, the water below shifted.

The fish reacted.

Another burst shot upward.

Then another.

This time, they weren’t aiming directly at Ye Chen or Lu Shixun.

They were targeting the bridge.

*Crack!*

One of the wooden planks shattered under the impact, fragments falling into the river below.

The bridge swayed violently.

Lu Shixun nearly lost his balance, his foot slipping for a moment before he caught himself.

"They’re attacking the bridge!" he shouted.

"They’re trying to make us fall," Ye Chen said, his tone steady but firm.

More water bursts followed.

Each one struck the structure instead of them.

Another plank cracked.

A rope snapped slightly, the tension loosening.

The bridge tilted.

Their footing became unstable.

There was no safe place to stand anymore.

Going back wasn’t an option.

The planks behind them were already damaged.

Stopping meant waiting for the bridge to collapse.

Moving forward meant risking the next step breaking under them.

They were trapped in between.

"Damn it..." Lu Shixun muttered, his grip tightening as he tried to keep his balance.

Another burst came.

Ye Chen pulled him aside just in time, the water striking where his leg had been.

The force shook the bridge again.

"Don’t think. Just move," Ye Chen said.

He adjusted his footing and steadied himself before grabbing Lu Shixun’s arm.

"Follow my steps. Don’t hesitate. Otherwise, he would become trapped ducks waiting for death."

Another plank broke further ahead.

The river below churned slightly as the fish repositioned, waiting for the next opportunity to aim and attack.

"Let’s go," Ye Chen said in a low voice.

They moved forward as fast as the unstable bridge allowed, but the situation behind them had already worsened.

The ropes holding the bridge together had endured for years—perhaps centuries—of decay. Under normal conditions, they were barely enough to support weight. Now, with the repeated impacts from the archer fish, they had reached their limit.

Lu Shixun glanced back once, his face tightening. "Brother Ye... I’ve got a bad feeling about this."

The words had barely left his mouth—

*Crack!*

A sharp water burst shot upward and struck one of the main support ropes.

The already frayed strands snapped instantly.

"Shit!"

Ye Chen’s pupils contracted.

He didn’t hesitate.

With one hand, he grabbed Lu Shixun by the collar and pulled him close. At the same time, his other hand shot upward and caught the remaining rope before the bridge completely gave way.

The wooden planks beneath their feet collapsed.

The bridge broke apart in an instant.

Both of them dropped, but not freely.

Ye Chen held onto the rope tightly, his body swinging forward with the sudden momentum. The force pulled them outward over the river, their bodies arcing through the air.

"Hold on!" he shouted.

Lu Shixun didn’t even have time to respond properly. He clutched onto Ye Chen instinctively as the swing carried them across.

Below them, the river churned.

The archer fish reacted immediately.

Water bursts shot upward one after another, slicing through the air toward them like bullets.

The timing was tight.

One passed just beneath Ye Chen’s feet.

Another cut through the space behind Lu Shixun’s back.

The rope creaked under the strain, swaying violently.

For a brief moment, it felt like everything would fail at once.

But the swing continued.

Ye Chen adjusted his grip, using the momentum instead of fighting it. As they reached the highest point of the arc, he pulled hard, shifting their direction just enough.

Their bodies cleared the final distance.

Then, they landed on the opposite side.

Ye Chen released the rope and rolled forward, absorbing the impact before quickly getting back to his feet.

Lu Shixun stumbled but managed to stay upright.

Behind them, the remaining rope snapped completely.

The broken pieces of the bridge fell into the river, disappearing beneath the surface.

Maybe luck was on their side, or maybe all the excellent marksmen among them were taken away by Su Mo, but none of their attacks landed on Ye Chen and Lu Shixun from beginning to end.

More water bursts followed, but this time, too, they fell short. The range was no longer enough.

"Run," Ye Chen said.

They didn’t stop.

Even after reaching the other side safely, they kept moving until the sound of water and the threat behind them faded completely.

Only then did they slow down.

Lu Shixun bent slightly, breathing heavily. "We... survived."

Ye Chen stood straight, his expression calm but cold. "Stay alert. This place isn’t done with us."

He wasn’t relieved that they escaped from those deadly fish.

If anything, his guard rose higher.

Everything they had encountered so far—traps, poison, corpses, snakes, fish—none of it made sense under normal understanding. This tomb wasn’t just dangerous. It kept refreshing his worldview again and again.

Lu Shixun felt it too.

His earlier confidence had faded, replaced by a constant tension.

They continued forward.

After a short distance, the passage split. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Then split again.

And again.

Lu Shixun stopped.

"...This is a maze."

Ye Chen looked at him. "Can you handle it?"

Lu Shixun nodded, forcing himself to focus. "Don’t worry. I’ve dealt with this before. Leave it to me."

"That’s good."

Ye Chen let out a breath, though the relief didn’t last long.

A sharp screech echoed from above.

Lu Shixun instinctively looked up. "Is that a bat?"

Then he looked down.

His expression froze.

"Brother Ye... look."

On the ground, large crimson scorpions moved slowly, their tails raised...