Tick-tock.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Everyone heard Jiang Nuo's words.
They looked around, none of them knowing where the sound of water was coming from; it seemed so close, dripping right next to their ears.
But upon closer listening, it seemed very far away, making it impossible to determine the exact location.
Si Yan looked up at the square tomb chamber. "The echoes here are too strong, it seems..."
Before he could finish speaking, his gaze suddenly fell on one of the general's statues.
The statue's eyes, ears, and nose were bleeding, but its originally pursed lips slowly curved upwards, as if it were smiling.
The ticking sound came from them.
Because there were three statues and the echo was so loud, it was impossible to hear clearly.
Jiang Nuo and Si Yan gripped the daggers tightly, imbuing the blades with their Spiritual Power. However, after several seconds, the statue continued to bleed without showing any sign of moving. The blood flowed more and more, eventually draining like a faucet.
A thin layer of blood had accumulated on the ground, and the stench of blood was strong and pungent.
As oxygen levels decreased, everyone clearly felt difficulty breathing.
Si Yan's eyes blurred for a moment when she saw the mural behind the statue.
He quickly regained his senses and began searching for a way out.
At the same time, the entire tomb began to shake, and everyone screamed that they needed to escape as soon as possible.
The atmosphere became tense, and Si Yan raced against time to search according to the layout of the tomb chamber.
Jiang Nuo, unusually, remained silent, simply gazing at the statues as blood flowed down their bodies.
Si Yan accidentally pushed open the coffin and found the way out of the third floor was through the hole in the center. Everyone rushed down, but Jiang Nuo was still standing there, blood already spreading up to her feet.
"Come down quickly, Si Yan!! This place is going to collapse!" Song Zheng shouted loudly, looking anxious.
Several people fell and were injured due to the crowd, and turned around to call for help.
In the critical moment, Si Yan told Song Zheng to take them down first, and then ran back to Jiang Nuo's side, shaking his shoulder.
" Nuonuo!"
Si Yan grabbed him and pulled away, her brows furrowed with worry. "What's wrong?"
Jiang Nuo let him shake her, and the moment she looked up at Si Yan, her pupils turned black. Then she opened her mouth, but her voice turned into a high-pitched female voice.
" At the Eternal Life River... at the Eternal Life River... jump in."
" Nuonuo..."
Si Yan realized something was wrong and pressed Jiang Nuo's acupoints, trying to bring him back to his senses, but those words kept echoing in his ears.
"Jump into the Eternal Life River, or you'll be plagued by misfortune and never... never be able to leave..."
Si Yan touched the cold, wet body, pushed Jiang Nuo away, and looked on in horror.
"You're not Jiang Nuo..."
Jiang Nuo was still smiling, a high-pitched laugh escaping her throat.
A huge rock crashed down, Si Yan looked up abruptly, her pupils trembling.
" Si Yan!!"
Jiang Nuo poked Si Yan's cheek, and when he suddenly snapped out of his reverie, she asked in confusion, "Why did you suddenly space out...?"
Before she could finish her question, Si Yan hugged her tightly. Jiang Nuo blinked lightly, stunned for two seconds.
What's wrong with you?
He gently patted Si Yan's back, his tone softening.
Si Yan was still taking deep breaths, the pain from being hit by the boulder still lingering. Only after Jiang Nuo's gentle coaxing did Si Yan gradually come to her senses, looking blankly at the crowd who were still searching for a way out.
"I..."
Si Yan's voice was a little hoarse. He then released Jiang Nuo from his arms, looked at him intently, and asked, "What was I doing just now?"
Jiang Nuo raised her chin slightly. "I said I heard the sound of water, and you suddenly spaced out."
"The sound of water..."
Images flashed through Si Yan's mind as she recalled the murals she had seen behind the statue.
Was it influenced by that...?
"Blood!!"
Finally, someone discovered that the sound of water was coming from the statue's body, and after touching it, their hands were covered in blood, and they felt terrible.
"These statues are bleeding!"
Jiang Nuo was about to turn her head to look when Si Yan covered her eyes.
"Don't look."
They could all see in the dark, seeing things that ordinary people couldn't, including murals.
Hearing the deep voice beside her, Jiang Nuo smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll try another direction."
Si Yan still held Jiang Nuo in his arms, watching as these people, just like in the hallucination, wandered aimlessly, searching for a way out. His gaze slowly fell on the coffin.
"I know the way down."
He held Jiang Nuo's hand tightly, not letting go for a moment, and the two of them together pushed open the coffin, revealing the opening below.
Song Zheng chuckled in shock, "How did you know the way out was under the coffin!"
Jiang Nuo glanced at Si Yan, who remained silent, and rolled her eyes at Song Zheng. "I'm all-powerful, get down here."
This time, Si Yan didn't hesitate and took Jiang Nuo's hand, jumping down first.
One by one, the people jumped down. The middle-aged man with a scar on his face hesitated for a moment, then exchanged a glance with the bald man next to him. The two of them unanimously chose to be the last to go down.
Taking advantage of the chaos, they grabbed a handful of jewels from the coffin and stuffed them into their chests before jumping down one after the other.
Scarface didn't notice that among the jewels he hid in his chest was an extremely blood-red ruby. And the instant he jumped, the strange water source held in the general's statue disappeared, and the ruby became even redder.
After jumping to the fourth level, no one dared to make a move, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Song Zheng was utterly bewildered. "We jumped from a tomb chamber to the edge of a pitch-black cliff?"
How big is this place?! How can there be bottomless cliffs and mountain peaks?! This can't be real!
Jiang Nuo's hand, which was being held, gently caressed Si Yan's palm. Noticing that he still hadn't relaxed, she joked, "The fourth floor is quite large, but it's not really suitable for two people to walk side by side."
He shook Si Yan's arm. "I'm going to fall, darling."
Si Yan then came to her senses, stood behind Jiang Nuo, and looked around at everything.
The cliff face was extremely dark, with only a narrow path jutting out to provide a place to stand. To the left was a solid rock wall, and to the right was a bottomless black pit.
Jiang Nuo tossed a small stone in and tilted her head to listen to the sound.
A few seconds later, a faint sound of water splashing could be heard.
"Wow, there's water flowing down there! Judging from the sound, the current isn't very strong; it's probably a small underground river."
Just as Jiang Nuo finished her guess, Si Yan forcefully grabbed her hand again, seemingly out of fear.
"Should we keep moving forward?" Song Zheng held up his flashlight and looked around for a long time, but he couldn't find a second way out except to keep going forward.
Jiang Nuo took out several long and large hemp ropes and had them all hold onto them to prevent anyone from falling behind.
The group walked forward, with Jiang Nuo still at the very front.
This road seems endless, with no end in sight.