Zhang Yuanqing and the others arrived at the water spring. The water was clear, yet deep and unseeable, like a blue-black circular moon embedded in the cave. Hong Ji Ge gently kicked a decaying water wheel, looking around with concern. "What's wrong here? I'd think it should be meal time now. I wonder if there are any fish in the spring—let's go down and check. Maybe we can have some sashimi, fresh as it gets!" Yet, he didn't want there to be any fish, because after lunch, afternoon tea would be just around the corner. What if, halfway through the boss battle, this guy wanted to enjoy his afternoon tea instead? Zhang Yuanqing silently complained. Guan Ya said, "We've searched the entire mountain cave and found no hidden passages—this water spring is the only possibility." Zhang Yuanqing nodded in understanding. "You mean the entrance to the next stage lies beneath the spring?" Guan Ya didn't respond. The Silver Princess thought for a moment. "The entrance is beneath the spring." Guan Ya smiled and praised, "That's quite clever." "Then what are we waiting for?" "Red Chicken Brother removed a large coat made of fish skin and draped it over his shoulders, 'Let's go down now. I've got my water spirit equipment too—cost me five million!' He said this to Xiaohou Aotian and Yuan Shishen, having once borrowed underwater gear from Yin Ji when they were at the Cliff Mountain Sea. 'I'll send Yin Shi down first to scout the way,' said Zhao Chenguang. He opened the bronze box, and from it stepped out a water-elemental Yin Shi, who plunged straight into the pond. White waves and foam surged, rippling the calm pond. The Yin Shi swam like a swift fish, its body undulating as it darted toward the bottom. Zhao Chenguang closed his eyes, fully focusing his mind on guiding the Yin Shi. Zhang Yuancheng turned to Sun Miaomiao, 'To be honest, I haven't seen you using the Yin Shi on the journey—have you not brought it along?' 'Not at all!' Sun Miaomiao confirmed. Zhang Yuancheng looked stunned, 'I'm truly delighted that you have such confidence in me, but isn't that a bit too casual?' Sun Miaomiao immediately rolled her eyes. "My talent in corpse control is average, but I have a very high compatibility with spirit servants, so I focus primarily on training spirit servants." Her eyes were large and round, naturally bright and childlike—neither coy nor ethereal—making her especially endearing when she rolled her eyes. "Ah, that makes sense," Zhang Yuanqing exhaled in relief, "Then I can finally relax and not have to worry about you anymore." Sun Miaomiao protested, "How dare you ignore me!" "And how does she have the right to manage you?" The question wasn't just one person's—it came from both Xiao Yuan and Guan Ya, who spoke in unison, their coordination seamless. Sun Miaomiao paused, slightly indignant, and shifted her gaze to the pond. In real life, she was always the calm, composed girl who rarely argued; but online, at this very moment, she was already launching a full-scale offensive, using just her keyboard to demonstrate what true strength looked like. Yin Yao, the Lady of Yin County, folded her handheld microphone and tucked it into her pocket, then gently pulled at Zhang Yuanqing's sleeve, giving him a swift, decisive glance to signal that Zhang Yuanqing followed her to a side. Yin Yao, the Princess, spoke softly in her unique way of communication: "The evidence against them—the Cat King speaker—has already been recorded. With this leverage, you can command and control them. King Yuan used exactly this method to manage his allies back then." She paused and added, "This approach works equally well for the consorts." How could one possibly hold a grudge against their parents, curse their mothers, or prescribe birth control to their fathers?—what leverage could possibly be stronger? Zhang Yuanqing murmured, "Keep it safe. I'll show you how I'll handle them." As he spoke, he glanced at his teammates, gaining a deeper, clearer understanding of each of them. Zhang Yuanqing was generally satisfied with this confession, except for Hong Jiguo, who had committed several misdeeds during his time in the social club. Even Hong Jiguo, however, has gradually distanced himself from any involvement in darker affairs in recent years. "Making a living on high-interest loans isn't even that lucrative, and the aftereffects are so severe. My grandfather just needs to assign me a few projects, and I'll be able to achieve several personal goals—clean, untainted earnings." That's what Red Chicken Brother said. As for Tianxia Guihuo, his situation is more serious; in the eyes of the Mage-Eyed King, a disgrace to the Fire Master deserves a seppuku. However, Tianxia Guihuo is different from Sun Miao Miao and the others—he's from the common people's background, and to rise above, he must carry the mud of ordinary life with him. As a high-ranking Saint, receiving bribes totaling several million, he still can't afford a decent house in Songhai—only enough to improve his daily life. To Zhang Yuanqing, that's actually quite acceptable. Princess Yin Yao, with her bright red eyes, asked, "Have you entrusted the speaker to me?" "Certainly!" Zhang Yuanqing said softly. "But both you and the speaker must remain within my line of sight. Outside of that, you must not carry it with you." Lady Yin Yao nodded with delight, then hesitated, saying, "You've suddenly been so kind to me... we agreed that you wouldn't expect me to stay with you overnight." You won't have a chance, because you're cold... Zhang Yuanqing said little and returned to the edge of the water pool. At that moment, Zhao Chenguang opened his eyes and said, "There's a passage beneath the water, free of danger, leading to another water pool. Outside the pool is a cave, inside which stands a strange metallic machine. Two stone tablets stand by the pool's edge—one inscribed with 'Non-fate,' 'Non-joy,' and the other with 'Loyal to the State, Devoted to the Nation.'" Xia Hou Ao Tian stroked his chin, "Non-fate means one doesn't believe in fate—'My destiny is mine, not heaven's.'" The Red Rooster, rarely showing such intelligence, asked, "Then 'Non-joy' simply means not believing in music, doesn't it?" "Clearly not. Can't you read a little more?" "Xia Hou Ao Tian looked down upon him, saying, "Music is merely a surface phenomenon. The 'music' in question refers to the rites and music system. This system is elaborate and luxurious, labor-intensive and costly, which contradicts the Mohist principle of frugality in both expenditure and burial. Therefore, it must be resisted." "Then what does 'loyalty and dedication to the country' mean?" Red Chicken Brother was unconvinced. Xia Hou Ao Tian pondered thoughtfully, "Perhaps... 'When the wolf smoke rises, the land looks northward; the dragon stirs, the horses neigh, their swords gleam like frost'? The Mohists never mentioned such a concept. Today, however..." "..." "Enough! Be quiet!" Zhang Yuanqing, as the head of the association, promptly cut off the pointless monologue, saying, "Zhao Chenghuang, use the shadow body to test the situation—what kind of danger will you encounter?" Zhao Chenghuang nodded slightly and closed his eyes once more. After half a minute, he suddenly opened them, his tone serious: "The shadow body has lost contact with me." Zhang Yuanqing understood that, for a night-wanderer, this meant the shadow body "Zhao Chenghuang's expression suddenly grew strange," "I only saw the machine spinning, then my spiritual body returned—by the time I realized what had happened, I had no idea what had transpired." This... Zhang Yuanqing also grew serious. The unknown danger was the most terrifying, because you could never prepare specifically for it, and when it struck, you'd perish without understanding what had happened. Guan Ya, Xiao Yuan, and the others understood this principle well, so their expressions were all serious. Only Hong Ji Ge remained undaunted, full of spirit: "Let's go down and find out—wasting time here doing nothing won't help." Indeed, sometimes, the very people who seemed least thoughtful were the ones whose words were hardest to refute. Yet Zhao Chenghuang still felt it necessary to take a cautious approach. He clenched his teeth and said, "I'll try once more." As he spoke, another spectral corpse emerged from the bronze storage box and plunged into the pond. Amidst the dense, rippling white bubbles, the spectral corpse moved with slightly clumsy strokes, gliding steadily toward the pond's depths. As everyone remained silent and waited, Zhao Chenguang, who had been closing his eyes, suddenly said, "I saw the earlier ghost body—it was beheaded and completely damaged." Guan Ya immediately replied, "Check if there are any concealed blade mechanisms nearby, and examine the spot where the ghost body 'died' for any traces of cuts or sword marks." Like ballistic patterns, such marks could reverse-engineer the direction of the attack, yet the source of any hidden mechanisms had never been identified. "None...," Zhao Chenguang frowned. "Try to guide the ghost body closer this time, and pay close attention—observe carefully to determine what the threat actually is," said Tian Xia Gui Huo. Xiao Yuan and Asano Ryō remained quiet, intently observing. Due to their professions and nationalities, they had often felt out of place within the small team, and thus had remained silent throughout the journey. Zhao Chenguang kept his eyes closed, murmuring, "Hmm." After several seconds, he suddenly opened his eyes, his mouth twitching slightly, "The connection has broken again. Once more, I still can't identify the origin of the danger, though I've noticed a detail." "What details?" Zhang Yuanqing asked on behalf of everyone. "The characters on the metal machinery seem to have changed..." "What kind of characters?" Zhao Chenghuang gave a slight twitch at his mouth. "Ancient script—unfamiliar." The group turned to Xiahou Aotian, who crossed his arms and looked up confidently. "Write it down." Zhao Chenghuang retrieved a short blade from his inventory and inscribed a character in the mud beside Tan. The group stared, utterly puzzled. Xiahou Aotian nodded. "Jiongdingwen—this character means 'dog.'" "Dog?" The group remained equally baffled. Xiahou Aotian shrugged. "Anyway, that's what it means." "Enough! Your ink blots are driving me mad. Dive in!" Red Chicken Brother, seeing only useless information, could bear it no longer and plunged headfirst into the pond. Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment, then said: "Dive in. Guessing here won't help. Zhao Chenghuang has already lost two yin corpses. If we make the yin corpses pay the same price again as expendable sacrifices, we'll gain nothing He donned the Yin-Yang robe and plunged into the pond, joining Red Chicken Brother in entering the water. Spectators along the pond edge swiftly retrieved their water spirit props and one after another jumped in. The pond water was cool and clear, floating countless fine microbial particles; beyond five meters, the light from above completely vanished. Members of the team gracefully swayed their bodies, riding the current downward, reaching the pond's bottom within a few minutes. Zhang Yuanqing spotted Red Chicken Brother's figure in the distance, the fire master, seemingly without thought, heading into a dark tunnel. He quickly followed, entering the tunnel just behind him. The tunnel curved upward, and within a few minutes, they reached its end. "Plash!" Red Chicken Brother emerged from the pond, carefully surveying his surroundings. Zhang Yuanqing stepped out from behind him, lightly propelling himself against the pond's edge, then leapt out. A deep crimson glow rose from his body, where droplets of water hissed and crackled. As he dried off his wet form, he scanned the cave ahead. The cave is not particularly large, only about twice the size of the "frugal" and "clearly visible spirits" caves. At the center of the cave stands a metallic machine three meters high, resting on a heavy, bronze-cast square base measuring one meter in length, width, and height. Upon the base, a bronze crescent moon is mounted, resembling a floating crescent ship on water. Between two sharp crescents, a football-sized bronze sphere hovers, composed of small square blocks arranged like a magic cube. Each of these small blocks bears twisted bronze inscriptions. "Plip-plip-plip..." the sound of water gushing forth continues, one after another, as Guan Ya, Xiao Yuan, and others emerge from the pond. Tian Xia Gui presses the shoulders of Xia Hou Aotian and Zhao Chenguang, using his exceptional fire-control abilities to evaporate the moisture while simultaneously observing the cave's interior. "Steam the water," Zhang Yuanqing says, handing Guan Ya the yin-yang robe. "Indeed, there is 'loyalty and dedication to the nation.' "Red Chicken Brother tapped the stone stele and then pointed toward the distant metallic machinery, saying, 'Could the danger come from that thing?' Suddenly, the usually quiet Xiao Yuan spoke up: 'Not necessarily—it might come from above.' She gestured toward the ceiling. Everyone looked up, where numerous dark openings, each the size of a water tank, were scattered across the stone cave's roof. 'Why?' asked Sun Miao Miao, lifting her head as she spoke. 'The two bodies died at different locations,' explained Xiao Yuan. 'The first corpse, a shade, died beneath the openings, while the second shade died near the machine.' 'That makes sense,' nodded Sun Miao Miao. Guan Ya exhaled, 'Both corpses were cut cleanly at the neck with sharp blades. If the danger originated from above, we'd expect to see blade marks on the ground—but there are none. Therefore, the danger must come from the metallic machine.' Xiao Yuan glanced at her, 'Whatever you say.' Guan Ya smiled politely but didn't seem convinced, 'Thank you!' 'Ahem!' Zhang Yuanqing timely interrupted the "dispute," saying, "Zhao Chenghuang, let's try out your bronze soldier. Right now, what's most urgent is to understand the rules of this stone cave—the nature of its attacks, their intensity, and so on." Zhao Chenghuang immediately produced a bronze box, summoned his spiritual attendant, and maneuvered a bronze soldier figure close to the cave. Everyone watched the soldier intently, patiently waiting. At such moments, the advantage of having a night-wanderer in the group became evident—there was always a sacrificial footfall. The soldier moved smoothly through the metal machinery, completing a full circuit within the cave without encountering any attack. This result left everyone both puzzled and surprised. "The shadow corpses are attacked, but not the bronze soldier? What's the difference between them?" asked Zhang Yuanqing. "The bronze soldier is inanimate—an object. While the shadow corpses, though lifeless, are still considered living beings," noted Sun Miao Miao, demonstrating solid professional knowledge. "What if we place you all inside Little Red Cap and then use your ability to transport objects and hurl them through?" Zhang Yuanqing suddenly proposed. Do it now. He immediately produced Little Red Cap and summoned Ichan Mi, using the spiritual servant's sacred object ability to hurl the cap forward. Under everyone's watchful gaze, Little Red Cap drifted gracefully ahead, and as it passed by a metallic machine, a sudden "humming" vibration echoed within the machine, accompanied by the sounds of gears turning and link rods shifting. Zhao Chenghuang calmly reminded, "That's the sound—attack is imminent."