The water surface was rising extremely fast. With the surrounding inflow remaining stable, this situation was incredibly bizarre, as if…
"I know!" Wu Tianzhen discovered the anomaly and shouted, "The outlet at the bottom of the pool is having problems!"
"It must be blocked by something!"
Fatty was twisting his hips as he climbed the branches of the bronze tree. Despite his large build, he was quite agile. The way he moved around on it made him look a bit like that kung fu panda.
Hearing Wu Tianzhen's analysis, he replied, panting, "No way, Teacher Wu? I seem to recall you just said earlier that this place hadn't been flooded for years and that the drainage system must be very powerful?"
"How come as soon as we three brothers arrive, before we even get comfortable, it breaks down?"
"This is too weird, isn't it?"
Reminded by this, Wu Tianzhen suddenly thought of the snake that had suddenly opened its mouth to snatch the antidote. Choking, he started to wonder if he truly possessed some special ability.
Zhang Qiling, climbing at the very bottom, observed the rising water level. Suddenly, he felt the bronze tree begin to stir with excitement again.
With a hint of realization, he looked up and saw Wu Tianzhen with a look of deep thought on his face.
Zhang Qiling: …
He quickened his steps to Wu Tianzhen's side. His long, slender fingers shot out like lightning, and with a precise twist, he pinched the back of Wu Tianzhen's neck.
This pinch didn't cause much harm, but the pain was quite sharp. Wu Tianzhen, who had already associated this with the snow monsters of Changbai Mountain, instantly sobered up. With a yelp, he lost his footing and slipped.
Zhang Qiling was startled by his overly dramatic reaction but was quick enough to catch the falling Wu Tianzhen.
Since Changbai Mountain, Zhang Qiling rarely held him by the collar like this. For a moment, Wu Tianzhen felt a nostalgic pang.
However, Xiao Zhang had no such nostalgic thoughts. He was cold and ruthless, finding Wu Tianzhen's actions utterly absurd.
Seeing the water level below rapidly approaching, and knowing Wu Tianzhen's speed, he might soon be "lovingly reunited" with the monkeys in the water. With a surge of strength, he tossed Wu Tianzhen upwards like a cannonball.
"Fatty."
With a loud shout, the Fatty at the top was ready. As soon as he saw Xiao Wu flying towards him, he reached out, grabbed him, and stuffed him onto a branch beside him.
This ball-tossing was so smooth that Wu Tianzhen hadn't even had time to shout a dramatic line while he was airborne. It was only when he was firmly standing beside Fatty that he reacted.
He wanted to say something in protest, but the water was rising too quickly. In just a moment, the two of them could hear the calls of the water monkeys, who were joyfully splashing in the rising water.
…Thinking on the bright side, at least the water monkeys were currently having fun and hadn't tried to climb the bronze tree with their flippers again.
The two of them immediately accelerated their climb. The bronze tree's branches were rough, and under the intense friction, the exposed skin on their hands had already broken and bled.
The scent of fresh human blood stirred the one-eyed worms inside the tree, but they were wary of the麒麟 blood on the two men and dared not show themselves. They could only salivate inside, frantically rubbing against the inner surface of the bronze tree.
The two men had no time to bother with these hungry worms. They climbed with all their might, but due to the pain, Fatty winced and hissed with every upward movement. Soon, he became a puffing train beside Wu Tianzhen, his "chuff-hiss—chuff—" sounds providing a soundtrack to their arduous climb.
"Damn…" Wu Tianzhen was now panting like a dog, his head buzzing from oxygen deprivation due to the strenuous exercise. Although his hands continued to climb due to muscle memory, his mind had gone blank.
This made Fatty's every puffing sound feel like being hammered by a sledgehammer in his brain.
"No… like this, like this…" Wu Tianzhen could already feel a metallic taste in his throat.
"If we continue like this… we'll definitely be caught by the water!"
Fatty didn't reply. Stars were dancing before his eyes, looking quite pretty against the dark green, black branches, like a Christmas tree.
Just then, they both felt a dark shadow flash past, heard a voice say, "I'm going down," and then a splash!
…That sound was quite familiar, wasn't it?
Wu Tianzhen and Fatty felt as if they were in a dream, their brains sluggishly processing for a moment.
Then, they both jolted awake!
"Holy crap!!!! Xiao Ge?!" They instantly looked down, but Zhang Qiling had already dived into the water like a fish and disappeared. Only ripples on the surface and monkeys peeking around them remained.
"Damn, why is he always like this, jumping without a word?!"
Suddenly, Wu Tianzhen's breathing normalized, and his mind cleared, but it was replaced by overwhelming rage.
"First… don't get angry yet," Fatty pulled Wu Tianzhen back.
"Xiao Ge must have gone down to unclog the pipes like Mario. We need to climb faster, lest we have to become Mario and rescue the princess again!"
Wu Tianzhen understood this logic. He immediately turned his anger into strength and quickly surpassed Fatty. Fatty watched his dust trail, even momentarily thinking that perhaps Xiao Ge hadn't finished unclogging the sewers yet, and this Xiao Wu would be reaching the top of the bronze tree to explore the mysterious structure.
…But speaking of mysterious structures, there should be something good inside, right?
It wouldn't be like that King Li, all flashy and ornate, only to find nothing but himself in the coffin. Bah, stingy!
As he was thinking this, Wu Tianzhen's voice suddenly came from above, his tone trembling, as if he had seen something unbelievable.
"Fat… Fatty!" he stammered, quietly pointing a finger at a sprawling branch beside them.
"Look… what is that?"
"Am I hallucinating?"
"What? Isn't it, Tianzhen, have you seen a climbing monkey again?" Fatty teased Wu Tianzhen, turning his head without any preparation—
Wow! Guess what? A coffin that big was lying right there on the branch!!
Fatty fell silent. He suddenly thought of something, his face breaking out in a cold sweat. Tremblingly, he shone his flashlight on it. The coffin indeed had no gaps, only a hole as thick as an arm on its lid, announcing its presence.
King Li's Coffin: Woohoo! Guess who I am?
Fatty didn't dare to guess, but Wu Tianzhen was already starting to be puzzled.
"Huh?" He looked at the familiar shape and blurted out, "This coffin, why does it look like King Li's?"
"It's just that it doesn't have those flower—" patterns on it.
Before he could finish, with a *swish*, the coffin instantly grew patterns, exactly as Wu Tianzhen had imagined.
In an instant, both of them fell silent.
Their gazes met, and a consensus was reached. Fatty tentatively spoke:
"Tianzhen, do you think…" he pointed at the coffin, "the person inside, was it before or after Xiao Ge strangled them?"
Wu Tianzhen didn't reply, but at that very moment, he seemed to have a realization about his special ability.
Indeed, he hadn't said or thought anything, but the coffin was still kicked open from the inside, looking all too familiar.