Jiang Li’s unexpected question left Zhao Lang somewhat bewildered.
But he reacted instantly.
There must be something wrong with the lake.
Zhao Lang turned and walked to the bedside to make a call, and ten minutes later, a silent helicopter quietly landed above them.
Then, a cardboard box was lowered down, and He Pingzhang’s head poked out from it.
Zhao Lang gave an "OK" gesture.
He Pingzhang apparently guessed what they wanted to do, said no more than a cautionary "Stay safe," and flew the helicopter away.
Zhao Lang bent down to check the contents of the box, and after he took out two sets of diving suits and oxygen apparatus, he noticed that Jiang Li was still staring in the direction He Pingzhang had left.
"What are you looking at?"
Jiang Li looked up, "Director He is quite impressive, even knows how to fly a helicopter."
For some reason, Zhao Lang felt her tone was strange.
After all, Jiang Li seldom praised people or showed such genuine expressions.
However, thinking about it, He Pingzhang was old enough to be her father. Perhaps she just felt a little attachment to He Pingzhang because her own father had died early.
Yes, that must be it.
Thinking this, Zhao Lang handed her one of the sets of equipment.
"Put it on, it’s almost eleven o’clock, and the lake bottom will get colder if we wait any longer."
Jiang Li said as she put on the diving suit.
Zhao Lang was originally going to help her, but seeing her finish in less than a minute, he silently withdrew his outstretched hand.
Sometimes having a crush on someone so capable wasn’t such a good thing.
It made him seem a bit useless.
After Jiang Li had secured the oxygen cylinder, she saw Zhao Lang slowly putting on his clothes and immediately raised her eyebrows, "Aren’t you recovering from a cold? Why would you go into the water?"
Damn, he’d dropped a rock on his own foot.
"Well..." he touched his nose, "I feel quite good now, and I can’t relax if you go into the water alone."
"I’m certified as a diving instructor, I can follow you and help."
Considering it was night and they were unclear about what lay beneath, having an extra person provided more security.
After they were dressed, they checked the airbags and then dived into the water one after the other.
The bottom of the lake at night was indeed icy cold, and despite the insulation in the diving suits, Jiang Li shivered unexpectedly.
The next second, her hand was enveloped by a warm, large palm.
She looked surprised at Zhao Lang next to her; he smiled and made a hand gesture, indicating that the bottom of the lake was dark and this way they wouldn’t be swept away by the undercurrents.
Jiang Li didn’t argue and let him pull her further down.
The movement of the two awakened many of the sleeping creatures at the lake’s bottom, causing the fish to scatter in a flurry.
As another school of fish rushed by, Zhao Lang quickly pulled Jiang Li into his arms.
Jiang Li’s forehead collided with his firm chest, causing a bit of pain. Annoyed, she looked up at the man above her.
But Zhao Lang pointed ahead.
—There, several crocodiles were crawling about, each massive in size, seemingly two to three meters long.
Jiang Li was even more astonished.
A lake actually had crocodiles?
It was fortunate they hadn’t risked coming down earlier, otherwise startling these ancestors would have been troublesome.
The two communicated with hand gestures for a while and decided to bypass the crocodiles and head to the other side.
In order not to wake them, Jiang Li and Zhao Lang also turned off the only source of light and groped in the dark as they swam forward.
Zhao Lang led the way with one hand while tightly holding onto Jiang Li with the other.
Surprisingly, Jiang Li actually felt a sense of comfort.
It was a feeling she had never experienced before, and it was quite bizarre.
She even didn’t resist it.
The two didn’t know how long they had been swimming until the darkness around them deepened again, and Jiang Li noticed something was off. She tapped Zhao Lang, who was ahead, signaling him to turn on the flashlight.
The moment the water lit up, the surrounding scenery also burst into their view, and both were almost stunned on the spot.
Right in front of them was a dark object tightly wrapped by water plants, from which four thick, frightening iron chains spread out, deeply embedded into the soil at the bottom of the lake.
Moreover, those chains were adorned with unidentified runes.
Zhao Lang, seeing such a thing for the first time, was deeply shocked.
Beside him was the endless dark waters of the lake, and in front of him was an object wrapped in eerie runes.
It was as if they had suddenly entered an eerie otherworldly realm, chilling to the core.
Jiang Li stared for a while before signaling to Zhao Lang,
"I’ll go check it out. You wait here."
Saying that, she was about to swim forward.
Zhao Lang quickly stopped her, "It’s too dangerous, let me go instead."
Jiang Li shook her head, "That object looks ominous, and you don’t understand Xuan Sect artifacts. If you touch something you shouldn’t, it could put us both in danger."
So, Zhao Lang let her go.
"Alright, just be careful on your own."
Jiang Li nodded, pushed aside the water plants, and swam alone towards the mysterious object.
She had intended to check out what exactly it was, but the surrounding weeds were too dense and even had thorns hanging from them, which she feared might ensnare her, so she reluctantly bypassed them.
Then she closely observed those iron chains.
The runes on them certainly had significant meaning, some of which were prohibitive scripts she had never seen before.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Li returned, signaling to him to go back the way they came.
Their oxygen supply was also nearly depleted, so they hurried back to the raft.
After removing their diving suits, Zhao Lang handed her a clean towel and then brought some hot water.
Jiang Li took a sip of water, then shook her head, "If there was something wrong, we would not have made it back."
"It’s too dark inside, and there are many thorny water plants, possibly poisonous, I couldn’t get closer, but from the talismans hanging from those chains, it has to be something not good, more like..."
"What is that?" Zhao Lang was somewhat confused.
"Do you know what a town object is?" Jiang Li asked.
Zhao Lang nodded. "I know. It’s something used to protect homes. There are quite a few in our house."
Jiang Li said, "Right, town objects range from protecting a home to securing the land and water of an area. In the Capital, it’s said that there are five major town objects warding off evil, one placed in each direction—east, south, west, north, and center—governed by the Five Elements to ward off malevolent spirits. However, an evil town is different; it attracts malevolent spirits."
Zhao Lang furrowed his brow, "Are you saying someone placed an evil town in our Feng Shui Array?"
"We can’t be too sure yet."
Jiang Li stood up, thought for a moment, and said, "Here’s the plan: when it’s light tomorrow, we’ll find another chance to go down. I’ll make a list for you later tonight, have your people prepare everything listed."