Two minutes later, Aning stopped breathing and died in my arms. Her disheveled short hair framed a beautiful yet inscrutable face, frozen in an expression of surprise. We surrounded her until her last breath, and as she fell silent, time seemed to freeze.

Suddenly, I felt like everything had come to a halt. My heart was heavy with sorrow; I wanted to cry but couldn’t, as if my chest was blocked by something. Everything happened so quickly.

Although the journey was fraught with danger, I had anticipated that someone might get hurt. However, I never imagined that this woman would die, and so easily, so suddenly. There were no signs; it just happened. One moment she was talking, and the next, she was gone. And it was real—there was no chance for us to save her.

At first, I couldn’t believe what was happening before my eyes; I thought I was dreaming. How could this woman possibly die? She was so strong, vibrant, and cunning, with an outwardly delicate appearance but a heart of iron. Although I didn’t particularly like her, I genuinely admired her. If anyone were to die, it should be someone like me, who was the weakest among us.

But she was indeed dead, right in front of me, so easily, so vividly, so casually gone. I suddenly felt stripped of my illusions. Time and again, we had faced danger, yet we had all made it through. Even when I ventured out alone in the Qinling Mountains, I managed to return alive. I had come to believe that after all these experiences, we were quite formidable, with considerable experience. As long as we were together, we could handle most dangers, and if anyone were to die, it should be in the most perilous places, like ancient tombs. Yet now, Aning had died so easily from a snake bite.

I suddenly realized that it was wrong; humans are inherently fragile creatures. Whether it was the silent oil bottle, Panzi, or me, in such places, death could come just as easily. No matter how skilled or experienced one might be, it wouldn’t matter. This is the law of reality, not a plot from a novel or movie. When faced with such events, we could all die. Even the silent oil bottle would surely have died if standing by a waterfall!

I raised my head to look at the dense jungle ahead, and a wave of fear and despair washed over me. In that moment, I wanted to turn and run, to escape this place without looking back.

Just then, dawn finally broke. Sunlight poured down from one side of the canyon, illuminating the surroundings. In front of us, mist rose from the water, and the spray from the waterfall formed a white veil hovering above the lush rainforest under the sunlight.

The scenery remained beautiful, but the beauty was gone. Panzi was someone who understood life and death. Although he also wore a look of regret, he was much calmer than us. He had sustained serious injuries and couldn’t say much. He simply told us that it was an accident, sudden as it was, and we must accept it. We didn’t know if there were more snakes like that one around, so it was unwise to linger. We should move on and find a safer place to regroup and think of a solution.

I recalled how the Muffled Oil Bottle had just killed that cockscomb snake, and a sense of pity welled up in my heart. Turning to look at the snake’s corpse floating on the water’s surface, I found that the body was gone. It is said that these snakes seek revenge on those who kill their kind, and they will not rest until they have avenged themselves. Staying here was indeed dangerous, and thinking of An Ning’s tragic fate made it impossible to linger any longer.

For a moment, I couldn’t bear to leave An Ning’s body behind, so I picked him up. The Fatty helped Panzi up, and none of us dared to venture deeper into the jungle. Instead, we moved along the edge of the canyon, wading through the water.

No one could engage in conversation anymore, and the Fatty couldn’t even sing mountain songs. I didn’t even know why we were still moving forward. My mind was blank.

We stumbled along, alternating between deep and shallow water, for more than ten minutes, yet we still couldn’t find a dry place to rest. The sun rose higher, and the coolness from last night’s heavy rain quickly dissipated. Everyone had reached their limit; we were exhausted. After a night of running, fighting, climbing trees, facing death, and escaping, even an iron man would be drained of strength. To make matters worse, as the temperature rose, the humidity in the area became oppressive. The Fatty was particularly affected; he was gasping for breath, and in the end, it was Panzi who was supporting him.

Just as I was contemplating whether we should stop and rest right there, a slope appeared in the canyon ahead. The rainwater stream on the ground became swift, flowing downhill. We cautiously waded down the stream, and as we reached the bottom of the slope, the canyon’s exit came into view.

Outside, the trees grew sparse, revealing a vast black swamp stretching over two hundred meters. Gradually, the vegetation became denser again, leading into a large expanse of aquatic rainforest submerged in the swamp. The trees here were not tall but grew extremely lush, their roots intertwined and deep beyond measure.