Severing ties with family to marry the young marshal, his whole family chases me to the crematorium.

It's important to understand that for someone like Shen Qingyao, who is skilled at sensing supernatural energy, being unable to detect yin energy is often more frightening and unsettling than detecting a large amount of it.

After all, what was happening before her eyes was clearly beyond her control.

Si Jingnian frowned slightly, his sharp eyes scanning his surroundings as various possible dangerous situations flashed through his mind.

He knew he couldn't let his guard down at this moment, so he quietly placed his right hand on the cold, hard pistol at his waist, his fingers gently stroking the trigger, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.

Ruan Hongshuang's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, her delicate body tensing. She was also well aware of the characteristics and purpose of the Kongming lantern that Shen Qingyao had released.

The moment the Kongming lantern went out, she reacted as swiftly as a nimble cheetah, crouching slightly and placing her fists in front of her, adopting a highly alert posture.

Although Secretary Chen, who had been standing silently between Shen Qingyao, Si Jingnian, and Ruan Hongshuang, was stubborn, he was not stupid. At this moment, he also keenly sensed the tension in the atmosphere.

His heart clenched as he pondered what might happen next, his face revealing undisguised worry.

Just as everyone was whispering about where the end of the stone bridge led, suddenly, a deafening crash resounded from under the bridge.

The sound was like a giant beast thrashing and frolicking in the water, sending chills down one's spine.

Almost simultaneously, everyone was on high alert, their nerves instantly stretched to their limit.

They all raised their flashlights and eagerly shone them in all directions, trying to catch even the slightest sign of something unusual.

However, apart from the earth-shattering roar, the surroundings returned to a deathly silence, as if nothing had ever happened.

Nevertheless, no one dared to relax their guard in the slightest because of the temporary calm before them.

The quieter the surroundings, the more the unknown fear seemed to follow them around, making their breathing quicken involuntarily.

"What should we do? Should we cross the bridge?"

After a long while, there was still no movement, and someone finally couldn't help but ask a question.

"There's no turning back. Do we have any other choice but to move forward?"

Someone answered in a heavy tone, their voice sounding as if they were being weighed down by a thousand-pound burden, with a faint, almost imperceptible tremor.

His words struck the hearts of everyone present like a heavy hammer, instantly freezing the already tense and oppressive atmosphere.

For a moment, the entire space fell into a deathly silence. No one spoke, for everyone felt as if a huge boulder was pressing down on their hearts.

Indeed, as he said, the door to the rear tomb chamber had been tightly closed at some point, completely cutting off their escape route.

The facts before us are so clear: there is no way to retreat, only by forging ahead can we find a glimmer of hope.

Just then, Secretary Chen's calm and powerful voice broke the suffocating silence.

"Let's rest for a while, have some water and eat something to replenish our energy. The journey ahead will be full of unknown dangers and difficulties. Only by maintaining our energy can we overcome these challenges."

As Secretary Chen finished speaking, the previously anxious crowd seemed to have found their anchor, and the heavy atmosphere was somewhat dispelled.

People began to act according to Secretary Chen's instructions, finding places to sit down and rest, and taking out food and water from their backpacks to replenish their energy.

At this moment, Shen Qingyao and Ruan Hongshuang had quietly sat down on the ground.

They were holding dry rations in their hands, chewing them in small bites.

Si Jingnian sat close to Shen Qingyao, also eating, but seemed absent-minded, mechanically putting food into his mouth while his gaze remained fixed on the mysterious bridge in front of him, his expression unusually serious.

Secretary Chen, chewing on his dry rations, looked at Shen Qingyao and Ruan Hongshuang with a serious expression and slowly asked:

"Young Marshal's wife, Master Ruan, how exactly do we cross this bridge? And what was that strange sound we just heard?"

Shen Qingyao was still resentful about Secretary Chen stopping her from searching for clues. At this moment, she completely ignored Secretary Chen and paid no attention to his words.

Ruan Hongshuang glanced at Shen Qingyao and instantly understood her thoughts.

Clearly, his stubborn junior sister was still angry and didn't want to talk to Secretary Chen at all.

Therefore, Ruan Hongshuang had no choice but to answer Secretary Chen, attempting to break the awkward deadlock.

After looking around, Ruan Hongshuang slowly spoke:

"From what we can see, there is no trace of yin energy here, so it can be inferred that it is not caused by any evil spirits."

"However, the sound we just heard was clearly the sound of water, and it seemed to come from a huge object. But we don't know exactly what made that noise."

After a brief pause, Ruan Hongshuang turned to look at Secretary Chen and continued:

"Secretary Chen, to be honest, the Kongming lantern that my junior sister just released was specially made. It not only has an extremely wide lighting range, but it is also very difficult to extinguish."

I just didn't expect... that Kongming lantern suddenly went out without warning. It's really strange, I'm afraid...

At this point, Ruan Hongshuang hesitated, and ultimately did not say the rest.

Although Ruan Hongshuang didn't finish her sentence, Secretary Chen wasn't truly foolish and naturally understood the deeper meaning behind her unfinished words.

This is why Secretary Chen's worries grew even stronger, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"So, should we cross this bridge or not?"

Secretary Chen felt as if a thousand pounds were weighing on his heart, filled with fear of the unknown danger, and for a moment he didn't know whether he should cross the bridge or not.

Shen Qingyao glanced at Secretary Chen with a curious look, a hint of mockery and ridicule in her eyes.

Even this stubborn old man sometimes seeks other people's opinions?

Unfortunately, their current situation leaves them with no choice; they have only one option: cross the bridge or wait to die here.

But Shen Qingyao didn't say these things to him. She's always been like this; she doesn't want to pretend with people she doesn't want to deal with. She'd rather leave this kind of thing to her senior sister to handle.

Ruan Hongshuang was clearly already very familiar with Shen Qingyao, so she naturally picked up where Secretary Chen left off.

"We only have two options now: either wait to die here, or cross the bridge."

Upon hearing Ruan Hongshuang's words, Secretary Chen and the others felt a chill in their hearts, and the atmosphere became heavy once again.

"There's a third way!"