Author Notes: Hello again, everyone! Enjoy this next chapter :)

Beta & Co-author: jeangirlmy

- Chapter Start -

Some time later...

Bai HaoTian wakes up to a delicate tapping on her nose and opens her eyes to see Princess staring at her before scuttling away. Then she remembers what happened and sits upright, looking around wildly.

"I'm alive! Didn't Mr. Jiao shoot me?"

They're still in the tunnel leading from Jiang ZiSuan's room to Thunder City. Princess is sitting on Li JiaLe's forehead and tapping his nose. He bolts upright with a strangled scream, causing her to tumble into his lap.

Bai HaoTian frees herself and goes to wake up the others - Jia KeZi, Huo DaoFu and Liu Sang - and untie them. She suspects they were all shot with fake bullets, but at vital points which caused them to pass out from the impact.

"But why did Mr. Jiao want to help us?" Liu Sang asks.

"Because it was actually Wu ErBai in disguise, not the real Mr. Jiao." Er Jing appears, pushing an unconscious Wu ErBai slumped in a wheelchair.

Bai HaoTian notes that Princess dives under Huo DaoFu's jacket collar and peeps out at Er Jing instead of trying to get his attention. That makes him the second person Princess doesn't like after HongHong. Huo DaoFu reminds them not to trust Er Jing since he's the spy they're looking for.

Er Jing insists that he's worked with Wu ErBai for more than twenty years and is loyal to him. Wu ErBai put himself at risk to save them all and was tortured by Mr. Jiao and his men until he's unable to speak or move. Er Jing urges them to go look for Wu Xie who's gone on ahead to Thunder City before Mr. Jiao and his band of elite mercenaries catch up with him.

Although Huo DaoFu is still suspicious of Er Jing's behaviour and Wu ErBai's injuries, he goes off with Bai HaoTian, Li JiaLe and Jia KeZi. Er Jing stops Liu Sang from following, saying he needs his help to get Wu ErBai out of the tunnel for treatment.

- o -

Li JiaLe, Jia KeZi, Huo DaoFu and Bai HaoTian succeed in meeting up with Wu Xie. A delighted Princess leaps from Huo DaoFu's shoulder to Wu Xie and pats his face before nestling inside his collar.

Wu Xie explains that Mr. Jiao and his men already came by earlier, but he hid underwater to escape detection. They start moving through the tunnels which were previously submerged in water. Along the way, they encounter the bodies of some of Mr. Jiao's men who were killed by strange long spikes.

Jia KeZi says he hears thousands of breathing noises, but can't identify what they are.

Suddenly, Li JiaLe cries out in pain. They turn to see two large clams attached to his lower legs. He flails and falls into a muddy pond nearby. They quickly pull him out, but dozens of clams appear from the pond and from the shadows around them. In addition to pulling Li JiaLe to safety, they also have to keep batting and kicking away the clams. Huo DaoFu proves to be astonishingly good at the latter.

"The breathing sounds I heard are from these!" Jia KeZi exclaims.

"They're everywhere!"

"What do we do?"

"Hold him still!"

They try to pry the clams off a screaming Li JiaLe's legs, but to no avail. Even Huo DaoFu sliding a knife in between the shells doesn't work.

"They've bitten too deep, I can't pry them off!"

Even more clams are coming towards them. Huo DaoFu sees one flying straight for Wu Xie's neck. Before he can punch it away, Princess leaps from Bai HaoTian's shoulder and knocks it off course.

"Princess!" Wu Xie looks around, but doesn't see her.

"Where did she go?" Bai HaoTian cries.

"Aaahhh!" Li JiaLe screams, getting their attention once more.

Then Wu Xie has a brainwave and pulls out his lighter. He touches the flame to one of the clams. In a few seconds, it releases Li JiaLe's leg.

"It works!"

Wu Xie starts heating the other clams. One by one, they release their grip, leaving Li JiaLe groaning in pain.

"Look!" Jia KeZi exclaims.

Everyone turns to see three clams backing away from Princess while the rest stop approaching the group. Beside her is an upturned clamshell that's wide open and empty.

"Are you alright?" Wu Xie hurriedly goes over to pick her up. She waddles up to his shoulder, flops down and gives a truly horrifying belch.

"Ugh." Grimacing, Wu Xie turns away.

"Manners, Princess," Huo DaoFu chides.

Princess gives him a feeble wave and another belch.

"Watch out!" Jia KeZi says and knocks away a clam. The rest are starting to encroach once more.

While the others help Li JiaLe up, Wu Xie quickly makes a Molotov cocktail.

"Let's go!" He hustles them off before smashing the bottle on the ground, creating a barrier of fire.

- o -

Jiang ZiSuan wakes up to find himself lying on the sofa in Hong2's room, hands and legs tied with rope. He tries to sit up and slumps back with a groan. He has a splitting headache from that Pang Zi breaking a bottle over his head - that cut's going to be a pain and a half to clean. The side of his neck is also throbbing where Princess bit him.

His lips twist at the thought. He shouldn't be surprised. She's Wu Xie's, of course she's loyal to him. Just like every other female who's met him, whispers a voice in his head before he squashes it flat.

Wait.

Bringing his bound hands up, he touches the neat bandage on his forehead and the one at his neck. It looks like someone treated him after all. He spares a moment to wonder who before deciding he doesn't care. Sitting up, he looks around and squints. Apart from his headache, his vision - normally razor sharp - seems blurry around the edges and there's a faint ringing in his ears.

That Pang Zi must've hit him harder than he thought. Well. He'll be more than happy to return the favour when they next meet.

Just then, the door opens and two of Wu ErBai's men enter. They cut the rope around his ankles and drag him out into the courtyard where he's made to kneel on the floor with the rest of Mr. Jiao's men.

Jiang ZiSuan glares at Pang Zi and Er Jing who're in charge.

- o -

With Huo DaoFu and Jia KeZi supporting Li JiaLe, they continue on until the tunnel opens out into a large space. In front of them, separated by a deep ravine, is a stage filled with armed marionettes. It's an obvious trap.

Wu Xie suspects it leads straight to Thunder City. Bai HaoTian points out numerous footprints on the dusty wooden floor which indicate that Mr. Jiao and his men have already passed through.

Wu Xie states he'll go across first to find the mechanism that controls the marionettes and jam it so the others can pass through safely. Knowing what Wu Xie is like, Huo DaoFu keeps silent while the others protest. Wu Xie just smiles and insists that he's the best choice for this task since he's already dying. He passes a subdued Princess over to Huo DaoFu.

"Take care of her."

"Be careful, Xiao San-ye," Bai HaoTian says.

They start guiding Wu Xie past the almost invisible threads strung across the stage. When he's halfway through, a metal bolt embeds itself in the wall near him. They spin around to see Jiang ZiSuan aiming a crossbow at Wu Xie from behind some rocks.

"Watch out!" Bai HaoTian rushes onto the stage, triggering the trap as she tackles Wu Xie down to the floor. She gets a cut on her shoulder from one of the puppets as another bolt whizzes past them.

With Wu Xie and Bai HaoTian safely across for now, Li JiaLe and Jia KeZi decide to take down Jiang ZiSuan.

Huo DaoFu tells Wu Xie and Bai HaoTian to go on ahead before joining the other two. He warns them that it's risky to attack Jiang ZiSuan due to how narrow the tunnels are, but they insist and rush off. Rolling his eyes, Huo DaoFu turns to Princess on his shoulder.

"I have to do everything. Hide inside my jacket and make sure Jiang ZiSuan doesn't see you."

Princess dives in at once, ignoring his muttered "I can't believe I just said that."

She's a good shellfish.

She doesn't peep out when Huo DaoFu confronts Jiang ZiSuan and tells him not to waste time killing Li JiaLe and Jia KeZi.

She doesn't peep out when Jiang ZiSuan gets Huo DaoFu to tie Li JiaLe and Jia KeZi up.

She doesn't peep out even when Jiang ZiSuan hustles Huo DaoFu back to the stage, crossbow aimed at his back as they slowly wind their way past the marionettes.

Huo DaoFu spies a half hidden Wu Xie and prays that Jiang ZiSuan - who's been squinting and shaking his head - doesn't see him. Wu Xie signals that he's found the mechanism to control the statues. As soon as Huo DaoFu makes it past the last puppet, Wu Xie triggers the mechanism. The puppet nearest to Jiang ZiSuan swings and smacks him in the face.

A skirmish follows which ends with Jiang ZiSuan taking control again and holding Bai HaoTian hostage with a knife at her throat again. Huo DaoFu, who tries to help, is caught by one of the marionettes and regrets his life choices, also again.

Wu Xie is pointing a gun at Jiang ZiSuan. Well, this bit is new.

Jiang ZiSuan starts backing away to the front of the stage, bringing Bai HaoTian with him while Wu Xie follows, gun still trained on him. Princess pops out from Huo DaoFu's collar.

"No. Princess, wait-"

She pats his cheek and leaps after Wu Xie.

"Princess, get back here!" Huo DaoFu hisses, still trapped by the puppet.

She doesn't.

- Chapter End -

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this chapter :)