"Upwards!"

Chains lined both sides of the cliff, connecting various points. The young man leaped upward as effortlessly as he had jumped down earlier, landing gracefully back on the ledge.

The others followed his lead, scrambling to climb up. However, the chains were coated with a sticky substance, making the ascent difficult. After much effort, they managed to climb back to the cave entrance they had exited from Zhangjiabao earlier.

Touching the substance on the chain, Zhang Qiming noticed its scent was eerily similar to the black soil on the ground. He sniffed at it for a while before the realization struck him.

"Shit! It’s kerosene!"

At that moment, the swarm of insects, dark as a thundercloud, surged forward like a tsunami. The young man immediately threw his torch onto the chains.

The kerosene ignited instantly, and the iron chains turned red-hot, blazing like fiery dragons twisting and slashing through the insect swarm. The swarm was decimated in an instant!

“We’re saved!”

Zhang Jiuri was about to cheer when a deafening explosion roared behind them. The dripping flames from the chains had ignited a crate of gunpowder on the ground and the minerals in the soil.

"Boom!"

A thunderous blast turned the ancient, pitch-dark river channel into a sea of fire.

The young man stared at the direction of the old clan leader’s cave for a long while. Zhang Qiming patted him on the shoulder, and the two finally turned to escape through the cave opening.

On the other side of the cave lay an underground river. Its winding path had been carved out by rushing water over time. The group jumped into the river, swimming several hundred meters until they spotted a patch of light above.

The young man pointed at the light overhead, signaling it was an exit.

The exit turned out to be a pond. How fortunate had the young man been to find this place alive in the past?

“Finally made it out alive.”

Zhang Jiuri, soaking wet, collapsed onto the muddy ground beside the pond.

“This doesn’t look like the mountain forest we were in before,” Zhang Haike observed, pulling out a map. After scrutinizing it for a while, he realized the pond wasn’t marked. He could only make a rough guess about their location.

“Quit rambling and start a fire! I’m freezing to death!”

Zhang Nian lay sprawled out on the ground. He had sustained the worst injuries this time—not only had he taken an arrow to the arm, but half his face had also been chewed up by insects.

“Don’t know how to start a fire? You’ve still got arms, don’t you? Useless idiot,” Zhang Haixing snapped, irritated. Their current plight was largely thanks to Zhang Nian’s antics along the way.

“What did you just say? Say it again!” Zhang Nian growled, but when he saw Zhang Haike and Zhang Haixing glaring at him menacingly, he quickly backed down.

“Fine! You two are family; I can’t take you both on!”

Zhang Qiming chimed in, “That’s not entirely true. Don’t forget, you and I are family too.”

Zhang Nian sneered, “Family? You’re not even from the main branch.”

Zhang Qiming waved a finger dramatically. “No, no, no! You’re my dear grandson; how are we not family?”

Everyone burst into laughter.

“Ha! Zhang Nian, you’ve met your match this time!” Zhang Jiuri laughed so hard he fell over, only for Zhang Nian to hurl a rock at his head, glaring at him.

“Brother, I’m cold. Can we start the fire already?” Zhang Haixing, embarrassed, urged them. She was the only girl in the group, surrounded by boys. While the men could go shirtless in their damp clothes, she couldn’t. The way Zhang Qiming’s gaze lingered on her made her even more self-conscious.

“Zhang Qiming!” Zhang Haike glared at him, and Zhang Qiming, embarrassed, rubbed his nose. “Hey, grandson, stop lying around and go find firewood.”

Zhang Qiming kicked Zhang Nian, who cursed under his breath as he reluctantly got up. “Why does this always fall to me?”

Unknowingly, the shared life-and-death experience had softened the tensions between the group.

“Hey, Zhang Qiming, what did you mean earlier with that ‘nong nong nong’ thing?” Zhang Haixing, now warmer and more relaxed, began asking questions out of curiosity.

“Huh? Nong who?”

Zhang Haixing pressed him. “You know, when you were talking to Zhang Nian about ‘nong nong nong.’”

Realization dawned on Zhang Qiming. She must have meant “no no no.” Considering the timeline—this being the Republic of China—even ordinary people wouldn’t know much English, let alone the isolated Zhang family.

“Oh, ‘no’ means ‘friend.’ I read it in an ancient text. It was really tough to learn,” Zhang Qiming lied without hesitation. Though, to be fair, he wasn’t wrong about English being notoriously hard to learn.

Zhang Haixing, intrigued by his explanation, felt her competitive spirit flare up.

“Oh~ ‘No’ means friend, huh? You’re so knowledgeable.”

“Piece of cake.”

“Then, since you’ve saved me a few times, I consider you a friend. Can I say you ‘no’ me?”

Zhang Qiming’s eyes widened as he gave her a thumbs-up.

“You’re a genius! You got it right away!”

Zhang Haixing beamed with pride. “Zhang Qiming, you and I—‘no’!”

Zhang Jiuri, warming himself by the fire, overheard and found it interesting. He chimed in, “Zhang Qiming, you saved me too. So, I ‘no’ you!”

“Get lost!”

“Did I say something wrong?”

Meanwhile, the young man slowly pulled out a staff wrapped in oilcloth. Unwrapping it revealed the Heavenly Staff once again in its full glory.

Forged from extraterrestrial meteoric copper, it was said to hold the power to change the world.

“You’ve retrieved the Heavenly Staff. Once you return, you’ll be the clan leader!” Zhang Haike smiled broadly. He had long believed the family’s rigid traditions needed reform, and the emergence of a new leader was the perfect opportunity for change.

“That’s right! I support you as clan leader!” Zhang Jiuri, even more excited, cheered enthusiastically. His motives were simple—pure admiration for the young man.

“Damn those Southerners!” Zhang Qiming muttered, shivering from the intensity of the scene.

The young man sat silently, staring at the staff.

His mind drifted to the wise and concerned words the old clan leader had once spoken to him. At the time, he had been too young to understand, but now, after experiencing life’s harsh realities, he began to grasp their meaning.

“I don’t know what will happen when I return.”

Zhang Jiuri jumped to his feet. “How can becoming clan leader be a bad thing? It’s a good thing! Why do you all look so unhappy?”

“You’re such a fool. Haven’t you heard the old rumors about our clan?” Zhang Nian scolded him.

Zhang Haike furrowed his brows.

Despite his hopes for a new leader, he was all too aware of the rumors.

He had heard from his parents that the Zhang family was on the brink of collapse. All the privileges of the main branch were built upon the support of the extended family.

Since the previous clan leader vanished with the Heavenly Staff years ago, the extended family had grown used to the taste of freedom. The emergence of a new leader would inevitably mean a return to the status quo, with the main branch regaining its authority—something the extended family was unlikely to accept.