Zhang Ke took the map and examined it carefully, then asked Lu Yuwen with a suspicious look:

“Missing one piece? There are ninety-nine land squares out of a hundred — not counting the empty slot. Why do you say there’s one missing?”

Su Man also looked at the map in confusion. The area to the southwest was Yunlong Lake — two squares of pure water, six squares of mixed water-and-land, accounting for eight squares in total.

“Which one is missing?” she asked.

Lu Yuwen pointed to the spot on the map again and said: “It’s in the water.”

Zhang Ke and Su Man both froze at the same moment.

In the water…

That meant the arrow was in the water too.

They would have to dive underwater just to turn the arrow and change its direction — and thereby move the square.

How deep would they need to dive? Unknown. What was the visibility like underwater? Unknown. Were there dangers? Still unknown.

Zhang Ke came back to himself, and a surge of fury rose in his chest. He grabbed Lu Yuwen by the collar. “You had this all figured out from the beginning, didn’t you?! Didn’t you?!”

“Let him go!” Su Man grabbed Zhang Ke’s wrist and yanked hard!

Zhang Ke was strongly built, yet Su Man sent him stumbling anyway — he barely managed to regain his footing, his expression turning even more menacing.

“If anyone’s going in the water, you two can do it yourselves! I am not getting in the water!” he said through gritted teeth.

“That’s why I only gave you the route for two squares.” Lu Yuwen said, perfectly calm. “We can take our time figuring out the missing one?”

“Take our time?” Zhang Ke laughed coldly and pointed at Su Man. “Let her go in!”

Su Man was taken aback.

Lu Yuwen said plainly: “She can’t do it.”

Su Man was taken aback again — she stared at Lu Yuwen wide-eyed, not understanding why she couldn’t. Did Lu Yuwen think she couldn’t swim? She was actually quite a decent swimmer…

“Her hand has a problem — she won’t be able to tie knots underwater,” Lu Yuwen explained. “Underwater visibility is limited, and when we find one arrow, then go looking for the next, the process is far slower than on land — the first arrow will have already sprung back to its original direction by the time we locate the second. So if we want to change the direction of multiple arrows simultaneously, we need a method — using ropes to lash them, for instance, to fix their direction.”

Zhang Ke snorted with cold laughter. “So you thought it all through. Looks like you’ve been waiting here for me all along. You have a lame leg and can’t get in the water. She’s got one useless hand and can’t tie ropes. Who’s left? Me! And if I refuse to get in the water, the three of us all rot here together. That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

“If you don’t want to get in, then don’t! What’s with all the shouting?!” Su Man couldn’t stand Zhang Ke’s attitude and stepped up to say so. “If you’re so capable, why not come up with a solution yourself?! What’s the point of just complaining here?! If you insist, I’ll get in the water — one hand might not be able to tie a proper knot, but I can wrap the rope extra times!”

Zhang Ke looked at her with scorn. “Wrap extra times? Don’t you know there’s buoyancy underwater? Unless it’s tied dead tight, no matter how many times you wrap it, it’ll come loose!”

“Then what do you suggest we do?!” Su Man demanded.

Zhang Ke set his jaw. He brooded for a moment, then gave a cold snort. “Tomorrow we’ll go have a look at the situation first!”

With that, he turned and walked off, map in hand, each step landing with force — as though he were venting his anger through the soles of his feet.

Once he was gone, Su Man finally couldn’t hold back. She asked Lu Yuwen: “The other reason you mentioned before — was this it? Even without Zhang Ke, I could get in the water by myself!”

Lu Yuwen’s expression grew grave. “Finding the arrows underwater isn’t as easy as it sounds.”

What he said was true — and yet somehow, Su Man felt a smoldering heat in her chest. She said tartly: “How difficult can it be? Are you saying I’m only good for easy tasks and can’t handle anything hard?!”

Lu Yuwen was briefly startled.

Su Man bit her lip and said quietly: “I know. You all think I’m foolish — that I can only do things that don’t require any thought.”

“Su Man, that’s not what I meant…” Lu Yuwen began.

Su Man lowered her head. “Never mind… I was just saying things off the top of my head.”

She turned and went into the tent.