Zhang Ke refused without hesitation, his tone ice cold: “No rope — how would I know you two wouldn’t run if something happened to me? Pick positions between the trees when you’re diving, and you’ll be fine.”

Su Man wanted to argue further, but when she caught Lu Yuwen’s eye, her half-open mouth closed again…

The pace of operations on the boat was entirely dictated by Zhang Ke.

He had Su Man dive in to find the arrows; had Lu Yuwen prepare the short ropes for lashing the arrows; and when Su Man came back up, had her tell him the exact locations of the arrows.

Su Man and Lu Yuwen followed every instruction, meek as could be.

Because fixing the arrows in their new direction was something only Zhang Ke could do in person — and since they wanted to make the cooperation work, some compromises had to be made.

Zhang Ke understood this perfectly.

Even so, despite Su Man and Lu Yuwen’s complete compliance, he was still uneasy. Before diving in, he replaced the ordinary hemp rope with Mister Donguo’s rope.

One end tied around his own waist; the other end bound to Lu Yuwen’s wrist.

Lu Yuwen said calmly: “You’d be better off tying it to the boat. If something really goes wrong, I probably won’t have the strength to help you.”

“Isn’t she still here?” Zhang Ke shot a cool glance at Su Man. “I wouldn’t put it past her to abandon ship — but if it comes to abandoning you, I’m certain she wouldn’t.”

Su Man bit her lip, holding back a flash of fury.

“Looks like you still don’t trust us,” Lu Yuwen said, seated on the boat, bound hands resting on the back of the seat in front of him, voice serene. “Even if I kept reassuring you, you’d only see it as an excuse I’m making to escape. Since that’s the case, I’ll make just one request: when you dive in, Su Man stays on the boat.”

“What, afraid of death?” Zhang Ke gave a mocking laugh and pulled his waist rope tight at the same time. “Don’t worry — if we can get out of this godforsaken place, I’ll untie you.”

With that, he flipped over the side of the boat.

With a splash, Zhang Ke dove into the water.

Su Man furrowed her brow and stared at the surface for a moment, then sat down beside Lu Yuwen, feeling very disgruntled.

She utterly hated cooperating with someone like Zhang Ke.

Selfish and ruthless — and willing to do whatever it took. To prevent Lu Yuwen from running, he’d had no compunctions about crippling Lu Yuwen’s knee. Once they actually got out of the labyrinth, who knew what vicious move he’d pull next.

The thought made her glance over at Lu Yuwen.

Lu Yuwen was resting with his eyes closed.

That composed, unhurried demeanor reminded her of Yan Qingwen… she really missed that group of companions. She truly hoped they could leave the labyrinth soon.

Su Man prayed silently in her heart.

……

The hours passed in fair weather and gentle breeze.

Zhang Ke and Su Man took turns diving — one responsible for lashing the arrows, the other for locating them.

The short ropes on the boat meant for binding arrows were consumed at a rapid pace.

While Zhang Ke was underwater again, Lu Yuwen said quietly to Su Man: “Next time you look for an arrow, choose a position that’s deeper — and farther out.”

Su Man paused. “Are you saying…”

“Yes — exactly what you’re thinking.” Lu Yuwen nodded. “A’Xiao and Yang Zi both died because of me. Once we’re out of the labyrinth, Zhang Ke will definitely come after me — and he’ll never untie the rope. We have to strike first.”

“He dares?!” Su Man’s face immediately turned fierce.

Lu Yuwen was amused by her expression despite himself, then explained: “Don’t underestimate him. Even if he can’t beat you in a fight, he still has two items.”

“What items?” Su Man asked.

The amusement faded from Lu Yuwen’s expression. He answered: “One is Mister Donguo’s Wolf — which has a very strong offensive capability. The other is something they snatched from me: Mister Donguo’s Book. The latter can make other items lose their effect. If you also have items on you, be extremely careful.”

Su Man’s expression turned guarded.

If what Lu Yuwen said was true, then right now was indeed the best opportunity to deal with Zhang Ke.

She could handle Zhang Ke — but she wasn’t certain she could handle a Zhang Ke with items. If Zhang Ke was allowed to live until they left the labyrinth, both she and Lu Yuwen would likely not make it out alive.

“I know what to do now,” Su Man said slowly, and gave one deliberate nod.