After confirming the water was not poisonous, Jiang Fan immediately filled his bottle. The others also sat down to rest.
Much like the jungle near the previous pyramid, this area also offered abundant wild game.
After a brief period of gathering supplies with Yao, Jiang Fan roasted the wild game meat into jerky and packed it into his backpack.
With everyone having rested and their stomachs full, Jiang Fan led them onward.
After walking for an unknown distance, a grand palace suddenly appeared before them.
Zhou Niannian was somewhat awestruck by the palace's scale.
The two pillars supporting its entrance alone were thicker than two men standing together.
Furthermore, two waterways lay before the grand palace.
Though the waterways were close together in the beginning, they seemed to diverge into two different directions as they extended further back.
And on these waterways, two boats were docked.
"What's going on? Could these two boats be for us to leave here?"
Upon hearing Jiang Fan's question, Yao quickly approached to examine their surroundings.
However, even with Yao joining Jiang Fan to observe the two boats, he couldn't discern any clues.
Based on past experiences, they dared not board either boat impulsively.
"Let's look for clues first. If we find none, then we'll try something else."
As Jiang Fan finished speaking, Gun Gun impatiently attempted to board one of the boats, but Jiang Fan grabbed him.
"Gun Gun, don't be reckless. You could lose your life here. Have you forgotten what happened before?"
After being reprimanded by Jiang Fan, Gun Gun looked incredibly apologetic.
Seeing this, Dai Xiao Mei quickly went to comfort him.
"What should we do now? Jiang Fan, if these are the only two boats, we have to board one of them."
Jiang Fan understood what Zhou Niannian was saying.
Without boarding these boats, they had no other options.
However, Jiang Fan's intuition told him that these boats were not as simple as they seemed; something else was bound to happen.
"Let's look for clues first. If we absolutely cannot find any, we'll try it. Everyone will board one boat together."
Hearing Jiang Fan's words, Zhou Niannian nodded quickly and began helping Jiang Fan search for clues around them. Although she didn't find anything useful, her busy demeanor brought some relief to Jiang Fan's heart.
At least it proved that Zhou Niannian no longer held any misunderstandings about Jiang Fan, or she wouldn't have been willing to help him.
Meanwhile, Dai Xiao Mei suddenly seemed to spot something and quickly called everyone over.
"Aaaawuuuwuuu aaaa wu!" (Quickly come look, there seem to be clues here.)
Although everyone didn't understand her meaning, they rushed over upon hearing her commotion.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing that her companions had arrived, Dai Xiao Mei immediately beckoned them closer.
Behind a small bush, a stone tablet was erected.
Jiang Fan quickly crouched down, ready to read its inscription, but then immediately stood up.
Clearly, Jiang Fan couldn't read what was written on it. If his guess was correct, only Dai Xiao Mei would be able to understand it.
Dai Xiao Mei gave an embarrassed smile and then used a small twig to draw on the ground.
She drew two boats on the ground and then used the twig to depict two directions.
One direction had a cross in front of it, while the other had a checkmark.
The meaning was obvious: one of the boats would lead them in the wrong direction.
The wrong direction was then marked by Dai Xiao Mei with a stone pressed down on that boat.
She even applied some force when pressing down on the boat, clearly indicating that if they boarded this one, they would surely perish.
Seeing this, everyone understood without needing further explanation.
"What do we do now? Jiang Fan, if we board the wrong boat, we'll probably die here."
Upon seeing this message, Zhou Niannian looked at Jiang Fan with fear.
Now, they could no longer rely on their own efforts to survive. Once they boarded a boat, their chances of survival would only be fifty-fifty.
It would be better if they encountered some monsters, as they could resist with some methods and their own strength. But this kind of probabilistic event made them extremely anxious.
However, Jiang Fan's expression was somewhat hesitant. Seeing that he didn't reply, Zhou Niannian called him again.
Jiang Fan turned his head swiftly, clearly having heard Zhou Niannian but not having responded.
The main reason was that he was unsure whether to voice his thoughts to his companions.
Hearing Zhou Niannian call him again, Jiang Fan turned back and looked at them expectantly, with a hint of worry mixed with his anticipation.
"Don't you guys think this pyramid is definitely not simple? If it's truly someone's intention to keep going upwards, we'll definitely find something."
Upon hearing this, Yao and Dai Xiao Mei looked at him with disbelief.
They had already understood from the inscription that one of the two boats would lead them out.
But if they continued to go upwards, they might encounter even more powerful monsters, and their survival would become a much bigger question.
Clearly, everyone present disagreed with Jiang Fan's idea.
"Wouldn't this be too risky, Jiang Fan?"
Yao spoke slowly, clearly still harboring some apprehension about the monsters they had encountered earlier.
Just then, Zhou Niannian stood up abruptly and walked to Jiang Fan's side.
"You're right. What if there's something interesting up there?"
"Besides, there might not be monsters up there. Why don't we go up and take a look?"
Everyone was astonished by Zhou Niannian's demeanor and shocked by her sudden shift in emotion.
Just a moment ago, she was trembling with fear, and now she was displaying her adventurous spirit to the fullest.
Dai Xiao Mei, at this moment, was frantically shaking her head, signaling her unwillingness to continue.