Every movement in the water consumed a lot of physical strength, which in turn shortened the breath-holding time.
When my neck was being choked, I didn't panic. Instead, I used my right hand to stop the arm that was tightening its grip, and grabbed the snorkel with both hands.
After placing the snorkel in my mouth, I exhaled the air inside my body through my nose and inhaled the air from the snorkel with my mouth.
This in and out of breath made me feel much better, and my mind cleared up considerably.
Seeing me shove the snorkel into my mouth, the well-built young man released one hand, using only one to choke my neck.
Moments later, I saw him pull out a dagger from who-knows-where and viciously stab it towards my face!
Just as the dagger was about to touch my skin, I grabbed his wrist!
Fighting in the water, no sound could be heard, and there wasn't much visible.
If I hadn't had a flashlight hanging from my chest to see that thrust clearly, I might have been in grave danger by now!
Didn't Ni Li say she had arranged everything?
Was this her arrangement?
My strength was no match for this well-built young man. Seeing the dagger getting closer and closer to me, I used almost all the strength I had, yet still couldn't stop the dagger from approaching my face.
And the arm choking my neck was tightening with each passing moment...
I suddenly remembered the small knife that Xiao Shan had given me. That small knife was clipped to my belt. Now, my only option was to gamble. I released my right hand to feel for the knife...
Just as I made up my mind, the hand choking my neck suddenly loosened, and the hand holding the dagger also lost its strength.
Then, I felt many bubbles being exhaled onto the back of my neck. I turned around and discovered that the well-built young man was drowning.
I froze for a moment, unable to comprehend what was happening.
Immediately after, the well-built young man coughed out some white foam from his mouth.
What was going on?
He slowly sank downwards, appearing to have fainted.
Biting the snorkel, I quickly grabbed him, then placed my hand on his chest and found that his heartbeat had stopped.
He died so quickly!
This was definitely not drowning!
With this thought, I suddenly recalled Ni Li's words to me: "I have arranged everything... don't worry..."
Was this her arrangement? How did she do it?
Following my thoughts, a word suddenly appeared in my mind: "Alcohol!"
That bowl of wine had a problem! When the well-built young man came down, Ni Li had poured him a bowl of wine. That bowl of wine was poisoned!
This was the only possibility; otherwise, he wouldn't have drowned so quickly.
Or rather, he wouldn't have drowned so fast.
People who live in this area are generally good swimmers and can hold their breath for a minute or two without issue.
There was only one possibility: the poison in his body had taken effect, causing him to drown.
After figuring all this out, I looked around, recalling Ni Li's last words: "The items are in the water?"
Could it be that the gold I was asked to bring out was in this water mine?
Regardless, my competitor was now gone. To get back, I had to find that gold nugget that had been thrown in.
I swam further down and soon reached the bottom of the well. Without much effort, I found the fingernail-sized piece of gold that had fallen in.
Then, I looked around and noticed that this water mine seemed to have been abandoned for quite some time.
Everything that could be dug out here had already been dug out. Two spots were clearly caved in from previous digging.
After swimming around the area for a bit, the well-built young man's body had been washed into a passage.
The water here was clearly connected to the river beside it.
After searching for a long time without finding anything, just as I was about to ascend, I noticed some wooden planks in the area that had previously caved in.
I went over and pushed aside the planks. There was a stone, and behind that stone, there was something.
After clearing away the dirt, a rusty tin box appeared before my eyes.
I was slightly taken aback. I lifted the tin box and saw several chunks of gold, about the size of a fist, inside!
I was startled and instinctively swallowed.
The gold was just left here?
I quickly closed the lid, tidied up the surroundings, and swam upwards.
When I emerged from the water mine, I heard a cheer. As the old man took the fingernail-sized piece of gold from my hand, Master Gui, standing on the viewing platform, waved at me. Fatty also kept waving his hands at me.
Xiao Shan ran over to me and glanced at the water mine, "Where's the other person?"
I looked at him and said, "What do you think?"
A hint of surprise flashed in Xiao Shan's eyes, and then he smiled, "I underestimated Brother Xiang before! You're a true man!"
When we returned to the viewing platform, the North River Mine Owner's face was grim. Ni Li hardly looked at me; whenever I looked at her, she would avert her gaze.
"Xiang, well done!" Master Gui patted my shoulder and offered me a cigar.
I waved my hand and smiled, "Thank you, Master Gui, but I'm not used to smoking this..."
He chuckled and called Xiao Shan over, "You take him down to change his clothes and get cleaned up."
"Alright!"
Fatty ran over to me and extended a hand. I asked him what he was doing. He said, "To support you!"
"I'm fine, why are you supporting me?"
"Fine? Aren't you injured?"
I shook my head.
Fatty said, "Xiao Shan was just telling me that the person who went down with you was the North River Mine Owner's top enforcer. Not only was he a strong swimmer, but he was also skilled. How did you..."
"It seems Brother Xiang is no ordinary person," Xiao Shan chimed in.
I winked at Fatty and then said, "I used to study martial arts for a few years."
This was, of course, a fabrication. I didn't want anyone to know that the other person had been poisoned.
Hearing this, Fatty started to brag on my behalf, "That's right, that's right! I'm done for! Xiao Shan, do you know who Master Xiang's master is?"
"Who?"
"You'd be scared to death if I told you. Do you know Bruce Lee?"
"Of course," Xiao Shan's eyes widened, "Could it be that Brother Xiang's master is Bruce Lee's junior apprentice? The one they call 'Water Tiger'!"
"Water Tiger?"
Fatty had never lost a bragging contest. Xiao Shan was completely taken aback.
Meanwhile, I subtly glanced towards Ni Li on the viewing platform. It seemed this woman had deliberately sent me into the water mine...
With that thought, I interrupted and asked Xiao Shan, "By the way, this water mine I went into today, it looks like no one has been mining it for a while, right?"
"It hasn't been mined for a long time, it's been idle for five or six years."
"Has no one been down there during that time?"
"Why would anyone go down an idle mine like this? Who knows if it might collapse..."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but nod slightly.