Chapter 123: Escaping Calamity

“My treasure!”

At the edge of the gorge, the half-demon called out in distress toward the depths below, his voice betraying genuine affection for the precious crimson robe worn by Zhou Qing. After lingering for a moment at the precipice, the half-demon with a human head and serpent tail likewise leapt into the gorge.

A splash echoed in the darkness below, as Lin Yunxi pulled Zhou Qing down into the water with her. The current of the great river beneath the canyon was fierce; once they plunged in, the two were separated by the rushing water and swept downstream.

Zhou Qing, possessing the ability to command water, managed without trouble after falling in. Lin Yunxi, however, was not so fortunate—she released Zhou Qing’s hand and sank to the riverbed.

Steadying himself in the river, Zhou Qing used his weakened water-controlling power to dive to the bottom and, with his half-crippled right hand, pulled Lin Yunxi up to the surface.

“Yunxi, Sister!” he called softly as they broke through the water’s surface. He found Lin Yunxi unconscious; as he hesitated, unsure what to do, another splash sounded nearby.

Following the sound, Zhou Qing squinted through the faint moonlight and saw the half-demon—human-headed, serpent-tailed—had chased them down from above.

In that moment of urgent crisis, Zhou Qing wrapped his useless left arm around Lin Yunxi, bit tight onto the sleeve with his teeth, and used his half-disabled right hand to hold her waist. Without further hesitation, he willed himself forward, floating downstream with the unconscious Lin Yunxi.

The half-demon surfaced, eyes locking onto Zhou Qing ahead, half-submerged in his red robe, cradling Lin Yunxi as he drifted with the current.

“Human wretch, don’t run—leave the treasure behind!” The half-demon thrashed his long tail and flailed his arms atop the river, chasing after Zhou Qing.

Yet in terms of speed, the half-demon’s current form could not match Zhou Qing. As the distance widened, the half-demon plunged his head into the river, submerging his entire body beneath the water.

Clutching Lin Yunxi, Zhou Qing sped forward along the river; the force of the current made his pace far swifter than his previous journey outside the Wildman Forest’s small stream. He was like a piece of driftwood, floating swiftly atop the water, propelled by both his will and the river’s powerful flow.

Glancing back, Zhou Qing caught sight of a giant black python with jaws wide enough to swallow an ox, pursuing him from behind. Recognizing the serpent as the half-demon’s true form, Zhou Qing noted that despite its size, the python was no faster than he in the river.

This alone revealed that, though the serpent’s cultivation surpassed his, it lacked a water affinity. In the water, it could only move like an ordinary snake.

Nearly an hour passed. Zhou Qing glanced back again, seeing the distance between himself and the python growing ever larger. After a while, he turned his head forward; the black python, once in pursuit, had now disappeared from sight.

It was no wonder—Zhou Qing’s water-control ability allowed him to move through the river without expending any effort. He merely needed a thought to command the water to carry him, unlike the python, which labored intensely and, after nearly an hour of full-force pursuit, finally exhausted itself and fell behind.

With the python gone, Zhou Qing did not slow his pace. He pressed onward for almost another hour in the broad river, and, seeing the serpent did not reappear, finally breathed a deep sigh of relief.

By now, the riverbanks were no longer towering cliffs but still stood four or five meters high. With his injured arms, Zhou Qing could not climb ashore and so continued drifting along the river.

He floated on until dawn. As the river passed several tributaries, the current slowed, and the banks on either side were now less than a meter high.

Surveying the riverbank, Zhou Qing willed himself upward, lifting his body fully from the water and carrying Lin Yunxi ashore.

Once on land, Zhou Qing’s attire was not too disheveled, as his tribulation-resisting robe was impervious to water and fire. Lin Yunxi, however, was drenched.

Using his half-crippled right arm, Zhou Qing carried Lin Yunxi to the grassy shore and laid her down, then sat quietly beside her, waiting for her to wake.

After a short while, Lin Yunxi awakened. Seeing Zhou Qing at her side, she blushed and turned her back to him.

In truth, she had regained consciousness earlier in the water but, unable to get ashore and wanting to avoid awkwardness with Zhou Qing, had feigned unconsciousness.

Zhou Qing, noticing her embarrassment, cleared his throat and pressed his right hand to his storage pouch, drawing out a clean red robe.

“Yunxi, Sister, please change into this dry robe,” he offered.

Lin Yunxi, though puzzled at the sight of the clean robe in his hand, asked no questions, simply taking the garment and changing out of her wet clothes as Zhou Qing looked away.

“I thought last night we might…” She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering Zhou Qing’s injured arm. She hurried to his side, lifted his arm, and gently pressed at the joint.

After a careful examination, Lin Yunxi helped set the bones in both his broken arms, tied them with branches, and gave him some medicine to swallow.

“Your right arm is not badly injured. Keep it bandaged and still; by tomorrow you’ll be fine. The left arm is much worse—at least half a month before it’s normal again.”

“Thank you, Yunxi, Sister,” Zhou Qing replied, nodding.

“If not for your rescue last night, I’d have perished by now. If anyone should be grateful, it’s me to you.”

“If you hadn’t saved me years ago, I wouldn’t have survived seven years past. And…”

At this, the two exchanged smiles, letting the topic pass unspoken.

After being chased by the black python and drifting through the winding river, neither knew their current position in the Wildman Forest.

All they could see was a riverbank opposite, two or three meters high, backed by a dense forest of towering ancient trees. On their side, behind the grassy shore, lay a green mountain hollow, with a forest visible beyond.