Because Sara was face down, Gu Xianwang couldn’t tell if she was dead or alive. However, Sara’s arms were splayed out across the rocks, her lower body submerged in the water. Judging from her posture, Gu Xianwang figured she had probably clung to the boulder while still conscious, which kept her from sinking.
Long Li had no reason to let her die. The question now was how to save her.
The only rope left in the equipment pack was a short one designed for small-rock hugging climbs. To descend from this spot, they would need at least twice the length just to make it work for two people.
Yao Cuo shifted positions along the cliff wall and shouted down a few times, but there was no response from below. “She’s probably passed out.”
Gu Xianwang said worriedly, “If she’s unconscious, how are you going to haul her up by yourself?”
Unless Long Li descended without using the rope herself, secured Sara with the short rope once she reached her, and then had the three of them yank her up.
Never mind Long Li’s own safety during the descent—the process of pulling her up would be a nightmare with just one rope. There would be no way to maintain balance, and the cliff face was riddled with jagged outcrops. Even a minor scrape could leave someone in bad shape.
Long Li gauged the depth. “I don’t need a rope. I can make it down.”
Gu Xianwang knew Long Li’s climbing skills well, but the rock face leading to Sara slanted inward overall, with a forest of sharp, stalactite-like crags directly below. Without safety ropes for protection, a single slip would shatter even the toughest person into pieces.
Gu Xianwang stated firmly, “I don’t approve of such a dangerous rescue method. Trading one life for another is foolish.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized they might come across the wrong way. After all, Long Li wasn’t under her command— this was her organization’s business, using their own gear. She had no real standing to object.
“Wait just a moment,” Gu Xianwang said, softening her tone. “Or we could look for some sturdy vines and twist them into a makeshift long rope—”
Long Li glanced at the sky and shook her head. “We’re running out of time.”
Sensing the tension, Ye Chan quickly chimed in. “Uh, with Sister Long’s skills, if she says it’s no problem, then it’s no problem. Sister Gu, remember how insanely good she was at climbing when we got out of that karst cave?”
Gu Xianwang let out a stifled breath and gave a small nod, falling silent.
Long Li secured one end of the short rope, then pulled out the remaining bandages from the pack along with that box of socks. She rolled up several quick-dry shirts and stuffed them into the sock box as well.
Once everything was ready, she quietly pulled Gu Xianwang aside and murmured, “I understand what you’re worried about.”
“But having me go down right now is the most efficient—and safest—solution.”
Gu Xianwang pressed her lips together, her face still stern as she feigned indifference. “Captain Long’s abilities are formidable. Of course I trust you.”
Long Li’s eyes widened slightly in surprise before she broke into a smile. “You’re too kind to say that—it flatters me. But if my skills fall short, would Xianwang step in to save me as a friend?”
“Cough.” Singed by that gaze, Gu Xianwang looked away. “I wouldn’t let anyone die if I could help it.”
“Then it’s settled.” Long Li’s eyes crinkled with amusement as she extended her hand. “I’d like to borrow one more thing from you.”
“What?”
“Your jacket.”
…
Deep down, Yao Cuo didn’t believe Long Li could descend to the base of the cliff unscathed without protection or reliable holds. In a way, he even thought that if some reasonable mishap occurred during the rescue, it might actually benefit them.
“What were you two just talking about?”
Gu Xianwang had no time for chit-chat. Her eyes were glued to the base of the cliff as she replied offhandedly, “Nothing much. Just sorting out the rescue steps.”
Yao Cuo cleared his throat and, sidestepping Ye Chan, said, “You really plan on helping them?”
Gu Xianwang shot him a sidelong glance. “What do you mean by that?”
“The altar is right in front of us. Isn’t this exactly where you’ve been looking for?”
“…And?”
“Xianwang, Senior Brother knows you’re kind-hearted by nature, but sometimes that kindness can harm you.”
Gu Xianwang furrowed her brow and said nothing.
Seeing her expression, Yao Cuo scratched his head and sighed. “Senior Brother isn’t asking you to be ungrateful. I’m just worried their people will keep multiplying…”
He hadn’t even finished the word when Long Li gave the rope a shake from the bottom of the cliff—a signal that she had reached the base.
“Senior Brother, let’s just let it play out naturally. Remember Master’s teaching? No matter the gain or loss, don’t stray from your true heart. Have you forgotten?”
After saying that, Gu Xianwang bent down and tugged at the short rope, signaling that she had received the message.
Sara was wedged into a crevice about five steps to the right of Long Li. From her position, Gu Xianwang could see clearly that Sara wasn’t clinging to a rock but trapped entirely in the rock seam. Long Li observed for a moment before picking a safe route. Her footholds featured two solid bracing points, allowing her legs to dig in firmly so she could drag Sara out.
Gu Xianwang watched as Long Li slowly pulled Sara from the black water. The cliff wall’s angle was far too treacherous; even Long Li had to take it step by painstaking step. At last, after freeing Sara from the crevice, she wrung as much water as possible from Sara’s pants. Then Long Li shrugged off her jacket, slipped it over Sara, zipped it up tight, and secured the Velcro flaps. Bit by bit, she stuffed Chak’s quick-dry shirt and dry socks inside, wrapping Sara’s head, neck, and chest.
With that, the crisis had passed safely. Gu Xianwang and Ye Chan both let out sighs of relief.
All that remained was to secure the knots around Sara, and then the main task could be handed over to them.
Ye Chan was so elated she practically wanted to crack open the champagne early. “I told you Sister Long had this.”
Gu Xianwang kept her expression neutral, but the heavy weight in her chest lightened considerably. She turned to double-check that the short rope was firmly anchored when her peripheral vision caught something—a stark white ripple suddenly blooming across the black water at the far end.
She focused and realized it wasn’t a ripple at all. It was a dorsal fin breaking the surface.
But what creature had a dorsal fin several meters long?
Gu Xianwang’s heart lurched. She cupped her hands and bellowed, “Long Li! Watch out underwater!”
Her shout nearly cracked. Long Li jerked her head up to see enormous bubbles swelling in the once-still black water, as if some massive fish were surfacing for air beneath. The bubbles multiplied rapidly, and surging waves threatened to rip the dark veil apart.
Something was about to emerge.
“Pull!” Long Li barked.
Her arms heaved Sara upward with a final burst of strength. The instant the weight lifted from her palms, the river behind her erupted in a two-meter geyser.
The vortex’s center dipped several inches, and a colossal head plated in azure scales rose slowly from the depths. Lantern-like eyes glowed from the beast’s face, its brow ridges bulging with thick fleshy knobs that crossed between them. That partial visage alone rivaled the cab of a truck.
Long Li met its gaze for a split second before leaping away from the thin rope. Her hands seized separate rock holds as she scuttled across the inward-slanting sheer wall like a spider.
Ye Chan stared at the head in stunned silence, her grip faltering. “Th-that… Dra… Drago…”
“Ye Chan, hold steady!” Gu Xianwang snapped.
Yao Cuo blinked in disbelief. “That can’t be a dragon, right?”
“Long, croc—doesn’t matter. Pull her up!” Gu Xianwang clenched her jaw, veins bulging along her arms. Once the short rope hit the right length, she dropped to the cliff edge and hauled Sara up by the shoulders. Together, the three of them dragged her to safety without a scratch.
A glance back at the wall revealed no sign of Long Li nearby.
The water beast reared halfway out, its foreclaws extending long before its three talons clenched slowly, as if loosening up its sinews. Then its tail lanced from the black depths, fan-shaped and bristling with hardened spines at the tip. It crashed back down with a thunderous boom, slapping the surface like a playful splash.
The wave it kicked up rivaled a waterfall, soaking everyone on the cliff eight or nine meters away.
Ye Chan flung water from her face and hair. Now she saw it clearly. “That’s a submerged jiao!”
Yao Cuo gaped. “How can you tell?”
“Look!” Ye Chan jabbed a finger at its head. “Azure scalp, white neck, blue stripes on the back, three fingers per foreclaw and four on the hind, no horns but those bony brow ridges—isn’t that obvious? The old texts say scaled but hornless makes it a jiao. ‘Jiao dragons’ aren’t real dragons; they’re ancient snake-lizards. Check the claws—undeveloped webbing between the toes for swimming. Jiao like this, lurking in deep abysses, were called submerged jiao back in the day.”
Gu Xianwang couldn’t care less whether it was dragon or jiao. She swiftly untied the ropes from Sara, brushed off Yao Cuo’s questions, drew her waist knife, and bolted along the cliff edge toward wherever the beast was glaring.
Gu Xianwang scanned intently along the way until she finally spotted Long Li’s silhouette on a recessed ledge halfway up the cliffside. Before she could even rejoice, she swiftly secured one end of the rope to the boulder behind her, called out Long Li’s name, and hurled the other end toward her.
No one could have anticipated the Submerged Jiao’s sudden assault. Its five-or-six-meter scaly body leaped into the air, flipping wildly. Its massive maw tilted skyward in a roar that emerged only as a muffled wheeze. Long Li glanced back and saw a long, old scar slashing across the underside of its jaw—wide as a paddle blade—the mark piercing straight through its throat, a testament to the weapon’s lethal edge.
With ferocious momentum, its enormous head barreled straight toward her dangling form. Seeing no footing to either side, Long Li gritted her teeth and leaped toward the swinging rope. A thunderous boom erupted behind her as massive boulders cracked and tumbled downward.
Long Li seized the climbing rope with one hand and twisted her waist mid-air, riding the pendulum’s swing in a graceful arc. She traced a parabolic path through the cloud of shattered stone and dust. At the wind’s end, her black boots landed squarely on the azure scales crowning the Submerged Jiao’s forehead.
The creature’s head resembled that of a crocodile magnified several times over, its scales impossibly tough with scant purchase for grip. Sensing the anomaly on its face, it thrashed its body with violent sweeps. Even from afar, Gu Xianwang felt the gusts whipping through the air. There was Long Li, crouched low on the ridge of its brow bone, her hands clamped around a long whisker sprouting from its upper eyelid—no telling how much longer she could hold on.
Unable to shake her loose—and irritated by the tugging on its eyelash—the Submerged Jiao plunged into the depths. It leaped several times, hoping the water’s shock would scour away the persistent pest clinging to it. But the “bug” proved tenacious, exuding an aura that filled it with dread. In a rage, it veered toward the rock wall.
Gu Xianwang recognized its intent at once and paled in horror. In that split second, as if sharing a silent bond, Long Li lifted her head. Their eyes met across the void. Without a second thought, Gu Xianwang flung her waist knife into the air. She spun on her heel, channeling the momentum, and lashed out with her toe at the hilt’s base, sending the blade hurtling toward the Jiao’s head several meters away.
She had honed the flag-turning knife technique for over a decade, never dreaming it would find purpose this day.
Long Li thrust out her left arm, her upper body pitching forward to snatch the hilt mid-flight. But the Jiao abruptly reared upward. The knife’s tip raked across its elongated fang with a sharp ding, the blade jolted from her grasp. The impact threw Long Li off balance; the whisker slipped free. She tumbled head over heels down its cheek scales, plummeting toward the depths below—
