I don’t know if it was my imagination, but after swallowing several mouthfuls of water, I kept catching a faint metallic taste—as if there was blood in the water.
I kept struggling for a while longer, and to my shock and relief, I noticed that the riverbanks were no longer sheer cliffs.
On both sides, the ground sloped down into flat stone banks, nearly level with the river surface.
Thank the heavens.
Thank Sun Wukong.
Thank Athena.
I was saved…!
This section of the river was also calmer.
I steadied my body enough to stop sinking repeatedly, then started steering myself toward the bank.
I had already drifted slightly toward one side, so reaching the shore didn’t require too much effort.
Soon enough, I crawled onto the stone beach.
The moment I got onto solid ground, I felt like my soul left my body.
It was already completely dark.
The sky wasn’t as overcast as the night before, so faint moonlight illuminated the area.
Even though I was exhausted beyond belief, I forced myself to stay alert, using the dim light to examine my surroundings.
If my guess was right, I had drifted at least a dozen kilometers downstream.
A dozen kilometers might not seem like much on a flat road, but in the mountains, that was a whole day’s journey.
Returning to find the others tonight was impossible.
And once I stepped into the forest, I would be in pitch black darkness.
If a walker appeared, I probably wouldn’t see it until its face was almost touching mine.
After scanning the area again, I sighed, slid off my backpack, and wrung the water out of my hair and clothes.
I wasn’t getting back tonight.
I’d look for them tomorrow.
I looked along the shore.
It seemed I’d have to camp here alone for the night—
But just then, at the far edge of the river, in the pale moonlight, something was dragging itself out of the water.
I froze completely, eyes wide, staring at that moving shadow.
A remote mountain.
A river heavy with yin energy.
Darkness all around.
The words “there’s a ghost” almost burst from my throat—but I swallowed them, because if something was there, screaming wouldn’t save me anyway.
The figure stumbled out of the water, swaying on unsteady feet—
And when I finally saw the shape clearly, I blinked hard, stunned.
Then I sprang to my feet, heart racing, wanting to cry and call out but my voice caught—
It was Suo Tian.
My mind flashed back to that splash behind me when I fell.
He jumped after me?
Realization hit me like lightning.
I broke into a run.
But just as I got close, Suo Tian’s knees buckled.
His body swayed—And he collapsed hard onto the ground.
Moonlight washed across his face—and only then did I notice how deathly pale he was.
“Suo Tian!!”
I scrambled forward and lifted his head off the rocks.
As I did, I saw a swollen lump on his forehead, slowly oozing blood.
He must have struck it when he fell.
Suo Tian had almost never been injured before.
Seeing the blood on his forehead now, I froze for a moment.
When I finally reacted, I quickly patted his face, calling his name over and over.
But Suo Tian seemed to have completely lost consciousness—his whole body limp in my arms, giving no response at all.
I tried calling him again, shaking him lightly, but still nothing.
So I looked around quickly, then dragged him farther up onto the dry stone bank.
He didn’t look heavy, but dragging a grown man over uneven rocks still left me gasping for air; I had to stop several times just to catch my breath before I finally got him somewhere dry.
I ran back to where I’d first climbed ashore and grabbed my backpack, then hurried back to his side.
All the medical supplies were in my bag, but the bandages and cotton were completely soaked.
Thankfully, the medicine sealed in bottles had survived the riverwater.
I disinfected the wound on his forehead as best as I could, then broke open an amoxicillin capsule and sprinkled the powder directly onto the wound—free antibiotics.
When I was taking care of Lili’s injuries earlier, Bruno had pocketed the anti-inflammatory meds and never gave them back.
I hadn’t bothered him for it at the time because I figured we’d be changing her dressings again later anyway.
Once everything I could do was done, I looked at Suo Tian again.
He still didn’t respond.
I touched his face—cold, probably from being in the river so long.
My chest tightened painfully.
I lifted his head onto my lap and took off my jacket to cover him, only then managing to calm down enough to replay everything in my mind.
When I fell, I clearly heard the sound of a branch snapping.
Just my luck—after so many people had crossed, that branch must have finally given out at the last possible moment.
And a few seconds after that, amidst the others’ screams, I heard another splash.
Now it was obvious—that had to have been Suo Tian jumping after me.
But… that’s the problem.
I lowered my head, staring at Suo Tian’s motionless face.
Someone like him not knowing how to swim was impossible.
Even I—barely competent—managed to crawl out alive.
So how did he end up like this?
Then suddenly, I remembered that faint metallic scent in the water.
My thoughts flashed back like frames of a film— the moment before he fell, everyone’s screams on the cliff, the image of Suo Tian holding Rongrong near the tree where the rope was tied, standing right at the edge…
I fell.
They screamed.
Something happened before I dropped.
My mind snapped sharply into focus.
I grabbed the jacket covering Suo Tian and yanked it off, scanning his body.
I even unbuttoned his shirt.
Nothing. I frowned—then another memory hit me, sudden and vivid—
Zhao Qiuting tearing into that student back at school.
My thoughts froze.
I jerked around and flung back the jacket covering Suo Tian’s shoulder.
Blood.
Bright red.
A large wound, not small at all, was still leaking steadily.
Right where his shoulder joined his arm, a chunk of flesh was simply gone.
Not just a bite—an entire piece ripped off.
I had been right.
I’d sensed something was wrong from the beginning.
When I had fallen, people had screamed too soon.
Normally, in a sudden accident, the mind blanks for a second or two before reacting.
But their screams came instantly—before my fall even finished.
Because they weren’t screaming at me.
They were screaming at something else that happened just before I fell.
Something shocking enough to terrify everyone.
And that something was this.
Staring at the mangled wound on Suo Tian’s shoulder, I didn’t even need to think.
There was only one answer.
Rongrong bit him.
— The end of the Chapter–
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