Yan Xiaohan caught the knife, spinning it playfully between his fingers. Mounting his horse and laughing into the wind, his face seemed to glow in the dark night: “Alright, see you at the fox spirit temple.”
Days without seeing each other, the fox immortal temple still stood on the original small hillside, more dilapidated and looking like a pile of ruins in the night, with the river converging into a vast water area behind the mountain.
Tonight, there was no wind or rain, the moonlight was pure and bright, the lake shore was rugged with rocks, the lake water was deep and waveless, exuding an eerie and cold atmosphere. Yan Xiao Han dismounted, standing by the lake for a long time, staring at the deep blue lake water before finally realizing what was strange about this place.
That night during the heavy rain, they had not approached the lakeside to look closely, and the group led by Qi Wang and Yan Xiao Han had not noticed anything amiss: this lake appeared in the wilderness, with flowing water, yet the lakeside was barren, with no reed grass or water birds, and even few fish or shrimp, making the entire lake feel like a dead pool without any sign of life.
Recalling the villagers’ actions tonight, Yan Xiao Han suddenly had a terrifying speculation.
Shortly after, splashing sounds came from the river, and Yan Xiao Han looked carefully to see a white figure floating up and down in the river’s center.
The villagers of Xiling Village were excellent swimmers, and due to his wife’s interruption, the stone on that person had not been tightly bound, coming loose after entering the water, allowing him to stay afloat, drifting to the lake’s edge.
Yan Xiao Han removed his outer garment, lightly entered the water, swimming forcefully to the river’s center, cutting several hemp ropes, letting the large stone sink to the river bottom, then punching the person still struggling to knock him unconscious, grabbing him to float to the surface and swim towards the shore.
He rescued him in time; though the man had choked on water, he was still breathing. Yan Xiao Han threw him onto the shore, seeing he was temporarily unable to escape, turned and re-entered the water, swimming towards the nearby lake.
