Wei Dongling pushed aside the branches and craned her neck, waiting for him. When she saw Tian Qi approaching, she pointed to an extremely concealed underwater river beside them and asked, "Tian Qi, have you searched this river? Where does it lead?"
Tian Qi looked embarrassed and replied in a low voice, "Due to the steep terrain, the water in this underwater river is flowing very fast. I threw a wooden stake in to test it. It leads to a waterfall on the southern hill."
"Waterfall?" Wei Dongling was extremely surprised and quickly asked, "How high is the waterfall? Have you searched the downstream area carefully?"
Tian Qi nodded. He took out two tiny green pears from his bosom and handed them to Wei Dongling, answering, "I've checked it carefully. The waterfall is quite high. If a person were to fall down, the chance of survival would be extremely slim. I traced all the way downstream, but I didn't find any information about the young master."
Wei Dongling didn't take the pears. She looked towards the southern hill and reached out to unbutton her clothes.
Tian Qi's hand holding the pears trembled. He blushed furiously at her action. Then he realized that she wanted to go into the water herself. Tian Qi hurriedly shook his head and said, "Madam, you mustn't! Not only is the water here flowing rapidly, but it's also bone-chillingly cold! If something were to happen to you when you go down, how could I have the face to see the young master in the future?"
This place was extremely dangerous. Tian Qi was a good swimmer, but even he didn't dare to go down casually. The young mistress was a woman, yet she was so reckless! If something really happened to her after she went down, what could he do?
Seeing that Wei Dongling wouldn't listen to his advice and was taking off more and more of her clothes, Tian Qi panicked and turned around. He cried out mournfully, "Madam, your body is precious. You mustn't do this! Otherwise, let this humble servant go down and search, okay?"
Wei Dongling quickly took off her clothes and snorted, "Precious? How, did you know about this long ago?"
Tian Qi was speechless and just stammered, "Madam, if something really happened to the young master and he couldn't return to you, this humble servant is willing to take care of you forever." After saying this, Tian Qi's face was completely red.
Wei Dongling continued to take off her clothes while snorting, "Forget it. You're ugly."
Hearing this, Tian Qi wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
When he was young, there were one or two girls who were deeply in love with him. Had he really become old and haggard after living in the open for the past few years? How could he be disliked by the young mistress!
Wei Dongling took off all her clothes except for her undergarments. She ordered Tian Qi, "You wait for me here. Don't go far! If I can't find you later, I'll beat you to death!" With that, without waiting for Tian Qi's reply, she plunged into the water with a splash.
Tian Qi's face changed drastically. He quickly turned around and saw the water in the underwater river splashing everywhere. The woman in the water had her black hair floating like waterweeds as she quickly sank and disappeared into a cluster of rocks.
Tian Qi looked up at the increasingly dark sky. He was extremely anxious. He didn't dare to disobey Wei Dongling's order, so he had to sit down obediently and guard her pile of clothes and shoes.
Cold!
The water in this underwater river was truly bone-chillingly cold. Wei Dongling shivered for a long time after submerging in the water before she could barely adapt to the water temperature. The rapid current carried her body downstream. Wei Dongling gritted her teeth and floated all the way down, spreading out her hands to grope in the water.
The river channel wasn't very wide, but the water flow was very strong. Soon, Wei Dongling was washed far away. Fortunately, she had grown up by a lake since childhood, so she was a good swimmer and could hold her breath for a long time. Wei Dongling's body tumbled in the cold river water. She hugged her head with both hands and tried to relax her body as much as possible, letting the river water carry her. From time to time, she swam to the surface to take a breath.
After a strong current, the river water gradually slowed down. Wei Dongling was washed into a water-filled cave. It was pitch-black all around and she couldn't see anything. She only felt that the water temperature seemed to be even colder and her toes were almost numb from the cold.
Her body was getting colder and colder, and Wei Dongling gradually felt a bit dejected. She didn't know if she could find Yu Zixi by jumping into the water so recklessly, nor did she know if she could get out safely. She could only take one step at a time and do her best while leaving the rest to fate.
If Zixi was really gone, I've come such a long way. It could be considered that our hearts were connected. I'll see you off.
If Zixi was still alive but didn't dare to resist the imperial edict and still insisted on marrying He Yao. Humph! Then don't blame me for castrating you myself!
Wei Dongling was thinking dazedly when suddenly she felt her whole body slowly rotating in the water. She kicked hard with her feet and poked her head out of the water.
It was pitch-black all around and she couldn't see anything. She could only reach out and grope around. In front of her, she touched a huge, slippery rock covered with waterweeds. This rock blocked the middle of the underwater river and divided it into two parts, flowing in different directions.
This underwater river actually had another path!
Tian Qi only said that the underwater river led to the waterfall on the southern hill. He didn't know that there was a mystery hidden in the river channel! If she hadn't jumped in this time, she might never have discovered it.
Wei Dongling had a bold guess. If Zixi had really fallen into the underwater river, he was very likely to have been washed to the other side! She suddenly felt extremely excited.
There was still hope! Maybe this was a glimmer of hope for survival!
Tian Qi had tested it with a wooden stake. The density of the wooden stake was different from that of a human body, so the direction it was washed in while floating on the water was also different.
Wei Dongling dived into the water and closed her eyes to carefully feel the water flow. Finally, after a few turns, the river carried her towards one of the branches.
Gradually, the water flow became faster and faster, and Wei Dongling was almost unable to stand steadily. She still maintained a relaxed posture, hugging her head with both hands and floating downstream.
The sky had completely darkened and the temperature was getting lower and lower. Tian Qi had a hawk on his arm. He lit a fire on the spot to keep warm and sat there in a daze, guarding Wei Dongling's clothes. The stars were rising in the sky. The longer he waited, the more impatient he became. He paced back and forth on the spot anxiously.
Suddenly, the faint sound of someone shouting came from a hill in the distance. Tian Qi was stunned for a moment and quickly stood up, pricking up his ears to listen.
"Tian Qi! Where are you? Come and find me quickly!"
There was no one for miles around. On such a cold night, the voice was as ethereal and unreal as a ghost. But Tian Qi still vaguely recognized that this voice must be the young mistress!
But why was the young mistress's voice coming from such a far place?
Tian Qi didn't have time to think carefully. He grabbed the clothes on the ground, wrapped them into a bundle, and tied them to the hawk's leg. Then he released the hawk in his hand.
He was very agile. He quickly poured water on the fire to extinguish it, grabbed two horses, and followed in the direction the hawk had flown.
The two hills didn't seem to be far apart, but the mountain road was winding and difficult to walk. Tian Qi galloped on his horse. Finally, after an hour, he found Wei Dongling following the light of the fire.
When Wei Dongling climbed out of the water, her face was blue from the cold. She gathered some firewood and roasted for a long time before she could barely recover. While tidying up her dried hair, she glared at Tian Qi angrily and said, "It won't even let me touch it!"
It? Tian Qi was stunned for a long time before he realized that Wei Dongling was talking about his hawk. He glanced at the hawk in the tree and bowed his hands, saying, "It's shy! Please forgive the young mistress." The hawk chirped twice in protest on the branch and pounced into Tian Qi's arms.