Looking from above, the river didn't seem that wide, and they thought they could swim to the shore in no time. But in reality, getting ashore wasn't easy; it took them a while to scramble up from the water, and once on shore, they collapsed onto the ground, most of their strength spent.
"We've struggled so long to get up here; there's no way Ariel got up immediately. After she fell, I didn't see her at all. What if something happened to her? If something really happened, I'd never be at peace for the rest of my life," Lin Mengyao said, holding Xu Ke's fingers.
"She'll be fine. Remember, she's the little witch of East District; if anyone's going to be okay, it's her," Xu Ke reassured, though in truth, he wasn't so sure himself.
They rested on the shore for a while before heading into the dense forest to search for Ariel. Not finding any sign of her, they followed the water downstream.
