"Snake! A snake! How is there such a huge snake here?!"
In the chaos, someone suddenly pointed into the distance, stumbling backward as they shrieked in terror.
A snake?
Hearing that, Xu Tongdao hurriedly looked where the person was pointing. Sure enough, he saw a red-banded keelback—over a meter long and as thick as a cucumber—slithering fast through the shallow grass.
Was that what had scared Xu Tonglin just now, sending him sprinting in panic and, in his desperation, straight into the river?
Xu Tongdao knew Xu Tonglin was afraid of snakes.
Truth be told, plenty of people were afraid of reptiles like that—things that crawl around without even bothering to walk properly.
"Save him! Someone save him!"
"Th-this… the current is so fast…"
"Who can swim? Whoever can swim, get down there and save him! Linzi doesn't seem to know how…"
"Holy crap, he's already been swept that far—who the hell would dare go in to save him?"
"I'll go!"
Amid the clamor, a man finally declared he would jump in.
But after he'd only taken two steps, a gray-haired old man in his sixties rushed up and grabbed his arm, barking, "Dashan! What are you trying to prove? The current's this strong—are you trying to get yourself killed? Believe me, the moment you get in, Linzi will latch onto you with everything he's got. Then even if you can swim, you won't make it back!"
…
Xu Tongdao recognized the old man. He was Dashan's paternal uncle.
By now, Xu Tonglin had been in the water for several seconds.
To be honest, the river was rolling like boiling water. Xu Tongdao was scared too. Yes, he could swim, but the river was hundreds of meters wide, and that churning, relentless current still made his scalp prickle.
He knew that in water this violent, even a good swimmer was in danger.
Let alone trying to rescue someone.
Yet with so many villagers present, not a single one dared go in. If they delayed any longer, Xu Tonglin—who didn't even know how to swim—would probably drown, just like in the original timeline.
In just these few seconds, Xu Tonglin had already been swept more than ten meters from the bank. His arms flailed wildly, his head bobbing up and down on the surface…
Screw it!
Gritting his teeth, Xu Tongdao ripped off his plastic raincoat, kicked off his rubber boots—left foot on right, right foot on left—then sprinted toward the river amid everyone's shouts of alarm and attempts to stop him. At the water's edge, he drove with both legs, leapt forward with all his strength—
Splash!
He plunged into the icy river.
Because he could swim, the instant he hit the water he started stroking hard and kicking powerfully. Before his head even broke the surface, he'd already surged forward several meters.
That was a underwater swim.
After a few meters, he burst up out of the water.
He instinctively opened his mouth to inhale—but a wave rolled in from the side and slapped across half his face. Murky water flooded into his mouth and nose at once…
"Cough—cough… cough…"
Xu Tongdao choked, coughing violently. The air in his chest was already running out. Even as he coughed, he had to keep stroking with both arms and kicking hard to stay afloat.
He barely fought his way up a little higher—and another wave slammed into him.
In that moment, there was only one phrase in his mind: goddamn it.
But he couldn't even spare the breath to curse.
All he wanted was to get to Xu Tonglin as fast as possible and haul him back to shore. So he forced himself forward, swimming hard while twisting his head to search for Xu Tonglin.
Luckily, Xu Tonglin was still thrashing in the water. After scanning frantically, Xu Tongdao finally caught sight of Xu Tonglin's hand breaking the surface about seven or eight meters away. The villagers on the embankment still didn't dare jump in, but seeing Xu Tongdao in the river, they shouted urgently, trying to guide him to Xu Tonglin's position.
Xu Tongdao clenched his teeth, digging deep and swimming toward him with everything he had.
He'd heard the technique for rescuing a drowning person: approach from behind, then hook an arm around the person's neck. Only that way could you avoid being entangled by the panicked victim.
He'd also heard that someone drowning had no rationality. Even if they knew you were trying to save them, instinct would still make them cling to you for dear life.
If the drowning person grabbed both your arms—even one arm—you were finished. Both of you would die.
Xu Tonglin was being swept downstream by the roaring current.
Xu Tongdao, carried by that same current, fought to close the distance. With the flow pushing him along, he moved fast.
In just a few breaths, he reached the spot—but at that moment, Xu Tonglin's head hadn't surfaced for a long time. The villagers on shore kept yelling.
"Right there! Right there!"
"Yes, yes—right there! I just saw Linzi's hand come up!"
"Tongdao! Tongdao! If you can't, dive and feel for him!"
…
Honestly, not seeing Xu Tonglin now made Xu Tongdao's blood run cold.
He was terrified that Xu Tonglin might suddenly erupt from beneath the surface and clamp onto him.
Wherever Xu Tonglin grabbed, it would be Xu Tongdao's life on the line—both of them going down together.
He was frantic and afraid, forcing down his panic as he dove again and again, trying to find Xu Tonglin underwater.
But—
The river was so damn muddy. Every time he opened his eyes beneath the surface, all he got was burning pain as water stung his eyes. He couldn't see a thing.
"Over there! Linzi's over there!!"
The villagers on the embankment suddenly erupted, shouting over each other as they pointed in a direction.
Xu Tongdao, both desperate and terrified, snapped his gaze that way—and finally saw a hand break the surface for an instant.
Relief surged through him.
He lunged forward, stroking hard.
…
When Xu Tongdao finally dragged Xu Tonglin to the embankment, several men rushed in and, together, hauled the barely-breathing Xu Tonglin onto the bank.
Then a few more hands reached out and dragged a completely spent Xu Tongdao up as well.
In truth, Xu Tongdao hadn't been in the water very long.
At most, two or three minutes.
But in those few minutes, he'd almost burned through every ounce of strength he had.
The current was too fast. The river boiled and rolled, wave after wave smashing into his face, never giving him time to breathe properly. Add to that the fear and urgency—and later, when he finally got his arm around Xu Tonglin's neck, Xu Tonglin had kept struggling—the drain on his stamina multiplied again and again.
Only now, sprawled on the bank with people pulling him up, did Xu Tongdao finally loosen his grip on himself and take real breaths. It felt like he'd survived a catastrophe.
His heart still hammered with lingering terror.
What he'd just done was insanely dangerous. One wrong move and he'd have ended up as Xu Tonglin's matching "fated lovebird"—and two male ones at that.
TL: Lovebirds were a Chinese myth. The male and female birds are both only half of a real bird, and only when they are together can they achieve true flight like a real bird.
"Tongdao! Tongdao, are you okay? You alright? Your guts are huge—how could you dare jump into a river that fast to save Linzi…"
"Linzi! Linzi, you alright? What the hell was wrong with you just now? It was just a snake—and you ran straight into the river? You scared us half to death!"
…
Listening to the villagers' noisy chatter, Xu Tongdao exhaled and, exhausted, turned his head toward Xu Tonglin.
Xu Tonglin was alive.
His chest was still rising and falling. His mouth was open, still breathing.
Xu Tongdao couldn't help but smile a little.
In the original timeline, Xu Tonglin—his childhood friend—would have drowned tonight in this very river.
But now, he'd saved him.
Thank goodness.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup