My body spun uncontrollably as I fell, wind howling past my ears, the world rushing upward in reverse.
I saw Wanying, who had chased after me but stopped rigidly at the cliff’s edge. I saw the grayish cliffs rapidly shrinking overhead. I saw the distant patch of bright blue sky.
Instinctively, I reached out, trying to grab onto something—but the wind slipped through my fingers. There was nothing to hold on to.
Splash!
A tremendous impact slammed into my back. Pain exploded across my body. My organs felt like they had all shifted inside me. My head went blank for a moment. Dropping from that height into water—this force could kill.
The blow drove me deep beneath the surface. I opened my mouth out of shock, and water forced its way in—
Into my mouth, my ears, my nose. My body felt impossibly heavy, like a massive weight was dragging me down.
It was the first time I realized how heavy and uncooperative my own body could be.
One second I was on a cliff; the next I was in a violent river. Panic tore through my mind. My limbs thrashed wildly, uselessly, and in my struggle I swallowed even more water. My nose burned as cold riverwater shot up into my sinuses—pain sharp enough to jolt me awake.
Even worse, jagged rocks lurked just beneath the water’s surface. One wrong move and I’d crack my skull open.
I kicked hard, fought upward—and finally broke through to the surface.
Air. Sweet, precious air. I gasped desperately for it.
I knew how to swim—but barely. I’d only picked it up in college gym class, and even then I could only manage slow laps in a pool. This was my first time being thrown into wild, open water like this.
The first time—and it might kill me.
Survival instinct made me thrash harder than I ever had in my life.
The current was far faster than it had looked from above. White foam and swirling eddies whipped past me, forming and vanishing in the blink of an eye.
This kind of water would drain even a strong swimmer—and I was nowhere close.
The current dragged me forward relentlessly. My strength drained faster than I could hold onto it. My arms burned so badly that every lift felt like it might be the last.
My teeth chattered violently—loud enough to drown out the roar of the river.
The water was freezing. Even in midsummer, the canyon water bit straight to the bone. My body heat bled away with every passing second, cold seeping into my limbs and marrow.
My strength was nearly gone. If this continued, I would die for sure.
I’d just escaped—only to drown? No. No way. I refused.
Another surge of water crashed over me, and I swallowed another mouthful. My lungs felt like they were going to burst. I kicked upward again, desperate for air—but before I could inhale, another wave slapped me under.
Even just keeping my head above water was an extreme struggle.
I had to get to shore. That was the only coherent thought in my foggy mind.
I kicked with all my strength, pushing myself up through the water again.
I had no idea how far the current had carried me, or how long I had been swimming. The river here widened, and unlike the tight canyons back in Shidi Mountain, the green hills on either side were distant, leaving only a strip of sky. The space felt open, the view expansive.
But the shore was still incredibly far away.
Suddenly, I saw a small tree clinging to the cliffside ahead, its roots anchored in the rock, its trunk dipping close to the water. It was thin and fragile, yet it was the only chance I had to survive.
The desire to live gave me a surge of strength. I paddled desperately toward the little tree.
The current was strong, but in the blink of an eye, the tree was within reach.
Now! Timing it perfectly, I gritted my teeth, lifted my aching arms, and grabbed the slender trunk.
My body was whipped forward by inertia and the rushing water, but I held on with all my strength. I craned my neck upward, forcing my head above the water.
“Ha—cough, cough, cough!” My chest heaved violently, my stomach full of water, churning with nausea. I gasped a few shallow breaths, my mind racing to think of a way out.
Hanging onto this tree, I wasn’t sure my strength would last. Prolonged immersion could bring hypothermia, too.
I had to get to shore.
I flexed my fingers, tried to bend my arms, and shifted my grip from holding the tree to embracing it. The river’s resistance made it even harder. My arms shook from the strain.
Everyone knows the principle: a single push matters. Pause, and you risk losing momentum forever.
Against all odds, I managed to pull myself up and wrap both arms around the trunk.
“Ha!” I exhaled, relief washing over me. I could rest a moment, regain some strength.
My clothes clung to me, soaked and sticky, a constant nuisance. I lacked the energy to adjust them.
The tree jutted from the cliff like a gift from heaven. I lifted my head painfully—the shore wasn’t high, and the cliff face was rough, full of nooks and crags perfect for footholds. If I could reach the cliffside, I could climb to safety.
I planned my route carefully, inching my arms toward the rock.
Then I heard a faint, brittle snap.
Crack!
I froze in terror.
The tree shook.
Not just from the water’s current—the roots were loosening!
I scanned the base and my heart sank: the roots were being pried from the rock.
Before I could react, the little tree, now teetering, snapped at the roots and plunged into the water!
I didn’t even have time to shout before I was submerged again. The rushing current swallowed me, and despair filled me. I clung desperately to what remained of the tree—my last lifeline.
My body rose and fell uncontrollably. Sometimes my face briefly surfaced, but mostly I was under water.
Consciousness began to waver. Fatigue drained me faster than I expected. I was close to letting go of this last fragile hold…
I didn’t know where the current would take me, or if I’d ever reach the shore alive.
In the final haze of awareness, a powerful wave struck my head, and I sank. The river stretched endlessly, water patterns strangely beautiful, mist and spray twisting, rising, and shattering—and I kept plunging downward.