The night deepened, and the world fell into silence. The small county town had long since succumbed to peace.
In the dead of night, even the stray dogs were quiet.
Yet, in a remote mountain gully miles from the county town, a life-and-death chase, a jungle escape, was unfolding.
Qin Chuan, holding Li Ya's hand, had lost count of how long they had been running. Their direction was completely lost. They stumbled and got back up, continuing to run.
Li Ya's leather shoes had long since disappeared, and her feet were cut. Qin Chuan had no choice but to carry her on his back.
At this moment, he too felt he was at his limit. After the prolonged chase, his chest felt as though it would explode. He panted like an ox, every breath precious.
His legs felt like they were cast in lead, trembling uncontrollably, unable to support him.
But the shouts of their pursuers could still be heard behind them. The enemy seemed to be getting desperate, unable to catch a mere man and woman after such a long time. They were clearly enraged.
While the darkness brought inconvenience, it also offered a sliver of hope. The darkness allowed Qin Chuan and Li Ya to narrowly avoid their pursuers time and again.
"Rumble!!"
Suddenly, the sound of flowing water reached their ears. Qin Chuan, who was laboriously carrying Li Ya, stopped and strained his ears.
Li Ya heard it too, and a look of intense excitement flashed across her pretty face.
"Xiao Chuan, I hear water! With such a loud sound, there's only one place in our county town like that – the Qing He Dam."
Li Ya exclaimed excitedly from Qin Chuan's back.
The Qing He Dam?
Qin Chuan knew the place. He had even fished there with Shang Bingrong before.
However, the Qing He Dam was more than twenty miles from the town. He hadn't realized they had run so far unconsciously.
"Quick, let's hurry there! That place has a signal!"
Qin Chuan's spirits lifted. He adjusted Li Ya on his back and picked up his pace.
Unexpectedly, the ground beneath his feet suddenly gave way, and they tumbled downwards.
They had been standing on a hillside, and with that misstep, they lost their footing completely.
As they rolled down, Qin Chuan held Li Ya tightly in his arms, his other hand desperately grabbing anything he could on the slope, trying to slow their descent.
But it was all in vain. His fingers were cut countless times, yet he couldn't get a grip. Their combined weight was too much.
They gathered momentum like a rolling snowball, and suddenly, in the next moment, they felt the ground disappear beneath them. A single thought flashed through their minds: "We're finished!"
They had fallen off a cliff. They didn't know how high it was, but even if they survived, they would be crippled.
At that moment, Qin Chuan's mind went blank. Then, with a "plop," a chilling coldness enveloped him, and water flooded his nose, mouth, and ears.
The shock of the icy river water quickly brought Qin Chuan back to his senses. He kicked his legs, pushing himself and Li Ya towards the surface.
"Gasp!! Gasp!!"
As he broke the surface, Qin Chuan gasped for air. He knew how to swim and wasn't afraid of the water. He felt a sense of having narrowly escaped death.
But very soon, Qin Chuan noticed something was wrong. Li Ya in his arms was completely unresponsive.
"Sister! Sister! Li Ya! Li Ya!! Wake up!!"
Qin Chuan patted Li Ya's face vigorously, realizing she had already lost consciousness, either from fright or from drowning.
Without further thought, Qin Chuan quickly paddled to shore, holding Li Ya, and began administering emergency aid, performing chest compressions and artificial respiration.
Finally, a violent cough erupted, and Li Ya slowly opened her eyes.
"Where... where is this? Are we dead?"
Li Ya looked around with a dazed expression.
"Sister, we're not dead. We fell into the river at the Qing He Dam."
Qin Chuan quickly replied.
The intense pain in her body made Li Ya realize they were indeed alive. She let out a sob and clung tightly to Qin Chuan's neck, weeping uncontrollably.
The moment she had been airborne, her extreme fear had caused her to pass out.
Having lived a normal life her whole existence, she had never experienced such a disaster. Being chased like this was something she had only seen in movies, something too distant from reality for anyone.
A wave of guilt washed over Qin Chuan as he held Li Ya tightly, trying to comfort her.
Tonight's ordeal was harrowing even for him, let alone for a delicate woman like Li Ya. If it weren't for him, Li Ya wouldn't have suffered this calamity.
"Sister, don't cry, be careful someone hears us!"
Qin Chuan whispered, his voice low.
His words were more effective than anything else. Li Ya immediately stopped crying. She suddenly remembered their pursuers, the four figures in black, and wondered where they were now.
"Xiao Chuan, are those men still chasing us?"
Qin Chuan nodded.
"Then what do we do now? If we keep running like this, they'll catch us!"
"Besides, I really can't run anymore!"
Li Ya said anxiously.
As if summoned by her fear, a voice suddenly echoed from the hillside above. The men in black had reappeared, seemingly conducting a systematic search, letting out strange calls.
The sounds made Li Ya shrink into Qin Chuan's arms, trembling all over.
At this point, not to mention Li Ya, even Qin Chuan felt utterly exhausted. He felt like a mountain was pressing down on him, his entire body in pain. He didn't even know where he was injured; every part of him ached.
A gentle breeze swept through, rustling the reeds by the river, making a "swishing" sound.
"I have an idea!"
Qin Chuan's eyes lit up as he stared at the swaying reeds.
He quickly got to his feet and walked to the reeds, breaking off a few stalks. Moments later, he returned to Li Ya, holding several slender tubes.
"Sister, have you seen those spy movies?"
"When people are hiding underwater, they hold a thin tube in their mouths for breathing."
Qin Chuan explained.
"You mean..."
Li Ya took two reed stems from him.
"Yes, we'll do just like in the movies and go underwater."
"As long as we can outlast their search, we'll be safe!"
With that, Qin Chuan slowly led Li Ya into the icy river water.
Even though it was summer, the river water at night was still bone-chilling, sending a shiver down their spines.
A short while later, clear voices drifted down. The men in black had reached the hillside above.
Hiding in the river, Qin Chuan and Li Ya clearly heard the conversation. The men sounded extremely agitated, having lost track of their quarry.
"Boss, could those two dogs have gone down this slope?"
One of the men in black asked.
"Damn it, this slope is too steep, there's barely a foothold. Below is a cliff, over a hundred meters high. Are they crazy?"
The boss cursed angrily.
"Search! Keep searching! They must be hiding somewhere!"
"If we don't find them, none of us are going back tonight!" httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
A few minutes later, the voices faded. The four men in black seemed to have moved on to search elsewhere.
Hiding in the river, Qin Chuan and Li Ya exchanged a glance and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Qin Chuan took out his phone from his pocket, only to find it waterlogged and unable to turn on. Li Ya's phone was in a similar state.
"Xiao Chuan, are we going to stay like this until dawn?"
"I'm so cold!"
Li Ya shivered, her teeth chattering.
Qin Chuan also felt that staying in the water until dawn would be too difficult. It was currently around two or three in the morning, with several more hours until sunrise.
Staying in the icy water for so long could lead to a serious illness. He, as a man, could perhaps endure it, but what about Li Ya?
"Sister, can you still walk? I've been to the Qing He Dam before. I remember there's a village not far ahead. If we can get there, we'll be safe!"
Qin Chuan said.
Li Ya hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and slowly climbed out of the river, displaying remarkable willpower.
"I can manage. Let's go!"
Thus, supporting each other, they limped towards the distance...