Don't Let Go

When Chen Che flew out, he had a length of rope clenched between his teeth.

He circled around to the inner side of the stone platform and landed beside a thick tree. He looped the rope around its trunk, tied it off, then gave it two hard tugs.

Lin Huai received the signal from the bank and immediately looped the other end around a thick tree root on his side, pulling it tight and securing it. Pei Chuan checked the anchor point again, and the two of them pulled together to make sure the rope could bear the load.

Xu Sheng, however, was already on his way down.

His white wings spread close to the cliff face, his Second Soul Ring shining, he descended slowly beside the broken bridge and soon got a clear look at the herb gatherer.

He was an older man, with a gash at his temple and lips white from the cold, but both hands were still clamped around the bridge plank.

"Look at me."

The water was so loud that Xu Sheng had to raise his voice.

The herb gatherer lifted his head. When he saw the white wings, he froze for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

He wanted to reach out, but he didn't dare let go of the plank.

Xu Sheng didn't let him lunge at him. Instead, he offered him a wide strap with a loop already formed, personally passed it under the man's arms, and tightened the rope clasp.

"Eat this."

Xu Lizhi's Xiaolongbao was small, but the herb gatherer was so cold that his teeth were chattering. He took two bites without managing to bite through it properly.

Xu Sheng freed one hand and broke it apart for him.

"Swallow slowly. Don't choke. I'm right here."

Once the bun was down, Xu Sheng tried lifting him and, after confirming that the load was lighter, secured his grip on the wide strap.

"You can let go now."

The herb gatherer looked at the water beneath his feet and didn't move.

"The rope's in my hand. Don't worry."

The frozen hands slowly loosened their grip.

At that very moment, the current struck the bridge plank and shook it. The herb gatherer instinctively tried to grab it again. Xu Sheng immediately rose, lifting him by the wide strap, and beat his wings hard, narrowly avoiding a broken piece of timber that surged up.

Lu Song and Pei Chuan were already waiting on the bank.

As soon as Xu Sheng brought the man over, they caught him between them and carried him up the gentle slope.

When Xu Sheng landed, his legs felt a little weak too.

He had only been down there a short while, but his palms were already slick with sweat.

It really wasn't the same as lifting someone over a wooden frame in the courtyard.

But when he saw the herb gatherer wrapped in dry cloth, accepting hot water with trembling hands, the tightness in his chest eased again.

At least they had pulled this man back first.

"Can you carry another?" Meng Xingzhou asked.

"After I catch my breath. Let the rope do some of the work for the rest."

Xu Sheng took the meat bun Xu Lizhi offered him, ate it in a few bites, and looked up at the opposite bank.

Chen Che had already flown back, this time bringing word from Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng had seen a similar Man Faced Demon Spider before. This one probably wasn't a thousand years old yet, but its venom was potent, and he had only been hurt so badly because it had ambushed him. There were webs on one side of the woods and a landslide behind them. With several ordinary people in tow, they couldn't move fast at all.

At the moment, the demon spider was probing back and forth along the outer edge of the stone platform.

It had clearly seen that there were more people on both banks and hadn't pounced immediately.

Xu Sheng looked across, and an idea quickly took shape in his mind.

"Old Ji, I'll take you across first."

Ji Juechen had already taken off his pack, keeping only his sword and the protective gear he needed.

"All right."

"Don't chase it into the woods. Relieve Zhao Feng first."

"Got it."

Xu Lizhi brought over a second Xiaolongbao, and Ji Juechen took it and ate it. Xu Sheng waited a moment, then beat his wings again.

Ji Juechen hadn't summoned his Martial Soul and had fewer loose things on him, so carrying him was much easier than carrying the panicked herb gatherer, who had been flailing about. As they neared the far bank, he used the bit of momentum Xu Sheng gave him to land on the stone platform, then immediately drew his sword.

One of the demon spider's front legs stabbed at him just then.

Ji Juechen angled his blade, not meeting the sharp tip head-on but deflecting it away from where it would have struck. He retreated to the side of the stone platform, shielding Zhao Feng, who was already swaying on his feet.

Zhao Feng still wanted to speak, but Ji Juechen had already turned to Xu Sheng.

"Take him away."

Xu Sheng landed beside a tree root farther in and first secured the second rope Chen Che had brought. On the near bank, Lu Song and Pei Chuan hooked the empty stretcher onto the main rope, while Xu Sheng pulled on the guide rope from his side, slowly drawing the empty frame over to the stone platform.

Once the stretcher arrived, he checked the sliding clasps at both ends again, then threaded the return rope through the head of the frame.

That way, when they sent the stretcher across, the main rope would bear the weight while the other rope controlled its speed from this side, preventing the injured person from sliding straight across and crashing into the opposite bank.

Half of Zhao Feng's arm had already darkened, but his mind was still clear. When Xu Sheng came to help him, he instead pointed to the herb gatherers behind him.

"Them first..."

"They can sit steady. You're about to lose the ability to sit up yourself."

As Xu Sheng spoke, he helped him onto the stretcher.

"If I leave you here, I'll still have to spare a hand to hold you up. Go across first and save me some trouble."

Zhao Feng stared at him, and somehow Xu Sheng's words left him without the strength to argue.

Two herb gatherers helped settle him in place and tied the cloth straps securely as Xu Sheng instructed. Xu Lizhi made another bun and gave it to Mo Yifan to deliver to the rope end on the near bank. He stayed somewhere safe behind Lu Song and didn't cross the gorge.

A Light and Nimble Xiaolongbao was placed in a small cloth bag and sent across along the guide rope.

Zhao Feng could still swallow on his own, so Xu Sheng waited until he had eaten it before signaling the opposite bank to start pulling.

The stretcher slowly left the stone platform.

Xu Sheng flew low beside it, keeping a hand on the edge of the frame so he could correct its tilt at any moment.

The water was still deafening, but compared with the first trip, when he had lifted someone directly from the water's surface, this one was clearly much steadier.

Once the injured man reached the opposite bank, Pei Chuan immediately took him away. Meng Xingzhou didn't crowd over to look. Instead, he held the Purple Lightning Bamboo and kept his eyes fixed on Ji Juechen's side.

There were still plenty of people on their side who could help. There was no need to leave one sword to stand guard alone.

Wen Zhao had already secured a crossing rope and was using it to make his way across the remaining bridge supports, one section at a time. Xu Sheng watched over him from the side and lifted him onto the stone platform only when he reached the final stretch.

With Wen Zhao joining him, things immediately became a little easier for Ji Juechen.

The two didn't give chase or press too close, merely guarding the entrance to the stone platform. The demon spider tried to approach several times, but each time wind blades forced it off course, and a sword's edge cut it off and drove it back.

The remaining injured people crossed the gorge one after another.

Xu Lizhi made a few more buns, and sweat gradually appeared on his forehead. When Xu Sheng landed on the bank again, he noticed the little fatty waiting for someone to take a bun while also fishing dry rations out from inside his clothes.

"Hungry?"

"A little."

Xu Sheng took out his own packet of ordinary braised meat and pushed it straight into his arms.

"Eat first."

Xu Lizhi looked toward the stone platform, then at the meat in his hands.

"There's still one more."

"I know. Make this last one, then rest. We'll handle the rest."

Xu Sheng didn't let him push himself to make any more.

Recovery Big Meat Buns could help everyone catch their breath, but they couldn't make an entire team's expenditure vanish out of thin air. For every one the little fatty made, he had to use his own Soul Power all the same.

Only when the last cart driver was seated on the stretcher did Xu Sheng finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Four herb gatherers, one cart driver, and Zhao Feng—they were all accounted for.

Tao Qing stood on this side, counting them over and over until their eyes turned red.

But just as the stretcher neared the bank, a piercing sound suddenly came from the woods across the gorge.

A sticky, resilient white web shot out from the side, spreading toward the stone platform!

"Back!"

Wen Zhao and Ji Juechen both dodged inward. The web swept down past a tree trunk and firmly caught a length of broken bridge rope that was already hanging loose.

Xu Sheng had barely steadied himself after landing when he saw a Man Faced Demon Spider crawl out from behind the bushes, where it had been hiding all along.

It didn't go after the two people on the stone platform again.

Instead, it crawled along the rock face toward the rocky shoal downstream.

Chen Che glanced in the direction it was heading, and his expression shifted slightly.

"It can circle around to us from there!"