Jiang Ning jumped straight from the shallow grass along the bank into the water channel.
When he landed, water splashed up fiercely. Then the current roared around his legs and continued rushing onward.
The water channel running through the fields was a little over a meter wide, with water reaching above Jiang Ning's knees. The main problem was the ferocious current, combined with the slick mud at the bottom. Most people would have trouble keeping their footing.
"Jiang Ning, Jiang Ning!" Xue Yuantong called out.
She was afraid Jiang Ning would get swept away. Otherwise, she would have to risk herself to fish him out.
Fortunately, he was completely unharmed.
Reassured, Xue Yuantong looked west along the water channel.
A little farther away, the channel passed beneath a Stone Arch Bridge. Beneath the bridge was a small pond, around three meters long and wide. Farther west lay a north-south river channel seven or eight meters wide, its current equally swift.
The river channel connected to the Water Outlet below the Dam and eventually flowed into the broad Hui River.
This was how most rural ditches and small rivers were laid out.
Today was still overcast. The sky hung dark and heavy, layer after layer of black clouds churning forward, thick and oppressive. Rain was about to fall, yet had not.
Jiang Ning moved upstream through the water channel, stepping over the slick mud at the bottom and inching forward.
Xue Yuantong, Bai Yuxia, and the twins followed along the edge of the channel.
Xue Yuantong had exceptionally sharp eyesight. Pointing at the fleeting shadow of a Crucian Carp in the water, she shouted excitedly:
"Jiang Ning, catch it! Catch it!"
During normal seasons, this little water channel barely had any current, and there were practically no fish. Only when there