Among these believers were, astonishingly, two people Zhao Feng knew.
They were his Eldest Uncle Zhao Youfu and Eldest Aunt Qian Shi. Their hair was graying and their faces haggard, but an almost deranged frenzy shone on their faces as they followed the crowd into the river, step by step.
Of their two sons, one had died and the other had been crippled. After being driven out of their village, they had eked out a living in the County Seat by scavenging rubbish and taking odd jobs. In their utter destitution, the arrival of the Red Lotus Holy Cult had been like a ray of light in their lives. From then on, they had become its most devout believers, hoping to receive the Holy Mother's favor and defy heaven to change their fate.
Now, hearing that sacrificing themselves to the River God would earn them a place among the immortals, they followed the crowd into the river without the slightest hesitation.
Though it was early summer, the river water was still icy. The bone-piercing chill made Qian Shi and Zhao Youfu shudder, jolting them both out of their frenzy. Fear followed, and they instinctively tried to retreat.
Just then, they saw a believer ahead of them dragged beneath the river by an enormous shadow underwater. Terrible fear overwhelmed them.
"I'm not going any farther!"
"I've changed my mind!"
"I don't want to become an immortal! I want to go home!" Qian Shi and Zhao Youfu screamed in terror, desperately trying to retreat, but the believers entering the water behind them blocked their way.
"No! I don't want to become an immortal anymore!" Qian Shi shrieked madly. She struggled desperately to back away but could not move at all, forced to watch as the enormous black shadow swam toward her underwater.