Sinking into Water

"Quick, put out the fire!" Zheng Yingci ordered.

Hearing the command, the Zheng Family servants' hearts sank. Zheng Yingci had always enjoyed an excellent reputation; it was only natural for him to order them to save the fire victims. But in the present circumstances, they simply could not get close!

"No, Young Master!" Seeing all eyes turn toward him, a middle-aged man stepped forward. The others were ordinary household servants and could not disobey orders, but he had served the Zheng Family for twenty years and possessed some standing.

"Uncle Tian, why?" Zheng Yingci asked with a dark expression.

"Young Master, with the fire and wind like this, once we get close, never mind linking the two boats directly—even a stray spark will send our vessel following that pleasure barge to its doom." The middle-aged man pointed as he spoke. Everyone looked over and saw the pleasure barge blazing fiercely. From time to time, the wind swept through the wreckage, carrying flames that burst over ten meters outward. They could not help nodding repeatedly.

Seeing Zheng Yingci's poor expression, the middle-aged man knew that those who had fled early and gone far bore no responsibility. But they were so close, and the young master could not bear the reputation of watching people die without helping. With such a reputation, even the finest essays would be useless. He immediately said, "Even if you mean to save people, Young Master, you cannot save the boat. You can save those who jump into the water. We are too far from shore here. Never mind those who cannot swim—even those who can may find it hard to guarantee reaching land."

The words made sense. Chen Ziyi hurriedly said, "Worthy younger brother, you have a loyal servant indeed. These words are truly words of wisdom. The pleasure barge's fire is too fierce; if we are to save anyone, it must be those who jump into the water."

After saying this, Zheng Yingci nodded and replied, "Brother Chen, you are right. Row faster, circle the pleasure barge, and hurry to save people!"

"Yes!" The servants immediately let their hearts settle back into their stomachs. They rowed around while shouting to the victims. Whenever they encountered someone, they extended bamboo poles and pulled them aboard.

Because they were close, they could see more clearly. Suddenly, someone burst out from the pleasure barge!

The man was covered in flames, yet unwilling to die. Struggling desperately, he crawled onto the deck, already at death's door. But upon seeing the pleasure barge, he somehow found the strength to stretch out a hand desperately. "Save me, save me..."

But the pleasure barge could not be approached at all. In that instant of hesitation, his body burned into a ball of fire. His screams were shrill, then gradually faded. Faced with such a horrific sight, Zheng Yingci closed his eyes.

Though Zheng Yingci cherished his reputation and could be called kind-hearted, once he calmed down, he knew it was absolutely impossible to approach a burning boat with waves of heat crashing into his face.

As the heat battering his face gradually lessened, and the boat moved farther away, Zheng Yingci let out a breath of relief.

Seeing this scene was truly a severe test of his heart.

"Many thanks to Brother Zheng for lending a hand." At that moment, a scholar who had fallen into the water climbed aboard. His face was pale, and his body still trembled as he came forward to offer thanks.

Zheng Yingci took one look and recognized him. He was an Examination Student who had mocked Ye Buhui and him before, and also a chess player.

But such a small matter naturally meant nothing. Zheng Yingci hurriedly returned the salute. "You flatter me, you flatter me. In such circumstances, anyone would..."

"Young Master, this is bad!" Another sharp cry rang out. Zheng Yingci inwardly cursed, then turned around. What lay before his eyes instantly drained his face white.

The wind over the lake had suddenly changed direction. A pleasure barge that had become a fire ship broke away from the main body and sped straight toward their boat.

"Quick! Get out of the way!" Zheng Yingci shouted in alarm.

But on the water, how could one turn as easily as on land?

Even stranger, the pleasure barge rode the wind and came crashing in with astonishing speed, yet no matter how desperately the sailors worked, the Zheng Family's boat seemed utterly motionless, as though nailed to the lake.

Not to mention that, in order to save people, they had drawn very close—only around ten meters apart.

Boom! The fire ship crashed into them heavily. Not only that, but as it struck, a fiercely burning mast flew up and came smashing down. A scream rang out as a household servant was pinned beneath a ball of flame.

The fire rapidly leaped across the vessel. In almost the blink of an eye, the place where Zheng Yingci and Chen Ziyi had been standing was swallowed by flames.

Seeing the situation turn bad, Zheng Yingci and the others ran toward the stern. They repeatedly ordered the Dings to put out the fire, while Zheng Yingci himself did not remain idle. He used a wooden basin to scoop lake water and splash it over the flames on the deck.

But they simply could not stop the fire from spreading.

"Young Master, hug a wooden barrel and jump down!" A Ding who had jumped in first shouted. "We can swim! Young Master, jump quickly—we will keep you safe!"

Zheng Yingci could not swim, and his heart trembled with unease. But as the heat closed in, he knew that if he did not jump, he would die horribly. Chen Ziyi could swim, and without further hesitation, he grabbed a wooden barrel and jumped in.

"Worthy brother, jump!"

Hearing the cries, Zheng Yingci gritted his teeth and shut his eyes. Hugging a wooden barrel as well, he plunged into the water with a splash.

He had thought that since some Dings could swim, they would surely look after him once he jumped in. But the moment he entered the water, his body suddenly turned cold. Then he felt a chill burrow between his bones.

"Ah!" Zheng Yingci knew something was wrong. Before he could even cry out, he felt as if he had turned to stone. His hands could not hold on, and he sank straight downward.

Never mind waiting for someone to rescue him—in this state, he clearly could not even float for a moment.

Could April water be this cold?

The thought flashed through his mind. Zheng Yingci struggled desperately, but then pain shot through his leg—it had cramped. His heart turned cold at once, filled with grief and indignation. Was he truly going to lose his life in this Coiling Dragon Lake? Just because of a sudden fire? How absurd!

He was a descendant painstakingly cultivated by the Zheng Family. He had not yet earned the Provincial Graduate degree, had not yet earned the Presented Scholar degree, had not yet entered court as an official, had not yet brought benefit to the Lineage, had not yet left his name in history—yet he was to die in this place, becoming a handful of white bones at the bottom of the lake?

The unwillingness in his heart could not stop his body from sinking.

Through the blurred light of the water, Zheng Yingci saw someone fall in. The person seemed to be swimming toward him, and just as a trace of hope arose, that person snatched away the wooden barrel Zheng Yingci had been holding and swam desperately elsewhere, without extending a hand at all.

It was the Examination Student chess player Zheng Yingci had just rescued.

Before Zheng Yingci could even feel grief or rage, a fiercely burning wooden beam fell, smashing heavily into the man's head. Half his skull caved in, and he sank even faster than Zheng Yingci as crimson spread outward.

"Could this chess player have brought this calamity?" At the brink of life and death, for no apparent reason, Zheng Yingci suddenly had that feeling. A bitter smile tugged at his lips.

Pain and suffocation made him nearly want to lose consciousness at once. Yet before his eyes, the expectant faces of his parents seemed to appear again, as did Su Ziji, and the faces of many people he had known in the past.

"No! I cannot die here. I have to live!" A powerful desire to survive surged up within Zheng Yingci, who had originally given up struggling. He began struggling again. At that moment, he felt the cramp ease. He immediately fought desperately to rise to the surface, grabbed hold of a wooden beam that had burned halfway through but had already been extinguished by the water, and clung to it with all his strength.

Then, after choking on several mouthfuls of water, Zheng Yingci's vision went black, and he knew nothing more.

At almost the same time, a small boat far away drifted slowly onward. Dark green lake water rippled around it. Farther off, another pleasure barge floated leisurely across the lake amid songs and laughter, its clear and melodious singing audible—a scene like a grand lakeside feast in an age of prosperity.

Su Ziji could not help feeling refreshed and at ease, but then a wave of fatigue swept over him. Turning around, he saw Ye Buhui yawning as well. She said, "I did not sleep well last night. No, I did not sleep at all. Let's catch up on some sleep."

Then she raised her voice slightly. "Boatman, catch a fish. Wake us at noon."

"Yes, Young Master." The boatman had spotted smoke in the distance, but at this range it looked faint, so he was not even surprised. He merely answered.