Underwater Chapel

Mist hung over the water. Xia Lun stood on smooth pebbles and looked down at the burbling stream.

The air smelled neither fishy nor foul. Withered reeds swayed in the breeze, giving off a fresh, grassy scent rare in the apocalypse.

"Just swim downstream and you'll find the cave easily," the dragonkin Jiavette said, stuffing his pointed hat and clothes into his bag. "But be warned, it's a long way. Prepare yourselves."

"Don't worry. Renee and I can swim underwater for a month without coming up for air." Xia Lun made a dry joke.

One Underwater Breathing Potion lasted a full month. Even if Jiavette had some scheme in mind, neither Xia Lun nor Renee needed to worry.

Unlike the blunt police detective Jiavette in the real world, this dragonkin did not argue. But disbelief was written all over his slit-pupiled eyes. Xia Lun smiled and, without making any preparations, leaped straight into the water.

Cold water struck his face, sharpening his senses. He opened his mouth and took a light breath. Chilly river water flowed down his throat and into his lungs, yet he felt nothing unusual.

"Gurgle, gurgle."

Bubbles escaped his nostrils. He tightened his core, kicked off, and swam deeper into the river.

As he descended, the sounds above the surface rapidly faded. The splash of his strokes mingled with the sound of his breathing in his ears, and the pressure and anxiety slowly ebbed with each exhale.

For some reason, Xia Lun remembered diving in Sorrow Hill City. But there was no question: the full-strength Underwater Breathing Potion worked far better than drinking White Line's Blood.

Bubbles rose as Xia Lun descended farther. The deeper he went, the clearer the water became. Gradually, he made out the riverbed. A few more kicks brought a small stone