Pan Long moved fast, but Painter Bi moved faster.
The people in the water were about to be swept by the waves into the shore. She shook her head, tossed the scroll in her hand into the river, and said lightly, "The Master said: 'The virtuous are like water.' What does that mean? They bear others up without harming them."
The scroll dissolved the moment it touched the water, as though it were no thicker than candy wrapper. Countless faint ink marks appeared on the surface, each one the character for "virtue."
As soon as the characters appeared, they drifted toward the people in the water as though alive. Like pairs of great hands, they lifted them up.
The wind and waves were fierce, yet no matter how they raged, not a single Hua appeared around those characters. The water there remained as still as an undisturbed well.
Wild Wind still howled, and the waves still crashed with a sound like thunder. But everyone in the water was protected. They were no longer in the slightest danger.
At the sight, the panicked crowd calmed considerably. More than one person cried out, "An immortal!" Others dropped to their knees and bowed repeatedly to Painter Bi.
Pan Long was unfazed. He had been prepared for something like this. Though Painter Bi's abilities exceeded his imagination, he had already begun to suspect who she was.
If this painter really was the person he suspected, such power was only to be expected. If she had been any less capable, Pan Long would have found that strange instead.
The thought flashed through his mind as he raced forward. In an instant, he reached the river. Using his movement arts, he ran swiftly across the water with his legs submerged halfway to the knees. He looked