The boy in black who had rushed over was none other than Qiu Yuan.
Shi Feiyang had seen Xiao Chan pursuing Shi Zhu from the mountain, so he had sent Qiu Yuan to rescue him.
After landing, Qiu Yuan formed a hand seal and cast a spell. With a casual wave, he wrested the countless droplets and balls of water filling the sky from Xiao Chan's control, sending them all falling into the river. Then another current lifted Shi Zhu out and tossed him straight onto the bank.
Xiao Chan could not believe her eyes. Gritting her teeth and knitting her brows, she glared and stamped her feet, casting her spell again to seize the water back.
Both she and Qiu Yuan were using the Water Escape Technique, an orthodox art of the Mystic Sect.
But she had spent eight years studying the crooked arts of the Unorthodox Path and knew only this one Mystic Sect spell. She knew how it worked, but not why, and could only copy a gourd by tracing its shape, barely managing to put it to use.
Qiu Yuan, however, had been taught personally by Shi Feiyang. He had also studied for eight years, but he had practiced orthodox Mystic Sect cultivation methods from the very beginning, advancing one solid step at a time until he thoroughly understood the Five Elements Escape Arts.
Even if their magical power had been equal, she would never have been a match for Qiu Yuan, let alone when hers fell so far short of his.
She struggled for ages, but however hard she tried, the river flowed on as usual. Not even a single droplet rose under her control.
Shi Zhu was on his hands and knees, coughing loudly without stopping. He had not seen Qiu Yuan arrive on