"Where should we go now?"
Watching the ceaseless rush of the river, Bu Er turned to Yang Qing.
The underground river wound onward, its destination unknown.
Yang Qing was studying the river intently. At Bu Er's question, he said, "Across the river."
Across the river?
Bu Er walked to the underground river and peered into it. The water was shallow enough that he could see the riverbed, yet for some reason, an uneasy feeling rose in his heart.
Seeing him staring at the water, Jiang Zhizhou also stepped forward and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Bu Er shook his head. "I don't know why, but I keep feeling there's something strange about this water."
As he spoke, he picked up a few loose stones by his feet and tossed them into the water.
Nothing happened beyond the river's relentless onward surge. The stones lay quietly in the water.
Gentle ripples cast their reflections over Bu Er's and Jiang Zhizhou's faces.
"Bu Er, there's nothing wrong with the water."
Bu Er kept watching the stones. When they indeed showed no change, just as Jiang Zhizhou had said, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps he had been worrying too much.
"Then let's cross." With that, Jiang Zhizhou walked over to Yang Qing and lifted him onto his back. A few strides brought him to the riverbank, where he planted his feet and sprang toward the opposite shore.
Bu Er, meanwhile, erased every trace they had left upon entering before leaping up and shooting straight across.
None of them noticed that, as they crossed the underground river, pale, milky droplets kept falling from the stalactites hanging above its surface. All three of them were splashed with some, to varying degrees.
Although the underground river was several dozen feet wide, crossing