My heart leaped into my throat, imagining the dark undercurrents of the pond and what toxic creature might dwell within. I cursed myself; I should have gone for Hua'er immediately. Based on how long Man Niao Niao had been gone, even if Hua'er had fallen in the water, she wouldn't have surrendered easily—she definitely would have struggled and barked. The absolute silence suggested she might already be at the bottom.

At this realization, tears streamed down my face, and I cried out in agony and regret, "Hua'er… Hua'er…" Qin Bing'er, hearing the distress in my voice, must have guessed what I feared, and she joined me in shouting for Hua'er.

Qin Bing'er and I paced the embankment several times, hearing nothing from Hua'er, save for the occasional gurgling bubbles rising from the pond, echoing our cries and sinking our hearts like lead stones.

I was so overwhelmed with grief I nearly collapsed. Just as I was about to break into loud sobs, Man Niao Niao's grating voice cut through the air. "Damn it, all you know is how to cry 'cat's tears,' you don't know how to figure out the situation… There are so many water channels on this rock face; maybe your little brother has already climbed across!"

Water channels? Climbed across? A flash of insight illuminated my mind, and I jumped up excitedly, sprinting to the spot Man Niao Niao indicated.

Indeed, the rock face was crisscrossed with channels, clearly carved artificially judging by their shape. Each channel was etched into the cliff, winding capriciously up and down, though the general trend was downward, eventually extending towards the sheer drop beside the embankment stairs outside. Only a small amount of water flowed within them, barely a trickle, flowing silently. Previously, when I drank the runoff water from the cliff face, my sight was limited to shades of black and white, and the color of these channels blended perfectly with the rock, so I had missed this massive secret hidden in the wall. Now, Man Niao Niao found a piece of dry wood somewhere and lit it with his lighter. As he brought the flame close to examine the cliff, the light reflecting off the water surface in the channels caught my eye, and I finally understood the situation.

The channels varied in depth, separated by gaps that, I estimated roughly, were just wide enough for a handhold and a foothold to reach the embankment on the opposite side.

Seeing these channels, I wondered if Hua'er could possibly have used them to climb to the other side?

I dared not dwell on it. I quickly instructed Qin Bing'er and Man Niao Niao to pack up so we could use the water channels on the cliff face to ascend to the opposite embankment and make further plans. I checked my own pack and was slightly relieved to find the Blood Soul Stele and the embroidered shoe still there. I secured them, gripped the edge of one channel, stepped onto the next one below, and cautiously led the way across the cliff face that seemed to undulate like stormy waves.

Qin Bing'er and Man Niao Niao followed closely behind. Man Niao Niao, being strong, held the sputtering torch ahead of Qin Bing'er, guiding her path with one hand while gripping the channel with the other, moving sideways step by step. Since I had told them I could see clearly in the dark, Man Niao Niao wasn't worried about my visibility, but Qin Bing'er kept reminding me to be careful, careful, and extra careful.

I certainly was careful; falling into that pond was no joke. Aided by the light of Man Niao Niao's torch, I vaguely saw leeches perhaps a foot long occasionally darting in the water, and several water snakes as thick as an arm, marked with black and white, occasionally surfacing. Their ugly, terrifying heads would briefly appear and vanish, swaying from side to side, struggling to break free from the aquatic creatures clinging to them. This motion agitated the dark, murky water, causing the tangled plants on the surface to bob erratically, releasing waves of thick, potent stench. The torchlight hitting the water caused flashes of white, like hundreds of ghostly eyes blinking open and shut.

When we reached the area directly above the center of the pond, I noticed several lifeless vines hanging down the cliff face. Their leaves were withered and curled; the slightest touch sent them drifting down into the pond, where various strange aquatic creatures lurking in the depths swarmed towards them, causing loud splash-splash sounds and kicking up columns of foul-smelling water.

I tested the thickest vines and found they weren't firmly rooted. A slight pull made the dirt and sand above my head shower down, suggesting that any greater force would rip them clean out.

I refrained from pulling the vines and warned the others behind me, Qin Bing'er and Man Niao Niao, never to rely on them. They must have understood the situation, as they naturally weren't willing to gamble with their lives, gripping the water channels on the rock face tightly and moving with exceptional caution.

It took the three of us nearly half an hour to cover that short twenty-meter distance before we finally managed to climb onto the higher embankment.

The high, wide stone steps outside the embankment were mostly submerged, and the parts near the water were covered in thick moss, teeming with aquatic life of all sizes coming and going, treating the area as their sanctuary for rest and recreation.

Fortunately, despite the abundance of life in the pond, nothing seemed to have climbed onto the embankment, which gave us some reassurance.

The top of the dam appeared entirely snow-white to my eyes, perfectly flat, and empty. Its inner wall was as steep and smooth as the inner wall of the lower embankment. Inside, there was water whose depth was also indiscernible. The only slight difference was that the water in this upper pond was much clearer than that in the lower one. There were relatively fewer aquatic animals and plants, and the surface was calmer; I couldn't spot any unusually large or bizarre creatures.

Perhaps because the water was deeper, the pond looked like a pool of utter blackness to me; only the reflection of the remaining torchlight in Man Niao Niao's hand indicated that there was water inside the dam.

"Hua'er… Hua'er…" I didn't have time to examine the surroundings closely and immediately shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Woof~!" A faint, heavenly sound drifted faintly from the center of the pond.

Hearing that sound, my heart soared with joy, and the uncontrollable tears welled up again—perhaps this was what people called "crying from overwhelming happiness."

"Hua'er! Is that you?" I rasped, clearing my throat before yelling out again with full force.

"Woof~! Woof~!" Although faint, I was certain that the sound belonged to that rascal Hua'er.

"It's Hua'er, it's Hua'er!" Qin Bing'er began gesturing wildly, her voice filled with surprise and relief.

Following the sound, I peered over and vaguely made out an elliptical islet, half-hidden by the water, about fifteen meters from where we stood. The islet was covered in weeds, and a dark shape was darting back and forth on top, with four patches of snow-white fur occasionally flashing—if that wasn't Hua'er, who could it be?

Seeing Hua'er safe and sound, I was naturally overjoyed. I looked around desperately for a place to land so I could reach the islet and meet her. But when I rushed to both ends of the embankment, hoping to find similar water channels on the sheer cliff face, I was deeply disappointed—the cliff was as smooth as a mirror; forget channels, there wasn't even a single protrusion. Climbing over seemed as impossible as ascending to heaven!

Then… how did Hua'er get onto that islet? Did she swim? Why would she go to that islet?

Impatiently, I snatched the torch from Man Niao Niao and threw it toward the islet where Hua'er stood.

The dim torch arced through the air and landed precisely on the islet; the light flickered once and went out.

In the instant the torch neared the islet, I clearly saw Hua'er’s face, her eyes holding the excitement and greed of discovering prey.

"You son of a bitch, is that really an islet?" Man Niao Niao asked, his large, dark eyes wide.

"Yes," I quickly affirmed.

"Then… why is it green?" Man Niao Niao’s eyes widened even further, and to emphasize his expression, he hunched over and peered towards the islet, showing the deep confusion in his mind.

"Green?" I felt a slight surprise. "Is it covered in green moss, maybe?"

"Nonsense! Can’t I tell the difference between moss and that? I feel like… the island is covered in green fuzz, and the fuzz doesn't look short! Isn't that right, Bing'er?" Man Niao Niao muttered to himself for a moment before turning to Qin Bing'er for confirmation.

"Yes," Qin Bing'er nodded. "And I think I saw the little green island gently swaying on the water…"

Swaying? A floating, swaying islet? Green? What kind of islet was this, capable of floating and shaking on the water?

"Bing'er, are your eyes playing tricks on you?" I asked suspiciously, opening my eyes wide to stare intently at the strange islet described by Man Niao Niao and Qin Bing'er.

"Hua'er, watch out!" I suddenly roared, seeing a snake-like thing erupt abruptly from beneath the water surface and strike like lightning towards Hua'er's hind leg…