Chapter 343 Into the Underground River

Chapter 343: Into the Underground River

Cheng Ge grunted, steadying himself quickly. He shook his injured hand, flicking drops of blood and river water onto the stone wall.

He raised the stinging hand to his lips, breathed warm air onto it, trying to fight off the chill and numbness, then gritted his teeth and pressed on.

The firelight flickered, showing a change in the river ahead.

The water narrowed here into a funnel shape.

At the far end, the water vanished completely beneath the rock—a dead end, with the only way forward underwater.

This was the most dangerous stretch of the underground river.

When Wufeng scouted the route, he'd specifically warned that you had to fully submerge here.

You had to swim the whole narrow channel in one breath, no coming up for air—a single, sustained push.

For a strong swimmer with good stamina, it might not be a big deal.

But for Cheng Ge right now—body temperature dropping, limbs numb, palm wounded—it was a serious challenge.

If anything went wrong underwater—a hidden current, a rock—the consequences would be unthinkable.

Cheng Ge stared at the dark water swallowing the light, his throat tightening.

He rubbed his nearly numb arms and legs hard, trying to wake up the stiff muscles.

Then he took a sudden, deep breath, pulling the air all the way into his lungs.

The next moment, without a second thought, he dove headfirst into the bone-chilling water.

The river closed over his head, cutting off all sound. All he could hear was the muffled rush of water and his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.

He drove his limbs with everything he had, swimming forward with the current.

The cold wrapped around every inch of his skin, squeezing his chest, time stretching out.

But just as he pushed with everything he had, reaching the critical midpoint of the channel, his left calf cramped up violently.

Agony exploded through him, twisting his movements and bringing him to an abrupt halt.

The icy water stabbed into the knotted muscle like ten thousand needles.

The pain was searing. Instinctively, he tried to kick the disobedient leg straight, only making the spasm worse.

His body curled up involuntarily, his left leg feeling detached from his body, dragging him down.

Cheng Ge thrashed his arms desperately, trying to keep his balance and push himself forward with just his upper body.

But without his legs working with him, his movements in the rushing water turned clumsy and awkward.

Water poured into his mouth and nose, the sting shooting straight into his skull, triggering a violent, choking cough.

Every second crushed his chest, draining what little oxygen he had left.

Fear surged in from all sides, invading his limbs, clenching around his pounding heart.

His vision began to blur, darkness spreading like ink in clear water.

The burning in his lungs had become a real, physical agony, like coals searing his chest from the inside.

Cheng Ge's consciousness teetered on the edge of clarity and blackout, survival instinct driving his last struggle.

He kicked uselessly with his one good leg, his injured left hand clawing blindly at the water.

Instinct made him grab for anything, but his fingertips only left weak scratches on the slick rock walls.

Every desperate effort only burned through his oxygen faster.

Suffocation gripped his throat like an invisible hand, crushing his chest.

Just as his fingertips were about to go completely limp, a round, hard object slammed into his palm out of nowhere.

It had a faint buoyancy, bobbing with the current, tangling around his fingers.

On pure dying instinct, Cheng Ge's nearly stiff fingers snapped shut around it.

In the end, all struggle faded. His flailing arms slowed, then went still.

The water closed around his sinking body, carrying him, sliding silently into the deeper, darker depths of the channel.

...

At the mouth of the underground river, the sound of water was especially clear in the silent night.

Zhao Cheng stood anxiously at the cave entrance with a few personal guards, his eyes fixed on the dark water's surface.

"General Zhao, Instructor Cheng, he..." the adjutant beside him whispered, his voice thick with worry.

Zhao Cheng raised a hand to stop him, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.

Wasn't he anxious? But right now, he had to stay steady.

Just as he was about to order men into the water, the rapid clatter of hooves approached from the distance, shattering the night's stillness.

The men reached warily for their weapons, only to see a column of riders burst out of the darkness like the wind, pulling up right at the river mouth.

Cui Ji's main force had finished its feint attack, timed for Cheng Ge's withdrawal, and quickly disengaged from combat.

The moment contact was broken, without even stopping to catch his breath, he led a squad of personal guards in a furious gallop toward the rendezvous point.

Hoofbeats hammered, his heart in his throat, until he spotted the faint light in the distance and let himself relax a little.

Before his horse had even fully stopped, Cui Ji swung off the saddle, his movements unmistakably urgent.

"How is it?" His eyes locked onto Zhao Cheng, his voice hoarse and breathless from the hard ride.

Zhao Cheng's heart sank. His voice was barely a whisper, but every word hit like a hammer: "General, Instructor Cheng... he didn't come back with the grain convoy."

Before the words even faded, Cui Ji's body went rigid. For an instant, a storm seemed to surge behind his eyes, his knuckles whitening from the force of his grip.

But after barely a breath, he forced all outward emotion down, leaving only his jaw clenched tight like a drawn bowstring.

"Understood." His voice was eerily calm. "Zhao Cheng, you're to take temporary command of all camp affairs.

Tend to the wounded, inventory the grain, set up the defensive lines. Also, seal off all surrounding routes right away.

Double the hidden sentries. No one approaches the river mouth without my orders."

Zhao Cheng clasped his fists in salute: "Yes, General!"

Cui Ji finished speaking and, without wasting a second, turned and strode toward the river mouth.

As he walked swiftly, he deftly unhooked the sword at his waist and tossed it to his personal guard, followed by the heavy chest plate, arm guards...

The metal armor pieces fell to the ground with dull thuds, jarringly loud in the silent night.

Within a few breaths, he had shed all his heavy gear, leaving only the thin garments clinging to his lean, muscular build.

Before the others could fully process what he intended to do, he was already at the water's edge.

Without hesitation, he bent down and plunged his hand into the icy river, as if testing the current and temperature.

The next moment, he was about to plunge right in!

"General! No!" A young officer, panicked, lunged forward to stop him.

"The conditions underwater are unknown—the whole army's safety rests on you! You can't risk yourself like this! Let me go down instead!"

Cui Ji's movements didn't pause at all, as if he hadn't heard a word.

Just as the young officer was about to grab Cui Ji's arm, Zhao Cheng suddenly shot out his own arm, firmly blocking him.

"General Zhao!" the young officer cried urgently, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"(Author's note: I dragged myself out of a sickbed to write these four thousand words... I'm spent. Just make do with this...)"