AFTER many brushes with death, Su Manhua refused to die here. If she perished, what would happen to her parents? They would be devastated!

　　No, she couldn’t stop here.

　　She kept reminding herself not to give up, pushing through the pain in her chest and lungs as she swam toward the light at the exit. When she finally reached the opening, her endurance had hit its limit. The excruciating pain in her chest forced her to open her mouth, and water flooded in.

　　She choked and flailed, trying to stay calm and swim upwards, but her head was spinning. She couldn’t tell up from down, east from west—the whole world seemed to be whirling around her.

　　It was really unbearable!

　　She couldn’t close her mouth in time and swallowed another mouthful of water. Her eyes stung, her throat burned, her chest and lungs felt like they were on fire, and her consciousness began to fade.

　　Just when she thought she was about to drown, a strong pair of hands grabbed her from behind, pulling her to the surface.

　　“Hold on!” Ding Yi shouted in her ear.

　　Su Manhua broke through the surface of the water, but she still couldn’t breathe.

　　The water here was much deeper, with no shallow areas to stand on. Ding Yi held her afloat, his strong body supporting her from behind. His solid arms, like bands of steel, gripped her chest and abdomen tightly, while his interlocked hands pressed firmly on her heart, chest, and stomach.

　　“Breathe!” he commanded.

　　Once!

　　Twice!

　　Three times!

　　…

　　Under the pressure of Ding Yi’s hands, Su Manhua expelled the water from her lungs, coughing violently as she greedily inhaled fresh air. Her face was drenched, making it impossible to tell whether it was tears or creek water. Her burning lungs contracted painfully, but she had never felt so vividly alive.

　　Her entire body was limp and weak as Ding Yi held her, allowing them to float on the water’s surface. She leaned her head against his shoulder, gasping for breath, unable to speak. A profound sense of relief washed over her, grateful to have survived.

　　As she regained her composure, the first thing she did was to thank him. Without him, she didn’t know how many times she would have faced death.

　　“Thank you,” she said sincerely.

　　Ding Yi was observing the surrounding environment and the rock layers above them. When he heard her words, he instinctively looked down to check on her, his chin brushing against her incredibly soft cheek. For a moment, they were both taken aback.

　　“Sorry,” Ding Yi said with embarrassment. He immediately turned his face away, his expression as serene as a meditating monk, though the tips of his ears quietly turned red.

　　Su Manhua’s face flushed as red as a cooked shrimp. She realized how intimately they were positioned. Feeling some strength return to her body, she straightened up, no longer daring to lean on his shoulder.

　　“I’m feeling better. I can swim on my own now.”

　　“Are you sure?”

　　“Yes.”

　　To be honest, she was a bit reluctant to leave the safety of his embrace, but she was more afraid of becoming too dependent on it.

　　The moment Ding Yi released her, a faint sense of loss filled her heart. When it came to matters of love, she was quite inexperienced and didn’t understand what this sense of loss meant.

　　During her master’s studies, she had a short-lived relationship, one that now seemed laughable in hindsight. This past experience had made her very cautious when considering a partner, leading to her being single well into her thirties.

　　She looked around, trying to distract herself. Only then did she realize their situation was worse than before—they had reached a dead end.

　　The walls of the gorge closed in about thirty meters ahead, leaving only a narrow gap about ten centimeters wide, through which the water flowed continuously. There was no way they could fit through.

　　“There’s no way out. What should we do?” Su Manhua asked, her face looking grim. Returning the way they came seemed like the only option, but she dreaded the thought of experiencing the terror of nearly drowning again.

　　“We make our own path,” Ding Yi replied, looked up at the rock walls ahead.

　　Following his gaze, Su Manhua’s eyes widened in shock. She hoped she was misunderstanding his intention.

　　Ding Yi swam forward to where the walls closed in to about fifty or sixty centimeters apart. He tapped the rock wall and turned to look at Su Manhua.

　　“Look, the path is here.”

　　“What? You must be joking!”

　　“The distance between these walls is just right. We can brace our backs against one side and our feet against the other, and climb up slowly.”

　　“This gorge is so deep, it looks at least ten stories high. If we slip, we’ll fall to our deaths,” Su Manhua pointed higher up. “And look, near the top, the walls widen significantly. How do we get past that?”

　　Ding Yi untied the rope from his waist and secured one end around himself, then tucked the axe into his belt.

　　“I know. Do you see those protruding rock layers up there? We can use them to help us climb,” he said.

　　“Can’t we just find another way out?” Su Manhua asked doubtfully.

　　“Have you seen any other path along the way?” Ding Yi asked back. His implication was clear—returning the way they came would not lead them out of the gorge.

　　She glanced around at their surroundings again, feeling a sense of resigned determination.

　　“Alright, let’s do it your way,” she finally compromised.

　　Ding Yi found it amusing and he tied the other end of the rope around her waist.

　　“Don’t worry! The rope around your waist will increase friction, so you won’t fall easily. You go first, and I’ll follow behind you. If you slip, I’ll catch you from below.”

　　“Won’t that make us like grasshoppers tied to the same rope? I’ll drag you down with me.”

　　“No, you won’t. Believe yourself.”

　　Ding Yi lifted her, positioning her so she could firmly plant her feet on the rock wall. The lower part of the wall was slippery from years of water erosion. With his help, she managed to wedge herself securely between the two rock faces.

　　“Move only one hand or foot at a time. Never move both at once, or you might fall. Try it,” he suggested.

　　Following Ding Yi’s instructions, Su Manhua carefully moved upward a few times. Soon she realized it wasn’t as hard as she had imagined and focused on climbing.

　　Ding Yi followed closely, maintaining a distance of about a meter between them.

　　They climbed in silence, hugging the rock face as they ascended.

　　As they reached the upper part, the gap between the walls widened, making it increasingly difficult for Su Manhua. At one point, she slipped when she couldn’t find a secure foothold.

　　“Ah!” she exclaimed and gasped, panic seizing her as she slid down a bit.

　　To prevent her from falling completely, Ding Yi quickly reached out to support her. Unfortunately, the position where he caught her was rather awkward.

　　Su Manhua hadn’t yet realized the awkwardness of the situation and was simply relieved that he had caught her. She gathered her strength and continued climbing.

　　At first, Ding Yi felt a bit embarrassed, but perceiving that Su Manhua didn’t seem to notice, he said nothing and continued climbing behind her.

　　“What’s wrong?” he asked when she stopped again.

　　“The gap is too wide up here. I can’t find a foothold.”

　　“Stay put and don’t move.”

　　Ding Yi maneuvered past her and climbed to a position where the gap between the rock faces widened to the point that he also couldn’t find a foothold. He then pulled out the axe from his belt, wedged it into a crevice, and used the protruding rocks and the axe to continue his ascent.

　　Su Manhua pressed her feet and back firmly against the rock walls, watching Ding Yi climb higher. She was so nervous she hardly dared to breathe.

　　Once he reached the top, Ding Yi untied the rope from his waist and secured it to a tree.

　　“Have you ever done rock climbing?” he asked.

　　Su Manhua nodded.

　　“Imagine you’re rock climbing,” Ding Yi said and pointed to the protruding rocks. “Use those to climb up. Don’t worry, I’ll pull you up.”

　　Following Ding Yi’s instructions, Su Manhua began to climb, the rope around her waist providing reassurance. With her decent physical condition and Ding Yi’s help from above, she quickly made her way up.

　　As she emerged from the canyon, Su Manhua was almost moved to tears. The warm sun on her skin made her feel like she had returned to the world of the living.

　　Once she caught her breath, Su Manhua walked to the edge of the cliff and shouted down into the canyon, “I made it out! I’m alive!”

　　It sounds like a declaration of victory.

　　“Let’s go. Save the celebrations for when we get back to Hedong safely,” said Ding Yi. Although he was also relieved, he couldn’t let his guard down. This was still a desolate mountain area, and they needed to find a way to get help.