Chapter 229: Cold River

The place the Roving Bandits had chosen was right near the harbor, where the shallows were very short. Once the crowd entered the water and the surrounding Roving Bandits no longer had them hemmed in, they began to scatter along the shallow area. Some of the old and weak, lacking stamina, were so frozen they could no longer move.

Those left on the bank wailed, refusing to step further into the water. The Roving Bandits behind them raised blades and spears and began hacking and slashing, driving the crowd onward into the river. The common folk let out shrill, agonized screams and swarmed madly into the water.

The new wave of people surged in, pushing those in front ever deeper toward the deep-water zone. The crowd shoved and jostled one another, desperately trying to stay in the shallows. Those with less strength were pushed into the deep water. The figures of thousands struggled in the river; the surface seemed to boil, countless arms flailing above the water. The mud and sand churned up by their feet clouded the river, and piercing shrieks tore through the sky.

"Your granny's Jiang Fan, your granny's Garrison Commander Pang." Tan Laizi cursed as he wept, pushed by the crowd and walking deeper and deeper. His face was pale, his lips turning purple, his head and face covered in water droplets, his teeth chattering. His left hand dragged his grandson's wife as he pushed aside the hysterically screaming people in front of him, desperately trying to head for the shallows off to the side, but that area was already packed with people.

Tan Laizi stumbled step by step through the bone-chillingly icy river, the mud and sand underfoot making movement even more difficult. Human figures were everywhere around him. Tan Laizi could only walk deeper and deeper. The water reached his back, and the dense nerves along his spine screamed at him; all he felt was a piercing, bone-deep cold.

Behind him, his grandson's wife's hand gripped tightly. The woman did not cry out, and he could even feel that trace of warmth in her palm. In his panic, he looked up and saw a large patch of reeds ahead.

"We'll have to swim over there in a moment." Tan Laizi wiped away his tears and looked back at his grandson's wife. "If you swallow water, don't panic, and don't grab my arms or legs, or we'll both be done for."

His grandson's wife's head trembled uncontrollably. Tan Laizi could not tell if she was nodding or just cold. There was no time to say more, and he continued leading the woman onward.

"Benefactor, wait for me!"

Amid the surrounding shrill, miserable cries, that man's voice came from behind. Tan Laizi did not even turn his head, continuing to lead the woman forward. The crowd spread wider and wider along the riverbank, and the Roving Bandits on the shore also extended their defensive line along the river to prevent anyone from climbing ashore.

The icy river water sapped their heat, and the people in the water began to gradually lose their strength. Some started rushing ashore, and the Roving Bandits chased and hacked at them with loud shouts. Then some began shooting arrows toward the riverbank, and others carried long spears to the water's edge, shooting down those standing in the shallows.

The crowd in the shallows scattered like a nest of disturbed hornets, fleeing deeper into the river. Tan Laizi was pushed toward the center, feeling his body about to float. Many people had already fallen into the deep-water zone, blocking Tan Laizi's path.

A man crying loudly struggled ahead of him. Tan Laizi had no way left to go. Summoning all his strength, he shouted toward the sky, "Jiang Fan, screw your granny."

Tan Laizi pushed off the riverbed, swimming toward the deep-water zone with his grandson's wife. He paddled with one hand, but the woman behind him quickly swallowed a mouthful of water. His left hand was suddenly pulled taut. Tan Laizi dragged with all his might, skirting around the densest cluster of people ahead.

"Benefactor, wait for me!"

That voice was still chasing after him from behind. Tan Laizi had no time to pay him any mind. Fortunately, his limbs could still move. Swimming in the water for a short while felt slightly better than when he had first entered, but after only a brief time, he already felt himself straining.

His grandson's wife swallowed another mouthful of water, desperately thrusting her head above the surface. She coughed a few times and immediately sank again. Tan Laizi felt the woman begin to pull at his clothes. A sense of dread hit him, and sure enough, the woman then grabbed his waistband. Tan Laizi was pushed downward by the woman and quickly held his breath. He kicked furiously at the water before he could thrust his head out for another gasp of air.

The woman behind him was now completely in the grip of drowning terror. She clutched Tan Laizi's clothes and pushed him down relentlessly so that her own head could surface. Tan Laizi's strength was rapidly draining. Several times he wanted to let go of the woman's hand, but thinking of how hard-won his wife was, he still struggled on desperately.

He surfaced from underwater again, water streaming down his forehead. Tan Laizi's vision was a blur. He forced his eyes wide. Ahead, water splashed everywhere, a mass of struggling people.

He stole a glance at the shore. Many Roving Bandits were guarding the riverbank. Some held long spears, some were shooting arrows, and others were hurling stones. Ahead, there was a slightly less guarded gap.

Tan Laizi steeled himself and swam toward it. Just as his strength was about to give out, he finally felt the riverbed of the shallows underfoot. He let his grandson's wife get her footing too. Tan Laizi gasped for breath repeatedly. His grandson's wife coughed, her face full of terror, indistinguishable whether it was tears or river water on her face.

"Keep your head low, keep your head low!"

He pressed down on his grandson's wife's head. This section had just been swept through, and the people along the bank had all moved toward the middle. The river water was very murky. The two of them exposed only their heads. Amid the chaotic scene on the river, no Roving Bandits noticed them for the moment.

Tan Laizi panted heavily, observing his surroundings. Desperate, agonized shrieks still echoed everywhere, but the splashing struggles in the river were diminishing. Those completely unable to swim were gradually dying.

The icy river water was draining his strength. Tan Laizi knew staying here was no solution, but he needed to catch his breath for a moment before swimming toward the reed thicket. There might be no further chance to rest along the way.

"Benefactor, wait for me!"

An abrupt voice sounded behind him. Tan Laizi turned his head to look and saw that man swimming over through the water. He seemed to be a decent swimmer, and even waved in this direction as he swam.

"That dog of a..." Tan Laizi turned to look at the riverbank. Sure enough, a few Roving Bandits had been drawn by the voice and noticed Tan Laizi and his companion. One Roving Bandit drew his bow and shot toward them.

"Duck!" Tan Laizi yanked his grandson's wife, submerging his head in the water. The woman flailed her arms wildly in the water. Tan Laizi could not hold onto her hand at all. His grandson's wife struggled and lifted her head out of the water.

Tan Laizi surfaced as well, only to see his grandson's wife coughing repeatedly. She was in a state of extreme terror, and there was simply no way to swim with her any longer.

The Roving Bandits on the bank were running this way. Tan Laizi stood trembling in the murky water. Alone, he could quickly reach that reed marsh, and he had to swim there fast. Because the place where he had hidden the boat, though thick with reeds, was very close to the shore. If the Roving Bandits reached there, he would not be able to get the boat at all. Moreover, some people in the river who could swim were also heading for the reed thicket. If someone else discovered it, all his efforts would be for nothing.

Dragging this woman along, he very likely would not make it there at all. The two of them breathed rapidly in the water, weeping and looking at each other. The woman seemed to understand something in Tan Laizi's eyes and cried even harder.

In that moment of hesitation, the man had already caught up to them. He shouted loudly, "Benefactor, take me with you!"

"You carry my wife, and I'll let you on the boat!"

The man nodded frantically. Tan Laizi pointed out the location of the reed marsh to him. Just as he was about to say a few more words to his grandson's wife, an arrow whizzed past his eyes and plunged into the water behind him.

Tan Laizi cried out in alarm and swam directly away into the river. In his ears, he heard the woman behind him let out a desperate shriek.

"Fol..."

Tan Laizi got half a word out, his breathing somewhat ragged. He could not spare another shout and swam a stretch further into the river with his head down. His hands and feet occasionally bumped into corpses floating beneath the surface.

Further ahead, he entered the river's current. His speed increased, and it took less effort. The reed thicket ahead was not far now.

Around him were quite a few people who could swim, some also heading for the reed thicket. Others were swimming toward the middle of the river, seemingly intending to cross it. When he stole a glance at the shore, he could see the Roving Bandits chasing downstream. A small number of Roving Bandits had already reached the reed thicket.

Those piercing shrieks gradually fell behind him. Tan Laizi kicked at the water furiously to keep his body from stiffening, and soon approached that reed thicket. Some of the faster swimmers had already reached the boundary between water and land.

Tan Laizi's feet touched mud. He trudged with difficulty through the reeds. The river wind blew, the reeds swayed, and Tan Laizi's body trembled incessantly. All around him were swaying, withered yellow reeds. There were also some low trees on the bank, temporarily blocking the view of the Roving Bandits on shore.

When he had hidden the boat, he had approached from the land. Coming from the river now, he was momentarily disoriented. He only roughly remembered the location: it was at the edge of the reed thicket, coming from upstream, right around here.

There was the sound of hoofbeats on the bank. The voices of the Roving Bandits were nearby. Tan Laizi walked and looked around anxiously within the reeds. Suddenly, the sound of something brushing against the reeds came from behind him.

Tan Laizi threw himself down, slowly lying prone in the water. A human figure paused among the reed stalks ahead, then headed east.

Tan Laizi waited a moment in terror. When he rose, he saw flames dancing among the reeds, the crackling sound of burning echoing out. White smoke quickly spread everywhere.

"Heaven-cursed Jiang Fan, heaven-cursed Pang Gunzi, just wait till I get back to Anqing..."

Tan Laizi looked around, burning with impatience, then suddenly stopped his muttered curses. That little Foot Boat was sitting quietly, not far ahead.

After observing the vicinity, he swiftly reached the Foot Boat, tore off the reeds covering it, and dragged it outward.

He had only taken a few steps when the Foot Boat got caught in the reeds. Tan Laizi was frantic, constantly using his hands to push the reeds aside.

Just then, a loud shout came from the bank: "There's one over there!"

Tan Laizi no longer cared about staying hidden. He dragged the Foot Boat and changed direction, breaking directly out of the reed marsh from the upstream edge. He scrambled frantically into the Foot Boat, grabbed the oar, and began to paddle.

The Roving Bandits on the bank shouted and cursed loudly. Arrows occasionally flashed past him, plunging into the river water and sending out ripples.

When Tan Laizi solicited river business, he sometimes had to help the boatman paddle. Though not skilled at rowing, he knew the basics.

After putting a little distance between himself and the shore, he rounded the reed thicket. Tan Laizi paddled continuously on the starboard side, steering the boat to turn left, heading toward the river-facing side of the reed thicket.

Fires were springing up everywhere in the reed thicket, thick white smoke shooting straight into the sky. Tan Laizi peered around anxiously but saw no sign of his grandson's wife for a long time. Instead, quite a few people swimming in the river spotted the boat and swam desperately toward it.

Finally, he saw an arm waving. That man was sheltering with his grandson's wife behind a patch of reeds, a large fire approaching. He shouted excitedly toward Tan Laizi.

The emaciated Tan Laizi trembled all over, feeling like he would faint with every stroke of the oar. Summoning practically the last of his strength, he brought the Foot Boat to a stop there.

The man anxiously climbed aboard, then turned to pull the woman up. Tan Laizi also reached out to pull her, but his grandson's wife had already grabbed the man's hand and come aboard.

The little Foot Boat rocked. The man picked up the other oar. Tan Laizi let out a breath of relief.

Suddenly the boat lurched violently to the right, nearly capsizing into the water, and all three screamed at once, flailing their arms and legs in panic.

Tan Laizi looked over in terror and saw a middle-aged man who had somehow reached the boat, his head just visible above the gunwale, now desperately clawing at the starboard side trying to climb aboard.

"Get away!" Tan Laizi raised the wooden oar high. "Let go or I'll strike!"

The man paid no heed whatsoever and heaved upward again. The boat pitched violently once more, on the verge of overturning into the water, while many others were still swimming this way from all around.

"I'll beat you to death!" Tan Laizi steadied his stance, raised the wooden oar, and brought it crashing down hard at the man's head.

The man on the boat also shrieked and swung his wooden oar. The man in the water was struck repeatedly on the head; blood streamed from his scalp, yet he wailed in agony and still refused to let go.

Tan Laizi swung several more times until he could no longer even lift the oar. By now the fire had burned right to the water's edge, waves of heat surging over them, temporarily driving off the bone-chilling cold — but with this man clinging on and dragging them down, they could not possibly row away.

Desperate with anxiety and too drained to raise the wooden oar again, Tan Laizi suddenly lunged at the man's left hand and bit down on it with all his might.

The other man on the boat, as if driven mad, pounded the man's head furiously with his oar. The middle-aged man in the water screamed in agony and, finally unable to endure the double assault, released his grip and sank into the water.

"Quick, row! Row!" Tan Laizi lay sprawled over the gunwale, utterly spent, his eyes nearly closing.

Just then, the woman suddenly spoke. "Husband, are you all right?"

Tan Laizi's eyes snapped open again. Perhaps the great fire had restored some warmth to his body, for Tan Laizi found strength from somewhere unknown, seized the oar, and began rowing once more.

The foot boat slowly began to move. Tan Laizi rowed with all his strength. Whenever any of the swimmers around them drew near, the two men beat them off with wild swings of their oars. Fighting their way through, the little boat finally broke free of the shore and entered the river current.

Under the river wind's chill breath, Tan Laizi began shivering again, feeling everything gradually blurring.

He rallied his Mental Spirit and looked at the man across from him. "Can we cross the river?"

"No, this boat can't make the crossing. There's a Jiangxinzhou up ahead — I've seen a resting spot fishermen use there. If we can reach it, we'll have a way to live."

Tan Laizi felt his heart ease at these words. He rested his head on the port gunwale. Just then, a corpse drifted past the boat — an elderly man, face-up beneath the water's surface, eyes wide open.

Tan Laizi hurriedly averted his gaze. On the shore, smoke and flames soared to the sky. Many Mounted Bandits of the Roving Bandits galloped back and forth along the bank. In the river, countless people still struggled to stay afloat, and far off, the city walls of Hezhou grew steadily more distant.