Chapter 281: Rescued

That shadow was almost at my feet, drifting and indistinct—I couldn't tell if it was a person or a ghost. But from the white shadow's movements, I felt it was more likely a person.

Who could it be? Fatty beside me definitely couldn't have woken up, and Panzi was still in the temple. Even if the two of them had come, they couldn't be this white.

At this point I had no options—I could only keep one eye on the snake and wait to see what happened.

Bubbles rose all around me; I felt that the person must have grabbed the underwater tree roots. The roots around me quivered, sending ripples across the water's surface.

Immediately the snake became alert, turning its head to look around. It clearly couldn't understand why the surroundings were trembling. It quickly scanned the area, saw nothing, then raised its head upright and let out a series of high-pitched cries like a chicken's squawk.

In an instant I felt the snake's cockscomb turn even redder; its entire body swelled, as if blood was about to burst out. I didn't know if this was a warning or a summons for its companions.

At the same time, I felt someone grab my ankle, right on the sprained spot, making me wince in pain. Then the person traced on my calf, as if writing characters.

This was a game we often played as kids. I felt he wrote "prepare." I wasn't sure about the character for "pre," but "pare" was very clear. My heart calmed—I knew there was definitely a living person below. I immediately moved my foot to show I understood, then focused my mind, though I had no idea what to prepare for.

The snake was unaware of the underwater trick. It called a few times, saw no reaction around it, and gradually relaxed. Just then, I saw the underwater shadow suddenly rise. Before I could register what was happening, the water in front of me exploded, and a snow-white person leaped out of the water, grabbing the cockscomb snake's head with lightning speed.

Squeezed by that person, I slipped and fell into the water. I didn't see what happened next, nor did I want to. Taking advantage, I kicked outward, thrashed my way toward the center of the pool, and swam three or four meters before daring to turn back for a look.

All I saw was splashing over there. Clearly the snake wasn't so easy to deal with. For a moment I didn't know whether to flee, observe, or go help. While I was still hesitating, a red light burst from the spray, wrapping around branches and coiling onto a pile of wood. At the same time, a series of extremely shrill sounds erupted.

The white person immediately shouted at me: "Go! It's calling for help—we won't have time later!" With that, he dove into the water.

Before his words had faded, clucking sounds rose and fell from all around the well shafts, as if countless snakes were surrounding us.

I panicked, hurriedly swimming after the person's underwater shadow. After a couple of strokes, I suddenly thought of Fatty. I told myself I couldn't leave him behind. Lifting my head to look for Fatty, I found that in the well shaft, Fatty was already gone.

This was disastrous. In the darkness, the clucking sounds grew louder and closer. I turned my head twice but couldn't see Fatty anywhere. Ahead, someone was shouting. After a few seconds of thought, I could only grit my teeth, sigh inwardly, say "Sorry about this," and hurriedly chase after.

That person swam extremely fast; soon he climbed onto another dry well shaft up ahead and vanished into the mist. My heart raced in anxiety. I thought: Who is this person—is he here to save me or mess with me? I also reached the edge. By now I had completely lost my bearings, but the deathly clucking sounds made my skin crawl. I just wanted to climb up immediately.

After climbing a bit, I realized I couldn't reach that well shaft at all. I was almost crying but had no tears. I yelled a few times, jumped up with all my strength, but still slipped back down. The clucking sounds had gathered behind me. I knocked my head against the tree roots a few times, nearly in despair. Suddenly, my hand was firmly grasped, and then someone pulled me upward with force.

I was dragged into the well shaft and immediately saw that the person pulling me wore a gas mask. Behind him were sixteen or seventeen men in the same attire, with six or seven powerful flashlights lighting up the area brightly. Just as I was about to ask "Who are you?" the person tore off the gas mask, revealing a familiar old face.

"Third Uncle!" I exclaimed in surprise, but before I could finish, Third Uncle slapped me, almost stunning me. Then someone handed a gas mask and immediately pressed it onto my face.

I was propped up and saw Third Uncle put his gas mask back on. With a wave of his hand, someone immediately twisted open a yellow smoke grenade and threw it into the water. The others supported me and quickly retreated deeper into the well shaft.