This speculation made Su Yanke's face turn deathly pale. If that was really the case, then the Spiritual Life Deer...
Su Yanke's face had regained some color as her spirit recovered, so the change in her complexion was especially noticeable. Those who were waiting to see her make a fool of herself grinned smugly when they saw her expression change.
"See? I knew it. She was so confident before, saying she could handle it. But now, just at the sight of the Source Lake, she's scared out of her wits. What a useless thing. But she does have a pretty face. Such a pity," the speaker said, smacking his lips with a look of regret. Chen Maohua and the others were so enraged that they wished they could rush up and throw him into the river to experience being a "bride" for himself.
The audience in the live - stream room also saw the sudden change in Su Yanke's face. Their hearts tightened, and they wished they could jump out of the screen to protect her and tell her not to be afraid of these villains. But since they were far away, they could do nothing. All they could do was stand up for her on the screen.
Meanwhile, Su Yanke had already channeled her spiritual energy to search for the last glimmer of hope in the lake.
"Please, there must be something. Don't be such a fool and not leave yourself a way out!"
Su Yanke had once read in a book that the spirits of nature were always given a chance of survival by nature itself. With this chance, it was possible to save a spirit that had encountered an accident.
Now, Su Yanke was looking for that slim chance. However, since this was her first time doing such a thing, she had no experience at all. After searching two or three times, she still found no clues. At the same time, the consumption of spiritual energy made her face even paler.
Yuan Hexiao, who was standing beside her, felt heart - broken, but he was powerless to help. A deep sense of helplessness welled up in his heart.
The villagers became more and more brazen. Their shouts of sacrificing to the river god grew louder, and the situation was on the verge of explosion.
Su Yanke's dantian had been unstable due to the incomplete recovery of her spiritual energy. Now, the large - scale consumption of spiritual energy made things even worse. Fortunately, the Purple Copper Coin was there to assist her. Otherwise, with such a huge consumption, she would have long since been unable to stand steadily.
For some unknown reason, what had originally been just a verbal dispute between the two sides suddenly turned into a full - scale brawl. It became a large - scale fight, and the tension in the air grew even thicker.
Su Yanke frowned. The fight among the crowd gave her a huge headache.
At this moment, a reassuring figure appeared beside her.
"Don't worry. Leave the rest to me. You just focus on what you need to do."
Su Yanke looked at Yuan Hexiao with shining eyes. Yuan Hexiao's previous melancholy instantly vanished when he met her gaze. She needed him!
This thought flashed through his mind, and his heart was filled with warmth.
Yuan Hexiao quickly took control of the trouble - maker. With his imposing manner, he managed to bring the situation under control in no time.
With no more distractions, Su Yanke could focus more on solving the problem.
The environment in the lake was very simple. There was only a small cave. Inside, there was nothing but stones and waterweeds. There were no fragments of the spirit at all, which put Su Yanke in a difficult position.
If there was no lock - piece, how could she gather the other parts of the spirit?
Just as Su Yanke was racking her brains, a pair of withered hands appeared behind her. Su Yanke sensed it, but it was already too late. She was pushed into the Source Lake.
In a daze, Su Yanke seemed to hear a chorus of gasps and Yuan Hexiao's heart - rending roar. Just from the sound, she could imagine what Yuan Hexiao looked like. Her little boy's eyes must be red again!
When she woke up, she heard someone telling her that Yuan Hexiao was the first one to find her and that he had cried so bitterly while holding her.
Su Yanke was quite curious about Yuan Hexiao's crying, but he stubbornly refused to admit it. So, she gave up the idea. Now, hearing his voice, she even felt a bit regretful that she had fallen into the lake face - first and hadn't seen his crying face.
Su Yanke realized that her train of thought was a bit strange, and she couldn't help but be speechless at her own carelessness.
Actually, Su Yanke wasn't too bothered by the person who pushed her because she was confident she could handle it. But when she tried to channel her spiritual energy to get back to the surface, her face changed.
Her spiritual energy had been sealed!!?
This was something that had never happened before, and she had never known that spiritual energy could be sealed.
But there was no time for her to be shocked. She was already in the water, and the feeling of being submerged was extremely unpleasant, especially when there was no oxygen.
Su Yanke had learned how to swim before. She adjusted her body position and waited for the right moment to swim upwards. Just as she thought the time was right and was about to start, something caught her attention.
A long, transparent fish was swimming among the waterweeds. It wasn't because Su Yanke had never seen a transparent fish that she was attracted. It was because there was a glimmer of blue light inside the fish.
No wonder Su Yanke hadn't been able to find it before. It had been swallowed by this fish. Fortunately, the fish was transparent, or she might never have discovered it!
Was this a blessing in disguise?
But her joy didn't last long. Su Yanke was now facing a new problem. There was not much air left in her lungs. If she swam back to the surface to get some air, she might not be able to find the fish when she came back down. After all, her spiritual energy was sealed, and she couldn't use it to lock onto the fish.
Su Yanke didn't hesitate for long. She quickly made up her mind and swam towards the transparent fish.
At the same time, the crowd on the lake surface was far from calm. The scene was in complete chaos. Some were going to get diving equipment, and those who could dive were already in the water. Everyone was sweating profusely with anxiety. Only the villagers' faces stood out.
They were all smiling, as if they were extremely happy to see Su Yanke disappear. Some of them even knelt down and worshipped the Source Lake, mumbling something like "Thank you, River God, for your magnanimity. You've taken back the disobedient bride. We're willing to dedicate our bodies and souls to you forever."
But at this moment, no one had the time to care about them. Everyone was seizing every second to save Su Yanke.
Time ticked by, but there was still no sign of Su Yanke. She didn't come to the surface on her own. Yuan Hexiao had dived into the water countless times, but he still couldn't find a trace of her.
Since the professional diving equipment hadn't arrived yet, the maximum depth Yuan Hexiao could dive to was only about ten meters. If Su Yanke was still deeper, she would be in great danger.
Yuan Hexiao was extremely anxious. His face grew darker, and his aura became more and more terrifying.
He had known something was wrong as soon as Su Yanke fell into the water and didn't come up in time. There must have been some unexpected change.
When he left to control the situation, he had specifically checked if there were any threats around Su Yanke. He was absolutely certain that there was no one within a dozen meters of her at that time. So how could she suddenly fall into the water?
It seemed like a well - planned trap for Su Yanke.
The frost in Yuan Hexiao's eyes grew heavier. His gaze swept over the villagers one by one. The villagers shivered all over, and their blood seemed to freeze. They couldn't even breathe. Gradually, some of the weaker - willed ones began to suffer from oxygen deficiency.
A dozen or so of them fell to the ground, but no one cared about them. The staff of the program thought it was some kind of ritual when they saw the villagers lying on the ground without any apparent cause, so they didn't pay attention.
Just when those people were on the verge of death, a sound of someone emerging from the water rang out.
"Sister Yanke! It's Sister Yanke! Sister Yanke is back!"
Yuan Hexiao's body froze. He quickly looked towards the source of the sound.
Su Yanke wiped the water off her face. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Yuan Hexiao with slightly red - rimmed eyes, staring at her intently.
Su Yanke's gaze froze for a moment, but then quickly returned to normal. When she first saw the red in Yuan Hexiao's eyes, she thought he had been possessed by some "thing". But after a closer look, she realized it was just a large number of bloodshot eyes that created the illusion.
Because Su Yanke had spent too much time looking for the transparent fish in the lake, her vision was a bit blurry. She didn't notice that there was not only bloodshot eyes in Yuan Hexiao's eyes but also a red glow reflected from his pupils.
Su Yanke's appearance saved the villagers' lives. They were all gasping for breath on the ground like fish out of water. Some of those who had suffered from severe oxygen deficiency had already fainted.
The staff finally felt relieved when Su Yanke returned. At this time, they noticed that something was wrong with the villagers lying on the ground. They quickly rushed over to check and found that many of them were in shock. They were in a panic and quickly called for a doctor.
Su Yanke held the transparent fish in her hand and raised her arm high. She showed Yuan Hexiao a sweet and charming smile and said, "A Xiao, I've found a way!"
But Yuan Hexiao just stared at her without any reaction. Su Yanke was a bit confused. She swam towards Yuan Hexiao. Just as she reached him and was about to say something, she was tightly embraced by Yuan Hexiao.
Su Yanke opened her mouth to say something, but feeling Yuan Hexiao's slightly trembling arms and cold body, she said nothing. She just hugged him back tightly.
"A Yan... A Yan... A Yan..."
Yuan Hexiao just kept repeating Su Yanke's name over and over again. He hugged her tightly and refused to let go, as if he was afraid that if he did, she would disappear.