Filed to story: A Little Princess's Journey from Darkness to Light Novel
Lilly was worried that the spirit might be too powerful and cause more harm, so she insisted on going out to take a look.
Blake asked, “Are we heading back now, then?”
Lilly raised the binoculars to her eyes. “Wait… Dad, let’s go to the other side of the river.”
There were gardens on both sides of the river. This side was closer to the residential area, so it was more crowded. On the other side was an office building, resulting in fewer people lingering there.
This contrast was even more noticeable at night, with one end of the river bustling with life and the other end cold and quiet.
Harvard had been livestreaming by the river for two hours. His tongue was parched, and his skin felt scorched.
Yet, there were hardly any viewers watching his stream.
He huffed irritably. Why did other streams have so many viewers, while he had so few? It was the same story!
This was so unfair.
Harvard opened a bottle of water. He glanced at the mere eleven people watching his stream and didn’t feel like continuing anymore.
Just as he was about to take a sip, he noticed a tall, fit man carrying a little girl and leaving.
The man’s height alone made him stand out, and the little girl on his shoulders added to his presence.
The onlookers were focused on the river, their phones pointed towards the water.
No one had noticed the father and daughter.
Harvard immediately perked up. Wasn’t that Lilly Crawford?
Having edited countless videos about Lilly, Harvard recognized her instantly.
He packed up his equipment and followed closely behind.
Harvard’s eyes practically gleamed. Lilly meant more views!
Office hours had just ended, and cars zoomed across the bridge. The air was filled with the hum of engines and the blare of car horns. Everyone was in a rush to get home.
Some people stopped on the bridge, pointing at the boats and engaging in conversation.
“They’re still searching… Did you see the news? A boy jumped into the water to save the girls and managed to rescue two of them… but he never made it back himself….”
“Didn’t the guy who saved them survive?”
“You saw the earlier news. The latest update confirmed that the boy died. He’s a senior at the high school nearby… the guy who survived was the second person who jumped in the water. I heard he was really tall.”
“What a tragedy… he saved others but couldn’t save himself.”
Exiting the park, Blake placed Lilly back on the ground. He held her hand and weaved through the crowd on the bridge, overhearing the conversations.
These people were right. Blake had jumped into the water and saved the two girls.
It was the boy who had rescued them.
Blake speculated that the boy had probably jumped in first and saved the two girls. When he went back for the third girl, he never returned.
The only suspicious thing now was the whereabouts of the third girl. Logically, if all three girls had fallen into the water at the same time, the body of the third girl should be in the river, even if she had drowned before help arrived.
The boy’s death was also peculiar… it didn’t seem like he struggled much.
“We can go from over there,” Blake said. “There’s a side door that leads to the garden about a hundred meters after we cross the bridge.”
Both father and daughter made their way into the park and realized that there were several creators livestreaming there as well. It wasn’t as crowded as the other side, but there were still quite a few people.
Most of them had left with the boats, but more people would come and set up their equipment.
Due to this, Blake didn’t notice Harvard hidden in the crowd.
Lilly held a small compass in her hand. Pablo had given it to her, and it was about the size of a watch.
“This way…”
Lilly led Blake to a banyan tree by the water.
The tree wasn’t very large, with a trunk about the size of an adult thigh. Its branches stretched over the surface of the river, drooping into the water.
The compass stopped moving when they reached the tree.
Blake asked, “Here?”
Everything seemed perfectly normal.
Blake released his grip on Lilly. “Stay here and don’t move. I’ll go take a look.”
The soil around the banyan tree was slippery and wet. Blake cautiously descended a few meters, raising his head to look in the direction of the banyan tree…
The sight that greeted him nearly made his heart leap out of his chest!
Under the banyan tree, there stood a girl with long hair. Her hair, dyed blonde, cascaded down on both sides of her bowed head. She was dressed in a crop top paired with a gray and white miniskirt.
Her hands hung loosely by her sides, her arms pale and swollen, and her fingertips discolored. Her legs also lacked color. She wore black loafers, adorned with delicate lace socks.
Suddenly, as if she had heard a noise, the girl plunged into the water with a loud splash. Immediately after, a high-pitched cry pierced Blake’s ears:
“Help… someone has fallen into the water!”
…
Blake turned his head sharply. The voice was loud and shrill, but he couldn’t see anyone nearby who could have spoken.
However, the sound attracted a crowd of people.
“Quick, someone is drowning!”
“Help them… hurry, someone help them! Does anyone know how to swim? Save them!”
“Bring the people on the boats over here…”
The people shouted in panic. Soon, seven or eight individuals had gathered by the previously empty riverbank. Almost half of them were carrying rescue equipment.
The riverbank erupted into chatter.
“Oh my God! Guys, someone is drowning! Why can’t I swim… oh, help them!” This was a panicked cry.
“Guys, someone is drowning. Oh my God,
why do people keep drowning in this river all the time…” This was a voice of shock and confusion.
“I can’t swim, sorry… Oh, thank you for the tip, Bro! Oh my, we’ve got a generous tipper here! Well, uh… I’m going to give it a try! Please pray for me, guys!” This was someone who had clearly lost their mind just for a tip…
Amidst the chatter, a middle-aged man had taken off his shirt and was preparing to jump.
The livestreamers immediately turned their cameras towards him.
Lilly ran forward, tugging at the man’s trousers. “You shouldn’t go, Sir!”
The man thought that Lilly was concerned for him and said, “Don’t worry. I can swim!”
Lilly was in a state of panic. “No, there’s danger in the water…”
Lilly refused to let go. Her red bracelet glowed faintly, and no matter how hard he tried, the man couldn’t shake her off.
Someone from the side shouted, “Hey, what’s wrong with you, kid? Why are you getting in the way? Where are your parents? Whose kid is this!”
