The sun in the afternoon was dazzling, and the river surface sparkled with ripples. There didn't seem to be anything unusual.

Besides us, there were other children playing in the river, and the air was filled with giggles and laughter.

Xie Qiang and I went into the river to catch fish and shrimp. After a while, Xie Qiang's small bucket was already filled halfway.

Xie Qiang lifted the bucket and said with a smile, "That's enough, that's enough. We have plenty of fish and shrimp for a satisfying meal."

We walked back, carrying the fish and shrimp. Xie Qiang made plans for a later time to handle the fish and asked me to come over for dinner, and also to bring Fatso along.

I went back and took a nap. When I woke up, the sun had already set.

I greeted my mother and went out to call Fatso for dinner.

Fatso asked me with a lingering fear, "When you guys went fishing today, did you encounter anything strange?"

I shook my head. "If we had encountered something strange, could I still be standing here calling you for dinner?"

Fatso followed me out of the house. We hadn't gone far when we saw a group of people running towards the riverbank in a hurry, shouting, "Something bad happened! Someone died!"

Fatso and I exchanged glances, our hearts skipping a beat. Someone died by the river?!

Without saying a word, Fatso and I immediately ran towards the riverbank to see what had happened.

The setting sun sank, leaving only a last ray of sunshine, like a thread of gold swaying gently in the gradually darkening sky, casting a layer of deathly shadow over the land.

Many people had gathered by the river, including some panicked children.

Several children were scared and crying, shivering on the side.

There was a young man in the village who was very good at swimming, nicknamed "Water Monkey." He was kneeling on the riverbank, performing CPR on a child.

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The child was a primary school student, several years younger than us. We couldn't remember his real name, but his nickname was "Er Gou" (Second Dog).

In rural areas, children are often given derogatory nicknames. It is said that the more derogatory the nickname, the easier it is to raise the child.

Er Gou's mother stood by, looking nervous. "How is he? How is Er Gou?"

Water Monkey raised his head and shook it helplessly. "Accept my condolences. Prepare for funeral arrangements."

"Er Gou—"

Er Gou's mother burst into tears, wailing in agony, falling onto Er Gou's ** and shaking it desperately. She cried hysterically, almost fainting.

There is nothing more painful than losing a child.

To raise a child with care for more than ten years, only to suddenly lose them, it's unimaginable the kind of grief parents would face.

In fact, every summer vacation, there are drowning tragedies, yet many children still continue to swim in the river.

Fatso muttered to himself, "Could he have been killed by a water ghost?"

Er Gou's mother suddenly pointed at Er Gou's foot. "Whose red sandal is this?"

Indeed, Er Gou had on a pair of strange red sandals that stood out against his pale feet. Strangely enough, these were girls' sandals, but Er Gou was a boy. The size and style of the red sandals didn't match Er Gou at all, so they looked eerie and completely mismatched when worn on his feet.

Water Monkey paused and said, "When I arrived earlier, Er Gou was already wearing these red sandals. I thought you bought them for him, so I found it strange. Aren't these girls' sandals? Why would Er Gou wear girls' shoes?"

Er Gou's mother asked the other children who had been swimming with him. They were all boys, and there were no little girls among them. So, all the children confirmed that the sandals didn't belong to them.

They also revealed an even stranger piece of information. When Er Gou left home, everyone saw that he was barefoot. Nobody knew when these red sandals appeared on his feet.

Moreover, the red sandals were constantly dripping water, with aquatic plants and mud on the soles. It seemed like they had been soaked in water before.

Water Monkey hesitated and said, "Perhaps the red shoes were already buried under the mud. Maybe when Er Gou drowned, his feet happened to step into these red sandals."

Water Monkey stopped halfway through his explanation, realizing how far-fetched it sounded.

As the night grew darker, a group of people walked back, crying and filled with sorrow. The red sandals on Er Gou's foot revealed an indescribable strangeness.

Fatso pulled me aside, his expression filled with fear. "Did you hear that? It's not just me saying there were eyes underwater. Another child saw them too. I wasn't lying, right? Xie Qiang always thinks there's something wrong with my mind!"

I clenched my lips, furrowing my brows. As the saying goes, "Out of the mouth of babes." Even if Fatso may have made up stories before, this child today shouldn't be lying. Fatso and that child were complete strangers, so it would be impossible for them to come up with the same story.

In other words, there really were eyes underwater!