Chapter 125 - 124 The River God’s Wrath

Chapter 125: Chapter 124 The River God’s Wrath "Who goes there?" The other Green Clothes Gang members heard Hu Ma’s shout and were also taken aback. They hurriedly nocked their arrows and fired. WHOOSH! WHOOSH! The sound echoed in his ears. Hu Ma was also alarmed; they were only thirty to forty feet from the shore, the perfect range for deadly arrows. Even though he had learned Shousui skills, he wasn’t as powerful as the heroes he’d seen on TV in his previous life, who could effortlessly sweep away arrows with their sleeves. To his naked eye, these arrows flew as fast as bullets. In his urgency, he prepared to raise his arms to shield his head and face, figuring he could withstand the blows as long as those vital areas were protected. But before he could, Little Hongtang, sensing the danger, suddenly whirled around Hu Ma. Her short legs kicked and spun with surprising speed, conjuring a fierce yin wind that swept all the arrows away. Hu Ma was pleasantly surprised. Little Hongtang has this kind of ability? On the other side, Yang Gong and the Red Fragrance Disciple in the Water God Temple also heard Hu Ma’s shout. Sticking their heads out, they saw Hu Ma had already rowed a boat right up to their window to help them escape. This was a complete surprise. Are they really going to row their way out of this? Won’t the Green Clothes Gang catch up immediately? At this critical moment, Yang Gong gritted his teeth. "Brother Hu is our only hope!" he shouted. "If we don’t trust him, who can we trust? He’s not reckless; he must have a plan!" With that, he steeled his resolve, leaped up, smashed through the window, and jumped. The jar containing the Blood Tai Sui was still strapped to Yang Gong. Seeing him jump, the other Red Fragrance Disciple didn’t hesitate and followed. Both were skilled and landed directly in the boat. Despite the twenty-foot drop, they only caused the boat to sway, not capsize. Hu Ma had no time for greetings; he immediately dug the oars into the water, heading swiftly towards the center of the river. "Damn it, they’re getting away!" The Green Clothes Gang disciples on the shore, seeing their arrows had failed to harm Hu Ma, lowered their bows, their faces a mixture of anger and frustration as they shouted. Some of the more impetuous ones rushed to the riverbank, intending to launch boats. However, the Young Incense Master, equally furious but more cautious, stopped them. "Hold off!" he yelled. "Don’t enter the water yet! The sacrifice to the River God is about to begin. If they try to cross the river now, they’re courting death!" At that very moment, Elder Qian, having rowed his small boat to the middle of the river, was preparing his offerings. Tied up in his boat were an unconscious, injured Green Clothes Gang disciple and a young, yellow-haired girl, her hands and feet bound, her eyes wide with terror. He noticed the commotion on the shore but ignored it. Closing his eyes, he rapidly chanted an incantation. Then, his eyes snapped open, and he heaved both individuals into the water. SPLASH! GLUG... The unconscious Green Clothes Gang disciple sank without a struggle. The yellow-haired girl, however, was terrified beyond measure. She thrashed wildly, but with her limbs bound, her struggles were futile. Elder Qian, still on his boat, didn’t watch them. Instead, he stared intently at the river surface beside where they’d fallen. His expression, initially one of anxious expectation, suddenly contorted in shock, and the hairs on his neck stood on end. The water isn’t swirling... This... this... When the River God accepted a sacrifice, the water would typically form a whirlpool, dragging the offering down into the depths. But now, the two merely struggled and bobbed on the surface. This meant the River God had not accepted the sacrifice. The agreement was already made! Why isn’t it being honored? Meanwhile, the Green Clothes Gang members on the shore grew increasingly anxious as they watched Hu Ma’s boat pull further away. Seeing from afar that Elder Qian seemed to have already cast his offerings into the river, they hastily pushed their own boats into the water and leaped aboard, eager to give chase. But unexpectedly, before they were even ten yards into the river, the mirror-smooth surface erupted. Violent waves surged as if a great wind had suddenly sprung from nowhere. Some of their boats spun helplessly in place, unable to advance, while others capsized immediately. The men on board were thrown into the river. Whether they could swim or not made no difference; they sank with a sickening PLOP! GLUG... as if unseen hands were dragging them under. A wave of panic swept through those still on or near the shore as a chilling yin wind began to howl around them. Looking up, they saw a gloomy yin qi now pervaded the river’s surface, with waves several feet high crashing all around. Even more unnervingly, the water was dotted with pale, bobbing shapes—countless skeletal remains, as if all those who had drowned in the river over the years had suddenly risen to the surface. "How can this be?" The Young Incense Master of the Green Clothes Gang, having scrambled back to the safety of the shore, stared at the river, his face turning a ghastly blue. The fishermen on both banks were terrified. Seeing the sky suddenly darken, feeling the eerie ghost qi waft from the river, and hearing the sounds of wailing and crashing waves, they were frightened out of their wits. They rushed back into their homes, emerging with paper money and incense candles, then knelt towards the river, kowtowing and praying incessantly. "The Water God is angry!" someone cried. Normally, this stretch of the river was calm. But once such waves were stirred up, there was no telling when they would subside. Often, offerings of cattle and sheep were needed to appease the river’s fury. Otherwise, it wasn’t just a matter of poor fishing; capsized boats and multiple deaths were a common outcome. We’re doomed... Fear gripped the people on both banks, but those on Hu Ma’s boat were even more terrified. Yang Gong and the Red Fragrance Disciple trembled uncontrollably in the midst of the pervading ghost qi, knowing their small boat could capsize at any moment. If they fell into this river, all their skills would be useless. "You two, row!" Just then, Hu Ma gave a stern command, handing the oars to Yang Gong and the disciple. He himself rose and went to the bow of the boat. He picked up the stick of green incense that had been stuck there and held it firmly. The yin wind whipping off the river made his robes flap loudly and chilled him to the bone, yet he stood motionless, holding the green incense. Strangely, amidst the crashing waves, their small boat remained steady, seemingly unaffected. Yang Gong and the other Red Fragrance Disciple reacted quickly, grabbing the oars and rowing with all their might towards the opposite bank. BUBBLE, BUBBLE... Just as they passed the center of the river, they heard a distinct bubbling sound. Hu Ma looked down and saw someone clinging to the side of the boat. It was the young yellow-haired girl he had seen earlier. The Green Clothes Gang had thrown her into the river as a sacrifice, but the River God hadn’t accepted her, so she hadn’t been dragged under. Though her hands and feet were bound, she was a decent swimmer and had managed to stay afloat for a while. Perhaps fate had guided their boat to her. With her bound hands, she had somehow managed to loop the rope around the boat’s mooring hook. Now, the boat was dragging her forward, face down in the water. She was swallowing mouthfuls of river water and would surely drown if left there. The situation was critical, leaving no time for deliberation. Saving her would take but a pull; abandoning her, just a kick to push her away. Hu Ma didn’t hesitate. He reached down, grabbed her hands, and hauled her onto the boat. "HUFF!" Hu Ma was surprised. The girl was emaciated, yet she was incredibly heavy. As he pulled her up, he saw why: a deathly pale hand shot out from the water beneath her feet, accompanied by a piercing shriek, trying to drag her back down. A water ghost from the river? Hu Ma was startled as he understood. This wide river had claimed many lives over the years; it was home to more than just the old soft-shelled turtle. The Green Clothes Gang’s offering had been tossed in. The old turtle hadn’t accepted it, but the river’s water ghosts had clearly set their sights on the girl, wanting to drag her down as a replacement. Having already intervened, could he just cast her back? There was no time for further thought. Hu Ma took a deep breath and spat a True Yang Arrow directly at the water ghost emerging from the river. SIZZLE! The water ghost’s body smoked and hissed as if seared by intense flames, and it quickly retreated back into the depths. But even as that water ghost submerged, a series of thuds echoed against the boat’s hull. Yang Gong peered over the side and gasped, "Where did all these dead bodies come from?" Unbeknownst to them, bloated corpses had surfaced all around their boat. Among them was the Green Clothes Gang disciple who had just drowned; he now floated beside them, his eyes wide and vacant. Pale, lifeless hands gripped the gunwales, seemingly determined to prevent their escape. The dead are often irrational. This Green Clothes Gang disciple, for instance, had been wounded in service to his gang, only to be sacrificed and drowned. His heart was surely filled with immense resentment. Yet, instead of seeking revenge on the Young Incense Master who had condemned him, his ghostly form now clung to a passing boat, trying to drag its occupants down to join him in his watery grave. This isn’t right... As the boat slowed, Hu Ma suddenly realized something was amiss. He had an agreement with the entity in the river. Why wasn’t it helping him drive away these malevolent spirits? As he pondered this, the wind and waves around them intensified. An eerie, ancient voice whispered close to his ear, the same voice he had heard while performing the ritual on the riverbank. Through the swirling mist on the water, he could faintly discern a colossal shadow moving beneath the surface, slowly approaching their small boat. The chilling wind carried a voice, "Is the little Old Master from behind the brazier on this boat?" "Why not stay awhile? Come down to my Water Mansion for a visit." Visit your grandpa! Hu Ma thought, inwardly terrified. He hadn’t anticipated this development at all. But then, recalling the phrase "strict rules and regulations" from the Age Suppressing Book, he forced himself to show no fear. Instead, his expression hardened. He turned, still holding the green incense, and silently intoned, "My words are edicts! My edicts are law!" "The time of One Incense is not yet up! Do you dare obstruct me?" "What?" Yang Gong and the disciple couldn’t hear Hu Ma’s silent words, nor could they see who he was addressing. But they saw his stern, imposing expression, radiating an almost palpable authority. To their astonishment, the raging waves around their boat seemed to calm considerably. Without a word, they bent their backs and rowed with all their might, and the boat shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. So, the thing in the river is still afraid... Hu Ma thought, clutching the stick of green incense tightly. It was just ordinary incense, the kind carried by anyone who roamed the jianghu. Yet now, it seemed to possess some kind of mana, a power capable of repelling the river’s denizens. Whether the entity in the river was suspicious or not, as long as this incense stick hadn’t burned out, it couldn’t directly attack him. But this thought had barely formed when the surrounding waters surged violently, as if trying to drag their small boat backward.