Chapter 488
“Phew!”
After the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, Xiao Chen withdrew his palm, took a deep breath, stood up, and said apologetically, “Uncle, your injuries are under control, and you should be getting better soon. It was my fault for not being able to protect you, I am very sorry.”
“Young Master, don’t say that. If it wasn’t for you and The Lion King’s help, I would have become the river monster’s prey. I still have to thank you for saving my life!”
The middle-aged boatman waved his uninjured right arm and said gratefully. He felt touched after surviving a disaster. Even if his arm was crippled, it was better than being eaten by the river monster.
Xiao Chen didn’t say anything. He walked to the riverside and looked at the river surface, searching for Da Huang’s whereabouts. He saw a place where the water surface was the most turbulent. The river water was yellow-green. Obviously, that was where Da Huang was slaughtering the water monster. Sure enough, after a short while, the Lion King broke out of the water.
Da Huang didn’t dive into the water again. Instead, he swam quickly towards Xiao Chen. After the time it took for half an incense stick to burn, Da Huang jumped onto the shore and walked to Xiao Chen’s side. He transmitted his voice and said, “Big Brother, I’ve killed all the big river monsters in the river. Other than the small river monsters that swam downstream, the rest have been eliminated by me. Kaka!”
“En, Da Huang.”
Xiao Chen nodded and transmitted his voice, “Da Huang, don’t you feel that these water monsters are like fish but not like fish at the same time? It seems to be a type of fish that has mutated and become incomparably cruel and tyrannical. It’s like a family member that has released the Berserk God Bestowment and lost its rationality. It’s not afraid of us who are stronger than them. Do you feel this way?”
“Big Brother, you’re right. F * cking bears. These ugly and lowly things actually dare to surround and attack this king. If I find out where their nest is, I’ll even destroy their nest!” Big Yellow angrily transmitted his voice. Clearly, he felt that the river monster’s behavior was very strange.
“Lair?”
Hearing Da Huang mention the lair of the river monster, a thought flashed through Xiao Chen’s mind. After pondering for a moment, he walked up to the boatman who was resting on the ground and asked, “Uncle, you said that this is the first time you’ve seen a water monster in the river. Have you heard of anything big happening upstream?
If these water monsters keep appearing upstream, it will be a disaster for the common people! ”
“Something big?”
Upon hearing Xiao Chen’s words, the middle-aged boatman recalled the thrilling crossing of the river just now. He knew the severity of the matter and immediately began to ponder. After pondering for a while, his eyes suddenly lit up and he blurted out something that he had thought of on the spur of the moment.
“Young master, something big indeed happened. I heard that a few days ago, there was an earthquake in a valley a hundred miles upstream. The bottom of the valley split open, and a large amount of underground water gushed out from the huge crack. The underground water flooded the entire valley, but the underground water kept gushing out. The water that the valley couldn’t contain flowed out from the lowest part of the valley, forming a waterfall. Thus, a small river appeared under the waterfall, and the water from the small river eventually flowed into the big river in front of us.”
“There’s such a thing?
Could it be that these river monsters appeared out of nowhere? ”
Xiao Chen looked as if he had lost something. He began to speculate in his heart, but on the surface, he continued to ask, “In this valley, did anyone discover these water monsters?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
The middle-aged boatman shook his head. After a pause, he suddenly said, “However, something strange happened in the valley. After the valley turned into a large pool, a few children in their teens went swimming in the water and disappeared. The villagers there said that they must have been sucked into the huge crack in the valley. Now, no one allows children to go near the pool in the valley.”
“Disappeared?”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen was sure that the problem was in the valley. The sudden appearance of these river monsters was most likely from the underground river.
Xiao Chen asked the boatman these questions because he wanted to know where the river monsters came from. He did not mind being attacked by so many river monsters, but Dongfang Qingwu and the boatman were scared out of their wits. He could have just left, but his conscience would not let him go.
There were so many of these river monsters that they posed a great threat to the commoners. If they did not find the source of the river monsters and think of a way to solve the problem, many commoners would become food for the river monsters. This was because the river monsters were not ordinary fish, but desolate beasts. They were a type of fish that had mutated. This mutated fish knew how to breathe in and out the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, turning into a desolate beast.
The last time he met the kind-hearted old man, it had touched Xiao Chen greatly. It caused Xiao Chen to have a good impression of the commoners. When he encountered something that threatened the lives of the commoners, Xiao Chen could not ignore it. If he just left like that, his conscience would not be able to let it go.
Since he had made up his mind, Xiao Chen went straight to the point and said to the boatman, “Uncle, I want to take a look at the pool formed by the valley. Can you lead the way?”
“Young Master, do you suspect that these river monsters came from the pool?
You want to solve the problem of the river monsters? ”
The middle-aged man was not a fool. From Xiao Chen’s question, he could guess Xiao Chen’s thoughts and plans. When he saw Xiao Chen nod at him, he immediately said with a heroic spirit, “Leading the way is a simple matter!
My life was saved by Young Master. As long as Young Master does not mind my clumsiness, I don’t mind accompanying you!
Haha! ”
“Alright, then have a good rest for an hour. We will set off in an hour!”
Xiao Chen was very satisfied with the middle-aged boatman’s straightforwardness. Furthermore, the three of them had experienced the dangerous river crossing together. At this moment, Xiao Chen had a good impression of the middle-aged boatman.
“Alright!”
The middle-aged boatman did not force himself and immediately requested to set off. He had lost too much blood and his body was relatively weak. Fortunately, after Xiao Chen’s treatment, his strength was gradually recovering. At this moment, he was very respectful towards Xiao Chen. He was extremely shocked by the mysterious and powerful Lion King that Xiao Chen possessed.
It was a heavenly being!
The middle-aged boatman was sure that Xiao Chen had an extraordinary identity. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to possess such a powerful Lion King. He began to witness the Lion King killing two giant water monsters and creating four huge explosions. These were beyond the knowledge of a mortal like him.
An hour later, Xiao Chen, Dongfang Qingwu, the middle-aged boatman, and Da Huang, who had turned into a yellow dog, began to walk along the river upstream. They were looking for the place that had turned from a valley into a pool a few days ago. They wanted to see if Xiao Chen’s speculation was correct.
A distance of 100 miles was nothing to Da Huang and Xiao Chen. However, for Dongfang Qingwu and the injured middle-aged boatman to walk, it would take a lot of time. This walk took them six hours before they arrived at a village called Lianhua Village.
Xiao Chen’s group of four encountered several small streams that were connected to the big river. They could not determine which stream led to the valley, so they decided to find a guide in the nearby Lianhua Village and let the guide lead the way to the strange valley that formed the pool.