Chapter 16: Master (Part 8)

“Jump!”

He Tingtong grabbed Su Tan’s clothes corner. Behind him, Fu Fengyan hugged his waist. The three of them connected like an eagle catching chicks, leaping down amid the captain’s tearfully grateful gaze, disappearing into the vast white mist.

The water ghosts’ aura truly wasn’t pleasant—like silt that had been soaking in water for ten thousand years, fishy, wet, rotten and foul. The gloomy aura enveloped them. Countless ghost souls’ spiritual bodies brushed past them. Those hellish scenes of rotting white, twisted, broken limbs intertwining—if Su Tan saw them, he’d probably shout core values again then faint from fright.

The bone-chilling dampness contained the resentment of drowning people’s death struggles. Just passing by made lungs feel filled with water. Endless suffocation assaulted them, almost drowning even the soul.

He Tingtong frowned. His cultivation was lowest, so discomfort was strongest. Fortunately Fu Fengyan was behind him, body burning hot, clinging to him like an octopus. The excessively high body temperature was like a pile of burning charcoal, roasting much of this excessive water vapor dry and comfortable.

If only his hands didn’t always want to grope toward his chest, it would be even better.

He Tingtong raised a finger, patting Fu Fengyan’s palm, signaling him to restrain himself a bit. The next moment skin touched, a head pressed over, very enjoyably sticking to his ear, along with hands completely covering him.

Excessively scorching breath pressed against his back. He Tingtong’s hair stood on end as he transmitted a reminder: “Divine Lord, please pay attention to propriety and distance.”

Fu Fengyan was caught. After a moment of daze, he seriously explained: “Your heartbeat sounds very nice, very steady. Your body is cool and comfortable, feels too good, I couldn’t hold back.”

He Tingtong: “?” How can you be so righteous about it?

Fu Fengyan’s hand moved, pinching He Tingtong’s palm to move downward together, then placed it on his waist and abdomen, sincerely saying: “Is it okay to put it here? If not, otherwise I’ll let you touch back to vent your anger.”

He Tingtong: “…”

In front, Su Tan also transmitted sound, muttering: “Little He, don’t squeeze forward, I’m about to fall.”

He Tingtong, smallest in stature, squeezed in the middle into a thin pancake: “…”

This life is unlivable!

Fortunately the spirit boat didn’t fly too high. After a moment, surrounding mist gradually thinned. They could see a large mass of undulating shadows on the water surface. They landed on a solid surface, uneven like weathered reef rock, with many cracks.

Su Tan stepped on it, puzzledly transmitting: “Eh? We got to the island so fast?”

“This rock feels so strange, why is it a bit sticky? Did I remember wrong? Wasn’t that small island on the map about one or two thousand meters away from us?”

“Brother Tan, don’t move.” He Tingtong’s voice was very calm. Su Tan couldn’t see. His whole body stiffened, raised foot suspended in mid-air. “What’s wrong? Ghosts?”

“Don’t be afraid, not ghosts.” He Tingtong comforted. “We stepped on someone’s back.”

Su Tan: “?”

In the air was a strange, fishy-sweet scent—like blood, yet like thick floral fragrance.

Water currents impacted the “reef rock” underfoot, making crisp, ethereal sounds like jade pieces striking each other—ka, ka, ka. Where water激荡ed, head-sized jade-colored stone scales fell off, sinking to bottom, revealing some flesh-colored patterns.

He Tingtong slowly gazed into distance. White mist on the lake surface was thinner than outside the spirit boat. Probably because water ghosts had all gone up—below, pale white mist flowed, coiling around a monster’s shadow enormous as mountains, motionless.

It was already dead.

The corpse lay quietly in water, letting currents scrape away scales and flesh bit by bit. Horns broken, scales peeling. Thick blood didn’t dissipate for ages. This area of water was blood-red.

The corpse full of spiritual power and yin energy attracted endless ghost souls, climbing onto this behemoth’s rotting corpse like densely packed maggots.

No wonder so many ghost souls gathered.

“It’s a dragon corpse.” He Tingtong spoke gravely. “Brother Tan, do you have any clues?”

Su Tan hearing this, his whole body stiffened. After long silence, he suddenly cursed lowly: “Damn, life was too happy, almost forgot I transmigrated into a book!”

He pulled open the cloth before his eyes, looking at the mountain-like corpse, voice drifting: “I think we’ve triggered a plot.”

Su Tan threw out his long sword, stepping on it with one foot, then grabbed He Tingtong and Fu Fengyan, blocking forward like a mother hen protecting chicks. “It’s very dangerous here. Hold me tight! Don’t let go!”

The long sword flew up. Su Tan’s back blocked before them, tremblingly flying forward along the undulating dragon corpse. Here was too quiet—so quiet only water sounds could be heard. However, Su Tan’s transmitted voice in their minds was patiently explaining: “According to the plot in the book, I think my protagonist disciple is probably coming.”

Su Tan’s tone was annoyed. “When we were about to cross Yimeng Marsh before, I said the lake’s name sounded so familiar. At that time, I was focused on thinking of idioms to argue with Qin Tan, forgot to prepare early.”

“The protagonist’s background is tragic. His father is a Demon Lord with hidden identity. His mother is a lantern-carrying dragon maiden from Yimeng Marsh who evolved from jiao to dragon—originally an auspicious guardian of one region. But his demon scum father, to raise cultivation and refine his natal spirit tool, ran to seduce the dragon maiden, cheating money and sex. After she was deeply in love and gave her inverse scale, he broke her horns, dug out her pill, then abandoned her!”

“The dragon maiden lost spiritual power but discovered she was pregnant…” Su Tan’s tone carried reluctance. “Finally died from exhaustion.”

“After death, her resentment didn’t cease. Her soul kept wandering on Yimeng Marsh, devouring whatever she saw. This time she probably drifted to the spirit boat route along water currents.”

“To resolve these water ghosts, must first resolve the dragon maiden. Moreover, her soul should be nearby.”

After flying for unknown time, surrounding white mist gradually disappeared. They flew to the dragon head.

From corner of his eye, He Tingtong glimpsed something. He tugged Su Tan’s sleeve, like all frightened youths, voice trembling: “Brother Tan, look quickly, there’s someone there.”

Su Tan’s sword momentum halted. He lifted a crack in his blindfold, sucked in cold breath, then barely steadied himself. “Not afraid, not afraid. It’s a big sister, probably an NPC spawned.”

“You two must hold tight!” Su Tan instructed. “If the situation looks bad later, I’ll run directly. Don’t get thrown off by me!”

“Mm!” He Tingtong grabbed Su Tan’s waistband, obediently responding: “Holding very tight.”

The person behind him followed suit, gripping even tighter. Both arms embraced, overlapping to coil around He Tingtong’s waist, firmly circling him in the embrace.

He Tingtong: “…”

He suspected Fu Fengyan was malicious. This strength was too much—almost like breaking his waist. He struggled twice, attempting to struggle out some breathing space, only receiving a very strange look from Fu Fengyan.

He Tingtong: ?

Fu Fengyan blinked, withdrew back a bit. He Tingtong could finally breathe normally.

The long sword carried three people tremblingly approaching, flying to the woman’s side.

Su Tan at the front had teeth chattering up and down, stammering to strike up conversation: “Hi, beauty, enjoying the view?”

He Tingtong: “…”

The woman: “…”

Fu Fengyan: Taking notes.

The lantern-carrying woman stood on the dragon head, wearing a reddish-brown dress, hem dragging into mist, legs invisible. She wore a veiled hat, features unclear, but voice crisp, tone mournful: “Have you seen my horns?”

Pale white hands extended, gesturing: “This long, white colored.”

Su Tan estimated this was probably the dragon maiden’s soul, sympathetically saying: “We haven’t seen your horns. We’re just passersby passing through here, accidentally entered your territory, trapped here. Could you disperse the mist and let the spirit boat above leave?”

“I’m a Sword Sect member, know of senior’s deeds. Demons causing trouble, utterly inexcusable—in future will certainly slay demons and avenge you!”

Su Tan twisted fingers in immortal salute. The lantern woman remained unmoved, still repeating that same wheel-turning phrase: “How can that be? You clearly have them.”

Su Tan tried reasoning: “Really don’t.”

“But I saw them.” Her body slowly twisted, waist suddenly bending, ka—a bone sound. The tightly sealed veiled hat leaked a crack, directly meeting Su Tan’s peaceful eyes. Then his whole person froze, an extremely heavy intake of breath from his nasal cavity.

He Tingtong curiously looked forward from the side. Under the woman’s black gauze covering, the pale white face had no features—only an eye split from forehead to chin, slowly opening and closing. Countless densely packed red pupils swam within, deadly staring at the three people before her, asserting: “You… clearly have them.”

Amid horrified screams, the spirit sword flew backward. Su Tan displayed his eighteen lifetimes’ worth of sword-flying talent, begging ancestors, while screaming wildly, while fleeing for life.

The three on the sword immediately collided together, narrowly not rolling off, standing on the long sword jumping up and down as they fled.

The woman on the dragon head slowly extended hands, closing her veil, watching those three drill into mist. After a moment, they drilled out from directly ahead, nearly throwing themselves into her embrace.

“Have you seen my…”

A light rebuke. Several talisman papers flew from behind. Fierce fire gushed forth, burning toward the woman. Taking advantage of her distraction, the spirit sword turned a corner, flying toward the left. After a moment, rushed out from the right side, still returning to where the dragon head woman was.

The lantern woman still quietly watched them, waiting for them to throw themselves into her arms.

Could see below her feet, in the shallow pool before the dragon head, lay累累 white bones. Among them were several wearing spirit boat immortal clothes—should be that batch who came out to scout.

Su Tan was scared numb. With one sword swing, it was like cutting empty clouds. The blade passed directly through her body. The torn opening stirred, like a mass of illusory smoke.

“How can it have both physical resistance and magical resistance! How to fight this!”

Su Tan collapsed.