Chapter 134: Water Spirit's Self-Sacrificing Devotion

After Zhao Qinghe and his personal guards had advanced several miles, they suddenly saw several dead bodies on the road ahead, which was splattered with blood. They were greatly alarmed.

Everyone dismounted to inspect the scene, but they found that all the dead were unfamiliar faces; no one recognized any of them. There were also weapons on the ground, making it difficult to determine who they belonged to.

Zhao Qinghe was burning with anxiety. In a deep voice, he commanded, "Mount your horses, quickly!"

More than ten riders whipped their horses furiously, galloping at full speed. They finally caught sight of their own convoy up ahead. There were also commoners accompanying the convoy, and everything appeared... alright? Zhao Qinghe and Mao Tao felt a little puzzled, but their anxieties eased.

The convoy looked completely normal: the official carriages moved forward in an orderly fashion, and commoners were helping the elderly and carrying the young. Madam Ying, being soft-hearted, had allowed elderly people who couldn't walk to ride in the carriages, both to save their strength and to avoid slowing down the pace.

Hearing hooves from behind, the entire convoy tensed up. Only when they realized the approaching riders were their own people did they finally relax.

He Chunhua and his son He Yue rode forward to meet them. The joy on their faces gradually faded as they saw Zhao Qinghe and the others, replaced by solemnity. More than thirty people had stayed behind to cover their retreat. So few had returned? He Lingchuan was not among them.

He Chunhua's voice was strained as he asked, "Where's Chuan'er?" Meanwhile, He Yue simultaneously demanded, "Where's my brother?"

"Your subordinate is incompetent," Zhao Qinghe said, glancing at Mao Tao. "When we were retreating, Young Master He was struck by an arrow and fell into the abyss with his horse."

The He father and son froze in shock. A gust of mountain wind blew past, chilling them to the bone.

He Chunhua murmured in disbelief, "This isn't right! How is this possible?"

He Yue snapped out of his daze and shouted, "Nonsense!" He spurred his horse, about to gallop back the way they had come.

Mao Tao grabbed his reins. "Young Master He, you can't go," he said. "There are still pursuers behind us!"

"Let go!" He Yue retorted angrily.

Mao Tao refused to release him. He Yue lashed out with his whip, striking Mao Tao's hand.

Zeng Feixiong rode up from behind, grabbed He Yue's whip, and urgently asked Zhao Qinghe, "We need proof of life. Did you, did you see Young Master He at the bottom of the cliff?"

"No," Mao Tao said, shaking his head. "I lowered a rope and searched, but there was only the horse's corpse. I didn't see Young Master He."

Zeng Feixiong breathed a sigh of relief. "We need a corpse to confirm death. If there's no body, Young Master He might still be alive. Below the cliff is Immortal Spirit Lake!"

Hearing this, hope reappeared in He Yue's eyes.

"Below is a gravel beach; the horse fell and died there..." Zhao Qinghe nudged Mao Tao, who immediately corrected himself: "...But Young Master He is lighter. Perhaps he was blown by the mountain wind and landed in the lake? It's, it's not impossible."

"That must be it!" He Yue declared firmly. "Is there a small path back? I'll go find him!"

He Chunhua suddenly grabbed his shoulder. "The overall situation is more important. Your brother is fine!"

"Father?" He Yue was stunned.

He Chunhua's face was grim, pale and ashen, but he gritted his teeth and said, "Your brother is a born lucky general; he will certainly turn misfortune into a blessing. There's no need to worry excessively! Don't run off; you are needed here."

"Just because the Great Shaman Zhaomandu said he has a good fate, he doesn't need our help... Father?" He Yue retorted. But halfway through his sentence, he noticed cold sweat beading on He Chunhua's forehead and his breathing growing rapid, which startled him. His older brother had fallen off a cliff; his own father couldn't possibly suffer another misfortune.

He Chunhua grabbed his arm and said sternly, "He's fine! Do you hear me?" The Prefect's facial muscles were contorted. "He will turn misfortune into a blessing, understand?" The last three words were practically shouted.

It was the first time He Yue had seen his father lose his composure like this, and he subconsciously nodded. He Chunhua pointed at the convoy formation, his voice squeezed through gritted teeth. "Go back!"

He Yue could only turn his horse around and head back, looking back every few steps. He Chunhua was still facing the road, and He Yue could only see his father's back.

Meanwhile, Zhao Qinghe gulped down several mouthfuls of water. He had been busy fighting enemies all night and hadn't had a chance to moisten his throat. When Zeng Feixiong came over, Zhao Qinghe quickly asked, "Why were there bodies on the way here?"

"They were Lu bandits," Zeng Feixiong said in a low voice. "The Master predicted that Pei Xinyong might make a mistake in blocking the ambush at Scout's Rock, so he specifically sent us to intercept them, to prevent them from slipping east and causing trouble for you."

At that time, Young Master He was leading a blockade on West Mountain Road. If a bunch of bandits had suddenly appeared from the rear, it would indeed have jeopardized their efforts. Zhao Qinghe sighed, "Lord He's foresight is uncanny."

"I took over a hundred brothers and circled around to the back of Scout's Rock," Zeng Feixiong said bitterly. "And sure enough, we intercepted and killed those two or three dozen bastards in the forest, chopping the last few to death on the mountain road. They were all rattled, easy to kill. It's just a pity about Young Master He, alas!"

Back within the convoy, Madam Ying asked He Yue, "What happened back there? Have Chuan'er and Zhao Qinghe returned?"

"Mother..." He Yue felt as if a thousand-pound weight was pressing on his heart, so heavy he didn't even have the strength to open his mouth.

***

When Wu Shaoyi, who was not far away, recovered and slowly opened his eyes, he saw He Lingchuan crawl out of the turtle's belly, covered in blood and grime. As soon as he emerged, he gasped for air frantically. The inside of the turtle's belly was truly no place for a human; it was stuffy and foul-smelling, and he could barely breathe.

Seeing He Lingchuan walk over, Wu Shaoyi asked him, "Did you get them?"

"Yes." Inside the turtle's belly, in unspeakable places, He Lingchuan had felt eight smooth, spherical objects. When he shone a candlelight on them, a bright white gleamed through the bloody grime. If they were the common type of spheres, there should only be two. So he was basically sure these must be the "pearls" the alligator demon had spoken of.

Besides the eight pearls, he also incidentally cut off several pieces of meat. This turtle demon had been lying in the lake, absorbing years of essence from the sun and moon, so it was probably true that its whole body was valuable, even if he didn't yet know what use they would be. If alligator demons, crabs, and water rats could eat the turtle demon's meat, then he, of course, could also take it. All beings are equal; he shouldn't be discriminated against. He thanked nature for its bounty and the generous water spirit for sacrificing itself.

He Lingchuan thought for a moment, then went around to the turtle's tail and cut for quite a while. For certain people who believe in "eating what you need to replenish," this was truly a powerful tonic, and they would surely pay a high price for it. He was also planning to take everything; the turtle shell shouldn't be wasted, so he would come back to collect it when he had time later.

"There was an elixir in the turtle's head, but the alligator demon ate it," Wu Shaoyi said in a low voice. "Reptiles produce pearls; your luck is good."

"Walking scales" refers to creatures like turtles, snakes, lizards, and alligators. Everyone says carp can transform into dragons, but in fact, if the "walking scales" species gets the right opportunity, they can also transform into flood dragons or true dragons. Within their bodies, they can also condense primal pearls, just like dragons. Primal pearls are different from demon elixirs. Every demon that has achieved cultivation has an elixir, but primal pearls are only found in "walking scales" species, clams, and shellfish.

He Lingchuan carefully examined Wu Shaoyi's wound. "It's not bleeding anymore, and your complexion looks better," he noted.

Wu Shaoyi's complexion was even slightly ruddy. Optimistically, this was the effect of the elixir. Pessimistically, it was the final flicker of life, indicating he didn't have long to live.

"I need to recover some more strength before I can go ashore with you."