Chapter 321 - Water Son
Should I swim?
However, after giving it some thought, Li Huowang decided against it. After all, he couldn’t use any of his techniques while underwater and thus would be quite helpless.
At the same time, as Li Huowang thought about his techniques, he realized that almost all of his techniques were incompatible to use underwater.
Should I go back and ask Magistrate Lou to send me a ship?
Just as Li Huowang was thinking about doing this, he suddenly heard the sound of an instrument from far away with his sharp hearing.
A Suona?
He hid in the bushes and looked toward the direction where the sound was coming from.
Soon, he saw a group of people parading while playing the instruments. The people playing the instruments were at the back while several people were carrying a wooden rowboat. Within the rowboat was an old lady. However, even though her hair was completely white and all of her teeth had fallen off, she still looked quite lively.
The old woman smiled as she looked at the joyous parade that everyone had made for her. The wooden boat was adorned with red and white cloths, making it look as if flowers had blossomed on the boat.
Li Huowang didn’t know what the strange group of people was doing, and chose to continue observing.
The parade did not pass by Li Huowang but instead stopped by the riverside. Then, amidst the sounds of the drums and other instruments, they placed the wooden boat with the old woman onto the river and lightly pushed it toward the cave.
As all this happened, the people standing by the riverbank began to happily send the old woman off.
“Madam Liu, you led quite an amazing life. I don’t think I will have the same luck as you.”
“Yeah, Madam Liu, you are very lucky. Even though you don’t have any children, the Water Son can still help take care of you until you die.”
“Auntie Liu, please take care. I will drop by to visit you from time to time.”
As he heard all this and saw what was happening, Li Huowang felt chills run down his spine.
They might’ve made it sound nice by saying that they were sending her off, but it was clear that these people intended to take over Madam Liu’s assets.
There were no Water Sons. All they were trying to do was to send away an old person who didn’t have a family and then take away her assets.
As Li Huowang saw the wooden boat gradually moving toward the cave, he suddenly had a great idea. He once again turned himself invisible and quickly leaped onto the boat.
His sudden jump into the boat made it rock, but the old woman didn’t see anything when she looked back. She just tightened her grip on the cane in her hands as she bid her neighbors farewell.
Meanwhile, the invisible Li Huowang saw the cave getting closer and closer.
Water Sons? I want to see what you truly are!
As they got closer and closer to the cave, the sounds of musical instruments gradually faded away. Then, when the wooden boat entered the cave, everything turned silent. There were no other sounds except for the waves hitting on the wooden boat.
At the same time, there was very little light here, making the cave look dark and ominous.
Madam Liu was clearly spooked by the atmosphere but kept reassuring herself as she held onto her cane. “No, it’s fine. That sister of mine would never lie to me. The Water Son will come and fetch me. He will take care of me and I will finally be able to have a son.”
Li Huowang looked at the old woman’s frail back and felt sympathy for her. It was clear that she was just lying to herself.
Hu~
At that moment, a small light suddenly appeared on the surface of the water, shocking Li Huowang. He squinted and saw that it was a white candle.
“Is that you, Water Son? I have the surname Liu but my deceased husband’s surname was Hu. Will you take on his surname?” the old woman asked politely while turning toward the white candle; she wanted to show her good side without scaring the Water Son off.
But, the candle did not move. Instead, Li Huowang realized the boat was slowly floating toward the candle.
Li Huowang gripped the hilt of his sword and tensed up as he stared at the candle. He didn’t know who or what the Water Son was, but since they stole the babies and were probably using them to refine pills, they were definitely not kind beings.
As the boat slowly floated toward the candle, the white candle also floated backward. But after a while, the candle finally stopped.
At that moment, Li Huowang lurched forward and realized that the boat had reached the bank.
The riverbank was uneven, causing the old woman to fall to the ground.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang stepped over the old woman who had fallen onto the ground and slowly walked toward the candle. He approached carefully and finally saw the being that was holding the candle.
It was a humanoid being with various defects.
Its hair was frighteningly long and covered its hunched-back. Its nails were even longer than its fingers and curled into spirals. Its teeth were growing messily in its mouth while its face was uneven and with lots of bumps. Li Huowang also saw some of the creature's hair grow into its eye sockets. It was blind!
“Li Huowang, be careful. That is a Human Xiao[1],” Hong Zhong finally spoke after being quiet for a long time.
Hearing this, Li Huowang looked at him with a puzzled expression.
After a moment, Hong Zhong continued explaining, “When a human is stricken by bad luck and can’t die even though they are already very old, their white hair would eventually turn green, their teeth would grow long in their mouth, and they would no longer be able to speak human languages. Instead, they would only be able to converse in their language. From that point on, they are considered as evil beings that are half human and half ghost.”
Just then, the Human Xiao placed the candle on the tip of its finger and moved it lightly, using it to lure the old woman deeper into the cave.
Li Huowang wanted to chase it but suddenly stopped. He just stood there and saw the candle disappear before whispering to Hong Zhong. “Are you telling the truth or just spouting some random bullshit?”
Hearing this, Hong Zhong scoffed, “You think that I would lie for something so trivial? Just to toy with you? I’m still one of the three leaders, Hong Zhong. If I wanted to trick you, then I would’ve made it so you would die for sure! Fine, since you don’t believe me, I won’t explain anything else about Human Xiao to you.”
However, Li Huowang just stood there and stared at Hong Zhong.
Seeing Li Huowang’s reaction, Hong Zhong suddenly felt confused. “Is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me? Are you here just to sit around or to find out what’s happening?”
Li Huowang frowned and shook his head. “I just thought that something was fishy. You are an illusion of mine, so why do you know things that I don’t?”
After that, Li Huowang turned around and looked at the other illusions around him. “If you guys are not illusions, then what are you?”
This time, it was Hong Zhong’s turn to look at Li Huowang, smiling mischievously as he did so. “That, I don’t know. You have to ask yourself.”
1. A type of evil being in China. Don’t really have a counterpart in English history. The closest you can get is an undead I think? ?
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