CH 72

"What... is this... thing?"

As he looked at the eyes, Li Huowang felt a strange sensation. He felt his thoughts slowing down and everything around him becoming surreal. At this moment, he felt like he was floating in mid-air instead of lying in the water.

The mud at the bottom of the lake began to stir, and the muddy water quickly rose up with the seven strange and constantly wriggling eyes.

When the mud completely enveloped Li Huowang's body, he saw a giant, ugly, and rotten mouth that was even bigger than a mountain, as well as countless black hooked tentacles that extended from the throat of that big mouth.

"No... can't... be like this..." Li Huowang used all his strength to pull out the long sword behind him.

Just as he stood up and was about to stab himself in the neck, the tentacles instantly wrapped around him, and the sharp barbs pierced into Li Huowang's body, pulling him into the blood-filled mouth.

Watching the mud rolling in the distance and the struggling crowd in the water, Yuan Er, standing on the small boat, looked at the old man next to him with some trepidation.

"Grandfather, let's go back. With the River God here, they're doomed."

The old man coldly glanced at him and abruptly pulled his hand out of Yuan Er's hand. "Go back to the village!"

Hearing the anger in the old man's voice, Yuan Er panicked.

But he still couldn't do anything now, so he could only put two fingers into his mouth and blow a retreat whistle.

The small boats quickly turned around and began to shuttle through the dense reed marshes.

The entire reed marsh was huge and was a natural maze.

But the Yuan family was born and raised here and was extremely familiar with it.

After wandering around for a while, the small boats finally arrived at a small island woven from reeds. This was their home.

The entire island, including the small village on it, was woven from reeds.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

The scenery that looked magnificent from the outside was boring to Yuan Er's eyes. He now had other things to worry about.

Watching his grandfather hobble off the boat without saying a word and head towards the village, Yuan Er gritted his teeth and quickly followed.

Other members of the Yuan family silently followed suit, and the atmosphere of the water village became somewhat oppressive.

The village didn't look big from the outside, but it was not small inside, and there was even space for raising pigs and ducks.

Finally, Yuan Er followed his grandfather to a large hall made of a huge fish bone frame and woven with reeds.Inside, candles and incense were lit. In the center of the hall was a vivid ink painting of a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate, and below the painting were five pairs of ancestral tablets. This was the ancestral hall of the Yuan family.

"Kneel down to the River God and our ancestors!"

With a solemn expression, Yuan Er immediately knelt down and kowtowed heavily to the ancestral tablets.

At this moment, he was no longer the arrogant leader on the ship, but a junior who had made a big mistake and was waiting to be punished.

After pacing back and forth for a while, the old man suddenly raised his cane and fiercely struck Yuan Er's back and head.

The force was so heavy that it didn't take long for Yuan Er to be covered in bruises and blood.

But even so, Yuan Er gritted his teeth and didn't dare to move.

It wasn't until the old man was tired from beating him that Yuan Er turned to him and kowtowed heavily. "Ancestor, I was wrong."

"What did you do wrong?" The old man glared at him in anger.

"I was too reckless. I didn't investigate the situation of the gang before attacking them. As a result, there were tough guys in the gang, and the dozens of brothers who died were also the nephews and nieces of the sacrificial gods. It was all my fault."

"Hmph! So you know!" The old man's anger eased slightly.

After a while, Yuan Er struggled for a few moments before saying with a full sense of unwillingness, "But I had a secret code with that person before, and he didn't respond at all!"

"Crack!" The cane head pierced directly into Yuan Er's left eye, bursting it open.

"Ah! Ah!" Yuan Er covered his blinded eye in pain and rolled on the ground.

But after rolling a few times, he ignored his injuries and trembled as he knelt down again, kowtowing heavily to the old man.

Looking at the younger generation in front of him, the old man sighed with concern.

"Little Second, don't think that just because you've hugged a few times, you can act like you're above the heavens and the earth. Our line of work may seem like a risk-free business, but it's not easy to keep it up in the long run. You need to keep your eyes open and your hands quick!"

"I was planning to pass this family business down to you, but you made a mistake and even blamed others. I really can't rest assured with your character."

Hearing this, Yuan Er looked panicked and spoke quickly despite the pain. "Ancestor! I was wrong, I really know I was wrong! If I ever mistakenly attack someone again, you can pierce my other eye without hesitation."

"Do you think one eye is worth dozens of lives? You're delusional!"As the old man with a gloomy face waved his hand, two people emerged from the crowd who were watching the show outside the door. They held plates with various strange white fish bones.

"If you commit a crime, you will be punished. This is the rule of the world, and our Yuan family is no exception. If you can survive the 'Jumping Dragon Gate', you will still be the head of the family. But if you can't, I will give you a grand funeral."

As he watched those strange bones approach his skin, Yuan Er's body trembled involuntarily, but the old man next to him didn't let him have any thoughts of escape.

The twisted bones slowly cut through the skin, sliced through the muscles, and finally stuck to the human bones.

Just as Yuan Er gritted his teeth and prepared to endure the torture to come, a shout from outside the door saved him. "Grandpa! Something's wrong, come see! The lake has turned red!"

When a group of people arrived at the shore of the island, they were so scared that they didn't dare to say a word.

The entire lake in the reed marsh was dyed dark red, and there was a foul smell in the air.

The other people who were at a loss instinctively looked at the patriarch of the whole village, their grandfather.

After the old man's expression changed a few times, he waved his hand. "Offer incense!"

After a while, the incense and offerings were ready, and a group of people knelt there, constantly kowtowing to the red lake.

When they saw that the lake still showed no signs of fading, the old man decisively turned around and walked towards several women holding children.

These children had already changed into new clothes and had their hair tied into two braids with red thread.

The old man solemnly picked up a red pen dipped in cinnabar and lightly touched the eyebrows of the two children.

The two children clearly had no idea what was going on and giggled one after another.

The old man first touched their heads with his hand, then sighed lightly, unable to bear watching, and closed his eyes. "Go."

Two young adults next to him snatched two children who were less than three years old from the crying women and walked towards the lake with them in their arms.

Just as they walked to the shore of the lake and raised the boy and girl in their hands, they suddenly stopped.

"Hmm?" The old man squinted his eyes and looked into the dark red water. It seemed that something was about to come out.

Under the gaze of everyone, a soaking wet Taoist priest walked up to the shore with his head down, with something stuck in his neck.

After the old man carefully identified it, he found that it was a long sword entwined with water grass.