Chapter 264: The Route by Land
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Xu Ren wielded a long sword and protected his wife. Looking at the approaching robbers, sweat started to drip from his forehead.
He had little training in martial arts but could not be considered as a martial artist. Although his chances were slim against the robbers, he had no other choice but to protect his wife with all his life.
"Thud! Thud!"
Unknowingly, the two robbers behind fell to the ground, unconscious.
Shock, one of the robbers went forward and tried to feel for their breaths. "Boss, their dead!"
"Hisss!"
As a hissing sound was heard, another one of them fell to the ground after a black flash.
"Snake! There's a snake!"
The murderer slithered on the ground and all of them could see it clearly.
"Isn't it just a snake?"
Bai Lilang was the bravest. Unknowingly, he was fearful at the beginning but now, he was full of courage. "Look at me kill it!"
With that, he struck his knife.
"Clang!"
As the blade of the knife sliced across the scales of the snake, sparks were formed as the blade was deflected away.
"How is this possible?"
Bai Lilang was shocked.
"Demon... Demon!"
The fishermen around all screamed and escaped in all directions.
"Whoosh! Whooosh!"
This time, the black snake arched its body and shot out at the fishermen one by one.
As blood spurted everywhere, wounds opened up in every fishermen's chest. All of them fell to the ground.
"Ghost….. Ah!!! Ghost!"
Bai Lilang was utterly shocked. He legs turned to jelly and he started to pee in his pants.
"This body is indeed useful!"
After testing out his new body, Fang Yuan was satisfied with it. After all, it was much stronger than the black carp. Seeing Bai Lilang getting on his knees to beg him, he snickered. "It's alright if you harm others, but how dare you harm me? You should go to hell!"
With that, he slithered forward and ended Bai Lilang life.
"Ah... Is this snake the one that saved us?"
Wan'er had not recovered from her previous shock. As she got to her feet, she was in disbelief as she looked at the black snake, with its scales glistering under the candlelight.
"It's me!"
Fang Yuan spoke in the human language as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Demon... Demon!"
Wan'er turned pale and almost fainted.
"Wan'er, don't be afraid. There are good people and bad people. Since this snake saved our lives, it must be a good demon!"
Xu Ren tidied his robes before bowing to the snake. "I am Xu Ren. Thank you for saving our lives! We are grateful for your help and will repay your kindness..."
"Forget it!"
The snake looked down. A black smoke rose from the snake's head, revealing Fang Yuan's Yin Spirit.
"I am Fang Yuan. It is only a little fate that I am here to rescue you. However, I have something that I need you to do!"
"As long as it is legal and moral, I will do it!"
Seeing Fang Yuan reveal his Yin Spirit, Xu Ren was even more certain that he was a powerful demon and started to sound more respectful.
"Mm, it's nothing much. The Golden Red Carp needs to make use of your human karma to protect it for its journey ahead!"
Fang Yuan came straight to the point.
In reality, he was considering for himself.
After all, the three demons from Qi Lake were chasing after him. Although he had already changed his appearance, it was still troublesome for him to journey through the river. Therefore, he had thought of journey together with the humans to conceal himself and have a smooth journey ahead.
No matter how creative the demons were, they would never be able to think of such a method of transport.
Xu Ren wanted to go to Golden Lake Prefecture and it was on the shore of the Golden Court Lake, so it was along the way.
"For protection? I only know little martial arts and have little human karma..."
Xu Ren was confused and felt as though he was about to get in a lot of trouble.
However, he knew he could not bear the consequences if they were to get into a fight.
"If I say you're qualified, it means you are!"
Fang Yuan snickered. "Unless... you are an ungrateful brat?"
As he was a demon, he realised his demonic vibes. Xu Ren's hand went numb as his sword fell to the ground.
'He has the upper hand now, so I should obey him... Who would've thought that I have just left danger but now, I'm back to danger...'
Xu Ren sighed in his mind and bowed respectfully. "Why would I dare to disobey?"
"Haha, very well!"
Fang Yuan's Yin Spirit returned as he slithered up the bed. "Bring the boat alongside and settle the minor stuff... Also, bring the Golden Red Carp to me!"
"Yes, sir!"
Xu Ren promptly obeyed. As he walked into the rooms, he saw his subordinates lying in pools of blood and felt sorrowful.
His wife was in shock after seeing all the dead bodies and was on the verge of a miscarriage. After consoling her for a long while, she finally calmed down.
Not long after, Xu Ren indeed shifted Li Luan to the bedroom and dismissed himself. As for how to alongside the boat and inform the officials, he had to figure it out on his own.
...
After the corpses were shifted out, the rooms became much more spacious.
Xu Ren and her wife didn't dare to fall asleep. They had let out their room as a form of respect to the black snake.
As water lapped on the hull of the boat, there was a dim candlelight in one of the rooms.
"Why are you still hiding?"
Fang Yuan released his Yin spirit and stared at the bowl with Li Luan in it.
The Golden Red Carp had no other choice and started to close its eyes.
In a bright flash, a beautiful lady which resembled a deity appeared in the room.
Around her, there were streaks of water which made her look magical and immortal.
"You Yin Spirit... is injured! If it was daytime, I'm afraid you can't even release your Yin Spirit!"
Seeing this, Fang Yuan shook his head.
The cultivation of one's Yin Spirit was, in essence, creating something from nothing. The more real it appears, the higher the cultivation.
Take for instance the young man Fang Yuan was now. He had flesh and blood and appeared like a real person.
Comparatively, the lady's Yin Spirit was extremely flickering and people would think that she was a ghost.
However, Fang Yuan could tell that her Yin Spirit was as such due to her injury and not the lack of cultivation.
"I cannot maintain my spirit long, I'll apologise for that first!"
Li Luan bowed and her face was flushed. As she apologised, she transformed into a fog and returned to her physical body.
"Mmm. Who did you anger?"
Seeing her, Fang Yuan became interested and casually asked.
"... It's the An River Dragon God!"
Li Luan replied honestly and sighed.
After all, the demon before her was extremely smart and could roughly guess her predicament even if she tried to hide. Therefore, it was useless to hide and the fact that she was wanted throughout the entire river was something that she could not hide for long.
"Good! I like your style!"
Fang Yuan smiled. After all, he only angered a few demons and upcoming Water God but was already in such a state.
This lass had much more personality to anger a Dragon God!
To be called a dragon god, he had to have a dragon body and an imperial order. Even the powerful demons in Qi Lake would not dare to make him angry.
"How did you piss him off?"
There was a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
"This is a secret and I cannot say it!"
Li Luan was adamant. "It's no use... in fact, if you know about it, it will bring you trouble!"
What do you intend to do not?"
Fang Yuan could tell that regardless of how powerful Li Luan was previously, she was helpless now. Her Yin Spirit was but a flickering figure which was unable to seduce any mortals.
"Since you have already made the arrangements, why ask me?"
Li Luan countered and replied. "To travel by the methods of humans to reach another region is indeed a good idea!"
"Hey, did you ask me before joining me on my journey? Be careful, I might just throw you overboard!"
Fang Yuan rolled his eyes.
"Didn't you tell Xu Ren that I wanted to ride on their human karma to avoid trouble?"
Li Luan gave a pitiful look.
Seeing Fang Yuan's expressionless face, she could only surrender. "What do you want? I know of a few places with treasure and a few recordings of the classics and some techniques..."
'This lass is not simple... What a pity she's not experienced enough and would easily be taken advantage of...'
Fang Yuan gave a look of submission. "Alright! I'll help you today, and we'll slowly discuss my rewards later!"
Although he was not a person who would risk it all, after all, he would not really die in this realm. Therefore, it was only logical to take the biggest risks to reap the biggest rewards.
...
Xu Ren seemed smart. After a short while of figuring things out, he finally learnt how to control the ship and brought it safely alongside.
Following which, he quickly found some farmers and tasked them to report to the district court.
It was a big thing for a ship to have so many corpses. In a short moment, many constables arrived on the ship.
If it was a normal businessman on the ship, he would be pinned a murderer.
However, with his name and his status, the treatment he received was different. He quickly reported that Bai Lilang and company were the murderers, and spent some money to do a proper burial for his subordinates. Everything was smooth-going and three days later, they had slipped off and were on their way again.
To Fang Yuan and Li Luan, all these didn't matter.
In fact, being far from underwater meant that they could avoid a lot of stalking, which was a good thing to them.
"This district town is rather lively..."
In a carriage, there was a fish tank. In it, a Golden Red Carp swam about freely, and it was a weird sight to behold.
What was more intriguing was the fact that there was a dull sound coming from beside Xu Ren. A snake head popped out from his collar as the snake peeked around with curiosity.
"Benefactor, you're right! The people managing this district are doing a good job!"
Xu Ren was pale.
Anyone who had a poisonous and deadly killer snake slithering around their bodies would not look lively.
This was Fang Yuan's way of controlling him.
Otherwise, Fang Yuan would be afraid that he might go back on his words and hire monks or Daoists to deal with him.
Humans would have the instinct to survive. If Xu Ren were to anger Fang Yuan, he might be killed on the way there. Therefore, he had to obey.
It seemed that Fang Yuan's method was working.
Xu Ren put in his best effort and did not dare to do anything else out of the ordinary.
After all, he wouldn't want to risk his own life!
"There are quite a number of temples and monasteries along the way... It seems that demons and ghosts rule this realm..."
Seeing this, Fang Yuan shook his head.