Chapter 1

North of Chenzhou City, on the Ling River.

Three massive, multi-storied warships sailed on the wide river. These sailing vessels were as tall as a city, high and wide at the bow, with tall iron supports standing at the front. They had three levels of buildings, with arrow windows, spear holes, and catapults, resembling fortresses.

The hulls were painted in striking red and black.

The warships were equipped with rows of crossbow cannons and firearms on both sides, their firepower capable of easily tearing apart smaller wooden boats, let alone ordinary whales and sharks.

Dark-skinned, wiry sailors swiftly climbed the masts, gazing into the distance and shouting directions to the officers below.

Dozens of soldiers in armor stood on the deck, their faces resolute, their bodies swaying slightly with the deck.

These were all soldiers from the Wude Guard, armored and armed, well-trained.

Although they did not possess extraordinary abilities, they were able to hunt demons and monsters with their disciplined obedience, fierce bravery, and the horizontal blades and long spears in their hands.

However, they were not the main characters today.

"Cultivator Zhu?"

A young soldier ran across the deck, approaching Zhu Xuemin and the others who were leaning on the railing, looking out over the Ling River. He clasped his hands and said, "We'll be at the fish demon's location soon. General Du is gathering everyone to discuss countermeasures."

"..."

Zhu Xuemin gazed at the vast, glistening water surface and murmured, "The Ling River's water is so murky..."

"What are you saying, Cultivator?"

The young soldier smiled and said, "The Ling River's water is always murky with silt. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the saying that the Ling River is turbid while the Wei River is clear."

"Mm."

Zhu Xuemin nodded noncommittally, turned around, and said calmly, "Lead the way."

Several days had passed since Luo Siyuan had approached him about slaying the fish demon.

During these few days, Luo Siyuan had found many other people,

and successfully persuaded the Prefect of Chenzhou to send troops to assist him in slaying the demon.

The commander of the three warships was none other than General Du Tinghuai, the Prefect of Chenzhou's nephew.

Zhu Xuemin and the others followed the soldier into the warship's tall structure.

Inside the cabin, General Du Tinghuai, wearing bright light armor, sat in the seat of honor. He was tall, handsome, and had a beard, resembling the Prefect in some ways.

Several deputy generals sat by his side.

In the two rows of seats in front of him sat dozens of cultivators from Chenzhou City,

including a Wude Guard commandant, a Longhu Mountain Taoist priest, several high monks, and Luo Siyuan, who wore a purple Taoist robe, a Zhuangzi scarf, and held a horsetail whisk.

Seeing Zhu Xuemin enter the cabin, Luo Siyuan gave him a friendly smile.

General Du Tinghuai, sitting in the seat of honor, also nodded, not expressing any displeasure at his late arrival—Zhu Xuemin had previously saved the Prefect of Chenzhou's wife, who was also General Du's aunt, and was therefore in his debt.

"Cultivator Zhu, please have a seat."

Du Tinghuai waved his hand, instructing his subordinates to pull up chairs for Zhu Xuemin and the others.

Once Zhu Xuemin was seated,

he cleared his throat, glanced at the cultivators below, and said slowly, "Some of you have only been invited today to slay the fish demon.

To help everyone understand the situation, I would like to ask Taoist Luo to explain the fish demon's origins once more."

Luo Siyuan stood up, waving his horsetail whisk, and said calmly, "Several days ago, a ragged young man came to me, seeking justice.

According to him, his surname is Xu, and his name is Youqi. His father, Xu Wencai, was a merchant from Nan Commandery.

A month ago, Xu Wencai hired a boat to carry goods through the Ling River. As he traveled to the middle of the river,

suddenly a strong wind arose, dark clouds gathered, and lightning flashed and thunder rumbled.

Waves rose on the once calm river,

and a black fish head, as big as a small mountain, emerged from the water, opening its bloody maw and biting the cargo ship in half, devouring everything, people and goods alike.

Xu Wencai was eaten by the fish demon, and when the bad news reached his home, his wife and children were heartbroken.

Several of Xu's eldest sons vowed to avenge their father and reported the case to Fu County, where the incident occurred."

Luo Siyuan paused, glanced at the Wude Guard commandant sitting opposite him, and said faintly, "In the past few years, there have been many incidents of fish demons harming people in Fu County.

Originally, patrolling the world and hunting down evil should have been the duty of the Wude Guard,

however, the Ling River's surface is wide, winding, and the water is deep and murky.

It is difficult to investigate and search, and the fish demon is cunning and elusive.

The Wude Guard has dispatched troops several times but has never been able to find the fish demon's tracks, so they simply shelved it—anyway, the fish demon does not appear frequently.

The number of ships that run aground and sink in the Ling River each year far exceeds the number of ships destroyed by the fish demon.

When reporting to superiors, they only need to attribute all the ships destroyed by the fish demon to the hidden reefs in the river.

Seeing that reporting the demon's whereabouts was fruitless,

the Xu family sold their property, raised funds, and prepared to go to Longhu Mountain to seek help from experts to slay the fish demon and avenge their father."

Luo Siyuan sighed and said slowly, "The Xu brothers left home, carrying money, and stayed at an inn in Fu County.

Unexpectedly, a fire broke out that night, burning the inn to the ground.

All of Xu's eldest brothers died, and only the youngest brother, Xu Youqi, escaped. He eventually came to Chenzhou and found me,

saying that he had heard the sound of metal clashing that night of the fire,

suspecting that someone had secretly set the fire, deliberately killing the Xu brothers to steal their money.

He feared that it was the work of the Fu County government and did not dare to report it to the authorities, so he asked me to seek justice for him.

Although I am才疏学浅, and my cultivation is weak, how can I stand idly by when I encounter injustice?

So I returned to Fu County with him, used the method of 通幽 to summon the souls of Xu's eldest brother and question them about the case.

As expected, I discovered something fishy, followed the clues, and found Huang Silang, a local wealthy merchant in Fu County."

"I took the Longhu Mountain token to the Fu County magistrate and asked him to approve the arrest of Huang Silang for questioning.

The magistrate originally didn't believe it.

Huang Silang was originally a poor fisherman. He didn't know what luck he had a few years ago when he dug up a nugget of gold on the riverbank.

Using the money from selling the gold as capital, he started doing business, and in just a few years, he accumulated a vast fortune.

He also often donated money and goods to build bridges and roads for Fu County, and his reputation was excellent.

After my kind persuasion, the Fu County magistrate still sent constables to arrest Huang Silang,

but unexpectedly, the interrogation revealed a shocking case."

Luo Siyuan said with a sorrowful expression, "Huang Silang claimed that he had seen the River God of the Ling River in a dream a few years ago. The River God promised that as long as Huang Silang paid tribute to him, he would be rewarded with a lifetime of wealth.

Huang Silang was skeptical after waking up, but just a few days later, his wife went into labor and gave birth to a baby girl.

The陋习 of drowning newborns has existed since ancient times.

The petty people in the fields between Yue and E, for example, only raise two sons and one daughter, and kill any more than that.

Often at the time of delivery, they use a container to store water, and as soon as the child is born, they drown it, calling it 'washing the child.'

Huang Silang, as a poor fisherman, was already overburdened by raising two sons,

so when he saw that he had given birth to a baby girl, he simply sailed a boat to the Ling River and placed the newborn girl in a wooden basin, letting it drift away.

The wooden basin floated up and down in the water, eventually submerged by the river.

The next morning, Huang Silang found a nugget of gold the size of a human head floating on the shore."