Chapter 272: Ghosts Everywhere
Lu Heng's inquiry left the little boy bewildered.
As soon as Lu Heng mentioned it, he also thought of this point, causing him to lower his head in disappointment.
Seeing this, Lu Heng smiled faintly and said, "That's why we can't be hasty. We must be fully prepared when we do things. As the saying goes, 'If you don't kill the snake, it will come back to bite you'."
"Dealing with the vicious snakes like those in the Green Hell Cave, one must be fully prepared and strike directly at their vital points, making them unable to resist or move in the slightest."
"Rash impulsivity will never achieve anything worthwhile."
After gently educating the little boy, Lu Heng's group continued to move forward.
This place has already left the territory of Zhaoguang City. Ahead of them, a river flows back into the mountains. The surging river flows between the green mountains and trees on both sides, presenting a beautiful view.
But compared to the scenery, it was the water god standing in the river that was more eye-catching.
When Lu Heng and his group reached the river, Gu Zhou, dressed in divine robes, was standing in the water and bowing with respect.
"The Water God of Pang River, Gu Zhou, pays a visit to the Wolf God."
Lu Heng was slightly surprised and asked, "Why is Madam River God here?"
Gu Zhou smiled faintly and said, "Within the token worn by my son, there is a strand of divine thought that I left behind. When he approached the Pang River, I sensed it and came here early to wait for my senior."
Lu Heng suddenly realized and smiled, "I see... Hahaha... Gu Yan, now that you have met your mother, why not go and pay your respects?"
Lu Heng's words caused the Little Gu eagle, who had long been unable to contain its excitement, to let out an excited cry.
It cried out just like a baby's cry, and flew towards the mother in the river, flying around Gu Zhou happily, flipping up and down in joy.
This scene made Shen Wuyou, who was watching from the side, slightly surprised.
Lu Heng then explained with a smile, "This is none other than Madam Gu Zhou, the Water God of the Pang River, who has been guarding both sides of the Pang River for hundreds of years. Even in the current time when demons run rampant in the Green Hell Cave, no demon dares to be presumptuous on either side of the Pang River."
"Nowadays, the safest place in the Fire Pass Country, except for the surroundings of Hanyu Mountain, is the two banks of the Pang River."
"Therefore, many wilderness people have come to take refuge on the banks of the Pang River, and there is even more bustling traffic on the river than in previous years."
"And Gu Yan is her son. After six long years of separation, mother and son are finally reunited."
Lu Heng's account made Gu Zhou in the river somewhat uneasy, and she hastily said, "The Wolf God, I'm just doing my duty as a water god of this river."
Gu Zhou is extremely humble, while Shen Wuyou wears an expression of admiration.
He followed Lu Heng all the way east and had long understood the devastating harm caused by the Green Hell Cave.
Amidst the chaos caused by evil demons these days, the River God in front of them is able to protect both sides of the river and keep the evil demons at bay, ensuring the safety of the people. This is indeed a great merit that benefits the people.
Lu Heng smiled and shook his head, watching Gu Yan excitedly talk to his mother. He said, "Since Gu Yan has been brought here, why don't you take him back with you, Your Majesty? I am going to the Luwu Mountain and won't return to the Hanyu Mountain for a while. Let Gu Yan take some time off and spend some time at home with his mother, and then I will come to pick him up after some time."
Gu Zhou was somewhat surprised by Lu Heng's words and quickly said, "The Luwu Mountain is downstream from the Pang River and the entrance to the East Sea. Senior Wolf God can rest in the underwater palace with me for the night. Tomorrow, I will personally accompany Senior Wolf God to the Luwu Mountain."
Lu Heng shook his head and said, "You don't have to trouble yourself, Your Majesty. I can go down the Pang River by myself. The situation is critical now and both sides of the Pang River still need Your Majesty's protection. You should not be distracted by entertaining me. Preserving the boundary and ensuring the safety of the people is more important."
Lu Heng's words made Gu Zhou hesitate slightly, and then she said, "Six years ago, Senior Wolf God left a pool of Dark Spring Water in the underwater palace. In these six years, I have used it to support the spirits of many virtuous and kind-hearted people after their death."
"Many wizards from the Fire Pass Country are among them. After they died in the battle, their spirits were also sent to the underwater palace.... Does Senior Wolf God want to take a look? There are quite a lot of these spirits and one pool of Dark Spring Water may not be enough to accommodate them all."
Gu Zhou's words made Lu Heng surprised.
Is there such a thing?
Even the souls of the wizards from Fire Pass Country who died in battle were sent to the Water Palace of Pang River?
He asked and only then found out that, after the fierce conflict between the wizards and demons of the Fire Pass Country began, Gu Zhou saw more and more dead people, so she took the initiative to contact Lianshan Jing and told her about the existence of the Dark Spring Water.
Lianshan Jing then issued an order, spreading the word throughout the country that if a wizard was killed in battle, not only should the body be taken care of, but also the spirit should be protected and sent to the Pang River as soon as possible.
Therefore, after more than five years of the conflict between wizards and demons, in addition to the few virtuous people on both sides of the Pang River, Gu Zhou's Water Palace also accepted the souls of many wizards who died in the conflict.
Now it has become overcrowded and is about to exceed the capacity of the Dark Spring Water pool left behind by Lu Heng.
Upon hearing this news, Lu Heng could not ignore it.
He said, "In that case, I would like to trouble Madam River God to lead the way. Let's go together and check the situation."
As he spoke, Lu Heng stepped directly into the river.
Xiao Ai followed closely behind.
Shen Wuyou hesitated for a moment but quickly caught up.
Although his cultivation was not high enough to walk on water, following behind Lu Heng, he didn't have to worry about accidentally stepping into the river.
After the group stepped into the river, Gu Zhou quickly approached to lead the way. The water parted under their feet, and the group's figures quickly sank into the river.
The frigid waters of the Pang River surged beside them, yet didn't wet the clothes of Lu Heng and the others.
There was an invisible force that separated the river water.
Under the power of the River God, everyone's figures swiftly shuttled through the river. The power, which could shrink them to a tiny size, was exactly the same as the power of the mountain god at Hanyu Mountain where Lu Heng had been.
With such haste, their speed naturally became extremely fast.
Lu Heng and the others were located upstream on the Pang River, quite far from the location of the Water Palace.
However, under the power of the River God, the river water rapidly receded behind them. In less than a quarter of an hour, Lu Heng and the others crossed tens of thousands of miles of waterways and arrived downstream of the Pang River.
This speed is difficult to match, even by cultivators with flying ability, a technique used by advanced martial artists.
Ahead of them was an extremely spacious waterway, with a river surface that was more than a thousand feet wide, and the banks separated from each other by a considerable distance. Within the river, there were surging undercurrents and countless fish swimming around.
A palace under the water appeared before everyone's eyes.
Amid the darting school of fish, the Yaksha water tribe was patrolling back and forth.
However, with Madam River God personally leading the way, no one dared to obstruct them. Led by Gu Zhou, Lu Heng and the others ventured deep into the water palace and entered the immense palace under the water.
Beautiful maidservants respectfully welcomed them, and although there was no grand feast, exquisite food had already been prepared in the side hall.
Xiao Ai, Gu Yan, and Shen Wuyou, who was accompanying them, all stayed in the side hall to rest.
As for Lu Heng, he followed Gu Zhou the River God to the back hall to see the Dark Spring Water, which was infested with ghosts.
And thus disappeared from Xiao Ai's sight.
PS1: Someone suggested I change my translation "Kylin" to "Qilin". Actually, both translations are acceptable, so I won't change it.
PS2: "Lu Ai" is "Xiao Ai", they are the same person. The author wrote "Lu Ai" wanting to say that in order to "miss" the Wolf God (Lu Heng), Xiao Ai changed her name to Lu Ai in the later chapters, although no direct description of this part.
PS3: If you like this novel, please give it a vote on Amazon (https://amzn.to/3A92XpZ) or Novel Updates! It's very important to us. Thank you!
