Chapter Forty-Five

Baozhu and Pei Xuanji found a sheltered spot on the mountain and lit a fire.

When Baozhu was fighting the half-demons, her hand was bitten by a fish-headed monster. At the time, it was simply bandaged with water plants. Now that she finally had some free time, Pei Xuanji took out some ointment to apply to her hand.

Fortunately, the Taoist priests provided the best protection for the wound medicine, which is why the ointment retained its medicinal effects even after being soaked in water repeatedly.

Baozhu's wound had stopped bleeding, which made Pei Xuanji sigh with admiration as she applied medicine to her: "Demons are really healthy. Such a deep wound has started to heal in such a short time."

As she spoke, she carefully bandaged Baozhu's wound.

The cloth used to wrap the wound was torn from Pei Xuanji's own undergarment and then washed and heated over a fire.

Baozhu looked at the fish skewered on thin wooden sticks and roasting by the fire, feeling extremely hungry, her mind and eyes filled with thoughts of food. Hearing Pei Xuanji's sigh, she casually said, "I'm in good health, but last time in the Goddess Temple, those ghosts said that my soul was incomplete, I don't know why."

Pei Xuanji was taken aback and asked doubtfully, "If a mortal's soul is incomplete, at best he will be confused, and at worst he will fall into a coma and never wake up again. Is there any difference between demons and humans? You look lively and energetic to me."

Baozhu scratched her head and said, "I don't know either."

"Tell me in detail what happened at the temple of the goddess."

Since Pei Xuanji had asked, Baozhu had nothing to hide. She started by talking about the manual Lianxin had left behind in the Ji residence, and continued until she recounted how she had defeated Ji Ren after being possessed by ten thousand ghosts.

He told Pei Xuanji all the details that he hadn't explained clearly last time.

Upon hearing this, Pei Xuanji frowned even more deeply. She muttered to herself, "That's not right. To be possessed by a ghost and yet remain unharmed, that doesn't make sense at all."

After saying that, Master Pei got carried away and wouldn't let go of Baozhu. He wanted to check her over from head to toe, which made Baozhu feel itchy all over and laugh uncontrollably. She begged for mercy, "Seventh Master Pei, Master Pei, please let me go. I'm really fine."

Pei Xuanji said angrily, "I can't sleep at night because I don't understand what's going on!"

“Maybe I was born with this constitution,” Baozhu shrugged nonchalantly. “Anyway, it doesn’t affect me much.”

The grilled fish by the fire had already started to sizzle. Baozhu's mouth watered, and she quickly picked up a fish, took a bite, sighed with satisfaction, and urged Pei Xuanji to eat as well.

Pei Xuanji obediently picked up a grilled fish and ate it absentmindedly, her mind still on Baozhu.

After taking a few bites, Master Pei asked in confusion, "I've only ever heard of mortals having a pure yin constitution that attracts ghosts. Do demons have that too?"

Baozhu paused, biting into the grilled fish. After thinking about it for a moment, it seemed possible. She asked, "If that were the case, what would happen?"

"I don't know. I've only been a beginner for a short time, and I haven't had time to study many strange things." Pei Xuanji frowned as she ate her fish. "If only you could come back to the capital with me. We can go find my aunt and have her take a look at you. My aunt is a very powerful celestial master."

Baozhu was startled and hesitated, then asked, "Your aunt wouldn't also kill every demon she encounters, would she?"

"What are you saying? My aunt is calm and intelligent, she wouldn't be so extreme," Pei Xuanji said reproachfully.

"So you know about extremes too."

"...Just eat your fish!"

After the two had eaten and drunk their fill, Baozhu said, "Let's rest for a bit. Later tonight, I'll take you to find someone to help us. I think the three of us working together can wipe out that golden carp that makes women pregnant."

When Pei Xuanji asked again, Baozhu only said that she would know when she got there. Helpless, she was indeed sleepy and forced herself to stay awake, saying, "I'll keep watch, you go to sleep first."

Baozhu gestured with her chin towards the distance and said, "I asked the ghost to keep an eye on things for us, so everything's fine."

If it were any other day, if Pei Xuanji were in this deep mountain forest and someone told her that there were ghosts around, she would be terrified and break out in a cold sweat.

But she was too tired at this moment, and Baozhu's face showed an ordinary expression, as if she had asked a mountain ghost to help her keep watch at night, but rather a companion.

She lost consciousness the next moment.

After sleeping for two or three hours, a chill ran down Baozhu's arm, waking her up.

She opened her eyes and saw a little devil reaching out and grabbing her arm.

When the little devil saw that she was awake, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "It's time."

Baozhu rubbed her eyes and said to the little devil, "Thank you."

The little devil chuckled, turned around, and disappeared into the forest.

Baozhu woke Pei Xuanji up again.

After the two collected some items, Baozhu led Pei Xuanji toward the lake.

Along the way, Baozhu told Pei Xuanji everything about the real and fake River Gods. Pei Xuanji exclaimed in surprise, and finally sighed, "A good demon was actually harmed by a bad demon because he cared about his appearance."

“Yes,” Baozhu echoed.

When they reached the lakeside, Baozhu bent down and whispered to the water, "Are you still there?"

A semi-transparent female ghost emerged from the water and replied, "I'm here."

Before she finished speaking, one ghost after another appeared in the lake. They glowed with a faint blue light, half of their bodies submerged in the water, and looked at the pearl in layers, whispering, "We're all here."

A gentle breeze blew, causing the trees along the lake to rustle and the lake water to ripple. In the dead of August, the lakeside felt as cool as late autumn.

Pei Xuanji looked at the water ghosts of all sizes in front of her and suddenly shivered.

Baozhu, oblivious to everything, greeted each of the water ghosts and asked, "Could you take us to Lai San?"

The water ghosts readily agreed, looking at the precious pearl with great delight, saying, "Alright, we promise not to let those half-demons know."

Baozhu thanked her with a smile and turned to look at Pei Xuanji.

Whether it was the moonlight or the fluorescent glow of the water ghosts reflected on Baozhu's face, she looked somewhat eerie and malevolent. The fox demon chuckled slyly, "Pei Qi, I forgot to ask you, aren't you afraid of toads?"

As she spoke, Baozhu began to gesture.

"Such a tall, such a big toad," she said with a grin.

W-what? How big is the toad?

Looking at the group of water ghosts in front of her, and thinking about the giant toad she was about to meet, Pei Xuanji suddenly felt dizzy.

"It's not like we can't catch that golden carp, why don't we just go?"

Master Pei said in a daze.

"Oh dear, are you scared?" Baozhu grabbed Pei Xuanji's arm and slowly walked into the lake.

The water ghosts swarmed around them cheerfully, chuckling, "Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you."

Pei Xuanji remained silent, gritting her teeth as she immersed herself in the icy lake water.

"Hurry up and put on the talismans, we're leaving!" Baozhu urged.

Pei Xuanji trembled, bravely took out the water-repelling spell and stuck it on her forehead, and then was dragged into the water by the water ghosts.

Before her head submerged in the lake, Pei Xuanji had a somewhat absurd thought.

As a Taoist priest, am I not going to be replaced by a water ghost?

The thought had barely formed in her mind when, in the next instant, the water ghosts were already dragging her forward at high speed through the lake.

Contrary to Pei Xuanji's expectations, the lake at night was not pitch black. Instead, many unknown little creatures shone and swam in the water.

This was another side of the world that Pei Xuanji had never seen before.

She gradually forgot her fear and obediently followed the water ghosts, swimming in an unknown direction.

They silently reached the deepest part of the lake, where there were no water plants, only a deep hole.

Baozhu gestured to Pei Xuanji, telling her to stay put, and then she slipped into the cave.

Lai San, inside the cave, pretended not to have found the pearl and continued to feign death as always.

Baozhu twitched the corner of her mouth and poked him several times.

Lai San, who was as still as a stone, reluctantly opened his eyes and whispered, "Little monster, you're coming here so often, be careful that the carp spirit doesn't find out."

Baozhu shook her head, stretched out her bandaged arm, and waved her fists twice in front of her, then made a swimming fish gesture with her other hand.

Lai San was startled. His huge body turned to face the pearl, the chains on his body clanging loudly. The toad spirit asked worriedly, "You fought with the golden carp? And you were injured?"

Baozhu nodded.

"Oh dear, you can't beat him. His scales are incredibly tough; ordinary weapons can't touch them." Lai San's big eyes were full of sympathy. "It must have hurt a lot. Next time, you'll know that if you can't beat a monster like that, you have to run away quickly."

Baozhu sighed first, then pointed to Pei Xuanji above.

Lai San followed her finger and looked up.

"Oh, is that your friend?" Lai San glanced at him, then suddenly realized something was wrong and his eyes widened. "Hey, little monster, your friend is actually a Taoist priest."

Baozhu extended her thumb and mimicked the movement of a swimming fish, while making a chop motion with her other hand and slashing at the swimming fish.

She gestured and reached out to pull Lai San, making a gesture as if they were swimming upstream together.

Seeing this, Lai San waved his hand and shook his head, pulling on the chains binding him and saying, "I can't go on. I lost many years ago and he's tied me here. There's nothing I can do about it."

Baozhu pursed her lips, then slowly floated down in front of Lai San, staring at him intently.

The toad deliberately turned its head away, unwilling to look at the pearl.

Baozhu's doubts deepened. Taking advantage of Lai San's inattention, she plunged into the bottom of the cave, grabbed the chain nailed to the ground, and pulled it upwards with force.

The chains had loosened, and Baozhu, having exerted too much force, pulled the chains and flew out of the cave.

She floated on the lake, gripping one end of the chain, her eyes meeting those of the terrified toad in the cave.

Lai San closed his eyes in despair.

That toad!

Having been trapped in the cave for so many years, the chains binding his body had loosened, but his heart was still bound and suppressed by himself, and he didn't even dare to leave the cave.

Baozhu looked incredulously at Lai San, who was curling up like a stone, pretending to be dead, clutching his head. She felt angry, but her anger was inexplicable and unwarranted.

Baozhu simply plunged it in again, pulled out another chain from the hole, and threw it to Pei Xuanji.

Pei Xuanji held one end of the chain, and when Baozhu pointed ahead, she nodded in understanding.

Together, the two of them stepped into the mud at the bottom of the lake, and together with the water ghosts watching from the lake, they pulled on the chains to pull themselves out.

They pulled a large, motionless, dark rock that was tied to a chain out of the hole.

Baozhu held onto Pei Xuanji's arm, preventing her from getting closer.

A man and a fox, along with countless water ghosts, stood at a distance, quietly watching the large rock before them.

The big rock finally felt uncomfortable being stared at.

Lai San's body twitched, and he opened one eye, cautiously looking around.

Those around him were speechless and simply watched him in silence.

Lai San opened one eye again.

Then he lowered his hands from his head and stepped onto the bottom of the lake.

He stood up.

Meeting Baozhu's burning gaze, he swayed and transformed into human form.

Lai San's original form was not good-looking, and his human form was just ordinary.

What appeared at the bottom of the lake was a kind-looking young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He clasped his hands tightly together, looked down at the ground, and remained silent with nervousness.

After a long while, he finally spoke hesitantly, "You should not go and fight that golden carp. I have never beaten it, and neither can you."

Baozhu's shoulders slumped in disappointment. She shook her head, waved at Lai San, then winked at Pei Xuanji before turning and swimming toward the golden carp's cave.

Pei Xuanji took a step, then stopped and looked at Lai San.

Lai San became nervous again, struggling to think of a way to refuse.

Pei Xuanji made no comment, turned around, and chased after Baozhu into the distance.

Only the water ghosts remained surrounding Lai San.

They watched Lai San quietly for a while, then followed him.

No one tried to persuade him.

Lai San helplessly tugged at the chains that had once bound him. After a while, the chains easily broke in two in his hands.

He was rescued from the bottom of the lake, and his rescuers did not ask him to do anything. Lai San was free. Lai San was no longer the River God, no longer burdened with any responsibilities, and no one cared about his appearance anymore.

Lai San, free and alone, stood at the bottom of the lake.

Under the cover of the water ghosts, Baozhu and Pei Xuanji quietly approached the cave from the water.

Having been injured during the day, the golden carp became very cautious, traversing layer upon layer of caves, suggesting that all the half-demons in this area should be here.

Following the golden carp's instructions, they carefully guarded the cave.

Even without Lai San's help, the two of them weren't without a chance of winning.

During the day, they were both caught off guard, but now they had a clear understanding of the golden carp's condition. Baozhu pondered that the golden carp was probably badly injured, at least much more seriously than they were.

They lurked to the side, observing carefully.

After watching for a while, Baozhu whispered in Pei Xuanji's ear, "It's not good for us to fight those half-demons in the water. Why don't we come up from above?"

She pointed to the vines hanging down from the cave.

Pei Xuanji nodded.

Baozhu pushed off the water ghosts with her feet and flew into the air. In front of the half-demons, she grabbed a vine and swung back and forth.

The half-demons were startled and cried out, "She's here!"

All the fish-headed people gathered around, looking at the pearl hanging on the vine, wanting to leap out of the water and grab its feet.

However, the pearl was not suited to water, and the half-demon's power was greatly reduced when it left the water.

They leaped back and forth, trying to reach the pearl hanging on the vine, but they always fell just short.

Instead, Baozhu's feet were wrapped around the vines, her upper body hanging upside down, her sharp claws gleaming coldly. As the vines swayed, she injured many stupid half-demons.

The half-demons were furious and howled. Some of the smarter ones grabbed onto the vines, trying to climb up and grab the pearl.

Just as the pearl attracted the attention of all the half-demons, Pei Xuanji leaped out of the water, stepped on the smooth fish heads, and climbed up the vines. With a swift movement of her sword, she sent several half-demon fish heads that were trying to climb flying far away.

With the addition of the Bladeless Sword, the half-demons fell one after another. Before long, there were no more half-demons standing outside the cave. The slightly more clever ones quietly hid in the lake.

Baozhu and Pei Xuanji jumped from the vines into the cave.

Inside the cave, Jinliyu only lit a dim oil lamp, but Baozhu and Pei Xuanji both had good night vision and immediately spotted Jinliyu sitting cross-legged at the very back of the cave, surrounded by more than ten wives.

The golden carp's eyes were tightly closed; the deaths and injuries of his sons outside seemed to have nothing to do with him.

Several of the most normal-looking half-demons, holding extremely sharp river clams, trembled as they pointed them at Baozhu and Pei Xuanji.

Baozhu looked at Pei Xuanji and said, "The three on the left are for you, and the three on the right are for me."

"make a deal."

In front of the half-demons, the two each divided the items into three, and then they began to act.

The half-demons, weakened on the shore, were no match for Baozhu and her companions. In no time, they had defeated five half-demons, their fates unknown.

The remaining half-demon, the one that looked the most complete, even had a human-like head, but still had fish fins on its body.

He dropped the clam in his hand, collapsed to the ground, and crawled on his hands and feet toward the golden carp.

"River God, River God, save me!" he cried out incoherently, stretching out his hands to try and reach the golden carp's feet.

The golden carp sat still, its eyes closed.

The sound of the pearl's footsteps grew closer and closer behind them. The half-demon looked at the golden carp in despair, his mouth agape.

After a long pause, he called out in a trembling voice, "Father..."

"Father... save me..."

Baozhu stopped in her tracks.

She also looked at the golden carp.

The golden carp slowly opened its eyes. It looked at its most complete son at its feet, and a hint of ferocity flashed in its eyes.

"Useless." The golden carp waved its arm.

The half-demon's head flew toward the pearl, and she saw that his eyes were filled with tears.

Baozhu's mind went blank for a moment.

She remembered the dog demon boy who had come out to rob people with her mother on Yonglian Mountain, and she remembered Xiaoman, whom she had met at Gejiabao, who told her about all the interesting things that happened when he was with his mother.

Monsters don't need to learn all their emotions; they are born with a deep affection for their mothers and fathers.

Baozhu reached out and took the half-demon's head, placing it carefully to the side.

"You carp spirit, you deserve to die," she whispered.

"Don't give him any chance to continue," Pei Xuanji said.

In the blink of an eye, the two figures suddenly moved, attacking the golden carp from both sides.

The golden carp stood up and simultaneously caught the attacks from Baozhu and Pei Xuanji. It then unleashed two powerful palm strikes, its demonic power surging within them. The sheer force of the blows made them hesitant to take the blows head-on, and they retreated abruptly.

Even though this monster is severely injured, it is still terrifying.

The two had no choice but to muster all their strength and fight him in the cave.

The water ghosts who were watching from outside heard a sudden tremor in the cave, and then a lot of rocks fell from the mountain with a rumbling sound. They were so frightened that they scattered like birds and beasts and dared not stay in the same place any longer.

The situation for the two people inside the cave was also not optimistic.

The golden carp fought with increasing ferocity. Despite suffering such severe injuries earlier that day, it now appeared to have recovered considerably.

Baozhu was filled with doubts. After dodging the golden carp's attack, her gaze wandered and she inadvertently saw the more than ten wives who had originally surrounded the golden carp.

The women's once full cheeks had sunken deeply.

They looked like dried corpses, devoid of any life.

Thinking of the spring deep in the cave, Baozhu suddenly realized that the golden carp had actually taken back the demonic energy that was originally nourishing his wives and used it to heal his wounds.

Deprived of the nourishment from the golden carp's demonic energy, these wives soon died.

Since Baozhu gained sentience, she had never seen such a ruthless monster. She felt terrified while fighting the golden carp. She was momentarily distracted and was immediately punched by him.

Baozhu's internal organs twisted and contorted, and she flew outwards like a kite with a broken string.

Through her blurred vision, she saw that, having lost the pressure she had exerted, the golden carp was attacking Pei Xuanji with all its might. Pei Xuanji was unable to withstand its storm of attacks and was in grave danger.

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through her mind.

It's all my fault. I've dragged Pei Qi into this. We should think this through carefully, or perhaps we should ask the Taoist masters from the Temple of Strange People to come and help us deal with this carp spirit.

I am arrogant, self-righteous, and want to be a hero. I am always unwilling to think, impatient, and impulsive.

It was my fault that she was ruined.

Baozhu's tears flew in the air as she closed her eyes, unwilling to witness Pei Xuanji's tragic state.

Just then, a gentle breeze swept past her.

Suddenly, she felt her falling speed slow down.

Baozhu opened her eyes, reached out and grabbed the vines on the cave wall to steady herself.

She saw a black figure catch the golden carp's fatal blow to Pei Xuanji.

Lai San stood in the cave, holding the golden carp's fist, looking at his face, and whispered a reproach: "You're way too wrong."

"I don't need you, you piece of trash, to come and say that to me!" When Jin Liyu saw Lai San, his expression changed drastically, and he immediately turned around and attacked Lai San with all his might.

Lai Sanguan remained motionless at the bottom of the lake for five or six years, while the golden carp's injuries had not yet fully healed.

The two were evenly matched and began to fight.

Now, neither Baozhu nor Pei Xuanji could intervene; they could only watch helplessly as the two great demons fought.

The cave was filled with demonic energy, and the demonic wind that brushed against Baozhu's cheeks caused her a slight pain.

After a hundred or so rounds, Lai San was still unharmed and his breathing was long and steady. Jin Liyu lost his balance and was caught off guard. He pulled and pressed down, twisting Lai San's hands behind his back and pinning him under his knees.

"Stop doing evil!" Lai San looked at him with heartache. "Mortals respectfully call you River God, and you should live up to that title!"

The golden carp ignored him, spouting nonsense and cursing.

Lai San, not knowing what to do, had no choice but to tighten his grip, causing the golden carp to scream in pain.

Blood trickled from the corner of Jinliyu's mouth, her eyes were bloodshot, and she hurled vulgar insults at Lai San, making Lai San's eyes red with rage.

"You monster, you really are..."

Lai San was furious. His eyes were red as he looked at Baozhu and Pei Xuanji, and he said in a very soft voice, "What are we going to do?"

Pei Xuanji and Baozhu exchanged a glance, then Pei Xuanji said to Lai San, "Close your eyes, leave this to me."

Lai San immediately obeyed and closed his eyes.

He sensed that Pei Xuanji had done something, and the golden carp under her hand suddenly stopped moving.

The toad's heart skipped a beat, and it opened its eyes a crack to look at the golden carp beneath it.

Where was the golden carp? His skull rolled around on the ground, having been cut off by Pei Xuanji with her bladeless sword and sent to reunite him with his sons.

"Ouch!" Lai San cried out, his face turning pale and his body trembling uncontrollably. "Golden Carp... he's dead!"

After saying that, Lai San's eyes rolled back and he fainted.

When he woke up again, it was already broad daylight outside.

During the time Lai San was unconscious, Bao Zhu and Pei Xuanji had cleaned up the entire cave. The bodies of more than a dozen unfortunate women were neatly laid out to the side, covered with seaweed, just waiting to be returned to their families.

When Baozhu saw that Lai San on the ground had woken up, she smiled at him and said, "Thank you so much this time. If it weren't for you, we would all be dead. What are your plans for the future?"

"I don't know. I've always lived in this area. The golden carp looked down on me before, saying I was ignorant. Maybe I should go out and explore." Lai San scratched his head and chuckled.

"You're not going to be the River God anymore?" Pei Xuanji asked.

“The River God, the River God is dead.” Lai San’s face showed a trace of melancholy. “I am Lai San, the toad spirit, and I should have my own life to live.”

"That's great, we might meet again in the future," Baozhu agreed.

“Yes.” Lai San nodded in agreement.

The golden carp had been removed, and Baozhu and Pei Xuanji were about to go to the county town to look for their lost companion. Lai San escorted them to the county town gate and pointed to it, saying, "This is Yushan County Town. There is the Yiren Temple inside, but I won't go in."

Baozhu and the others nodded, bid farewell to Lai San, and entered Yushan County.

As soon as they stepped into the county town, they felt an unusually lively atmosphere. Many ordinary people, with smiles on their faces, pushed and shoved each other, crowding together towards a certain place.

Baozhu and Pei Xuanji exchanged a glance and then walked in that direction.

Along the way, men, women, and children discussed it incessantly with great excitement.

"The daughter of Master Zhou will be throwing an embroidered ball at Xueyun Tower today to choose a husband."

"I've heard that whoever gets hit by the arrow will marry him, and it's absolutely true."

"How many daughters does he have now?"

"It seems to be the seventh one."

Baozhu became excited upon hearing this and quickly pulled Pei Xuanji's hand to push forward.

"Hurry up, I want to go see what's going on!" Baozhu shouted.

"Is...is it really possible for someone to throw a bridal bouquet to choose a husband?" Pei Xuanji's face was full of doubt.

"Aren't they all saying, hurry up, I want to go see if Master Zhou's daughter is pretty?"

Baozhu pulled Pei Xuanji along, weaving through the crowd like fish, and soon they squeezed their way to the foot of Xueyun Tower.

She looked up and saw a pretty woman on the second floor, dressed in bright red, her face flushed, shyly holding an embroidered ball.

People downstairs looked at Miss Zhou and shouted, "Choose me! I have a clean background!"

"He's ugly! I'm handsome, so throw it at me!"

"What's the use of being handsome? You already have a wife!"

Those around him burst into laughter upon hearing this.

The man who claimed to be handsome retorted, "It's not like you can't come if you have a wife. Whoever gets hit is the one who gets hit!"

There was a middle-aged man on the second floor who, upon seeing this, quickly spoke up. He was Master Zhou, and his youngest daughter had not yet found a suitable husband. After much thought, he decided to let her choose a husband by throwing a silk ball. Whoever landed on it would be her husband, as fate would have it.

After Zhou finished speaking, he looked up at the sky and said loudly, "The auspicious time has arrived."

Miss Zhou shyly looked down at the crowd below. After a while, she spotted a young man at the street corner. He was exceptionally handsome and stood out from the crowd.

She was secretly delighted, gritted her teeth, took a good look, and threw the embroidered ball in her hand at the young man with all her might.

The eyes of everyone downstairs followed Xiuqiu and looked in that direction.

Baozhu also looked in that direction, but with her sharp eyes, she suddenly recognized a handsome, tall, and dignified young man through the surging crowd. He was—

Her heart was pounding, and she shouted, "Li Zhi—!"

In such a noisy environment, Li Zhi actually heard Baozhu calling. He was slightly startled and immediately turned to look at Baozhu.

"I'm here! Li Zhi!" Baozhu was overjoyed. She grabbed Pei Xuanji and pushed through the crowd toward Li Zhi.

Li Zhi smiled brightly and was about to walk towards Baozhu when suddenly an embroidered ball fell from the sky and hit him on the shoulder.

In a flash, Li Zhi turned around and stepped aside.

The embroidered ball landed steadily in the hands of Zhang He, who was standing behind him and reaching out to greet Pei Xuanji.

"The son-in-law has appeared!"

People immediately surrounded the dumbfounded Zhang He.