Chapter Forty-Three

This is a rather large cave by the river. Vines hang down from the entrance of the cave, which is covered by water. Without guidance, it is not easy for others to enter.

Furthermore, due to the recent surge in river water levels, a small portion of the cave was submerged. The sedan chair that Baozhu and Pei Xuanji were riding in was carelessly placed there by the fish demons, and the bottom of the sedan chair was already soaked with water.

Before Baozhu and Pei Xuanji sat a dozen or so women dressed in red wedding gowns, sitting motionless amidst the seaweed. The seaweed beneath them was lush and dense, shimmering with light.

These women keep the clothes and makeup they wore on their wedding day, as if their lives had stopped on that day.

Baozhu cautiously stepped forward to test their reactions.

She had given up hope, but to her surprise, the women closest to the cave entrance reacted. Baozhu waved her hand in front of them, and some of them even blinked.

The deeper the woman went into the cave, the more numb she became.

The one furthest inside is probably the first wife of the River God. According to the villagers, she has been here for five years.

Baozhu bent down and peered closely at her face.

After watching for a while, she waved to Pei Xuanji, who was wandering around in the cave, and said, "Pei Qi, come and see!"

Pei Xuanji hurried over and went to see the River God's first wife.

"How come she doesn't seem to have changed at all?" Pei Xuanji said in surprise.

The girl in front of them looked to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. Although her eyes were lifeless, her skin was soft and delicate, and her cheeks were plump and youthful.

Five years have passed, and the woman has not changed at all; she still looks like a young girl.

Baozhu reached out and poked her cheek; the touch was exactly the same as that of a real person.

But she still felt something was off.

“I feel that she,” Baozhu pointed to the row of women, “and they all have a faint scent of monsters about them.”

The fox demon had a keen sense of smell, and the cave was filled with its scent, as if it were marking its territory—it was extremely domineering. It would be normal for the wives to have the River God's scent on them, but—

Baozhu just felt extremely awkward.

"I always felt that the demonic aura came from them." She was extremely puzzled.

"Pei Qi, say something." Baozhu turned her head, wanting to hear Pei Xuanji's thoughts.

But they found that Pei Xuanji's expression had changed drastically, and if they listened more carefully, they could even hear the sound of Pei Tianshi's teeth grinding.

Baozhu was startled and quickly and cautiously tugged at Pei Xuanji's sleeve, asking, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Pei Xuanji said in a trembling voice, "I'm fine."

After saying that, she stepped forward, carefully brushed away the algae around the women, and stared intently at their abdomens.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed something else amiss.

Pei Xuanji frowned and said, "These algae seem to be growing together with them."

Baozhu craned her neck to take a look and exclaimed, "Oh dear! What kind of sorcery did the River God use to plant his wives on the seaweed?"

Yes, the reason why the River God's wives looked dull and unresponsive to the outside world, and did not age for five years, was because the monster planted them all on the seaweed like gourds.

Their lower bodies were entangled in algae, which provided them with nutrients to sustain their lives.

The two were shocked and followed the roots of the algae to find the source.

It was in a secluded corner deep inside the cave, where a thin, fuzzy sprout grew in a spring. After climbing up the spring, the sprout slowly grew into large clumps of algae.

Baozhu lowered her head and carefully smelled the spring water for a while, then said to Pei Xuanji, "It smells so strong. The River God must have stored a lot of demonic energy in it."

She looked at Pei Xuanji with a puzzled expression and asked, "Since you plant your wives on seaweed, and they are all like puppets who can't even speak, then why do you need to marry them?"

"Baozhu, you're a monster, why are you asking me?" Pei Xuanji gave a short laugh, her expression still unpleasant.

After saying that, Pei Xuanji turned around and returned to the side of the River God's wives, continuing what she had been doing, and looked down to examine their lower abdomens.

Upon seeing his ninth wife, Pei Xuanji collapsed to the ground.

Baozhu followed behind, grabbed Pei Xuanji, and looked down at his wife's abdomen.

Her lower abdomen was slightly protruding; the River God's ninth wife was pregnant.

Baozhu was struck dumb. She said in disbelief, "How could this be? How could a mortal and a demon have a child?"

It's no wonder she didn't think of it at all; in her previous life, she and Li Zhi were married for over twenty years, but they never had a little fox.

How could the River God make mortals pregnant?

Pei Xuanji, holding Baozhu's hand, sneered, "No wonder the River God planted his wives on the seaweed. Baozhu, didn't you just say that you smelled demonic energy coming from them? The River God used the seaweed to turn these women into half-demons."

Her eyes were filled with murderous intent, and she gripped the bladeless sword in one hand, saying hatefully, "I'm going to kill him."

Ever since Baozhu sensed the demonic aura emanating from the River God's wives, Pei Xuanji has been acting strangely. Baozhu recalled her conversation with her by the fire last night, and the expression on her face when she mentioned her sister. She vaguely felt that she knew some secrets.

This secret caused Pei Xuanji immense pain at this moment.

Baozhu pulled Master Pei up from the damp, cold ground and said casually, "Alright, I'll help you."

Upon hearing this, Pei Xuanji calmed down a bit. Seeing that Baozhu didn't ask any more questions, she felt grateful and sighed, "Those ten women have been invaded by demonic energy for five years. Even if we take them off the seaweed, we don't know if they will survive."

"Do your best and leave the rest to fate. Thinking too much is useless." Baozhu turned back to look at the River God's wives. "Should we take action now?"

"Wait for the River God to return."

After speaking, Pei Xuanji took out talismans and cinnabar from her satchel, intending to prepare some magic arrays for the River God.

“It’s still early, I’ll go take a look at the river,” Baozhu said.

The two then went their separate ways.

Baozhu parted the vines hanging from the cave entrance to create a crack and cautiously peered outside.

Outside is a lake, surrounded by mountains. It's neither too big nor too small, with shimmering water and many water birds flying across its surface from time to time. It's a truly beautiful sight.

But Baozhu did not see the fish demons who had brought them to the cave. Perhaps they thought that mortals had no way to escape from here, so they did not guard the area as Baozhu had expected.

Baozhu thought for a moment, then carefully inhaled and held her breath before diving into the water.

The lake water was quite clear, and once the pearl was submerged, it was easy to see far into the distance.

But the lake was quite deep, and it took Baozhu some effort to dive to the bottom.

Upon reaching the bottom of the lake, the light dimmed, and the atmosphere instantly became unsettling. The lakebed was completely silent, and Baozhu swam slowly. Many sneaky little fish secretly observed Baozhu from a distance, following her at a respectful distance.

Besides these cautious and shy little fish, Baozhu also passed by small turtles leisurely strolling in the water, unidentified soft worms wriggling forward, and large patches of aquatic plants.

The closer you get to the center of the lake, the more lush the aquatic plants become. They harmlessly entangle any living creatures that come near, making it impossible for them to struggle.

Baozhu carefully avoided the water plants and swam in a certain direction.

She could sense that there was something there.

After parting a large patch of water plants, a large blank space was suddenly revealed at the bottom of the lake in front of Baozhu, as if someone had dug a huge hole there.

Inside the cave, a monster is breathing.

Baozhu's movements were not secretive, but the monster did not show any displeasure.

Was he locked up inside?

Baozhu lay down beside the cave and quietly peeked inside.

The light inside was so poor that she could only see a blurry, enormous creature chained to its body, motionless in the cave.

Who is this? Who locked him up here?

Baozhu was full of questions. After thinking for a while, she simply shrank back, picked up a small stone from her side, and threw it into the cave.

The pebble drifted onto the monster.

The monster remained motionless, seemingly unresponsive to external stimuli.

Seeing this, Baozhu poked half her head out and threw a small pebble, carefully observing his reaction.

The monster remained motionless.

Is he sick? What exactly happened?

Baozhu became incredibly curious. She was almost out of air, and if the monster didn't make a move, she would have to float to the surface.

She didn't want to make another trip.

Seeing the huge chains on the monster's body, Baozhu gritted her teeth, grabbed the rocks beneath her, and slowly slid into the cave.

As you get closer, you can see more clearly that the monster has hands and feet, but its body is enormous and its entire body is muddy, making it difficult to distinguish.

Even though the pearl was so close, the monster in the cave still didn't react.

Baozhu could feel his heartbeat. The monster was clearly alive, and when she got closer, she could hear his heartbeat getting even faster.

Is this monster pretending to be dead to avoid her?

Baozhu simply stuck out a finger and poked him.

This time, there was finally some movement; the monster trembled violently.

Then he stopped moving again.

Baozhu got angry and used both hands to poke the monster repeatedly, making it hide everywhere in the narrow cave.

The monster, unable to resist the pearl's allure, opened its eyes before it—

In a pair of brass-colored eyes, there are two horizontal pupils.

"Little monster, what are you doing?" the giant toad demon said to Baozhu in a low voice, "It's not safe here, you'd better get ashore quickly."

Baozhu opened its mouth and made a series of gurgling sounds.

“You are creatures of the land, unable to speak in the water,” the toad spirit explained.

Unable to speak, Baozhu could only gesture, pointing and pointing at the toad spirit.

The toad spirit tilted its head and thought for a moment, then hesitated and said, "You're asking who I am?"

Baozhu nodded.

“I am…” The toad spirit’s voice grew softer and softer, but the sense of loss in his voice became clearer and clearer. “In the past, the mortals around me called me River God, but I called myself Lai San.”

"Actually, I'm just a toad that has become a spirit." The toad spirit smiled awkwardly.

Baozhu's eyes widened. The toad spirit imprisoned at the bottom of the lake was the River God, but who was the River God who had married a whole cave of wives?

She reached out and picked up the chain from the toad spirit Lai San, jingling it as she shook it. Then she pointed to the top of her head, spread her hands, and looked puzzled.

"You ask me who locked me up here?" Toad spirit Lai San sighed, his eyes with horizontal pupils looking upwards. "That was six or seven years ago, it was a carp spirit."

Six or seven years ago?

Baozhu recalled what the villagers had said: six or seven years ago, the River God began to appear in front of people, and then five years ago, he began to ask the surrounding villagers for wives.

For decades, the River God had protected them and never asked them for anything.

Baozhu suddenly realized why the River God's personality had changed so drastically. It turned out that the original River God had been imprisoned at the bottom of the lake by the fake River God, and everything that happened afterward was done by the fake River God!

Seeing Baozhu staring at him with wide eyes, the toad spirit said embarrassedly, "You also find it strange, right? How could such an ugly monster like me be called the River God by mortals?"

Baozhu shook her head, twisted her palms together to make a fish-like shape, and then shrugged, indicating her confusion.

"You ask me why that carp spirit locked me up?" the toad spirit asked after carefully discerning the gestures of the precious pearl.

Baozhu gave a thumbs up.

"You haven't seen him yet, have you? That carp spirit is really good-looking, with a dignified appearance, tall and handsome, much better looking than a monster like me."

Lai San recalled.

When the carp spirit arrived at this body of water, Lai San had already been there for nearly a hundred years. During those hundred years, he transformed from a toad spirit into the renowned River God, all because he had done many good deeds for the mortals around him.

Every year, ordinary people would bring him the bountiful harvest from the fields, as well as the fattest livestock raised in the surrounding villages.

Lai San felt that such gratitude was enough. He was a helpful demon, and helping mortals was his hobby. Therefore, receiving gratitude and gifts from mortals was already the greatest joy for the ugly toad demon. He had no more requests.

That's what he thought at the time.

One day, while he was playing in the river, he happened to see a girl fall into the river. Lai San quickly pulled the girl out of the water and onto the shore.

As he did these things, he carefully concealed his appearance, just as he always did.

But after the girl got ashore, she lingered and cried as she told Lai San in the river that her parents wanted to marry her off to an ugly man from the next village, but she refused. She would rather marry the River God, who was sure to be incredibly handsome.

She asked the River God if, even if he didn't marry her, he could at least let her see what he looked like.

Lai San turned and ran away; how could he dare let the girl see his face?

Whether it's his original toad form or his human form.

His appearance was that of a simple, honest farmer. Lai San wasn't good at transformations, so he looked exactly like that.

The River God is not handsome; he is merely an ugly toad. If mortals knew this, Lai San's heart would break.

In the autumn of the same year the little girl fell into the water, the villagers who had been protected by Lai San gathered at the riverbank and offered the fruits of their autumn harvest to the River God.

They gathered by the river, singing and dancing around the campfire.

Lai San watched with great interest from the river. He was happy because the mortals were so happy.

It wasn't until a villager said that the River God had saved a girl from his village before, and the girl said that the River God was exceptionally handsome. Since she had seen the River God and been saved by him, she was now his woman. She refused to marry the ugly man her family had arranged for her.

Upon hearing this, the villagers began to jeer. They went to the riverbank and shouted, "River God, River God, why did you only let that girl see your face? When will you show yourself in front of everyone so that we can all see how handsome you are?"

Lai San panicked.

He had never shown himself in front of the girl, so why did she say that?

The cheers were deafening for the first time.

Lai San escaped again.

That day, he buried himself in the silt at the bottom of the river, staring blankly at the sky through the water.

Lai San's heart was no longer at peace; he often felt pain and confusion.

The following year, during the rainy season, a golden carp spirit came to this area from the downstream river.

He was injured in a fight with his own kind; his scales fell off and his fins were torn.

Lai San took him in and kindly used his demonic energy to heal his injuries.

After the golden carp recovered from its injuries, it revealed its human form to Lai San, becoming a tall, exceptionally handsome man.

After thanking Lai San, he said that there was no place for him in the river anymore, and asked if he could stay in this area of ​​water a little longer.

Lai San stared at him blankly for a long time before finally asking him a question.

Do you want to be the River God?

After recounting his past, Lai San, who was tied to the bottom of the lake, let out a long sigh.

Baozhu also sighed, then she made a gesture of carrying a sedan chair, pointed to the chain on Lai San's body, and showed a puzzled expression.

"You asked me if he locked me up because the carp spirit wanted to find a wife?" Lai San nodded when he saw Baozhu nod. "Yes, I said how could a mortal and a demon be together, and not to delay the woman. But he said he wanted more help to help him fight back to that great river. After thinking it over, wouldn't it be the best help if he could make mortals give birth to many little demons?"

After Lai San finished speaking, Bao Zhu choked.

"You should go back quickly. I think you're a little monster too. That carp spirit is powerful; don't bring trouble upon yourself," Lai San said to Baozhu with a smile.

After saying that, he gently reached out and pushed Baozhu.

Baozhu, who wanted to ask more questions, was pushed onto the lake by Lai San.

Actually, by this time, she had almost exhausted the air she had been breathing. Baozhu poked her head out of the lake, panting heavily. Once she stopped seeing stars, she immediately turned and swam back towards the cave.

Baozhu was thinking of immediately telling Pei Xuanji the news she had obtained from Lai San, but little did she know that Pei Xuanji was setting up an array in the cave when a gurgling sound of water bubbles suddenly came from outside.

"The River God has appeared, radiating boundless light..."

The fish demons, singing unpleasant tunes, were about to climb ashore from the river.

They were only humming a little tune when they suddenly noticed that Pei Xuanji, dressed in a red wedding gown, wasn't in the sedan chair but was wandering around inside the cave. They immediately protested, "The River God is coming soon! How can a bride like you be wandering around outside like this? What kind of behavior is this!"

The magic array in her hands was almost complete, and Pei Xuanji would not give up now. She ignored the fish demons and continued her work.

The fish demons were enraged. After climbing ashore, they bared their sharp teeth at Pei Xuanji and threatened, "Disobedient brides will be eaten."

If they take one more step forward, they will destroy the magic array that Pei Xuanji prepared for the River God.

She sighed and said, "This is not my fault."

Having said that, Pei Xuanji drew her bladeless sword, lightly touched the ground with her feet, and glided towards the fish demons like a large bird.

The bladeless sword in her hand, though without a sharp edge, became extremely sharp when it encountered a demon. When it sliced ​​through the fish demon's head, it was as easy as cutting through tofu, without any resistance.

Pei Xuanji raised her sword and brought it down, causing four fish heads to roll on the ground.

The fish demon's human form hadn't reacted yet and continued walking forward due to inertia.

He took a few steps before collapsing with a thud.

Fortunately, the magic array that had just been set up was not destroyed.

Pei Xuanji swiftly kicked the fish demon's corpse away.

Just then, the gurgling sound came from the river outside again.

Pei Xuanji stopped what she was doing and looked out of the cave.

A handsome man with phoenix eyes, a prominent nose, and wearing golden armor suddenly pushed aside the vines outside the cave and walked in.

With each step he took, a chilling aura of demonic energy rushed toward Pei Xuanji.

He looked down at the fish head at his feet and said in a deep voice, "Did you make this?"

Pei Xuanji met the gaze of the fake River God who had raised his head, and sneered, "It was your great-aunt who cut it."