hold head high!

Amidst the long, drawn-out roar of the dragon, Feng Bingwen slowly opened his eyes and couldn't help but rub his head.

Ever since that day when he swallowed the dragon ball during a thunderstorm, he had been having a vague dream every night while sleeping. In the dream, he seemed to have become a dragon, stirring up clouds and rain, roaming freely in the world, having a wonderful time!

However, his memories of dreams were always vague and unclear, and he could hardly remember the details. Moreover, he would forget most of them soon after waking up each day, leaving only a few insignificant impressions.

"Damn, when will this awful dream ever end?"

Feng Bingwen rubbed his slightly throbbing temples with a hint of helplessness. Then he pulled open his clothes and looked at his chest. On his fair skin, several dark red fish-scale patterns were quite conspicuous, like birthmarks.

He reached out and touched it; the skin, seemingly delicate, actually possessed a tough yet resilient texture, like leather. Without needing to conduct a self-harming test with a sharp object, Feng Bingwen knew that the skin on his chest was probably different.

He got out of bed, walked out of his room, and headed to the kitchen. After finding the water vat, he scooped up a ladle of water and began to wash up.

He no longer has so many concerns about water that hasn't been sterilized at high temperatures; he no longer needs to be so particular.

Although the Dragon Balls entering his body haven't fundamentally transformed his physical form, they have granted him some extraordinary abilities, such as the ability to purify and control a certain amount of water.

Whoosh!

Feng Bingwen held a water ladle in one hand, while doing nothing with the other. He simply looked down at the water in the ladle, and then the clear water seemed to have a life of its own, splitting off a stream and flowing into his slightly open mouth, shuttling between his teeth and cleaning up the food residue.

Glug glug!

Feeling that his teeth had been cleaned, Feng Bingwen opened his mouth and spat out a clump of somewhat murky water from his mouth, which flew more than two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) outside the kitchen. This was something that no ordinary person could do, although it was of no use now.

Then, Feng Bingwen did the same thing again, manipulating a ball of water to roll on his face, which was considered washing his face.

Then, feeling refreshed, he began to cook over a wood fire. Although he had some surplus grain at home, he was not a wealthy landowner. He had servants to take care of his daily needs and had to do everything himself, including cooking.

After the porridge was cooked, Feng Bingwen ate most of it with some pickled vegetables, then ladled out a bowl and sent it to the old man's room. As for his grandmother, she had already gone to work in the fields before he woke up.

After everything at home was arranged, Feng Bingwen carried his small cloth bag and went to the county school alone. By then, the sky was already bright, and the bright sun peeked out from the distant mountains, casting golden rays of light.

If it weren't for his previous ordeal, he would be going to the county school with his grandfather right now, while the old man is staying at home to recuperate because of his injuries.

Although he had already decided to find a miraculous medicine to replenish the energy depleted from the two elderly people's years of hard work, this was not something that could be accomplished in a short time.

Rare medicinal herbs only grow in remote, deep forests, but while these forests are easy to enter, it is quite difficult to emerge unscathed with the treasures.

Feng Bingwen has a clear understanding of his current power. Although he has begun to shed his mortal form and possesses supernatural powers due to the Dragon Balls, the amount of water he can control is not powerful enough for water battles, let alone for fighting enemies.

Although his physique had improved a bit, it was still difficult for him to act aggressively among ordinary people, let alone go into the forest and fight those ferocious beasts head-on.

If he remembered correctly, in earlier years, the mountains around here were plagued by tigers and wolves.

However, all of that is in the past. These wild beasts have been suppressed, and the surrounding mountains have been relatively peaceful in recent years, with no major disturbances reported.

"If I really encounter a tiger, I'll slide tackle..."

Thinking about how he would go into the mountains to find the old medicine when he was strong enough in the future, Feng Bingwen's thoughts wandered, and he imagined what would happen if he encountered the king of beasts now.

"He'll probably let out a burp!"

He had a vague understanding of the tiger's strength; a single swipe of its paw could exert a force equivalent to tons, and a normal person, even one clad in iron armor, would be utterly defeated.

This is just an ordinary tiger, but the problem is that in today's world, the original ecology of nature is well preserved, and there are also gods, Buddhas, and demons. It is quite reasonable and not surprising that a few tigers with supernatural powers would jump out of the deep mountains.

"Forget about the things from the mountains, how about we look into the things from the water?"

On his way to school, Feng Bingwen had a sudden inspiration and changed his mind. He was really unsure about venturing into the mountains, but going into the water seemed like a more reliable option.

Putting everything else aside, he's quite close to water now. Before, he would always walk around big lakes and never swim in them, because he didn't want to be infected by the messy things in the water. But now it's different.

"It's time to get in the water and learn to swim!"

The city walls of Qingshan County were now in sight. The more Feng Bingwen thought about it, the more he felt that his thinking was correct. Just then, a desperate wail came from the distant city gate.

"Why are you crying like this so early in the morning? What happened?"

In the past, if he heard someone crying so pitifully, Feng Bingwen would have avoided them to avoid upsetting them, since it wouldn't change anything anyway. But now, well, Feng Bingwen eagerly joined in the fun.

As he ran closer, Feng Bingwen could see clearly that a group of people, who seemed to be family members, were crowding around an oxcart, their faces full of sorrow, wailing and crying, preparing to go into the city.

On the oxcart, there was only one person, or rather, a corpse, wrapped in a straw mat, with water droplets still dripping from his bare feet.

"Wow, this is so creepy so early in the morning!"

"What a tragedy! How could such a healthy person just suddenly be gone?"

Whose man is this? Does anyone recognize him?

“I know him. This is Xu Laozhao from Xu Family Pancake Shop in the east of the city. He is planning to send his child to the county school, but he doesn’t have enough tuition money. Every day before dawn, he goes to the lake to pick lotus roots in order to save more money.”

"What bad luck! If this guy had gone any later, he might have been fine. Why was he running into the lake before dawn?"

"I don't have money. If I did, who wouldn't want to be snuggled up in bed with their wife early in the morning?"

"Two people have already drowned in that lake this year. That thing underwater is really rampant."