The thing that grabbed my leg in the water not only felt like a human head, but even when I stabbed it, it felt almost like stabbing a human head. After a few stabs, the skull slid right through them.

As I moved, the surrounding river water was stained red with blood, and I vaguely saw what that thing looked like.

When I first saw this thing on the water, it was covered in long black hair and looked like a swimming woman with long hair.

It wasn't until I was dragged underwater and entangled with it that I was able to see its appearance up close.

This thing has an oval-shaped body, like a large fish covered in black hair, but it doesn't have fins; instead, it has four legs.

In a daze, I saw the strange appearance of this thing, and I was so frightened that I grabbed its fur and stabbed it wildly in the side and abdomen with the knife.

"Gurgle!"

I stabbed the thing a few times, and a ring of blood mist burst out around it, blocking my view of it. Facing this monster I had never seen before, I dared not be careless and kept stabbing into the blood mist with my knife.

I stabbed it a few times, and just when I thought it was about to be killed, it actually tore off a piece of its own flesh and rushed towards me through the blood mist.

The headlamp's beam focused on the thing's face, making it appear larger and larger in my vision.

This thing has facial features similar to humans, but its two eyes are closer to its temples, and it has no nose; instead, it has two huge black holes.

This thing is not only ugly, but its face is covered with black hair, and its large mouth contains crooked but exceptionally sharp teeth.

Upon seeing this, I was reminded of a passage in the Judge's Record:

The water cave is inhabited by strange ghosts, shaped like monstrous fish, which grow hair after a hundred years. They can communicate with spirits and are called water lion ghosts. They are unruly and vicious, like to eat people, and especially like bones.

Water monkey!

Legend has it that this creature lives in water, with red hair on the males and black hair on the females.

Water monkeys are commonly known as water ghosts in folk tradition. They are also called water lion ghosts, water corpse ghosts, and fallen corpse ghosts, with different names in different regions.

According to the records of the judge, although the water monkey is an amphibian, it is very dependent on water. Once it leaves the water for too long and its fur dries, it will become weak and unable to even beat a small child. However, its strength in the water is greater than that of an adult. If a person is grabbed by it in the water, their situation will become extremely dangerous.

Legend has it that water monkeys are extremely resilient. As long as they live in flowing water, they can feed on fish and shrimp, and even filter river water. They feed on microorganisms and have a lifespan comparable to that of turtles, often living for three or four hundred years. It takes a hundred years from birth to adulthood.

Although water monkeys feed on fish and shrimp, they especially love to eat human flesh, and their favorite foods are human teeth, finger bones, and eyes.

Because water monkeys are ferocious, have long lifespans, and are extremely adaptable to harsh environments, many talented people who design underwater tombs would try to introduce water monkeys into the tombs to use as tomb guardians.

In the blink of an eye, the water monkey in front of me had rushed up to me. Seeing its mouth full of sharp teeth, I had no doubt that this thing could tear our flesh apart in one bite.

According to the records in the Judge's Records, the water monkey is covered in black fur and has thick scales on its body. Its only weaknesses are its abdomen and eyes.

I was dragged underwater by the water monkey, and I couldn't hold my breath any longer. The feeling of lack of oxygen made me dizzy. When I saw the water monkey's open mouth, I stabbed the knife into its mouth.

"Pfft!"

As I plunged the knife into the water monkey's mouth, a spurt of blood gushed out, completely obscuring my vision. The water monkey, after being struck, finally calmed down, convulsing as it was swept away by the current.

I dealt with the water monkey and quickly surfaced, panting heavily. Looking around, I saw blood splattering on the water beside me, and the whole scene was in chaos.

"Splash!"

A few seconds later, Jiang Man also emerged from the water and stabbed the water monkey that was thrashing about on the surface.

I grabbed the rope and rushed to Jiang Man's side, kicked the water monkey away, and held Jiang Man's arm: "Are you hurt?"

Jiang Man shook her head: "Don't worry, I'm a much better swimmer than you think."

Jiang Man and I dealt with the water monkey, and the others gradually surfaced.

We were attacked by three water monkeys. Perhaps because Qu Ruilin was injured in the leg first and there was a bloody smell, the attack was the most serious. The rat-like garment on his left forearm was torn open, and the exposed flesh was exactly the same as the wound on the arm of the Wei family member.

The Wei family member who drowned earlier had his face gnawed by the water monkeys, leaving it a mangled mess, and his throat was bitten open, completely losing his life.

Looking at the corpses floating beside him, Song Laosan, still somewhat shaken, asked me, "Did you guys see what the thing in the water looked like? It looked like a few dogs."

"It's a water monkey!"

As I watched the blood gradually being washed away in the water, I said, "According to ancient records, water monkeys are incredibly strong, love to eat human flesh, and are ferocious. Once encountered, they will fight to the death!"

Qu Ruilin bound his injured arm with a strip of cloth: "Is there any way to control these things?"

"Quicklime and Eight Directions Soil! Eight Directions Soil refers to soil taken from the eight directions of the Eight Trigrams, with the dragon's lair as the focal point!"

Wei Shengnan paused for a moment: "But this is the first time I've ever seen a water monkey. I didn't prepare any of these things before I set off."

Old Song nodded: "These things are indeed troublesome, but the good news is that we haven't found any jade worms or those strange fish that look like blades in the water yet! Otherwise, the situation would be even worse!"

Just as Song Laosan was speaking, Lin Que suddenly shone his headlamp onto the water beside him: "Everyone be careful, another water monkey just swam by!"

I looked in the direction the sparrow was shining, but before I could see anything, Manjing suddenly pointed behind me: "Brother, look over here, isn't there something there?"

Actually, even without Manjing saying anything, I heard a splashing sound of water coming from behind.

Several flashlight beams were drawn by Manjing's voice and shone towards the river behind us.

Under the light, a dark shadow was surging toward them, looking as if someone had poured a large bucket of ink into the water.

I saw what looked like a strand of hair floating on the water, and my lips trembled as I roared, "More water monkeys are swimming over! Manjing, cut the safety rope, run!!"