Chapter 51
Of course, the girl wanted to leave; she dreamed of freedom.
The prison was divided into many areas, and she was not in the same area as Leng Huai.
She had never met Leng Huai, so naturally she didn't believe what he said.
"How could I possibly believe something you say when you're such trash?" The girl dismissed Leng Huai's words with disdain, thinking he was just trying to distract her and then deliver a fatal blow. She immediately became wary and moved away from him.
"You'll listen to what Mu Tai says, right?"
"Wh...what?" The girl's expression froze.
"Mu Xue, before you went on stage today, your brother specifically told me to protect you. There are many people watching now. If you don't want to give yourself away, continue what you did to me before."
Mu Xue gritted her teeth, pondering the truthfulness of his words.
She made a quick decision, stood up, and kicked Leng Huai twice: "You're utterly useless! Get up! Stop pretending to be dead!"
After shouting a few more times, she walked toward the flag in the middle.
She raised the flag and waved it.
After one side defeats the other, they win by simply raising their flag.
The surrounding audience erupted in thunderous applause.
Of course, those who applauded were the ones who bet on Mu Xue to win.
Meanwhile, the side that suppressed Leng Huaiying was naturally filled with lamentations.
"What happened? Why did we lose without even fighting today? No way, we need the organizers to refund our money!"
"That's right, refund! Refund!" Chaos gradually broke out in the audience, with everyone causing trouble for the organizers.
Unbeknownst to them, the two children who were on the field had disappeared without a trace.
Leng Huai led Mu Xue through the crowd and ran towards the gate, which was guarded by many people. Fortunately, some of the guards had been reassigned to deal with the commotion in the arena, so there were far fewer guards at the gate.
Leng Huai and Mu Xue took off their clothes from the arena to avoid attracting attention.
They seized the opportunity and followed the flow of people out.
The two of them got out without incident, feeling a surge of excitement.
"Where is my brother?" Mu Xue asked anxiously.
Leng Huai: "Don't panic, he's just ahead. Let's go and meet him."
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching them, Leng Huai led Mu Xue and ran towards a small alley.
Sure enough, at a corner, Mu Xue finally saw her brother Mu Tai's figure.
The brother and sister hadn't seen each other for a long time, and they embraced. Mu Xue's eyes were filled with tears.
"Brother, we finally escaped!"
"We have to thank Brother Leng for his help." Mu Tai glanced at Leng Huai, who was smiling at them.
Mu Xue nodded and bowed to Leng Huai: "Thank you."
Leng Huai said, "No need to thank me, it's nothing."
The three of them looked at each other and smiled.
Mu Tai glanced at the deserted alley behind him: "We'll reach the dock if we go through this alley. We need to find a boat to get out of here!"
"Let's get going!" Mu Xue was still a little shaken from the harrowing escape and wanted to leave as soon as possible, never to return.
The three arrived at the dock and happened to find a small boat with an elderly boatman lying on the bow, sunbathing.
"Boatman, we'd like to go to the other side of the river. Could you give us a ride?" Mu Tai said politely.
The boatman saw that the three of them were children and didn't want to take them.
Seeing that the boatman ignored them, Leng Huai used his magic to grab the boatman by the neck without saying a word.
"Help, help me! Spare me!"
The boatman's magic was not strong, and he was pinched so hard that he had no choice but to agree to let them board the boat.
The boatman thought to himself that he was going to lose money again today, since the three children looked like they had no money.
Unexpectedly, Leng Huai took out a small piece of gold and handed it to the boatman.
The boatman's eyes widened as he carefully examined the little boy and the other two children in front of him.
The little boy in front of him was handsome, while the other two children were slightly less so, but still quite good-looking. He immediately had a plan.
The boatman warmly welcomed Leng Huai and his companions onto the boat, his sudden change of attitude greatly surprising all three of them.
After boarding the ship, Mu Xue quietly asked Leng Huai, "How do you have so much money?"
“A woman wearing a black mask gave it to me,” Leng Huai said.
Leng Huai was also very puzzled. He was dozing off in the prison when he suddenly opened his eyes and saw a woman standing in front of him.
The others in the prison seemed unable to see her. His intuition told him that the woman in front of him had ill intentions, but the next second she stuffed a bunch of things into his hands. When he opened them, he found that they were gold. By the time he wanted to ask her anything, the woman had already disappeared.
Mu Xue muttered, "Why haven't I ever had such good fortune?"
If a stranger had given her money, they would never have encountered a swindler and been captured as slaves.
Mu Tai tugged at Mu Xue's sleeve, signaling her to keep her voice down.
"Where are you going?" the boatman asked.
"As long as it's not here, do you know where it is on the other side of the river?" Leng Huai asked.
Boatman: "On the other side of the river is the Southern Demon Realm, which is separated from the Northern Demon Realm by only one river."
“Alright, then let’s go to the Southern Demon Realm,” Leng Huai said.
After boarding the boat, Mu Tai kept a close eye on the boatman's movements. Ever since he received the money, the boatman had been stealing glances at Leng Huai. This boatman had ill intentions, and his two companions were careless; he had to be constantly vigilant.
Mu Xue finally gained her freedom and no longer had to suffer those people's bullying. While on the boat, she looked around at the scenery with wonder; the mountains and rivers were so beautiful, and the air was so fresh.
Leng Huai was pondering the next step, as they would arrive in the Southern Demon Realm by taking this waterway.
The Northern Demon Realm is chaotic and hierarchically divided. Ordinary demons here have no rights whatsoever; they are simply the lowest of the low, at the mercy of others.
He didn't want to stay here; he didn't like it here.
I wonder what the situation will be like in the Southern Demon Realm?
The boatman rowed diligently, sitting opposite three children. He noticed the child staring at him; the little boy was clever and quite wary of him.
They're just three kids. How clever can they be? Once they're in this water, it's the river monster's domain!
He smiled kindly: "The Southern Demon Realm is not far ahead. It's much more peaceful than the Northern Demon Realm, and there aren't as many rules. But entering the Southern Demon Realm isn't easy; you'll need someone to introduce you."
Mu Xue frowned and asked in confusion, "Introduction? How do I find someone to introduce me?"
"After all, I am the boatman who crosses the river between the two banks, so naturally I can be your introducer, but..." The boatman smiled broadly and gestured with his hands.
Leng Huai immediately understood the boatman's meaning: if they wanted to enter the Southern Demon Realm, they had to ask him to be their introducer.
Mu Tai stared straight ahead, lost in thought.
Leng Huai didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "How much money do you need?"
The boatman smiled and said, "Since you are all young and it's your first time riding on my boat, I'll give you a discount. It will only cost two hundred taels of gold."
Mu Xue's eyes widened in disbelief. "Two hundred taels of gold?? You're not kidding, are you?? That price could buy a whole mine!"
If you had that much money, wouldn't you be able to do whatever you want?
Mu Xue quietly asked Leng Huai, "Do you have that much money?"
Leng Huai answered softly, "Yes."
Mu Xue was shocked again, but she pretended to be calm: "He just gave him enough gold to live on for ten years, and he still deliberately wants so much money! He's actually testing us. Let's not fall for his trick. We don't even know if we need an introducer to enter the Southern Demon Realm!"
Leng Huai had no concept of money. He nodded and remained silent.
He had silver notes worth 100,000 taels of gold on him, and countless gold bars and ingots in his expandable pouch. All of it had been given to him by the woman in the black mask.
Mu Tai replied, "Two hundred taels of gold is not difficult. As long as you take us to the other side, we will give it to you immediately."
Mu Xue was a little anxious and couldn't help but call out, "Brother!"
Mu Tai glanced at her, signaling her to be quiet.
Mu Xue didn't know what Mu Tai meant, but her brother had always been a very decisive person.
She was impulsive and single-minded, far less calm, composed, and wise than her brother, so she had no choice but to shut up and stop talking.
The boatman was taken aback when the three children agreed to his request, his eyes darting around. They agreed so quickly—did they really have that much money? Had he underestimated them?
He had been secretly glancing at Leng Huai. The child wasn't wearing fancy clothes; the only thing visible was the cloth bag tied around his waist. But the bag was empty, not like it contained a lot of money. Yet, he had just taken out that gold ingot from there, which made him a little suspicious.
Just in case, he added, "You agreed so quickly, do you have that much money? I always take the money first and then do the work, so you'd better show some sincerity first!"
Leng Huai looked at Mu Tai, and Mu Tai nodded to him.
Leng Huai then took out a silver note from the seemingly ordinary cloth bag and waved it in front of the boatman.
The boatman wasn't blind; the sign clearly stated 100,000 taels of gold. His eyes widened, he swallowed hard, and his gaze towards these three unknown children was now filled with newfound respect.
Just as he reached for the silver note, Leng Huai put it away and put it in his cloth bag.
Seeing that he had missed his target, the boatman had no choice but to withdraw his hand and said dryly, "Don't worry, don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who's greedy for money. Since you have money, I'll do the job and then you can pay me back."
Mu Xue threatened, "Don't think you can fool us just because we're kids. We're very shrewd! If you try anything funny, we'll leave right now and make sure you don't get a single penny!"
The boatman smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Why would I lie to you just because you're children! I, the River God, have been ferrying people here for hundreds of years, and no one has ever said a bad word about me!"
Mu Xue was skeptical. She didn't have a good impression of the boatman; his shifty eyes and cunning appearance disgusted her.
The journey was somewhat silent. The boatman would occasionally try to find out where they had come from, but none of the three of them responded. After asking a few questions and seeing that no one was paying attention, he naturally got bored and stopped asking.
After sitting on the boat for a long time, Mu Xue felt drowsy and wanted to sleep, but she dared not sleep, fearing that the boatman might do something bad.
"Oh no, the weather's about to change!" the boatman exclaimed suddenly, glancing at the sky.
The originally sunny weather suddenly turned into a storm with dark clouds and strong winds.
The already flimsy wooden boat began to wobble and sway.
"Watch out!" Leng Huai shouted.
Mu Xue's face changed, turning pale with fright. She clung tightly to the hull, afraid of falling overboard.
Mu Tai frowned, a rare sight indeed, his usual composure vanished. He stared intently at the water below: "Everyone be careful, there's something in the water!"
A strong wind swept by, and the calm river surface seemed to be whipped into turbulent waves by an invisible behemoth.
The river water kept crashing against the hull, making the already flimsy wooden boat rattle and creak, as if the boat would fall apart at any moment.
Mu Xue spat, "Such a dilapidated ship, and they still dare to accept so much silver! They have no shame!"
She turned her head and saw that the boatman had disappeared without a trace.
"There's something underwater!" Mu Tai exclaimed solemnly, staring intently at the underwater surface.
"Oh no! The boatman has disappeared!" Mu Xue shouted in fear.
"I...I can't swim!" Mu Xue was on the verge of tears.
Leng Huai: "Don't be afraid! Mu Xue! I can swim. Even if we fall in, I'll save you!"
With tears in her eyes, Mu Xue clung tightly to the swaying boat, praying that heaven would not let her fall into the icy water.
But fate had other plans.
Something in the water seemed to have its eye on them and began attacking their small boat.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The object was like a hard block of iron, crashing against the fragile wooden boat. The sound was deafening, almost deafening.
The initial impact was relatively weak, but it gradually became more and more violent.
Mu Xue and Mu Tai transformed into spiders, using their spider legs to firmly grip the sides of the boat and prevent it from capsizing.
Leng Huai lay prone, staring into the water, eager to see what exactly was in it!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com