Chapter 9

Stunned by his aura, Fu Jing and Yuan Xi’s expressions looked like they cracked wide open.

Fu Jing rubbed his forehead, only Master would get tricked by Yuan Xi like that.

The river was eerily still, like a pool of dead water, not a single ripple in sight.

The air around them was unnaturally quiet.

The village chief and the villagers stood far off, casting worried glances in their direction.

Suddenly, Yuan Xi got the urge to mess with Fu Jing.

She nudged him with her elbow and winked exaggeratedly.

“Your turn. Give it something savage.”

In Yuan Xi’s eyes, Fu Jing had always been brought up like a proper little gentleman, prim and proper, never seen him raise his voice at anyone.

That got her curious.

Fu Jing’s ears turned a shade red.

He shot her a glance, let out a soft humph, then stepped forward a few paces with his sword in hand.

The hem of his black brocade robe swayed, contrasting against his deep-blue inner clothes.

His steps were steady and graceful, his presence striking.

His face was like carved jade, eyes like shooting stars, handsome and dashing, with an imposing aura that couldn’t be ignored.

He took a deep breath, gathering the spiritual energy within him, channeling it straight into his sword.

As he moved, the blade began to glow faintly.

Then, with a sudden swing, a sharp wave of sword energy burst forth from the tip of the blade, hurtling straight at the river.

With a thunderous “BANG!” the sword energy cracked open the river like a bolt of lightning, sending up a massive spray of water.

The splash flew high into the air.

Everyone was dumbstruck by his display, staring at him in stunned silence.

That out-of-nowhere burst of water sprayed straight toward Yuan Xi and Bai Yichen.

Fu Jing quickly stepped in front of Yuan Xi, taking the full splash on his back, completely soaked through.

Bai Yichen got drenched to the bone, water down to his socks, looking like a sorry drowned rat.

He glared at Fu Jing furiously.

“You little brat!”

Yuan Xi covered her mouth, laughing in secret.

“Knew it, my brother Jing would rather throw hands than throw words.”

Fu Jing lowered his head and looked at her, only to see her grinning like a fox.

She’d gotten bolder lately, always looking for a chance to mess with him.

His heart turned to mush, but a faint blush crept up his face as he said with some embarrassment, “Yuan Xi!”

Yuan Xi immediately changed her tune.

“Brother Jing, you’re so mighty!”

Just then, she sensed a powerful force rising from the bottom of the river, the ground even trembled a little.

Her heart skipped.

This water beast was no joke.

As she was thinking, huge ripples suddenly broke across the river surface.

A monster that looked like a giant dragon burst out of the water.

Everyone finally saw its full form and no wonder folks said its hands were as big as a cow’s.

It was a giant dragon.

The dragon came at Yuan Xi with teeth bared and claws out.

Seeing this, Yuan Xi quickly shoved Fu Jing aside.

Her toes tapped lightly on the ground as she twisted her body to dodge the attack.

At the same time, she lifted her finger.

A single droplet of water formed at her fingertip and shot toward the water beast, transforming into a piercing sword energy aimed right at its throat.

The water beast was struck, howling in pain as it turned and lunged at Fu Jing.

Fu Jing flickered out of sight in a flash, dodging the attack before leaping onto the beast’s back, plunging his sword straight into its spine.

“ROAR!” A deafening dragon’s cry shook the air.

Bai Yichen raised his sword and jumped into the fray.

One wave of sword energy after another flew at the beast.

It twisted and turned, trying to dodge, but couldn’t keep up.

Right then, Yuan Xi spotted a wound under the beast’s front forearm, blood still dripping.

A thought came to her—Go for the weak spot.

She focused all her strength into another droplet of water and fired it at the wound.

That droplet turned into a deadly blade and hit its mark with pinpoint accuracy.

The beast let out a blood-curdling scream, and its massive body crashed down with a boom.

The river water exploded into waves several feet high, drenching everyone nearby.

Yuan Xi let out a breath of relief, a small smile tugging at her lips.

She glanced at Fu Jing, her eyes full of admiration.

Not bad for his first monster fight.

Fu Jing smiled back at her, the silent understanding between them clear as day.

Yuan Xi walked up to the fallen beast, ready to check if it was really dead.

However, just as she was about to get close to the water beast, its body suddenly twitched, then snapped its eyes open and swept its thick tail toward Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi didn’t have time to dodge.

She was about to get smacked right there and then but at the critical moment, Fu Jing yanked her straight into his arms and swiftly retreated backward.

The beast’s tail slammed down hard on the outer houses.

Bang bang, a whole section collapsed like it was made of paper.

Then the tail hit the ground with another heavy thud, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

Taking advantage of everyone being caught off guard, the water beast shot straight back into the river and disappeared beneath the surface.

Once Fu Jing landed and steadied himself with Yuan Xi in his arms, he let go of her and asked with concern, “You okay?”

Yuan Xi shook her head.

“I’m fine.”

She glanced at the surface of the river with worry.

“It ran.”

Bai Yichen looked at the blood-stained riverbank and said in a low voice, “It’s injured pretty badly, it won’t get far.”

The water beast had retreated to tend its wounds.

For now, it wouldn’t be attacking the villagers.

Yuan Xi agreed to stay for the time being and promised to get rid of the beast as soon as possible.

The villagers were overjoyed.

Having witnessed their skills firsthand, they finally felt some peace of mind.

The village chief had the villagers prepare two rooms for them.

By dusk, a stretch of red clouds spread across the sky, casting a soft orange hue over the land.

In Yudie Village, smoke rose lazily from every household’s chimney.

The women and elders were helping to cook.

The men were rebuilding the collapsed wooden huts.

Fu Jing and Bai Yichen joined the men to carry timber and hammer in nails.

The sound of tools echoed in the air, mixed with laughter.

It was a complete turnaround from the earlier gloom, lively and full of energy.

Yuan Xi strolled near the houses by the riverbank, setting up barriers in a few vulnerable spots that were likely to be attacked.

The village chief walked over, puzzled by the way she was fiddling with stones.

“Elder Yuan Xi, this is…?”

Yuan Xi stared at the river with a worried look.

“Even though it’s injured badly, we still have to be on guard in case it pulls a desperate comeback. These are my barriers. Make sure someone keeps watch here. Don’t let anyone mess with them. As long as the barriers hold, that thing can’t come up.”

The village chief suddenly understood.

He cupped his hands in a deep bow, eyes shining with emotion.

“Thank you, Elder! I’ll make sure someone guards them well!”

“Mm.”

She thought for a bit, then asked anyway, “Village Chief, did you ever invite anyone else before to deal with this water beast?”

The chief’s expression turned a bit sour, like he had something hard to say.

Under Yuan Xi’s sharp gaze, he finally nodded with difficulty.

“We did.”

“The injuries on the beast were they caused by that person?”

“No.”

The village chief’s face went pale, and he gave up trying to hide it.

“We did invite a Taoist priest to help with the water beast, but unfortunately, he was killed during the fight. That thing’s too powerful. The priest couldn’t even put a scratch on it.”

Then who was it that injured it? It’s a dragon, an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to hurt it at all.

Something’s fishy here.

Yuan Xi’s heart skipped a beat.

Could there be someone out there even stronger than her?

The thought made her fall silent.

“Then those injuries?”

“I’m not sure. Every time it shows up, it hides in the water. We’ve never seen its whole body.”

Alright.

No point asking here, she wasn’t going to get any answers.

Now that the barriers were done, she had the village chief assign someone to guard them.

Just then, Bai Yichen and Fu Jing walked over.

Seeing Yuan Xi lost in thought, they asked, “What’s wrong, Senior Sister?”

Yuan Xi told them about the conversation she just had with the village chief, and voiced her doubts.