What is meant by throwing one's weight around? The current state of Jin Jia and the little paper crane is precisely that. While the little paper crane and Jin Jia aren't walking sideways, and their demeanor is far from arrogant, people give Jin Jia a wide berth wherever he goes. His sheer size takes up the space of four or five people, effectively creating an oppressive, overbearing presence.
The little paper crane has extensive experience exploring and is always adept at finding places where interesting events are unfolding. Although Jin Jia is largely indifferent to external affairs, he nonetheless obliges the little paper crane's wishes.
While Ji Yuan and Huli were searching the city for the foxes' creditors, the little paper crane and Jin Jia wandered all over the city.
The two of them together even de-escalated two arguments. Before they knew it, afternoon had arrived, and Jin Jia and the little paper crane found themselves on a relatively secluded side street.
Chirp!
The little paper crane flapped its wings, and Jin Jia walked towards a narrower alley on the right. Due to the obstruction of buildings on both sides, the light here was noticeably dimmer.
Even though Jin Jia, transformed into a human, was enormous, he moved with barely a sound. Additionally, with no pedestrians present, Jin Jia glided swiftly, his steps almost ethereal. He crossed the long, secluded alley in an instant, quickly reaching its other side.
As soon as they passed through this alley, the scene abruptly opened up. The first thing that came into sight was a pond as large as a football field. Its green waters lay still and unrippled, with no lotus leaves or weeds on its surface.
Many green trees surrounded it. In a city like Lu Ping, it could be considered a peaceful retreat within the bustling city. But strangely, it was strangely devoid of people. One would expect it to be a popular spot for children to play, even if it wasn't a commercial area.
But in reality, there wasn't a single person around such a large pond. Of course, the surrounding houses were also relatively far away; the nearest house was well over twenty zhang from the path at the pond's edge.
This situation was absolutely abnormal in Lu Ping City. Relative to the Zuyue Kingdom, Lu Ping City was a place where land was extremely valuable. Yet here, there wasn't even anyone washing clothes by the pond. It wasn't a matter of the time of day either; though the sky was bright, it was approaching evening, a common time for washing clothes, cleaning vegetables, and preparing meals.
After passing through the alley, Jin Jia stopped, and together with the little paper crane perched on his head, their gaze was fixed on the large pond a short distance away.
Chirp!
As the little paper crane chirped, Jin Jia took another step, slowly approaching the pond, finally reaching its edge.
Steps leading into the water were visible at various points around the pond, but no one was washing clothes or vegetables on these steps. As for the water in the pond, it seemed clear, yet its depth was indiscernible, nor did it appear murky.
The little paper crane craned its neck, occasionally tilting its head, contemplating the water's surface.
Woof woof woof woof woof... woof woof woof woof...
A series of barks suddenly rang out from some distance to their side, capturing the little paper crane's attention. A large black dog darted out from an alley slightly to the right, trotting slowly towards the pond's edge, barking furiously at Jin Jia.
Woof woof woof... woof woof woof...
Its bared fangs and ferocious demeanor, coupled with its loud, aggressive barks, were enough to make any normal person flee in fear. Yet Jin Jia remained motionless, only slowly turning around when the barking approached a certain distance.
When Jin Jia's cold and intensely oppressive gaze fell upon it, the ferocious barking immediately ceased, and the large black dog's steps also froze.
The large black dog that had arrived was precisely Old Hei, the old dog from the Lu family butcher shop. Since all the meat had been sold early today and the shop had closed ahead of schedule, Old Hei had naturally finished his work ahead of schedule.
The little paper crane looked at the big black dog, filled with curiosity for this large canine, while the big black dog stared fixedly at Jin Jia, its muscles tensed. Jin Jia's expression remained unchanged, still looking at the black dog with a cold, sidelong gaze of disdain.
Then, as Jin Jia took a step forward, the big black dog retreated a step. If anyone familiar with this big black dog had been nearby, they would have been utterly astonished to see this scene. However, if they had then taken a closer look at Jin Jia, they would probably have understood completely.
A low growl...
The black dog bared its teeth, lowering its body and emitting a series of threatening growls. However, after Jin Jia took a few steps forward, he suddenly stopped and turned to the side, while the little paper crane had already taken flight, quickly alighting on someone's shoulder.
"Master!"
Jin Jia bowed slightly, his bow impeccable. Under normal circumstances, Jin Jia would only show such deference to Ji Yuan.
The person who arrived was Ji Yuan, who had just helped the foxes settle their debts, accompanied by Huli. Of course, Huli also followed closely behind Ji Yuan.
Chirp-chirp!
The little paper crane stood on Ji Yuan's shoulder, continuously tapping its wing towards the large pond. Ji Yuan smiled and nodded slightly, as if he could understand what the little paper crane's clear chirps signified.
"I understand."
"Hmm, you wanted to get Jin Jia away from the pond just now, didn't you? What's in this pond?"
As he spoke, Ji Yuan turned to look at the big black dog. Upon Ji Yuan's arrival and observing Jin Jia's actions, the big black dog visibly relaxed a great deal.
After asking this question, Ji Yuan temporarily ignored the big black dog and walked to the edge of the pond, his hands behind his back, looking at the stretch of green water. He had once toured Lu Ping City at night, but he had merely passed through and hadn't paid particular attention to this body of water.
Woof woof woof...
Seeing Ji Yuan approach so closely, the big black dog barked nervously. Ji Yuan turned to look at it and smiled.
"It's alright."
Hearing Ji Yuan's words, the big black dog also cautiously approached the pond's edge, barking a few times towards the water.
Woof woof woof... woof woof woof woof...
"Something's in there?"
Ji Yuan's gaze returned to the pond, his eyes widening slightly. In his insightful gaze, the scene of light and color transformed; the movement of water vapor and spirits in the lake became even clearer, like countless fish swimming beneath the surface.
"It's a place where wind gathers and water accumulates, and the water must be quite deep."
Although this pond's water appeared still, in Ji Yuan's eyes, there were actually water currents flowing beneath the surface, indicating that the pond was connected to an underground source.
Ji Yuan gently waved his hand, and a stream of water slowly rose, transforming into a supple line of water that flew to his side. A subtle fishy odor also accompanied the water's appearance. Ji Yuan had actually vaguely smelled it when he first approached the pond, but now it was simply more pronounced.
Ji Yuan reached out and touched the pond water, and was momentarily startled.
"This water is so cold!"
Although it was only early spring, cold water was normal, but this pond water was unnaturally icy cold.
After a moment's thought, Ji Yuan extended his hand again, and as if fanning, he gently swept it left and right across the pond.
The next moment, the entire pond's water was stirred by Ji Yuan's gesture.
Whoosh... whoosh...
One mass of water shifted left, the other right. On both sides, the water level of the pond rose considerably, while the middle became completely empty. Ji Yuan's gentle wave had actually caused the entire pond's water to separate into two sides, revealing a path wide enough for two carriages in the middle, revealing the pond's bottom directly.
The deepest part of the entire pond was approximately one zhang, but at the center of this one-zhang deep bottom, there was actually a hole the size of a carriage. Water was in the hole, and now that the pond water on both sides had been separated by Ji Yuan, this hole resembled a spring, continuously emitting water. The flow was slow but steady.
When the pond changed, the big black dog had instinctively retreated several steps, its canine face full of astonishment as it looked at Ji Yuan. After a long moment, it slowly approached once more.
Ji Yuan sniffed, and the faint fishy smell became even stronger than before, accompanied by an increasing chill.
In just a few breaths, the water flow from the spring suddenly began to accelerate, and the coldness intensified, and the fishy odor grew heavier.
Woof woof woof... woof woof woof woof...
The big black dog became very nervous again, standing on the bank and barking loudly and furiously at the spring in the middle of the pond, while also pacing back and forth as it barked.
Whine... woof woof... whine... woof woof woof...
"Alright, alright, stop barking for now."
Ji Yuan frowned, looking with serene seriousness at the center of the pond. The big black dog, hearing Ji Yuan's words, did indeed stop barking, though its muscles remained tensed, crouching slightly and baring its fangs, its gaze fixed on the center of the pond.
"This is interesting. I was mistaken then. I thought the death of Lu Ping City's City God was due to the wolf demon of that time and other fiends in the Zuyue region. Now it appears to be entirely different!"
Whoosh... whoosh...
A surge of water gushed from the spring, and a white shadow continuously flickered below. Ji Yuan flicked his sleeve, and a black light flew out, transforming into an open calligraphy scroll before him: the Sword Intent Scroll.
"Seal the surroundings."
"As you command!"
A chorus of crisp sounds answered in unison from the small characters, then streaks of ink light shot out around them, and a hazy veil instantly rose, enclosing the area.
Boom!
The pond's waters erupted, and a white figure ascended, twisting...
Ji Yuan touched the Immortal Binding Rope coiled in his hand, and with a side glance at Jin Jia, he said with calm composure.
"Seize it."
"As you command!"
Jin Jia bowed slightly. The next moment, he pushed off with his full might, and the stone slab ground by the pond seemed to undulate with a wave of earth and stone.
Thump!
With a single sound, the ground was unscathed, and Jin Jia had instantly leaped into the pond.
[1 minute ago] Chapter 2904: Chasing and Killing
[2 minutes ago] Chapter 1156: Emperor's Fangs
[2 minutes ago] Chapter 1275
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