Chapter 82: Leaving Quickly

About a hundred li south of Chunhui Prefecture city, the Chunmu River forms a long, winding stretch flanked by hills. Though not the widest part of the river, it still spans over a hundred zhang across. This section is undoubtedly the deepest part of the Chunmu River, and its currents are relatively calm.

Beneath the riverbed, amongst layers of labyrinthine water plants and rock formations, something extraordinary exists. A massive, dark bubble clings to the river bottom, its surface covered in sand, pebbles, and aquatic plants. Yet, within this bubble lies a world of its own.

A grand estate, larger in scale than the River God Temple outside Chunhui Prefecture, is situated here.

While parts of the estate are constructed from piled pebbles and others are hewn from massive mountain boulders, it possesses a magnificent, unified aura. Similar to mortal architecture, it features pavilions, towers, grand halls, and spacious rooms.

In the center of the backyard, on a large patch of soft sand, a scaleless white dragon-flood lay comfortably napping. From its appearance, apart from the lack of scales, it was remarkably close to a true dragon.

If not for the white whiskers occasionally flicking and producing tiny bubbles, a mortal seeing this estate might even believe there was no water, which illustrates the remarkable transparency of the water within.

At the entrance to the estate's bubble, a shimmering plaque with a faint glow hung high above, bearing the three neatly written characters "Chunmu Manor."

An old turtle was swimming towards the entrance, carrying over a dozen jars of fine wine on its back. The jars were bound by water magic, preventing them from floating away or being saturated by the river water.

As soon as the old turtle's four feet touched the riverbed, a sharp voice called out.

"Stop! This is the River God's estate; unauthorized entry is forbidden!"

Two dark shadows, one on either side, gradually revealed their forms: humanoid monsters with bluish-green bodies, including their faces, and sharp fangs. Their long hair floated in the water above their heads.

"Venerable Yakshas, it's me, the old turtle, it's me!"

The old turtle quickly unloaded the fine wine from its back, letting the jars float suspended in front of it, buoyed by the current.

"These are excellent wines from various regions of Dazhen! Besides 'Thousand-Day Spring,' there's also 'Drunken Tonight' and 'Dukang'—all superb wines. This old turtle specifically brought them as an offering to the River God. I hope the Venerable Yakshas will make an exception and report my presence so that I may have an audience with the River God!"

The old turtle leaned back, its front limbs clasped together like a human bowing amidst the waves and waterweeds.

"Old turtle, you still haven't given up! The River God is napping; we dare not disturb him casually!"

"Venerable Yakshas, you busy people are often forgetful! The River God travels the river every summer, and the summer solstice is fast approaching, so he must be awake. Please make an exception; the River God will be pleased with good wine!"

The old turtle continuously bowed and used every ounce of its persuasive ability, finally convincing the two Yakshas.

"Alright, wait here while I go report!"

With that, one of the Yakshas retreated, jogging through the current into the River God's estate.

A moment later, where the white dragon-flood lay on the sandy ground, the Yaksha had just arrived when the dragon-flood murmured.

"Has that turtle come again?"

The Yaksha quickly bowed its head.

"Reporting to you, Master, it is indeed that old turtle. This year, he has again brought many jars of fine wine, claiming they are from various parts of Dazhen."

The white dragon-flood, over twenty zhang long, opened its eyes a slit, revealing an amber glow within.

"Having drunk his wine for so many years, let's grant him an audience this year. Go and bring him in!"

"Yes!"

After excusing itself, the Yaksha quickly ran back to the estate entrance.

"The River God permits you to enter. Follow me!"

Overjoyed to hear this, the old turtle thanked profusely, dragging the fine wine along as it followed the Yaksha into the River God's estate.

Although the estate boasted pavilions and towers, it was exceptionally quiet and desolate. It seemed only the old turtle and the Yaksha were moving forward, with no other fish or shrimp to be seen.

"The Master's dragon aura is too potent," the Yaksha explained, "knowing that ordinary aquatic creatures would be extremely uncomfortable staying here for too long. He orders them to reside in other residences, which is why it appears rather desolate."

The Yaksha, as if knowing what the old turtle was thinking, offered this explanation.

As they approached the backyard's sandy ground, the old turtle felt increasing pressure. After passing through a large gatehouse, a screen stood before it. As its gaze swept to either side, it could already glimpse the fearsome dragon body.

"Master, the black-backed old turtle has arrived. Your humble servant withdraws!"

Seeing the Yaksha bow and retreat, the old turtle shuddered and quickly bowed towards the screen.

"Wuchong, the black-backed old turtle of Chunmu River, pays his respects to the River God!"

"Hmm... come closer and speak!"

The white dragon-flood spoke slowly. The old turtle quickly dragged the fine wine, crawled around the screen, and its mind froze as it beheld the entire white dragon-flood.

"Is the name Wuchong one you chose yourself?"

The white dragon-flood's eyes were slightly open, and the faint glow under its gaze paralyzed the old turtle.

"Replying to the River God, it is indeed a name this old turtle chose for itself."

The white dragon-flood's head lifted slightly, its maw parting to reveal sharp, cold fangs. A suffocating feeling washed over the old turtle, as if it was about to be swallowed, a fate entirely possible from a creature of the dragon-flood lineage.

"You old turtle, though you have cultivated for a long time without significant progress, you are skilled in divination. Don't you know that, at its core, this scaleless flood-dragon of mine is only marginally stronger than you?"

The old turtle prostrated itself on the ground, its front limbs pressed down, its head touching the ground, as if kowtowing.

"River God, you know the suffering of us demon beasts, watching my remaining lifespan being wasted. Aside from begging you for guidance, this old turtle has no other way."

Watching the old turtle continuously kowtow, the white dragon-flood's expression remained unchanged.

"In these years, you have helped some mortals achieve great success, even frequently using divination to give warnings for this. But has anyone ever repaid you?"

The white dragon-flood's question silenced the old turtle.

"I could help you establish a turtle statue in a temple and use the power of incense and popular prayer to help you transform into human form. But do you know the price of such a transformation...?"

As the white dragon-flood spoke, it lifted its head, its dragon whiskers swaying as it gazed at the old turtle.

A jar of Thousand-Day Spring floated up; its clay seal automatically opened, and clear liquid flew out, drawn into the dragon-flood's mouth.

"The wine is quite good..."

Just then, a wisp of profound yellow qi, like smoke moving through water, appeared above the estate. The white dragon-flood, sensing something, had just turned its head to look when this qi vanished into the top of its head, and a wave of dizziness washed over it.

"Ugh..."

The water in the sandy courtyard suddenly swelled. The fine sand, as if struck by an explosion, rose up in all directions within the transparent water, filling the air.

The old turtle's four feet clung desperately to the ground, yet it was still pushed backward by the force of the current.

The white dragon-flood in front of it swayed back and forth as if drunk.

*'Is this wine really that potent?'*

This absurd thought had barely surfaced before the old turtle dismissed it.

The disturbance in the estate subsided after about three to five breaths. The white dragon-flood still shook its head, somewhat unsteady, as if a mortal had chugged a large bowl of potent tonic wine.

The old turtle had slid to a corner of the courtyard, trembling and daring not to move. The constant pervasive dragon aura from in front of it made it feel doubly pressured.

"Master, what's wrong?"

A Yaksha rushed in from outside, its voice filled with alarm.

"I don't know either... I just feel as if I've been struck hard, dizzy and disoriented..."

The white dragon-flood shook its head. As its mind cleared, a peculiar sensation arose, and it looked at the old turtle and the Yaksha.

"You two wait here; I'll be back shortly!"

With that, the white dragon-flood surged and writhed, parting the water as it swam out of Chunmu Manor in an instant. It transformed into a faint white shadow and headed north.

About a quarter of an hour later, somewhere in the river section near Chunmu Manor, the water "boomed" open. An indistinct dragon shadow, invisible to the naked eye, transformed into a streak of light and ascended away.

On a nearby tower boat, many people watched with utter astonishment as huge waves inexplicably erupted on the distant river surface.

A moment later, a wealthy-looking old man, over fifty years of age, entered the main hall of the River God Temple. His gaze swept through the throng of incense-burning visitors, but he found nothing. Finally, he walked to the large incense burner in front of the idol to investigate, his eyes instantly fixing on a single stick of incense.

This stick of incense had been pushed to a corner and tilted in the incense burner by other burnt incense sticks. Only a small portion of its body had burned before it extinguished.

"Patron, please do not block other patrons from offering incense! Patron, what are you doing? Beware the River God's wrath!"

The temple caretaker had initially tried to reason gently but then saw the wealthy old man actually reach into the incense burner.

The old man paid no heed. No sooner had his finger touched that segment of incense than its body turned into charred black powder and vanished without a trace, leaving hardly any ash behind.

"Patron, do not be rude! Quickly withdraw your hand! Otherwise..."

By now, the temple caretaker had come closer, but before he could finish his sentence, the old man in front of him grabbed his arm.

"Caretaker, I ask you: Was there anyone special who offered incense here just now? What did they look like, when did they leave, and where did they go?"

Slightly agitated, an imposing aura emanated from the old man's eyes and beard, frightening the caretaker into silence, and the surrounding patrons also fell perfectly still.

After a long moment, the old man looked disheartened and released the caretaker's hand.

"How could you possibly know..."

Meanwhile, far outside the River God Temple, Ji Yuan also looked there in astonishment. When the old dragon-flood arrived, its aura was almost completely undisguised, as if proclaiming "I have arrived" to someone.

"Phew... good thing I left a step earlier..."

Ji Yuan rubbed his chest, cast one last glance at the River God Temple, and quickly hastened into the city.