Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
I stretched my head out of the water, lifted my goggles, and gasped for air. There were very few people ahead; aside from a young man and two young women holding a large car inner tube, there was another person quietly floating on the surface, occasionally kicking up some splashes.
The three young people looked like students from school. The boy had thick eyebrows and big eyes, while one girl had a round face and the other had a pointed face. All three radiated youthful energy. As for the person floating on their back, he seemed to be a good swimmer; all I could see was his large belly. Judging by its size, he must be a successful middle-aged man.
I moved my arms and legs a bit, adjusted my goggles, and was about to dive again when I heard the boy with thick eyebrows say in confusion, "Hey, why hasn't Big Bear come up yet?"
Big Bear must be the person who just dove down rapidly. Just as I was preparing to dive, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind—how could Big Bear dive down so quickly? His speed didn’t seem like that of someone diving; it looked more like he was being dragged underwater by something.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but shout at the three of them, "Does your Big Bear have flippers?"
The three young people stared at me in shock, not understanding what my random question meant. After a moment, the girl with the round face stammered, "We just came to swim; why would we bring flippers?"
Damn, what was that shadow beneath the water when he dove down? Could it be a water ghost? My scalp tingled, and I took a deep breath before diving down suddenly.
At this point, I was about thirty meters from the riverbank. From what I knew about this area, the water depth here was about three meters. With sunlight still shining through, the bottom of the water was relatively clear.
I swam toward where that figure had sunk earlier and soon saw a swirling mass of muddy sand. Occasionally, I could see arms and legs struggling to reach out from the mud but were quickly pulled back by a black object.
Damn, if I threw a Nine Divine Thunder into the water, would all the swimmers by the river get stunned and float like dead fish? This absurd thought crossed my mind suddenly, but without hesitation, I swam over to that mass of mud and sank to the bottom. Without thinking twice, I reached in and pulled out an arm; with a strong tug, I managed to pull the person out of the mud.
The person in front of me should be Big Bear as described by the boy with thick eyebrows. At this moment, he was clearly disoriented; bubbles were gurgling from his mouth as his face contorted in agony—likely due to water entering his airway. Seeing this, I quickly let go and stepped back; being grabbed by someone in such a state underwater would undoubtedly lead to disaster.
Just as I stepped back one pace, a black shadow suddenly shot out from the mud and grabbed hold of the young man's arm as if trying to drag him back into that muddy mass. This time I saw clearly—it was a black arm that seemed to belong to some Water Monster hidden within that mud.
I reached into my Mustard Seed Pendant and pulled out a dagger. Swimming over, I slashed at the black hand. To my surprise, it felt like cutting through a piece of black rubber—tough and resilient like a car tire.
Moreover, the black hand seemed to feel no pain; it continued to pull hard on the young man while he struggled desperately. Seeing this made me grit my teeth and swim over to stab at the black hand repeatedly.
On my last stab, I put all my strength into it; finally, the blade pierced into the black arm and vaguely hit something hard inside—probably bone—sending a tingling sensation through me as if I'd been electrocuted. The black hand seemed startled; an immense pulling force came back at me. For a moment I couldn't hold on tight enough; it yanked my dagger away and retreated instantly.
The muddy mass continued to churn; I couldn't see what was happening inside nor what this Water Monster was doing.
At this point, I was starting to run out of breath and couldn't care less about what was happening with the Water Monster. I swam over to Big Bear's side and prepared to punch him in the head to knock him unconscious so I could drag him up. However, I found he had stopped struggling altogether—he seemed to have passed out. Quickly grabbing his hair, I swam upward. Just as we were about to break through the surface of the water, I glanced back at that muddy mass and vaguely saw that black hand swimming toward the center of the river along the bottom.
As soon as I surfaced, I took a deep breath and removed my goggles. Looking around, I saw three young people with panic-stricken faces. I shouted, "Quick, throw the Swim Ring over here!"
"But I can't swim!" the Round-Faced Girl stammered.
"What are you doing here if you can't swim?" I cursed, and in desperation, I grabbed the young man's hair and pulled him toward the riverbank.
Fortunately, it wasn't far to the bank, and there was a gentle slope at the bottom. After swimming about ten meters, I was able to stand on the stones beneath the water. Stumbling a bit, I dragged the young man onto the shore and called out for Fatty.
Several people had already gathered nearby. One middle-aged woman seemed experienced; she instructed me to lay the young man flat on the ground, elevate his neck, clear the mud and sand from his mouth, and then moved in to perform Artificial Respiration.
While the middle-aged woman was giving Artificial Respiration to the young man, his three companions rushed over in a panic. The Sharp-Faced Girl was crying and repeatedly asked me, "Uncle, Uncle, will my boyfriend be okay?"
I was too exhausted to scold her. I focused on the young man on the ground. Although the middle-aged woman was skilled in her actions, there was no response from him. A dark fingerprint on his ankle stood out glaringly, and bystanders began to murmur about it.
"Tell everyone to stop swimming!" I shouted at the crowd while pointing at the fingerprint.
Immediately, people began calling their friends out of the water. Fortunately, most were playing not far from the shore. After some shouting, those in the water quickly came ashore and gathered around to watch as the middle-aged woman tried to revive the young man. They all pointed at the Black Fingerprint on his ankle with expressions of fear. Among them was a portly middle-aged man whose face looked particularly pale; his lips trembled so much that even the small mole at the corner of his mouth shook. He had been swimming nearby just moments ago.
At that moment, Fatty squeezed through the crowd and glanced at the middle-aged woman performing Artificial Respiration. He stepped forward, pushed her aside, grabbed hold of the young man's legs, and lifted him up with a grunt. He then flipped him upside down without caring about anyone's astonished looks and started jumping up and down frantically.
"Hey! Fatty, what are you doing?" the middle-aged woman yelled angrily.
Fatty didn't respond; instead, he continued bouncing up and down happily. Just as onlookers were preparing to rush over and give Fatty a beating for his antics, with a loud gasp, the young man finally coughed up a large amount of river water and woke up.
"Thank you, Fat Brother! Thank you, Fat Brother!" The three young people rushed over to help lower their friend back down. The Sharp-Faced Girl was especially overwhelmed with joy.
Seeing this, onlookers chatted for a bit before dispersing.
"Uncle, thank you for saving my life! I'm Wen Xiaoxiao from Star City University. This is my classmates Zhang Hao and Chen Siying; my boyfriend's name is Zhou Zhixiong," said the Sharp-Faced Girl as she stood up and bowed repeatedly to me and Fatty. "Thank you for rescuing my boyfriend from the water! Thank you for waking him up!"
The young man named Zhang Hao seemed more sensible: "Xiaoxiao, stop calling him Uncle; this big brother is only about ten years older than us."
Only ten years older? Damn it! I'm barely in my twenties! I rolled my eyes but stayed silent.
Wen Xiaoxiao then exclaimed softly as she knelt down to wipe away mud and river water from Zhou Zhixiong's mouth.
Fatty chuckled and said to Zhou Zhixiong, who lay pale on the ground, "You scared us all!"
Zhou Zhixiong nodded, trembling slightly, probably out of fear. Not everyone can experience being dragged underwater by a Water Monster.
I smiled and said, "Take a break, hurry back to school, drink some ginger soup. If you're still feeling scared, go find Kong Xuan the Daoist at Haitang Road and Qifeng Temple, as Ghost Brother recommended. He will help you calm down for free."
After finishing, I ignored their thanks and called Fatty to the side to discuss what had just happened. Fatty immediately exclaimed, "Damn, is that really true?"
I frowned and said, "I've been swimming here every summer since I was a child. I'm very familiar with the waters around here and have never heard of a Water Monster. Something feels off about this."
Fatty disagreed with my reasoning: "Ghost Brother, every year people drown in the Star River while swimming. Sometimes three or four people, and at least one or two at other times. That's a fact."
I nodded, vaguely understanding what Fatty meant.
"Those who drown can't tell anyone they were dragged underwater; it could be due to cramps or exhaustion, right?" Fatty chuckled. "It's possible that those people were dragged down by that Water Monster you just mentioned; you just happened to see this black hand today."
"Across the country, wherever there's water, people drown every year. Can this Water Monster really teleport to other rivers?" I countered casually.
"Ghost Brother, I really don't know how to explain this to you. Is there only one type of Water Monster? It's possible that there are unknown aquatic creatures in every river," Fatty scoffed. "To exaggerate a bit more, there might be ten or so Water Monsters right in front of us in this Star River; you've just encountered one of them."
Comment 0 Comment Count