Encirclement, White Dragon Fish Dies

Early the next morning, Chu Danqing and Da Bao woke up early. The water in Xianghua Village's Back River had already run dry.

It was not only because of the interception works upstream; the villagers had also been pumping out the water.

Never underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. For something as simple as pumping water, they had irrigation devices such as curved pipes called Ke Wu, made using the principle of the siphon.

There were also treadle waterwheels, winches, and all manner of water-control tools and equipment.

Xianghua Village lived by farming, so water had always been their companion.

"Perfect timing, Little Chu. I saved something good for you."

On the way to the lowland downstream of the Back River, Jiang the Butcher mysteriously pulled Chu Danqing aside and handed him a large bowl covered with another bowl.

The moment he took it, it actually had attributes.

Seafood Stew

Type: Consumable

Quality: Common

Effect: After being completely digested and absorbed, maximum Health +10

(Note: This effect is a permanent increase.)

"This was made from the essence of those little vermin. I stewed it all night for you, Little Chu, specially saved it to build you up." Jiang the Butcher wore an expression that said, We're both men. I understand.

Chu Danqing was utterly amazed. He had no idea which parts of the White Dragon Fish Offspring Jiang the Butcher had used for the stew, but he cleaned out the entire bowl anyway.

A thread of heat rose within him, swiftly circulating through his entire body. At the same time, he received a prompt from Dimension Paradise.

Your maximum Health +1

Clearly, it was not a one-time increase; it needed time to take effect.

"Want more, Little Chu?" Jiang the Butcher leaned closer after seeing Chu Danqing finish it.

But the rest of the White Dragon Fish Offspring stew had no attributes, so Chu Danqing could only decline. He could not eat another bite anyway.

Da Bao, on the other hand, used the bowl itself as a spoon, eating until his belly was round as a drum before finally stopping.

"You ate that much. Can you still kill the bad thing later?" Chu Danqing asked, worried it would affect his condition.

"It'll digest by the time we get there." Da Bao set down the bowl. "Little Chu, let's go kill the bad thing."

The lowland where the White Dragon Fish was located was not far from here. Jiang the Butcher had not stayed here solely because of Chu Danqing; it was also convenient for delivering meat soup to the villagers.

When the two arrived at the lowland, it had already been drained into a muddy wetland.

The blinded White Dragon Fish was snarling as it confronted the villagers, shielding an egg beneath its body that was as large as a human head.

Wu Laoliu held a bow, occasionally firing arrows to harass it.

Yet when the arrows struck the White Dragon Fish, they could not harm it at all.

"Little Chu, Da Bao, you came at just the right time." Seeing Chu Danqing and Da Bao arrive, the village chief immediately went to greet them. "We've kept it tied down for nearly an hour."

"Da Bao, I'll leave it to you."

The White Dragon Fish's scales and hide were far too tough. Arrows did extremely limited damage.

As for close combat? Other than Da Bao, a single blow from it could truly be fatal to any of the other villagers.

Da Bao answered in a muffled voice, "Okay," and was just about to head over when a sudden change erupted.

The White Dragon Fish caught Chu Danqing's scent in the air, instantly sending it into a frenzy.

It did not even bother protecting the egg anymore, charging straight toward Chu Danqing.

That caught everyone completely off guard.

But Chu Danqing had been prepared. "Village Chief, have everyone retreat. Remember to save the White Dragon Fish's egg for me."

"Da Bao, carry me and run. We'll wear out its water."

At that moment, the White Dragon Fish was still around seven meters long. It was not yet at its weakest.

Da Bao chose to follow Chu Danqing's plan. After all, the village chief had previously told him to listen to Chu Danqing.

He slung Chu Danqing over his shoulder and started running.

The villagers scattered in every direction. The village chief also remembered Chu Danqing's words; after the White Dragon Fish had chased after them, he went over to pick up and store away the White Dragon Fish egg.

Meanwhile, Chu Danqing hung his saber at his waist, took out his sling-stones, adjusted his aim, and began hurling them.

With so many factors interfering, his accuracy was poor.

Out of ten throws, he could hit at most two or three times. But that was enough.

He was not dealing damage. He was provoking it.

Along with the sling-stones came Chu Danqing's verbal taunts.

This only made the White Dragon Fish more frenzied and impatient. And because it was blind, relying on smell alone caused all sorts of problems with its movements.

That allowed Da Bao to stay one step ahead of it with ease.

"Da Bao, be careful. I think the bad thing has another plan," Chu Danqing whispered into Da Bao's ear.

The White Dragon Fish did not seem like the sort to have its eyes blinded by hatred. Everything had gone far too smoothly.

The instant his words fell, the White Dragon Fish made a sharp right-angle turn.

Forewarned by Chu Danqing, Da Bao forcibly twisted around as well and chased after the White Dragon Fish.

"It's running upstream." Chu Danqing immediately identified its direction.

Whether it destroyed the interception works upstream or escaped along the upper reaches, either outcome would allow the White Dragon Fish to return to the water.

Once it entered the water, even blind, the White Dragon Fish could escape from Da Bao's grasp.

If it got away, Chu Danqing would lose a reward, and Xianghua Village's blood feud of so many years would become an everlasting regret.

The distance between the two sides shrank steadily. Just as they were about to close in, the White Dragon Fish doubled back and swept its tail, its thick appendage lashing directly into Da Bao's waist.

The force was immense. It instantly knocked Da Bao off balance and sent him crashing down, taking Chu Danqing to the ground with him.

When Chu Danqing looked up again, the White Dragon Fish's head—a grotesque blend of crocodile, axolotl, and salamander—was already snapping down at him.

Chu Danqing had anticipated this. He stepped forward in a bow stance, drew the saber at his waist, and thrust with all his strength at the White Dragon Fish's nose.

That was the only place where he could break through its defenses.

Unfortunately, he missed its nose. Instead, he drove the saber straight into the White Dragon Fish's mouth.

The White Dragon Fish had intended to swallow him whole, but Chu Danqing used the saber to hold its jaws apart.

Still, the saber was no divine weapon. After holding for only a moment, it shattered.

That brief moment was enough. Chu Danqing pulled free and retreated sharply, making the White Dragon Fish bite down on empty air.

The White Dragon Fish crawled forward on its claws. A bloody aura and mist rose from its body, while its abdomen gurgled as it gathered water.

It was planning to recreate its earlier water-current attack.

But in the very next instant, Da Bao had already rushed over, smashing his shoulder into the White Dragon Fish's waist with savage force.

Already in poor condition, the White Dragon Fish was knocked over on the spot by Da Bao.

Blindness, strength no longer at its peak, and its unbalanced state of mind—at this moment, all of it became the White Dragon Fish's disadvantage.

As Da Bao's fists crashed against the White Dragon Fish's belly like a raging storm, Chu Danqing knew everything had been settled.

So he moved a little farther away, took out his sling-stones, and kept throwing them.

He did not know how Dimension Paradise calculated its evaluations, but standing around and watching certainly would not improve one's rating.

Only when the White Dragon Fish had been beaten until its belly burst and its guts spilled out, lying completely motionless, did a new kind of treasure chest appear atop its corpse.