Great Demon, Part One

At the wharf, hundreds of fishing boats were pressed tightly together, like fish scales spreading out from the shore.

In the middle of the night, no one put out to sea.

Looking up, there was no moon, no stars.

The sky was darker than usual today. It was overcast, the air far damper, and the cold unusually biting.

Liang Qu could only pray that it would not rain before he returned.

Wind and rain, wind and rain—rain usually brought strong winds, and strong winds brought big waves. Boats could easily capsize, and if no one kept watch after launching, they could drift away.

The sampan had no ship anchor. A large stone tied to a rope was used to secure the boat when it went into the water. It helped, but not by much.

There was no helping it. Even if it rained, Liang Qu had to go. The Treasure Fish was right before his eyes; he had no choice but to go.

Of all the Treasure Fish he had seen so far, most possessed strength far beyond ordinary fish. They swam swiftly, and if allowed to struggle, could even tear through fishing nets. Relying on Cannot Move and the Fat Catfish alone made them difficult to catch.

The wind was not too strong yet. Water waves pushed ripples along, and the fishing boats at the wharf bumped against one another with dull thuds.

Stepping across one bow after another, Liang Qu sprang onto his own Small Sampan. The entire boat sank sharply, throwing up a broad spray of water.

"A Shui, why are you going fishing at this hour?" Lin Songbao's voice came from the shore, though it was too dark to see his figure.

"If I don't fish, there won't be anything left to cook at home."

"Nothing left to cook? Then come eat at my place. It looks like it'll rain tonight. You'd best not take the boat out."

"No need. The rougher the wind and waves, the more expensive the fish!"

"Then be careful."

"Alright!"

Liang Qu untied the hemp rope, took up his pole, and pushed the boat through the clustered fishing vessels. Once he reached the open lake, he quickly switched to oars and rowed toward his destination.

The Treasure Fish discovered this time was not near the Lotus Root Waters, but in a stretch of water he had Never Before visited.

Liang Qu rowed for more than half a shichen before arriving. His oar struck the water, and Cannot Move, the Zhu Po Long, surfaced. On its head, Fist clacked its Dual Claws against itself.

Fist had not changed much, but Cannot Move had changed dramatically. Even though Liang Qu had prepared himself mentally, he was still startled when he saw Cannot Move's Body Shape.

Only one day had passed, yet Cannot Move had grown from its original length of 2.3 meters to nearly 2.7 meters—half a meter longer!

Cannot Move had initially been under two meters long and weighed only around thirty kilograms, lighter than Liang Qu. Even if Liang Qu rode on its back, it could not perform a death roll.

Now it weighed at least sixty kilograms, nearly double. Liang Qu suspected that the residual fleshly energy left behind by the Crab Monster had not been fully digested and was still at work. Cannot Move could continue growing.

If Cannot Move had been this size when they first met, Liang Qu would never have been able to subdue it. He would likely have met his end on the spot.

Everything had come together through a twist of fate.

Without being subdued, it would have been difficult for Cannot Move, as a Taihua Crocodile, to break past the two-meter mark. At 2.2 or 2.3 meters, it would have reached the species' limit. It would need either special treasure medicine or another fortunate encounter to grow into a Spirit Monster.

He did not know what the Fat Catfish had grown into, but he would worry about that after catching the Treasure Fish.

Liang Qu sank the stone to secure the boat, took off his clothes, grabbed the net, and jumped bare-chested into the water.

Late December was the depths of winter. Even Liang Qu, who had refined the Marsh Spirit of a Water Monkey and possessed an affinity for water, found it cold. An ordinary person entering the water would shiver from the freezing cold; staying too long could even prove fatal.

Fortunately, Liang Qu's increased fusion rate allowed him to adapt. Cannot Move had also gained some resistance to the cold due to its growth. Its activity had neither increased nor weakened too much, maintaining a balance at a slightly reduced level.

The man and two beasts quickly found the Fat Catfish lying in ambush beneath the silt. The Fat Catfish had grown even more rapidly, crossing the three-meter threshold to reach roughly 3.1 or 3.2 meters. It was several times larger, and its weight had definitely exceeded one hundred kilograms.

However, it seemed not to have adjusted to its increased size. It had burrowed into the mud to the same depth as before, leaving its entire greenish back exposed, providing no camouflage whatsoever.

Not only could Liang Qu easily find it through the Mental Link—even any random fish could have spotted it! It had become smarter, but not that smart.

Liang Qu patted the Fat Catfish's back. It did not realize anything was amiss and happily pointed out the Treasure Fish's direction.

This kid... I'll teach it slowly in the future.

After silently swimming forward several meters, Liang Qu sensed the Treasure Fish A Fei had mentioned. It was a Red Blood Perch, especially large, weighing around seven or eight jin.

Red Blood Perch and Tiger Head Grouper were probably the most common types of Treasure Fish in the Shallow Water Area near Shang Rao Wharf? Liang Qu rubbed his hands together. He did not even need the Fat Catfish or Cannot Move's help. He approached the Treasure Fish alone, stretched out five fingers toward the Red Blood Perch, then abruptly clenched them.

The Red Blood Perch, which had been lying in the silt, instantly felt its surroundings turn incomparably viscous, like a hardened mire. It tried to struggle, but its movements were incredibly slow. It could only helplessly feel itself hooked through the gill cavity, lifted from the silt, and stuffed into the net.

Liang Qu twisted the net's opening shut, hugged the Red Blood Perch, and swam to the surface. After returning to the sampan, he threw it into the fish basket and covered it with the lid.

Everything had gone smoothly.

Rain began falling from the sky. Raindrops shattered against the water's surface, splashing up a hazy gray mist.

Compared with the cold water, Liang Qu was more afraid of the wind chill due to his affinity for water. So he simply did not put his clothes back on, stuffing his cotton-padded jacket into the compartment.

The rain was heavy. The waves were over a foot high, and when they crashed over, they could nearly slap straight into the sampan. The entire boat rocked violently.

Liang Qu took out his stone knife and swiftly gutted the fish, removing its bones and scraps to feed the three beasts.

Cannot Move and the Fat Catfish opened their mouths wide and swallowed their respective portions. Only Fist remained, using its claws to hold a fish intestine and slurping it bit by bit as though eating wide noodles. It stood steadily atop Cannot Move's head, utterly unaffected by the wind and waves.

The rain grew even heavier.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but colliding, shattered foam. Every breath drew in a thick mass of water vapor, as if Liang Qu had never left the water and still remained on the lakebed.

Even the stone anchoring the boat was nearly unable to hold it down. The sampan slowly drifted in another direction.

Liang Qu had originally wanted to practice the abilities enhanced by his tremendous increase in fusion rate beneath the water, but now that plan had gone completely down the drain.

"Cannot Move and Fist, go back first. Help me guard my Lotus Root Field. Don't let any fish steal food again. A Fei, lead the way ahead."

Having received their orders, the two beasts quickly vanished Without a Trace. Only the Fat Catfish remained, swimming toward the wharf, while Liang Qu followed behind and rowed desperately.

The downpour shrouded everything around him in a vast white blur. Liang Qu could not distinguish which direction led to the wharf at all.

He had watched plenty of Bi Fang's wilderness survival livestreams in his previous life, but Liang Qu had not learned every skill. He could only Rely On the Fat Catfish to guide him.

Rainwater streamed down Liang Qu's back. His hair was completely soaked, and droplets ran down in strings from his chin.

Lightning flickered and died within the clouds, while thunder rumbled dully.

Liang Qu rowed with all his strength when an inexplicable palpitation suddenly enveloped his heart. He wiped the water from his face and looked around blankly, but found nothing.

He asked A Fei through the Mental Link. A Fei gave no response, as though that sudden palpitation had merely been an illusion.

The sky was black as ink. The rain was so dense that it seemed to collide and shatter in midair. From time to time, bolts of lightning struck straight toward the ground, briefly illuminating the heavens.

Liang Qu grew increasingly uneasy and no longer dared move.

A branching bolt of lightning flashed and vanished in the clouds, followed by a deafening explosion beside his ears.

Liang Qu covered his ears. Lightning split his pupils in two.

An unbelievably gigantic Black Shadow suddenly appeared, blocking the blue-white lightning, before its silver-bright pupils dimmed once more.

For an instant, Liang Qu suspected that he had seen an illusion.