River Battle

"Zhou, get the hell down here! Your grandpa is tired of hanging on—I want to ride the horse."

Xu Yi clung tightly beneath the horse's belly and suddenly shouted, his words overbearing, as though he were barking at pigs and driving dogs.

Young Master Zhou, dressed in flowing white, was so furious his nose nearly twisted crooked. Just as he was about to fly into a rage, Xu Yi threatened again, "I'll count to three. If you still don't get down, don't blame me for gouging a big hole in this beast's belly!"

"If you dare touch even a single hair on Feixue, I'll grind you to dust and scatter your bones!"

Though Zhou Shirong's words were fierce, his body recoiled as if avoiding snakes and scorpions. With a sudden burst, he shot more than a dozen feet away.

Xu Yi had guessed correctly. To Zhou Shirong, this Feixue was extraordinarily precious.

Feixue had originally been bestowed upon him by Fairy Yuqing, the master of Xue Leng Peak of the Tianshan Sect. Feixue's former owner had been none other than Fairy Zihan, the most renowned third-generation disciple of the Tianshan Sect.

Fairy Zihan's Martial Arts were peerless, and her beauty's fame had spread far and wide. She was currently one of the foremost Fairies of Guang'an Prefecture, with countless admirers, and Zhou Shirong was one of them.

When Fairy Yuqing had bestowed Feixue upon him, Zhou Shirong, blessed with the halo of a protagonist, had naturally assigned it some wonderful significance.

However hateful Xu Yi might be, he was ultimately no more than an ant. In Zhou Shirong's heart, he was not even worth a single hair of Feixue.

If that thief injured Feixue, how would Zhou ever have the face to see Fairy Zihan again?

The moment Zhou Shirong retreated, Xu Yi flipped onto the horse's back and urged it into a gallop. He fled several miles in one breath before looking back, only to find no trace of Zhou Shirong.

Xu Yi understood perfectly well that Zhou Shirong regarded this horse as a treasure. How could he abandon it so easily? He was surely lurking somewhere in the shadows, hoping to launch a sudden strike.

With that thought, Xu Yi turned the horse south, avoiding the deep forests and wild paths. He took the main road and raced south for more than fifty miles. When he finally reined in the horse, he had reached the banks of the Nielong River.

No one knew where the Nielong River originated. It cut across Guang'an Prefecture before flowing east into the sea, its waters vast and mighty, rolling boundlessly like an ocean.

Xu Yi knew that this Nielong River was his only chance to survive.

The reason was simple. He could not keep fleeing forever, nor could he stay with Feixue forever, eating, drinking, and relieving himself beside it. He knew Zhou Shirong was following behind, merely waiting for him to separate from Feixue.

Thus, a paradox had formed!

As long as Xu Yi could not completely shake off Zhou Shirong, his life remained temporarily recorded in King Yama's Book of Life and Death.

And if he wanted to escape Zhou Shirong's pursuit, his only hope lay in the mighty waters of the Nielong River. It was precisely because he had thought of this that, while struggling with Zhou Shirong on horseback earlier, Xu Yi had deliberately adjusted the horse's direction.

Xu Yi had guessed correctly. On the surface, Zhou Shirong had vanished without a trace, but in truth, he had been following nearby the entire time, never leaving for even an instant.

The instant Xu Yi reined in at the Nielong River, Zhou Shirong had already crouched behind several massive spruces by the riverbank. At the sight of those surging waters, his heart sank, and he immediately guessed Xu Yi's intention.

Xu Yi had tormented him badly today. Never in his life had he been left as bedraggled and disgraced as he was now. Even killing Xu Yi outright would not soothe Young Master Zhou's hatred—how could he simply watch Xu Yi escape?

The moment Xu Yi was about to move, Zhou Shirong rose into the air. Fast as lightning and agile as a swimming dragon, he crossed more than a dozen feet in an instant and closed to within fifteen feet.

Xu Yi had not expected Zhou Shirong to come so suddenly, so swiftly. He had no time to care about appearances and rolled off the horse in the simplest yet fastest manner, curling himself beneath its belly.

Seeing Xu Yi use the same trick again, Zhou Shirong was so enraged he nearly spat blood. He forcibly controlled his qi and withdrew his palm midair, just about to halt himself when Xu Yi shot out from beneath the horse's belly and streaked straight toward the river.

What a Zhou Shirong! Both palms lashed out fiercely, and the ground exploded with a thunderous boom.

Borrowing the recoil, Zhou Shirong's falling body instantly flipped over, and he pounced toward Xu Yi like a hurricane.

Just as he reached the bank, Xu Yi plunged headfirst into the water with a splash. Another splash followed, and Feixue, standing at the riverbank, crashed to the ground.

The sight sent Zhou Shirong's soul flying from his body. He turned back to see Feixue's left foreleg lying twisted on the ground, blood streaming freely.

It turned out that when Xu Yi had ducked beneath the horse's belly earlier, first, he had feared that Zhou Shirong would use the Sky-Splitting Palm again to strike him from afar. Xu Yi did not believe he could withstand that terrifying force. Second, he had set his sights on Feixue.

Zhou Shirong cherished Feixue dearly. Xu Yi could do nothing to Zhou Shirong himself, and his hatred had already run deep. If he did not find some way to make Eldest Young Master Zhou's heart ache to the bone, how could he justify half a day's suffering?

After slipping beneath the horse's belly, Xu Yi kicked off the ground. At the instant his body shot into the water, he swung his palm and chopped off the horse's leg.

"Ah!!! You little bastard, I'll make sure you can never rise again!"

Zhou Shirong threw back his head and howled. His blood surged, veins bulging across his face. With a twist of his body, he charged straight into the river.

A terrifying scene unfolded. When Zhou Shirong stepped into the river, the water only reached his ankles. He seemed like a water demon, born with an innate divine power to command water.

But that was not the case!

It turned out that Zhou Shirong's feet had already torn through the soles of his shoes. His ten toes curled and wriggled like webbed claws, stirring the current. A closer look revealed vortex after vortex forming beneath his feet.

Zhou Shirong strode across the waves, his handsome eyes coldly fixed on the water. Suddenly, a faint ripple stirred thirty feet to his left front. Zhou Shirong shouted, his entire body crackling as both fists blasted out, exploding the air.

Boom!

It was as if a miniature missile had detonated on the river's surface. Waves soared into the sky, countless fish and shrimp were flung upward and fell back down, becoming corpses floating on the water.

His icy gaze remained locked on the surface. Only when a nearly inaudible muffled groan reached his ears did the corner of Zhou Shirong's frozen mouth lift into an almost imperceptible curve.

Indeed, Xu Yi had been hit. Zhou Shirong's terrifying palm force had pierced through more than ten feet of water and struck him with precision.

It was only thanks to the barrier of that vast water that he had not died instantly. Even so, his injuries were far from light.

One section of his shoulder blade had collapsed, and the force of the punch had nearly shifted his internal organs out of place. He clenched his teeth so tightly that he barely managed to keep a mouthful of old blood from spraying out.

Thinking of Zhou Shirong's ferocity, Xu Yi was filled with fury, and once more cursed that thieving heavens for their injustice.

Just as his indignation reached its peak, his vision suddenly began to darken in waves, and his chest felt unbearably stifled. Yet he did not dare move. He gritted his teeth and did not dare move again, allowing the undercurrent to carry his body onward.

After holding on like that for the time it took half an incense stick to burn, Xu Yi felt as though his lungs had been roasted red. Blood had already seeped from his gums where he had bitten down.

Meanwhile, Zhou Shirong floated coldly on the river's surface, his eyes slightly closed. Having adapted to the currents, he no longer needed his eyes to observe. The sensations transmitted through his feet were enough to let him accurately sense every change in the current.

A cold gloom filled his heart as he began calculating what methods he would use after capturing Xu Yi to make him regret crawling out of his mother's womb.

Hold on, hold on.

Holding on was all Xu Yi could do. Even if he suffocated to death, he had to remain at the bottom of the water. He absolutely could not fall into Zhou's hands.

His ears roared, his eyeballs began to bulge, his vision blurred, and his consciousness was about to sink away when, suddenly, a shadowy expanse appeared before him.