Sinking Beneath the Water

The tranquil Dragon Spring Pool.

Two "corpses" drifted slowly along with the current...

Once they passed the mouth of the Dragon Spring Pool, the current would grow turbulent again.

Li Shuidao sank into the water, as if he were in a quiet dream.

He felt a subtle force enveloping him, as if it were granting him a strange ability. Suddenly, his eyes flew open, and he gasped for breath.

But it took more than a dozen breaths for Li Shuidao to realize that he wasn't breathing air at all. He was breathing the cold water of the Dragon Spring Pool.

After a brief moment of shock, Li Shuidao understood that it all came from his Spirit Companion toad's innate Divine Ability.

Water Breath Technique!

After all, toads were amphibians.

Right behind Li Shuidao, a toad as large as a basin, with skin hard as granite, shrank in an instant. Its skin turned tender and green as jade.

The Jade Toad kicked off with its hind legs and burrowed into Li Shuidao's sleeve.

Wang Tiankun's corpse was about to reach the mouth of the pool when a hand reached up from beneath the water, seized him by the nape, and yanked him straight down into the depths.

Deep beneath the water...

Li Shuidao weighed down Wang Tiankun's corpse with a large rock.

He was wiping out all traces.

With a splash,

Li Shuidao swam to the bank and dragged Wang Xuanfeng's corpse down as well.

He didn't know whether Wang Xuanfeng was dead yet, but either way, he sank him too...

Wang Xuanfeng was dragged underwater once more, vanishing into the tranquil deep pool.

Just then,

a figure bounded down the steep mountainside and arrived near the Dragon Spring Pool. It was Wang Changjian, an elder of the Wang Family.

He looked up. On one side, the waterfall sprayed water everywhere; on the other, the pool lay as still as a mirror.

The waterfall's roar echoed in his ears.

Apart from that, there wasn't so much as a ghost in sight.

"Wang Xuanfeng! Wang Tiankun!" Wang Changjian couldn't help shouting his clansmen's names.

His voice echoed through the valley, thick with worry.

But his cries quickly faded into the air without a single answer.

Unease gripped Wang Changjian. He shouted again at the top of his lungs, "Wang Xuanfeng! Wang Tiankun! Come out!"

His voice pierced the pool's silence like a sword, reaching Li Shuidao in its depths.

So there was more than one assailant!

Could it be the Wang Family had joined forces to kill him, all to devour his Spirit Companion?

Too bad they'd gotten it wrong from the start. Li Shuidao's Spirit Companion wasn't a Gecko Companion at all. It was a Jade Toad.

Li Shuidao carefully shoved Wang Xuanfeng beneath a large rock underwater, then searched his waist pouch while he was at it.

There wasn't anything valuable, just a dozen or so Jade Coins.

After a long while...

Li Shuidao cautiously parted the underwater weeds and poked his head out.

He scanned the surroundings, making sure there was no danger, then gently stepped through the weeds and slipped silently out of the pool.

Suddenly!

A faint breeze brushed his back, and a shiver ran up Li Shuidao's spine.

He'd taken a slash, and that Wang Family elder was clearly no weakling.

This was bad!

He should've stayed hidden a little longer.

Li Shuidao drew his sword and turned around, ready to fight like a cornered beast.

But the person behind him, not far away, was a woman.

She wore a brightly colored skirt and ornate hair ornaments, standing tall on a bare boulder. She frowned as she looked at Li Shuidao.

It was Senior Sister Jiang Xue!

"Senior Sister!" Li Shuidao cried, his voice brimming with delight.

"That's the Water Breath Technique, isn't it?" Jiang Xue asked.

Li Shuidao gave an awkward smile and could only admit, "This junior's Spirit Companion is indeed a Jade Toad."

"Hmph!" Jiang Xue snorted and rolled her eyes, then continued, "Where's Wang Tiankun?"

"Senior Sister, Wang Tiankun and his clansmen ambushed me." Li Shuidao pointed to the knife wound on his shoulder, speaking through tears. "After the market closed today, I went to the large stone platform but didn't find you there. Wang Tiankun lied and said you were waiting for me at the Dragon Spring Pool. I didn't expect him and his clansmen to be lying in wait here. They wanted me to hand over my Gecko Companion, but I don't have a gecko. Luckily, there was a pool here. I sank beneath the water and used the Water Breath Technique. That's how I escaped..."

"I understand. Come back with me." Jiang Xue turned and led the way. Li Shuidao followed obediently.

"Senior Sister, what punishment will Wang Tiankun receive?" Li Shuidao asked cautiously.

"I'll report the matter honestly to Madam. Whether Wang Tiankun violated the sect's rules can't be decided based on your word alone. If an investigation confirms it, Master will confiscate his Spirit Companion and cut off his Dao Path for good," Jiang Xue said.

"Then... what if Wang Tiankun flees to avoid punishment and just takes off?" Li Shuidao asked, probing.

"Then we'll notify the Wang Family in Viper Valley and have them pay some compensation. That'll be the end of it," Jiang Xue said.

"Um... won't you notify the Law Enforcement Hall?" Li Shuidao asked again.

"Hmph! The people in the Law Enforcement Hall are all bloodsuckers. They can squeeze oil out of barren land. It's best not to alert them if we can avoid it. Besides, if a trivial matter like this reaches the Law Enforcement Hall, Master will lose face. People will think Master can't even manage her own disciples."

"Oh... I see." Li Shuidao continued asking questions.

Jiang Xue kept chattering. "If Master goes to the Wang Family, they'll probably offer a token amount of compensation, but it definitely won't be much. Wang Tiankun is just a small fry, and he didn't cause any major losses."

"You're just going to let it go that easily?" Li Shuidao asked, dumbfounded.

"What else do you want?"

"Then why doesn't my father dare leave the sect?"

"Oh? What did your father do?" Jiang Xue asked with great interest.

"He didn't do anything. My father does odd jobs in the sect every day, but he doesn't dare leave. He says that if he were to leave the sect without permission and become a rogue cultivator, I might be implicated." Li Shuidao furrowed his brows.

At that, Jiang Xue suddenly stopped walking. She turned and gave Li Shuidao a meaningful smile. "That can only mean your Li Family in Divine Wood City is rather strict."

Only then did Li Shuidao see the light. It wasn't the sect threatening his father with his life. It was the family.

He'd thought that the underlying logic of this world was that the sect, as the master, held the Lineages in chains. But it turned out the Lineages bound themselves in chains before flattering their masters, hoping to be good slaves.

The mental chains of servility were more frightening than rules imposed by those in power.

No wonder Li Tianjue was like that...

Li Shuidao was overcome with emotion.

"If someone like Wang Tiankun leaves Master's cave without permission, Master will probably let it go if he hasn't caused any losses. But if the losses are substantial, Master will report him to the Law Enforcement Hall. Then the Wang Family will be in serious trouble..." Jiang Xue said as she walked. She couldn't keep a secret to save her life.

Jiang Xue was such a blabbermouth!

Li Shuidao was almost certain that she was the one who'd spread the false rumor that his Spirit Companion was a gecko.

Given her personality, he'd probably never be able to keep his Jade Toad Companion a secret.

Li Shuidao frowned deeply. He had to prepare for trouble before it arose...

Five Elements: Water generates Wood: Toad Poison of the same rank can barely harm a Centipede Poison Body.

Five Elements: Earth overcomes Water: Gecko poison deals multiplied damage to a Toad Poison Body, and its toxicity lingers, making it difficult to eliminate. Toad Poison doesn't deal much damage to a Gecko Poison Body, and its toxicity doesn't persist.

From now on, he'd have to keep poison with the Metal attribute, specifically effective against Centipede Poison Bodies, on hand at all times. He'd also need to prepare an antidote for Earth Poison, so he wouldn't get caught with his pants down...