Ripples in the Water

Chapter 48: Ripples in the Water

Three forces were approaching, and Hanyu struggled to break free, but the hands made of soil held him tightly in place like iron hoops.

A Fire Lotus bloomed, setting the surroundings ablaze with red light, yet it couldn't budge the earthen hands in the slightest.

Hanyu quickly retracted it, waved his hand again, and a massive hungry ghost map appeared. Countless hungry ghosts scrambled out, forming an impenetrable barrier around him.

Third Elder Qin's divine lightning struck first, hitting the bone-white hungry ghost in front of Hanyu. The powerful impact instantly cleared the area, sending countless skeletons flying into the air before a massive explosion.

Hanyu felt both numb and in pain all over. The fine cracks that had already split his body felt as if they were being cooked, and he could smell a meaty aroma.

If not for these hungry ghosts blocking the damage head-on, this single strike of divine lightning would have taken half his life.

But the wind and fire followed closely, and the bone-white hungry ghosts couldn't replenish fast enough. Hanyu had no choice but to endure the blow directly.

"Idiot, use your fire-elemental divine ability to detonate the cage beneath your feet with their fire!"

Little Glazed said urgently in his mind.

Hanyu's eyes lit up, and he quickly communicated with the Fire Lotus in his Sea of Consciousness. However, it wasn't as easy as the little artifact spirit had said. No matter how the Fire Lotus tried to summon the opponent's fire element, it couldn't move it in the slightest.

In the end, Hanyu simply dispelled the hungry ghost map. After fully activating the Fire Lotus, he barely managed to redirect the fire-elemental attack to his feet.

A huge explosion resounded, and Hanyu was blasted into the air amidst a sea of fire, eventually falling directly into the Bailu River...

The influential families watching from Tianning City felt a wave of disappointment. It was over!

But the Qin Family didn't seem to have regained any face; instead, they had lost even more. Three of their thirteen elders were dead, and in the end, it took three Spirit Gazer elders and the Patriarch to deal with one young man.

The Qin Family didn't seem so terrifying anymore.

The minds of many family heads suddenly became active...

On the banks of the Bailu River, Qin Tiannan and the three elders had been standing for a long time, their expressions growing increasingly grim.

The evening sun cast a red glow across the entire river surface. Apart from slight ripples, there was no other movement.

He's not dead!

Who wasn't dead? Naturally, it was Hanyu. The four of them stood there for a long time, but no body floated to the surface.

The only explanation was that the person was still alive.

The Bailu River was vast, over a hundred zhang wide, and its total length connected to the prefectures of the southern regions. There were embankments along the river.

This gave the Qin family a headache. If the person wasn't dead, he could even come ashore from anywhere without anyone noticing. Thinking of this, Qin Tiannan immediately sent someone back to summon all the cultivators in the Qin Family.

He, along with the elders, flew along the river, constantly searching for any trace of Hanyu.

Soon, the cultivators from the Qin Family Fortress arrived. Over two hundred cultivators flew close to the river's surface on their swords, immediately attracting the attention of Tianning City.

He's not dead, and he escaped into the water while heavily injured?

Hahaha! This is going to be a huge joke. They still let him escape.

Thus, not only did the riverbanks fill with Qin Family cultivators, but also cultivators from Tianning Prefecture who came to watch the spectacle. A dense mass of people guarded the perimeter, with neither side interfering with the other.

Qin Tiannan gritted his teeth in hatred but was helpless.

And Hanyu?

At this moment, he lay limp at the bottom of the river, his face contorted in pain, too lazy to move. A thin film of water covered his entire body. Unless someone drilled to the very bottom, no one could possibly find him lying there.

Looking up, he could still occasionally see blurry figures flashing across the river's surface.

"Do I hate them that much? Are they trying to see me alive or my corpse?"

Hanyu sighed. Those blurry figures were most likely the Qin Family cultivators, so persistent!

Little Glazed chirped in his mind, "You killed three of their elders. Do you think they hate you?"

"I'd better get my hands on some poison pills!"

Hanyu gritted his teeth and muttered fiercely.

This was the first time he had actively looked forward to the bottle producing pills quickly.

Time passed in boredom. The Qin Family cultivators flew for several hours without any success, their Patriarch and elders scanning the river surface with grim expressions.

Some cultivators had already gone to the major docks along the river. The number of cultivators in the vicinity dwindled.

No one could have imagined that he would simply stay at the bottom without moving and could remain underwater without needing to breathe.

Gradually, not only did the Tianning Prefecture cultivators who came to watch leave, but even the Qin Family cultivators left, losing hope. They still had to continue searching at various locations along the river.

Qin Tiannan was clearly determined to find the person, "This person has too deep a grudge with my Qin Family. If we don't find him, cultivators below the Spirit Gazer level in the Qin Family won't be able to go out safely in the future."

Late at night, the moon hung high in the sky.

A pleasure boat drifted on the river. Bai Jingliang, Bai Junya, and Linglan leaned against the railing, gazing at the river.

"Is he really dead?"

Linglan whispered beside them. Bai Jingliang frowned and shook his head, saying, "Impossible. Even the Qin Family couldn't find a body, so that person is definitely still alive."

Bai Junya's expression was somewhat complex. She couldn't help but recall the scene of him collapsing in her arms that day.

The more she thought about it, the more suffocated she felt, so she walked to the side and leaned against the ship's railing.

Beneath the water, Hanyu slowly opened his eyes. A day of chaotic fighting, fleeing, and being pursued had left him not only physically wounded but also mentally exhausted. He watched the river surface and gradually drifted off to sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he could vaguely see the bright moon swaying in the water. Coming to his senses, he realized with a jolt that he was still underwater; it wasn't the moon swaying, but the river current.

The river surface was now empty, with no figures darting across it. Hanyu guessed they must have left, but just in case, he remained still for a little longer.

"Are you still alive?"

Bai Junya gazed at the moon on the water, murmuring to herself. Suddenly, the moon on the water rippled violently, as if about to break free from the surface.

With a splash.

A figure in tattered clothes burst through the moonlight and leaped out, startling Bai Junya. In her panic, she stumbled and fell headfirst into the water.

"It's her?"

Hanyu, suspended in mid-air, froze. His expression was incredibly strange.

I swam so far underwater to get away, and I still run into someone surnamed Bai?

Seeing Bai Junya falling from a height, Hanyu helplessly turned and dove down. The moment he reached out to embrace her, Bai Junya, in her panic, mistook him for an attacker and, without thinking, summoned a water dragon to blast at him.

Already covered in old wounds, he couldn't withstand such an impact. Mid-air, his body went limp, and he crashed heavily back into the water.

Plop! Plop!

Two sounds of falling into the water echoed...

Why is it that every time I encounter someone surnamed Bai, I have bad luck!

Hanyu felt like crying but had no tears. Bai Junya, after falling into the water, thrashed about in panic. She even forgot about her water elemental divine ability, and within moments, she lost consciousness.

Thus, Hanyu had to laboriously swim over again. After pulling Bai Junya into his arms, he activated his water elemental divine ability, enveloping them both.

With the soft jade in his embrace, he discovered that Bai Junya, her clothes soaked through, revealed a stunning figure. Her prominent chest, about to spill forth, was clearly defined. He had always known she was well-endowed, but now he finally had a concept of just how much.

Bai Junya's eyes were tightly shut, and beneath her exquisite face, her slightly parted crimson lips made him swallow hard. He couldn't help but stare, captivated.

Just then, a splash broke the water beside him. Bai Jingliang had also jumped in at some point. He had assumed his sister was in danger, but upon arriving, he saw Hanyu holding his sister, his eyes seeming ready to devour him!

Hanyu looked at Bai Jingliang's complex expression, and through the water barrier, he called out, "I can explain..."