Dragon King

Chapter 24: The Dragon King's Black River Water Isn't Actually Black

Not only is it not black, but in the Longyou Circuit—a land shrouded in yellow sand year-round—to have a river this clear and bottomless is already a gift from heaven.

The river flows from west to east, winding its way, nourishing the fertile fields and the people on both banks.

Yet this very river has now changed beyond recognition.

Half a li from the riverbank, an indescribable stench hits you square in the face.

Even the Demon Suppression Bureau crew, long accustomed to all kinds of scenes, couldn't help but furrow their brows at this smell.

But even so.

What must be investigated still must be investigated.

They dismounted, leading their horses step by step toward the riverbed.

The closer they got, the thicker the stench became, dizzying and nauseating.

The once-clear water now shimmered with an eerie hue, the surface covered in a dense layer of white fish bellies—big and small, stretching endlessly out of sight.

"Fuck..."

Zhao Hu was the first to lose it, dry-heaving as he yanked his sleeve up to clamp over his nose and mouth.

Liu Chen's expression wasn't pretty either. He waved a hand. "Bear with it. Search carefully, see if there's any clue."

The group acknowledged and spread out, scouring the riverbank.

Soon.

They found nothing.

Not a trace of demonic aura, nor any sign of the Yellow Battalion.

Normally, if a demon were causing trouble, some residual aura would remain.

But here, aside from the stench, there was nothing else.

Either the demon was skilled enough to conceal its presence entirely.

Or...

This river had turned this way for some other reason.

As he was pondering, a flicker of movement caught the corner of his eye—smoke rising in the distance.

On the riverbank, there was actually a small village.

The village wasn't big, maybe twenty or thirty households, with rammed-earth walls and thatched roofs, looking dilapidated.

"These people... haven't fled?"

With the river stinking like this, living right next to it—how could anyone survive?

No sooner had he spoken than an old man, hunched over, carrying two wooden buckets, tottered out of the village and headed straight for the river.

They watched as the old man reached the bank and sank the buckets into the water, which was slick with oil and floating dead fish.

"..."

Zhao Hu's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Damn it, are these people insane?!"

Without a second thought, he charged over in a few big strides, snatched the rope from the old man's hands, and dumped the half-bucket of filthy water back into the river.

"Old man! Do you have a death wish?!"

"This water is like this—drinking it will kill you!"

The old man was startled by the sudden commotion. When he saw it was a burly man in Demon Suppression Bureau attire, his murky eyes held not a shred of gratitude, but only resentment.

He shot Zhao Hu a glare, said nothing, turned around, picked up the buckets from the ground, and moved to draw water again.

This time, not just Zhao Hu, but even Liu Chen and the others who had followed were dumbfounded.

"Hey! You old fool!"

Zhao Hu stomped in frustration and blocked him again. "I'm talking to you! Are you deaf? This water can't be drunk!"

The old man finally lost his patience. "If I don't drink this, what do I drink?"

"Drink this river water, and maybe I die slowly."

"But if I don't drink..."

"In a few days, I'll die of thirst. You choose?"

"..."

They exchanged glances, at a loss for words.

Longyou Circuit—a thousand li of yellow sand, nine years of drought out of ten.

For mortals to survive in this land, there were only two hopes.

Either hope for heaven.

Either that, or rely on the river.

In most places, digging a hundred feet deep might not yield a single drop of water.

Liu Chen remained silent, simply handing the waterskin in his hand to the old man.

The old man paused for a moment, took the waterskin, unscrewed it, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp. Only then did he let out a long, relieved breath.

"Thanks."

"Elder, we are from the Demon Suppression Bureau, here to investigate the anomaly of the Black River. We ask for your cooperation."

As soon as the words "Demon Suppression Bureau" left his mouth, a flicker of movement finally stirred in the old man's clouded eyes.

He lifted his head, scrutinized the group carefully, and at last fixed his gaze on the Horizontal Blades at their waists.

"Officers..."

The old man sighed, set the wooden bucket in his hand down on the ground, and plopped himself onto a stone by the riverbank.

"It's not that I won't cooperate, it's just that there's really nothing to say."

"Our Longyou Circuit has always been short on water. The villages along the Black River rely entirely on this river for drinking and daily use."

"Half a month ago, for no reason at all, it started flowing backward for three days."

"After three days, the water flowed forward again, but it had turned into this mess—all the fish in the river died, and the water became foul and stinking."

"Earthquakes are common in Longyou, but for the water veins to be cut off like this... it's probably the Dragon King's wrath."

The Dragon King?

Jiang Yuechu raised an eyebrow.

The others were taken aback as well.

Liu Chen frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

The old man pointed at the yellow earth beneath his feet. "Our Longyou Circuit depends on the heavens for food, but when the heavens don't send rain, we rely on the earth. The water in the earth is the Dragon King's gift."

"Every village and town nearby burns incense for the Dragon King, and we dare not slack off in our annual offerings. Over the years, we haven't had perfect weather, but we've never seen such a strange thing as the water veins drying up completely."

"If it weren't for the other day..."

Halfway through his words, the old man suddenly clammed up, wearing an expression that suggested he was afraid of saying too much.

Liu Chen furrowed his brow.

This kind of situation wasn't uncommon in the Great Tang.

So-called Dragon Kings were, in essence, mostly monsters.

The local folk, ignorant, worshipped them as gods, praying for favorable weather.

In many deep mountains and vast marshes, there were such "Mountain Gods" and "River Earls," receiving incense from the locals and protecting their lands.

As long as they didn't harm people, the Demon Suppression Bureau mostly turned a blind eye.

But with things as they were now...

"Before this, did a group dressed similarly to us pass through here?"

Liu Chen changed the question.

"There might have been... a few people, also dressed like officers. They asked a few questions, then followed the riverbank upstream."

Upstream?

Liu Chen exchanged glances with the others, already forming a plan in his mind.

The people from Yellow Battalion must have discovered something too, which was why they went upstream to investigate.

"Thank you, elder."

The old man waved his hand, paying them no further attention.

He went about filling both wooden buckets himself, cinched the rope over his shoulder, and then, without looking back, trudged slowly toward the village.

Zhao Hu stared at that retreating figure, opened his mouth as if to say a few more words of persuasion, but the words reached his lips and were swallowed back down.

He instinctively touched the waterskin at his waist.

Their group of eight had traveled day and night from Liangzhou Prefecture, carrying only enough water to last until the mission was done.

How could they spare any to share with an entire village?

Liu Chen watched the old man's fading silhouette, silent for a long time, before finally speaking slowly.

"Let's all weigh in. What do you think?"

Old Wang sighed. "What else is there to think?"

"That Dragon King the old man mentioned is most likely the monster holed up here."

"Before, when the weather was good, it was probably because the villagers' incense offerings were sufficient. With things like this now, I'd say something happened to that monster."

Zhao Hu spat.

"What bullshit Dragon King—just a beast squatting on the water vein."

"If you ask me, we charge straight over and chop its head off!"

"Chop its head off?"

Old Wang shot him a look and said irritably, "Do you even know where that monster is? Do you know what realm it's in?"

"Those Yellow Battalion men—every last one of them is a top-notch scout, and now they're gone without a trace, neither dead nor alive. You think that's a joke?"

"You—"

"Enough, enough."

Liu Chen barked a low command, cutting off their quarrel.

Rather than guessing blindly here, it was better to follow the traces left by those before them and head upstream to see for themselves.

Liu Chen took a deep breath, a flash of resolve in his eyes.

"Everyone, mount up!"

Eight Crimson-Eyed Stallions wheeled around and galloped up the riverbed toward the upper reaches.

If you find this book worthwhile and want to avoid losing track of it next time, please remember to add it to your bookshelf.