Water Ghost's Revenge

Zhou Yan said irritably, "Nonsense. If I hadn't pulled you back just now, you would have already become the next water ghost."

San Kuazi finally realized that it was Zhou Yan who had saved him.

His first reaction wasn't lingering fear or gratitude, but surprise as he asked, "Big Brother Zhou Yan, you can actually deal with a water ghost?"

"I wouldn't say I can deal with it, but holding my own is no problem."

Zhou Yan wasn't boasting, as he could constantly feel a pair of eyes staring at him from the river, filled with greed and malice.

If not for the fear of the zombie, the water ghost likely wouldn't have let them go so easily.

Zhou Yan frowned slightly, pulled San Kuazi back more than ten paces, and then asked, "You haven't told me yet, why did you come here at night? Don't you know how many people have died here?"

If it were a stranger, it would be one thing, but San Kuazi had grown up in the vicinity; it was impossible for him not to have heard the rumors about this river.

At night, let alone a child like San Kuazi, even a strong man wouldn't dare appear by the river easily.

San Kuazi lowered his head and whispered, "I was hungry, so I came to find something to eat."

"Has something happened at home?"

Zhou Yan looked at San Kuazi and asked suddenly.

In his memory, although San Kuazi's family wasn't well-off, they could at least manage to fill their stomachs.

But the current situation was clearly wrong.

Moreover, San Kuazi had lost a significant amount of weight; no wonder he hadn't recognized him at first glance.

San Kuazi's head seemed to sink even lower, his voice barely audible.

"Father was crushed while moving cargo a few days ago and is now lying at home. Mother is trying to find a way to pay for his treatment. I was so hungry I couldn't sleep, so I ran out to find something to eat..."

Zhou Yan fell silent.

Such things were all too common; he had seen far too much of it.

It was precisely because of this that he wanted to change his own destiny, taking risks despite possessing the system.

He did it so that when faced with misfortune, he wouldn't be toyed with by fate, but would instead seize fate by the throat.

Zhou Yan searched his pockets, only to find he didn't have a single cent.

He then remembered that he had given all his money to Mother Zhou and Ma Yan.

Seeing Zhou Yan's actions, San Kuazi quickly said, "Big Brother Zhou Yan, it's fine. My father is almost better; he'll be back at the docks in a few days. We just need to hold out for these few days."

Poverty makes one mature; although San Kuazi was young, he already knew how to read the room.

Zhou Yan glanced at San Kuazi, said nothing more, and simply turned around, saying, "Come back with me. I can't promise much else, but I can at least ensure you get a full meal."

San Kuazi hesitated for a moment, but ultimately unable to resist the hunger in his stomach, he followed behind Zhou Yan.

On the river in the distance, that unseen entity watched the two figures walk further and further away, yet it could do nothing.

Finally, a ripple spread across the water's surface, and then there was no more movement.

Perhaps because the refining of the zombie was successful, the yin energy in the new residence had decreased significantly, with most of it being absorbed by the zombie.

Even so, San Kuazi was startled when he saw the house.

"Big Brother Zhou Yan, this is a ghost house. Godmother Wang, who lived here years ago, went mad and drowned herself in the river because of it."

Zhou Yan didn't stop walking and said casually, "Are ghosts scary? Can they be scarier than poverty?"

San Kuazi was slightly stunned after hearing this, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

That's right, what in this world could be scarier than poverty!

The kind where you fall ill and cannot be cured, only able to lie there waiting for death, or even feeling your body slowly fester and rot until you die in agony;

The kind where you are so hungry it feels like knives are carving at your insides, eventually leading you to either starve to death or gorge yourself on white clay until you burst;

And the kind where you don't even have clothes to cover your body...

In that instant, San Kuazi's worldview was dealt a massive blow.

Zhou Yan didn't care about the impact his offhand remark had on San Kuazi; he walked straight to the kitchen, took out twenty catties of mixed flour, packed it into a bag, and handed it to San Kuazi.

"I'm too lazy to cook. Take it back and make it yourself."

San Kuazi felt his eyes grow hot and quickly lowered his head, though his hands gripped the bag tightly.

These twenty catties of mixed flour might not seem like much, but it was enough to feed his family for six or seven days.

If they were frugal and paired it with wild vegetables, it could even last for about ten days.

In a critical moment, this was life-saving food.

"Thank you, Big Brother Zhou Yan."

Zhou Yan waved his hand and said bluntly, "Hurry home. If I see you at the river again, I'll break your legs."

San Kuazi didn't waste any more words; he bowed deeply to Zhou Yan and ran toward home, clutching the bag.

Watching San Kuazi's departing figure, Zhou Yan slowly closed the main gate.

The mood that had just improved turned sour once again, and the sense of anxiety in his heart began to rise.

"In this world, if you don't advance, you fall behind!"

Zhou Yan sighed, quickly composed his expression, and began to practice in the courtyard.

Tiger Pounce!

[Five Animal Frolics proficiency +1]

[Five Animal Frolics proficiency +2]

The night was deep, and most had fallen into a dream.

Zhou Yan was no exception. After finishing the Five Animal Frolics, he practiced the Shennong Health Cultivation Method once more, feeling his entire body's vitality come alive, though it remained deeply restrained.

There was a reason why the Shennong Health Cultivation Method was divided into morning and evening sessions.

Practicing in the morning awakens the body's vitality, as if waking from a dream, leaving one refreshed for the day.

Practicing in the evening guides the vitality, calming it from restlessness, which is suitable for nighttime rest and allows the vitality to nourish the body.

As for other times, the effects of practicing the Shennong Health Cultivation Method are limited; doing so too much can cause the vitality to circulate excessively, leading to damage.

This was the reason Doctor Zhuang had cautioned Zhou Yan.

"Whoo..."

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew outside, carrying a large amount of moisture.

In the courtyard, a trail of wet footprints appeared out of thin air, first entering from outside the gate, then moving from the courtyard toward the room.

The door was shut tight, yet the footprints continued to appear, even passing directly through the door into the room, moving slowly toward Zhou Yan's bed.

Finally, the footprints stopped at the bedside.

At that very moment, the soundly sleeping Zhou Yan suddenly opened his eyes and brandished a peach wood sword in his hand.

"Die!"

Without a word of nonsense, Zhou Yan went straight for the kill.

Where the peach wood sword struck, a ripple-like entity appeared, seemingly trying to block the blade.

But Zhou Yan's strike was fully charged, and the ripple could not stop the sword at all.

It only held for about 0.3 seconds before the barrier was shattered, and the peach wood sword pierced through with unstoppable force.

"Ah..."

A shrill, miserable scream suddenly erupted within the room.

Immediately after, a transparent figure appeared where Zhou Yan had thrust his peach wood sword—it was the water ghost from the river...