Dragon King

The Black River's water was not actually black.

Not only was it not black, but in this land of Longyou Circuit, shrouded in yellow sand all year round, having such a crystal-clear river was already a gift from heaven.

The river flowed from west to east, winding onward and nourishing the fertile fields and people along both banks.

Yet such a river had now changed beyond recognition.

Still half a li from the bank, an indescribable stench slammed into their faces.

Though everyone from the Demon Suppression Office had long grown accustomed to all manner of sights, the smell still made them frown.

Even so.

What needed investigating still had to be investigated.

The group dismounted, led their horses, and walked step by step toward the riverbed.

The closer they drew, the stronger the stench became, leaving them dizzy and lightheaded.

The once-clear river now shimmered with a strange color. A dense layer of white fish bellies floated across the surface, large and small, stretching beyond sight.

"Fuck..."

Zhao Hu was the first to lose it. He dry-heaved, raising his sleeve to tightly cover his nose and mouth.

Liu Chen's expression was no better. He waved a hand. "Bear with it. Search carefully and see if there are any clues."

The others acknowledged the order and spread out, searching carefully along the riverbank.

Very quickly.

They found nothing.

Not to mention demonic aura—even traces of the Yellow Division were nowhere to be seen.

Logically, whenever demons caused trouble, they would leave demonic aura behind.

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

Either the demon was highly skilled and could conceal every trace of its aura.

Or...

There was another reason the river had become like this.

Just as he was pondering, something caught the corner of his eye: smoke curling upward in the distance.

There was actually a tiny village by the riverbank.

The village was small, seemingly no more than twenty or thirty households. Its rammed-earth walls and thatched roofs looked utterly dilapidated.

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

The river stank this badly. Could people still survive living beside it?

No sooner had he spoken than an old man with a bent back emerged from the village, trembling as he carried two wooden buckets straight toward the river.

The group watched helplessly as the old man reached the bank and lowered his buckets into the oily river water filled with dead fish.

"..."

Zhao Hu's eyes nearly popped from their sockets.

"Damn it, are these people insane?!"

Without a second thought, he rushed over in several long strides, snatched the rope from the old man's hand, and poured the half-bucket of filthy water back into the river.

"Old sir! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"This water's already like this! Drinking it will kill you!"

The old man was startled by the sudden disruption. Once he saw that it was a burly man dressed in Demon Suppression Office uniform, however, his cloudy eyes showed not the slightest gratitude, only resentment.

The old man shot him a glare, said nothing, bent down to pick up the bucket, and prepared to draw water again.

This left not only Zhao Hu but even Liu Chen and the others who had followed him completely dumbfounded.

"Hey! You old man!"

Zhao Hu stomped in anger and blocked him again. "I'm talking to you! Are you deaf? You can't drink this water!"

The old man finally grew impatient. "If I don't drink this, what am I supposed to drink?"

"Drink the river water, and maybe I'll die slowly."

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

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

"..."

The group looked at one another, unable to find words for a moment.

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

For ordinary people to survive in this land, they had only two things to hope for.

Either hope for heaven.

Or hope for the river.

In most places, even digging a hundred feet into the earth would not reveal a single drop of water.

Liu Chen remained silent and merely handed the waterskin in his hand to the old man.

The old man froze for a moment, accepted the waterskin, unscrewed it, and tipped back his head for a great gulp before letting out a long breath.

"Thank you."

"Old sir, we are from the Demon Suppression Office, here to investigate the Black River's abnormal changes. Please make this convenient for us."

At the words Demon Suppression Office, the old man's cloudy eyes finally stirred slightly.

He lifted his head and examined them carefully, one by one, before finally settling his gaze on the horizontal sabers at their waists.

"Officials..."

The old man sighed, set down his wooden buckets, and dropped onto a stone by the river.

"It isn't that I refuse to cooperate. There's simply nothing much to say."

"Our Longyou has always lacked water. The villages along this Black River depend entirely on it for drinking and daily use."

"Half a month ago, for some reason, it began flowing backward on its own for three days."

"After three days, the water flowed normally again, but it had turned into this ghostly state. All the fish in the river died, and the water became fishy and foul."

"Earth dragons turning over is common in Longyou, but for the water veins to be cut off... eighty percent of the time, it means the Dragon King is angry."

Dragon King?

Jiang Yuechu raised an eyebrow.

The others were also taken aback.

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

The old man pointed at the yellow earth beneath his feet. "We people of Longyou live off the heavens. But when the sky gives no rain, we can only depend on the land. The water beneath this ground is bestowed by the Dragon King."

"Every nearby village and town offers Incense-Fire Power to the Dragon King. During the yearly rites, we never dare slack off in the slightest. Over the years, we can't say the winds and rains always came in their season, but we've never seen such a strange thing as water veins suddenly being cut off."

"If it weren't for what happened a few days ago..."

Halfway through, the old man suddenly shut his mouth, looking as though he feared saying too much.

Liu Chen frowned.

This sort of situation was not uncommon in Great Tang.

So-called Dragon Kings were, in essence, usually demons.

The local people were ignorant and worshipped them as gods, hoping for favorable winds and timely rains.

In many deep mountains and great marshes, there were such "mountain gods" and "river lords," receiving the Incense-Fire Power of a region and protecting its land and waters.

So long as they did not harm people, the Demon Suppression Office generally turned a blind eye.

But with things as they were now...

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

Liu Chen changed the question.

"I think... there were several of them, dressed like officials too. They asked a few questions, then followed the riverbank upstream."

They went upstream?

Liu Chen exchanged glances with the others, already forming a judgment.

The Yellow Division must have discovered something as well, which was why they had gone upstream to investigate.

"Thank you, old sir."

The old man waved a hand and ignored them.

He filled both buckets himself, looped the ropes over his shoulders, then slowly headed back toward the village without looking back.

Zhao Hu watched his retreating figure and opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to persuade him further.

But when the words reached his lips, he forcibly swallowed them back down.

He unconsciously touched the waterskin at his waist.

The eight of them had ridden day and night from Liangzhou Prefecture. The water they carried was only enough to last until the mission was complete.

How could they possibly have enough to spare for an entire village?

Liu Chen watched the old man's departing figure. After a long silence, he slowly spoke.

"Tell me. What do you all think?"

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

"That Dragon King the old man mentioned is, nine times out of ten, a demon entrenched in this place."

"Things were peaceful before, likely because the people's Incense-Fire Power offerings were sufficient. Now that it has come to this, I fear something has happened to that demon."

Zhao Hu spat.

"What fucking Dragon King? It's just a beast squatting on the water veins."

"If you ask me, we should charge right in and chop off its head!"

"Chop off its head?"

Old Wang shot him a glance and snapped, "Do you know where that demon is? Do you know what realm it's in?"

"Those Yellow Division people are all skilled scouts, yet now they're neither seen alive nor found dead. Do you think this is child's play?"

"You..."

"Enough."

Liu Chen barked, stopping their quarrel.

Rather than make baseless guesses here, they might as well follow the trail left by those before them and investigate upstream.

Liu Chen drew a deep breath, a flash of resolve crossing his eyes.

"Everyone, mount up!"

Eight Scarlet-eyed Steeds turned their heads and galloped upstream along the riverbed.