At the Water God Manor on the Open Sun Canal, General Crab jolted awake from his nap.
"This is bad!"
With that startled cry, General Crab immediately rose from his bed.
"Someone come! Hurry and patrol the river with me!"
In his sleep, General Crab had sensed the death of a minor god under his command, and had also recognized who had met with disaster. This was no small matter. He left with his men almost immediately.
Before long, General Crab, accompanied by numerous officers, had personally wielded his authority as a Water God to control the waters and bring his men to the stretch near Heaven-Bearing Prefecture, arriving where the Alchemy Furnace had originally fallen.
The Alchemy Furnace was naturally gone. Nearby lay the bodies of several Aquatic Folk and a yaksha.
This yaksha had even had a recognized name in the Water God's temple, yet today he had died here for no apparent reason, without even his divine soul escaping.
The accompanying Aquatic Folk stared with eyes almost splitting in fury, but their search of the surroundings revealed nothing suspicious.
"Lord Water God, should we seal off the entire Grand Canal?"
General Crab's face filled with anger.
"Ordinary people might not even know there was an Alchemy Furnace here. Even if they did, they would only think it something mortals had sunk into the river, not anything extraordinary. Anyone who came to steal it must already have known something and possessed uncommon discernment!"
"The furnace thief cannot possibly still be within the canal's waters, but we should patrol them just in case. Muster your troops and officers, and search the river basin at once!"
"Understood!"
"I will ascend to heaven and report this to the Heavenly Emperor. This furnace thief can forget about escaping!"
As his words fell,