Twilight's Threshold Chapter 125: The River god's wrath - Novel Cool

Chapter 125: The River god's wrath

Chapter 125: The River god's wrath

"What kind of person?"

The other Blue-robed gang members heard Hu ma's shout and were all startled, quickly nocking and shooting their arrows.

The sound of arrows whistling through the air filled his ears, and hu ma was also startled. This place was only three to four zhang (yards) from the shore, which was the most effective range for arrows.

Although he had learned the skills of an age keeper, he wasn't as powerful as the heroes in the TV shows he had watched in his previous life. To be honest, if these arrows were flying so fast, they might as well be bullets.

In a hurry, he had to raise both arms to protect his head and face. As long as his head and body were not injured, he could endure it.

But unexpectedly, before he could use his arms to protect his face, little red apricot saw the situation and suddenly spun around hu ma. Her little short legs kicked fiercely, creating a strong yin wind that swept away all the arrows.

Hu ma was pleasantly surprised: "Little red apricot has this ability?"

On the other side, yang gong and the red incense disciple in the water god temple also heard hu ma's shout. They poked their heads out and saw hu ma already rowing the boat to the window to respond.

This was truly unexpected: "Could they be so bold as to row the boat right through?"

"The blue-robed gang members will surely catch up immediately, right?"

"..."

At this critical moment, yang gong gritted his teeth and shouted, "Brother hu is our only hope. Who else can we trust?"

"He's not a reckless person; he must have a plan."

"..."

With that, he steeled his heart, jumped up, and smashed the window, leaping down.

After all, the jar containing the blood tai sui was still strapped to yang gong. The other redincense disciple, seeing the situation, also jumped down.

Both had good skills and directly leaped onto the boat. From a height of two zhang, they didn't capsize the boat, it just rocked. Hu ma didn't have time to greet them and immediately started rowing the boat quickly toward the center of the river.

"Not good, they're trying to escape..."

The blue-robed gang disciples on the shore, seeing their arrows couldn't harm hu ma, were already reloaded, both anxious and angry, shouting loudly.

Some of the more anxious ones had already rushed to the shore, ready to board the boat.

But the young incense master, seeing this scene, was also anxious and angry, but still managed to hold them back, shouting:

"Don't go into the water yet. We're about to worship the river god. Crossing the river now would be courting death!"

"..."

At the same moment, old qian, who was rowing the boat to the center of the river, still had a small boat with the injured blue-robed gang disciple who had fainted and the yellow-haired girl, whose hands and feet were bound and mouth gagged, staring with terrified eyes.

He had noticed the commotion on the shore but couldn't afford to be distracted.

He closed his eyes, quickly recited some words, then suddenly opened them and lifted his head, pushing both people off the boat into the water.

"Plunk... plunk..."

The fainted blue-robed gang disciple didn't struggle and sank directly into the water.

The yellow-haired girl, however, was terrified to the extreme, struggling forcefully, but with her hands bound, she couldn't move.

Old qian on the boat didn't even look at these two people, only staring intently at the river beside them.

His eyes were full of anxious anticipation, but after a few breaths, he was suddenly startled, his hair standing on end:

"The river water isn't swirling... this... this..."

"..."

When the river god is worshiped, the water often suddenly swirls, pulling the offerings into the river.

But now, these two people had fallen into the water and were only struggling on the surface, floating and sinking, as if the river god had rejected the offering...

It had already been agreed upon, so why wasn't it happening?

Just then, the blue-robed gang members saw hu ma and the others were getting farther from the shore, and in their anxiousness, they saw old qian apparently pushing the offerings into the river. They hurriedly pushed their boats into the river, leaped up, and urgently chased after.

But unexpectedly, before they had even entered the river three zhang, the mirror-like river surface suddenly surged with waves, as if a strong wind had risen out of nowhere.

Their boats, some spinning in place, unable to move forward, others directly capsized.

The people on the boats were coldly pushed into the water, and regardless of whether they could swim, they all sank with a "plunk" sound, as if something had pulled them underwater.

"Ooh..."

Amidsthe panic, the ears heard a cold wind rising.

At this moment, someone looked up and saw that the river surface was now filled with yin qi, with waves everywhere.

Even more bizarrely, the river surface was dotted with white spots, bones visible, as if all the people who had drowned in the river over the years had surfaced.

"How can this be?"

The young incense master of the blue-robed gang fled back to the shore, looking back with a greenish face.

The fishermen on both banks, suddenly seeing the sky darken and a chilling ghostly aura rising from the riverbank, hearing the cries and waves, were all frightened to the core, taking out paper money and incense from their houses, bowing nonstop to the direction of the river, praying for safety.

"The river god is enraged..."

Usually, the water here was calm and still, but once the waves rose, it was unknown when they would subside.

Often, they had to sacrifice oxen or sheep to pacify the river's anger.

Otherwise, during this time, not catching fish was a minor issue, but often boats would capsize, and several people would die.

"We're finished..."

Everyone on both banks was terrified, and those on the boat were even more frightened and trembling.

Yang Gong and the Red Fragrance Disciple were already trembling with fear in the ghostly mist, unsure when the boat would capsize.

If they fell into the river, their skills would be of no use.

"Row the boat!"

But at that moment, Hu Ma gave a stern order, handing them the oars and standing up to the bow of the boat.

He picked up the incense stick from the bow and held it in his hand.

The cold wind from the river blew his robe, making it flutter loudly, but he held the green incense stick without moving.

Strangely, the small boat remained unaffected by the waves.

Yang Gong and the other Red Fragrance Disciple reacted quickly, taking the oars and rowing hard, speeding towards the opposite bank.

"Gurgle..."

But just as they passed the center of the river, they heard a bubbling sound.

Hu Ma looked down and saw a person hanging from the side of the boat. It was the yellow-haired girl they had seen earlier. The Blue Robe Gang had offered her as a sacrifice and thrown her into the river, but the River God had not accepted her, so she had not been dragged to the bottom.

However, with her hands and feet bound, she would still drown. But her swimming skills were good, and she managed to stay afloat for a while. Perhaps protected by heaven, she encountered the small boat.

Her bound hands swung, and the rope wrapped around the hook securing the boat.

Now, the small boat was pulling her forward, but with her face in the water, she was gulping down water and would surely drown if this continued.

The situation was urgent, and there was no time to think.

To save her, he only needed to reach out and pull her in; to push her back, he only needed to kick her.

Hu Ma didn't have time to think and reached out to grab her hands, pulling her onto the boat.

"Phew!"

But Hu Ma didn't expect that this emaciated girl was surprisingly heavy.

As he pulled her up, he saw a pale hand emerging from under her feet, accompanied by a shrill scream, trying to pull her back into the water.

"Is it a water ghost from the river?"

Hu Ma was startled, realizing the situation.

The river was wide, and over the years, many incidents had occurred. The things in the river were not just the old turtle.

The Blue Robe Gang's sacrifice was rejected by the old turtle, but the water ghost in the river had noticed and wanted to pull her down as a substitute.

If he hadn't reached out, it would have been fine, but now that he had, he couldn't just let her go.

Without hesitation, he took a deep breath and shot a True Yang Arrow directly at the water ghost emerging from the river.

"Hisss..."

The water ghost hissed as if burned by a fierce flame and retreated back into the water.

But as the water ghost submerged, the boat began to rattle.

Yang Gong looked out and was shocked, exclaiming, "Where did all these dead people come from?"

The boat was now surrounded by bloated corpses, including the recently drowned Blue Robe Gang disciple, who floated beside the boat with lifeless eyes open.

Their pale hands clung to the boat's side, seemingly unwilling to let them leave.

Dead people were irrational. The Blue Robe Gang disciple, who had been injured in the line of duty, was drowned, and his resentment was intense. But instead of seeking revenge on the Young Incense Master who had drowned him, he was now trying to pull the boat over to make the people on it drown with him.

"That's not right..."

Seeing the boat slow down, Hu Ma suddenly realized a problem.

He had already made a deal with the thing in the river; why wasn't it helping him drive away these malevolent spirits?

Just as he was thinking, the wind and waves intensified around them.

A cold, ancient voice echoed in his ears, the same one he had heard when performing the ritual on shore. In the mist on the river, he could see a large shadow in the water, slowly moving towards the boat.

The cold wind howled, and a voice seemed to say, "Is the young master by the fire pot on the boat?"

"Why not stop and have a chat in the Water Palace?"

"..."

"Chat your grandpa..."

Hu Ma was also shocked, not expecting this.

But remembering the "Strict Law" in the "Book of Year-Taming," he did not show fear. Instead, he held the incense stick firmly and turned around, reciting sternly, "My words are commands, and my commands are law!"

"The incense stick has not burned out yet; how dare you stop me?"

"..."

"What?"

Yang Gong and the others couldn't hear what Hu Ma was saying or who he was looking at, but they saw his stern and authoritative expression, which seemed to calm the wind and waves around the boat.

They didn't have time to ask and immediately rowed harder, speeding forward like an arrow.

"The thing in the river is still afraid..."

Hu Ma tightly gripped the incense stick. It was just a common incense stick, a necessary item for wanderers, but now it seemed to have the power to repel the thing in the river.

Regardless of whether the thing in the river was suspicious, as long as the incense stick didn't burn out, it couldn't attack him directly...

But just as this thought crossed his mind, the river surged, trying to pull the boat back.

(End of Chapter)

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