Chapter 138: Scattering

In winter, the river water was bone-piercing cold, freezing Chen Ji’s thoughts as if they would stop. The gloomy cold river water seemed to surge into Chen Ji’s body, freezing his heart.

The instant he leaped into the river water, he raised his head in the water and saw sunlight casting onto the river surface. The Tyndall effect formed light pillars like crystal branches, yet they held no warmth.

Someone wanted to use the opportunity of the literary gathering at Lu Hun Mountain Villa to kill Bai Li and the World Son Fu here, and then use the opportunity to frame the Dragon King Village bandits for the disaster.

The other side calculated very well, but they miscalculated Jing Wang’s plainclothes patrol, and also miscalculated one small medical hall apprentice.

Who wanted to kill Bai Li and the World Son?

Yun Fei… or Jing Fei?

Chen Ji floated up to the river surface, swimming towards the opposite shore while turning his head to look back.

On the black awning boat, the fisherman took off his bamboo hat and slowly undid his straw raincoat, revealing a fit physique. The middle-aged man stood at the bow of the boat, like an experienced hunter, his eyes tightly staring at the river surface.

On that black awning boat, a yellow talisman paper was stuck, with mysterious and complex symbols drawn in cinnabar. A swift wind pushed the black awning boat, making it sail very fast even without oars. The wind blew the talisman paper, making a rustling sound. But the talisman paper seemed to be nailed to the boat canopy, unable to be blown off.

Bai Li, the World Son, and Zhang Xia swam forward frantically. Fresh blood, life, and the glint of knives stimulated their adrenaline burst, and their lips began to tremble with fear.

But as Bai Li swam, she suddenly felt something was wrong. She suddenly turned her head, and where was Chen Ji’s figure behind them? Only the killers holding knives remained, coming across the water.

The killing intent on the black awning boat was palpable.

She shouted in a high voice, "Chen Ji, where are you?"

The World Son also floated on the river surface and roared angrily, "Chen Ji?"

However, no one responded to them, and their shouts seemed to sink to the bottom of the river.

Bai Li took a deep breath, "He went back."

Zhang Xia asked in surprise, "Go back? What do you mean? What’s the difference between going back now and sending himself to death?"

The World Son said gravely, "He must have gone back to buy time for us."

Zhang Xia hesitated. She didn’t understand what the World Son meant. The medical hall apprentice everyone said was a gambler actually swam back to buy time for them at this moment. But she realized that Bai Li and the World Son never suspected that Chen Ji had drowned or escaped alone from beginning to end.

Zhang Xia thought, "Then do we want to go back and save him? He definitely can’t face so many killers alone!"

The World Son gestured and was about to swim back, but Bai Li held him back tightly, "We continue to swim towards the opposite shore..."

Zhang Xia didn’t understand, "Do you want to abandon him?"

Bai Li suddenly looked at her and said in a condensed voice, "If we don’t leave now, all the time he bought for us will be wasted."

Zhang Xia asked, "What if he gets killed?"

Bai Li didn’t answer, turned her body, and swam towards the opposite shore.

The killers swam with knives in their mouths, and in the blink of an eye, they discovered that one of their prey was missing.

"Find him."

The leading killer dived into the water to search. When his line of sight entered the river water from the river surface, Chen Ji’s thin and calm face suddenly appeared in his eyes.

The killer was startled, his heart skipping a beat. He didn’t even have time to take the long knife out of his mouth, when Chen Ji had already reached out and grabbed his hair, roughly pulling the distance between the two closer.

A flash of knife light drew across in the water. Chen Ji’s short knife neatly and cleanly cut open the other side’s throat. Bubbles and blood surged out from the neck together. The killer only felt that the air in his lungs was no longer under control, rushing far away.

However, Chen Ji didn’t stop. In a flash, he cut open the large arteries of the other side’s arms and then stabbed a knife into his heart. A large amount of blood dyed the river water red, becoming turbid. No one could see clearly what was happening here.

Chen Ji quickly withdrew his hand, turned his body, and kicked the killer’s chest with one foot, kicking the killer to the bottom of the river. After a person dies, they will quickly sink to the bottom of the river, until three to seven days later, they will float up due to the gas produced by the decay of substances in the intestinal tract.

When the killers at the river surface saw bubbles, they all dived into the water and swam towards this place. They searched for Chen Ji’s figure in the dense blood. But when the bloody water was washed away by the river water, there was no one there.

One killer turned his head to look around, but saw Chen Ji just clinging to the bottom of the black awning boat that was speeding towards him. The short knife in his hand was chiseling into the bottom of the boat one knife after another along the wood grain. The killer then understood that Chen Ji’s purpose from the beginning was to destroy the boat.

There was no need to kill the people inside, clearly this one was the most inconspicuous. But this one was the most troublesome.

Every time Chen Ji stabbed the bottom of the boat with the short knife, he would chisel down many wood chips. He suddenly kicked with both legs, floated up to the water surface to breathe. Just as his head was exposed, he saw a paper talisman flying towards him.

He suddenly dodged. The yellow talisman paper, like a blade, cut a wound on his left arm. Chen Ji didn’t care about the official on the boat and resolutely sank back to the bottom of the boat to chisel it. He waited for several breaths and didn’t see the official dive into the water to chase him.

Chen Ji suddenly had an epiphany, the other side didn’t dare to rashly enter the water.

Bang bang. Bang. Bang.

Wood chips scattered. However, before Chen Ji could chisel, the black awning boat actually stopped chasing Bai Li and the World Son, but turned around and sailed towards the more than twenty killers, bringing Chen Ji along.

The killers sank into the water, took the long knives out of their mouths, and waited for Chen Ji to throw himself into the net. They were getting closer and closer, and the eyes of the more than twenty killers were cold and severe.

In the urgency, Chen Ji chiseled hard, and the short knife he brought from the medical hall broke in the middle, the knife tip sinking towards the bottom of the river. He suddenly turned his head and looked at the killers who were waiting with bated breath. His hair floated loosely in the river water. The noon sunlight cast into the river water, like the glory of the last moment of life.

The killers saw Chen Ji suddenly stop moving. Giving up? They discovered that the medical hall apprentice was especially calm.

The killers were waiting for Chen Ji to deliver himself to their door, and Chen Ji was also waiting. Waiting for an instant booming sound.

The next moment, the furnace fire inside Chen Ji’s body burned vigorously. One lamp, two lamps, three lamps... fifteen lamps. Those lamps of furnace fire seemed to send out a booming sound that only he could hear. The booming sound came across the river of time from ten thousand years ago.

In these ten thousand years, the vast splendor turned into mulberry fields, and mountains and rivers collapsed into plains. The world shattered, but I did not perish.

Chen Ji punched hard, smashing at the hole he had chiseled in the bottom of the boat. One punch then boomed out a crack in the wood he had chiseled.

The river water poured into the boat, and he then left the bottom of the boat without hesitation, floated up to the water surface to take a breath, and immediately dived back into the bottom of the river again, swimming towards the killers like an arrow.

Just as they came into contact, a killer swung his knife, but the blade just reached Chen Ji’s front, when it was clamped in his palms by Chen Ji’s hands. With a slight shake, he snatched the long knife. Before the killer could react, the long knife had already wiped across his neck.

Just as Chen Ji was about to kill again, he saw a yellow talisman paper shoot into the river water, like a straight blade. He quickly tilted his head, and the yellow talisman paper drew across his cheek, leaving a fine wound. Blood oozed from the wound.

The yellow talisman paper continued its momentum, actually nailing itself straight into the dark bottom of the river. Chen Ji’s heart was shocked. He immediately swam into the deep part of the river water, no longer lingering in the fight.

At the river bank, Bai Li, the World Son, and Zhang Xia stepped on the goose-egg stones and slowly waded up the shore. The cold wind blew, as if it blew into the seams of their bones.

They didn’t walk, but turned their heads and looked towards the heart of the river. On the opposite bank, the scholars were covering Jing Wang, fighting and retreating towards Yi Chuan County city. The scholars surrounded Jing Wang tightly. No killer could approach.

Jing Wang wanted to rush into the river, but was pulled back tightly by a scholar. Jing Wang shouted across the wide river surface towards Bai Li, but they were too far apart, and Bai Li simply couldn’t hear what her father was saying.

On the other side, Chen Wen Xiao ran frantically alone towards Lu Hun Mountain Villa. Chen Wen Zong then carried Wang Dao Sheng and panted heavily behind him. No killers wasted time on them.

At this time, Zhang Xia asked doubtfully, "Look, why is that black awning boat stopped in the middle of the river?"

Bai Li said in a light voice, "Chen Ji!"

Zhang Xia looked at Bai Li in surprise.

The World Son called out loudly, "Look, that boat is tilting, it seems like it’s going to sink."

"There’s blood in the river water."

Bai Li pursed her lips and looked at this scene. It must have been Chen Ji who found a way to sink that boat. But where was Chen Ji? Was the blood in the river… not Chen Ji?

They waited for a long time. Chen Ji’s figure was never seen on the river surface, and her heart also gradually sank. Bai Li turned around to leave. The World Son asked, "Where are you going?"

Bai Li wiped off the water stains on her face and said stubbornly, "Go find the Qian Sui army and report the revenge."

The World Son took a deep breath, "Who are we going to find to report revenge? We don’t even know who wants to kill us."

As soon as the words fell, they heard the sound of water at the river bank. The three people turned their heads at the same time, only to see Chen Ji wading up the shore with a long knife in his mouth, breathing heavily, exhausted to the extreme.

Clang. The long knife fell on the goose-egg stones on the river beach.

Bai Li was startled at first, then quickly walked two steps forward, "Chen Ji, are you injured?"

"I’m fine."

Chen Ji said, "Quick, let’s go to Lu Hun Mountain Villa. There are people from Dao Court and Buddha Gate there. I think the killers won’t dare to mess around."

The World Son looked at him, hesitating for a moment, "Your face?"

Chen Ji touched it. There was an inch-long cut on his face. "It’s fine, a small injury."

Strangely, in less than half an incense stick of time, the wounds on his left arm and face no longer bled. He suddenly thought of asking Xuan Yuan yesterday: What would happen if all the furnace fire was lit and turned white?

Xuan Yuan replied: Undead and unextinguishable. But since that’s the case, how did he die in the past?

At this time, Chen Ji turned back at the shore and looked towards the heart of the river. He only saw the official still standing at the bow of the boat, quietly gazing at him, not even minding the tilting of the boat body.

For a certain moment, he was a little doubtful. When he was in the water delaying time, the killers didn’t divide their troops to chase Bai Li and the World Son. This didn’t conform to the habits of killers. Unless, he was also one of the targets. Or, he was the true target?

Chen Ji turned around and left, "Let’s go, this ambush is not over yet!"

On the opposite bank of the river, Black Cloud quietly walked out of the forest and looked at the empty river shore. It looked at Chen Ji and the others turning around and leaving on the opposite side, hesitated for a moment, and used its claws to probe the river water.

So cold. Black Cloud had never been in the water before, and it didn’t know how to cross the river and meet Chen Ji. But it knew. Chen Ji now needed the molten flow on its body to re-light the remaining fifteen lamps of furnace fire. This was very important.

Thinking again and again, Black Cloud still decided to be a little ruthless to itself and swim across the river to the opposite shore.

Just as it was about to enter the water, the sound of horse hooves rang out from behind. It saw Zhang Xia’s red horse, 'Zao Zao', stepping into the water without hesitation and swimming towards the opposite shore. Black Cloud’s eyes lit up. It lightly leaped onto Zao Zao’s head and meowed, "Mighty."