Chapter 320: Water Son

Chapter 320: The Water Son

"Swim in?" Li Huowang immediately rejected that option. In the water, he would be utterly helpless—entering like that would only offer himself up as meat to others.

Li Huowang went through his current abilities one by one in his mind, but found nothing that could help him in this situation.

"Go back and have County Magistrate Lou send a boat over?"

Just as Li Huowang was reluctantly considering this idea, his keen hearing picked up an extremely sharp sound from somewhere—a "saxophone?"

Li Huowang hid his figure behind a thicket and looked toward the source of the noise.

Not long after, he saw a group of musicians performing with flutes, drums, and other instruments.

Behind the drumbeats and gongs, a small wooden boat was being carried by dozens of people. On the boat sat an elderly woman. Though her hair was completely white and all her teeth had fallen out, she appeared quite spirited.

The smiling old lady looked around at the lively scene. Red and white cloth wrapped the little boat like a flower.

Such an odd group left Li Huowang puzzled about what exactly they were up to.

They didn’t pass by Li Huowang’s side—they simply stopped.

With the sounds of gongs and drums, they gently placed the small boat carrying the old woman onto the riverside, allowing it to drift downstream into the cave.

The people on shore still wore cheerful expressions, bowing repeatedly to the old woman aboard, congratulating her.

"Madam Liu, you’re truly fortunate! You really are blessed beyond measure—I don’t have such good fortune," one said.

"Yes indeed, Madam Liu, you're lucky. Even though you have no children, your water son will take care of you in old age."

"Dear Aunt Liu, may your journey be peaceful. I’ll often bring gifts to visit you."

Watching this seemingly harmonious scene, Li Huowang felt a chill run down his spine.

No matter how kind their words sounded, they couldn't hide the despicable intentions beneath—to devour the inheritance of someone without family.

What nonsense was this “water son”? It was merely a way to dispose of helpless elders and divide their wealth.

As Li Huowang watched the small boat slowly drift away from the shore, something suddenly struck him. His eyes widened slightly, and he quickly leaped forward three steps before springing off the ground and jumping straight onto the wooden boat.

Li Huowang's sudden move caused the boat to sway. But the old woman at the front turned her head to look behind her, seeing nothing. She gripped her cane tightly and continued bidding farewell to the neighbors along the bank.

Standing invisibly at the rear of the boat, Li Huowang watched the distant cave growing larger in the distance. He muttered inwardly, "A water son, huh? I want to see just what you really are!"

Gradually, the music from the shore faded away. Both people aboard turned their gaze toward the distant cave.

Once the boat entered the cave, everything fell silent except for the faint splash of water against the boat. As the light outside grew dimmer, the inside of the cave became increasingly dark.

Clearly frightened, the old woman at the front still clutched her cane for courage.

"It’s okay, it’s okay. That elder sister won’t lie to me. The water son will come to fetch me soon. The water son can take care of me in old age—I’ve got a son now."

Li Huowang glanced at her bent figure and felt a pang of sympathy. Clearly, this old woman had gone completely senile—she took every lie told to her as truth.

“Whoosh!” A small light suddenly appeared on the water ahead, startling Li Huowang.

He narrowed his eyes and carefully examined it—it was actually a white candle.

"A water son? Is that you? My surname is Liu, your father passed away and his name was Hu—you should take his surname now."

The old woman chattered to the white candle in the distance, trying to show goodwill while fearing she might seem too eager.

The candle gave no response. Instead, the boat beneath Li Huowang began to change—no longer drifting with the current, it slowly moved toward the candle.

Seeing the candle, Li Huowang unconsciously tightened his grip on the hilt of the sword behind him, muscles tensing throughout his body.

Whatever this so-called "water son" was, since they stole infants to make pills, they certainly weren’t harmless.

As the boat drew closer, the white candle slowly retreated. Before long, it stopped abruptly.

In the next moment, Li Huowang stumbled forward, nearly falling. When he steadied himself, he realized the boat had run aground.

Before him lay uneven terrain—evidently, they had reached shore.

Looking at the old woman who had fallen to the ground and hadn’t gotten up yet, Li Huowang stepped over her and approached the candle in the distance.

Three zhang, two zhang, one zhang! Finally, Li Huowang could clearly see what held the candle.

It was a creature with deformed limbs. If viewed as a whole, it barely resembled a human.

Its hair was unnaturally long, like a turtle shell draped across its back. Its nails, longer than fingers, twisted into dirty yellow spirals.

Teeth jutted out randomly in its mouth—Li Huowang couldn’t imagine how both overbite and underbite could coexist on the same face.

Moreover, he noticed strands of green hair falling from its head, entering its eyes. This creature had no eyes—it was blind.

"Li Huowang, be careful. That’s a renxiao," Hongzhong, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke.

When Li Huowang cast him a questioning glance, Hongzhong continued explaining, "If a person has bad luck and lives too long without dying, their white hair turns green, their mouth sprouts teeth, they lose the ability to speak human language and only speak in ghostly tongues. Eventually, they become half-human, half-spirit, a malevolent spirit."

At that moment, the renxiao holding the candle with its claws moved. It gently swayed the candle, luring the old woman to follow it deeper into darkness.

Li Huowang, expression grave, instinctively wanted to chase after them—but then stopped mid-step. Standing still, he watched the candle disappear, then asked Hongzhong in a low voice, "Is this true, or did you just make it up?"

Hongzhong showed a trace of disdain on his face. "Do you think I’d stoop so low as to fool you for fun? I’m one of the Great Three Elements—Hongzhong, after all. If the True Three Elements wanted to deceive you, they'd ensure you died without burial!"

"Fine, I’ll just say it then. Since you don’t believe me, I won’t bother telling you anything else about the renxiao."

Li Huowang stood still, scrutinizing Hongzhong closely.

Seeing this unusual behavior, Hongzhong was surprised. "Did I grow flowers on my face? What are you staring at? That person’s already gone—why aren’t you chasing after them? Did you come here just to enjoy the scenery?"

Frowning slightly, Li Huowang shook his head. "I just find this strange. If you’re just a hallucination, why do you know things I don’t?"

Then he looked at the other four. "If you’re not hallucinations, then what are you?"

Hongzhong returned his gaze, examining Li Huowang from head to toe. With his faceless expression, he wore a smile that was neither genuine nor mocking.

"Well, how should I know? That’s a question only you can answer."