Chapter 77: The Hand in the Shadows (1/2)

Take the river god alive!

Both Qing Han and Yuying exuded excitement when they heard Lu Yun’s plan, especially Qing Han. Although the god wasn’t quite as he’d imagined, he couldn’t help a surge of excitement.

He was but sixteen and knew the stories surrounding the Dusk River God, having studied countless texts and records about the deity. Now, not only had he seen the mythical river god with his own eyes, but he was going to capture it!

Whoosh!

Emerald Mistfire leapt out of Yuying’s hand and cast an emerald radiance in the abyss.

“What are those?!”  Qing Han stopped in his tracks before entering the underwater palace.

White, strangely-shaped monsters covered the ground. They were lying prostrate with heads lifted, mouth at the top and eyes at the bottom. Slender limbs propped slim bodies up like spiders’ legs, the joints reversed. They’d been staring at Lu Yun and the others with black, dark eyes, but as soon as the light of the Emerald Mistfire illuminated their habitat, they started and skittered away.

“Ghouls!” Lu Yun called out. “They’re often seen in ancient tombs with thick yin energy or burial mounds of ten thousand bodies. They crave everything yin and fear all things yang. It’s rare for them to attack the living of their own accord; just ignore them.”

He’d encountered ghouls back on Earth before, and hadn’t expected to see such a large group within the abyss. They possessed the strength of an ox, but the courage of a mouse. They never attacked unless they were provoked first.

Qing Han and Yuying nodded slightly and made their way into the underwater palace. It was a tattered representation of what it had been, but there were hints of a once extravagant architecture.

“Qing Han,” Lu Yun suddenly asked, “do you find this place familiar?”

“I do.” Qing Han nodded. “It looks just like the palace in the burial mound under Myriad Formation Summit.”

“That’s right. It’s very similar. The palace in the burial mound was designed for burial purposes, whereas this is a real palace.” Bafflement gleamed in Lu Yun’s eyes. “That one was obviously built after the burial mound was set up, and it was based on the layout of this underwater palace.”

Lu Yun struggled to grasp a fleeting inspiration in his mind, but something was still missing.

“Do you think the river god had something to do with the burial mound?” asked Qing Han.

“Perhaps.” The governor shook his head, his mind a mess of tangled thoughts.

“How—how dare you come inside!” the hoarse voice shrieked. The river god was hiding in the depths of the main hall, and her expression tensed when she saw the humans follow her into the palace.

Corpsefish emerged from beside her, creating several trapping formations with their tentacles to form the layout of Ghost Yanking Feet.

Whoosh!

Emerald Mistfire surged and reduced the corpsefish to ashes before they could come closer.

“Stay away! Don’t come any closer! Wait, no, come here. Come to me!!” The river god garbled forlorn squawks, highlighting the insane edge to her voice. There seemed to be something wrong with her mind.

“Wait!” Qing Han grabbed Yuying. “Don’t. There’s something there!”

The Scroll of Shepherding Immortals flickered in and out of existence over Qing Han, imbuing him with power.

“What is it?” Lu Yun couldn’t see anything with his Spectral Eye.

Earlier, Qing Han had been the first to see the Dusk River God. The barrier around the tomb for the living not only segregated the abyss and its terrible inhabitants from them, but also prevented those in the tomb from seeing the monsters. Therefore, no one other than Qing Han had seen the river god in the underwater palace in the beginning.

The Scroll of Shepherding Immortals granted him a good variety of abilities, allowing him to see what Lu Yun couldn’t. Meanwhile, the Dusk governor could detect all dead things, but not living beings, or those that were stuck between the two realms.

“It’s the thing that ate the river god’s tail!” Eyes widened with fear, Qing Han hastily retreated a few steps. “No, no…. There’s something bigger. We’re inside its mouth!” He grabbed Lu Yun and beelined for the exit. “Go, go, go!”

Raaaagh!!

A tremendous roar tore through the air, shaking the palace and crumbling the premises. It felt like a giant mouth was gradually closing.

“This isn’t a palace,” Qing Han cried out, “but the mouth of a monster!!”

“What?!” Lu Yun couldn’t believe his ears. This turn of events was utterly fantastical and almost incomprehensible.

The palace was actually a monster’s mouth? They’d checked before entering and seen nothing around or behind the architecture. So where had the monster come from?

Yuying swiftly reacted and brought Lu Yun and Qing Han to her side, moving so quickly that she almost turned into a streak of emerald flame herself.

Crackle.

Rumble.