Chapter 152 – Arrival (1/2)

Translated by Jon

Shao Xuan knew that the river was large, but he didn’t know it was this large.

They rarely stopped to take breaks as the ship cruised along by sailing with the wind, manually being rowed, or getting pulled by Chacha.

Using the light from the sun and the moon, Shao Xuan was able to travel in a straight line. Although during the trip they had encountered many problems, including the murderous fish, which caused them to make a wide detour, they still couldn’t see any sight of their goal.

“We will have been travelling for fifteen days after today.” Shao Xuan told Chacha, looking at the expansive body of water.

Chacha gave a weak reply next to him, as he did not have all his strength. After Chacha’s curiosity had subsided, he had encountered several frightening experiences that had caused him to lose quite a few feathers.

Shao Xuan was also exhausted, as he had not properly rested during these past fifteen days. Although his recovery speed was incredibly fast, he couldn’t cope with the continual exhaustion. Furthermore, Shao Xuan was starting to worry that if they continued onwards, they would not have enough time to make it back. After all, according to the original plan, if he did not find anything within fifteen days, he was to return. However, he felt that he should still push on.

“Chacha, can you tell me if there’s actually land out there?” Shao Xuan asked, giving the eagle a kick. With how large the river was, it had already exceeded his expectations. He wouldn’t even be surprised if it lead to the sea.

[Seriously dude? It is pretty much an ocean already, and you’re saying it would lead into the sea?]

Chacha raised his head to cry in confirmation, and looked out towards the distance. He could sense that there was land, he was just unsure how far away it was.

Shao Xuan actually shared this feeling. He believed that as long as they charged on, they would make it to the opposite bank. However, the risk was too great! If they were still in the water when the river rose back up, what would they do?

What should they choose?

Continue forwards, or return back?

Shao Xuan closed his eyes, then activated the totem in his mind.

The totem started burning alight, the flames shooting forward in a violent manner.

Opening his eyes, Shao Xuan once again adjusted the sails, “Let’s continue onwards.”

“Jiao~~” Chacha weakly responded. As he recalled his life back in the tribe, he couldn’t help but to cherish the memories. But what Shao Xuan had just said about the new lands had roused his spirits back up.

Chacha was up in the sky, pulling the boat along.

While Shao Xuan was in deep thought, Chacha released a loud cry.

Shao Xuan quickly looked up. Chacha’s cry signified that he had found something up ahead. He had most likely seen the bank of the river.

Chacha landed in the boat and Shao Xuan jumped on his back, allowing Chacha to take him into the sky to see.

It was difficult to look around in the canoe, but the world became much clearer from the sky. There was a faint black stripe up ahead, on the horizon. If one didn’t look carefully, they’d miss it entirely.

Chacha flew up, tightening his hold on the rope, as they couldn’t just abandon the canoe, and shot ahead. If they did not, the canoe would be swept away by the river’s fierce waves.

Even if they could not fly closer to get a better view, Shao Xuan had already become excited.

Being on water for twenty days had made Shao Xuan itching to step on solid ground. If they had failed yet again in finding land, he would have been incredibly disheartened. With the water level rapidly decreasing, even if he used the totem flame to row, the result would still be death.

He could feel the accumulated exhaustion from the past twenty days scatter away now that he could see on outline of land. The weight in his heart immediately lightened with relief.

“Alright Chacha, let’s hurry up! Put more strength into it!”

Shao Xuan returned to the boat as Chacha continued to pull.

As the tide started to pick up, the amount of piranhas had started to decline. The cause of this occurrence was unknown. At least, within these two days, Shao Xuan did not experience any aggressions from the creatures underneath. All he was preoccupied with was the power and direction of the wind, letting the boat race to their destination.

The “black line” gradually became clearer. Looking at the sky, Shao Xuan hoped they could arrive before sunset. There were too many unknown variables to factor in at night.

Approaching the shore, Shao Xuan discovered a massive drop in the river’s water level due to the receding tides.

Not bad. Although he felt like he was navigating into an abyss at the moment, in the end, he made it to land.

This new place caused Shao Xuan to feel an indescribable kind of excitement in his heart.

This newly-discovered bank resembled the one back in the tribe. Close by was a steep slope.

However, running water could be found flowing down the slope not far from them. That should be a branch that allows the water to flow into the river. Only, right now, the water level was declining and the flowing water stopped before reaching the main body.

The wind grew stronger as he came closer to the shore. With the wind came a swampy and pungent odor.

Once he finished examining his surroundings, Shao Xuan took a look at the steep muddy slope and realized the canoe could not reach the shore.