Chapter 213 - 211: A Night of Fish and Dragon Dance (Part 4)

Chapter 213: Chapter 211: A Night of Fish and Dragon Dance (Part 4)

Fu Juemin galloped his horse through the streets as the twelfth lunar month’s wind howled, cutting like a knife.

Though he wore only a suit, he hardly felt the cold. Li Huaisuang, seated behind him, was clearly freezing. Her small body trembled unceasingly as they galloped, yet she gritted her teeth and made no sound, merely tightening her arms around him, terrified a single jolt would send her tumbling from the horse.

Children occasionally chased each other along the roadside, lanterns in hand. Sporadic firecrackers echoed from the alleyways. Incense shops and pastry stores were still brightly lit, their windows fogged with steam that blurred the silhouettes within, adding a touch of worldly warmth to the cold night of the Lesser New Year.

The Lesser New Year. Though not the main celebration, the streets already held a festive air.

Nearing the South Market Street Corner, Fu Juemin reined in slightly, letting his horse slow to a gentle walk.

Just then, Li Huaisuang raised a hand from behind him and pointed urgently to the side. "Wrong! We have to go that way!"

Fu Juemin’s gaze followed her finger. It wasn’t toward South City, but a darker, more remote fork in the road.

A flicker in his eyes, he said nothing, simply tugging the reins to turn the horse. He silently bypassed the dimly lit intersection.

Following Li Huaisuang’s direction, the path grew ever more remote.

Behind them, the warm yellow lights of the residential district were swallowed by the thick darkness of the cold night, vanishing like a receding tide.

Pedestrians vanished. Ahead, there was only the CLIP-CLOP of hooves on the bluestone slabs.

A damp, cold vapor carrying the fishy smell of a river began to spread silently through the air, growing ever thicker...

Li Huaisuang’s arms tightened around him, her body trembling more violently now, whether from the cold or something else. A strange urgency filled her voice as she urged him on. "Over there! It’s that way!"

Fu Juemin hesitated no longer. He spurred the horse, which leaped over a few slippery stone steps. Dark moss grew on the stones, causing the horse to stumble with a sharp neigh.

By the time he steadied his mount, the scene before him had changed completely.

A tributary of the Su River, which wound through the city, lay before them like a silent ribbon of black silk.

The river was flanked by flat bluestone paths and stone steps leading down to the water for washing. By day, this was where nearby residents laundered their clothes and drew water, but now, not a soul was in sight.

A thin, milky-white mist, delicate as gauze, rose silently from the river’s surface, shrouding the entire waterway in a silent, desolate atmosphere.

In the distant night sky, fireworks continued to bloom and the sound of firecrackers could be faintly heard, but it all felt remote, as if separated by an invisible barrier.

Fu Juemin rode slowly along the riverbank. The sound of lapping water came from the channel beside him. The mist over the water was thick and milky, threatening to spill over the banks.

Behind him, Li Huaisuang suddenly fell quiet, as if silently sensing something.

Aided by the night’s cold, thin moonlight, Fu Juemin peered from horseback into the pitch-black river.

One glance was all it took. His pupils constricted.

In the narrow channel, countless silver scales were packed together, surging and churning. The friction of the scales against one another created what looked like a glittering silver ribbon...

It was a repeat of the scene he had witnessed during the day: the "pilgrimage of fish"!

It had been unsettling enough to see by day. Now, to witness it unfolding silently in this quiet, remote waterway was not only shocking, but it also felt as if a vast, invisible will was surging through the water—a presence full of an indescribable, demonic, and ominous power.

Fu Juemin’s eyes flickered. Since Li Huaisuang remained silent, he decided to ride along the river, heading upstream against the flow of the fish.

After crossing a low stone bridge, a few shadowy figures appeared on the riverbank ahead. He couldn’t tell if they were locals who had seen the strange sight in the river and come out to catch fish in the middle of the night.

CLIP, CLOP, CLIP...

The sound of hooves on the bluestone path, magnified by the silence, was exceptionally clear and sudden.

The figures by the river evidently heard it. They turned in unison to face Fu Juemin, seeming to strain their eyes to see who was approaching.

The reflection of the crescent moon was shattered by the churning scales. Fu Juemin narrowed his eyes, reined in his horse, and approached them slowly, one step at a time.

Just then, Li Huaisuang let out an excited, joyful cry from behind him. "Little Fish!"

Her cry shattered the silence. The figures across the way jolted. Almost simultaneously, a deafening sound—SPLASSSSHH!!!—erupted from the river behind them!

In the dim river, under the hazy, thin moonlight, an impossibly massive, unnatural shadow leaped from the water!

"NEEEIGHHH!"

The steed beneath him shied, rearing up violently with a long, frantic neigh.

The figures on the riverbank were completely stunned by the sudden spectacle, frozen in place.

A few breaths later, one of them snapped out of it as if waking from a dream and quickly pulled something from his coat!

FWOOSH—BOOM!!!

A blinding point of light shot into the night sky with a piercing shriek and exploded! Countless red and green sparks bloomed like a canopy, instantly illuminating everything below—the river, the figures, the horse... and the colossal creature in the water—in perfect detail!

It was a fish so enormous its size defied description. Its body was covered in blue-black scales as large as rice bowls. The fleeting glimpse of its tail alone revealed it to be the size of several grown men!

The giant fish thrashed in the narrow river, sending up towering splashes, as if in answer to Li Huaisuang’s call.

The light from the Fishbone Chain on Li Huaisuang’s wrist grew to its peak intensity. It stopped flickering and instead shone with a steady brilliance, illuminating the surrounding darkness like a string of tiny lanterns.

The giant fish thrashed a few more times, then, for some unknown reason, it turned and swam rapidly away without a backward glance.

"Quick! We have to catch it!"

Li Huaisuang’s initial joy was now tinged with the sound of sobbing, her voice overflowing with anxiety and worry. "Little Fish needs me! It’s in pain!"

Fu Juemin said nothing. He just dug his heels sharply into the horse’s flanks. The steed cried out in pain and bolted forward.

Fu Juemin could now clearly see the figures on the riverbank who had set off the signal flare. They were members of the Blue-clothed Gang.

Seeing Fu Juemin charge toward them on horseback, the men were first startled, then overjoyed.

"Get them!"

"It’s the woman the Gang Leader mentioned! Don’t let her escape!"

The dozen or so yards vanished in an instant under the horse’s charge. The blue-clothed men shouted and instinctively moved aside, but one, bolder than the rest, drew a dagger from his belt. With a savage look on his face, he ignored the danger and charged, slashing at Fu Juemin and Li Huaisuang!

CRACK!

Fu Juemin galloped past. With a sickening crack of bone, the man blocking their path was struck square in the chest by the speeding horse and sent flying like a cannonball without a sound.

Fu Juemin didn’t look back; his gaze never wavered. He leaned low over his horse as the several Great Demon Soul Seeds within him vibrated in unison. He locked onto the distant Fish Demon’s aura and hugged the horse’s back, chasing madly along the riverbank.

If one were to look down from a high vantage point at that moment, they would see—

Under the continuous light of exploding signal flares, a black steed carrying two riders flew along the winding Su River, a dark arrow splitting the night as it galloped recklessly onward.

On both sides, countless blue-clothed figures holding torches and blades swarmed from every street corner and alleyway like ants drawn to the scent of blood. They converged into a raging tide, closing in to surround the galloping horse and its riders!

And farther away, another force was also rapidly approaching.

The two streams of men collided halfway to the river!

Without a word, they clashed in a bloody melee.

Like the members of the Blue-clothed Gang, they seemed desperate to reach the riverbank. Their target was the same: the figures galloping beside the water.

But the two groups had opposite intentions: one sought to intercept and kill, while the other fought to help them escape. Under the light of the fireworks, only blood soaked the cold night...