The older generation all knew that back in the 1980s, the Yellow River had to be dredged every year. One year, in a county neighboring West Mountain, they dug up a giant turtle as tall as a two-story building.
The thing was lying right under the silt. At first, no one noticed it. But when a shovel went down, blood began to seep out of the mud. As more and more people rushed over to dig, the creature finally revealed its true form.
This incident eventually made the local newspapers, drawing a large crowd of onlookers.
Among the onlookers at the scene, half said the turtle was a spiritual creature and couldn't be killed, while the other half believed eating it would extend their lifespan. They argued noisily without end. It was unclear whether the turtle was hibernating or dead; it didn't move at all, taking a shovel blow in the confusion and losing a great deal of blood.
However, when people returned the next day, the giant turtle was gone. Only a very deep pit remained in its place, filled with the white bones of cattle, horses, and sheep.
As for the person who had struck that shovel blow, they died in a very bizarre manner—tripping while cutting grass, the sickle in their hand falling and slicing through their neck.
The rest of the people who dug the pit also ended up dead or injured; not a single one met a peaceful end.
There was also a type of fish called the Iron Headed Dragon King. Anyone who sailed boats on the Yellow River knew about this creature. It could grow up to over a dozen meters long and loved to spin around in the whirlpools at the center of the river. Sometimes, it would hide near the banks to swallow children, cattle, and sheep playing by the water.
But none of these were the most uncanny things.
The most uncanny of all was the dead bodies in the Yellow River.
No one could count how many people drowned in the Yellow River over the course of a year, but the bizarre incidents surrounding the river were countless. Because of this, many strange rules and customs were born.
For instance, one could never say the word “capsize” on the river, nor could they pour anything containing blood into the water. Boatmen had to carry a dog-skin whip soaked in chicken blood at all times. If they encountered a corpse in the water, they would retrieve it if they could. If they couldn't, they would avoid it. If they couldn't avoid it...
...then they had better have the ability to never set foot on the river again for the rest of their lives.
Of the families gathered in Xiaoning today, which one of their ancestors hadn't made a living off the Yellow River?
The Liu family, who retrieved corpses from the Yellow River; the Zhang family, who specialized in paper funeral goods; the coffin-making Wang family, who made their living by transporting timber down the Yellow River; and the Lyu family, who started out as water bandits before transitioning to shipping...
Even among the younger generation, every single one of them had heard their elders mention the uncanny occurrences on the Yellow River before the founding of the nation.
The content of the official second round of the trial sounded simple: just sit there quietly and watch the opera.
—If this were ten years ago, no one would have been afraid even if they stripped naked and swam in the water in the middle of the night.
But what time was it now?
With the Spiritual Resurgence happening everywhere, things running on the mountains, swimming in the rivers, and buried underground could all emerge to cause trouble, let alone the Yellow River, where bizarre events occurred constantly.
Could the authorities really be so “kind-hearted” as to invite them to watch an opera?
Looking at the Qin Opera actors squeaking and creaking on the stage, some people couldn't help but feel their knees go weak.
Performing an opera was already prone to attracting ghosts, let alone on the gravel beach of the Yellow River in the early hours of the morning.
Who knew what kind of things from the water would be drawn up?
If it were just ordinary ghosts and monsters, they had ways to deal with them. But if it attracted something bigger...
...then everyone present would be in grave danger.
“Isn't the government taking this a bit too far?”
“No, seriously, isn't this just trying to get us killed?”
“Yeah! Why doesn't the government just release an official announcement saying they don't want us to enter the Imperial Tombs' underground palace to explore together!”
Someone complained aloud, only to receive a massive eye-roll from Lyu Dongfang: “Your legs are softer than your mouth. The trial hasn't even started, and you're already complaining about this and that. If you ask me, you've just been spoiled by the good food and drink at home every day. As a martial artist, instead of striving for progress every day, you only think about waiting around to die and picking up leftovers. The moment you encounter a little danger, you start crying about dying. Why don't you go take a look at your own reflection by the river?”
“What absolute nonsense! Who among us didn't come here for the things beneath the Imperial Tombs? The government wants to keep it all to themselves and is using these three rounds of trials to make things difficult for us. Is it really wrong for us to complain a bit?”
A somewhat plump young man with a sinister expression sized up Hu Manni from head to toe before letting out a sneer: “How could I forget? Her Ma family wears the same pants as the authorities; they've surely negotiated everything in private. Don't tell me your Lyu family also submitted a loyalty test long ago, which is why you keep speaking up for the government? Oh, I forgot, their Ma family isn't doing so well now either. Otherwise, why would they eagerly run all the way from the Northeast to Xiaoning just to snatch a bite of meat from us locals? Who knows, maybe one day that old fox will draw their last breath—”
“Liu Guansheng, what absolute crap are you spewing!”
Lyu Dongfang threw a punch with incredible speed. The young man surnamed Liu didn't even dodge. Instead, he slightly puffed out his belly, letting his round, flabby fat meet the fist head-on—
“Thud...”
With a muffled sound, as if his fist had struck a block of playdough, Lyu Dongfang's expression shifted. He instinctively tried to pull his hand back, but his palm was trapped deep within layers of soft, greasy fat, completely unable to budge!
What kind of wicked martial art was this?!
His eyes widened. Beside him, Hu Manni's face turned pale, her lips silently twitching a few times...
“Your Lyu family has the Weight Child Skill, so why can't my Liu family practice a new martial art?”
Liu Guansheng grinned, grabbing Lyu Dongfang's hand with both of his own. He seized his arm and prepared to snap it downward, clearly intending to ruin his opponent's arm!
“Drip!”
A drop of rainwater fell onto everyone's faces, but the sound that followed didn't come from Lyu Dongfang's hand.
Why had it suddenly gone dark overhead?
Was it raining?
Everyone instinctively looked up, only to witness the most mind-boggling sight of their lives:
A strange, yellow-skinned serpent as thick as a water bucket and dozens of meters long soared straight out from the center of the river. Bringing with it a massive spray of white water, it flew directly over everyone's heads, casting a colossal shadow down upon them!
How could there be such a massive snake in the Yellow River?
No, wait, why was a snake flying in the sky????
Was this reasonable?
Was this scientific?
Some people had temporarily lost the ability to think, their eyes completely vacant.
But the moment the giant serpent began to plunge—
—everyone reacted instantly:
Run!
Positioned directly underneath, Liu Guansheng kicked Lyu Dongfang in the chest, using the counterforce to leap backward. His plump body was unexpectedly agile. Though kicked, Lyu Dongfang didn't let go; he brought his knee up and slammed it viciously behind Liu Guansheng's ear—
“Splash! Splash!!”
The very next second after the two parted, the waters of the Yellow River, carrying the giant serpent, crashed down with a resounding boom. Gravel sprayed and dust filled the air. The motionless body of the snake lay like a silver river, perfectly separating Lyu Dongfang and Liu Guansheng.
Standing atop the serpent's head was the woman in green robes who had been the subject of their discussion moments ago. In her hand, she held half of a broken bamboo rod, and the other end of the line attached to it went straight into the giant serpent's mouth.
The other half of the bamboo rod protruded from the giant serpent's eye socket, and a mixture of red and white bits splattered all over Liu Guansheng's face.
The scene was dead silent.
Not a single person spoke.
They had seen her sitting there fishing earlier, and some had even muttered that she was just some second-generation heir who had come to join the fun.
Who the hell would have thought she could actually fish something up?!
But this thing clearly wasn't something that could be caught with a fishing rod, right?!
No, wait, now was not the time to be thinking about that!
A python this massive had to weigh at least ten thousand catties. How did she pull it up with just that thin little line?
Even the old master of the Lyu family, who had practiced the Weight Child Skill his entire life, only had an arm strength of five hundred catties—
The crowd was split down the middle like the parting of the Red Sea, standing on either side of the massive python corpse. Atop the carcass stood the woman in green robes.
The scene was unexpectedly bizarre.
The woman looked somewhat annoyed. Seemingly oblivious to the people around her, she simply complained in a flat voice: “Ah, what a shame. It stinks, so it's not edible.”
She lifted her eyelids, her gaze slowly sweeping over the surroundings. Her glass-like eyes carried a trace of creepiness. After a long silence, she spoke in a slow, deliberate manner: “If you keep arguing, I'll hang you up as bait.”
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