Chapter 133

Now he finally knew that this was the crocodile's cry of pain.

At this moment, a thought occurred to him:

If he were to suddenly thrust the spear upward, would it pierce the giant crocodile's brain? Killing this behemoth would be the only way to truly eliminate the threat, right?

But this thought only flashed by.

If the giant crocodile were so easily killed, hadn't Wu Shaoyi tried it?

Even if he succeeded, would the crocodile take him down with it? After all, he was inside its mouth.

So He Lingchuan quickly dismissed the thought and honestly ground the spear shaft out of the tooth cavity bit by bit.

This process made the crocodile howl in pain.

Of course, he kept his guard up, stepped back onto the stone first, then retracted the spear horizontally while retreating at high speed.

It was out.

Just as he retreated several zhang away, the giant crocodile snapped its mouth shut with a *clack*. The "clack" of the upper and lower teeth closing echoed throughout the cave.

Seeing it lying in place, motionless, He Lingchuan reminded it: "Hey, it's time to take us up."

"He'll die if he moves." The Crocodile God lay on the spot, not moving, "I'm tired too; let me rest for a while."

After tossing and turning for several hours earlier, it was exhausted. The giant crocodile species wasn't known for its endurance to begin with.

It had no intention of attacking, so He Lingchuan felt slightly relieved. Taking this opportunity, he ran back to Wu Shaoyi's side, lit two more candles, and checked his injuries.

Earlier, he had only fed Wu Shaoyi a pill to stop the bleeding, but hadn't fed him the Stone Buddha Powder. When pain disappears, people are prone to bad intentions.

He didn't know Wu Shaoyi that well, so he might as well let him keep hurting.

Away from the water, Wu Shaoyi still coughed frequently, coughing up blood every time.

The more he checked, the more He Lingchuan was alarmed: "Your injuries are too severe. Both lungs and kidneys are damaged, seven fractures, and you've lost most of your blood." The blood holes on Wu Shaoyi's body were over an inch in diameter, and he had been bleeding internally the whole time, "If this continues, you'll either drown in your own blood or die of organ failure."

To describe Wu Shaoyi's state in four words: beyond saving.

"I know; I've already used all the medicine I could." Wu Shaoyi smiled miserably.

"In this state, can you swim back to the shore with me?" Now He Lingchuan understood why the crocodile demon agreed so readily. It probably saw that Wu Shaoyi, who had wounded it, was on the verge of death and didn't need it to take revenge itself.

"Hold on, I can." Wu Shaoyi closed his eyes halfway, "I just, I don't want to die in the dark."

Whether dying in a secret underwater cave or being buried in a crocodile's belly, it was indeed dark. "Take me up, and I have a way to save myself. I'll also, also reward you handsomely."

This was the second time he had mentioned it.

He Lingchuan considered it briefly and fed him another pill; this was a spirit pill he had used himself months ago when he was severely injured after falling off a cliff, said to have been specially requested by He Chunhua from the Great Shaman of Zhaomandu, capable of forcibly hanging onto the last breath of someone near death. Before leaving Black Water City this time, He Chunhua had specially stocked up on them.

Wu Shaoyi only felt the pill had a foul, earthy smell, as if it had been rolled directly from river mud, but it melted as soon as it hit his throat.

Before long, a warm current surged in his abdomen, and his limbs seemed to have regained some strength.

During this time, He Lingchuan held a candle and walked deeper into the cave. Earlier, he had discovered something suspicious at the bottom of the cave, and while treating Wu Shaoyi's wounds, he had smelled a foul odor drifting from the cave; now, walking closer, he was startled:

"This, this is?"

Under the candlelight, he saw a huge giant turtle... carcass! This behemoth was over four zhang (13 meters) long from head to tail, its carapace high and thick, with sharp ridges; from a human perspective, it looked like a small mountain.

He Lingchuan knew this creature was called a leatherback turtle, but this was the first time he had seen one so large.

Without a doubt, this was a great demon with deep cultivation.

The giant turtle's head was gone, its front limbs had been bitten off, its entire hind leg was missing, and there was a large hole in its belly, with its internal organs spilling out. The blood flowing onto the rocky beach had congealed into black stains, and crabs, rats, and unknown scavengers were feasting on it.

He Lingchuan suddenly remembered the Water Spirit Shrine in County Magistrate Village.

This dead turtle was probably the water deity of County Magistrate Lake. Yesterday morning, the Water Spirit tablet suddenly shattered; it must have been because the giant turtle was bitten to death by the giant crocodile, which in turn caused Zhu Xiuer to be slapped by the village chief.

The turtle's back was covered in ferocious scratches and holes of varying depths. He Lingchuan looked at it, then turned back to look at the giant crocodile resting with its eyes closed on the rocky beach, guessing these must be the masterpieces left by the conical crocodile teeth.

However, he also noticed that no matter how sharp the giant crocodile's teeth were, they hadn't penetrated these turtle shells.

The battle of spear and shield; the shield had held out until the end.

Clearly, the giant crocodile had won in the end because it seized the opportunity to bite the giant turtle's head, exploding it in one bite.

That explained two things.

First, the crocodile demon was an outsider, having entered County Magistrate Lake only in the last two days, clashing with the local lake spirit and winning. This basically synchronized with Lu Yao's arrival in County Magistrate Village.

Second, the giant turtle didn't look easy to deal with, so when the crocodile demon fought Wu Shaoyi today, it was likely not at its peak, having not recovered from yesterday morning's fierce battle.

No wonder it agreed to a ceasefire immediately.

Everyone was at the end of their rope.

Of course, He Lingchuan couldn't hide his excitement and confusion, because the Water Spirit was lying dead before his eyes, confirmed to have died yesterday morning; then what was the deal with the two "lowest-of-the-low" fortune sticks he had shaken out just a few hours ago!

Was it really as He Chunhua said, that the giant turtle had tampered with the sticks to ensure He Lingchuan drew the worst fortune every time?

Or did this thing have a spirit after death? The Water Spirit was gone; who could interpret those two sticks for him?

He Lingchuan walked two steps closer and suddenly discovered that the edge of the turtle shell was emitting a very faint, pale golden light under the candlelight.

He grabbed the turtle shell and tried to lift it twice.

Well, it didn't budge, as expected.

The crocodile demon suddenly said: "Crawl in."

"Huh?" He Lingchuan turned back to see it resting with its eyes closed.

"There's a pearl in its abdomen that I can't reach, and my children can't reach either; if you can get it out, it's yours," the crocodile demon said flatly, "consider it a reward for pulling the spear for me." Crocodile hands weren't agile enough for treasure hunting.

Treasure in the abdomen?

He Lingchuan looked at the mountain-like carcass and the black blood on the ground. To get the treasure, he had to crawl into this thing's belly?

It was too bloody, too filthy, too cruel...

He had to go.

He Lingchuan bowed to the giant turtle twice, thinking to himself, "Water Spirit, you've already passed on, so be magnanimous; don't blame me for being disrespectful to your remains."

There was a ready-made hole in the turtle's belly; he took out his broken blade and widened the opening before he could crawl in.

Although it had been bitten open by the giant crocodile, the hardness of the giant turtle's skin and flesh was still far superior to hundred-year-old vines; if not for the unparalleled sharpness of the broken blade, He Lingchuan might not have been able to cut it with other tools.

(End of chapter)