Chapter 52: Source of Stone Lion River

Qin Jiang lowered his head slightly, looking at this vibrant young girl.

Dressed in heroic short martial attire, she had quite a bit of a heroine's feeling, completely different from the appearance of a young lady of a great family that day.

If it weren't for the equally stunning face, he would have thought they were two different people! "Miss Xu, we meet again."

Xu Yanran's eyes widened slightly upon hearing this, with a hint of joy. "Young Master Qin, long time no see. I didn't expect you to be a deacon of the Red Tiger Gang now."

To the Xu family, a deacon of the Red Tiger Gang certainly didn't count as a big figure, but a deacon who had mastered the Red Tiger Fist was a different matter.

A martial artist in the Divine Intent Realm was already considered a big figure in Black Mountain City.

Of course, what she really cared about was Qin Jiang himself.

It hadn't been long since they last met, but the other party had been able to master the Red Tiger Fist in this short time, which showed his extraordinary talent! She would definitely have to go back in the future, so of course, she had to be on good terms with such a genius.

Tian Shangfei, who was on the side, quietly glanced at Qin Jiang. Something was wrong, very wrong—twelve points wrong. How did the Boss know Miss Xu?

Not only him, but the steward following behind Xu Yanran also had hidden shock in his eyes. He actually couldn't see the strength of this Young Master Qin! Qin Jiang dismounted and smiled. "Miss Xu is too polite. I came to investigate the withering of the farmland this time. Miss Xu, have you discovered anything?"

He saw that Xu Yanran's trouser legs were already stained with mud; she should have already investigated.

Xu Yanran frowned slightly and shook her head. "I haven't discovered anything yet. At first, I thought it was poisoning, but I found several physicians to check, and it's not poison."

"Oh? It's not poison?"

Qin Jiang looked around. Whoever came here, the first feeling would be poisoning.

But thinking about it, if it were that simple, the Xu family could have solved it themselves.

He walked to the side, and the yellow mud under his feet was tinged with a layer of light gray.

He squatted down and pinched some; the cold touch made him feel somewhat familiar.

*Yin* Qi? Was it caused by a weird entity?

He frowned slightly, stood up, and looked around. The wide ridge of the field could not be seen at a glance, covered with a layer of light gray.

The weird entity transformed by Zheng Deyu was already not inferior to an ordinary second-rate expert in terms of strength, but its influence on the environment would not exceed thirty meters in radius.

But right now, it exceeded it by more than a hundred times? How strong must a weird entity that could affect such a large area be? No, no, no, if it were really that strong, it wouldn't need to hide at all. He must have missed some information.

Looking around, his eyes were full of withered crops.

Suddenly, his vision brightened slightly. Looking closely, it was a small river passing through.

A river? Yes! It's the river! The power of the weird entity uses the river as a carrier to infect such a large area.

He looked at Xu Yanran. "Miss Xu, what river is that?"

Xu Yanran followed Qin Jiang's gaze. "It's the Stone Lion River. This piece of farmland was reclaimed because of the Stone Lion River. When our Xu family reclaimed the land, it took quite a bit of effort."

"Let's go over and take a look," Qin Jiang said.

They didn't bring too many people; only Tian Shangfei and the steward accompanied the two.

As they got closer to the Stone Lion River, that faint, cold aura became more and more obvious.

Before long, the four walked to the side of the Stone Lion River. Qin Jiang bent down to wash his hands; the cool touch was very pleasant in the summer.

He nodded slightly. He could be sure it was *Yin* Qi without a doubt. There must be a weird entity hidden in this Stone Lion River, and its power was not weak.

"Young Master Qin, have you discovered something?" Xu Yanran smiled.

Qin Jiang turned his head upon hearing this and looked at Xu Yanran and the steward behind her.

He had long noticed that this steward was also an expert in the Divine Intent Realm. He didn't know how strong he was, but at least he was stronger than Li Songzheng.

"Steward, didn't you feel that it's a bit colder here?" he asked. The steward was stunned and then said, "This place is close to the Stone Lion River, so it's normal for it to be colder."

Qin Jiang nodded in realization. "Let's go to the source of the Stone Lion River and take a look."

Xu Yanran was a bit confused, but she didn't ask any more questions and signaled the steward to prepare the horses.

Before long, the steward returned leading the horses—a brown horse and a white horse.

Xu Yanran took the white horse, leaped onto the horse's back in one jump, pulled the reins, and was very clean and neat.

Qin Jiang smiled, looking at her with some surprise.

Xu Yanran saw Qin Jiang's expression, tilted her head slightly, and smiled. "Young Master Qin, Yanran is not a weak woman. If you ride all the way, why don't I take you there?"

Her ponytail swayed with her laughter, having quite a bit of the heroine's boldness.

Qin Jiang was stunned upon hearing this, and then couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Why not?"

Having said that, he leaped onto the white horse, took the reins from Xu Yanran's hand, and his broad arms completely enveloped her.

"Old Tian, take my black horse with you, I'll go first!"

With a loud laugh, not giving Xu Yanran any time to react, he pulled the reins, and accompanied by a neigh, the white horse leaped out with a *whoosh*.

Tian Shangfei stood stunned in place, glanced at the steward, silently leaped onto the black horse, and led the horse Qin Jiang had ridden over, swaying toward the small mountain where the source of the Stone Lion River was located.

The steward stood where he was, his mouth slightly open, and after a long silence, he rode the brown horse to follow.

*Trot, trot, trot! Trot, trot, trot! * A white horse galloped across the wide earth. Xu Yanran's face was flushed, her hands tightly gripping the saddle so that her body wouldn't shake so much.

A moment later, the white horse entered the mountain forest. Qin Jiang raised his hand slightly, and rich *Sha* Qi surged forward, brushing all the branches and leaves hanging above the road to both sides of the road.

Before long, they arrived in front of a small lake. The sky was warm, and everything they saw was green grass.

Gently pulling the reins, the white horse stopped.

Qin Jiang dismounted, raised his hand slightly, and smiled. "Miss Xu, dismount."

"No, no need."

Xu Yanran tidied her hair, pulled the reins nervously, and walked out several meters before getting off the horse.

After tying the reins, she smoothed her clothes and walked over, her face still a bit flushed. "Young Master Qin, why come to the source of the Stone Lion River? Could it be that you suspect someone poisoned the water from here?"

Qin Jiang shook his head. "It's not that. I suspect that what caused the hundred acres of farmland to wither this time is a weird entity."

"A weird entity!"

Xu Yanran said with a hint of shock. "What kind of weird entity is so powerful?"

That shouldn't be right. How could such a level of weird entity be born near Black Mountain City?

"Perhaps it's not powerful, but it used the terrain of the Stone Lion River to its advantage," Qin Jiang said.

Xu Yanran nodded in realization. "So that's how it is."

Qin Jiang looked at the lake in front of him. The diameter was less than two hundred meters. In the center of the lake, there was a square stone platform with a side length of about twenty meters.

In the center of the stone platform stood a five-meter-high gray-white stone lion statue, looking very fierce.

In front of it was an offering table with an incense burner, a few burnt-out incense sticks, and a few porcelain plates with offerings.

"What is the origin of this stone lion?" he asked.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 53 =====