Chapter 290: Water Ghost: Extra Chapter for the Beautiful Dora

When the two of us ran to the riverbank, we saw a child sinking rapidly at a visible speed. He opened his mouth wide, trying to call for help from people on shore, but in just a moment his cries for help turned into gurgling sounds. Around the child, a ring of black water weeds spread.

Witnessing the child sink, a group of girls turned pale; those with weaker dispositions nearly fainted from fright. Nearby, several little girls scrambled to find a shoulder to lean on, but the new generation of men are too effeminate, lacking the demeanor of me and Pangzi.

Two middle-aged farmers who heard the news quickly jumped into the water, trying to rescue the child.

The river wasn't very deep, only reaching the farmers' necks. But when the two farmers groped their way to the middle of the river, it seemed something grabbed them; they flailed their arms and shouted in terror to the people on shore: "Help, something is pulling my leg!"

In less than half a minute, the two middle-aged farmers sank just like the child earlier, at a visible speed, and a ring of black-green water weeds spread around them.

At this point, several people on the bank who were preparing to go into the water hesitated. Even a fool could tell that what was happening was out of the ordinary.

Everyone glanced at each other, and the same two words sprang to mind simultaneously: "Water ghost."

The legend of the water ghost has existed since ancient times, especially in the countryside; there are never few who hear of water ghosts causing trouble. Rumor has it that some have even seen what a water ghost looks like—eyes blood-red, resembling a duck, a dog, a rat…

In the 1990s, someone came forward to debunk the myth, claiming that the water ghost is actually an animal, which they called a water lai or water monkey, because this creature's trait is having limitless strength in water, so it often hides in rivers or dams, dragging people underwater to suck their blood from the soles of their feet.

But in fact, the water ghost and the water monkey are two different concepts. The water monkey is indeed an animal, but the water ghost is absolutely not.

A water ghost refers to a solitary soul that died unjustly in a river or dam; over time, its resentment does not dissipate, turning it into a corpse ghost. Whenever the seventh month fourteenth arrives and the gates of hell open wide, these corpse ghosts come out to roam, or transform into animals or human forms, luring people to the riverbank and then dragging them underwater to serve as substitutes.

The water monkey drags people into the water to suck their blood for sustenance. The water ghost, however, only drags people to serve as substitutes; it does not drink blood.

At this moment I finally believed that Pangzi's divination was actually correct—was it just that he had a stroke of dumb luck, or had he been hiding his talent all along?

"Hai Sheng, what do we do? There really is a water ghost—should we run?" Pangzi tugged at my sleeve in a flustered manner.

"Run your sister, we're Daoists—if we see a ghost we run, and then we'd have no face to show." I shoved him away with force.

After I shoved him, Pangzi finally came to his senses: "Right, we're Daoists, the nemesis of all demons and monsters."

"But this water ghost has limitless strength in water; we can't do anything about it." Pangzi gave a smirk and withdrew his hand.

Actually, it's not Wang Pangzi's fault; ordinary wild ghosts, even evil ones, don't scare him.

But as soon as water is mentioned, Wang Pangzi loses his composure. Because this Da Pang's innate eight characters bear a water calamity; after nearly drowning as a child, whenever water is brought up, Wang Da Pang becomes a lost red deer, a startled bird.

Moreover, Pangzi is quite right: the water ghost has limitless strength in water; in water, no matter how high your magical power, you can't overcome it. On the contrary, it's very likely to drag you under.

However, all things in the world mutually generate and overcome; nothing is absolutely strong without a weakness. But where is the water ghost's weakness?

My thoughts raced, and suddenly a flash of insight struck me: yes, a yellow ox, it's a yellow ox.

"Don't just stand there, quickly go find a yellow ox, hurry!" I shouted anxiously at the crowd.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment; perhaps they didn't know why I suddenly wanted a yellow ox.

"Isn't there a yellow ox right behind you?" a villager pointed behind me.

I turned my head and saw, under a tree two meters away, an old yellow ox tied up, its head lowered as it grazed beneath the tree.

"Pangzi, come help..." I waved at Pangzi and sprinted toward that yellow ox.

The year before last, QingSongShu took us to Guangxi to inspect feng shui; likewise, in a river we personally witnessed a child being dragged into the water by a water ghost. Similarly, we saw the same black-green water weeds in the river; the difference was that last time the child had already drowned for over an hour, and people were merely fishing out the corpse, whereas this time they were trying to figure out how to save the person.

When the yellow ox was driven into the middle of the river, the corpses that people had been unable to retrieve after a long time suddenly floated up on their own. We all found this utterly puzzling.

This was a minor incident that occurred in Guangxi; it left no deep impression in our minds. Moreover, earlier we two—one panicked from fear of water, the other startled by Pangzi's divination—couldn't recall it at the moment.

Seeing the situation grow increasingly urgent, I finally remembered this incident. Upon my reminder, Pangzi also recalled it and hurried over to help me drive the ox into the river.

However, the ox seemed to sense something in the water; no matter how I pulled the rope, it only walked to the river's edge and refused to take another step into the water, even to the point of death.

The longer we delayed, the more perilous the people in the water became, leaving us no time to waste; yet the old yellow ox simply would not go into the water, and Pangzi and I were momentarily at a loss.

"Hai Sheng, you sit on the ox's back; I'll beat it from behind with a stick." Wang Da Pang gripped a stick and assumed a posture for splitting a mountain with a staff.

I thought, that's also a method; in my haste I hastily climbed onto the ox's back and tightened the rope.

Pangzi let out a "heh" from behind; there was no cracking sound, but rather a sound like a bone plunging into flesh—a puck—and the yellow ox suddenly surged forward, charging into the middle of the water.

Instantly I felt a great force surge from beneath my buttocks, then a whirl of spinning skies and earth, and the yellow ox flung me into the water.

I… damn it, why must I climb onto the ox's back to drive it into the water?

At this moment I realized how foolish I was, having believed Dead Pangzi's words. Driving the ox into the water should just be driving it; why must I climb onto its back? This clearly looks like a trap set for me. Moreover, what method did he use, and why did the ox react so violently?

Fortunately my swimming is decent; I only choked on a few mouthfuls of water when I first fell in, unable to react in time.

When I crawled ashore, soaked through, Pangzi was hiding in a corner, watching my sorry state and laughing hysterically; the stick in his hand had vanished.

When I turned to look at the river, my face instantly turned ashen—could only be described as dark as iron.

Three bodies floated up in the river, unknown whether dead or alive, their legs entangled in a clump of black-green water weeds. Everyone scrambled to lift them onto the shore.

But that's not the point. The point is I saw a stick inserted into the yellow ox's…… anal opening,.

Instantly I finally understood what that puck sound I heard was, and also finally grasped exactly how Pangzi managed to drive the ox into the water.

"Dead Pangzi, if I don't beat you to death, I won't call myself Chen Hai Sheng."

Damn it. I reckon only Pangzi could be so lewd as to think of using an anal thrust to drive the ox, but if it's going to be an anal thrust, let it be; why drag me along?

I caught Pangzi and gave him a hard beating.

But Pangzi is thick-skinned and muscular; my fists hitting him felt like striking stone, and only I got hurt. I kept punching until my hands turned red and swollen, unable to continue, then I finally clapped my hands wearily.

Indeed, as I had expected, after Pangzi took the beating he acted as if nothing had happened, dusting off his clothes and standing up unconcernedly, picking his nostrils with a provocative look at me.

……

Regarding this, I can only feel indignant and sigh to the heavens, regretting that my mother gave me a body too thin, lacking even a couple ounces of flesh.