Chapter 63: Willow Branch Strikes the God

He could not help but step forward and call out.

"Xielian, have you truly mastered the third volume, 'Cold Rain,' of the *Jade Billow Water-Control Art*? It is truly astonishing. Ling'er told me last night, and I was a bit skeptical, but today... I believe it! You are truly remarkable!"

He thought to himself, this child has even comprehended 'Cold Rain'; what kind of sacred being is he? He is definitely not as simple as a mere City God of a county! And his talent for the water element is excellent, far stronger than my two good-for-nothing sons! I fear they don't even have half of his comprehension!

Ling'er, on the other hand, although her comprehension is a tiny bit behind this child's, she can still catch up!

Impressive! Whose descendant is he? His family... must be extraordinary. I must send someone to investigate his background later."

Seeming to have noticed Dongting Longjun long ago, Su Yuanshan stood with his hands behind his back, facing the vast lake and the incessantly rippling water, and said calmly.

"Longjun is too kind. I have only mastered a little bit of the surface; it is not worth such praise!"

Dongting Longjun nodded secretly upon hearing this. He thought, humble, proper, and well-bred; it seems he truly comes from a prestigious family and has received a good education.

If Ling'er were to marry him, she wouldn't be disgraced. However, the eldest prince of the Donghai Dragon Palace also has good conditions, and Donghai Longwang is my superior. He has shown favor to Ling'er in his words and has hinted at it many times in private. If I refuse... I fear I will offend him. Sigh... this puts me in a difficult position.

At this moment, Su Yuanshan's heart stirred, and he suddenly asked.

"Does Longjun know a young woman named Liu Yiyi?"

Dongting Longjun looked blank upon hearing this and asked in confusion.

"Who is she? Why does Xielian ask this?"

Su Yuanshan smiled faintly.

"She seems to know a line of incantation from this 'Cold Rain.' Of course, this might just be my imagination!"

'Thin mist and thick clouds, sorrow throughout the long day!'

'Thin mist, thick clouds, extract, transport, sudden!'

How similar; could this really just be a coincidence? If not, what is this Dongting Longjun hiding?

He had just spoken to test him, then carefully observed Dongting Longjun's reaction. Afterward, he reached a conclusion: this Dongting Longjun truly does not know Liu Yiyi.

This was likely just a coincidence after all.

Su Yuanshan let out a breath and said.

"It's nothing, just asking casually."

The cold wind blew, wrinkling the autumn water across the lake; a god and a dragon each harbored their own thoughts.

"Prefect, Prefect, something bad has happened."

After seeing off Dongting Longjun, Su Yuanshan returned to his room to continue meditating. Just as he entered a state of stillness, he was startled awake by Xia Buqian's knocking and could not help but frown slightly.

"What is the matter? Why are you so flustered?"

He heard the voice outside the door say, "Just now, the puppet guards of the Inspection Division reported that a mountain ghost witnessed the Jing River Water God being abducted by a red-haired Great Demon while on his way to find you!"

Su Yuanshan's eyebrows twitched involuntarily.

A red-haired Great Demon? Huo Jun? Another Blood Slave of Baie Hou?

I had intended to improve my strength more, but it seems time waits for no one.

The Jing River Water God must have been coming to report back to me because the matter regarding Mei Silang was finished, but he did not expect such a thing to happen.

The Jing River Water God is a subordinate of Su Yuanshan, and in the eyes of Xia Buqian and the others, this act is undoubtedly a slap in the face to Su Yuanshan.

Su Yuanshan was also very clear that when he first saved Ao Fangling, he had already formed a feud with Huo Jun. Furthermore, this Great Demon was the culprit behind the great drought in Tushan Xian that left the people in misery, not to mention his identity as a Blood Slave of Baie Hou. Regardless of how one looks at it, he is definitely an enemy and an opponent that Su Yuanshan must eliminate.

One of Baie Hou's Blood Slaves has already been eliminated; it seems it is time to eliminate this second one.

A flash of murderous intent crossed Su Yuanshan's eyes; he subconsciously clenched his fist, then slowly relaxed it.

"I know!"

"Has the Inspection Division found his hideout?"

He heard Xia Buqian outside the door answer.

"They have found it; he is entrenched in Chunxin Dong on Liuyang Shan in Tushan Xian!"

Chunxin Dong?

For some reason, the poem Liu Yiyi left for him suddenly flashed through Su Yuanshan's mind.

"Warm rain and clear wind break the winter, willow-eye and plum-cheek, already feel the spring heart stir!"

Could this be another coincidence? Or is she really hinting at something?

"Splash!" The Jing River Water God was splashed awake by a basin of cold water. Before he understood what was happening, he received a lash of a whip, followed by cursing sounds in his ears.

"Move quickly! You lazy pig!"

The whip was woven from willow branches and inscribed with spells; it was clearly no ordinary whip. Every strike on the Jing River Water God left a bloody welt, and it was excruciatingly painful.

Following a 'clatter' sound, he was yanked by an iron chain and stumbled. Only then did he notice that his hands were bound by that iron chain, which was clearly not made of ordinary iron and was covered in strange symbols.

He noticed that there were quite a few other deities around him suffering the same fate: there were Earth Gods, Kitchen Gods, as well as Well Gods and Bed-Head Gods. Besides them, there were also some young boys and girls; they were clearly human. At this moment, they seemed numb, as if they had long been accustomed to being abused by these fellows.

"Smack!" Another whip lash, leaving him bloodied and bruised.

"Still not moving fast enough? If you delay the time for Huo Jun to refine his pills, can you afford the consequences?"

The one driving and whipping them was a small yellow-haired demon wearing a tiger-skin apron. It seemed to be a poisonous bird spirit, bird-like in manner, with a sharp beak and protruding eyes.

Taking advantage of the small demon shifting its attention to others, he carefully leaned toward the Earth God beside him and whispered.

"Earth God, what is going on here? What is the origin of these demon creatures?"

The Earth God looked around vigilantly, and seeing no one paying attention, he sighed and whispered.

"Don't you know? To celebrate Baie Hou's birthday, that black dog spirit has captured almost all the Mountain Gods, Earth Gods, and other deities in the surrounding territories. Combined with those young boys and girls whose birth dates are all yin, he intends to refine them into pills as a birthday gift for Baie Hou. And we are to be put into the furnace today!"

Into the furnace? Upon hearing this, the Jing River Water God's face turned green.

If he were really refined into pills by some black dog spirit, it would be better to just die.

He began to struggle, but found that the iron chain only tightened the more he struggled.

"Shh, be careful!"

"I've tried, this simply won't work! I'm afraid only an external force can open it, and since we are trapped within the situation, anything we do is futile!"

The Jing River Water God whispered.

"We can't just sit here and wait for death!"

"Come, let me try with my teeth to see if I can pull it off for you?"

The Earth Deity gave a bitter smile.

"It's useless, we have already tried."

He glanced at the children whose bodies were covered in whip marks and sighed.

"I don't mind, I've lived for hundreds of years and have lived enough, but I pity these children! They are all so young, yet they have been ruined so early."

The Jing River Water God ignored him and tried using his teeth, but as expected, he could not pull the chains off the Earth Deity, and the noise he accidentally made instead alerted the minor demons up ahead....