Chapter 48: River God

In the middle of the pool, Li Si Si slowly turned around.

On her pallid face, a pair of eyes were terrifyingly black, like two bottomless whirlpools, staring fixedly at Jiangnan.

Her mouth curled into a strange smile, and her voice was hoarse like sandpaper rubbing a wooden board:

"Jiangnan, I admit you are strong, I don't want to be your enemy. You may go, leave this place."

"As a trade, I can give you the cure for Smallpox Rash."

Jiangnan's expression remained unchanged, his eyes as still as an ancient well showing no hint of emotion. He gently shook his head and said:

"The antidote, I have it myself. The only reason I came here is to eliminate you."

He stood with his hands behind his back, the hem of his black coat fluttering gently in the breeze by the pool, his whole figure like a drawn sword—its edge restrained yet imposing.

"Why can't we coexist peacefully?"

In Li Si Si's eyes flickered intense resentment. She had already known Jiangnan was not to be trifled with. Now, at this crucial moment, she did not wish to provoke a terrifying enemy for herself.

She slowly raised her jade‑like hand, pointed at her delicate, pallid face, and said:

"As long as you are not my enemy, I can accept any of your conditions, including this body."

"I can cure the Smallpox Rash, and it will not affect ordinary civilians."

"If you agree, I can even be at your disposal, solving some unnecessary troubles for you."

"I only want revenge, that's all."

Jiangnan remained calm, as if Li Si Si's temptation had not shaken him. He gently shook his head again, his voice bearing unquestionable resolve:

"I came here not for the antidote, but to eliminate the hidden danger of Jinghai City."

He paused, his gaze fixed on Li Si Si, sharp as a blade, as if it could pierce her disguise and strike at her essence!

"And you are the hidden danger itself."

Murong Wan stood behind Jiangnan, watching his upright silhouette, and felt an indescribable sense of security. Even in such a bizarre scene, as long as Jiangnan was present, she felt no fear.

Li Dong stood nearby, anxiously rubbing his hands, his facial muscles twitching continuously.

The sight of his sister tore his heart like a knife, yet he dared not step forward. His eyes darted between Jiangnan and Li Si Si, hoping Jiangnan could save his sister but fearing Jiangnan might harm her.

"Hidden danger?"

Li Si Si seemed to hear a colossal joke and suddenly burst into a sharp, grating laugh. The laugh echoed around the empty poolside, like countless tiny steel needles piercing the eardrum, causing an involuntary shiver.

"I, a weak woman, what hidden danger could I be?"

Her voice was full of sarcasm and anger,

"You who claim righteousness always like to stick gold on your faces!"

Jiangnan calmly looked at her and said lightly:

"You are no longer mortal, why deceive yourself and others? While there is still room for redemption, cease now. Heaven has the virtue of benevolent life…"

"The virtue of benevolent life?"

Li Si Si sharply interrupted Jiangnan, her voice filled with resentment and despair,

"There is no such virtue! All things are determined by fate, not a single point by man!"

"Why must I be born as a sacrificial offering, sinking into this cold pool! In a hundred years, do you know how much suffering I have endured?"

"Fish and shrimp nibble at my body, that incremental, helpless pain of being devoured—how could you possibly know?"

"So you tell me, why should I spare them? I will make every one of them accompany me in death!"

She roared, her body trembling violently, the pool water roiling, and a chilling aura surged forward.

"Sacrificial offering?" Jiangnan frowned slightly, having guessed a possibility, his expression darkening.

Li Si Si seemed to fall into recollection, her gaze hollow, her voice low and mournful, like a cuckoo whose every word weeps blood:

"Twenty years ago, I was the most ordinary girl in Divine Spring Village, dreaming of a future husband, dreaming of a happy life."

"But because a fortune‑teller said I was a 'Heaven‑killing Lone Star,' destined to bring disaster to the village, I was taken as a sacrificial offering and sank alive to the bottom of the pool…"

"Jiangnan, you say everyone is human, why am I treated as a sacrificial offering, thrown into the river to feed the fish?"

Her voice grew increasingly mournful, laden with endless resentment,

"They pray for favorable winds and rain, for abundant harvests, yet they use my life for sacrifice! There is no River God; it is their ignorance and self‑deception! It is they who created this 'River God'!"

Li Dong, upon hearing this, turned ashen, his whole body trembling. He realized that this so‑called 'River God' was more like a vengeful water spirit, and wondered how to save his sister, how he could rescue her.

Jiangnan was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke:

"I can help you."

"Help me?"

A hint of sarcasm flashed in Li Si Si's eyes,

"What can you help me with? Can you make time flow backward so I can live again?"

"I can free you, so you no longer suffer this resentment. And also…"

Jiangnan paused, as if having made a decision, and continued:

"And I can make you forget the past, to start a new life."

Jiangnan's tone was sincere, his gaze steadfast.

"A new life? Don't you think what you're saying now is already too late for me?"

"Twenty years of lonely hardship, twenty years of torment, twenty years of resentment, and you treat it as if nothing happened?"

Li Si Si seemed to hear a colossal joke, laughing wildly, her laugh harsh and desperate,

"I have already merged with this pool, entangled with this resentment, how can I be freed? I can't turn back now!"

At that moment, a towering murderous aura surged from the depths of the pool, shooting straight into the heavens.

Jiangnan's gaze was compassionate, he looked deeply at Li Si Si and said slowly:

"Is buying time meaningful?"

The look of madness on Li Si Si's face grew even more intense, as if their whole being had fallen into frenzy.

"Of course it has meaning, because this time is enough for me to break free from my shackles!"

"I am free, and I will make everyone who has harmed me pay the price!"

"I will slowly drain their blood, forcing them to kneel before me and beg!"

Murong Wan subconsciously clutched Jiangnan's sleeve, fear flashing in her eyes.

Although she was scared, seeing Jiangnan's composed expression steadied her heart a little.

Jiangnan's face remained calm; he slowly raised his right hand, his palm shimmering with golden light, like thunder in the heavens.

The pond's water surged even more violently, and black mist rose from its depths in billowing strands, like massive black serpents twisting and rolling in the sky, emitting a series of bone‑chilling, hair‑raising roars.