The Enigma of the Yishui Monster Chapter 6

The sight of tens of thousands of wet rats crawling on the ground was really ugly. Bai Yuting hated filthy things the most and frowned as he saw it.

Max Xiao was frightened, and Leo quickly pulled him back and told him not to look.

Ethan Zhan asked Oliver Bai, "Is it a mouse?"

"Yeah." Oliver Bai nodded.

Ethan Zhan smiled slightly, "You finally admitted it?"

Oliver Bai was stunned...feeling a little helpless. Ethan Zhan still had time to tease him at this time.

"What does it mean that the water rat left the river?" Leo asked Oliver Bai in confusion.

Bai Yuting shook his head and said he had never heard of it.

"I heard my father say that." Little Four raised his head, "Water rats leave the river, birds do not return to their nests, snakes leave their holes, and chickens fly up to the treetops. These are all signs of a great disaster."

Bai Yuting lowered his head and looked again... At this time, the group of rats had already passed the border and were running away squeaking. An old man was standing in front of the building, shouting at everyone to be careful.

Oliver Bai jumped down and landed beside him.

The old man was already frightened to death. When he turned around and saw a white shadow, he was so shocked that he almost cried out. Only when he saw clearly that it was a handsome young man in white clothes did he calm down.

"Old man, what does it mean when a water rat leaves the river?" Oliver Bai asked him.

"Oh..." The old man said, "It's not surprising that you young people haven't heard of it. You are not a local, right?"

Oliver Bai nodded.

"Did you see those mice just now?" The old man pointed at the mice that were going away. "The mice that came out of the water are water rats."

Oliver Bai was a little puzzled, "Why did the mouse come out of the water?"

"That's what happened. It wasn't just the rats in the water that came out. Rather, rats from all directions came out of their holes and jumped into the river. Then they swam to the shore and gathered together, then went ashore together and ran in the same direction. This is called water rats coming out of the river." The old man explained to Oliver Bai, "This kind of thing is rare. I saw it once when I was a child. A few days later, thunder started rolling down the ground and half of the mountain behind collapsed."

Bai Yuting frowned and looked in the direction the old man pointed. Sure enough, he saw that nearly half of a high mountain in the distance had collapsed, and now it was a strange ox-horn shape.

"Well, let's see what Master Liu says later. I hope it's not the Horse Belly God who gets angry. If that happens, I'm afraid even Qishan County will be gone!" After saying this, he walked away muttering.

Bai Yuting returned to the guest room and told Ethan Zhan the general situation.

"A foreshadowing of a great disaster?" Ethan Zhan also frowned.

"It's possible that he's lying." Max Xiao muttered.

"What do you mean?" Bai Yuting reached out and picked up the stone that was still rubbing against his trouser leg and put it aside.

"In the past, there was a fraudulent Taoist priest in our village. He used medicine to lure out the snakes and lied to everyone that there was a disaster. He asked everyone to give him money so that he could eliminate the disaster."

"What happened next?" Ethan Zhan asked.

"Of course, my father exposed him, and then he was beaten out by the villagers! Later, there was a real typhoon, and my father saw it from the stars, so he notified everyone to evacuate. Although many houses collapsed in the village, no one was injured."

Ethan Zhan smiled. In the fourth son’s mind, his father Gongsun Ce would always be the smartest person.

"After dinner, let's go watch how Master Liu exorcises demons." Oliver Bai said as he stood up and asked Ethan Zhan, "Do you want to eat out or have it delivered?"

"Let's go out and eat." Ethan Zhan also stood up, "We can also ask around."

Bai Yuting nodded, and everyone went out to have dinner at the busiest restaurant in Qishan County.

This restaurant on South Street in Qishan County is very interesting. It is called Feige Tower, and the baby pigeons here are said to be a specialty. Oliver Bai and others went up to the second floor and asked for a private seat.

When the waiter came over to serve tea, he saw a commotion downstairs, with people, old and young, running towards the ferry.

"Alas, they all went to see Master Liu to pray for blessings." The waiter shook his head, "I wonder who will be unlucky this time."

Ethan Zhan didn't understand what he heard and asked, "Master Liu is praying for blessings, why would someone be unlucky?"

"Sir, you don't know how often the Horse Belly Fairy attacks. Someone must have provoked it. Find that person, throw him into the river, and everything will disappear!" The waiter served tea to everyone with a smile and asked what they wanted to eat.

Before Ethan Zhan and his friends ordered, they heard someone at the next table groan angrily, "Hey, man! Why is no one pouring tea?"

"Hey." The waiter quickly agreed, "Please wait a moment, I'll be there soon. We are short of manpower."

"Why do you make me wait when you don't have enough manpower? You can't let them wait?!"

Ethan Zhan heard this person speak very arrogantly, and it sounded familiar. Max Xiao tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Meow meow, that's the person who pretended to be Bai Bai just now."

Ethan Zhan was stunned.

From where Bai Yuting was sitting, he could see the people at that table from the side... There were only four people at the table, the man in white, two young women in white, and a white-haired old man.

Ethan Zhan and the others ignored the provocation of the man in white. After ordering the dishes, they waited to eat.

Soon, the squab came up and everyone started eating.

At this time, the white-haired old man behind him turned around and looked at Ethan Zhan, then stood up and walked over to ask, "Sir, can I take your pulse?"

Ethan Zhan was slightly stunned, and Oliver Bai looked up at him.

The old man introduced himself and said, "My last name is Feng Boyuan."

Bai Yuting and Ethan Zhan were both surprised when they heard the name - the strange doctor Feng Boyuan?

"My young palace master is new to the martial arts world. Please forgive me if I have offended you." The old man was very polite. "I apologize on behalf of the palace master."

"...Are you from Eryue Palace?" Oliver Bai asked.

"That's right." The old man said, and stretched out his hand. Ethan Zhan did not avoid it and let him feel his pulse.

Feng Boyuan was quite famous in the martial world. He was the left protector of Eryue Palace and was considered a miracle doctor, but he had a very strange personality, so it was extremely difficult to find him to treat a disease.

After checking Ethan Zhan's pulse, the old man nodded and said, "This poison is not very harmful and is easy to cure. It just takes time to make the antidote."

Ethan Zhan smiled slightly, "Thank you, Mr. Feng. My friend is already preparing the antidote, so it's OK."

"Oh...that's good!" The old man nodded, turned around and went back to eat. Then he heard the young palace master still complaining, as if he was dissatisfied with the old man's apology to Ethan Zhan and the others.

Leo asked Oliver Bai, "Brother Bai, what is Eryue Palace?"

"The February Palace is one of the ten great palaces in the Jianghu, with influence all over the Central Plains. They believe in the February God instead of Buddha. It is also one of the sects of strange arts, good at using evil magic. The palace master is Luo Huaiyue."

"They are all sects practicing strange arts. Are they here to catch the horse's belly as well?" Leo muttered to himself.

Max Xiao was eating the pigeon when he suddenly said, "Meow meow, there's soy sauce in the corner of your mouth."

Ethan Zhan was startled, and moved closer, "Little Fourth, wipe it for me."

Max Xiao said with a smile, "If you can't reach it, it's a waste of time!"

Ethan Zhan felt a little embarrassed. Oliver Bai looked at Ethan Zhan and saw that there was indeed soup stain at the corner of his mouth. He hesitated whether to help wipe it.

Ethan Zhan felt that Oliver Bai would not wipe it for him in public...so he might as well lick it off himself.

Coincidentally, Bai Yuting just reached out to wipe the soup stains from the corner of Ethan Zhan's mouth, and when his finger was about to touch... Ethan Zhan licked it with his tongue... and licked Bai Yuting's finger exactly.

"Ahem." Bai Yuting retracted his finger and coughed. Ethan Zhan still didn't quite understand what he had just licked.

Oliver Bai only felt some warmth and moisture remaining on his fingers, so he rubbed them gently, and with his other hand he picked up the cup to drink tea to hide his embarrassment.

Ethan Zhan licked it twice, wiped it with his hand, and asked Max Xiao, "Are there any more?"

Max Xiao smiled and shook his head, "No more!"

It was originally a good meal, but now it tastes different.

Oliver Bai no longer knew what baby pigeon tasted like, he just felt the warm and moist feeling on his fingers was always there.

Ethan Zhan thought the pigeon was delicious, but he didn't know what he had just licked...

After dinner, everyone went downstairs and followed the crowd towards the ferry.

When Max Xiao found out that there were many people around, he pushed Ethan Zhan towards Oliver Bai and said, "Bai Bai, keep an eye on meow meow, don't get lost."

Seeing that there were indeed quite a few people ahead, Oliver Bai moved closer, placed one hand gently on Ethan Zhan's waist to support him, and walked forward together.

As I was walking forward, I suddenly saw the people in front of me were in chaos and running to both sides.

"What's wrong?" Ethan Zhan was puzzled.

"Beggars." Oliver Bai frowned. "When those pedestrians saw beggars, they ran away in all directions, as if they had seen a ghost."

Ethan Zhan thought about it and realized that he was probably frightened by the horse's belly.

Soon, the beggars came to Ethan Zhan and Oliver Bai, holding up their broken bowls and shouting, "Give me money, sir."

Bai Yuting looked coldly at the person beside him.

The man was frightened by Oliver Bai's eyes and said, "Why are you so fierce? Don't bully the weak. Be careful that the horse belly fairy will take you away."

Oliver Bai sneered, looked him up and down, and said calmly, "Next time you pretend to be a beggar, remember to change into a pair of old shoes."

Many people around were about to pay, but after hearing Bai Yuting's words, they looked down and saw that the beggars were wearing new shoes - they were pretending!

At this time, Feng Boyuan and his group came up from behind. The young palace master saw the group of beggars and kicked them, "Stop pretending to be beggars here. There are no beggars that fat!"

Those beggars were really local thugs in disguise. They were beaten and fled in all directions, cursing and saying that the next target of the horseman master would be them... But they all ran away, and there was no sign of the young palace master bleeding from all his orifices.

Passersby were talking about it, saying that beggars had become feared by everyone in Qishan County since the bodies of the three little beggars were lost. In addition, the beggars beaten by the constables this morning were taken away by the horse belly fairy, so the beggars became even more unscrupulous. Some ruffians in the town changed into ragged clothes and pretended to be beggars. After a while, beggars could be seen chasing people throughout the county. If they caught up with people, they would give them money. If they didn't, they would not leave. You really didn't dare to beat them.

The young palace master seemed to be a man who loved to show off. He shouted, "What are you afraid of? No matter how serious the horse's belly is, I, Eryue Palace, will come to take it! Let him not harm the people again!" After saying that, he took Feng Boyuan and the others to the ferry.

Zhan Hao moved to his left side, "Ah."

On the right side, Oliver Bai poked him, "I'm here."

Ethan Zhan's ears turned slightly red, he coughed, then moved closer to the right side, stretched out his hand to grab a handful of hair, successfully grabbed a strand of black hair on Oliver Bai's chest, touched his shoulder and leaned over.

Oliver Bai was helpless, and heard Ethan Zhan asking in his ear, "The one who died before was a beggar. Beggars would have some information exchanges with each other. Why don't you know the identity of the dead beggar?"

Oliver Bai thought about it and asked, if the horse belly story has existed in Qishan County since ancient times, then people pretending to be beggars should not have appeared today...

"Yes!" Ethan Zhan understood immediately, "Those three little beggars are most likely not real beggars, they are just pretending to be beggars to make a living.

"Those hooligans may know." Oliver Bai said to Ethan Zhan, "I'll go check it out. You wait here carefully."

"Alas." Ethan Zhan also wanted to go.

"Master Liu is about to catch the monster. Let's split up." After Bai Yuting finished speaking, he winked at Leo and asked him to take good care of Ethan Zhan and Max Xiao. Leo nodded. Bai Yuting had already walked into an alley with the fake beggars who had just escaped.

Ethan Zhan was worried, but at this moment, he heard three gong sounds, and someone shouted in a sharp voice, "Dear fellow villagers, today is the day to worship the Ma Fu Great Immortal!"

The crowd rushed towards the ferry.

Ethan Zhan stood there and couldn't see, so he reached out and picked up Max Xiao, "Max Xiao, tell me, what's around you?"

After asking the question, no one answered, Ethan Zhan felt someone tugging at the corner of his clothes, "Meow meow, why are you holding someone else's child?"

Ethan Zhan was stunned, Leo was trying not to laugh. The boy Ethan Zhan picked up was about the same age as Max Xiao, who was wearing coarse cloth and looked thin and dark.

"Oh... sorry." Ethan Zhan looked embarrassed, thinking that it was a good thing Oliver Bai was not there, so he put the child down.

The child didn't say anything either, and seemed to be acting suspiciously. Ethan Zhan was puzzled. Why would such a young child go out alone without a family member by his side? Could it be that his family lived nearby and came out to watch the fun?

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard Master Liu on the stage start to chant some incantations, all of which were words praising the Immortal Horseman, saying that he was fair and honest, loved the people and hated evil...

Ethan Zhan was listening carefully when the child beside him suddenly said in a sinister voice, "Go to hell!"

Ethan Zhan was stunned.

At the same time, there was a commotion among the crowd... Master Liu stopped talking, and was replaced by screams from the crowd and the sound of people running away.

Leo quickly protected Max Xiao and wanted to pull Ethan Zhan away. Ethan Zhan reached out to pull the child beside him to run together, but when he grabbed, he grabbed nothing...the child was gone!

"Leozi...that kid just now?" Ethan Zhan wanted to ask, but the area was already crowded with people.

"What happened?" Ethan Zhan was puzzled.

"Brother Zhan, Master Liu will bleed profusely on the stage..." Leo said as he protected Max Xiao from being squeezed by the crazy crowd, "Master Liu is dead! Brother Zhan, let's find a place to hide quickly, there are so many people!"

Just as he finished speaking, he saw a white shadow flash beside him. Oliver Bai came back. Without saying a word, he reached out and grabbed Ethan Zhan, picked up Max Xiao and rushed out of the crowd. Leo sat on a stone and followed quickly... The four of them entered an alley nearby to avoid the fleeing crowd.

"Where is that child?" Ethan Zhan thought the child was very strange and asked Leo to find him.

Leo looked around and shook his head, "No more... maybe he ran away."

"What child?" Bai Yuting was puzzled. Seeing Ethan Zhan's anxious expression, he must have discovered something.

"He's a strange kid, he might know something." Ethan Zhan asked Leo and Max Xiao, "Did you see his face clearly?"

Max Xiao said, "That man looks like a little monkey. I see he has a tail."

"What?" Oliver Bai was stunned.

Ethan Zhan was also a little stunned... There's a tail? !

"Jin'er." Leo looked at him seriously, "Does it really have a tail?"

Max Xiao thought about it, then hesitated again, "I don't know, I seemed to see it, and when I wanted to see it again, it disappeared as soon as someone rushed towards it."

"You're right, that's the little monkey."

At this time, I heard someone talking behind me.

It turned out that there were still people in the alley, three little hooligans dressed as beggars. Oliver Bai had just chased them to question them, and when he heard that people were in chaos, he hurried to rescue Ethan Zhan and the others. The little hooligans saw that there was silver to be taken, so they waited here. The one who spoke was the leader, a boy of thirteen or fourteen years old.

"The little monkey is a freak, born with a tail, and lives with his mother by the Yi River." The little gangster said, "He is very strange, ignores people, and no one dares to provoke him. It is said that he is the reincarnation of a monkey spirit. Some people also say that he has a mother but no father, and it is possible that his mother and a monkey spirit or a water ghost gave birth to him."

"I don't believe that..." Another little thug laughed evilly, "There are no water ghosts or monkey spirits in Yishui, only a horse belly fairy!"