Volume Two, Chapter Twenty-three: Upstream Along the River

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"What do you mean, 'you'?!?" Mo Yan bristled.

"You... let me explain!" The Black-Horned Dragon King stammered over his words.

"Mo Yan!" Hong Kun called out, and only then did Mo Yan clamp her little mouth shut.

"So, we kept cultivating as we swam back. Following our master’s teachings, we returned here, and to our surprise, we could already transform into human form!" The Black-Horned Dragon King’s eyes brimmed with gratitude as he spoke. Hong Kun was taken aback—such rapid progress, no wonder their master had chosen to enlighten them!

"After that, we built a palace here. Aside from daily cultivation, we patrolled the river and lived freely. Yet whenever we thought of our master, we felt uneasy and restless. So, whenever carp returned from the Dragon Gate, we’d ask them for news of our master, but there was never any information." The Black-Horned Dragon King glanced at Hong Kun.

"He never told us where he lived, so we couldn’t go inquire. Helpless, we could only hope he had escaped danger and that he would someday come here to find us—he knew we came from Hejin. Thus, each day we surfaced, watching passing boats, hoping to catch a glimpse of him among the travelers." The Black-Horned Dragon King spoke with sincere conviction.

"One day, just as we surfaced, we saw a small boat in the middle of the river. On it sat a pot-bellied elder fishing. We meant to ignore him, but noticed his hook was unbaited! Our curiosity got the better of us, and as we drew closer, something felt wrong. Though the hook was empty, it stirred a powerful urge to swallow in us. For the sake of my brothers, I bit the hook first!" The Black-Horned Dragon King spoke with unwavering resolve.

"Oh?!" Everyone was even more astonished. Clearly, this pot-bellied old man was no ordinary person!

"I thought I was doomed, but the elder saw my five long whiskers and laughed, saying, 'Fate comes and goes—let it be!' He tossed a censer into the river, then whispered to me: every full moon, if we captured some people and put them into the censer, and gathered eighteen in total, we could refine a golden elixir, greatly increasing our cultivation and freeing us from the river’s bondage! So, we..."

"Did you ever gather enough?" Hong Kun interjected anxiously. The Black-Horned Dragon King shook his head, a hint of frustration in his voice. "If not for meeting you, we’d have finished tonight!"

"Ah! Don’t blame us! Even if your master enlightened you, harming the innocent like this, I must uphold justice today!" Hong Kun, furious, raised his sword.

"Senior brother, wait! They were injured, yes, but none were harmed!" The Black-Horned Dragon King shook his head frantically.

"What do you mean?"

"The common folk are still alive. Only with all eighteen can the refinement proceed, so..." The Black-Horned Dragon King hurried to explain.

"Really?!" Seeing the Black-Horned Dragon King nod repeatedly, Hong Kun’s anger eased. Thankfully, else he’d truly be in a moral bind. Especially those three fishermen—if he killed them, their families would be left destitute; if he spared them, their actions were unforgivable. Now, a little punishment would suffice!

Afterward, the Black-Horned Dragon King recounted how they coerced the old fisherman and their misdeeds, matching the fisherman’s earlier confession—clearly, the old man spoke truthfully.

"Senior brother Hong, what should we do with them?" Bi Yi asked impatiently. Hong Kun frowned, saying nothing.

"Senior brother, we were misled by the elder, seeking crooked paths and causing trouble in the river. If not for your intervention, we would have made a grave mistake. However you decide, I accept without complaint! But these brothers only acted at my command—please, for master’s sake, give them a chance to reform!" The Black-Horned Dragon King finished and prostrated himself.

"Sigh! You..." Before Hong Kun could speak, the other carp spirits all threw themselves to the ground, each scrambling to take punishment for the others.

"Senior brother Hong, a prodigal’s return is worth more than gold! Give them a chance!" Fat Girl pleaded.

"Yes, yes, I’ve reformed too!" Mei Niang chimed in.

Hong Kun glanced at Han Yu, then turned to Jin Guishan, speaking gently, "Brother Jin, what do you think?"

"Ling Chi, put away the whisk broom!" Jin Guishan quickly instructed.

Before the words had faded, He Lingchi withdrew the whisk broom, and the carp spirits were instantly freed. They exchanged glances, then prostrated themselves again. "Thank you, senior brother!"

"I am not your senior brother!" Hong Kun’s nose nearly twisted in frustration.

"Although master never formally took us as disciples, he will always be our master! You are his disciple, so by rights we should call you senior brother!" The Black-Horned Dragon King bristled.

"Sigh... Now there’s no fish left to eat!" Yi Bing sighed deeply.

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"Eat, eat, eat! That’s all you think about!" Unexpectedly, Han Yu was the first to lose patience. Fat Girl hurriedly tugged Yi Bing, who, realizing his mistake, lowered his head and searched for Brother Turtle.

"This one..." The Black-Horned Dragon King pointed at Yi Bing.

"My surname is Yu, given name Kun! That fat one is my junior, call him Yi Bing..." Though reluctant, Hong Kun introduced everyone one by one, since master wouldn’t have enlightened them for no reason.

Once Hong Kun finished, the Black-Horned Dragon King quickly introduced the carp spirits. It turned out their master had given each a name; the Black-Horned Dragon King was Long Yi, followed by Long Er, Long San, and so on up to Long Shiba. No wonder the pot-bellied elder insisted on eighteen.

"Senior brother, may we return to the water for a while?" Just after introductions, Long Yi couldn’t wait to ask. Hong Kun understood—they were about to revert to their original forms—so he nodded quickly. But as Long Yi walked away, he suddenly stopped, turned back to Jin Guishan, and said, "Brother Jin, could you return our fish scales?"

"What fish scales?" Jin Guishan was puzzled.

"Oh, those silver darts! They’re refined through our cultivation, but your treasure tower absorbed them all. If we don’t get them back, our cultivation will suffer greatly. Please return them!" Long Yi said awkwardly.

"Oh, so that’s why you couldn’t shoot them anymore—turned into bald fish! Haha!" Yi Bing, carrying the divine turtle, burst out laughing. Behind him, Mo Yan led the three fishermen over, the old man still carrying a bucket of river delicacies.

Jin Guishan shook his head. "Living things may be returned, but lifeless things cannot!"

"Sigh, very well! This is the punishment we deserve," Long Yi said no more, took the water bucket from the old fisherman, and led the carp spirits back into the river.

"They won’t run, will they?" Bi Yi sniffed. No one answered.

An hour passed, and the river remained still. Just as everyone thought all hope was lost, the surface suddenly churned. Long Yi and the other spirits leaped out, each holding a villager.

"Senior brother, these are the villagers we captured. And here is the censer the elder left!" Long Yi handed over the censer.

It was a gilded, three-legged censer, twin dragons forming its ears, their mouths open as if breathing smoke. Hong Kun examined it closely, then returned it to Long Yi.

"Keep it safe. So long as you don’t use it for evil, perhaps it has other uses!"

"Other uses?" Long Yi was puzzled.

"Haha, if the elder hadn’t given you the censer, you wouldn’t have captured people. Without that, we wouldn’t have discovered your five whiskers, nor found clues to master. Fate comes and goes—let it be!" Hong Kun smiled.

"So that’s it!" Long Yi finally understood.

When releasing the villagers, Long Yi also offered some gold sand as compensation. Having survived disaster and received gold, the villagers beamed with joy, showering Hong Kun and his companions with gratitude. The old fisherman resolved to give up fishing, move his family ashore, farm, eat vegetarian, and do good to atone for his sins.

"You must take care of yourselves. When I find master, I’ll report everything truthfully. How he chooses to deal with you is out of my hands!" Once the crowd dispersed, Hong Kun prepared to leave with his companions.

"I understand! Senior brother, what are your plans next?" Long Yi asked hurriedly.

"We plan to visit the Dragon Gate, hoping to find some clues about master!" Hong Kun glanced at Jin Guishan, who nodded eagerly.

"Great! Take us with you! We couldn’t help master before, but now let us lend you a hand!" Before Long Yi finished, the other carp spirits echoed his plea.

"I know your intentions, but you can’t stay ashore—how can you follow us?" Hong Kun was startled: foxes, rabbits, and turtles already, now a troop of carp?

"Rest assured! Though we can’t stay ashore, we can follow along the river. If anything happens, we can come out and assist!" Evidently, Long Yi and company were prepared.

Seeing their determination and filial respect for master, Hong Kun could not refuse and agreed.

Though river travel was faster, after deliberation, they chose to proceed by land. First, their enemies might be river monsters, so water offered no advantage; second, according to Long Yi, master was captured and likely held in a nearby cave, so traveling by land allowed them to search.

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Thus, Long Yi and his companions took the river route, while Hong Kun’s party traveled by land, advancing together in grand procession toward the Dragon Gate.

The route to the Dragon Gate was best known to Long Yi and his fellows. Guided by them, Hong Kun’s group followed the Yellow River, searching as they went, soon reaching the banks of the Yiluo River. Though land travel was tiring and less comfortable than riding the turtle, the journey was filled with laughter and scenic views, making it pleasant enough.

One day, as dusk fell, Hong Kun decided to find a place to rest. Yet there was neither village nor inn nearby, not even shelter from wind and rain. He hurried to the riverbank to consult Long Yi and the others; Long Yi said that a few miles ahead lay Blackwind Crossing, where inns could be found.

Sure enough, after traveling a short distance, Blackwind Crossing appeared before them. Though it couldn’t compare to Mengjin, there were two or three inns. The largest was Fortune Inn, where they settled in, taking two rooms on the second floor and paying extra for food.

While they were downstairs for dinner, the innkeeper suddenly rushed out—a thin middle-aged man with a pair of small black mustaches, he approached their table with a mysterious air.

"Everyone, retire early tonight. Unless necessary, do not go outside!" he cautioned.

"Oh? What’s the matter?" Hong Kun asked. But the innkeeper ignored him, instead looking at Yi Bing and Fat Girl. "Especially you two—do not go outside!"

"Innkeeper?!" Hong Kun angrily grabbed his arm.

"Alright, I’ll tell you!" The innkeeper looked nervously around, then said, "For several months now, a monster has appeared here, kidnapping people late at night, targeting only the fat ones! None who were taken ever returned, likely eaten. That’s why I warned you!"

"Hehe, only fat ones? We’re safe then!" Mo Yan laughed.

"That seems so!" The innkeeper eyed Mo Yan’s petite figure.

"Thank you, thank you!" Hong Kun quickly stood and bowed. The innkeeper said no more, casting a sympathetic glance at Yi Bing and Fat Girl, swallowing hard as he turned away.

"What’s this? The monster has a grudge against fat people?!" Yi Bing glanced at the window, abandoning thoughts of another bowl of rice.

"Who cares! With senior brother’s treasure tower here, no monster will escape!" Fat Girl wasn’t bothered, continuing to stuff her mouth with steamed buns. Jin Guishan could only smile wryly.

"It might not come tonight! We’ll leave in the morning anyway," Qi Yuanxiao said.

"Senior brother Hong?" Bi Yi glanced at Qi Yuanxiao.

"The monster may come at any time; we can’t wait forever. If it doesn’t appear tonight, we’ll head to the Dragon Gate to search for master, and return to exterminate the monster once we have news!" Of course, Hong Kun understood Bi Yi’s intent.

"Alright..." Though reluctant, Bi Yi knew Hong Kun was right.

So everyone hurried to finish dinner, then returned to their rooms. The men’s room was led by Hong Kun, the women’s by Bi Yi. All lay down fully clothed, waiting for the monster’s arrival.

By midnight, there was no sign of movement; evidently, the monster would not come tonight. Exhausted from travel, all soon drifted off to sleep. Only Yi Bing tossed and turned, unable to rest—probably because he missed a bowl of food, hunger gnawing at him.

After much hesitation, Yi Bing decided to go downstairs for something to eat.

As he tiptoed onto the balcony, he heard voices below. Peering over, he saw Fat Girl speaking with the inn's servant, slipping silver into his hand.

"Just find us something to eat!" Fat Girl said, handing over coins.

Yi Bing was overjoyed and hurried to the stairs—this saved him the trouble.

"Hehe, let me fix myself something first," the servant suddenly sneered.

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