Chapter 386
Chapter 386
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 386
>Chapter Title: Grandpa Dragon King
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Li Huowang gently stroked Mantou’s head with his hand. Through the translucent black veil, he watched the little girl walk away, a hint of envy creeping into his heart.
If only he could return to a time when he knew nothing at all—how wonderful that would be.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a muffled “thud” rang out. The cabin tilted sharply to the left, sending the group of people who had been fighting moments ago tumbling into a tangled heap.
Li Huowang thrust his sword straight into the deck and reached out to grab Mantou by the tail.
“With waves this big, will the carriage down in the hold be okay?”
The thought of Black Tai Sui breaking free inside the cabin made Li Huowang tense up. He couldn’t even wait for the ship to level out before stumbling toward the stern.
When he saw that the carriage he had nailed shut showed no signs of trouble, and the horse beside it—with its eyes covered—was calmly munching on its fodder, he finally let out a breath of relief.
After carefully inspecting every inch of the carriage, Li Huowang relaxed and turned to head back.
However, when Li Huowang returned to the cabin, he was stunned to find that the entire group of people had vanished. Thin leaves from their game were scattered across the floor.
“Thud!” Another muffled boom rocked the cabin, tilting it violently once more.
“What’s going on?” Sensing something was wrong, Li Huowang furrowed his brow, gripped his sword hilt, and rushed toward the deck.
The moment he burst out of the cabin door, a torrent of rain slapped him in the face. The people on deck hadn’t disappeared—they were clustered around the captain, jumping about excitedly.
“Get the hell out here!! Which one of you rotten liars hid your real name? Do you have any idea that because of you, everyone on this ship’s gonna end up fish food?!”
“Thud!” The ship tilted again, prompting panicked shouts from everyone on board.
Li Huowang noticed something odd too. Though the rain poured down in sheets, the sea around them was perfectly flat—no waves at all. It was as if the ship’s lurches were caused by something slamming into it.
Li Huowang hurried to the side of the ship and peered over the edge into the water. Perhaps due to the dark clouds overhead, the once deep blue sea had turned an eerie ink-green.
“Thud~” The ship shuddered violently again. Li Huowang caught a glimpse of a blurry black shadow flashing beneath the surface, followed by strands of black hair swaying up from the depths to the water’s surface.
“There’s really something in the water.” The idea of sharing the sea with a creature like the river god from before soured Li Huowang’s mood.
They’d had no trouble the whole way, and now chaos erupted just as they neared their destination.
As Li Huowang pondered what to do, he heard thudding sounds of kowtowing from behind him.
The captain, blood streaming from his forehead, had drawn a gleaming long saber from his belt. His voice cracked with desperation as he shouted: “Who the fuck was it?! Who hid their name?! Show yourself, or I’ll kill you all!”
The captain’s frenzy clearly terrified everyone. The man with the dog-skin plaster on his forehead quickly pointed at the sallow-faced woman beside him.
“It’s her! I heard her call her daughter by her milk name! The kid’s surname is Chen!”
The captain rushed over like he’d found a lifeline, yanking the little girl clutched tightly in the woman’s arms. It was the same child who had given Li Huowang the malt candy earlier.
“Good! Surname Chen and you still dared board?! I knew Grandpa Dragon King shouldn’t have come for us!”
“What are you doing?! Let go of my daughter!!”
“What am I doing? Grandpa Dragon King’s already here—what do you think?! Let go!”
Shouts, screams, and the little girl’s wails blended into a cacophony amid the pouring rain.
“Thud!” The ship lurched high again. The others panicked too, urging the woman to release her grip.
As Li Huowang watched the chaos unfold, he opened his mouth to speak—only for a low growl to come from beside him. “You’re really gonna feed a child to that thing in the water? Are you even human?”
“Hm?” Li Huowang looked up to see it was one of the men from the card game earlier—the bushy-bearded bald guy with the best poker skills.
Seeing someone step up, Li Huowang held back and decided to watch how things played out. If someone else could handle it, he’d be happy for the break.
The captain wiped the rain from his face and bellowed at the man: “Easy for you to say! Grandpa Dragon King’s right there in the water! My ship can’t take much more of this—sink it, and we all die!”
“You think tossing this kid in will make that thing leave?”
“Of course! Grandpa Dragon King only eats people surnamed Chen or Fan! Once it’s fed, we live!”
“You ignorant fool! Get out of my way!” The bearded man shoved the captain aside and strode to the bow, facing the inky black sea as he formed hand seals and began chanting something.
He looked utterly ordinary, but clearly he had some skills.
Li Huowang walked over, asking uncertainly: “You sure about this?”
“No sure thing, and you don’t board? A real man doesn’t cower in the back while a little girl dies in his place!”
Li Huowang glanced back at the girl slumped in her mother’s arms and nodded. “Well said. Damn well said.”
The big-bearded man eyed Li Huowang’s bizarre outfit curiously. “And who might you be, brother? Which sect or school?”
Before Li Huowang could answer, the ship pitched high again, accompanied by a terrifying creak from below.
The captain’s frantic voice rang out once more. “The ship’s gonna break! Whatever you’re doing, do it now!!”
Li Huowang removed his bamboo hat and vaulted onto the railing, peering down at the increasing black hair on the surface. “Whatever’s down there, let’s take it on together. Better odds that way.”
The big-bearded man gravely examined Li Huowang’s skinless head and nodded slowly.
“That beast’s coming! Get ready!” Li Huowang drew his copper coin sword and crouched low.
The big-bearded man ignored everything else, pulling out a string of prayer beads and wrapping them around his seal-forming fingers.
As shadowy forms surged again in the ink-green sea, Li Huowang kicked off hard and leaped straight down into the water.
Before he hit the surface, the black hair there came alive, writhing toward him.
“Om ti da pin na ji ji she!”
The verdigris-coated copper coins flew apart. With a flash of cold steel, the black hair was sliced into segments and went still.
Li Huowang took a deep breath and plunged into the icy sea with a “splash.”
The saltwater soaked his skinless body like boiling oil, sending him into violent tremors of pain.
(End of chapter)