Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When they were leaving, Grandpa pulled Gao Peng aside and instructed him quietly, “Don’t refuse Shaotang. He’s doing it for your own good.”
“No, I won’t. Why would I reject Master Liu?” Gao Peng said quickly.
“Right… It wasn’t as good back then, in Shaotang’s family. He originally had two younger sisters. That year, there was a famine, and after one winter, his family was left only with him, the only son.” Ji Hanwu sighed.
Suddenly, Gao Peng didn’t know what to say. It had never occurred to him that the ever kind Master Liu had such a past.
“Eat some more. When you eat more, you have more nutrition, and you won’t get hungry… It’s never wrong to eat a bit more. To be able to eat is a blessing.” Master Liu’s laughing words echoed in Gao Peng’s ears. Perhaps there was a strong, hidden obsession in the depths of Uncle Liu’s heart.
“I know.” Gao Peng nodded quietly.
Leaving from the north region of Yuzhou City, they passed by the Mountain Spirit Station. Gao Peng stood on Stripey’s back and took a look from afar, but he didn’t walk in to visit.
From time to time, the strange hunting teams from the Mountain Spirit Station could be seen along the way. These strange hunting teams were mostly rushing and seemed to be extremely busy.
Occasionally, their hearty laughter in the mountains could be heard, echoing with the joy of another great harvest.
At least everything was developing in the right direction, and Gao Peng silently prayed from the bottom of his heart. After all, human beings were highly adaptable creatures, and they were also the creatures that could create the most miracles.
The Million Mountain occupied by the Mountain Spirits had been thoroughly cleared. To consider it his back garden might have been a bit too arrogant, but Gao Peng could walk around it with his eyes closed without any problems.
They left the Million Mountain and continued westward for hundreds of miles, passing a rushing river. The turbid red river was raging, and a vortex swirled over the water. It was the Red Sand River.
Dumby recognized the river, and the flame of the undead flickered in its eye sockets.
“Since we’re here already, go visit your people,” Gao Peng said to Dumby.
Dumby was somewhat moved, but the soles of its feet seemed to be rooted to the ground.
“Go ahead. Come back after visiting them. After all, you were their king,” Gao Peng said encouragingly.
Looking doubtful, Dumby twisted its head and remained silent. Then it nodded to Gao Peng and left after leaping a few times on Stripey’s back.
Deep in the jungle, a group of Red River Apes lived freely. On the towering old trees, a vine fell, and the inside of the forest was cheerful and peaceful.
In the middle of a large tree, a six-foot-long red scale hung, and the energy emitted from the red scales expelled the natural enemies of the Red River Apes.
One female ape sitting on the tree was holding and nursing a baby ape. By its side was a monkey wearing a melon on its head and throwing its poop at other Red River Apes. As a result, there was a clamor, and a few Red River Apes chased each other and started a fight.
Dumby watched this scene silently and looked a little dazed.
…
Dozens of boats in the impetuous red river were sailing through the water. There were three people standing on each boat. Some were steering, some were sprinkling small nets, and others were assisting.
“Hurry up, Laosan, faster.” A muscular man with a cigarette in his mouth yelled towards the steering wheel of the ship.
“Don’t pester me. These fish are very smart, and it won’t be good if you scare them away.” The young man, known as Laosan, wore a red jacket with a white vest inside and seemed powerful and stout.
“For me, I would just directly catch all the fish with a gold wire hooked on the net. It isn’t necessary to make such an effort,” said the only boy in the team with short hair indifferently.
“That won’t do. According to the rules of the river gods, we can’t use large nets. We can only catch fish with small nets. If we violate the rules set by the river gods, we’re going to be banned.”
“The one who wins the first prize will receive the scales of the river god as a reward. The shipyards in the city of Lizhou are buying the scales of the river gods. I heard that the scales that Chen Xiaoliang got last time sold for a million Alliance dollars.”
“What is that!?” The gigantic body of Stripey attracted the attention of the people at the site when passing by the shore.
The big man who was holding the rudder was shocked. He had never seen such a big monster before.
“That must be a mountain, right?”
“There seems to be a house on the back of the mountain, as if someone’s on it.”
In the eyes of these people, the 200-foot-tall Stripey looked like a small hill.
The audience who cheered on these players from the shore were stunned and couldn’t help but stare at the huge Stripey with their mouths wide open. To many people, it was the first time in their life to come across such a terribly large monster.
The water in the river suddenly surged. Layers of red waves pushed forward, and ships were drifting about helplessly in the waves as they were rocked further away.
Immediately after that, a dry piece of large red land floated up from the bottom of the water, flashing red scales that were smooth like mirrors, just like an island rising slowly from the middle of the river…
“River God!”
“It’s His Majesty, River God!”
“The River God is revealing himself.”
People by the shore started praying, while some of the elders even knelt and bowed down.
In this remote area, the Dragon Blood Red Sand Carp that protected Yifang base city had been regarded as a river god and was worshipped and admired by the local people.
The Dragon Blood Red Sand Carp had sensed a powerful aura passing through the Red Sand River in its own territory, so it couldn’t help but sneak out from the bottom of the river to reveal itself.
By doing this, it was sounding out a warning that this territory was already owned, but it was also curious about the identity of the aura’s master.
Seated on Stripey’s back, Gao Peng smiled and greeted the Dragon Blood Red Sand Carp. “How do you do!”
The Dragon Blood Red Sand Carp looked at Gao Peng, who didn’t know whether it had understood what he said, and spat out two water bubbles, then withdrew back to the river floor.
Very quickly, someone from Lizhou Base City came over to welcome Gao Peng.
“So it’s the arrival of the Cataclysm of the Undead.” The receptionist that welcomed him was about 30 years old, with common features and a gentle character.
“I’m just passing through. Hopefully, I didn’t interrupt your competition.” Gao Peng said apologetically.
“No, no, the fact that you can watch their competition is their honor,” the receptionist replied hastily.
“What are they doing here?” Gao Peng was rather curious.
“They’re having a fish catching competition using small nets and net pockets to catch fish in the Red Sand River. Based on the final weight, the champion will get an old scale from the carp king,” said the receptionist.
“An activity like this exists? How many times has it happened?” Gao Peng felt like this was new. It was actually a competition that had been organized by both monsters and humans. It was very interesting.
“It’s just for fun, and this is the second competition; it’s held once a month. The first was held last month.”
Gao Peng nodded and glanced at the dozens of ships on the river. If this game were to continue, maybe it could become a local custom in a few decades or centuries, maybe?
Traditions that were spread by word of mouth all evolved slowly like this, after all.
This is just a game I witnessed. There may be more happening in the places that I haven’t been to yet.
Gao Peng smiled, and after watching the game for a while, bade farewell to the receptionist and continued to move west.
Lizhou was just sightseeing on this trip. The real destination was still waiting for him.
