The Dangerous Cultivator - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Battle at the River

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
“Zhou, get your feet off the horse, I’m tired of climbing, I want to ride the horse.”

Xu Yi was firmly clinging to the horse’s belly when he suddenly spoke. His tone was extremely arrogant, as though he were barking at a dog.

Though dressed in elegant white robes, Young Master Zhou’s face was contorted with anger. As he was about to explode in rage, he heard Xu Yi threaten, “I’ll count to three. If you don’t get off, don’t blame me for drilling a huge hole in this beast’s stomach!”

“If you dare harm a hair on Flying Snow, I’ll break every bone in your body!”

Although Zhou Shirong’s mouth spoke harsh words, his body jumped off the horse as though there were a poisonous snake on it. In just one leap, he was already meters away.

Xu Yi’s guess was on the mark. This Flying Snow was extremely precious to Zhou Shirong.

In fact, Flying Snow was a gift from Fairy Yuqing, the master of Snowcold Peak of the Celestial Mountain Sect. The original owner of Flying Snow was actually Fairy Zihan, the most famous and influential of the Celestial Mountain Sect’s third generation.

Fairy Zihan’s skills in the Martial Way were top-notch, and her name was known far and wide. She was the number one Fairy1 in all of Guang’an, with lots and lots of suitors. Zhou Shirong was of course one of them.

When Fairy Yuqing gifted him Flying Snow, Zhou Shirong, who saw himself as a protagonist in his own story, felt that it was a gesture that added some wonderful meaning to his story.

Xu Yi was terrible but still a mere ant. In Zhou Shirong’s eyes, he was not even worth a single hair on Flying Snow’s body.

If this villain harmed Flying Snow, how would he dare to face Fairy Zihan in future?

The moment Zhou Shirong backed off, Xu Yi flipped back onto the horse’s back. He hurried the horse and fled for a few miles at one go before he dared to look back. Zhou Shirong’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

Xu Yi’s mind was sharp. He knew that Zhou Shirong treasured this horse and would not easily give it up. Now, he must be hiding somewhere, waiting for a chance to strike.

With that thought in his head, Xu Yi turned the horse south, avoiding the path through the deep woods, and turning towards the main road. Riding on horseback for over fifty miles, he had reached the banks of Nielong River by the time he stopped.

Nielong River. Who knew where it started, but it cut horizontally through Guang’an Prefecture and into the East China Sea. Its waters were vast, almost like a sea itself.

Xu Yi was well aware, that this Nielong River was his only chance of survival.

The reason was simple: he could not keep running on and on, and he could not watching over this horse at all times. It was clear that Zhou Shirong was definitely following him, waiting for the moment he left Flying Snow’s side.

Thus, a paradox was formed!

As long as Xu Yi failed to escape completely from Zhou Shirong, his life would still remain hanging by a thread.

And for him to properly escape from Zhou Shirong, his only chance lay within the vast Nielong River. Because he managed to think of that, he had steered the horse into this direction back when he had gotten Zhou Shirong off the horse.

Xu Yi guessed right. Although it seemed on the surface that Zhou Shirong was not following, he had always been close by, not leaving them for even a moment.

When Xu Yi stopped at the Nielong River, Zhou Shirong had already hidden himself amongst a few giant trees by the river’s edge. As his eyes swept across the vast river waters, his heart plummeted as he immediately guessed what Xu Yi was up to.

This time, Xu Yi had caused him so much trouble. Never in his life had he been so unsightly as today. Merely killing Xu Yi would not ease the hatred in Young Master Zhou. There was no way he would sit still and let Xu Yi escape.

The moment Xu Yi made a move, Zhou Shirong leapt into the air. As quick as lightning, his body glided through the air like a dragon. In the blink of an eye, he had crossed dozens of meters and was only five meters away from Xu Yi.

Xu Yi never expected Zhou Shirong to come at him so suddenly and so quickly. He had no time to care about his appearance. With the quickest and cleanest movements, he rolled off the horse and once again bent over and hid under the horse’s belly.

Seeing Xu Yi repeating the same tactic, Zhou Shirong almost spewed blood from anger. He forcefully held back is palm strike in mid-air. But the moment he was about to stop, he saw Xu Yi dart out from underneath the horse, diving straight into the river.

Zhou Shirong was skillful indeed, releasing both his palms once more and causing the ground beneath him to explode.

Using the recoil from his strike, Zhou Shirong’s body, which was already bent over, did a flip, and like a gust of wind, leaped straight at Xu Yi.

As he was about to leap and reach the riverbank, there was a splash as Xu Yi jumped into the water headfirst. Then, there was a crash as Flying Snow suddenly collapsed by the riverbank.

The sudden crash almost scared the soul out of Zhou Shirong. He turned around only to see Flying Snow’s left forelimb collapsed onto the ground, streaming blood.

When Xu Yi had crept under the horse, it was primarily because he feared Zhou Shirong would perform another “Air Slash Palm.” That attack could hit from a range, and Xu Yi knew that he could not withstand such a powerful blow. The second reason was to target Flying Snow.

Zhou Shirong clearly treasured Flying Snow. Xu Yi could not touch Zhou Shirong, and that fact alone angered him greatly. If he did not come up with a way to cause Young Master Zhou some heart wrenching pain, all the trouble that he was forced to go through today would not have been worth it.

After diving under the horse, Xu Yi leapt off with both feet, sending himself like a bullet towards the river. At the same time, he used his palm to chop at the horse’s leg.

“Ahh!!! You bastard, I’ll have you die a thousand deaths!”

Zhou Shirong howled at the sky. Blood rushed to his head as the veins all over his face began to pop out. He twisted his body and sped into the river.

Something horrific happened. Zhou Shirong had both feet in the river, but the river’s waters did not go above his ankles, as though he were some water spirit with an innate ability to control water.

But that was not the case!

Zhou Shirong’s two feet had already broken through the soles of his shoes. His toes were bent and moving, as though they were webbed, and they were creating a current of water. If one looked carefully, once could see that beneath his feet, swirls of qi were being created one by one.

Stepping atop the waves, Zhou Shirong looked down into the waters with a cold, deadly stare. Suddenly, three meters diagonally to the left, there was a ripple. Zhou Shirong shouted a cry as his body burst into action. Both his fists swung out, and the air exploded.

Boom!

It was as though a missile had exploded on the water’s surface. A giant wave was created, and numerous fish and shrimp flew into the air, before dropping as floating carcasses on the surface of the water.

The cold, deadly eyes locked onto the water’s surface again, until an almost inaudible grunt reached his years. Finally, contrasting with Zhou Shirong’s icy demeanor, a faint sliver of a smile appeared on the corners of his mouth.

Indeed, Xu Yi had been hit. Zhou Shirong’s terrifying strength had actually penetrated through meters of river water and had accurately hit him.

Thankfully, with the water as a barrier, he managed to not die immediately, but that was the extent of his luck. His injuries were not minor.

A portion of his shoulder blade had collapsed on itself, and multiple organs had almost been shifted by the terrifying force of that punch. Only by gritting his teeth, he had prevented himself from spewing out blood.

Thinking of Zhou Shirong’s immense strength, Xu Yi was livid. In his mind, he once again cursed the heavens for being so unfair.

As he was cursing, patches of his vision suddenly became dark. His chest was burning, but he dared not move. He clenched his teeth tight, not daring to move, allowing the currents to sweep his body forward.

Forcefully holding on for a few minutes, Xu Yi felt as though his lungs were on fire. His gums were already bleeding from how hard he was clenching his teeth.

Zhou Shirong, on the other hand, was calmly floating on the surface with his eyes half closed. Already used to the currents, he no longer needed his eyes to observe what was underwater. Just from the sense of touch from his feet, he could accurately sense any changes in the currents below.

His heart was cold and calm. He was already planning what to do after he captured Xu Yi. What methods could he use to make him regret ever crawling out of his mother’s womb?

Endure, endure.

Xu Yi could only endure. Even if he suffocated to death, he would make sure to sink into the bottom of the waters and never end up in Zhou’s hands.

His ears were ringing, his eyes were beginning to pop out of his sockets, and his vision was getting blurry. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, suddenly, shadows began to appear in front of his eyes.