Master Longbrow’s pupils shrank sharply, his gaze darting around.
The next second.
He noticed a trail of faint black handprints on the mud, as if a baby had just crawled over it.
“What was that?”
“How did I not sense it?”
“This shouldn’t be!”
“I’ve cultivated nine strands of true qi. Even if an immortal cultivator approached, I’d feel it. Could it… really be a ghost?”
A chill ran down Master Longbrow’s spine.
No time to think.
He pulled out a talisman, placed it on his ankle, and silently chanted a spell. The talisman ignited, and the black handprint emitted wisps of dark mist.
Soon, it was burned clean.
“This cursed place is too eerie. I need to leave fast.”
“As a sect leader, I’m not dying here.”
“Strange, why hasn’t that little brat come down yet?”
Unbeknownst to Master Longbrow, Ye Qiu and Xiao Zhan had only just jumped into the river.
After using a water-repelling talisman, Xiao Zhan was enveloped in a faint blue glow, not a drop of water touching him.
More than that.
Though underwater, Xiao Zhan felt as if walking on solid ground, exclaiming, “Boss, this talisman is incredible.”
Ye Qiu grinned, “Of course. The old man has plenty more. Get a few from him later if you get the chance.”
Xiao Zhan nodded slightly, “Got it.”
They sank for a bit.
Suddenly, Ye Qiu stopped.
“Boss, what’s up?” Xiao Zhan, holding a torch in one hand and a gun in the other, asked tensely, “Danger?”
“No, I see the sunken ship.” Ye Qiu pointed.
Xiao Zhan shone his torch, spotting a shipwreck a dozen metres away, adorned with Dragon Gate’s flag.
He also saw bodies in the cabin.
“So young, buried here. What a pity,” Ye Qiu sighed softly.
“Boss, they’re our Dragon Gate people. I’ll retrieve them,” Xiao Zhan said, moving towards the ship.
“Wait.” Ye Qiu stopped him, “We’ll deal with that after the main task.”
With that, Ye Qiu continued sinking.
Xiao Zhan glanced at the cabin, then followed closely.
Soon, they reached the riverbed.
As they steadied, Master Longbrow appeared, sweating profusely, panicked.
“Old man, what’s wrong with you?” Ye Qiu asked.
“Little brat, I… I saw a ghost,” Master Longbrow gasped.
Xiao Zhan tensed, his right hand quietly resting on his gun’s trigger.
Ye Qiu stayed calm, asking, “What happened?”
Master Longbrow said, “Something grabbed my calf. By the time I reacted, there was a black handprint on my ankle.”
“Hm?”
Ye Qiu glanced at his ankle, “Where’s the handprint?”
“I burned it with a talisman,” Master Longbrow replied, “This place is wicked, definitely something unclean.”
Ye Qiu asked, “Old man, where were you when the handprint appeared?”
“In the mud up ahead,” Master Longbrow pointed not far off, lowering his voice mysteriously, “Little brat, let me tell you, there’s a big treasure in that mud…”
Ye Qiu said, “You mean the Water-Towning Beast, right?”
Master Longbrow froze, “How’d you know?”
Ye Qiu smiled, “Guess?”
Guess your sister!
“Let’s check it out,” Ye Qiu said, heading towards the mud.
Soon, he saw the Water-Towning Beast.
“Old man, such a big treasure, why didn’t you take it?” Ye Qiu asked.
Master Longbrow scoffed, “Treasure, my foot. Just a Water-Towning Beast from the Kangxi era, worthless.”
Ye Qiu asked, “You don’t want it?”
Master Longbrow said, “I don’t.”
Ye Qiu added, “Don’t regret it. This beast is no ordinary treasure.”
Master Longbrow didn’t buy it, “You want it, take it. I’m not interested. Even if you gave it to me, I wouldn’t want it.”
“Since you say so, I’ll take it,” Ye Qiu said, leaping onto the beast’s back in a flash.
Xiao Zhan whispered to Master Longbrow, “Senior, such a big treasure, why aren’t you interested?”
Master Longbrow grumbled, “Just scrap bronze, worth pennies.”
Bang!
A loud crash echoed.
Master Longbrow looked up, seeing Ye Qiu slam a fist into the beast’s back.
“What’s Boss doing?” Xiao Zhan asked, puzzled.
“What else? The brat thinks it’s a treasure!”
“I don’t get it. How’s a Water-Towning Beast a treasure…”
“Holy—!”
Master Longbrow gasped, eyes bulging.
Ye Qiu’s punch hit the bronze rhino’s back. Three seconds later, cracking sounds rang out, fractures spiderwebbing across it, chunks of bronze falling away.
Then, a blinding golden light burst forth.
“My God, it’s a gold-cast Water-Towning Beast,” Xiao Zhan gaped in shock.
Master Longbrow was dumbfounded, “How’s that possible?”
“I studied it so long and didn’t see it was gold. How’d the brat know?”
“Damn, I’ve lost big this time.”
“Gods, why toy with me? My heart hurts…”
Master Longbrow was nearly in tears.
He never imagined the beast was gold beneath a bronze coating.
“Senior, a beast this big, cast in gold, must weigh over ten thousand jin. That’s worth a fortune, right?”
Xiao Zhan’s words stabbed Master Longbrow’s heart like a knife.
“Stop talking, or I’ll drop dead right here!”
Master Longbrow’s regret was gut-wrenching.
Ye Qiu stepped back to his side, smiling, “Old man, thanks for letting me have this treasure.”
Xiao Zhan said enviously, “Boss, your luck’s insane, snagging such a huge treasure. I’m jealous.”
Hmph!
Master Longbrow snorted coldly, “So what? I tested its weight earlier—probably twenty thousand jin.”
“And this is underwater.”
“Little brat, think you’ve got the strength to haul it out?”
“Actually, it’s quite simple,” Ye Qiu said, pulling out a Qiankun Bag.
Master Longbrow’s face turned ashen.
Damn, how’d I forget that treasure?
