Chapter 54: The Strange Pool and the Ferocious Anomaly
When A arrived at the backyard, he saw a coat fallen on the filthy, damp ground, and the surface of the pond was still violently rippling...
“Sui Yi!!” A shouted!
He rushed toward the pond...
At that very moment, beneath the water, Sui Yi was being dragged downward at an alarming speed by a dark shadow—like being caught in a powerful underwater turbine, descending far faster than she could have imagined.
But even if the shadow meant her no harm, the lack of air alone would be enough to kill her!
Sui Yi already felt a heavy pain pressing in her chest!
She held her breath!
Channeling all her magnetic energy into her leg, she kicked the shadow squarely on the head with all her might!
It was enough force to shatter an iron plate!
Clang!
A ring of water exploded outward; the shadow let out a muffled grunt and released her ankle, darting aside and vanishing in the blink of an eye...
Sui Yi couldn’t make out where the shadow had gone. Her foe was hiding in the dark while she was exposed. To make matters worse, her ankle felt dislocated, agony lancing through her. It was hard enough just to swim upward, so she tried instead to move toward the pond’s edge...
Suddenly!
A shadow struck from behind!
Thud!
She was slammed hard into the pond wall!
Something jagged on the rough stone edge jabbed into her waist, sending a sharp spasm of pain through her body!
Her hand brushed over something—Sui Yi paused in surprise. What was this...?
Whoosh! The shadow surged up from behind, jaws wide open... green liquid oozing into the water, spreading in cloudy tendrils...
Sui Yi seemed to catch a foul stench, nauseating and intense, but...
She twisted around, meeting the oncoming shadow head-on. It was too dark to see clearly, but she could tell the creature’s teeth were razor-sharp, seeping green threads... and its eyes—
Dark, glimmering green...
In that split second!
She yanked out the object embedded in the stone wall—
A dagger!
She wrenched the hilt free!
A cold flash sliced through the water!
There was a muffled sound as the blade cut through tough hide...
A thunderous roar!
The shadow recoiled, retreating with lightning speed...
Clutching the dagger, Sui Yi pulled the scabbard from the stone, braced her good foot against the jagged wall, and, gritting her teeth against the pain in her other leg, pushed herself upward.
Meanwhile, A had already kicked off his shoes and was about to jump in... Master Shen, unable to stop him, also prepared to enter the water. Just as the two were about to plunge in—
Splash!
Someone burst out of the water!
Zhao Yue and the others screamed, their shrieks piercing the air!
But then, looking closer...
The figure emerging, sopping wet, was none other than Sui Yi...
She gripped the edge, hauling herself out, gasping for breath...
Zhang Yang and the others, who had been in a panic, suddenly fell silent, staring in shock at Sui Yi as she climbed out of the pond...
“Damn!” A hurried to drape the coat over Sui Yi, shielding the soaked white shirt and the beauty beneath.
Sen Sen shot a look at Wang Pu and the others, prompting awkward nervous laughs.
Sui Yi coughed water from her lungs, unable to pay attention to anything else for the moment. After a while, she finally glanced up at A and Master Shen...
“Sui Yi, just now, you—”
“What happened?”
A and Master Shen asked, both suspicious and concerned.
Sui Yi thought for a moment, then decided to hide the truth, replying calmly, “It’s nothing. I just slipped and fell into the pond...”
“I see...” Master Shen sighed with relief.
A frowned, saying nothing, but noticed Sui Yi rubbing her ankle.
“What’s wrong? Did you—”
“Dislocated,” Sui Yi replied, frowning, water streaming down her face and legs, her body drenched. She had to get out of here quickly...
A was about to offer to carry her, but then saw her bend down, grip her ankle in both hands, and with a sudden wrench—
Crack!
Zhao Yue and the others all winced at the sight!
That must hurt~~
A: “....”
Master Shen was speechless as well.
Was this really a seventeen-year-old girl?
So fierce!
Worried as he was, A didn’t notice the dagger Sui Yi tucked into her waistband, hidden beneath the white shirt...
Fortunately, he had quickly thrown his coat over her, concealing it...
As they left, Sui Yi kept the dagger out of sight, hidden in her roomy coat...
Master Shen escorted them partway, even refusing their pottery fee, and gave each of them a fine ceramic piece as a gift...
Zhang Yang and the others had only come for fun, so getting souvenirs for free left them delighted.
A, feeling unlucky about the whole affair, asked for an extra one for Sui Yi as “emotional compensation.”
As they walked away, Sui Yi turned to look at Master Shen standing before the old workshop, the quiet, shadowy building looming behind him.
Silent, deep, like a beast lurking in the mountains.
“There’s something wrong with this place?” A asked quietly, walking beside her.
“With your skills, how could you have slipped and fallen into the pond so easily, and been gone so long...?”
He was not so easy to fool as the others.
Sui Yi glanced at him, her hand brushing the cold metal at her waist, and murmured, “Haunted, perhaps...”
What else could possess such strength and ferocity if not some supernatural thing?
Moreover, the pond itself was strange.
But this whole business reeked of danger and the uncanny; she had no wish to drag A into it.
Still, was the monster targeting her specifically?
Or was it just a coincidence?
--------
A heard the implication in Sui Yi’s words, and though dissatisfied, he didn’t pursue the matter. He simply resolved to go back and check the pond himself later...
“If you go there alone again... you’ll die, and I’ll have to go looking for you, and I might die too.”
As if reading his mind, Sui Yi said this one sentence, then fell silent.
A’s expression flickered.
He knew his skills were no match for Sui Yi’s, but he hadn’t realized even she was so wary of the pond...
What secret was hidden in this little village?
--------
The five trailing behind knew nothing of the life-and-death discussion ahead. But as they entered the village—
Suddenly, Zhang Yang called out, “Sui Yi, is that your house over there...?”
Wang Pu was a bit younger than Sui Yi, but the others were all older, since they’d attended a six-year elementary school. So they were too shy to call her “big sister.”
But with that shout, they all looked ahead.
Sui Yi followed their gaze and saw chaos in front of her house—shouting, scuffling, the sounds of a fight!
Her expression changed.
She ran forward at once.
A crowd had gathered at the gate, mostly villagers, clustered around the entrance. Inside, noise and disorder reigned.
“Sui Yi’s here...”
“Let her through...”
As if by habit, everyone made way for her, as though she had both the right and the ability to intervene and resolve things. Sui Yi stepped through the doorway and was met by a startling scene.
The old woman was half-collapsed on the ground, one hand pressed to the floor, the other clutching a middle-aged man’s trouser leg. She was shouting, furious, but unable to catch her breath, her body trembling and racked with violent coughs.
The man’s face was twisted, his fleshy cheeks quivering with rage as he kicked her hand away in disgust...
A tall, thin woman nearby, hands on her hips, blocked the furious Aunt Wang and the others, shouting, “What are you yelling for? This is our family’s business, nothing to do with any of you! Mind your own business... Go away, all of you...”
Aunt Wang, plump and loud, yelled back, “Ye Zhang, treating your own mother this way—you’ll die a miserable death, and you, Wang Yu, you heartless beast, treating your mother-in-law like this—karma will come for you both...!”
“You still dare curse me? Get out, get out! This house is ours, all of you can get lost!” Wang Yu, enraged, shoved Aunt Wang hard. Aunt Wang lost her balance and toppled backward...
A hand caught her back, steadying her. She turned and saw Sui Yi.
Sui Yi, still dripping wet.
“Sui Yi!”
Sui Yi stepped through the inner doorway and turned to Ye Zhang. “Get out.”
Ye Zhang scowled, “You little brat, who do you think you are—”
“I’ve already called the police. If you don’t leave now, who knows if someone won’t bury you in these mountains...”
Ye Zhang’s face changed, fear flashing across it. As Wang Yu, in a rage, started toward Sui Yi, he hastily grabbed her and dragged her outside.
Sui Yi lifted the old woman from the floor, wiped away the blood and spittle from her mouth, and straightened her clothes.
The old woman’s body convulsed with pain, her suffering wrenching the hearts of Aunt Wang and the others. Several women hurried in, following Sui Yi’s instructions to fetch medicine and water...
Sui Yi held the old woman’s hand tightly, her expression taut, and when Aunt Wang brought over the medicine, she thanked her and fed the old woman the remedy herself.
Aunt Wang glanced at Sui Yi’s face, seeing only silent endurance, her pale, delicate hand mottled blue and purple from the old woman’s grip.
Ah, what kind of misfortune is this...
There was a commotion outside again—seemed Monkey and his lot had come looking for trouble, but Sui Yi paid them no mind. Only when the old woman’s breathing calmed did she withdraw her bruised hand, wipe it on a cloth, and say, “Ladies, please look after my grandmother for a bit. I’m going outside.”
“Of course, of course...”
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Outside the gate, Ye Zhang and Wang Yu were fawning over Monkey and his gang, speaking ingratiatingly...
“Brothers, it’s nothing, really. That land is mine—I’m the only son, my father’s dead, so everything’s mine to do with as I like. You dig up that grave, nobody will care...”
“Is that so? But your niece doesn’t seem to agree,” Monkey sneered, shifting moods.
“Niece? Bah, what niece? She’s just a stray my old lady picked up in the city! Eating for free at my house, now she dares meddle in my business!” Ye Zhang spat, contempt in every word.
Picked up... a stray?
In the corner of the courtyard, A frowned, and the young man’s gaze sharpened.
A stray?
Could a girl so refined and striking truly have been a beggar? (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please visit Qidian to vote and support the author. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.reading.)