The yin hui wrapped two arms around him while reaching for his other arm with its remaining pair. He Lingchuan drew Fusheng in a fluid motion, first lopping off the two grasping claws that presumed to seize him, followed immediately by a horizontal slash that shattered both of its front teeth!
The yin hui's ambush had been as sudden as a thunderclap.
He Lingchuan's counterattack had been executed just as swiftly, in the blink of an eye.
From the moment the yin hui burst from the water to strike until He Lingchuan smashed its massive fangs, fewer than three seconds had elapsed!
Without the large fangs that injected venom, the yin hui's offensive threat dropped by at least seventy percent.
He Lingchuan took advantage of the momentum to plunge his blade into its chest, yet the creature possessed formidable vitality. Even with its heart impaled, it thrashed vigorously, fighting on with lingering fury.
"My Lord!"
Tao Ran reached out toward him, but a monkey broke through the surface first, leaping aboard the boat and shaking water from its fur with all its might.
Lingguang was terrified.
It had been perched on He Lingchuan's shoulder and had tumbled into the sea alongside him.
He Lingchuan also leaped onto the boat and wiped the water from his face with one swipe. "Row the boat, put more distance behind us!"
Tao Ran immediately rowed northward.
To the north lay the outer islands of the Yangshan Archipelago, home to supply stations and pirate dens.
He Lingchuan shook his head, however. "I don't think the northern islands are safe either. Let's put in the extra effort and head straight back to Blade Harbor!"
"Yes!" Tao Ran promptly steered the vessel into a turn.
Lingguang hopped back to He Lingchuan's side. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." He Lingchuan produced a broken fang. "Picked it up when I climbed aboard."
Lingguang inspected him thoroughly from head to toe, fearful of missing a single scratch. "These things are spawned from yin fiend energy. If you're wounded by their claws or fangs, even a nick the size of a rice grain must be treated immediately!"
Yet He Lingchuan truly bore no wound. The yin hui possessed immense strength and razor-sharp claws, but beneath his outer garments he wore a suit of spider-silk inner armor, which the beast had failed to tear through entirely.
Indeed, this had been a gift from Nian Zanli back in Lingxu City, crafted by the masters of Songyang Mansion.
Only then did Lingguang breathe a sigh of relief and accept the broken fang from He Lingchuan's hand.
A trace of pale yellowish fluid remained inside the fang, which the medicine ape carefully collected.
The yin hui's carcass bobbed on the water behind them. He Lingchuan looked back at it and said, "We should have brought a live specimen back for Dong Rui."
Qiu Hu replied, "If these things leave a place steeped in yin fiend energy, I'm afraid they would die before even reaching the shore."
He Lingchuan nodded. "If there had been a second yin hui underwater just now, it would have been hard for me to escape unscathed."
He pondered for a moment. "By siphoning away the yin fiend energy from Longji Island and its surrounding waters, I inadvertently ruined the yin hui's habitat. Life on that island must be agonizing for them right now."
"The next leyline eruption seems to be tonight." The leyline vented yin fiend energy every seven days like clockwork; Qiu Hu counted the days on his fingers and realized it fell precisely on this night. "As long as they can endure until then, these creatures can still survive."
And if they couldn't endure?
How many yin hui would perish before the earth fiend erupted?
Answering that question required knowing just how many yin hui dwelled in the waters of Longji Island in the first place.
He Lingchuan sat in the boat, lost in thought as he watched island after island drift past.
His hope of securing the Yangshan Archipelago rested entirely upon this subterranean yin fiend leyline. If spiritual energy were what gushed from beneath the earth, this place would be an idyllic blessed realm coveted by everyone. Far from having any claim to it himself, even the Lu family and Bailie would likely have been elbowed aside long ago.
***
Night fell beneath a dense canopy of overcast clouds.
The moment he entered the Panlong World, He Lingchuan knew he would not need to seek out the nightmare for answers:
His right arm was still slung across his chest, the splint not yet removed.
The injuries sustained in the fierce duel against Fu Shanlie had healed somewhat, but they lingered still.
This meant that wounds suffered in the Panlong World no longer vanished upon entering and leaving as they once had.
He required time to recover and had to endure pain, just as in the real world.
Seeing the splint filled him with lingering dread:
Earlier in the turbulent waters, he had dared to offer himself as bait to lure Fu Shanlie into attacking precisely because he counted on his immunity to death within the Panlong World.
When had that protective talisman expired?
If he had miscalculated a single step back then and been slain by Fu Shanlie, what consequences would that have brought upon his real-life self?
The more he thought about it, the more chilling it became.
Yet He Lingchuan dared not dwell on it, nor did he have the luxury of time:
Following their extensive discussion, Zhong Shengguang soon returned to Panlong City. Wen Daolun then came to bid He Lingchuan farewell, explaining that Commander Zhong intended to transfer him back to Panlong City once the three eruptions of Emperor's Flowing Dew concluded.
Upon hearing this, He Lingchuan understood what was happening:
Zhong Shengguang had decreed that Yuheng City's future governance must prioritize military affairs over civil administration. In other words, He Lingchuan would effectively become the top authority, with Wen Daolun assisting him.
Evidently, their prior conversation had swayed Zhong Shengguang after all. Furthermore, for the past decade and more, Panlong City itself had centered on military authority and martial prowess to repel foreign incursions. Zhong Shengguang harbored no aversion to Yuheng City following the same path.
Wen Daolun, however, could not accept this.
As the Vice Commander of Panlong City, how could he take orders from a callow youth whose status, experience, and age were far beneath his own?
A mere two or three years ago, this lad had been nothing more than an ordinary patrol guard in Panlong City.
Moreover, this was not merely a temporary arrangement. No matter how modest and peaceable Wen Daolun might be, he could not ignore bureaucratic rank and seniority.
Since He Lingchuan was set to anchor himself here as the chief official, Wen Daolun had no choice but to depart. That was the only way to resolve the conflict.
Outwardly, however, He Lingchuan feigned shock. "Mr. Wen, please do not go. Yuheng City cannot do without you!"
Wen Daolun could not help but chuckle. "The one Yuheng City truly cannot do without is you. A great backlog of affairs has piled up in Panlong City over the past half-year, and Commander Zhong has summoned me back to handle them."
He Lingchuan brazenly tried to dissuade him further, but Wen Daolun waved his hand. "I bear you no grudge. You performed splendidly in eliminating the bandits, and Commander Zhong agrees with you, which proves you possess extraordinary merit. Yuheng City is indeed a treacherous post; I trust you will defend it well in the days to come."
With that, he had two cups of clear tea poured. "Let us substitute tea for wine and dissolve our past differences. Whenever you return to Panlong City in the future, feel free to visit me for chess and drinks."
Having decided to leave, he chose to be magnanimous. Once relieved of the post, resentment ceased to have any purpose.
Seeing his ability to let things go, He Lingchuan felt genuine admiration. He raised his cup and drained it in a single draught, feeling immensely relieved.
In real history, Wen Daolun would soon meet his death in Yuheng City.
Neither the local annals of Tu County nor the old water monitor had clearly documented the cause of his death, but He Lingchuan could guess that it stemmed from either war or assassination.
By resigning as Yuheng's City Defender and returning to Panlong now, Wen Daolun would escape his impending doom.
Both of his sons had already laid down their lives for Panlong City; He Lingchuan truly did not wish to see him fall beneath the enemy's butcher knife as well.
Provoking Wen Daolun into leaving had been the finest strategy, preserving a capable talent for Panlong City.
When the time came, Panlong City would dispatch another official to serve as City Defender in Yuheng City to assist with civil administration. But that newcomer would not carry Wen Daolun's lofty stature and could comfortably align with He Lingchuan's pace.
Just as Wen Daolun took his leave, Hu Min rushed in to report:
"The Emperor's Flowing Dew has arrived!"
Tonight, the Emperor's Flowing Dew descended in full glory!
Over a hundred newly deployed puppet beasts patrolled the avenues and alleys, herding anyone they spotted back into their homes.
At this hour, the city's night market was normally bustling, but now it stood entirely desolate. Only a few stray dogs wandered aimlessly about, finding no one to toss them scraps. Occasionally, pairs of guards walked past on patrol, hands resting on their sabers, their expressions solemn and brooking no laughter or idle chatter.
Every household was brightly lit, yet every door was barred shut.
Everyone knew that aside from war, the only event capable of putting the entire city on high alert and sending the city garrison into battle readiness was the impending outburst of spiritual energy—
The Emperor's Flowing Dew.
A dead silence gripped the city, broken only by the night watchman's gong echoing through the streets:
"Second watch!"
As if a switch had been flipped, a light drizzle suddenly pattered from the heavens, and the world below erupted into a clamor:
"The Emperor's Flowing Dew is here!"
The pale teal droplets were thicker than ordinary rain, starting fine as ox hair before quickly knitting into a dense sheet of needles.
Households set basins, jars, and every manner of vessel beneath their eaves, while laying out broad leaves and oilcloths across their courtyards to catch the dew.
As for the children and livestock, they had long been tethered with ropes and cloth strips to ensure they would not run wild.
After all, the Emperor's Flowing Dew stirred primordial instincts and tested human nature more than anything else.
He Lingchuan oversaw matters in person at the Yuheng garrison post. The city patrol guards and the Yuheng Army had deployed across the city, as well as the surrounding towns and counties, to guard against unrest. Murderous brawls among neighbors over the dew, brutal squabbles that turned human heads into pulped meat, and even husbands turning against wives or fathers against sons—such scenes played out during every grand descent of the dew, without exception.
Even Panlong City, held under ironclad discipline for years, could not avoid such incidents, let alone Yuheng City, which had been brought under administrative control only the previous year.
When the spiritual rain first began to fall, He Lingchuan happened to step beneath the plantain trees by the garrison post. The air was filled everywhere with the refreshing, distinct fragrance of the dew.
He Lingchuan felt a stirring in his heart, followed by a pang of regret.
He had tested it before: no matter how enticing the dew was in this Panlong World, it had nothing to do with him.
Immediately after, fine droplets splashed against his hand and face.
He Lingchuan froze in his tracks.
*Something's wrong!*
This time, the spiritual rain was different. Every drop brought profound clarity and delight to his spirit, and all one hundred and eight thousand pores across his body instantly sprang open, longing to drink in every single drop.
This sensation was no different from when he absorbed the Emperor's Flowing Dew in the real world!
He Lingchuan caught several droplets in his hand and swallowed them directly, savoring the feeling.
Yes! That exhilarating rush of pure spiritual energy pouring into the chest and surging straight to the crown of the head was unique to the Emperor's Flowing Dew!
To think he could feel it here as well.
Did this mean he could reap the benefits of the Emperor's Flowing Dew within the Panlong World too? A surge of wild joy flooded He Lingchuan's heart.
Three descents! Counting tonight, there would be three downpours over the coming days.
He could bathe in the spiritual rain alongside the people of Yuheng City.
He Lingchuan could not resist tilting his head back and letting out a long roar.
This was only fair. He had poured so much heart and blood into Yuheng City and Panlong City; this was the reward he deserved!
He recalled that before he went on duty today, Sun Fuling had smiled and told him, "Go on your watch without worry. I'll collect the Emperor's Flowing Dew for you."
At the time, he had casually told her not to bother. Now he had been thoroughly proven wrong.
Ever since the rain began, strange sounds had echoed incessantly across the city.
He Lingchuan tilted his face up to let the spiritual rain strike his skin, even unwrapping his bandages so the dew could trickle directly into his wound.
That cool, nourishing sensation proved more effective than any medicinal elixir. Soon, the wound began to itch—the precursor to healing.
Yet amidst the pleasure, he also wondered: why had the Emperor's Flowing Dew of the Panlong World suddenly begun to affect him?
Chapter 891