Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 705 Westward Journey
March 5th.

The news spread like wildfire across the Eight Rivers and Lakes, and even the rain and fog could not conceal it.

The winds that Zhu and Pei wielded gathered from Kuiwu, then roared across the river for hundreds of miles, spreading throughout the eight waterways. Everyone knew they were running rampant right under the noses of Shencheng, and they made no attempt to hide it.

More than two thousand people from Diaowu and his seven gangs witnessed four wind envoys surrounding and killing two people. The sword in the hand of the young man named Pei Ye turned into a beam of light that pierced straight into the clouds, and he wiped out the throat of one of the wind envoys with one sword.

The words left behind were heard clearly by every ear. The so-called "the whole world has spread throughout the eight hundred miles of rivers and lakes, the mirage city for forty years, the eight waters wind envoys, Pei has beheaded them all" spread throughout the eight waters within two days.

Of course, some people later said that Zhu and Pei had exchanged appearances, but at that time it was "Zhu Gaoyang" who drew the sword, and it was hard to tell the truth.

But what is clear is that countless people witnessed the remaining three wind messengers chasing after the two.

Zhu Gaoyang is a renowned name, and Pei Ye is a legendary killing god from the capital. These two have vowed to slaughter all the Qingfeng Envoys, and the heads of several they have already killed are hanging in Yanwu. The hearts of the heroes on the water are pounding.

But those three figures in black robes carried the fear that people had accumulated over the decades.

Two days later, cleanly and decisively, without any twists or unexpected events, the battle between the five departing individuals came to a conclusion, and the three Qingfeng Envoys were once again beheaded.

Those heads hung on the large ship of Yanwu, resting on the Jing River for all the river gangs and docks to identify.

The guards of Xianrentai began to appear from all directions, along with many disciples of Tianshan, forming a scattered, interconnected mass. The message traveled rapidly between galloping horses and flying pigeons, ordering all water gangs to immediately burn the bait. The fog over the entire Chang'an region began to dissipate, as if sunlight had finally shone through.

But the actual weather was still chilly and damp.

News from the town indicated that Liantianwu was moored on the main river. By following the tributary behind the town up to the main river, one could see the spectacular sight of thousands of boats gathered together. As a result, many children of all ages in the town ran to see it.

The ban on staying away from the water for seven days and seven nights has clearly been lifted, and the gang members are being released back into the water. More than a dozen boats are also coming down to buy supplies.

After having breakfast, Pei Ye and Zhu Gaoyang went to the counter to pay for their room.

Although their injuries had not fully healed, their spirits were high. They repacked their belongings, brought two fine horses from town, and paid the bill to Xianrentai.

The weather had been sunny for two days, but this morning a light drizzle started to fall in the town again. Pei Ye bought two dry, brand-new straw hats, and Zhu Gaoyang stood at the town entrance waiting for him.

"Here you go!" Pei Yefei gave him a nudge and leaped onto the horse's back.

Zhu Gaoyang smiled as he took the reins and tied them on. With a gentle shake, the horse's hooves touched the slightly soft ground, and the rain in his vision suddenly stretched backward. The two riders immediately galloped off.

As the clouds and mist gradually dispersed over the Eight Rivers, the Lord of the Mirage City and Yongji should also reveal their forms. Over the past few days, the Immortal Platform has been rapidly gathering, verifying, and integrating a large amount of information. Similarly, after two days of fermentation, the matter of feasting the Water Lord has clearly been interrupted, as the saying goes, "when the water recedes, the rocks appear."

Heading west from Liuzhen, after a short drive of about ten miles, you will reach the upper reaches of the river. On the banks of the river, many small boats have already docked, and men with swords and knives are gathered in groups of three or five, chatting about the many changes that have taken place in the Eight Rivers and the Jianghu in the past few days.

Zhu and Pei slowed their horses down, and as they drew closer, Zhu pulled on the reins, clasped his hands in greeting, and asked, "Heroes, have the sacrificial rites been suspended? Have the bait at your hut been burned?"

Many people stopped talking and looked over, and saw two men wearing hats and carrying swords stopped their horses about three zhang away. They looked to be about a generation apart in age.

His demeanor was so outstanding that no one dared to speak to him for a moment.

After a brief pause, the man who appeared to be the leader stood up from under the shade of the tree: "Which village or gang are you two from? Or are you disciples of the Heavenly Mountain Sect?"

The man said, "Zhu Gaoyang, inquire about some news from the river."

"..."

The woods fell silent, and then everyone around stood up in a daze.

"May you truly inherit my teachings!"

People subconsciously looked at the rider who was slightly behind, thinking that this must be Pei Ye, but only a pair of young eyes could be seen under the bamboo hat.

"Gentlemen, there's no need for such formalities." Zhu Gaoyang smiled and clasped his hands in a fist salute. "Are you from Liantianwu?"

"Yes... Master Zhu, all the bait in the dock was burned yesterday." The leader paused, then turned around and said, "Quickly go to the ship and invite the dock master."

"No need, no need, I just wanted to ask a couple of questions," Zhu Gaoyang said. "What's the situation on the river these past two days?"

He looked around and said, “The current situation on the river is that everyone has stopped working and is doing nothing, waiting for instructions from above. Although they said they are no longer allowed to hold a banquet for the so-called Water Lord, the ‘Water Lord’s Ascension’ is still being talked about, and the high-ranking officials of Tianshan said that it can be spread more widely.”

Zhu Gaoyang nodded: "Have all the baits in the river fortresses been burned by now?"

"As far as we know, by yesterday at the latest, all the fortified villages had been burned down, and we had made contact with Tianshan. But..."

"But what?"

The leader hesitated for a moment: "I don't know if the message hasn't come through yet. It seems that Weishuiwu hasn't responded. We just received orders to report immediately as soon as there is any news from Weishuiwu."

Zhu Gaoyang thought for a moment: "Where is this fortress now?"

"They've been on the Wei River the whole time, but it seems they've stopped upstream now." The leader paused. "Logically, Weishui Dock should have received the message around the same time as us. But we haven't heard anything about them burning the bait, and some people even say that their rituals haven't stopped... They're the only dock on the upper reaches of the Wei River, so we don't know what's going on."

"Alright, understood. We'll go take a look now." Zhu Gaoyang smiled and clasped his hands in a fist salute. "May you all have good fortune!"

After saying this, he pulled on the reins, and the two riders galloped away along the road.

“Weishui Dock is the largest dock,” Zhu Gaoyang said, his smile fading. “It’s easy to guess that they are deeply connected to Mirage City. But the situation is already like this; all eight Water Wind Envoys are dead. Do they still want to put up a stubborn resistance?”

“Perhaps this shows that the matter of feasting the water god is very important to them.” Pei Ye thought for a moment, “And it seems that it may not be a ritual that requires completeness.”

"Ok?"

“The sacrificial ceremony in Fenghuai is an example,” Pei Ye said. “It must be completed step by step from beginning to end. If any mistakes are made, we must try our best to remedy them; if there are any unrecoverable flaws, then the ceremony has failed.”

"Hmm, I understand what you mean."

"Yes, the bait has been burned in all seventeen villages, but the Wei River area still wants to continue the operation, which means that you get paid for every bit of work you do."

The black cat then said, "All rituals require completeness."

"Ok?"

It sat in front of Pei Ye's saddle: "If it can still work even if it's incomplete, then it means that this is not a ritual, but just a 'sacrifice' disguised as a ceremony."

Pei Ye said, "We previously thought it was part of the Water Lord's enthronement ceremony."

"It can be considered that it is not."

"Then what is the purpose of all this commotion?" Pei Ye frowned. "If it's not the goal, then it's the means," Zhu Gaoyang said. "But it doesn't matter. Now that Weishuiwu has revealed itself, once the enemy is exposed, Xianrentai has plenty of ways to deal with them."

"Ah."

As the two were talking, the treetops swayed slightly, and a light, graceful bird's shadow swept down in the drizzle and cool breeze.

Even amidst the galloping horse, it precisely located the man's wrist and landed firmly on it.

Soul Bird.

"Look, here they come."

Zhu Gaoyang, his horse still moving at full speed, opened the letter tube on the bird's leg and took out a thin piece of paper with a fine pen.

He glanced at it for a while as he sped along, then turned to Pei Ye and smiled: "Sometimes, the Immortal Platform isn't entirely useless."

Pei Ye reached out his hand, and Zhu Gaoyang handed him the short note. Pei Ye looked down at it.

"Please inform A-13 and C-12 of this matter."

The station's inspector, from Bashui, received the following news: the Second Inspector has already left the town and is heading west, so he sent a letter to inform them.

Firstly, the creatures of the mirage have a tendency to reclaim the authority over the White Water that has been scattered among humans.

Upon inspection and inquiry, it was found that many of the creatures that had swallowed the bait in the various villages were not the water spirits, but rather various kinds of demons. Due to the urgency of the situation, the bait was examined and found to contain three types of meat: nine-tenths fish, one-tenth water snakes, and very small pieces of human flesh.

Considering the previous information, all living beings in the Mirage Realm originate from the scales and flesh of the Mirage Dragon, and all the scales and flesh of the Mirage Dragon possess the power of white water. Therefore, I speculate that the living beings in the Mirage Realm have this kind of instinct.

Secondly, Weishuiwu has been confirmed to be under the control of Shencheng.

The station sent messages to them through three channels: the Water Gang, the Tianshan Mountains, and the Feather Inspection, but received no response. The lord of this fortress entered the capital to pay homage three to five years ago, and there are four other members of the Xuanmen sect within the fortress.

The Taili Badminton Inspection Team has been dispatched, and Tianshan has already gone there.

Thirdly, the Lord of the Mirage City is dressed in red, disabled, and has his face covered, with a sword hanging from his waist. He is suspected to be the Heavenly Tower.

Sifting through the newly received news, only fragments of information.

Please have the Second Inspector proceed to Weishui Dock. Inspector Yu and the generals under Tianshan should cooperate and act according to their own discretion, with the primary goal of drawing out the Lord of Mirage City.

Written by Zhang Siche.

Pei Ye observed for a while: "I didn't acknowledge its role until it sent Li Jian to me."

Zhu Gaoyang smiled and gave him a thumbs up, wrote "read" on the note, and handed it to Pei Ye.

Pei Ye thought for a moment, wrote a few more strokes, and before the man could turn his head to look, he had already attached the letter to the bird's leg and released the soul bird back home.

"Is this your soul bird, Brother Zhu?"

“This is Zhang Siche’s soul bird,” Zhu Gaoyang laughed. “Didn’t you see it’s an old bird?”

“I can’t really tell the difference between young and old birds,” Pei Ye said. “But I really want to keep one. I think even cranes should have one.”

“We also have geese,” Zhu Gaoyang said. “Maybe we didn’t have time to get them for you. These little sparrows need to be identified as owners, so there are some steps involved.”

“I saw one in Fenghuai before. I thought it was very beautiful and well-behaved, and I wanted to raise one,” Pei Ye said with a smile. Suddenly, he felt a chill on his chin. He looked down and met the black cat’s quiet and cool blue eyes.

“…Little cat, you’re the cutest and prettiest.” Pei Ye freed one hand and scratched its head. “I was just kidding. Actually, I don’t really want to have one.”

Zhu Gaoyang tilted his head and smiled, "Brother Shenchi, this person is fickle, and I'm sure you've seen through his true colors. Why don't you form a pact with me? I never raise other animals."

The black cat calmly replied, "I only keep Pei Ye as a pet."

Zhu Gaoyang was shocked.

Pei Ye pressed its head against his lap and rubbed it back and forth: "How dare you spout such nonsense to your master!"

……

It takes three hours to travel upstream along the Wei River and you will reach the upper reaches.

The rain intensified, the clouds grew heavy, the sky darkened, and the river was shrouded in thick fog, making it difficult to see clearly.

The two men, each with a sword, stood on their horses by the riverbank. In the distance, they could already see some shadowy figures, which should be the scattered boats of Weishui Dock.

"I'll tell you again," Zhu Gaoyang said earnestly and slowly, "Don't leave my side, and don't act alone."

"Yes."

Zhu Gaoyang had solemnly told him this after killing the Eight Water Wind Envoys: they had been sharing a room for the past few days, and Pei Ye would never make a mistake during this time.

He turned around and saw that there were more than just the two of them on the shore, or rather, they had arrived rather late. Many different kinds of martial arts practitioners, and even some from other sects, were all loitering and watching.

"Brother, are you from the Water Dock?" Pei Ye asked, tilting his head.

The young man next to him, who was craning his neck, smiled and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "No, we came from that ferry crossing. Things are getting so big in the Eight Rivers Rivers and Lakes right now, we all wanted to come and see what's going on."

Is there anything interesting to see here?

The young man paused, then said, "I heard that even the Immortal Platform has been dealt with, and this Weishui Dock is the last dock that's been ignored. And...and..."

"And what?"

"Don't laugh, I heard it from someone else... They say they made sacrifices to the things in the water, and something actually came out. They say the water god's body is as big as a wall, and his pupils are as big as carriages and horses... Everyone wants to see it."

Zhu Gaoyang suddenly turned his head: "Is this really true?"

"...Whether it's true or not, we don't know. But everyone's here to see it."

Zhu and Pei exchanged a glance.

On the vast Wei River, boats and oars are faintly visible amidst the rippling waves.

(End of this chapter)