Dreaming for 10,000 years

Chapter 392 Escape

Seeing the big fish swish its tail and swim away, Yu Tian's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

The water is different from the land. If you were to fight that behemoth in the water, the outcome would be unpredictable!
As he climbed onto the covered boat, the commotion on the shore erupted like boiling water. Several small boats were cutting through the waves, with the leading priest standing at the bow, his dark robes fluttering in the river wind.

The man's face was ashen, and veins bulged on his forehead: "Who is this madman who dares to disrupt the River God's sacrifice!"

"I am the messenger of the Cat God, these children have already..." Yu Tian wanted to continue fabricating, but was interrupted by the priest's angry shout:

"What cat god or dog god! In Hebo City, we only recognize Hebo as the true god!"

The title of Cat God is of no use in the worship of the River God Temple.

As more than ten small boats approached, Yu Tian's heart tightened.

He pulled up the little bell that had just been emptied of water. The girl's wet face still had tear stains, but her eyes widened when she saw her savior: "Hey? It's you?"

"Hey" was Yu Tian's former name. He didn't have a name before, so he just called out "Hey" "Hey" "Hey".

"Let's go! I'll take you away!" Yu Tian slung the little bell over his back, then activated the "Wind God Leg Technique" with both feet. To everyone's astonishment, the boy rode the waves and disappeared into the vast river mist in the blink of an eye.

"Damn it! He got away!" The priest cursed as he watched Yu Tian walk away on the water, "Bastard!" He slammed his fist on the deck, sending wood chips flying.

His sinister gaze swept over the crowd on the bank, and he suddenly raised his voice: "The destruction of the River God's sacrifice will surely bring divine punishment! We must double the offerings to appease the god's wrath!"

Upon hearing this, the riverbank was filled with cries of despair. The wealthy merchants clutched their money bags, their faces ashen, while the poor huddled together, trembling with fear. Twenty pairs of boys and girls meant that even more families would be torn apart.

At the junction of the foothills and the riverbank, Yu Tian gently put the girl down from his back. This place was far from the River God's territory and also away from the dense forest where mountain demons roamed.

Little Bell's braids had long since come undone, and her wet hair clung to her pale cheeks, but it couldn't hide the surprise in her eyes: "Hey, how come you're suddenly so amazing?"

"I'm not called 'Hey' anymore, I have my own name now!" Yu Tian looked at the little bell, proudly puffed out his chest, and said, "My name is Yu Tian!"

"Do you know which two characters they are? Yu, the 'Yu' in 'remaining,' and Tian, ​​the 'Tian' in 'heaven and earth'!" He said, thinking of his former friends as he spoke his own name.

"Name? Who gave you your name?" Little Bell asked curiously.

“I named it myself!” Yu Tian said.

"Myself?" Little Bell immediately realized the problem and said, "You can't read."

“I couldn’t read before, but I can now.” As he spoke, Yu Tian broke off a twig and neatly wrote his name on the damp sand. Each stroke was powerful and penetrating, as if he wanted to carve it into the earth.

Little Bell stared at the writing on the sand, her mouth agape. In River God City, those who could read were either wealthy young masters or temple priests; how could they, beggars, even dream of such a thing?

Little Bell looked at the characters, each stroke carefully written, and exclaimed with admiration, "Hey... no, Yu Tian, ​​you're amazing!"

"How did you learn to read? And how did you become so good at it?" Little Bell asked again.

Last winter, she saw that Yu Tian was starving, so she shared half of the steamed bun she had begged with him. Last year, she met an aunt who often gave her food.

She even said that when it was time to worship the River God, I could hide at her house. Little Bell believed her and hid at her aunt's house, only to be sold to someone else by her aunt.

Yu Tian gazed at the distant river, hesitated for a moment, and then whispered, "I dreamt of gods." These words were like a key, instantly unlocking the light in the girl's eyes!

"Really?" Little Bell's eyes widened.

No wonder Yu Tian suddenly became literate, no wonder Yu Tian suddenly became powerful, no wonder... it turns out Yu Tian encountered a god.

If there is a God, then all of this can be explained.

Once they become messengers of the gods, they can build temples for the gods, serve the gods, and become priests, just as majestic as the priests in the River God Temple!
In the city of Hebo, the third class seeks out the wealthy for protection, the second class seeks out officials, and the first class seeks out priests. Only the highest class seeks out the gods for protection!
She said excitedly, "Then you'll be a temple priest, just like..." Her voice suddenly lowered, clearly thinking of those hideous river god temple shamans.

In her mind, priests and shamans were terrifying beings. Would Yu Tian also become that terrifying?

Yu Tian didn't reply, but silently picked up a piece of wood and a branch. His slender fingers deftly twirled the stick, quickly rubbing it against the dry wood.

Little Bell was surprised to find that blue smoke gradually rose from the place where the stick touched the wood, and in the blink of an eye, a cluster of flames shot up.

"Dry your clothes first, then eat," Yu Tian said softly, his gaze sweeping over the girl's shivering body. The spring chill was biting, and damp clothes clinging to the skin were the most unbearable thing.

He darted into the forest in a few strides and soon returned carrying two plump pheasants. The pheasants' necks hung limply, their necks having been precisely snapped.

Little Bell sat by the fire, hugging her knees, watching Yu Tian skillfully pluck fur and gut his body. The firelight danced on his increasingly angular face; where was there any trace of the little beggar who used to cower in the corner?

Even the roasted pheasant was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Although it wasn't seasoned with salt, she ate it with gusto, her mouth greasy and her belly bulging.

A sense of security rose within her.

“We need to escape from here. There’s nowhere left for us to hide in River God City,” Yu Tian said. “These mountains are also very dangerous, as they are infested with mountain demons.”

“So…” Little Bell said, her eyes wide.

“Escape that way. Follow the river downstream.” Yu Tian pointed to the shimmering river in the distance: “Go somewhere else, where nobody knows us.”

Little Bell hesitated for a moment, but then she remembered that the kind-looking old lady had turned around and sold it to her, so she nodded emphatically and said, "Okay!"

At dawn the next day, two small figures quietly made their way along the riverbank. Yu Tian remained vigilant, holding the small bell as they walked at the junction of the mountains and the water.

Getting too close to the water might attract the River God's minions, while venturing too deep into the mountains might disturb the mountain demons. Once, an unusual wave suddenly surged in the river, and he immediately grabbed his little bell and hid in the reeds, only daring to continue his journey after the dark shadow had swum far away.

They didn't even dare to go into the fishing village when they passed by, because they saw the boats of the River God Temple around the village.

As they continued their escape, they encountered a new problem.

Yu Tian frowned as he looked at Xiao Lingdang's swollen fingers.

The days without salt were harder to endure than he had imagined. He could still replenish his salt intake with animal blood, but Little Bell was so weak that she could barely hold onto a branch. The girl's feet were swollen like buns, and she gasped for breath with every step she took.

Fortunately, there was a small town not far away.

(End of this chapter)