Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 341: Water Monsters
In the early morning, the Yunmeng Lake was shrouded in mist.

At the port, there are already ships about to depart.

Lu Zheng and his group arrived at the port by carriage, came to the big ship they were going to board, and lined up to board.

Qingwan tilted her head back and looked at the large iron ship in front of her. When it got closer, she realized that the ship was even bigger than she had previously perceived.

There are also some formation marks engraved on the iron hull to increase the maneuverability and defense of the ship.

The group boarded the ship smoothly and found their own rooms.

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan both have their own single rooms. The rooms are not big, but clean and tidy.

Jing Wei, her daughter, and several attendants who had boarded the ship with them were also in the next room, very close.

Originally, Fang Jin's room was a little far away, but thinking of communicating more with Lu Zheng, he decided to change rooms with him.

Qing Wan simply sold her room to Fang Jin. After all, she and Lu Zheng had no shortage of places to live, and their little world was plenty big.

After confirming the room, Lu Zheng and the other man went to the deck again to check the condition of the iron ship.

They arrived early, and other people were slowly boarding the ship.

Most of the passengers on Lu Zheng’s boat were practitioners of cultivation, but few of them were highly accomplished.

At least judging from the aura revealed by these people, most of them are at the second realm, and cultivators at the third realm are rare.

Qing Wan stared at the tourists coming up with her big, bright eyes, with a searching look in her eyes.

Fang Jin walked over slowly, and seeing Qing Wan's expression, he asked curiously, "Are you looking for someone?"

Qing Wan shifted her gaze and whispered, "Yes, there are a lot of wanted criminals here. I'm going to see if anyone has sneaked onto this boat. If I catch them, I can claim the reward!"

Fang Jin's expression changed slightly, and he couldn't help but say, "Anyone who can stay on the bounty list must be very capable..."

Fang Jin had also seen the bounty notices outside the city. Most of the bounties were for cultivators or demons above the third level.

With his current strength, even as a sect disciple, he has no chance of winning against those beings, and he doesn't want to cause trouble just for a little bounty.

He was surprised that such a small guy actually wanted to capture those people.

Fang Jin looked Qing Wan up and down. "With your limited skills, you still want to deal with them?"

Qing Wan blinked, knowing that Fang Jin hadn't seen her true realm, and couldn't help but grin, "You can call for help. You are from the immortal sect, so you must be very talented. You should be able to cross the border and fight the enemy. Are you afraid of those criminals?"

"This one……"

After hearing Qing Wan say this, Fang Jin would never admit that he was weaker than others.

He could only say, "My talent is naturally better than those people, but those evil cultivators and demons can sneak around here, so they must have some life-saving skills, so they are not easy to catch."

Fang Jin paused, then continued, "They will definitely disguise themselves when they go out. How can you possibly find them if you're just looking with your eyes?"

Fang Jin just thought Qing Wan was joking.

Qing Wan couldn't help but ask, "How could you not see it? It must be because you don't have experience. Let me tell you, if it's a bad guy, even if he disguises himself, it will be different. For example, the eyes..."

Qing Wan took her time and gave Fang Jin some examples.

Fang Jin was surprised and found that what Qing Wan said made a lot of sense.

He couldn't help but ask, "You're just a kid, where did you learn all this?"

"In a book!" Qing Wan blinked and said, "Don't you usually read books?"

Fang Jin said, "There are so many books in the world. How can I possibly read them all? What book are you reading?"

"Criminal psychology." Qing Wan said.

"What?" Fang Jin looked a little confused. He had never heard of this kind of book.

Qing Wan said quietly, "Do you want to learn? I'll teach you!"

Fang Jin saw Qing Wan's open little hand and handed her a box. "Tell me in detail!"

Qing Wan opened the box and took a look. There was a very good-looking elixir inside. Hmm, this kid is teachable!
Qing Wan put away the wooden box and taught Fang Jin seriously.

While listening, Fang Jin looked at the people passing by curiously to verify Qing Wan's statement.

That scrutinizing look was as if everyone was a criminal.

If Fang Jin hadn't been wearing the Xuanyang Sect's disciple uniform, some people would have come forward to talk about it.

Fang Jin felt that he had gained more knowledge, but he also felt that it was too forced to distinguish good from evil just by looking at people.

Hearing Fang Jin's doubts, Qing Wan nodded in agreement and said, "You're right. Some things can't be judged based on our eyes alone. Some bad guys are hiding deep, so we have to take action!"

Fang Jin couldn't help but laugh and asked, "How did you do it?"

Qing Wan said calmly: "Just investigate it, I have the righteousness of Confucianism and Taoism."

Fang Jin's expression froze. The extremely masculine and righteous energy could indeed easily detect whether a person had any abnormalities.

He looked surprised and asked, "How did you practice?"

Qing Wan thought for a moment and said, "He who keeps company with vermilion becomes vermilion!"

Fang Jin couldn't help but look at Qing Wan, then looked at Lu Zheng who was standing next to him admiring the scenery, and was immediately filled with doubts.

He inquired, "You really don't have any disciples? Aren't you from overseas?"

"Overseas? What's there?" Qing Wan asked curiously.

Fang Jin said, "There are some powerful immortal sects in the overseas immortal mountains. Didn't you say you came from the east? At the edge of the East China Sea, there is a rumor that there is an immortal mountain on the sea with an ancient heritage... I see that you two have a hidden aura, even I can't see through it. You must have a history!"

Qing Wan thought they were indeed from the east, but Fang Jin's description was too far-fetched. Qing Wan shook her head and said, "You're overthinking it. We don't have any background or identity. Is it possible that your cultivation isn't deep enough, so you can't see through it?"

Fang Jin suddenly felt a little heartbroken, and it was impossible to chat anymore.

Qing Wan then asked, "How do you usually practice in the sect?"

Fang Jin heard this and said slowly, "When I was young, I joined the Xuanyang Sect. I first attended classes with my fellow disciples. During the day, I was taught how to practice, and at night, I practiced on my own. There were also monthly assessments..."

Qing Wan pondered, "It feels like a scholar in a college."

Fang Jin nodded and said, "It's almost the same, but we spend more time absorbing spiritual energy and refining it into qi."

Qing Wan was surprised and asked, "You've been practicing for so many years, but you haven't formed a pill yet. Isn't that a bit slow?"

Fang Jin twitched his lips. "I'm almost at the Dan stage. I'm very close. What's your cultivation level, and how long have you been practicing?"

"It's just the third realm. I shouldn't be older than you." Qing Wan said.

That’s all… Fang Jin’s expression changed. He was a disciple of an immortal sect, but he was not even as good as a little kid.

"What about him?"

Fang Jin couldn't help but look at Lu Zheng next to him.

Qing Wan tilted her head and said softly, "A few hundred million more powerful than me."

At this moment, a muffled sound came from inside the iron ship.

Soon, the huge iron ship as big as a hill began to move, slowly accelerating away from the port.

Lu Zheng saw a crew member patrolling on the deck and asked curiously.

It was learned that this iron ship was driven by multiple forces including formations, manpower and wind to ensure safe navigation even in some harsh environments.

"What harsh environment?" Lu Zheng asked.

The crew member explained, "There are strong winds and waves, and sometimes huge whirlpools suddenly appear in the swamp, which can suck ships in... But you don't have to worry about these. Our ship has been sailing in Yunmengze for many years and has encountered many dangers, but we have successfully passed them all!"

Seeing that Lu Zheng had a kind face and was handsome, he didn't look like those reckless warriors or some nobles who looked down on others.

The crew was in a good mood and told Lu Zheng a lot about their sailing experience on Yunmengze.

Afterwards, Lu Zheng and Qing Wan stood on the deck at the bow, looking at the scenery along the way.

But although it is called scenery, there is actually nothing to see.

All you see is water, the water and the sky are almost the same color, and if you look at it for a long time, you may even find it difficult to distinguish between heaven and earth.

"This lake is so huge, I can't even see a piece of land..."

Qing Wan looked around curiously. It was just endless water, with no islands or land at all.

Lu Zheng thought to himself that the Yunmeng Lake was indeed quite large, and the ocean in his previous life was probably about this size.

The two watched for a moment, then returned to their rooms to do their own things.

Time passed unknowingly, and suddenly there was a noise outside the door.

Qing Wan pricked up her ears and could vaguely hear someone talking about monsters or something.

She couldn't help but feel curious and ran over to find out what was going on.

After a while, Qing Wan came back excitedly and said to Lu Zheng, "It seems we encountered a group of monsters!"

Lu Zheng stood up and left the room with Qing Wan.

Outside, another crew member spoke to reassure some people, "Don't panic, there are already monsters in this water area. There's no danger, we will handle it..."

Lu Zheng and the other man came to the deck and looked around. They saw huge figures emerging in the water not far ahead.

There were toads, densely packed, thousands and thousands of them.

Some toads are as big as a house, and are filled with a strong evil aura.

Qing Wan glared and said, "There are so many of them, so ugly..."

Fang Jin walked over slowly and frowned when he saw the toads. "What bad luck! The last time I passed by here on a boat, I didn't encounter a group of toads like this."

Lu Zheng had seen the map of Yunmengze before, and there were indeed several kinds of monsters marked in this area of water.

However, the locations of those monsters are uncertain, and even the fleets that often sail in these waters are unable to figure out the situation.

But when the toads saw the big iron ship coming, they took a step forward and splashed huge water waves on the water.

One after another, figures came flying and surrounded the iron ship.

Many people's faces changed when they saw this. Some people even took out weapons to prevent monsters from attacking on board, and some passengers directly hid in the room.

Lu Zheng looked closely and found that there were people standing on the backs of several toads.

Judging from its appearance and facial features, it should be a toad monster that has cultivated to the point of transforming into a human form, rather than a human.

"Zheng!"

The sound of a sword rang out beside Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng and Fang Jin both looked sideways and found that it was Qing Wan who pulled out a sword. The sword was taller than Qing Wan herself.

These days, Qing Wan has practiced a lot of magic and swordsmanship, and feels that she has a chance to show her skills.

(End of this chapter)