The Prodigal Son

An hour later, He You returned after the funeral.

After bidding farewell to his mother and giving some instructions to his younger siblings, He You, with a heart set on dying, boarded the largest fishing boat in the village with Qin Yu and the others.

Qin Yu bought this fishing boat from the village chief for twenty taels of silver.

The group boarded a fishing boat and slowly sailed towards Zhanlong Gorge.

Not far from the shore, He You rowed the fishing boat to the bank.

"arrive?"

Qin Yu looked up at He You.

No, no.

He You shook his head and cautiously pointed to the shore: "Go up from here, about a hundred feet, and you'll find the statue of King Yu. I'd like to go and pay my respects to King Yu first, and ask for his protection..."

Ning Huang, growing impatient, was about to reprimand him when Qin Yu stopped him, saying, "Senior, we're already here. Paying respects to this ancient King Yu won't take long, will it?"

"Too much trouble!"

Ning Huang gave a soft snort and said no more.

Qin Yu knew that Ning Huang had agreed, and Chong Heyou nodded slightly.

He felt relieved and quickly brought the boat to shore. After securing the boat, he swiftly led them ashore.

After traversing a rugged path, they finally saw the statue of the ancient King Yu.

The statue of King Yu was carved directly into the cliff face. The statue is about ten feet tall and can be considered a miniature version of the Leshan Giant Buddha.

He You brought a wild vegetable dumpling from home as an offering, lit an incense stick, and knelt on the ground to worship devoutly.

Qin Yu looked the statue of King Yu up and down.

To be honest, the carving of this statue is rather poor, or rather, crude.

Even so, the statue of the ancient Yu the Great still appears majestic.

King Yu looked ahead with unwavering eyes, holding a precious sword in his hand.

That sword is the legendary Dragon-Slaying Sword.

The direction the sword points is the direction of Zhanlong Gorge.

In front of the statue, you can still see many unburnt incense sticks and candles.

It's clear that the incense offerings to the ancient Yu the Great were still very popular.

He searched from the top of the statue of King Yu all the way down to its feet, but found nothing like a mechanism or any inscriptions; it was just an empty statue.

This result left Qin Yu slightly disappointed.

"Aren't there any words around this statue?"

Qin Yu asked He You for advice.

"no."

He You gently shook his head and replied, "I heard from the elders that there used to be a merit tablet next to it, but I don't know if it was broken or what, the merit tablet disappeared..."

That's it!

Upon learning this result, Qin Yu stopped searching.

After paying their respects to the ancient King Yu, they returned to the boat and continued their advance towards Zhanlong Gorge.

While surveying the banks of the Qujiang River, Qin Yu inquired about the situation at Zhanlong Gorge from He You.

However, He You talked for a long time, but it was all about the legend of Zhanlong Gorge.

The stories are repetitive: King Yu slaying the evil dragon, the evil dragon's resentment causing trouble, and so on, as well as who went into the Dragon-Slaying Gorge and never came out again.

They didn't mention the real situation inside Zhanlong Gorge at all!

"Stop! Stop!"

Nan Que'er raised her hand to stop He You. "We're asking you about the real situation inside Zhanlong Gorge. For example, where the water is swift, where the fog is heaviest, and whether there are any hidden places at the bottom of the cliffs?"

"this……"

He You's face stiffened, and he lowered his head and replied in a low voice, "This humble one does not know."

Nan Que'er's face turned cold. "Didn't you say you secretly went into Zhanlong Gorge with someone last June? You lied to us?"

"No...no!"

He You shook his head repeatedly, stammering, "I did enter Zhanlong Gorge, but... just as we were about to go to the innermost part, a cold wind blew across the river, and then we heard that evil dragon roaring deep in Zhanlong Gorge. We were so scared we almost lost our souls, and we turned the boat around and ran away..."

Hearing He You's words, Nan Que'er almost laughed in anger.

Does that mean they just wandered around the perimeter?

And you still dare to say you're not lying to them?

"Fine! As long as he can lead the way, that's fine."

Qin Yu stopped Nan Que'er and turned to ask He You, "Where did that evil dragon's voice come from?"

"It's deep within Zhanlong Gorge," He You replied softly.

Qin Yu shook his head and said, "I asked about the specific location."

"this……"

He hesitated again, then lowered his head even further.

"So how long exactly is this Dragon-Slaying Gorge section?"

Qin Yu asked again.

He kept his head down and gently shook his head.

Got it!

It seems he really knows nothing when asked.

Based on He You's description, Qin Yu initially judged that the so-called roar of the evil dragon was probably the sound of wind passing through special terrain.

Perhaps it was the sound of this evil dragon's roar that gave rise to the legend of the evil dragon.

After that, Qin Yu didn't bother asking He You any more questions and looked at both sides of the river.

As they continued forward, and with evening approaching, the surrounding fog grew thicker and thicker.

Because they took a route that was quite close to the riverbank, they can still see the cliffs on one side of the Qujiang River.

It was a vertical cliff face, as if it had been cleaved in two by a sword.

Seeing this scene, it's easy to understand why the legend of slaying the evil dragon has been passed down here.

Just as Qin Yu was secretly sighing, the surrounding fog suddenly thickened.

It felt like a thick fog suddenly rushed over.

The cliffs that Qin Yu could see just moments ago vanished into the thick fog in the blink of an eye.

Xu Wan watched in amazement, then asked He You, "So, we've entered the Dragon-Slaying Gorge, right?"

"When we see those cliffs and precipices, we've entered Dragon Slaying Gorge!"

He You answered, then cautiously looked at Qin Yu: "Lord Qin, look at the sky, it will get dark in a little while. Should we find a suitable place to go ashore first?"

Qin Yu looked around. "Both sides are sheer cliffs, and the fog is so thick. Is there a way to get ashore?"

Now, they are basically completely invisible from a distance of three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

"Yes, definitely!"

He nodded repeatedly, "The water level isn't high at this time of year. If you look carefully, you're sure to find some shallow water."

"Alright, if we manage to find it, let's go ashore!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly.

It was pitch black that night, and the fog was so thick that there was no point in going any further in.

Seeing that Qin Yu agreed, He You breathed a sigh of relief and quickly searched for shallow waters.

He You's judgment was correct; in less than fifteen minutes, they found a sloping shallow beach on the shore.

The shoal is not large, probably only a hundred or so square meters.

The exposed part of the shallows clearly shows the waterline. During the high-water season, the water level here should be about two zhang higher than it is now.

Above the shallows, there is a vertical cliff.

After bringing the boat to shore, they quickly disembarked, and He You hurriedly tied the fishing boat up.

Qin Yu gave an order, and everyone scattered to search for firewood. Only Ning Huang sat there like a grandpa, watching with amazement.

Even Lord Qin personally gathered firewood, yet this guy just sat there like an ancestor.

Afterwards, they found a sheltered spot, lit a campfire, and took out some dry rations to eat around the fire.

He You was initially terrified, but seeing that Qin Yu and the others were all fine, he was somewhat relieved.

Before we knew it, it had gotten completely dark.

As darkness fell, the wind blowing from the river grew stronger.

Even though they were in a sheltered spot with a campfire burning, they still felt chilly.

In the latter half of the night, a sudden gale arose on the river.

"Awooo..."

At the same time, a sound like the roar of a ferocious beast rang out.

Upon hearing the voice, He You shuddered violently and cried out in panic, "It's...it's...the evil dragon!"