Uncle Nine: Scattering beans to create soldiers? I'm using plants and trees to create soldiers.

Inside the cabin, the flickering oil lamp cast a dim, yellowish light.

Boss Wang had already returned to the inner cabin and was sitting imposingly in a grand chair.

On the small table were a warm wine pot, sliced ​​braised beef, and several plates of exquisite cold dishes.

Several of his men sat around him, their faces beaming with eager smiles.

"Boss, after this delivery, can we take a few days off?"

"Take a break?" Boss Wang picked up his wine glass, snorted coldly, and downed the wine in one gulp. "Why take a break when there's money to be made? Once this batch of antiques is sold, the buyers in the provincial capital are waiting. There are even bigger deals to come. That's a lot of hard-earned money!"

One of his subordinates quickly picked up his chopsticks to serve him food, smiling obsequiously, "Boss, you really have connections! You even managed to invite a master from the Lushan Sect. You were quite the impressive person today!"

Mr. Wang felt extremely pleased by these words, and the fat on his face jiggled, his smugness evident.

"These days, the bold get rich, the timid starve! That little Taoist priest Lin hasn't even grown his hair yet, and he dares to ask Awei to seal the river? What a joke! You all follow me and work hard. As long as a true master like Master Chen is here, all evil spirits will have to obediently give way, and you'll get your share of the benefits!"

"Yes, yes, yes, the boss is brilliant!"

The subordinate next to him quickly picked up the wine pot and bent down to pour wine for Boss Wang.

however,

Just as the drink was poured into the glass, a slight splashing sound came from outside the cabin.

wow-

The sound was very faint, like something wet crawling up the deck from the river.

The man pouring the wine paused.

He tilted his ear and listened carefully, his brows slowly furrowing.

All I could hear was the rustling of the wind through the reeds; it seemed I had misheard.

The subordinate shook his head, preparing to pour more wine.

Another soft sound.

"Tick-tock...tick-tock..."

The sound seemed to be not far from him, right on the deck.

The man pouring the wine stiffly turned his head and looked towards the cabin door.

next moment,

His blood seemed to freeze instantly, his eyes widened suddenly, and his pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints!

pat!

The wine jug slipped from his trembling hand and slammed heavily onto the table.

The clear liquor spilled out with a splash, splattering all over Boss Wang's expensive silk robe.

Boss Wang immediately flew into a rage, his eyebrows shot up, and he opened his mouth to unleash a torrent of curses.

"You're fucking blind—"

However, before he could finish speaking, he noticed that his men were not paying attention to him, but were looking out of the cabin.

and,

The other person's face was filled with terror, as if they had seen a ghost...

hum-

Boss Wang's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly looked out of the cabin.

At the cabin door, a skeleton stood silently, its presence unknown.

The skeleton was covered in moss, which stretched from its head downwards.

Its empty eye sockets stared intently at the people inside the cabin.

His jaw was slightly open, as if he were emitting a silent, sinister laugh.

"ghost……"

The hand pouring the wine trembled, and the color drained from his face instantly.

"A ghost—!!!"

A piercing scream shattered the deathly silence in the cabin.

Mr. Wang suddenly shuddered, and the wine glass in his hand fell to the ground with a "bang" and shattered.

He suddenly stood up, his fat face trembling, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

In that instant, he remembered Lin Xuan's warning during the day—there was a powerful water ghost underground in the Beiqing River, and the entire river basin had to be sealed off!

At that time, he was confident in his magical artifacts and a boatload of yellow talismans for protection, and didn't think much of it.

Some even thought Lin Xuan was making a mountain out of a molehill!

But he never dreamed that...

The monstrous creature from the bottom of the water completely ignored the threat posed by the yellow talismans and magical artifacts drawn by Master Chen, and came directly to the boat as if it were strolling in its own backyard!

At the same time, a deep sense of doubt arose in Boss Wang's mind.

Didn't I spend a fortune hiring Taoist Chen to exorcise the water ghost from the bottom of the river?!

Didn't that guy surnamed Chen swear that the water ghost had vanished into thin air?!

But what the hell is this?!

Without a second thought, the instinct for survival drove Boss Wang to scream hysterically, "Quick! Grab your weapons! Stop it!"

Before the words were even finished, the skeleton moved.

Its movements are extremely fast.

The man who was pouring the wine had just taken a half step back when the skeleton was already in front of him.

puff!

A bony finger pierced through his brow and went straight through the back of his head.

Fresh blood mixed with white brain matter splattered on the table.

Before the subordinate could even scream, his eyes widened, his body twitched twice, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

When Boss Wang saw this, he was so frightened that his soul almost flew away.

He turned around and tried to run to the back cabin.

But as soon as he took a step, he suddenly felt a chill on his neck.

The skeleton's other hand had already reached out.

Those five bony fingers gripped the back of his neck like iron hooks, forcefully pulling him back.

"No, don't kill me!"

Boss Wang's face was ashen, and a warm, foul-smelling liquid suddenly welled up in his crotch. He frantically clutched the jade pendant he had spent a fortune to acquire at his chest.

The jade pendant sensed the evil energy and barely emitted a faint warm light.

Upon seeing this light, a glimmer of hope for survival appeared in Boss Wang's eyes.

But as soon as the warm light appeared, a thick, inky black mist suddenly surged from the empty eye sockets of the white bones and struck the jade pendant directly.

Click!

A crisp cracking sound!

The jade pendant that Boss Wang regarded as his trump card shattered into countless fragments the moment it came into contact with the black energy!

Boss Wang's mouth gaped open, and a desperate scream escaped his throat.

"save……"

puff!

The bony finger pierced through his temple and emerged from the other side.

Life was slipping away from Boss Wang's eyes.

In the final moments of his life, he was overwhelmed with endless regret.

Master Lin is right... there really are man-eating monsters in this river...

You son of a bitch, you fake Taoist priest surnamed Chen, you've screwed me over...

Boss Wang's obese body suddenly stiffened, and then he slumped down beside the table like a lump of mud.

The food and wine were overturned, and fresh blood flowed down the corner of the table, quickly accumulating into a dark red patch on the deck.

The few people remaining in the cabin completely broke down.

"Run!"

"Dive! Dive now!"

The two henchmen scrambled and crawled out of the cabin.

But as soon as they reached the door, the skeleton turned around.

It raised its arm and swept its finger bones forward.

scoff!

The throat of the person at the very front was ripped open by an invisible gust of cold wind, and his trachea was severed.

Large plumes of blood sprayed onto the cabin door frame, staining the wooden walls red.

The other person was so frightened that their legs went weak and they collapsed to their knees on the blood-soaked ground, crying and desperately crawling backward.

"Don't kill me! I don't know anything! I'm just a laborer. I..."

The next moment, a skeletal foot stepped on his chest.

Click!

The sound of a rib breaking was crisp and piercing.

The man's eyes bulged out, and he spat out a mouthful of bloody foam before collapsing to the ground, swaying precariously.

Soon, screams of agony rang out from inside the cabin.

One by one, his men fell into pools of blood.

The peach wood sword on the wall seemed to sense the evil energy; the blade trembled slightly, and the runes on its surface glowed with a faint yellow light.

As soon as the yellow light spread, the skeleton suddenly raised its head.

It swung its hand and slashed at the peach wood sword!

Zheng—

It's like metal cutting through a piece of wood.

A thin line cracked in the middle of the peach wood sword, and then it broke in two with a snap and fell to the ground.

The yellow light on the sword also dissipated.

There was no protection left in the cabin.

The skeleton stepped over the corpses scattered on the ground and headed towards the bottom of the hold.

In the cargo hold below, rows of wooden crates were quietly stacked.

The yellow talismans all around fluttered in the eerie wind.

The skeleton stood at the cargo hold opening, its jaws slowly opening.

A dark, gloomy aura emanated from it.

The yellow talismans pasted on the four walls lit up faintly one after another, trying to suppress the evil energy.

But before they could last two breaths, the talismans turned black one after another.

puff!

puff!

puff!

Sparks emerged from the talisman's horn, and in the blink of an eye, all the yellow talismans in the cabin burned to ashes, turning into dust that drifted down!

The skeleton raised its right arm, its five fingers clenched into a fist.

Then it slammed down heavily.

boom!!!

The entire ship suddenly sank.

The deck exploded, scattering wood chips everywhere.

The bone's attack actually pierced through both the upper deck and the lower cargo hold.

The hull of the ship was smashed open with a gruesome hole!

The icy river water rushed in instantly.

Splash!

The wooden box was tossed about by the waves, and the yellow mud in the cracks was soaked open, releasing wisps of cold, black vapor that drifted out with the water.

The ship tilted violently.

The corpses on the deck slid to one side, and the blood mixed with the river water, staining large areas dark red.

The skeleton stood beside the hole, letting the river water submerge its feet.

Then, it sank and submerged back into the water.

Only the boat remained, rocking violently on the river.

……

Not far from the shore.

A small boat with a black awning was quietly moored beside the reeds. Inside the boat lived the old man who had previously rowed the boat for Lin Xuan.

He had already fallen asleep wrapped in an old quilt when he suddenly heard a piercing scream coming from the middle of the river, which jolted him awake.

"What happened? Something's happened?!"

The old man threw off the blanket, grabbed the kerosene lamp at the bow of the boat, and hurriedly crawled out of the awning.

A night breeze blew, and the lights flickered, almost going out.

He disregarded all that and, holding onto the gunwale, looked toward the center of the river.

In the distance, the cargo ship was slowly sinking.

The bow of the boat was raised high, while the stern was already submerged in the water.

Several corpses were floating on the river.

The moonlight shone on the corpses, making them sway gently on the water.

The kerosene lamp in the old man's hand trembled violently, spilling oil onto the back of his fingers, but he was completely unaware.

He stared wide-eyed at the blood-stained water, his face filled with horror.

"Someone's dead...someone's dead!"

The old man tumbled and scrambled off the boat, not even bothering to put on his shoes, and ran barefoot towards the shore.

As the old man's mournful shouts rang out, chaos erupted along the entire banks of the Beiqing River.

……

Meanwhile, in Awei's house in town.

Awei was fast asleep, with a glistening drool still clinging to the corner of his mouth.

In his dream, he was wearing a brand-new captain's uniform and playing in the beautiful scenery with his cousin, Ren Junru (played by Wu Junru).

He was puffing out his chest, giving his cousin pointers, which made Ren Junru giggle and cover her mouth. It looked like he was about to kiss her lips...

Suddenly, in reality, the door was pounded on with a deafening roar.

"Captain! Something terrible has happened!!"

The scene in his dream suddenly distorted, and the face of Ren Junru next to him abruptly changed into the face of his teammate, who was yelling at him.

then,

A huge meteorite suddenly fell from the sky and hit Awei squarely on the head.

"Oh my god!"

Awei was so frightened that he sat up abruptly, covered in sweat, his heart pounding.

After realizing it was a dream, he wiped the sweat from his face, and his morning grumpiness instantly erupted.

"Damn it! Which blind bastard ruined my dream?!"

Awei, barefoot and furious, flung open the door and yelled, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?! What's with the wailing in the middle of the night?! Do you believe I'll shoot you dead?!"

The security guards standing at the entrance were deathly pale, as if they had seen a ghost.

As soon as the door opened, his legs went weak and he knelt down, crying out, "Captain, something terrible has happened! The sky has fallen!"

"On the Beiqing River...another death! A huge number of deaths!"

Upon hearing the word "dead," Awei's eyes widened immediately. He grabbed his teammate by the collar and shouted, "What dead? Who died?! Didn't Master Chen just exorcise the water ghost during the day? The river has been reopened!"

The team member, his face contorted with grief and trembling, stammered, "It's...it's Boss Wang! All of them, their entire boatload, including the boss and his men, they're all dead in the river! The boat sank!"

boom!

These words struck Awei like a bolt from the blue.

Awei felt a "buzz" explode in his head.

His vision went black, and the hand gripping his teammate's collar instantly lost its strength. He slumped onto the threshold like a lump of mud.

It’s over.

The entire ship was wiped out!

Just during the day, he had solemnly announced in front of the entire town that the water ghost had been eliminated and the river blockade had been lifted.

But now this has happened...

"Captain, Captain... what should we do now? Should we go to the river... to check the other side?"

As the team members spoke, their legs trembled, and their faces turned deathly pale with fear.

What to do...

How would I know what to do?!

That Taoist priest Chen is nothing but a swindler and fraudster!

They made quite a show of it at the time, but it turned out to be completely useless!

Now that the man surnamed Wang is dead, and the man surnamed Chen is nowhere to be found, Awei is probably going to have to take the blame for this!

Damn it!!!

Awei's mind was in complete chaos.

Suddenly, a figure flashed through his mind in the darkness.

Lin Xuan!

Yes, Lin Xuan!

Now only Lin Xuan can help me, and only he can solve the problem of what's in the river!

"Find Lin Xuan! We must go find Lin Xuan quickly!!"

With that, Awei ran toward the street.