Gacha games can't save this bizarre world.

"Quick! Someone has killed the water demon with their bare hands!"

"Good heavens! Someone killed a whole group of water monsters with just one finger!"

"That hero killed sixty-seven water demons with a single fart!"

……

Rumors spread like wildfire! One even claimed a fart killed sixty-seven water monsters—it was all so detailed and believable!

Linshui Town is quite large, with a vast expanse of houses and numerous streets running horizontally and vertically.

Moreover, several tributaries of the Yao River flow through the town, giving it a bit of a waterside village feel.

Since the Rumor River turned into the Demon River more than a decade ago, and began to be haunted by water demons, the town of Linshui has gradually fallen into silence. Over the years, many people have died.

Because if the bodies were buried near the river, they would soon disappear from the coffins, so people had no choice but to bury them on higher ground.

Today, the once lifeless town of Linshui has suddenly become lively!

Someone killed the water monster!

This water monster is terrifying; it possesses immense strength and is incredibly elusive. If you're dragged underwater by it, you're doomed!

Over the years, I've killed a few more, but there seem to be many more water monsters in the Rumor River.

In any case, being able to kill the water demon is an exciting thing.

Since the child sacrifice began a few years ago, there haven't been any reports of water demons being killed. However, we do occasionally hear about someone's child being harmed by a water demon.

Sha Dan brought Zhao Hao to Linshui Town, and after thinking for a moment, Zhao Hao took the water demon's corpse with him.

This thing is somewhat humanoid, with hands and feet, but its hands and feet are webbed, and it also has fins and scales. It feels more like the legendary water monkey.

A group of people surrounded the water demon's corpse lying on the ground, pointing and whispering from a distance. Some young people also surrounded Zhao Hao, flattering him.

However, Zhao Hao could also hear the old people muttering things like, "He killed the water demon, won't he face retaliation?" and "This person has gotten himself into trouble!"

The people here all wear short cloth shoes, and their attire resembles that of a society from the last century depicted in an old movie.

A short while later, an old man, probably in his fifties, came down surrounded by several people.

He wore a melon-shaped hat and a jacket, and his attire made him look much better than others.

"I am but an unworthy old man, the mayor of Linshui Town. Brave warrior, you have rid the village of a scourge by eliminating the water demon! May I ask your esteemed name..."

The old town mayor politely invited Zhao Hao to an inn in town, arranged a feast with wine and meat, and had a group of prominent figures sit with him.

After a few rounds of drinks, Zhao Hao's face was flushed and his eyes were glazed over, and the old town mayor began to probe for information.

Zhao Hao stammered, "I'm a well-known figure in the martial arts world... hiccup! Ever heard of Iron Fist Invincible?"

A group of old men gasped in astonishment. "Wow! Just hearing that nickname, you know it's something special!"

Zhao Hao: "You guys have heard of it too? Hey, I've heard of it too!"

Everyone: Damn it, it wasn't you!

The old town mayor and a group of sycophants flattered him, saying, "Hero Zhao, your exorcism was truly a heroic act. But you can't just leave like this! Finish the job and kill a few more monsters!"

"Yes, yes! If you leave, the water sprite will get angry and take it out on us!"

"If the brave warrior is willing to rid Linshui Town of demons, we are willing to donate 100 taels of silver as a reward..."

On the other side, Orange and Thousand-Mile Donkey were taken home by Silly Egg.

Orange House has a bowl of rice soup, while Thousand Mile Donkey has plenty of hay.

Orange: "He's eating and drinking like a king, while I'm stuck eating leftovers! I'm eating and eating and eating... Hey kid, what are you looking at? Give me another bowl!"

Although the silly egg was a bit slow, it was obedient, so I quickly served it another bowl and then sat down to watch it eat attentively.

That night, we stayed at an inn in Linshui Town, in room number one of the "Tianzi" class.

Zhao Hao, who was snoring loudly, suddenly opened his eyes. He began to think about what had happened in Linshui Town.

Taking advantage of his "drunkenness," he had already agreed to the request to exorcise the demon. It was clear that the people of Linshui Town had also been tormented to no end by those water demons.

However, some were terrified of the water demon to the core, constantly worrying that if Zhao Hao left, the water demon would retaliate against them.

Their attitude towards having Zhao Hao exorcise the demon was that if he succeeded, all the better; if he failed, they would let the water demon take revenge.

However, at the banquet today, Zhao Hao, emboldened by alcohol, asked who came up with the terrible idea of ​​sacrificing a child to appease the water demon?

As a result, the old town mayor and those prominent figures all fell silent, and finally explained that they had no other choice but to do this, as they had no other way to survive.

Zhao Hao had asked Sha Dan by the river why they didn't move away because of the monsters that were causing the disturbance.

This question caused a problem. The idiot calmly asked, "Move away? Move to where?"

His expression was like that of a robot. Zhao Hao knew then that he had probably broken the rules!

This is, after all, a strange realm; nothing here can be taken seriously. Most importantly, this isn't the real world; the space is limited. It's like a strategy game—the map is only so big; do you really want to escape it?

I'm afraid I've touched a taboo by asking this question.

Fortunately, I didn't ask any further questions, otherwise I don't know what might have happened.

The next day, Zhao Hao began investigating the water demon. Everyone said that the water demon first appeared eighteen years ago.

At the time, many people didn't believe it, but somehow more and more people started believing it later!

Later, when the people in the town were moving graves, they accidentally discovered that the body in the coffin was gone!

Later, everyone discovered that the graves near the river were all empty.

Everyone says the corpse was eaten by a water monster!

During that period, water monsters often sneaked into people's homes at night to steal children or harm people.

The town organized several exorcisms, but each time, regardless of success or failure, many people died.

After several such incidents, everyone became afraid.

Just then, a passing fortune teller said that these water demons were too powerful to be subdued and that a sacrifice was necessary to appease them.

There was no other way; everyone had to draw lots to choose the sacrificial offering each year. This year's offering was Xiao Ni'er, an eight-year-old girl.

Zhao Hao discovered that not everyone was friendly to him.

There was a boy who was about fifteen or sixteen years old who said he was sure he would be killed by the water demon.

Some people even said to Zhao Hao's face that he was a jinx, and that if he angered the water demon, many more people would die.

Zhao Hao learned from Sha Dan that the boy was named Li Tie, and that his father had been dragged into the water during the last water monster exorcism operation a few years ago and never came back up.

As for the young man who called him a jinx, he was Xu Dong, the son of Xu's Silk Shop.

……

Zhao Hao was at a loss for what to do, and he didn't even know if choosing to exorcise the demon was the right thing to do.

But seeing the eight-year-old girl playing innocently with the silly boy, he couldn't bear it.

"Forget it! Let's just get rid of them! Let's kill a few monsters first and see if anything changes!"

Zhao Hao made up his mind and began to ask some elderly people about the habits and preferences of the water monster.

No one could explain it either, and everyone offered their own suggestions.

Finally, someone said, "Why don't we go find Guo Jiu! He definitely knows something!"

Others told Zhao Hao that this Guo Jiu was an old fisherman who was once a famous fisherman in the surrounding area.

He participated in the demon-slaying expedition back then and contributed a lot. It seems that he's the only one left from that group of demon-slaying heroes.

He no longer lived in the town, but in the mortuary on the high hill!

Zhao Hao pondered: This sounds like a hidden master. I should go check him out…

Now it's like he's doing a task with a very vague description, or even no task objective. There's only a task scenario, like a puzzle game.

He mounted the Thousand-Mile Donkey, carrying the silly egg in his arms, while the silly egg carried the orange seat. Following the silly egg's directions, they searched for the high hill…

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Chapter 65 Guo Jiu, the Outsider

There was no mortuary in Linshui Town before. It was only after people discovered that the bodies buried on flat ground near the water would disappear that they began to bury the dead on higher ground.

Sometimes, a person cannot be buried immediately after death, such as when the time is inauspicious, and the coffin needs to be kept at rest.

Previously, they would set up their own mourning hall, but that's no longer possible. So, a small mortuary was built on that hill.

Although it was called a mortuary, it was also half a cemetery. The cemetery was only five or six hundred meters away from the mortuary.

Zhao Hao rode his donkey to a high hill, about fifty or sixty meters high, roughly the height of a ten-story building. Looking down, he saw Linshui Town nestled within a large bend in the Yao River, with many smaller waterways branching off through the town or encircling it. Even near this hill, there were tributaries…

It could be said that Linshui Town is nestled in the embrace of the Yao River. No wonder that once a water demon appears, there's nowhere to run.

When the fool saw the place, he jumped off the donkey and ran to knock on the door.

The courtyard was simple, with walls barely taller than a person; Zhao Hao could easily reach them with his hand. The gate was also very simple, just two thin wooden planks pieced together, the paint peeling off, and the door gods were in disrepair.

The fool knocked for a while before the door finally creaked open.

A thin, dark-skinned old man, who looked short and had a gray stubble beard, probably in his fifties, stared at the fool with sharp, wary eyes.

The idiot was still an idiot, giving a silly grin. The man seemed to recognize the idiot, staring at him for three seconds before fixing his gaze on Zhao Hao.

He stared at Zhao Hao, but asked Sha Dan, "Sha Dan, what are you doing here? And who is this guy? He's not from town!"

Zhao Hao had changed into the town's everyday clothes, like a jacket from the Republican era. But the man could still tell at a glance that Zhao Hao wasn't from the town.

The fool looked up at the old man and said, "Brother Zhao is amazing! He killed a water demon!"

The old man glanced down at the fool, his expression a mix of disdain and pity, and sneered, "Hmph, you think killing one water demon is impressive? What about all the ones I've killed?"

The fool stood there with his mouth slightly open, unsure how to answer. After a pause, he exclaimed, "Brother Zhao killed the water monster in the water!"

The old man glared at the fool and said, "Bullshit! The water demon has immense strength underwater, and it's as slippery as an eel, impossible to touch! No one can escape being harmed by the water demon in the water!"

The idiot, still dazed, said, "I saw it! I saw Brother Zhao fight it... Besides, didn't you survive the water demon's attack in the water? They all call you the River God!"

The old man seemed to recall something unbearable, his eyelids trembled slightly, and finally he snorted coldly: "God my ass! You guys get out of here! I don't welcome anyone here!" With that, he was about to close the door.

At this moment, Zhao Hao had already dismounted from the donkey and walked closer, reaching out to brace himself against the door panel. "Sir, please wait..."

The old man exerted force with his hands, but the door panel seemed to be clamped by a mountain and did not move an inch.