Chapter 138: Sins Unwittingly Committed

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With the arrival of Lord of Water, the previously clear skies over Beitan Town were suddenly shattered by a torrential downpour. As the rain came crashing down, the townsfolk hurried to seek shelter in the shops and houses lining the streets, and soon the streets themselves were deserted.

Beneath the curtain of rain, a man clad in golden robes appeared, strange and sudden, in the middle of Beitan Town’s main street. He took a few steps forward, then paused before a shop whose doors stood open.

Within the shop were six people: the owner, a shop assistant, and several townsfolk who had come in to escape the rain. Upon seeing the golden-robed man appear so suddenly at the entrance, all six faces reflected a mix of astonishment and fear.

To their eyes, this man was no ordinary mortal. His golden hair, the two long golden whiskers drooping from beneath his nose, and the fact that, despite the deluge outside, his resplendent golden robes were untouched by so much as a drop of water—all marked him as otherworldly.

The six inside stared mutely at Lord of Water, none daring to speak first.

“Have any of you seen a young man in red pass through here?” Lord of Water’s voice broke the silence. The six exchanged uneasy glances until, at last, the shopkeeper, terror etched across his face, stepped forward.

“I haven’t seen any young man in red today. Might I ask, Immortal, are you searching for someone?” His voice trembled with fear and respect. He waited, but the golden-robed man at the door gave no response. The owner was about to speak again when he felt a sudden, invisible force seize him, dragging his body toward the doorway.

He tried to resist, but the force was overwhelming, far beyond his own strength. Lord of Water, standing at the threshold, raised a hand and, with a gesture, drew the owner into his grasp. Without a word, he wrenched the man’s body apart, and a grisly scene unfolded before the five remaining souls in the shop.

“You,” Lord of Water said, hurling a bloody limb at a woman trembling in terror. “Have you seen a young man in red today?”

The woman, already terrified by the carnage, screamed as the bloody limb struck her and promptly fainted.

Seeing this, Lord of Water carelessly tossed the severed limb to the floor and, with another gesture, drew the unconscious woman into his grasp. As he had done with the shopkeeper, he tore her apart before the others.

Having slaughtered two, Lord of Water stood in the doorway, rain pouring behind him, while the four survivors knelt, banging their heads on the floor and begging for mercy.

“You there. Have you seen a young man in red?” he demanded.

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Impatiently, Lord of Water smashed the woman’s severed head into the shop assistant, repeating his question.

“Grandfather Immortal, please—I haven’t seen any boy in red, I swear, please spare me.” The assistant stammered, voice shaking. But no sooner had the words left his lips than Lord of Water dragged him to the door and tore him apart as he had the others. Only three remained inside.

“I have seen a young man in red,” whimpered one of the men, crawling forward, his trousers soaked in fear.

“Speak,” Lord of Water commanded, seizing the two remaining survivors and slaughtering them with brutal efficiency.

“In our town, apart from the fishmongers, outsiders are rare. So when I saw a youth in red today, I took notice. He left town by the southern road.”

“Is that so?” Lord of Water moved closer, lifting the last survivor by the collar as though he weighed nothing.

“It’s true, Immortal Grandfather, I wouldn’t dare lie to you—please, have mercy—” Tears glistened in the man’s eyes as he pleaded. But before he could finish, Lord of Water snuffed out his life with a gesture and strode from the shop.

Not long before, six people had been chatting inside; now, in less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, six corpses lay scattered, cold and lifeless.

All of this was inextricably linked to Zhou Qing. Had he not caught the notice of Lord of Water, the carp demon would never have pursued him here. Had Zhou Qing not killed the Golden-robed Venerable, Lord of Water’s hatred for humankind would not have burned so fiercely.

The demons of Wildman Forest believed the Golden-robed Venerable to be Lord of Water’s nephew. Few knew that the Venerable was, in truth, the fish demon’s own son.

It was the murder of his son that stoked Lord of Water’s enmity. From the moment he came ashore, he had slain seven people. But for Zhou Qing, those seven would be alive and well.

Yet Zhou Qing remained utterly unaware of the carnage set in motion by his actions. He was, at that moment, hurrying down a path through the fields, heading for Guobei County.

…

After erasing the six lives in the shop, Lord of Water strode out and made his way southward through the town. Walking down South Street, he paused again, this time outside a rice shop.

Inside were three people: an old man and two burly young men.

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The three inside reacted quite differently from the six who had met a grisly end before.

“Have you seen a youth in red pass through here?” Lord of Water inquired.

“I have. He went south, out of town,” replied one of the young men.

Lord of Water promptly murdered all three with the same ruthless brutality.

After this, he sought further information at a cosmetics shop on his way out of town. As before, he left a trail of blood behind, but also confirmation that Zhou Qing had left town to the south.

Combining the three accounts, Lord of Water was now certain Zhou Qing had indeed departed southward.

But the world was vast, and this was no watery domain. Zhou Qing had returned to the land, and for Lord of Water, catching him would now be exceedingly difficult. Though powerful, he was, at heart, a waterborne demon—not a true water god. Should he stray too far from the waters’ edge, the consequences would be dire.

“I hate—oh, how I hate! Little Golden Robe, one day I will avenge you!” he roared to the sky, murderous rage flickering in his eyes.

And so it was that, upon leaving Beitan Town, Lord of Water had claimed the lives of hundreds in a single, merciless rampage.

Yet even this river of blood could not quench his fury. Returning to the shore, he found the woman he had earlier knocked unconscious.

“You humans destroyed my Little Golden Robe. Very well, then—you will give me another,” he said, lifting the woman from the sand and smiling coldly. With that, he carried her into the boundless sea.

(End of this volume)