Free Web NovelChapter 604: Chapter 604: Raging Waves (Part 2)
"Young Master!"
Zhang Yuan and Wu Ziyu had just sat down and yet to finish even half a cup of tea when a family servant hastily entered the inner hall and reported to the latter, "Master is back!"
"Father is back?"
Wu Ziyu’s eyes immediately lit up, "That’s great."
He smiled at Zhang Yuan and said, "Dao General Zhang, please wait for a moment. I’ll go invite my father over!"
Zhang Yuan naturally had no objections.
Not long after, a dignified-looking middle-aged man wearing sumptuous clothing came in proudly under Wu Ziyu’s company.
"Father, this is Dao General Zhang from the West Plain!"
Wu Ziyu cheerfully introduced, "Dao General Zhang, this is my father, the patriarch of the Wu Family."
Zhang Yuan stood up and greeted, "Zhang Yuan, greets Elder Wu!"
The other party should have a Tier Six cultivation, with his aura deeply concealed. If not for Zhang Yuan’s sense greatly enhanced after advancing to Level 7 in the Divine Nest, it would have been difficult to gauge his realm.
Meanwhile, Wu Ziyu’s father, the current patriarch of the He Yuan Wu Family, Wu Mingrui, scrutinized Zhang Yuan carefully and cupped his hands in return, "Dao General Zhang, I’ve heard much about you. Today’s meeting proves your reputation well deserved!"
"Elder, you overpraise me."
"Please have a seat!"
After some courteous exchanges, Zhang Yuan sat down again, though now the main seat was taken by Wu Mingrui.
This Wu Family patriarch possessed a remarkable bearing. He first thanked Zhang Yuan for his help to the family, then inquired about Zhang Yuan’s purpose of visit.
Zhang Yuan had to explain once more.
After listening, Wu Mingrui showed a slight surprise, "Clearing a path through Liping Mountain River within a month? Dao General Zhang, there’s no rush, really. Our Wu Family has been waiting for decades, a few more months won’t matter."
Like Wu Ziyu, he also didn’t believe Zhang Yuan could open up the reef-laden passage in such a short time.
He even felt Zhang Yuan was a bit boastful.
However, his mind was deep, hiding his true emotions completely.
"That’s not the main issue."
Zhang Yuan said, "The urgent task is to deal with the great deceit in the Nu Tao River!"
"Dao General Zhang, here’s the situation."
Wu Mingrui pondered for a moment, then detailed the situation regarding the great deceit entrenched in the Nu Tao River.
For many years, the Nu Tao River had been tormented by a deceit-transformed giant serpent, strong and immune to weapons, liking to stir up storms, fond of devouring living beings, and extremely cunning and ferocious.
The Wu Family had tried numerous methods, yet couldn’t eliminate this creature.
Over the years, to prevent the giant serpent from harming civilians living along the Nu Tao River as well as the fishermen making a living on the river, the Wu Family regularly fed it blood meals.
Mainly cattle and sheep livestock.
This significantly reduced the serpent’s threat.
This matter was an open secret in He Yuan City, known to most people.
Yet, no one dared to talk about it openly.
After all, regularly feeding deceitful monsters tarnished the Wu Family’s reputation.
The trouble was, in recent years, the giant serpent’s appetite grew, requiring three to five cows at a time and its "taste" began to change.
Consequently, fishermen and farmers occasionally went missing!
The Wu Family realized if this continued, one day the deceit python might bring great disaster to the Prefecture City, the devastation unimaginable.
At that time, the He Yuan Wu Family would bear the brunt, with consequences beyond imagination.
Therefore, they were discreetly seeking external assistance, hoping to resolve the river menace in one stroke.
This would ensure decades of safety for the He Yuan region and open a lucrative river route for the Wu Family, offering immeasurable benefits.
Zhang Yuan was a choice for them, though not their only one.
They employed a wide-net principle.
Yet Zhang Yuan was the first to come to He Yuan specifically for this matter and visit them!
"Dao General Zhang, if you truly have a way to eliminate this great deceit..."
Wu Mingrui continued, "and help us open the river route, then apart from the terms previously agreed, we will offer a further generous reward!"
The Wu Family patriarch’s eyes showed a hint of eagerness.
Not that he lost composure.
But resolving the river’s great deceit issue was urgent, could no longer be delayed.
The problem was, amidst widespread chaos and deceit across Daqian, major sects and noble families were too busy to help, and even their main branch in Qianjing ignored He Yuan’s plight.
Wu Mingrui felt helpless, thus placing his hopes on the young Dao General Zhang.
After all, Zhang Yuan had once greatly aided the Wu Family, causing even the renowned Desert Wind Army to suffer a setback!
Zhang Yuan contemplated and asked, "When do you feed the river python?"
In fact, feeding deceitful monsters was quite common, especially in rural areas, where many people, to avoid the harm of deceitful monsters, regularly offered livestock or poultry for temporary peace.
After all, living in towns and villages, there were places of worship like the Celestial King Hall, City God Temple, and Ancestral Hall for protection.
But ordinary people couldn’t stay home forever, farming, chopping wood, collecting herbs, or hunting, would inevitably encounter the deceitful.
If they could somehow reach an understanding with the surrounding deceitful monsters.
Everyone might barely eke out a living.
Of course, most deceitful creatures weren’t amicable to such practices.
For a Prefecture City like He Yuan to engage in feeding deceitful monsters was indeed rare.
For the Wu Family, it was undoubtedly a great shame.
Zhang Yuan could fully understand the patriarch’s thoughts and intentions.
Wu Mingrui answered, "The first and fifteenth of each month."
He added, "Actually, our Wu Family doesn’t lack dozens of cattle and sheep, but deceitful monsters can’t be raised tame, and I’m afraid it might transform into a dragon, becoming even harder to control!"
A serpent and a dragon belong to entirely different tiers of beings, the difference comparable to Qi Entry and Divine Entry, differing an entire great realm!
If this serpent, for decades harmful, truly transformed into a dragon, even a Divine Entry master might not be able to defeat it!
"The first and fifteenth?"
Zhang Yuan calculated the days—it was four days until the Wu Family’s next feeding.
He decisively said, "Elder, in a few days, I want to go take a look."
Wu Mingrui and Wu Ziyu exchanged glances, the former nodding, unruffled, "Alright!"
In an effort to win Zhang Yuan over, he didn’t hesitate to reveal family secrets, naturally accommodating all of Zhang Yuan’s reasonable requests.
Yet the Wu Family patriarch couldn’t fathom Zhang Yuan’s current thoughts.
Otherwise, he would surely be shocked!
