Free Web NovelChapter 93: Chapter 92: Loathing
Fu Juemin bounded to the riverbank in a few quick strides. The small cargo boat was moored quietly on the water.
Near the waterline, a narrow hole—just big enough for a person to squeeze through—had already been carved out. It led directly to the bilge, which was filled with kerosene and explosives.
According to Fu Juemin’s original plan, he was to act as bait, luring the water monkey into the hold. Then he would slip out of an escape hatch on the other side and detonate the entire boat, using the time lag to try and blow the water monkey to smithereens.
But it now seemed the water monkey’s obsession with its "bride" far surpassed anything else—he might not even have to take that risk.
Reaching the boat, Fu Juemin quickly lifted the Water Demon Bride from his arms and stuffed it halfway into the narrow hole.
With the bride halfway in, Fu Juemin pressed down on its mud-caked body. He didn’t let go immediately. Instead, he turned and shouted to the group fighting fiercely on the mudflats.
"Uncle Tong! Release it!"
POP!
A crisp sound, like a bubble being popped, was heard. The next second, Fu Juemin’s scalp tingled. He felt a wave of rage and venom so palpable it was almost tangible wash over him. It chilled him to the bone, as if he had been plunged into an ice cavern, and his teeth nearly began to chatter uncontrollably.
HISS—
A sharp sound of something cutting through the air followed close behind. In the vast darkness, an invisible ice blade seemed to materialize and fly straight for the space between his brows.
Fu Juemin had let go the very instant he shouted "Release it!"
It should have been a simple move—a quick push to stuff the corpse into the narrow hole, and then bolt. But the moment the Water Demon Bride slipped into the opening, Fu Juemin suddenly felt a pair of slender, ice-cold hands clamp down on his wrist!
’It’s alive?!’
Fu Juemin was shocked.
’It saw me getting ready to run and grabbed me to stop me from leaving?!’
The water monkey’s killing intent surged toward him from behind like a tidal wave. Fu Juemin had no time to think. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he gritted his teeth and yanked his right arm back with all his might!
He could now lift over seven hundred pounds with a single arm. Forget a woman—even if two burly, full-grown men had tried to hold him like this, he would have ripped their arms clean off.
With a sharp SNAP, like something breaking, Fu Juemin’s hand finally came free from the narrow hole.
A large glob of sticky sludge clung to the back of his hand. Trailing from the sludge were two slippery, black strands of water weed. It was only then that he realized what had been holding him wasn’t the Water Demon Bride’s small hand at all. He had simply gotten tangled in a piece of water weed entwined in its muddy wedding dress.
He cast another hurried glance into the narrow hole. By the light of the torches on the mudflats, he could vaguely see that the corpse had fallen into the hold. Most of its body was slowly sinking into the black kerosene at the bottom.
Fu Juemin had no time for a closer look and quickly dove to the side.
Someone threw him a rope from out of the darkness. He caught it in mid-air, and the person on the other end gave a hard pull. He used the momentum to vault into the ambush spot where Cao Tian and the others were hiding.
Just then, a tremendous BOOM erupted from the cargo boat’s position.
Fu Juemin looked up. The narrow hole he had carved into the side of the cargo boat was gone, replaced by a much larger, man-shaped hole.
It was obvious. The water monkey, having hastily abandoned the battle, had recklessly charged inside for its "bride."
Compared to the allure of Fu Juemin, who was of the same Demon Species, the "bride" was clearly far more important to it.
"Quick! Light it up!" Fu Juemin ordered urgently.
Cao Tian and the others immediately stood up, grabbing the torches stuck in the mudflats and quickly tossing them into the gaping hole.
Fearing that wasn’t enough, two of the men from the Nursing Home each lit a bundle of dynamite and, while the fuses were still burning, hurriedly tossed them into the hole.
Without any warning, the small cargo boat exploded under the black night sky.
First, blinding white light burst from the cracks and holes in the hull. Then, the entire frame of the small boat was torn asunder, as if ripped apart by a pair of giant, invisible hands.
The blinding flames and the roar of the explosion assaulted everyone’s eyes and ears.
Fu Juemin and his men kept backing away. The vast, wild mudflats were illuminated as bright as day by the fiercely burning cargo boat. freēwebnovel.com
The explosions continued, sending shattered planks and pieces of the metal hull flying like embers from a bonfire, CRACKLING as they rained down on the riverbank.
Fu Juemin’s group stopped a good hundred meters from the riverbank. Someone murmured, "That thing... there’s no way it could have survived that, right?"
Fu Juemin didn’t speak. He was trying to use his ability as a fellow Demon Species to sense the water monkey’s presence.
But with such a violent energy field, his senses were inevitably being disrupted.
GROOAK—
Suddenly, a shrill cry, almost like a frog’s, tore through the night sky.
Everyone tensed instantly, raising their rifles.
Following that, Fu Juemin saw a gaunt, dark figure shoot out from the fiercely burning skeleton of the cargo boat.
It was engulfed in flames. All of its black fur and flesh were alight, and even from a distance, they could almost hear the sizzling sound.
It seemed to have lost an entire arm, and a huge gash had been torn in its back.
But even so, the water monkey still clutched the corpse wrapped in sludge and water weed—it had probably used half of the life it just lost in the explosion to desperately protect the "bride" in its arms.
Seeing this, Fu Juemin’s eyes turned cold. He snatched a rifle from one of the Nursing Home guards beside him, took a few quick steps toward the river, then raised the gun, aimed, and began firing repeatedly at the water monkey.
BANG! BANG!...
The crisp gunshots echoed across the riverbank. They must have hit their mark.
The battered water monkey staggered, then whipped its head around to look at Fu Juemin. One of its ghastly, flame-like eye sockets had been extinguished.
It glared viciously at Fu Juemin, the venom and hatred in its eyes reaching an almost unbearable intensity.
Fu Juemin’s expression was icy. Unfazed by its glare, he kept firing. Cao Tian and the others came to their senses and rushed forward to join in, raising their guns and shooting as well.
This water monkey was by far the most powerful Demon Fu Juemin had ever encountered. If he didn’t take its life while it was wounded, who knew when he would get another chance to eliminate it.
Riddled with bullets, the water monkey was forced into a discomfited retreat. It tried several times to charge through the hail of gunfire, but a glance at the corpse in its arms made it forcibly restrain itself.
GURGLE—
Suddenly, it threw its head back and let out a roar at the sky, its strange cry seemingly filled with sorrow and fury.
Fu Juemin’s expression shifted slightly. He suddenly spoke, "Hold your fire!"
His eyes were fixed on the water monkey’s figure. He asked quickly, "Quick, is there any more dynamite?"
Before Cao Tian and the others could hand him the dynamite, the water monkey, still clutching its "bride," took a sharp dive and plunged into the water.
Beneath the dark surface of the river, the faint red glow of its smoldering flames was visible, but it quickly sped away, along with the sound of splashing water.
The gunshots on the riverbank immediately grew sparse, then stopped completely.
Fu Juemin slowly lowered the rifle, his expression calm. He couldn’t say if he felt regret or disappointment.
This encounter with the water monkey had been unexpected. Without any preparation, all of their plans had seemed far too hasty.
In fact, the moment Fu Juemin saw the water monkey emerge from the sea of fire, he had a premonition that they wouldn’t be able to keep it there.
After all, the river was just a few steps away. If the water monkey was determined to escape, there was nothing anyone could do.
He had tried provoking it with gunfire, hoping to use its hatred to lure it back onto the shore. Unfortunately, it didn’t work in the end; the beast was simply too cautious.
Fu Juemin tossed the rifle aside and began to silently wipe away the foul-smelling sludge he’d gotten on himself from holding the Water Demon Bride. As he cleaned himself off, he was already calculating how to deal with the creature if they ever met again...
CRACK—
Suddenly, a large, almost-hardened chunk of mud that he’d scraped from the back of his hand fell to the ground, making an unexpectedly crisp sound. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
’Was there something wrapped in the sludge?!’
Fu Juemin’s eyes flickered. He bent down, broke open the clod of mud, and crumbled it... Soon, an oddly shaped, dirt-yellow piece of Ancient Jade, about the size of a child’s palm, came into view.
He picked up the Jade Pendant and examined it carefully in the light.
His father, Fu Guosheng, was an antiques enthusiast. Having grown up around it, Fu Juemin had picked up a thing or two.
This piece of Jade was old, yes, but the material was of extremely poor quality and the craftsmanship was crude. It looked like an accessory a poor commoner from a previous dynasty might have worn.
The style of the Jade was also quite plain, and the carvings on it were blurred. Fu Juemin held it up to the light and studied it for a long time before he could barely make out a single, large, carved character—
"Loathe."
