Chapter 206 (5): The Moon Is Round, The Moon Is Crescent
Emerald waves gently rolled across tens of thousands of kilometers in Bamboo Scroll Lake[1], a place renowned for its abundant spiritual energy. The scenery was pleasant, and there were a thousand or so islands scattered around the lake like stars in the sky. Approximately half of these islands were owned or rented by Qi refiners of varying cultivation levels, and the largest Cyan Gorge Island was where River Severing True Lord Liu Zhimao's residence was located.
Liu Zhimao was practicing a heretical cultivation technique, and his title of True Lord hadn't been officially bestowed by a mortal empire either. Instead, this was a title given to him by his friends. With that said, he had proven the profound nature of his Dao power through numerous life-and-death battles.
However, because Liu Zhimao had such a terrible reputation, his relationship with his many friends was quite shallow and fragile. Moreover, his disciples were also a mix of talented and untalented people, and there wasn't any young prodigy who could become a pillar support for him in the future.
Even so, Liu Zhimao was still able to maintain control over Bamboo Scroll Lake's Cyan Gorge Island. This was proof enough of his talent and abilities. Despite being surrounded by ill-intentioned tigers and wolves, he was still able to defend his territory and maintain his position.
After his trip to Jewel Small World in the north, Liu Zhimao was feeling even more smug and carefree than before.
This was because he had returned with a little boy whom he announced as his final disciple. In the beginning, everyone had viewed the simple-looking little boy as nothing more than a country bumpkin who had struck immense fortune. The little boy had also been cheerful and always smiling, as if he hadn't noticed the disdainful and malicious looks of everyone else. This was especially the case with Liu Zhimao's first disciple, who sincerely detested his master's final disciple.
After interacting with the little boy for a while, the cultivators in Cyan Gorge Island finally realized that he was actually an evil little boy filled with schemes and ill intentions. Not only was he skilled at pretending to be stupid and naive at such a young age, but he was also someone who held grudges better than anyone else. He was very much like his master, Liu Zhimao. As the old saying went, a crooked stick would have a crooked shadow.
Late last year, a huge calamity had descended upon Cyan Gorge Island and stunned the entire Bamboo Scroll Lake. Moreover, the little boy had been one of the main culprits.
Liu Zhimao was the most powerful cultivator on Cyan Gorge Island, but there were also several subordinate forces on the island. In addition to this, the River Severing True Lord had also invited several equally degenerate guest elders to the island. These guest elders would enjoy themselves every day, but once they became serious and targeted someone, they would be extremely vicious and resolute.
The island masters of the neighboring islands were also resolute and merciless people who wavered between good and evil. In fact, they were all vagrant cultivators or itinerant cultivators who had killed many people to forge bloody paths to their positions.
The little boy, Gu Can, was also accompanied by his mother, an ordinary mortal who was unable to cultivate. However, she was truly beautiful and alluring, so one of Liu Zhimao's guest elders had become interested in her and wanted to take her as a mistress. This was an old guest elder with a beak-like mouth and monkey-like cheeks.
His combat power was extremely impressive, and after a hundred or so years of networking and hard work, he was showing subtle signs of being able to control his own force. In fact, even Liu Zhimao had to show restraint toward him.
This old guest elder's biggest hobby was to use the breasts of beautiful women as hand warmers, so all of his maidservants were dressed differently from other ordinary women. Their collars were extremely low and open, and this was so that he could easily reach inside their clothes. Because of this, his beautiful maidservants were jokingly referred to as "open-collar ladies".
Liu Zhimao's attitude toward this was very peculiar, and he neither rejected nor approved of the guest elder's desire to take Gu Can's mother as a mistress. Instead, he pretended to not know about this matter.
After drinking one day, the guest elder had borrowed the alcohol to summon his courage and charge into the woman's residence. He had then kicked her door open and slung the woman over his shoulder, planning to bring her back for a night of fun. He had laughed wantonly, and no one had dared to stop him.
At the same time, Liu Zhimao's senior disciple had used an excuse to keep Gu Can, the woman's only child, occupied. After tricking Gu Can to some mountain in Cyan Gorge Island, he had said that he would teach the little boy some cultivation skills under the waterfall in the place of their master. This was a secret and profound Daoist mantra.
The old guest elder had carried the beautiful woman to the large courtyard in his mansion, and he had just been about to throw her onto his bed and devour her soft and voluptuous body.
At this moment, not only had he noticed something peculiar, but all of the powerful Qi refiners in Cyan Gorge Island and Bamboo Scroll Lake had noticed something amiss.
The lake water had churned, and gigantic waves had soared toward the sky. The aura of the lake had become as chaotic and terrifying as could be.
In fact, two ninth tier cultivators who had been cultivating in seclusion for a long time had been forced to exit cultivation to investigate the situation. Which powerful cultivator was daring to anger everyone and cause chaos to Bamboo Scroll Lake's extraordinarily abundant fortune?
Afterward, all of the Qi refiners had looked toward Cyan Gorge Island with stunned expressions on their faces. Their minds had shuddered in shock and apprehension.
A flood dragon exuded with the aura of a dragon had slowly reared its gigantic head near Bamboo Scroll Lake's Cyan Gorge Island, and it had fixed its intense gaze on some residence on the island.
Atop a mountain on Cyan Gorge Island, a little boy with a vicious expression had stood beside his Second Senior Sister. His eyes had been filled with resentment, and he had looked at the petrifying flood dragon that had shown itself for the first time and commanded, "Little catfish, eat them up! Eat all of them up! Don't leave a single person alive, and don't let a single person escape! If Mother suffers even the slightest bit, then I'll beat you to death!"
That day, the old guest elder and his mansion, as well as his dozens of beautiful open-collar ladies, a hundred or so people had been gobbled up by that earthen yellow flood dragon. Blood had drenched the land, and countless dismembered bodies and mangled limbs had been strewn across the island. The entire place had been transformed into hell.
In the beginning, the powerful ninth tier guest elder had refused to believe that he couldn't defeat this beast. He had battled against the colossal flood dragon in the sky above his mansion, yet he had failed to rival it even after unleashing all of his immortal treasures. In fact, he hadn't been able to push it back a single inch. Instead, he had only succeeded in angering it even further, causing it to become more violent and bloodthirsty.
In the end, the flood dragon had leaped out from the lake and soared into the sky, snapping the body of the fleeing guest elder in half with a single bite. The upper half of the guest elder's body had wailed in agony as it plummeted toward the lake, yet the flood dragon had quickly caught up to him and grabbed him in its mouth again.
Afterward, the flood dragon had dived back into the lake and only stuck its head and neck above the surface of the water. It had slowly chewed with its large mouth, and this had caused a harrowing crunching sound to reverberate around the lake. This had been a clear act of provocation toward Cyan Gorge Island.
Its ice-cold eyes, which were bigger than lanterns, had been exuding a human-like expression of cruel mischief and amusement.
The little boy atop the mountain had smiled wickedly and praised, "Wonderful! Very well! Little catfish, go and eat my bastard Senior Brother as well! If anyone dares to obstruct you, then eat them up as well!"
Standing beside Gu Can, the young girl who had warned the little boy about the situation couldn't help but feel a cold chill run down her spine. She was terrified by her junior brother's murderous aura.
The River Severing True Lord had suddenly appeared atop the mountain and said in a calm and pleasant manner, "Even though your senior brother is in the wrong, Master will make sure to give him suitable punishment. Why don't you spare his life?"
Gu Can had smiled and said, "Master, either you kill me and cause my little catfish to cause chaos here, or you simply lose one of your dozens of disciples. You have so many disciples anyway, so losing one shouldn't matter, right? In the future, I'll help Master make a big name for himself. To say nothing of losing Senior Brother, it won't matter even if Second Senior Sister disappears along with him."
The little boy had raised his head and looked the old man in the eyes with a dazzling smile. "What do you say, Master?"
Liu Zhimao's expression had been dark and wavering, but in the end, he had suddenly roared with laughter and stroked the little boy's head in a kindly manner. "Little child, you have the same disposition as when I was young. Very well, very very well."
Gu Can had squinted his eyes and said with a smile, "Rest assured, Master. If you want to kill someone in the future, then as your final disciple, I naturally have to listen to Master's wishes. In any case, the little catfish also likes to eat people, especially cultivators from the mountains. Eating these cultivators is extremely beneficial and nutritious, so the little catfish will be more than willing to oblige.
"Ah..., why are you like this, little catfish? Why are you growing so quickly after leaving home? Even Master's big white bowl isn't big enough to hold you now. Instead, we can only raise you in the lake. Master, do you have a bigger bowl?"
Liu Zhimao had smiled and shook his head.
The little boy had chuckled in an obedient manner.
Only his second senior sister had felt a deep sense of terror.
Soon, the colossal flood dragon that Gu Can referred to as little catfish ate his senior brother who had pitifully begged for forgiveness. Its gigantic body had left deep ravines on the island, and the flood dragon also devoured some fearless onlookers who had been standing nearby and some servants and maidservants who hadn't been able to flee on time.
Perhaps the flood dragon hadn't liked the taste of ordinary humans, so it had torn their bodies to shreds before tossing them to the side. In the end, it had swished its tail and returned to Bamboo Scroll Lake in satisfaction. While doing so, blood had dripped from its maws and painted the ground a crimson color.
That night, the little boy had accompanied his frightened mother to admire the moon in the courtyard.
As he ate a mooncake, Gu Can said in a muffled voice, "Don't be scared, Mom. No one will dare to bully you in the future."
The woman looked around before lowering her gaze and pulling the little boy into her arms. She lowered her voice and said, "Cancan, don't be so fierce when you talk to the little catfish in the future."
Resting in his mother's warm and gentle embrace, the little boy finally appeared less sinister and malicious than before. He had finally regained the aura of a normal child his age. Cracking a grin, he replied, "Don't worry, the little catfish has a mental connection with me, so it understands that I'm treating it well. Our relationship is very good. Even if it's that person with the surname Liu..."
The woman hurriedly covered Gu Can's mouth and grabbed another mooncake, saying in a gentle voice, "Here, have another mooncake. Don't say too much."
Gu Can patted his belly and replied, "Mom, I genuinely can't eat anymore. I'm not the little catfish, so I can't eat all day long like a big glutton."
The woman smiled gently and lightly stroked the little boy's head. Gazing up at the moon, tears brimmed in her eyes. "Cancan has grown up now, and he can even protect his mom."
The little boy had suddenly become upset, and the corners of his lips had curled downward as he muttered, "Chen Ping'an, what did I say? Apart from you, everyone else inside and outside the small town is a bad person. Yet, you didn't believe me!"
Gu Can broke free from his mother's embrace and jumped onto the ground. After crossing his arms, he said in a feigned demeanor of maturity, "Mom! I promised Chen Ping'an that I would find him 17 or 18 young girls who are as beautiful as Zhi Gui. The next time he comes to Cyan Gorge Island, I'll give all of these girls to him. What do you say, Mom?"
Upon thinking of that young boy from Clay Vase Alley, the woman felt a sense of guilt and also warmth from the bottom of her heart. She covered her mouth and laughed in an alluring manner before saying, "Yes, sure thing. As long as you're happy."
However, Gu Can suddenly became deflated and sickly, and he asked, "Mom, what if Chen Ping'an doesn't appreciate my gift and even becomes angry instead? What should I do then?"
Gu Can's mother smiled and replied in amusement, "Oh? There are still people that my Cancan is afraid of?"
Gu Can flushed red, and he humphed, "I'm not afraid of Chen Ping'an. It's just that..."
However, Gu Can was only a little child, after all, so the rims of his eyes had immediately become red. He lowered his head and vigorously wiped his eyes before sobbing, "I feel like if Chen Ping'an were here, he definitely wouldn't allow other people to bully us... I miss Chen Ping'an. He always helps me no matter what, and he's the only good person in the world..."
The woman didn’t know how to console her son because she had also started to sob with him.
The crescent moon illuminated the nine continents, shining upon the joyous families and also shining upon the downcast families.
1. Previously translated as Lake Shujian. ☜
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