On this riverbed, another faint blue shadow was also exposed—that was the true form of the water ghost. Over the long years, it had already lost its human shape, but its eyes could still be vaguely distinguished.

The emotion in its eyes was not much different from that in a fish’s.

But the water ghost’s intelligence was still greater than a fish’s. Besides staring wide-eyed, it also had a series of rapid mental activities.

What the he...

What is that...

An immortal?

The water ghost gazed up at the handsome young man on the shore who had casually swung his sword, feeling a bit dazed.

Did he stop the water?

No...

He cut the river in half!

He used this method to force out the self that had merged into the river water!

This kid is coming for me!

Not planning to talk? Why?

Wait!

Danger!

That’s right, Henry Thompson was indeed coming for him. He had spent the time it takes to eat a meal to come up with this method.

Since you can come and go freely in the river, formless and traceless, then I’ll just cut the river first.

A water ghost without water—what is it?

A ghost?

No.

A dead ghost!

Henry Thompson gently raised his hand, and the second sword fell.

Hiss—

That faint blue shadow suddenly shattered, along with his century-old cultivation and his dream of becoming a river god, then was scattered by the heavy waters of the river crashing down.

His last thought in his ghostly life was just two words.

Cheating...

Henry Thompson calmly sheathed his sword.

One sword to sever the river.

One sword to slay the ghost.

There’s nothing in this world that can’t be solved with one sword.

If there is, then two swords.

In a flash, the fish in the air returned to the riverbed. This brief moment wasn’t even enough for them to figure out whether they were birds or fish. But it didn’t matter; in seven seconds, they would forget this thrilling journey altogether.

A surge of intense white light merged into his body, and Henry Thompson let out a long breath. As expected of a century-old water ghost—the experience points were truly abundant.

But the reward matched the risk; this was also the first time he had encountered such a dangerous situation—if that water ghost’s illusion had been a thousand times stronger, he might really have been bewitched.

Thinking of this, Henry Thompson couldn’t help but feel a bit of lingering fear.

Chapter Four: Your Master Has Your Back

“Little Daoist Li, out for a walk?”

“Yes.”

“Little Daoist Li, have you eaten? Join us!”

“I’ve eaten, thank you.”

On the way back, some villagers who had already had dinner greeted him warmly, while others who had just started cooking invited him to their tables. Henry Thompson responded to each with a smile.

The De Yun Temple had been here for many years, and the surrounding villages were very familiar with the master and disciple. Henry Thompson was always well-liked—after all, who wouldn’t like a handsome, humble, and polite young Daoist?

Especially the young women in the village.

Whether he was handsome or not didn’t matter much; they mainly liked Daoists.

No one would have guessed that this harmless-looking young Daoist had just stylishly slain a water ghost by the river moments ago.

Henry Thompson couldn’t be bothered to show off.

In his view, severing the river with a sword wasn’t anything impressive.

He’d heard at the storytelling stalls in Yuhang Town that there was someone surnamed Tong in Kunlun’s White Jade Capital, reputed to be invincible under heaven. When the rulers of two Western countries disrespected the White Jade Capital, he pulled two mountain peaks from the Kunlun range, flew over, and used one in each hand to suppress both countries completely.

There was a clan in the East Sea that raised dragons for a living. The royal family of Heluo once tried to conscript them for the court, so the clan commanded nine heavenly dragons to stir up a monstrous tsunami, flooding four continents and causing untold suffering. The emperor at the time personally ascended the altar to admit his fault, granting them twelve islands to found their own nation, and only then did the matter end.

Now those were true feats of great magic and grand spectacle.

Not to mention the distant ones, even nearby there was his own master, such a great figure—how could he ever become arrogant?

After that, it was back to diligently grinding monsters, which need not be detailed here.

At night, Henry Thompson had a strange dream.

In the dream, he once again came to the banks of the Blackwater River, and saw a carp covered in golden scales with six white whiskers emerge from the river. With a flash, it suddenly transformed into an old man with a white beard.

The old man bowed to him and said, “This old one is from the koi clan of the Blackwater River. Over the years, that water ghost has occupied our homeland and caused trouble, but we have been powerless to drive him away, always angry but not daring to speak. Today, little Daoist, you slew the water ghost with your sword, truly helping our clan fulfill a long-cherished wish. I have come especially to thank you.”

Henry Thompson said, “Elder, there’s no need for such courtesy. Exorcising evil and upholding the Dao is the duty of cultivators like us.”

“Haha.” The old man laughed twice. “Little Daoist, with such a righteous heart, you will surely have great fortune and long life in the future!”

With that, he turned around and transformed back into a streak of light, plunging into the water and stirring up great waves.

Henry Thompson suddenly woke up to find that it was already dawn.

“He even went out of his way to thank me in a dream? Was that really necessary? It was just a small effort, I didn’t really mind.”

Muttering to himself, Henry Thompson couldn’t help but have a wide smile on his face.

Koi are said to be highly intelligent among aquatic creatures, and it’s rumored they can even bring good luck. Many wealthy families keep koi as feng shui fish for this very reason.

Having received its blessing, maybe he really would get lucky.