Chapter 200

Chapter 200: Getting Drunk

Unable to do otherwise, Lou Yun obediently refilled the bowl in front of him once more.

Cai San Gong threw his head back and downed it clean, then wiped his mouth and declared, "Little Brother Lou, I’m telling you, if I say this thing out loud, you probably won’t even believe it!"

Lou Yun didn’t interrupt, just nodded quietly, listening intently.

Cai San Gong sighed again before continuing, "Actually, the matter is very simple, nothing complicated. It’s that our village is about to be wiped out because we can’t catch any fish!"

"We can’t catch fish, so we can’t sell anything for money, which means we can’t buy the things we need to live. And we’ve already gone a full month straight without catching a single fish! We’ve been eating and drinking only what we saved up for winter! Look, these are all the supplies I have left. Tonight, we’re eating them all!"

Lou Yun frowned and asked, "So why can’t you catch any fish?"

Hearing this question, Cai San Gong suddenly leaned his head closer to Lou Yun. After glancing mysteriously around them, he spoke in an extremely low voice, "Because a huge demon beast has appeared in the nearby sea!"

"A demon beast?" Lou Yun nodded, feeling a slight relief in his heart. "Uncle San, then do you know what level this demon beast is?"

If it was a low-level demon beast, Lou Yun believed he could probably handle it himself. And even if the level wasn’t absurdly high, he was confident that he, Wen Hou, and Tie Sha could solve it together. Therefore, Lou Yun felt he had the ability to help Xinghai Village resolve this issue.

Cai San Gong obviously had no idea what Lou Yun was thinking. He shook his head. "Don’t know. But it’s definitely stronger than this old bag of bones! I haven’t seen it myself, but folks in our village have. They say it’s enormous with a massive appetite. It’s eaten all the fish in the nearby waters, and that wasn’t enough! It ate all the livestock we raised in the village too! Next step, I reckon it might start eating people!"

Lou Yun finally understood why there were no dogs or other domestic animals in the village; the demon beast had eaten them all. However, he also felt curious because, except for extremely high-level ones, demon beasts generally lacked intelligence and would eat whatever they encountered. Why would this particular demon beast exhibit some selectivity, not eating humans but only animals and fish?

Cai San Gong continued, "This demon beast only appeared about a month ago. Nobody knows how it got here or where it came from!"

Lou Yun thought for a moment and asked, "Uncle San, haven’t you all tried to find a way to deal with it?"

"Tried? Of course we’ve tried!" Cai San Gong slammed the table angrily. "To handle it, we set up several traps. But this demon beast, it’s smarter than a man! It never fell for any of them! Later, we just gave up. Because as for our village’s situation, you’ve seen it. Apart from me, who trained for a couple of days, everyone else is just ordinary folks. If that demon beast really showed up, the best we could probably do is fill its belly!"

Cai San Gong poured himself another bowl of wine and gulped it down before going on, "Without options, we went to the City Lord of Binhai City for help. But that damn City Lord couldn’t care less whether we lived or died! He only sent two soldiers to take a look. They hung around for half a day, saw no sign of the demon beast, and just went back. They reported to the City Lord saying it was peaceful and quiet here with no demon beast at all!"

"In short, to that City Lord, people like us are just like ants! He’d never waste his time and effort to help us get rid of this demon beast!"

Lou Yun asked cautiously, "That’s why you went this afternoon…"

Before he could finish, Cai San Gong cut him off, "Yes, to see the City Lord! But this time, I didn’t even get an audience! He was sick of me bothering him and had already told his soldiers not to let me in; just say he’s unavailable whenever I show up! I knew going was pointless, but I had to try! The whole village is waiting for a way to survive!"

Lou Yun couldn’t help but frown. "How could there be such a City Lord? Being the lord of a city, he naturally should put the livelihood of the people first. If he can’t even do that, he’s unworthy of being City Lord!"

Cai San Gong shook his head with a bitter smile. "Little Brother, I can tell you’re a good sort, but, you’re still young. Life often brings this kind of helplessness!"

"Oh!" Cai San Gong added, "Today when I warned you to be careful… it’s because the owner of the accessory shop you smashed up is the brother-in-law of Binhai City’s City Lord! Actually, the schemes he pulls, though done in secret, everyone knows about them. But he relies on his brother-in-law being the City Lord, so nobody dares to cross him. We just have to put up with his reckless deeds. All we can do is warn any lone woman we see to stay away from that shop as much as possible!"

"Oh!" Lou Yun nodded. Now he finally understood. Why was it that this shop owner, after toying with women, could always take them out to sea or even kill them? Why wasn’t he afraid someone would come for him? Of course, he wasn’t afraid! Being the City Lord’s brother-in-law, with such a powerful brother-in-law backing him, he feared nothing!

Cai San Gong went on, "I noticed you four early today. Especially your sister – that little girl is very pretty. I meant to warn you all. But I thought there were four of you, and you all seemed very close. Surely you wouldn’t let your sister go anywhere alone? As long as you were all together, or even just two of you, nothing should happen. So, I didn’t mention it. But… sigh… who would have thought you really did let her go into the shop alone!"

Thinking back on it, Lou Yun felt a chill too. If Shui Lingluo had just been an ordinary girl, even if he did show up later, she would probably have been harmed!

"My siblings and I are visiting Binhai City for the first time. How could we know such a splendid-looking city could harbor such a vile, disgusting place? Ah… we were careless for a moment. Thankfully, my sister is alright!"

Cai San Gong nodded. "Hmm. At first, I thought all four of you were just ordinary people. I couldn’t detect any energy fluctuations from any of you at all!"

It really was unusual for the four of them to come together. Each of them had energy barriers within their bodies, allowing their auras to be perfectly concealed. Not even Chang Xiang, whose spiritual awareness Lou Yun considered incredibly sharp, could sense it, let alone other people.

"But then, after the loud boom, those two guys who were with you moved in a flash! I just saw a blur, then they vanished! Then another huge crash, the big guy smashed straight through the entire wall! That’s when I knew… all four of you are definitely not ordinary folks!"

"But even if you have some skills, or you’re all descendants of big, famous sects… Little Brother, don’t think this old man is nagging, but get out of here by land! Quickly! A mighty dragon cannot overpower the snake in its own territory! No matter how strong you are, you can’t win against the City Lord!"

Hearing this, Lou Yun remembered. Cai San Gong had repeatedly insisted they leave by land. Why?

"Uncle San, why shouldn’t we go by sea? Wouldn’t boarding a ship be an easier escape?"

Cai San Gong shook his head emphatically. "If you take the sea route, firstly, absolutely no ship would dare take you! Secondly, you wouldn’t get far! All ships passing through Binhai City, or setting sail from here, must report to the City Lord’s office and get his permission before they can depart!"

"Think about it! Qiu Ruohai, after returning and seeing his shop destroyed, will definitely complain to his brother-in-law! And too many people saw you four today – especially your sister and that big guy! Just one glance at either of those two is unforgettable! So once the City Lord orders that no ship carry you out to sea, if you then try to find one… wouldn’t that be like delivering yourselves right into their net?"

"Uncle San, I understand. Don’t worry. My siblings and I definitely won’t be captured so easily!" Lou Yun spoke with natural confidence.

But Cai San Gong had no idea about their true circumstances. Hearing Lou Yun’s confidence, he thought the young man was underestimating the City Lord. He stiffened his face, but just as he was about to continue speaking, Lou Yun cut him off first, "Uncle San, when does this demon beast in your waters usually appear? Day, or night?"

Distracted by Lou Yun’s question, Cai San Gong indeed forgot what he was going to say. He simply followed the topic, "I haven’t seen it once myself, but our folks have. It came out during the day. But although we don’t dare go out to check at night, most of our livestock were found dead in the mornings. So I figure it shows up at night too!"

Lou Yun looked at the sky. They had been talking for a long time; outside was pitch black. The villagers who had been sitting around outside earlier had all gone home long ago.

Perhaps afraid the demon beast would attack lighted houses – every household had extinguished their lamps. The whole Xinghai Village was dark, except for Cai San Gong’s house where a light still shone.

Lou Yun felt an urge to confront this demon beast himself and solve Xinghai Village’s big problem. If he could handle it alone, that would be best. If not, at least he could figure out what level the beast truly was. If it really was tremendously high-level, he’d have no choice but to leave – he couldn’t risk getting Tie Sha, Wen Hou, or Shui Lingluo hurt just to kill a demon beast!

Glancing at Cai San Gong, Lou Yun’s main worry now was the old man. If the demon beast really did attack while he was fighting it, how could he spare any attention to protect the elder? And judging by Cai San Gong’s stubborn spirit, if he saw the beast arrive, he’d likely throw himself into the fight regardless of the danger!

An idea struck Lou Yun. He picked up the wine jar and started pouring for Cai San Gong again. The best plan was to get Cai San Gong thoroughly drunk – stone cold, senseless drunk.

Fortune favors the persistent. With one earnest urging the other heedless to drink, Cai San Gong was quickly drunk out of his mind. His head lolled, and he slumped unconscious onto the table.

Just as Lou Yun was about to lift him onto the nearby bed, his spiritual awareness suddenly tingled. Outside, the sound of waves crashing against the shore became violently rapid and loud, accompanied by an abrupt surge of powerful energy fluctuations!

Could his luck be this good? He barely thought about confronting the demon beast, and it showed up on its own?