The Unruly Immortals

Li Huowang gently stroked Mantou's head and, through the half-transparent black veil, watched the direction in which the little maid left, a hint of envy appearing in his heart.

If he could return to a time when he knew nothing, how wonderful that would be.

Just as he was entertaining this thought, suddenly there was a muffled "bang," and the cabin rapidly tilted to the left, the people who were fighting in the distance instantly hugging into a ball, becoming tumbling gourds.

Li Huowang, who had plunged his sword into the ground, stretched out his hand and directly grabbed Mantou's tail.

"Such a big wave, the carriage stowed below deck wouldn't be in trouble, would it?"

The thought of Black Taisui breaking free within the cabin immediately made Li Huowang tense up; he couldn't even wait for the ship to stabilize before he stumbled toward the horse's tail.

Only after seeing that the carriage he had nailed down showed no signs of abnormality and that the horse beside it, blindfolded, was quietly chewing its feed, did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

After carefully inspecting the carriage's undercarriage, Li Huowang, reassured, turned back around.

However, when Li Huowang returned to the cabin, he was stunned to discover that the big group of people from before had all disappeared, with long, slender leaves scattered all over the floor.

"Bang!" Another muffled sound, and the entire cabin violently tilted again.

"What's going on?" Feeling that something was off, Li Huowang frowned, gripping the sword hilt and quickly rushing toward the deck.

As soon as he exited the cabin, he was immediately deluged by a torrential downpour, splattering his face; the ship's people hadn't disappeared, they were gathered on the deck, listening to the ship's captain, hopping up and down excitedly.

"Get the hell out here! Which bastard falsely reported their surname?! Do you know it's because of that one person, the entire ship's crew is about to become fish food!"

"Bang!" The ship tilted again, prompting all on board to cry out in panic.

At that moment, Li Huowang also noticed something strange; although it was pouring rain, the surrounding sea was completely waveless, as if the ship's tilting was caused by something striking it.

Li Huowang hurried to the side of the ship and peered down at the water. Perhaps due to the overcast clouds at that moment, the previously deep blue sea had completely turned a spooky, ink-green color.

"Bang—" The ship once again shook violently, and Li Huowang saw a blur of black flash beneath the water, with strands of black hair waving from underneath, rising to the surface.

"There really is something in this water." Thinking of an entity similar to the River God lurking underwater, Li Huowang's mood took a turn for the worse.

Nothing had happened the entire way, and now that they were almost at their destination, chaos had erupted.

As Li Huowang was pondering what to do, he heard the sound of head-banging from behind him.

The forehead-bleeding ship's captain had already pulled out a shining long knife from his waist and was shouting in a near-breaking voice, "Who the hell is it! Who hid their name! If you don't come out now, I'll kill you all!"

The ship's captain was clearly scaring everyone; the man with a plaster on his forehead quickly pointed at the woman next to him with a sallow complexion.

"It's her! I heard her calling her daughter's pet name! Her daughter's surname is Chen!"

The ship's captain, as if grasping at a lifeline, burst with joy and rushed over, grabbing the little girl tightly hugged by the woman, the very girl who had given Li Huowang malt sugar earlier.

"Great, a Chen dares to board! You just say that the Dragon King shouldn't have come looking!"

"What are you doing! Let go of my daughter!"

"What am I doing! The Dragon King has come calling, what do you think I'm doing! Let go!"

The shrieks, screams, and the sobbing of the young girl all merged into one amid the pouring rain.

"Bang!" The hull was lifted high once again, and in that moment, everyone else panicked and repeatedly tried to persuade the woman to let go.

Watching the chaos unfold before him, Li Huowang was about to speak when a stern shout came from beside him. "You're actually going to feed a child to the evil spirit in the water, are you even human?"

"Huh?" Li Huowang looked up and realized that the speaker was one of the card players from earlier, the one with the best card skills, the bald man with the chinstrap beard.

Seeing someone taking the lead, Li Huowang stopped his approach, ready to watch from the sidelines. If someone could handle it, he was more than happy to keep out of it.

The captain wiped the rain off his face and yelled at the man, "You talk as if it's so simple, but the Dragon King is in the water! My boat can't take much more, if it sinks, we all die!"

"If we throw this child overboard, do you think that thing in the water will leave us alone?"

"Of course! The Dragon King only consumes those surnamed Chen or Fan! As long as it has its meal, we can survive!"

"Ignorant fools! Step aside!" The bearded man forcefully pushed the captain away, strode to the bow, and began gesturing with his hands as if chanting something towards the dark sea.

Though he looked quite ordinary, it seemed he was not without skills.

Li Huowang thought for a moment and approached, unsure, he asked, "Are you confident?"

"Do I need to be confident to step up? A true man! How can I cower behind and watch a young girl die in my place?"

Li Huowang turned to look at the little girl lying in his mother's arms and couldn't help but nod. "Well said, indeed."

The big-bearded man looked at Li Huowang's eccentric garb with a puzzled expression, "Brother, who are you? Which sect do you belong to?"

Before Li Huowang could reply, the boat sharply rose again, and from beneath the hull, came an extremely alarming creaking noise.

The captain's anxious voice rose once more, "The boat can't hold much longer! Whatever you're going to do, just hurry up and do it!!"

Li Huowang took off his conical hat, vaulted onto the edge of the boat, and looking down at the increasingly numerous strands of black hair on the water's surface, said, "No matter what's below, let's work together, our chances will be greater."

The big-bearded man with a grave expression slowly nodded at Li Huowang, whose head lacked skin.

"That beast is coming! Get ready!" Li Huowang drew his Copper Coin Sword and crouched slightly.

The bearded man, with no time for anything else, pulled out a string of Buddha Beads and wound them around the fingers of his hand that was making the gestures.

Without seeing the dark shadows reemerge in the murky green sea, Li Huowang pushed off forcefully with his legs, leaping straight towards the water below.

Before Li Huowang hit the water, the black strands of hair on the surface came to life, quickly entangling towards him.

"Om tare tu tare ture soha!"

The verdigris-stained Copper Coins swiftly parted and, with a flash of cold light, the black strands were instantly sliced into several pieces and became motionless.

Li Huowang took a deep breath, and with a "splash," he plunged into the freezing ocean waters.

When the salty sea water completely soaked Li Huowang, who was without skin, it was as if he was fried in oil, causing his body to shake violently with pain.