Starting with the divine power of the Great Vajra, he traversed the heavens.

Chapter 255 A match made in heaven
The moon shines over the river at midnight, turning the river water into a silver river.

The Yangtze River flows calmly at night.

The bright moon hung high in the sky, and the water surface looked as if it were sprinkled with fine silver. Several fishing boats that had been moored on the water overnight flickered with their fishing lights.

Ding'an crossed his legs and sat at the bow of the boat with the little beggar, watching the fishing lights along the way. As they watched, the fishing lights stopped flickering, but it felt as if the sky, the earth, the reeds, and the shadows of the trees along the shore were all swaying.

The summer night at this moment is truly dreamy.

Ding An glanced at Hong Xiu, who was holding a thick-backed knife and looking it over from left to right, then surveyed Jiang Zhu and boasted, "I consider Xiao Huahu in Tao Huadian to be a big lake, but compared to the Yangtze River, it's like a big cat taking a piss."

"Awoo~!" Fat Tiger, hiding in the shadows, growled softly before falling into a deep sleep.

Although it had followed the three villains all over the country, it was still feeling a bit seasick at this moment.

The little beggar observed for a long time but couldn't find any clues about the eagle knife. He angrily sheathed the knife and threw it at Ding An: "You keep it!"

"Alright!" Ding An happily slung the knife over his back.

Hongxiu was in a bad mood. She looked at the river and then at Ding'an, who was grinning foolishly. Her eyes darted around and she laughed, "Broken Hand, I heard Grandpa say that there is a Dragon Palace in the Yangtze River."

"Dragon Palace?"

"That's right, they say the crabs in the Dragon Palace are bigger than mountains, and the shrimp are longer than trees. Did you see that mist? That's just the water vapor from the Dragon King's yawns!"

Ding'an was stunned and whispered, "Little beggar, is this thing real or fake?"

Hongxiu laughed heartily: "Just think about our white donkey and Fatty Tiger, aren't they practically sentient beings?"

"Yeah! They hide every time there's a fight," Ding'an said indignantly. "But then they come running back all scrambling around!"

Hongxiu laughed heartily: "So, the Yangtze River raises dragons, so it's possible that there are also shrimp soldiers and crab generals of that size!"

Ding'an listened to her elaborate explanation with skepticism: "What if we reach the middle of the Yangtze River and these demons emerge from the water?"

Hongxiu chuckled: "I'll teach you a trick, guaranteed to work!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Ding'an was overjoyed.

Hongxiu said, "Whenever you see a demon, just blow a breath and moo. No matter how big the demon is, it will run away!"

"Huh?" Ding'an was completely baffled. "Imitate a cow's moo, what does that mean? Will it work?"

Hongxiu suddenly stopped talking and kept giggling.

Ding'an was stunned, not knowing why she was laughing so hard she almost fell over.

Just then, a loud laugh was heard, and Ren Shaoyang walked up to them.

Ding An's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Shao Yang, why is the little beggar laughing like that?"

Ren Shaoyang said, "She thinks you're a 'big dumb ox'."

"What the heck?" Ding'an's eyes widened.

“That’s right!” Ren Shaoyang said slowly, “You were tricked by that little beggar without even realizing it? It’s true that there are big fish in the Yangtze River, but there aren’t shrimp and crabs as big as mountains. She said you blew a breath and then mooed, which together sounds like ‘bragging’, right?”

"boast?"

Ding'an recited it twice, mooing incessantly, which immediately made Shao Yang and the little beggar laugh out loud.

Ding An immediately realized that he had been tricked again, and hurriedly pounced over to pinch the little beggar's face.

The little beggar didn't dodge, and instead elbowed him in the waist.

Immediately, a series of "bang bang" sounds and "ouch" cries could be heard.

Li Ruohai, watching from the side, was dumbfounded and couldn't help but ask, "Are you playing this hard?"

Ren Shaoyang laughed and said, "They're always like this."

The more Li Ruohai looked, the more his kidneys ached. He shook his head and said, "Ding'an and Hongxiu are stronger than Shaolin's Iron Shirt and Golden Bell Cover techniques. Only you two can cause such a ruckus. Wouldn't everyone else be torn to shreds by you?"

Ren Shaoyang laughed heartily, strode forward, and suddenly his left hand grabbed the little beggar's left rib. Hongxiu felt a mix of pain and itchiness, and immediately lost her breath.

At this moment, Ding An took the opportunity to flip over, but suddenly saw Ren Shaoyang twist Ding An's left wrist with his backhand and kick him in the waist.

Ding'an cried out "Ouch!" and felt his whole body go limp and numb. He immediately hopped backward like a rabbit.

"Alright!" Ren Shaoyang laughed, "If you keep causing trouble, you'll have to dismantle the boat!"

Ding An gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Crippled woman, she pulled my ear yesterday, and today she called me a 'big dummy ox'! This is intolerable!"

Ren Shaoyang laughed and said, "What's wrong? Can't accept defeat?"

The little beggar stood with his hands on his hips, hiding behind Ren Shaoyang and sticking out his tongue slightly.

Ding An snorted, his eyes darting around, and shouted, "You can spoil her all you want! I'm going fishing, I'll catch a big fish and make you furious!" He turned and left.

Ren Shaoyang scoffed, "I don't believe you can catch it!"

"Crippled man," the little beggar tugged at his sleeve cautiously, "you've forgotten the luck associated with a broken hand."

"Hey!" Ren Shaoyang clapped his hands, his handsome face contorted in surprise, staring blankly at the little beggar. "How could I have forgotten about this?"

"Then what do we do?" "Let's just wait and see!" Ren Shaoyang said sullenly from the bow of the boat, "I don't believe he can fish out the old Dragon King!"

"Haha, yes!"

The little beggar happily ran over and sat down next to Ren Shaoyang.

The two of them felt the river breeze and watched the thin mist rushing towards them before brushing it away.

"Little beggar, how did you get the eagle knife?"

Hongxiu cupped her face in her hands and said sweetly, "Xiao Bai gave it to me." She paused, then continued, "Xiao Bai happened to see Ma Junsheng trying to steal the Eagle Knife, and a fight broke out. But after only a few moves, Li Chimei suddenly appeared and killed Ma Junsheng."

"After I saved Xiao Bai, he was afraid he couldn't protect the Eagle Blade, so he gave it to me."

The little beggar laughed and said, "Xiao Bai also said that this knife was originally placed in the Han residence by Feng Xinglie. Since you, the cripple, are walking with Feng Xinglie, the Eagle Knife can be considered to have been returned to its rightful owner."

Ren Shaoyang chuckled and said, "Back then, I wanted to trade 'Sword Leopard' for a glimpse of Eagle Blade, and now my wish has come true."

Hongxiu laughed and said, "I think Eagle Blade and we might not be meant to be."

"Oh?" Ren Shaoyang was taken aback. "Why do you say that?"

Just then, Ding'an suddenly shouted, "Haha! The fish are here!"

Hongxiu didn't say anything, she just shrugged.

Ren Shaoyang's eyes narrowed into slits: "I understand."

The two turned to look and saw Ding An holding the fishing rod with both hands, bracing one foot on the gunwale, and with a loud shout, he pulled up a large, bluish-black fish with a dorsal fin.

Ren Shaoyang's expression changed: "Holy crap! Chinese sturgeon? Wait a minute! That's not right!"

"This fish is a bit strange," the little beggar said, hands on his hips.

The fish was spindle-shaped with a flat head, a thick middle section, and its head and snout taking up half of its body length. The snout was long and sharp, like a sharp sword.

Ren Shaoyang exclaimed, "Holy crap, this is a Chinese sturgeon!"

In later generations, this king of freshwater fish in the Yangtze River disappeared for twenty years. In this era, although it is far from being extinct, it is rarely seen.

The fact that he was able to catch it was purely due to Ding'an's incredible luck!
"Damn, I'm impressed!" Ren Shaoyang stepped forward and said, "Ding'an, I'm truly impressed by your luck!"

Ding An scratched his head and laughed, "Crippled man, now you know how powerful I am!"

Ren Shaoyang and the little beggar said helplessly, "You're amazing!"

"Hahaha!"

Ding'an tossed the white sturgeon back into the river with a "whoosh," clapped his hands, and strode over, saying, "Ah, you..."

Unexpectedly, his foot hit the deck, and he stumbled. When he looked up again, a large patch of his neatly combed hair was scattered in front of his eyes, and the words he had just wanted to say had long since vanished into thin air.

After stammering for a while, Ding'an finally managed to squeeze out, "You're not allowed to call me 'Big Dumb Ox' anymore!"

Shao Yang and Hong Xiu looked at him, shaking their heads and laughing.
-
A gust of wind blew, and the sails fluttered in the wind.

As Li Ruohai looked at the mist-shrouded river, he thought of his dear friend Lie Zhenbei, who was far away at the Shuangxiu Mansion and with whom he had shared a life-or-death bond. He wanted to accompany him on his final journey.

Lie Zhenbei suffered from a terminal illness since childhood. In order to survive, he taught himself medicine and, with his extraordinary talent, managed to prolong his life for several decades.

This indomitable spirit and willingness to defy fate truly earned Li Ruohai's deepest respect.

However, human strength has its limits. Lie Zhenbei once told Li Ruohai that this year would be his last.

Li Ruohai originally thought he would be waiting for him underground, but unexpectedly he met Ren Shaoyang and was able to survive. So his first thought was to see Lie Zhenbei and introduce his close friend to Ren Shaoyang.

Firstly, both of them are interesting people and will surely get along; secondly, Ren Shaoyang's "heavenly music" is incredibly magical and might give Lie Zhenbei some new ideas, which could lead to a turning point.

Li Ruohai watched the waves roll and sighed with his hands behind his back: "The river is vast and boundless, swaying with the vicissitudes of time. A young man thinks of adulthood, while a middle-aged man longs for his youth. Every time I wake up in the middle of the night, I feel that a hundred years have passed since I last looked back."

Ren Shaoyang walked to his side and asked in confusion, "Old Li, you've always been so sharp and incisive, why are you suddenly feeling melancholic now?"

Li Ruohai smiled faintly: "I suddenly remembered that old friend. We've known each other since we were teenagers and have supported each other all the way. I thought we would venture into the underworld together this year, but I never expected that I would survive."

Ren Shaoyang nodded and said, "So you were thinking of 'Poison Doctor' Lie Zhenbei. No wonder you're suddenly so sad."

“When you reach middle age, you’re always saying goodbye,” Li Ruohai said with a smile. “Luckily, you’re here, otherwise I would have to keep it all to myself and wouldn’t have told anyone.”

Ren Shaoyang suddenly laughed and said, "And then you secretly look at that butterfly embroidery in the study, huh?"

Li Ruohai fell silent for a moment, and after a long while, he coldly said, "Pang Ban shouldn't have broken your hand, he should have knocked out your teeth!"

"Hahahaha!"

Seeing his rare moment of embarrassment, Ren Shaoyang couldn't help but slap his thigh and burst into laughter.

After saying this, Li Ruohai couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle, and the sorrow in his heart eased considerably.

Suddenly, Ren Shaoyang's expression turned cold, and he abruptly turned his head to look.

Suddenly, a large ship emerged from the thick fog and crashed into our ship in the blink of an eye!
(End of this chapter)