Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 659 The Rules of the Busy General
On Dongting Lake, turbid waves surge into the sky.

The water level rose quietly in summer, and the lake was more turbulent than in previous years, with undercurrents churning in the depths, as if something was awakening.

Along the Xiang, Zi, Yuan, and Li rivers, as well as the four outlets of Dongting Lake—Songzi, Taiping, Ouchi, and Tiaoxian—a large number of demons come and go every day.

They either transform into black mist and drift downstream, or ride the waves and roam the waters, leaving no trace of fish or shrimp in their wake, and even the villages on the shore are shrouded in unease.

Strangely, these monsters themselves did not know why they left Dongting Lake.

"Come here!"

The Yaksha soldiers of the Zijiang Water Palace leaped out of the water, dragging iron chains that bound a blue-scaled carp spirit to the other end. This little demon had only recently taken human form, its fish tail still fading, and it was now trembling and curled up on the rocks.

General Benbo, under the command of the Zijiang Blood Vine Demon King, slowly emerged from the water, seven copper coins jingling on his tortoise shell.

It stretched out its moss-covered forepaws and pinched the carp spirit's chin: "Tell me, why are you running towards the Xiang River?"

The monster stammered, "I... I just felt a chill in my heart, like something was urging me to go outside..."

"Strange," Turtle thought to himself, "these guys really weren't instructed to head to other waters."

It stroked the deliberately added seaweed-like whiskers on its chin with its paw, a hint of confusion flashing in its eyes: 'It's like something is driving them away from nowhere.'

"Never mind, the General Staff will figure this out," so he changed the question: "Ahem, have you ever eaten people?"

The carp spirit's cheeks ached from being pinched, and it quickly shook its head: "M-My Lord, please understand! How could a little monster like us be qualified to eat people? We can't even get ashore... Besides, there are so many great demon kings ahead of us, we can't even get in line."

Upon hearing this, General Benbo's eyes flashed with a sharp light, as if he were trying to determine whether it was lying.

Seeing the carp spirit's evasive eyes, yet not seeming to be lying, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed; he was going to miss today's sales target again.

Unexpectedly, the carp spirit suddenly lowered its voice and added in a fawning tone, "But... I heard it's quite delicious, so I'd like to try it when I go out this time." As it spoke, it furtively pulled out a pearl shrouded in spiritual energy from under its scales and handed it over obsequiously.

"Snapped!"

Fast as lightning!

The pearl vanished instantly from between his claws. The general patted the carp spirit's shoulder with satisfaction and praised, "Very good, you haven't lost the wildness of our Dongting demon race!"

Just as the carp spirit breathed a sigh of relief and was about to slip away, General Benbo's expression suddenly changed, and he shouted sternly, "Guards! Seize this scoundrel! His crime—treason against the lake!"

"what?!"

The monster was completely dumbfounded, its fish eyes wide open, its tail slapping against the rocks as it jumped up and down in a panic: "M-Master! You... Everyone else is running around freely, why are you arresting monsters after questioning them? This is... so unruly!"

"rule?"

General Benbo sneered, slamming his tortoise claws onto the water's surface with a resounding boom. Head held high, chest puffed out, he roared arrogantly:
"In Dongting Lake! My rules are the rules!"

Overbearing! Arrogant! Invincible!
The surrounding Yaksha soldiers looked at each other, but none of them dared to say a word.

After all, this General Benbo was a favorite of the Blood Vine Demon King, and his style of doing things completely inherited the Blood Vine King's ferocity and tyranny, even... surpassing his master! He often showed a moody and unpredictable state, and some of his words were really irritating.

Turtle sneered, "What do you know?"

Our goal is to help Blood Vine and make enemies of the entire Dongting Lake, and there aren't many good people in the logistics team behind us.

Zhuge Yu is a treacherous old scholar who has spent decades in prison, while Yu Bai is a truly despicable little devil.

Even some of the witty remarks were written by someone personally, guaranteed to be both satisfying and provocative, and also infuriating.

As the carp spirit was dragged away, it was still wailing, "My lord! I'm innocent!"

General Benbo turned a deaf ear, saying, "I have unjustly killed too many monsters; your case is hardly unjust."

He leisurely took out the pearl, admiring it closely under the light of the luminous pearl, humming a little tune: "Today's performance target met again, tomorrow I'll catch a few more demons~"

As for why the ruler of Dongting Lake intentionally allowed his subordinates to cause trouble in other waters, that's no longer a concern.

Even after six months of lurking, this top spy was unable to uncover anything.

Of the eight demon kings of Dongting Lake, only the reclusive Stone King of Lishui might know the inside story.

The thought of that Stone King Turtle sent a chill down his spine. It was no ordinary demon; it was formed from a thousand-year-old spiritual stone at the bottom of Dongting Lake, and had existed since the rise of the Cloud Lord.

"Even that madman Bloodvine wouldn't dare to provoke such an existence." Recalling how the Bloodvine Demon King's vines would involuntarily contract whenever the Stone King was mentioned, it was an instinctive fear.

A few days ago, a drunken crocodile demon general slurred, "Lord Stone King... hiccup... shares the same eyes as Your Majesty. What it sees, Your Majesty naturally knows as well." The demons present were sobered up by the shock, and the crocodile demon general was found sunk to the deepest part of the lake the next day.

This shows how powerful this person is, and how deep the waters of Dongting Lake are.

General Benbo was calculating his "achievements" for the day when he suddenly heard another commotion.

Several Yaksha soldiers dragged a sticky, black shadow as they swam over. The leader of the Yakshas clasped his hands and said, "Reporting to the General, we have captured another one who has trespassed on Dongting Lake!"

The dark figure was slammed heavily onto the bluestone slab, revealing a catfish spirit over ten feet long, its six long whiskers still twitching nervously.

This fellow was quick-witted; he scrambled to his feet and bowed, saying, "My lord, please understand! This humble demon is a relative of our King of Dongting, I have heard..."

The turtle was greatly surprised!
It turns out they are relatives of the very same Benbo King who caused all this trouble; they must not be allowed to live!

"Hmph, if he doesn't tell the truth, give this guy three hundred lashes as a warning."

They beat him until his skin was torn and bleeding before they finally learned the reason: he had indeed come here because he heard that the Dragon Palace of Dongting Lake was about to open, and he had come specifically to leap over the Dragon Gate.
A glint flashed in the eyes of the giant green turtle, and it secretly rejoiced: "The news I spread spread quite quickly; even the monsters of the southwest waters know about it." It cleared its throat with feigned majesty: "Leaping over the Dragon Gate? Ha, the Dragon Palace isn't so easy to enter."

The catfish demon hurriedly kowtowed several more times, the blood and slime on its back leaving glistening trails on the stone slab: "This lowly demon is willing to serve you like a dog! Look at my physique, I'm more than capable of being a lake patrol yaksha. Please, General, spare my life!"

"In Dongting Lake, ruthlessness is key." The black tortoise suddenly lowered its head, the copper coins on its shell clinking. "This general asks you—have you ever eaten a human?"

The catfish spirit was so startled by the sudden interrogation that its long whiskers became tangled, but it quickly endured the pain in its back and straightened its chest: "How could I not have eaten!" It smacked its lips, its six long whiskers twitching proudly.
(End of this chapter)