Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 673 The situation worsens

We have arrived at Wuchang County.

A river breeze, carrying moist air, swept over me, mingling with the unique sweet and pungent smell of the Yangtze River and the mixed odors of goods piled up at the dock.

Xu Xuan stood at the bow of the boat, his blue robe fluttering in the wind. Looking at the bustling city standing by the river, his brows furrowed slightly involuntarily.

The dock was filled with boats of all sizes, their masts like a forest, their sails obscuring the sun. From tall official ships to low fishing boats, they crowded the entire harbor.

Amidst the clamor of voices, the porters, their bare upper bodies glistening with oil, scurried between boats and warehouses like ants, shouting rough work chants.

The merchants, speaking in accents from all over the country, were either haggling over prices or arguing heatedly.

A strange restlessness permeated the entire dock, as if everyone was racing against time, or being chased by something invisible.

There were also a large number of convoys waiting outside, seemingly unloading and transferring goods.

It seems too noisy, and I sense a hint of fear in my mind.

"Wuchang is much more lively than Qiantang." Xiaoqing, carefree, leaned against the gunwale, her emerald green skirt swaying gently in the wind. Her eyes were fixed on the dazzling array of shops on the shore, her little tongue flicking out as if trying to smell what they all smelled like, but…
"Strange. I smell human flesh and blood! It's very strong, like..."

Her words trailed off. At the same time, they both saw the strange objects floating on the river in the distance—several broken pieces of wood and several pieces of limbs that had turned white from being soaked in water.

A small boat skillfully rowed past, and the men on board, holding long poles, deftly searched for objects in the water, seemingly looking for something valuable.

"Another boat has been caught in the crossfire." The old boatman's hoarse voice came from behind. "This is the seventh one in the last half month. They all drifted out from Dongting Lake behind the confluence of the three rivers. I've been sailing on this river for forty years and I've never seen anything like this before."

Xu Xuan turned his head and looked at the old boatman. His wrinkled face was full of worry, and his cloudy eyes were filled with fear.

Just as he was about to ask for details, the ship slowly docked. Zhuge Yu and Yan Chixia had been waiting on the pier for a long time, and their tense faces relaxed slightly when they saw Xu Qing and the other man.

"Young Master Xu!" Zhuge Yu stepped forward quickly and said in a low voice, "The situation is somewhat critical now."

Xu Xuan frowned: "Yun Zhongjun has shown up ahead of schedule?"

“No, that’s not it. It’s just that,” Zhuge Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead, “that the aquatic creatures have expanded their range of activity. Three more merchant ships disappeared at the mouth of Dongting Lake last night, and now even the main channel of the Yangtze River is not safe.”

The main channel of the Yangtze River is certainly safe, but the fact that it could frighten an old scholar who particularly likes to show off like this shows that the situation is indeed dangerous.

Standing on the observation deck at Wuchang Wharf, Xu Xuan gazed into the distance. The vast expanse of Dongting Lake, bathed in the setting sun, shimmered with an eerie golden-red hue, resembling a sea of ​​burning blood.

From the direction of the Three Rivers Estuary, black and red energy soared into the sky, and the blood aura almost materialized, twisting and writhing in the sky.

Greed, hunger, despair, and excitement surged and boiled within it; this was no longer the confluence of the five lakes and the river, but rather the gaping maw of a demon.

Looking further down, the once bustling waterways are now alarmingly desolate.

Only a few scattered vessels flying government flags dared to sail in the main channel of the Yangtze River, and they were all equipped with fully armed guards.

Meanwhile, the merchant ships that needed to venture deeper into the Dongting Lake system were all crammed into the Wuchang dock, afraid to move. The ship owners gathered together, discussing the matter with furrowed brows.

Zhuge Yu added in a low voice, "According to our intelligence, there have been 27 ship disappearances in the Dongting Lake area in the past three months. More than 500 people have died, and the amount of lost cargo is countless." Xiao Qing stood on tiptoe and looked towards the other end of the dock: "Why are there so many people gathered over there?"

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a group of ragged fishermen weeping. An old fisherwoman with a wrinkled face knelt on the ground, holding a blood-stained rag in her hands: "My old man went out fishing the day before yesterday and pulled up this. There must be a man-eating monster at the bottom of the water!"

Then came cursing God, cursing the county magistrate, and cursing everything that could be resented.

Xu Xuan crouched down to examine the tattered cloth closely. The edges of the fabric were jagged, as if it had been torn by sharp teeth, and it was covered with a strange green slime. Activating his Buddhist wisdom eye, he saw wisps of demonic energy swirling around the slime.

"It's the work of water demons from Dongting Lake. And there's more than one."

Monsters don't just eat anything whole; they're protected by the luck of humans they consume, and each human they eat adds to their karmic burden. That's why these withered old fishermen are almost never on their menu. Unless...
"Those monsters are going crazy," Xiaoqing whispered, voicing Xu Xuan's thoughts.

"Back to headquarters." Xu Xuan felt the problem was indeed very serious, and he was very angry.

Good people are always bound by circumstances, and even though the Holy Father is insidious, ruthless, and cruel, his moral bottom line keeps fluctuating.

But he's a good person at heart.

He's still a good person with a lot of emotions.

In the blink of an eye, we arrived at a secluded courtyard near the dock.

It remains the Jingzhou branch of the Baoan Hall, currently serving as the organization's frontline command post in Wuchang.

The courtyard gate appears ordinary, but it actually hides a secret—two guardian deities are pasted on the lintel, gleaming faintly in the sunlight. One is called Qilishi, and the other Qilicha. Any demon that gets close will be beaten to death by the Mighty Ghost King.

The courtyard is simply furnished yet orderly: the east wing is filled with medicinal herbs and talismans, and the aroma of various herbs blends together to create a unique and refreshing atmosphere.

It also contains a lot of demon blood, all of which are the blood of demon beasts from the order Testudines of the class Reptilia sent by Turtle Master.

A detailed map of the waterways hangs in the west wing, densely marked with red symbols; on the sand table in the center of the main hall, the terrain of Dongting Lake is vividly depicted, with several small flags planted in key positions, representing the known territories of the demon king.

The group analyzed the situation, noting that each red dot on the wall represented a demon attack.

Xu Xuan pointed heavily to the location of Junshan Mountain on the sand table, "The area where demons are causing trouble is expanding, and it has spread from Dongting Lake to the surrounding water system. At this rate, the entire middle reaches of the Yangtze River will be in turmoil within half a month."

"What's even more frightening is that if this continues, it will surely anger the Dragon King of the Yangtze River, and the situation will be a hundred times worse than it is now."

This is a crucial point. That Lezi Dragon is still fundamentally a dragon, constantly threatening to flood Jiangnan and such.

The Father never considered the other party a close friend despite the age difference just because he received some favors.

That guy's inherent ruthlessness was never hidden; you could sense it without even needing your intuition.

"The complexity of the Dongting Lake system far exceeds our imagination," Yan Chixia explained, pointing to the map. "Besides the four main waterways—Xiang, Zi, Yuan, and Li—and the four outlets—Songzi, Taiping, Ouchi, and Tiaoxian—there are hundreds of tributaries and lakes. They are unpredictable and impossible to guard against."

(End of this chapter)