You've already caught the embroidered ball, and you still say it's not my husband?

What is a lake monster?

Who has the ability to catch the water monster?

Lu Xuan, curious, led the donkey forward.

Ahead was a ferry crossing, and on the open, muddy ground beside it, a huge creature was tied up!

"Holy crap, what a huge crocodile!"

This is a brownish-brown crocodile with a thick and long body. Its tail is broken off. If it hadn't broken off its tail, its body length would definitely have exceeded 40 feet (12 or 13 meters). It is an absolute behemoth!

At this moment, the crocodile was tightly bound by several iron chains as thick as an arm, especially its mouth, which resembled a giant pincer, was bound so tightly that it could not even make a sound.

A burly man, barefoot, stood on its head and shouted to the surrounding villagers, "Folks, I've caught the water monster! You can all go fishing in the river without worry now!"

The man was a local fisherman named "Awei," thirty-five years old, with dark skin, no shirt on, and a muscular and powerful physique... He was the one who caught the crocodile monster!

"Well done, Awei!"

"Uncle Wei is amazing! He managed to subdue such a huge monster and bring it ashore!"

"This beast ate my grandfather! I'm going to beat it to death!"

The villagers revered Awei as a hero, exclaiming that he was amazing, as he had captured and tied up the man-eating water monster that even the authorities couldn't find or deal with.

Some villagers, filled with indignation, threw stones at the crocodile, hoping to kill the man-eating monster and avenge their deceased relatives.

just.

Although the crocodile was tied up, its brown scales were very hard. The pebbles, the size of a fist or a palm, thrown by the villagers felt like raindrops hitting a person, causing no pain or itch.

"Fellow villagers, don't worry, I'll hang this beast up, then you can punish him as you please!"

A dark-skinned man named "Awei" jumped off the crocodile's head, then found a thick iron chain several tens of meters long. He locked one end of the chain around the crocodile's mouth and the other end passed through the tall "watchtower" next to the ferry crossing. The watchtower was built with dozens of solid wood logs as thick as bowls and was very sturdy.

Then, using a simple lever mechanism, he pulled the chain sharply, continuing to exert force—

This crocodile, which is over ten meters long and weighs nearly ten tons, was seen being hoisted up!

The crocodile was hung with its mouth facing upwards next to the watchtower, almost as tall as the tower itself, creating a spectacular sight!

The crocodile, whose tail was already broken in half and whose mouth was tightly bound by chains, was even less of a threat after being hung up.

The villagers clapped and cheered, and some of the bolder ones stepped forward and used stones or iron tools to smash the crocodile's relatively soft belly...

However, it still failed to cause much damage to the crocodile, leaving only some shallow marks on its abdomen.

It's alright, the crocodile is already hanging up and can't escape anyway, its death is only a matter of time!

"hey-hey."

Awei grinned; his skin was dark, like the black man on the toothpaste tube, making his teeth appear especially white.

He caught the water monster, and someone has already gone to notify the government. Once the government officials arrive and see the enormous crocodile, the case can basically be closed.

At that time, he will receive a substantial reward and gain immense fame...

Isn't that a win-win situation of fame and fortune?

"Master, this guy's got some skills. He even caught the water monster. It seems there's nothing for us to do here anymore. Let's go back to Sister Qingqing's noodle shop and have some noodles!" Bao Bulu looked up at the crocodile hanging high above and said to Lu Xuan in the Heart Lake.

After the beast is imprinted with the Beast Contract Mark, the beast recognizes Lu Xuan as its master and can then communicate with him in the Heart Lake.

Lu Xuan glanced at the dark-skinned man whom the villagers regarded as a hero, then examined the wound on the crocodile's severed tail, lost in thought.

"This crocodile is enormous; its mouth can open at least two zhang (six or seven meters), enough to swallow a person and a raft whole... But don't you find that strange?"

Ok?

Bao Bulu was taken aback. "Master, what do you mean?"

"This crocodile is at the peak of the seventh rank, just like you, while that dark-skinned man's cultivation is only... the eighth rank."

Blood was still dripping from the crocodile's severed tail, and its aura was leaking out. Although its aura was weak, it was undoubtedly at the peak of the seventh rank.

The man had just lifted the crocodile with great strength, but in reality, his cultivation level was only at the eighth rank.

"Do you think an eighth-rank martial artist could possibly catch a peak seventh-rank crocodile? Especially in the water!"

Bao Bulu was startled.

Monsters are naturally thick-skinned and tough, and usually have an advantage over humans in the body-refining realm. The brown scales of a crocodile are as hard as armor. If an eighth-grade martial artist's fist hits those hard scales, he probably wouldn't even be able to break through their defenses!

Moreover, crocodiles are the apex predators of the water, possessing a unique and enormous advantage in the water.

Bao Bulu, who is also at the peak of the seventh rank, can fight the crocodile on the shore, but once he falls into the water... he has almost no chance of winning and will most likely become the crocodile's food!

The dark-skinned man's cultivation level was even lower, only at the eighth rank. Even if he was skilled in swimming, it was absolutely impossible for him to subdue a crocodile at the peak of the seventh rank in the water!

To capture such a crocodile, one must not only be proficient in swimming, but also have a cultivation level of at least the sixth rank of the Qi Refining Realm or even higher!

Bao Bulu couldn't help but shiver, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"Take a closer look at the wound where the crocodile's tail was severed."

Bao Bu looked at the crocodile's tail that was hanging up; most of the tail had disappeared, the wound was rough and uneven, and in some places, obvious serrated marks could be seen...

Such a wound does not resemble the cut from a sharp weapon like a sword or knife; it looks more like it was bitten and gnawed by some kind of terrifying monster!

hiss~

Think carefully!

Bao Bulu felt a chill run down his spine and swallowed hard.

From a rational perspective, it's impossible for the dark-skinned man to have caught this peak-level seventh-grade crocodile, and the crocodile is very likely not a monster from the Blackwater River...

The water monster is something else entirely!

"Is this the man-eating water monster? I doubt it."

Lu Xuan suddenly spoke up.

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried a certain certainty. It seemed particularly abrupt, out of place, and inappropriate given the villagers' verbal attacks and the throwing of blunt and sharp weapons at the crocodile.

Swish!

In an instant, everyone turned to look at him.

"This young man looks unfamiliar; perhaps he's from out of town? But what do you mean by that?"

"Awei finally caught this man-eating beast, and you're saying it's not a water monster? What is it if not a water monster?!"

"Where did this brat come from? You haven't lost any relatives, so don't talk nonsense without knowing the consequences!"

Most of the villagers thought Lu Xuan was talking nonsense, their faces flushed with anger, and their eyes were filled with hostility.

Lu Xuan smiled faintly, not taking it to heart.

He was just a nobody passing by, seemingly without any status, position, or knowledge, and for the time being, he couldn't produce any strong evidence to prove that the crocodile wasn't a water monster; while the fisherman Awei was a local, and having caught the man-eating water monster, he became a hero in the eyes of the villagers, who naturally believed Awei and not Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan walked forward slowly, giving the dark-skinned man a meaningful smile as he went. "You probably can't catch such a crocodile that's become a spirit by yourself, can you?"

The dark-skinned man narrowed his eyes slightly as he sized up Lu Xuan.

However, apart from his good looks and temperament, Lu Xuan was otherwise unremarkable.

He pretended to be nonchalant and chuckled, "Haha, you're quite the joker, young man. This morning, I was out on a bamboo raft when this beast was lurking at the bottom. Suddenly, it leaped out of the water and opened its mouth to swallow me. I fought it for a long time and it took a lot of effort to subdue it..."

He pointed to a towering crocodile beside him, his tone certain: "I'm sure it's that man-eating water monster!"

"Oh, really?" Lu Xuan's lips curled up.

Such nonsense from the dark-skinned man might fool these ignorant villagers, but it won't work on him.

At this moment, he stood still in an area only one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) from the base of the tower.

The crocodile, suspended by a thick iron chain, began to struggle violently, making urgent "ooh-ooh" sounds.

It's just like a wrongly accused criminal, condemned by everyone, unable to defend himself and utterly despondent, when suddenly someone stands up to question him, doubting that he was innocent...

The sudden appearance of Lu Xuan was its last lifeline; it had to hold on tightly to have any chance of survival!

However, the crocodile was too badly injured and had lost too much blood, so it had little strength left and struggled for a few moments before collapsing.

Only its vertical pupil-shaped eyes, brimming with tears, stared longingly at Lu Xuan, as if saying: I am innocent, please save me!

"Lend me your knife." Lu Xuan didn't say much, but simply borrowed a wood-chopping knife from a villager next to him.

Then, he made a hand seal with one hand, and the blade rose into the air, making a light cut on the crocodile's resilient belly.

A gash was immediately slashed open in the crocodile's abdomen!

Ahhhhh!

The crocodile was in a lot of pain!

It thought it had met its savior, but Lu Xuan simply disemboweled it!

This isn't a savior; it's a death knell!

It was so angry that it started cursing...

wc***

Splash!

Lu Xuan's knife cut open the crocodile's large stomach with extreme precision.

The filth in my stomach came out like a landslide mudslide, rolling all over the ground.

Among the filth were various sizes of undigested freshwater fish, a lot of aquatic plants, and upon closer inspection, there were also fragments of water birds and wild deer bones, as well as some cattle and sheep skeletons...

It's all just land animals, fish, and shrimp!

They couldn't find a single human bone, tooth, or even a fragment of clothing...

Waaah.

The crocodile wept, heartbroken: "Do you believe me now? I didn't eat people, I'm really not a monster!!"