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

The crocodile was enormous, and its stomach contained all sorts of random things, but no human skeletons!

"...How could this happen?!"

The villagers, who were originally indignant and agitated, were as if doused with cold water, and they all stood there stunned and dumbfounded.

This crocodile was enormous and had a ferocious appearance that sent shivers down one's spine; moreover, the dark-skinned man, Awei, was a skilled and respected fisherman in the area who claimed that the crocodile he had caught was the man-eating sea monster...

The villagers naturally believed this without a doubt.

however!

Yesterday, twenty or thirty people went out to fish in the river and perished in the belly of the water monster. But why, after Lu Xuan cut open the crocodile's stomach and fully exposed its contents, did he not see any signs of it eating people?

Even if a crocodile has excellent digestive abilities, there should still be a small amount of human bone residue in its stomach, just like the bones of cattle and sheep that have not yet been digested and excreted!

"This...this is impossible, I don't believe it!"

Some villagers, refusing to believe the superstition, picked up shovels or harpoons and carefully examined the filth and debris on the ground, trying to find evidence that crocodiles had eaten people.

They searched the ground thoroughly for the filth and debris, but couldn't find a single piece of human remains...

Facts speak louder than words!

The objective facts are clear, and there is no need for further debate.

This crocodile did not eat people. Although it lived in the Blackwater River, it was not a man-eating monster!

"..."

The villagers were all dumbfounded, looking at each other in disbelief.

After all that excitement and commotion, it turns out... they arrested the wrong person!

It's both ridiculous and somewhat laughable!

It also made them feel extremely ashamed. When Lu Xuan raised his objection earlier, they thought he was deliberately causing trouble and gave him unfriendly looks...

clap clap.

I never expected the slap in the face to come so quickly!

Huh?

Lu Xuan's gaze swept over the filth and debris on the ground, and his expression showed some surprise.

He knew that this crocodile was most likely not the man-eating water monster, but he didn't quite believe that such a large beast had never eaten a person.

Surprisingly, this crocodile never actually ate anyone.

Is it that they don't like to eat it, or that they're afraid to eat it?

What carnivorous monster doesn't like to eat people?

This is the Great Yan Dynasty, where the Martial Saint Emperor has decreed: those who feed on humans are all considered demons and shall be killed without mercy!

This crocodile looks big, but it's not very brave and is fairly well-behaved...

"Oh, so it's a chaste crocodile, huh?"

Lu Xuan chuckled and made a teasing remark.

The crocodile, however, couldn't laugh at all.

It was chained and hung up, and Lu Xuan had cut open its large stomach with a knife, causing it great pain. At this moment, its vertical pupils, as big as footballs, were filled with tears, and it was looking at Lu Xuan with a pitiful expression, not blinking.

Woo woo woo.

That sad and aggrieved look in her eyes seemed to say: Now you see? Are you satisfied now? Feeling better now? You only feel happy when you've disemboweled me, right?

Lu Xuan: "..."

Looking at the crocodile's pitiful and aggrieved appearance, I really felt a pang of conscience.

"Cough cough, I'm just trying to prove your innocence. It's not like I'll die from a little pain."

As he spoke, Lu Xuan raised his hand and placed his palm on the inside of the crocodile's severed tail. A wisp of invisible energy appeared and entered the crocodile's body.

The crocodile's pupils contracted instantly, and its previously aggrieved expression turned to surprise.

Its tail wound was still there, and its abdomen was still split open, but the bleeding had completely stopped, and the pain had completely disappeared!

"What powerful magic!"

"What an amazing young man!"

"Waaah, little crocodile is scared of you, little crocodile forgives you..."

It immediately stopped daring to hate Lu Xuan.

"Coward!"

Bao Bu looked at it with disdain, curled his lip, and said, "Looking at how big you are, I thought you were as fierce and strong as Donkey Master, but I didn't expect you to be so cowardly. You're not even as good as Donkey Master."

Hearing Bao Bulu's mockery, the crocodile glared angrily, twisting its body and struggling to protest: You stupid donkey, it's easy for you to talk when you're standing there. Let's hang you up and cut you open and see what happens.

Besides, didn't you also serve as someone's mount? How dare you criticize me?!

at the same time.

The dark-skinned man was completely panicked and didn't know what to do.

He had been so confident and certain from the beginning that the crocodile was a man-eating monster that he reassured the villagers... but how can this situation be explained now?

"Awei, didn't you say this beast ate people? Why are there no human bones in its stomach? What's going on?"

"Uncle Awei, is it really a lake monster? Have we wrongly accused it?"

"Awei, hurry up and tell me!"

The villagers were puzzled and eagerly asked the dark-skinned man for answers.

Awei was drenched in sweat.

He was momentarily at a loss for words, so he could only feign ignorance, "Y-yes, how could this happen? I-I don't know either!"

Perhaps he knew better than anyone that crocodiles weren't man-eating monsters...

"You wretched brat!"

Perhaps Lu Xuan's sudden appearance embarrassed him, for there was a hint of resentment in his eyes as he glanced at Lu Xuan, and a deep sense of apprehension in his gaze.

"This kid's not simple. His cultivation is higher than mine; he's probably already at the peak of the seventh-grade Body Refinement stage or even the sixth-grade Qi Refining stage. Unlike the people in the government office who are easy to fool... What bad luck!"

Lu Xuan had just borrowed an ordinary wood-chopping knife from the villagers and easily cut open the crocodile's tough belly.

If it were someone with the cultivation level of the eighth rank, they could also cut open the crocodile's belly with a knife, but it would definitely take a lot of effort, and it would never be as easy as Lu Xuan did.

This shows that Lu Xuan's cultivation level is definitely above his!

At this moment, Lu Xuan offered a suggestion: "I think this beast has become a spirit and can speak human language. Why don't we put it down first, unlock part of the chain around its mouth, and see what it says?"

Lu Xuan's suggestion is good.

The crocodile certainly knows more about the situation in the water than the villagers on the shore, and may very well know what the real water monster is.

If we could make the crocodile talk, all the doubts in everyone's mind would probably be resolved!

"No, absolutely not!"

Awei panicked and immediately objected vehemently, "I... I mean, this beast has sharp teeth and can eat cattle and sheep. I finally managed to catch it. What if we untie it and it hurts someone?"

He refused Lu Xuan's offer to even loosen part of the iron chains, citing the possibility that the crocodile might harm people.

Lu Xuan looked at him and smiled, "You were able to subdue this beast in the water, and now it's lying on the shore, barely alive. With you here, how could it possibly harm anyone?"

Lu Xuan's words were "venomous," leaving the dark-skinned man speechless.

Since Awei can catch crocodiles in the water, why is he afraid that a seriously injured crocodile can hurt people on the shore?

This is clearly not a logical explanation!

"Awei, I think this guy makes sense. With you and him here, I doubt this beast would dare to do anything malicious."

"Yes, we can stand further away, untie the chain from this beast's mouth, and let it explain what's going on!"

More and more villagers agreed with Lu Xuan's suggestion and wanted to get to the bottom of the truth.

"this……"

Awei was increasingly caught in a dilemma, his forehead covered in sweat, with large beads of sweat constantly sliding down his cheeks.

Lu Xuan just watched quietly, waiting to see how he would continue to pretend...

Sudden.

The dark river beside the ferry suddenly boiled, and a huge black shadow surged out of the silt at the bottom of the river and leaped out of the water in an instant!

Splash!

The monster was huge and bloated, like a small mountain, carrying river water and silt, and opened its terrifying mouth to pounce on... Lu Xuan!

It actually wanted to eat Lu Xuan!

However, Lu Xuan simply flashed away and disappeared from the spot, easily dodging the attack and leaving the monster empty-handed.

Because Lu Xuan was standing at the foot of the tower, the bloated and fat monster, though unable to bite Lu Xuan, did knock down the watchtower where the crocodile was hanging.

The watchtower, constructed from dozens of solid logs as thick as bowls, bent and collapsed as if made of paper under the impact of this monster.

Rumble!

The crocodile also fell down. When it saw the fat monster, its eyes widened in terror, and it struggled fiercely, howling!

Suddenly, a fat monster leaped out of the water, trying to devour Lu Xuan. Its body was jet black and slippery, without scales, and it had an enormous head, much larger than its body, with an astonishingly large mouth when it opened.

This is... a super-sized catfish!

The catfish has six barbels around its mouth, each over ten feet long, sharp and hard as steel needles. It also has two rows of serrated teeth that match the tooth marks on the crocodile's severed tail...

It was clearly the culprit that bit off the crocodile's tail!

It could very well be that man-eating water monster!