Abandoning literature for martial arts, starting by unleashing the beauty's bow.

Two quarters of an hour before Chenshi (7-9 AM), a young man slowly walked towards Shangjie Village.

With a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes, carrying a jet-black longbow on his back, it was none other than Yang Kai.

When Yang Kai walked onto the embankment, Lu Fengnian was sitting on a rock by the embankment, his feet dangling over the river, his eyes fixed on the upstream side of the river.

There, the mountains stretch endlessly.

Yang Kai approached Lu Fengnian and whispered, "You were looking for me?"

Lu Fengnian patted the stone beside him, gesturing for Yang Kai to sit down.

Yang Kai hesitated for a moment, then took the longbow from his back, placed it aside, sat down on a rock, and continued, "Is it because of Zhao Gang?"

Lu Fengnian shook his head. "He's not worth me making a special trip to see you."

Yang Kai looked puzzled. "Then what do you want to do?"

Lu Feng sighed, "With half the river water, your Shangjie Village still has many old wells to replenish it, which can barely keep up."

But in our Mao'er Village, half the river water is far from enough.

Yang Kai frowned. "You want our half of the water?"

Lu Fengnian said in a low voice, "That day, you kept your promise and gave half of the water to our Mao'er Village, which can be considered an acknowledgment of your kindness."

I shouldn't have come looking for you again.

However, the villagers come to my house almost every day to beg and complain, which is extremely annoying.

There was no other way but to agree and help them solve their water problem.

Yang Kai said coldly, "This half of the water will absolutely not be given to your Mao'er Village."

Although your archery skills are better than mine, if it comes down to a fight to the death, it's not certain who will live and who will die.

Lu Fengnian turned his head and glanced at Yang Kai. "I'm not bragging, but if it really comes down to it, you might not even have a chance to fire an arrow."

Yang Kai's brows furrowed immediately. "Lu Fengnian, stop bluffing! Bring me your bow, let's fight to the death!"

Lu Fengnian pouted, "Why are you so easily teased?"

If I wanted to fight you, would I have come empty-handed?

Yang Kai blinked. "So, what do you want to do?"

Lu Fengnian turned his gaze to the distant mountains upstream of the river. "I heard from the people in our village that this river existed before Mao'er Village was even established. I don't know how many years it has existed, but the water flow has always been abundant. A hundred years ago, the water volume suddenly decreased, and there must be a reason for that."

Yang Kai also turned his gaze upstream and said in a low voice, "Our village elders once went upstream to try to find the reason, but they didn't dare to go any further after reaching the Old Turtle Cave."

"Old turtle cave?"

Lu Fengnian looked puzzled. "Where is this place?"

Yang Kai quickly glanced at Lu Fengnian. "People from your village have also been upstream. Don't you know about the Old Turtle Cave?"

Lu Fengnian looked embarrassed. The original owner of this body had only Li Xiaorou in his heart and mind, apart from studying. He didn't even know how much population tax his family had to pay. How could he be expected to know about the Old Turtle Cave?

He readily admitted, "I don't know."

Yang Kai glanced at Lu Fengnian with disdain. "The water in this river all flows out of the Old Turtle Cave. The terrain inside the cave is complicated with many branching paths. If you enter rashly, it is very easy to get lost."

More importantly, legend has it that there are giant turtles as big as mountains that can swallow a person whole, making it extremely dangerous.

Our ancestors explored the Old Turtle Cave, but dared not venture further in.

I imagine your village, Mao'er, is in the same situation; they dare not venture deep into the cave.

Lu Fengnian paused for a moment, then said, "Given the current situation, if we can't increase the water flow upstream, a life-or-death battle between our two villages is inevitable."

Yang Kai raised an eyebrow slightly. "You mean, you want to explore the Old Turtle Cave?"

Lu Fengnian shook his head. "It's not me, it's us."

This matter concerns the life and death of our two villages; everyone bears responsibility.

At this point, he stood up and said, "Tomorrow, I will lead the people of Mao'er Village upstream along the river to Laoyuan Cave, where we will explore and find out why the river's flow has decreased."

I hope you can persuade Shangjie Village to work with them and take action together with us; many hands make light work.

If this problem can be solved once and for all, our two villages will no longer have conflicts over water resources.

After a moment's thought, Yang Kai said, "The Old Turtle Cave is extremely dangerous; I'm afraid no one would dare to go in."

Lu Fengnian smiled slightly, "Whether we go in or not, let's go take a look first and then make a decision. What if this deal comes to fruition?"

After saying that, he went down the river embankment and waved to Yang Kai with his back to him as he walked. He didn't look back until he reached the corner at the bottom of the embankment and disappeared from sight.

…………

Lu Fengnian returned to Mao'er Village, first visited some of the village's elderly residents, and then went to Zhao Dagui's house.

"What? You're going to the Old Turtle Cave?"

When Zhao Dagui heard Lu Fengnian's purpose, he was taken aback and immediately waved his hands, "No, no, I can't go, it's too dangerous."

My grandfather went to the Old Turtle Cave with the village elders. They went in less than thirty feet when they saw a huge black shadow in the water, bigger than a boat. They were so frightened that they turned around and ran away.

"It's very dangerous inside the Old Turtle Cave; there really are old turtles that have become spirits."

Lu Fengnian said in a low voice, "I just went to inquire about this matter."

There were ten people who entered the Old Turtle Cave at the time, but only the first two saw the dark shadows underwater; the others did not see them.

Whether the dark shadows in the water are living creatures or underwater rocks, and even the two people at the front, are uncertain.

Something that even our elders haven't confirmed has frightened us for nearly a century; it's somewhat absurd and laughable.

Given the current situation, we've seized the water source from Shangjie Village, so a bloody battle is inevitable.

Moreover, even if we win this year, what about next year, and the year after?

Only by increasing the water flow upstream can we truly resolve the dispute between Mao'er Village and Shangjie Village.

Zhao Dagui said worriedly, "What if something goes wrong..."

Lu Fengnian shook his head. "Let's investigate first and decide whether or not to enter the Old Turtle Cave, based on the actual situation."

After a moment's thought, Zhao Dagui nodded and said, "Alright, I'll do as you say. I'll go and gather the men shortly."

Lu Fengnian nodded, "Don't have too many people. Try to choose those who are good swimmers and young and strong."

…………

The news that Lu Fengnian was going to lead a group to the Old Turtle Cave quickly spread throughout Mao'er Village.

As the village head, Zhao Dagui went door-to-door in the village to select suitable men. It didn't take much effort for him to select eleven men, all of whom were strong and healthy men between the ages of twenty and thirty.

Then, he took the eleven people to the Lu family.

…………

The Lu family.

Lu Fengnian, Liu Yunjuan, and Lu Xiaoyu sat in the courtyard.

As soon as Liu Yunjuan heard that Lu Fengnian was going to take people to the Old Turtle Cave, she immediately asked Lu Xiaoyu to call him over from behind the house.

Before Lu Fengnian could even sit down, Liu Yunjuan hurriedly said, "Fengnian, is this the solution to the water problem you mentioned?"

"Aren't you being ridiculous? There are turtle spirits in the Old Turtle Cave! How can you go there!"