The expression on Shen Shui Yuan’s face froze.
He looked down at his chest, then slowly raised his head to look in the direction of the rift.
“You...”
Wei Tu Zhi stood at the edge of the rift, her eyes cast down, her bowstring still vibrating slightly.
Her lips moved, silently mouthing a few words.
Watching the shape of her lips, Shen Shui Yuan understood.
The Fate Officer’s will.
He clenched his fists, his nails digging into the flesh of his palms. White slime seeped through his fingers before his fists slowly unclenched.
He understood now.
No wonder Kui Mu Lang and Bi Yue Wu’s conversions had been so rapid.
He was a sacrificial pawn.
The corner of Shen Shui Yuan's mouth twitched, squeezing out a wry smile as if he wanted to say something, but the arrow in his chest suddenly vibrated violently.
The white pollution coating the arrow began to erode inward from the wound. His limbs rapidly stiffened, and his body fell backward of its own accord.
The surface of the River of the Underworld parted the instant he fell.
Several pale hands reached out from beneath the water and grabbed his body. The passengers on the boat easily crushed the arrow pinning Shen Shui Yuan down, dragging him entirely onto the vessel.
Having fired that arrow, Wei Tu Zhi did not spare him another glance.
She sheathed her bow and turned around, her body dissolving into slime as she slipped into the closing rift overhead.
In the two-breath window when Taotie abandoned his clash with Kui Mu Lang to block the arrow, Bi Yue Wu flew swiftly to Kui Mu Lang's side. Unfurling white wings, Bi Yue Wu wrapped up Kui Mu Lang, who had been frightened witless by the River of the Underworld, and followed closely behind Wei Tu Zhi into the rift.
The rift snapped shut.
The top of the gray fragmented space returned to its smooth, membrane-like appearance.
Chen Zhou stood at the bow, panting softly.
The waters of the River of the Underworld were slowly receding. The black water that had just surged receded inch by inch, revealing the gray ground below, which had been washed completely clean.
The white beasts summoned by Shen Shui Yuan had vanished without a trace after the tide of the River of the Underworld ebbed.
However, Chen Zhou’s state was not quite right.
His legs felt weak.
He vaguely understood a portion of what the River of the Underworld had said in his consciousness, but the price of that understanding was immense exhaustion.
Most of the death qi in his body had been drained. The power that had just been boosted by the status of the River of the Underworld withdrew from his meridians like an ebbing tide, leaving behind a dry riverbed.
He supported himself against the bow railing and slowly sat down, leaning his back against the gunwale, his chest heaving.
“My Lord!”
Plague Rat glared in the direction where Bi Yue Wu had retreated. Gnashing its teeth, it abandoned the pursuit and rushed straight to Chen Zhou.
It squatted in front of Chen Zhou, its crimson eyes scanning him up and down. Only after confirming there were no obvious wounds did it let out a sigh of relief.
Chen Zhou waved his hand. “I’m fine. Just exhausted.”
Plague Rat clicked its tongue, its tail instinctively curling and uncurling in obvious anxiety, though its mouth kept muttering curses.
“Dammit, those white-furred bastards run fast.”
“My Lord’s boat has good stuff on it. They were scared.”
It turned its head to glance at the center of the boat.
After Shen Shui Yuan was dragged aboard, the pale passengers had already pinned him to the deck.
A dozen translucent figures surrounded him, their pale palms pressed against his chest, pinning him firmly in place.
Shen Shui Yuan’s limbs were still spasming, and white slime continuously seeped from the edges of his wound. However, the moment the slime touched the palms of those passengers, it rapidly dissipated, silently swallowed by the mist of the River of the Underworld.
Shen Shui Yuan’s pupils contracted violently as he let out muffled growls from his throat.
“Fate Officer... why... I clearly...”
Shen Shui Yuan struggled a few times, still shouting incoherently, “I was chosen... I was the earliest one...”
Although the arrow had been pulled out, the destructive power within it had not diminished in the slightest. Coupled with the restraint of the passengers, his voice grew fainter and his struggles gradually ceased.
The white fur began to peel off inch by inch, starting from his cheeks, revealing puffy, pale skin underneath.
Then his neck, shoulders, and arms—like a snake shedding its skin, the entire pelt peeled off his body, leaving a pile of white debris on the deck.
Shen Shui Yuan’s body was shrinking.
Amidst the peeling white flakes, the short, stout, white-furred monster slowly transformed into a frail middle-aged man.
He had a round face, prominent cheekbones, dark circles under his eyes, and chapped lips, wearing a dark yellow cloth shirt rotted by water.
It was Squire Zhou’s face.
His eyes were half-open, his pupils completely blank, as if he had just awakened from a grand dream, not yet knowing who he was or where he was.
Then, he was quickly assimilated by the passengers on the boat, sitting there quietly with a serene expression, identical to every other passenger aboard.
The white debris shed from his body was also quickly absorbed by the formation. Then, his body began to turn translucent, slowly rising from the deck and sinking into the River of the Underworld alongside the other passengers.
Two items were left on the deck.
A blood-stained ledger, its cover swollen from water damage and its corners curled.
A small white sculpture, about the size of a palm, crudely carved to vaguely resemble a figure with a human body and an ape's head.
A wave of the River of the Underworld's black water surged, rolling it to Chen Zhou's feet.
Chen Zhou bent down to pick it up.
The moment his hand touched the freezing object, a clear notification rang in his sea of consciousness.
You have obtained one Spirit of the Shen Constellation (Activated)
The sculpture, stained with his death qi, rapidly changed color in his palm, its surface texture becoming fine and uniform.
Chen Zhou squeezed the bone carving and slipped it into his sleeve.
Then, Chen Zhou quickly circulated the death qi from the Myriad Herbs Life-Death Realm.
The death qi stored in the Life-Death Realm slowly poured into his meridians. After a few cycles, it restored some of his strength.
The bow of the boat suddenly shook violently as Taotie’s massive body leaped aboard.
He was supporting Shen Liang with one arm. Shen Liang was completely limp, his limbs dangling like noodles, his face so pale it was almost transparent.
Taotie placed Shen Liang onto the deck, then lowered himself, his massive body kneeling firmly.
“Young Palace Master!”
Taotie’s voice was urgent and muffled. “The thin one lost control again! I failed to keep an eye on him!”
“He was bewildered by that white-furred thing again and almost ruined your grand plans, Young Palace Master! Please punish me!”
As he spoke, he kowtowed to the deck, making loud thudding sounds against the wood.
Placed to the side, Shen Liang barely managed to regain a sliver of clarity.
He slowly opened his eyes. The blurry scene before him sharpened, first showing Taotie kneeling and kowtowing nearby, and then Chen Zhou sitting at the bow, leaning against the gunwale with a pale face.
Shen Liang’s pupils contracted violently.
He struggled to crawl up, but his limbs were as soft as waterlogged wood, failing to support him after several attempts.
In the end, he could only prop himself up on his elbows, half-sprawled and half-kneeling toward Chen Zhou, filled with dread and apprehension.
“Young Palace Master... I deserve to die...”
“I lost control again... and caused trouble for you once more...”
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