"There is!" the leader affirmed.
"Then that's settled. Let's go to the riverbank upstream," I ordered.
To avoid detection by the enemy forces, the detachment did not descend into the plain but returned to the mountains, proceeding along the ridge to the right. There was no road here, so I had no choice but to have the driver unharness the horses pulling the carriage and turn them into cavalry mounts. Fortunately, riding was not as difficult as I had imagined.
I was incapable of fighting on horseback, but I could certainly use a horse as mere transportation.
After riding for about five or six kilometers, we reached the river. However, the slope between the mountainous terrain and the river here was quite steep, and if a horse were to carry a person down, it could easily lose its footing.
The group had no choice but to dismount, lead their horses carefully to the riverbank. The width and depth of this river felt similar to the Yangtze River in Jinling, but it was more turbulent. The water had a reddish hue, appearing exceptionally turbid.
I activated my Qi sensing technique and indeed found many water spirits. Among them was a particularly large one, its species unknown, appearing to be over ten meters long.
"What do they usually eat?" I asked.
"They eat anything. They'll even overturn large boats crossing the river and devour people who fall in," the leader replied.
"Do they eat horses?"
"Yes."
The carriage was pulled by four horses, but there were only three of us: Bingbing, the driver, and myself. This left one extra horse in the group. It would have to be sacrificed. I ordered someone to tie the horse to a rock in the shallow water, then everyone led their horses back, leaving only me to squat by the bank and wait quietly.
A small spirit first swam over, probing. The warhorse clearly sensed something unusual in the water and became agitated, rearing up and kicking powerfully into the water. Fearing injury, the small spirit retreated. Soon after, the large creature I had seen earlier finally discovered the prey on the bank and slowly swam from the center of the river, stopping about twenty meters away from the warhorse.
The warhorse, however, did not notice the large creature in the water and looked at me, bewildered.
"What are you looking at me for?" I frowned, feeling cruel.
Suddenly, the large spirit leaped out of the water and lunged at the warhorse. I was prepared and immediately cut the warhorse's reins. While the Yin soldiers of Sanwu City were novices, warhorses were not. It seemed that there were many warhorses in the underworld, ubiquitous, with a high proportion of cavalry. This batch of blue and white warhorses immediately and agilely avoided the monster's pounce, leaping onto the bank. The large spirit landed heavily in the shallow water.
I peered closer and saw it was a large catfish, plump and gray all over. Its mouth was as large as a water vat, and the whiskers around its mouth were as thick as a child's arm.
The large catfish, having missed its attack, was furious. Seeing that I had interfered, it lunged at me again.
"Hold on!" I retreated behind a rock, only showing my head. If it lunged at me, it would hit the rock, giving me a chance to escape.
The large catfish was not foolish. Seeing that I had taken up a favorable position, it did not attack rashly. It twisted its plump body a couple of times and turned back into the water.
"Listen, demon! I am the reincarnation of Baize! The twenty-eight spirits of Xishan prostrate themselves before me, calling me Immortal Venerable! If you leave now, I will drain this great river, drag you out, skin you, debone you, and slice your flesh for hot pot!"
The giant monster slithered back into the water, but its presence lingered. It had clearly heard my warning. After about half a minute, the large monster's head re-emerged from the water, looking at me warily from twenty meters away.
I jumped onto the rock and beckoned to it, "Come here, come here."
"Brother, be careful!" Zheng Bingbing warned from the bank.
The large monster rolled its big eyes, looked at the line of riders on the bank holding spears, and showed no fear. Creating a large wave, it charged to the base of the rock.
My legs turned to jelly, and I was almost unable to move to escape. Fortunately, the large monster did not attack. After propping its large head against the rock, it slowly opened its mouth and, from within, expelled a large mass of flesh. This mass of flesh continuously rose, changed shape, and finally evolved into a human form. However, it was merely a human shape, without any discernible gender.
"Immortal Venerable," the human-like entity said vaguely, cupping its fists. Although it cupped its fists, its armpits were still attached to its body. Judging by the form it had conjured, its cultivation was likely not high, and it was unable to fully transform into a human.
With my hands behind my back, I nodded. Without further ado, I said, "Here's your chance to prove yourself. Carry my subordinates across the great river, and then swim to the city gate of that city."