"Here it comes, here it comes!" Zheng Bingbing shouted excitedly, tugging at my sleeve.
"Keep your voice down, don't attract it before it gets us," I pulled Zheng Bingbing along, carrying our small stools a few steps into the shallow water. I suppressed the buoyancy and forced myself to sit, so only the upper part of our chests was exposed, greatly reducing our chances of being spotted.
Demons fighting shamans, we mortals should just stay far away and be sensible.
In a flash, the "Great White Shark" had swum to the reservoir's edge. I thought it would make a cool entrance with a "Leaping Fish" or something similar, but to my surprise, the waves stopped about ten meters from the Pajero, right in the middle of the crops.
A few seconds later, a beautiful young girl in a monk's robe emerged from the cornfield, carrying a white ash wood staff on her shoulder. She tilted her head towards Mu Jige and smiled, saying in a slightly strange tone, "Running so fast!"
"So this is Old Eight, I thought it was a guy!" Zheng Bingbing whispered.
"I thought so too," I replied softly.
Even though our voices were low, she still heard us. Old Eight turned her head towards us, her eyes bright and yellow, like two glowing amber stones set in her sockets.
"Wu Chengfeng, is that you?" Old Eight asked.
"...Uh, it is, it is," I straightened my back and answered bravely, then quickly ducked back into the water.
"Mu Jige, how did you find such a spineless wretch?" Old Eight sneered.
Did I look spineless? I was merely being rational and self-preserving! Look at its terrifying speed, and those frightening eyes! I definitely couldn't beat it!
Zheng Bingbing was also trembling with fear, clutching my belt tightly underwater, afraid I would run off and abandon her.
During this time, Mu Jige remained in the same position, without opening her eyes.
"Let's not waste any more time, come on," Old Eight took two steps back, clearing a space for Mu Jige to get out of the car.
"Heh," Mu Jige finally opened her eyes and slid out of the car, "Just you alone, I'm afraid it won't be enough."
"Not enough for what?" Old Eight raised her staff, getting into a stance.
"Not enough to stuff my teeth with..." Mu Jige said dismissively.
"I know you're powerful, but I'm not a pushover either!" Old Eight said, then lunged forward.
Mu Jige casually drew Zheng Bingbing's crowbar from the car and easily blocked. They fought and retreated, all the way to the water's edge. After a few rounds, Old Eight seemed to have the upper hand, constantly attacking with her staff, but she couldn't even touch Mu Jige. On the other hand, Old Eight herself was panting, and even her staff was starting to deform.
"Attack, will you!" Old Eight was starting to panic.
"Alright," Mu Jige threw the crowbar behind her into the water, and then, from the water, she pulled out something else, which looked like a thick rope.
Why would there be a rope in the water? Did someone hang themselves here before... No, hanging and jumping into a river are two different things.
As I was wondering, Mu Jige pulled the rope out of the water. It was over three meters long, and she whipped it towards Old Eight like a whip. When the "rope" entered the beam of the Pajero's headlights, it gleamed and sparkled. Only then did I see clearly that it wasn't a rope at all, but a stream of water!
I suddenly remembered that Song Lei had recorded Mu Jige's shamanic spells in his diary. He said she could control the five elements. For example, in the Battle of Chrysanthemum Mountain, where they were outnumbered, the Jurchen army was able to defeat the Ming army's large "Night Watch" units because Mu Jige used a flying stone formation. Song Lei called it an earth element spell. Now, she was controlling water as a whip. Could this be... a water element spell?