As I was recalling Song Lei's diary, the two sides had already engaged in battle again.
As the saying goes, "There are no constant tactics in war, and no constant shape in water." Mu Jige's water whip, whether in size, length, or form, was constantly changing as it attacked.
With a whip drawn sideways, Old Ba blocked it with her staff. The whip met the staff and split into two, transforming into two water arrows that shot towards Old Ba's ribs. Old Ba's movements were indeed agile, and she immediately dodged diagonally along the direction of the water arrows. After the momentum of the water arrows slowed slightly, she used her staff to deflect them, scattering them into countless splashes of water. Before she could even stabilize herself, Mu Jige's second whip lashed out again. This time, the tip of the whip split into three, carrying three water hammers the size of watermelons, smashing down towards her. This was likely an upgraded version of the "popular hammer."
Old Ba immediately retreated, avoiding two of the hammers, but was struck on the head by the third. After all, it was a water hammer, with limited power. It also dissipated into splashes of water. However, water does have mass, and according to e=mv, even though the water hammer was light, its speed when falling was very fast. Old Ba was dazed, and I even saw a yellow, strip-like object emerge from her pants.
"Wow! She pooped herself!" Zheng Bingbing exclaimed.
"Uh... it's probably a tail," I guessed. How could poop be so thick, wagging back and forth, and not fall off?
Old Ba retreated again, shaking her head. That large tail was also retracted.
"Admit defeat, you are no match for me," Mu Jige said with a light laugh.
Old Ba snorted coldly, holding the middle of her staff with both hands. Her wrists flicked, causing the staff to spin at high speed, like a propeller, whirring as it moved towards Mu Jige.
"What a move, 'The Big Windmill Goes Whirling Whirring!'" Zheng Bingbing clapped her hands.
"...Can you be quiet for a bit? What if she spins towards us later?"
Zheng Bingbing stuck out her tongue at me, then leaned on my shoulder, no longer chattering, and watched the fight intently.
Mu Jige continued to attack with water, but her consecutive attacks were all neutralized by the "big windmill."
I was anxious watching and couldn't help but remind her, "Above! Attack from above!"
"What?" Mu Jige couldn't hear clearly because of the loud noise of the big windmill.
"Her staff! No matter how she swings it! It's always in a two-dimensional plane! If she defends the front, she can't defend the top! If she defends the top, all four sides are exposed!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.
Mu Jige suddenly understood. She raised her left hand repeatedly, sending out wave after wave of water arrows, over a hundred in total. Using a high trajectory, they rained down on Old Ba. Seeing this, Old Ba quickly raised her big windmill.
But just as she was blocking the dense water arrow attack from above, Mu Jige's right hand shot out a straight water projectile. Old Ba couldn't dodge in time and was hit in the chest. Mu Jige's force was considerable, as the water projectile she shot out was as large as a yoga ball. Old Ba was knocked back several steps, landing on her buttocks with a thud, and her staff fell to the ground.
Mu Jige pressed her advantage, conjuring another, even larger water projectile and suspending it above Old Ba's head, held by two water lines, not yet falling.
"I yield! I yield! I yield!" Old Ba surrendered and rolled to the side, avoiding the spot where the water projectile would fall. Mu Jige did not attack again, instead retracting the water projectile and tossing it back into the reservoir.
It was over just like that?
Actually, Old Ba had not completely lost her fighting ability. In my estimation, she had only taken two water cannon blasts, and hadn't even sustained internal injuries. How could it be finished?
There was only one explanation: she wasn't desperate to fight Mu Jige to the death. Her mission was to pursue, and having found her but being unable to win, she simply took the opportunity to disengage and stop fighting.
I got out of the water, intending to check on Old Ba. Her monk's robe was soaked with water. This was the summer version of the robe, which was thinner. I was afraid she would catch a cold.
Just as I was about to go ashore, I suddenly heard a rustling sound from the distant cornfield again. And this time, it wasn't just one direction, but three, coming from three different directions!
"Are other demons coming?" I asked Mu Jige. She could sense them.
Mu Jige nodded, "Boss, Third, and Fourth."
Boss was the snake, Third was the tiger, and Fourth was the bear – the one whose ladder I had kicked away.
"Three of them, can you handle it?" I quickly asked. If not, we'd run again. The rustling was still some distance away.
Mu Jige smiled slightly, her expression confident, but her words humble, "I'll try."