Chapter 63: Water Monkey, Water Ghost, Wuzhiqi!

Ah-Gang pulled along a villager the entire way, his saliva flying everywhere. "Let's not talk about the money just yet. Where is your pond? How big is it? Let me take a look first!"

Turning his head and seeing that Liu Haizhu was still standing there, he shouted, "What are you dazing off for? Come with me, it's guaranteed profit today!"

The fellow turned his head toward Ying-Si, wanting to bring her along.

"You go on ahead."

Luo Yingsi pointed at her younger sister, who was still sleeping in the car, and said softly, "Come get me when you guys are done."

"Alright!"

Liu Haizhu flashed her a smile and eagerly followed along.

***

By the edge of the fish pond,

Ah-Gang smoked a cigarette and said with a melancholic expression, "Old Hu, we spoke on the phone before coming here. You told me your pond was around ten acres. Now that I'm here—what the hell, take a look at this. Are you trying to trick a ghost?"

"Oh, come on, look at what you're saying."

The fish pond owner, known as Old Hu, was as sly as they come. With a roll of his eyes, he came up with another excuse, "There was a massive flood a few years ago, and I rebuilt it afterward. Seven or eight acres—seven or eight acres for sure."

Ah-Gang waved a hand dismissively. "Let's drop the pleasantries. Are you certain no one's ever stocked or messed with this fish pond?"

"Absolutely not!"

Old Hu patted his chest, making a solemn guarantee. "Look, our village chief is right here, ask him!"

Ah-Gang rolled his eyes. "What the hell am I gonna ask him for? It's less than ten acres total, so five thousand yuan is definitely too much. My parents are farmers too, so I'm not going to rip you off today."

"Zhu-Zi, let's go!"

Liu Haizhu crossed his arms and smiled, playing along as if he were about to leave.

"Hey, don't go, don't go."

Old Hu stepped forward, grabbed the tall and sturdy Ah-Gang by the arm, and chuckled dryly, "How about this? The agreed price of five thousand stays the same, but I'll hook you up with four large water pumps. The horsepower is extremely strong! I'll have the water drained for you in two hours. And no matter how many fish come out, whatever you make is yours, and I won't say another word. How about that?"

Hearing this, Ah-Gang paused in his tracks. "Give it to me straight—are there many fish in your pond?"

"Several thousand pounds, easily!"

Old Hu stared wide-eyed and bragged shamelessly, "Once you haul them up, leave aside anything else—our whole village alone can buy you out."

"That's right, that's right,"

The village chief chimed in from the side, "Handsome, for the good catch you haul up, I'll even call in a cook for you, complete with pots, pans, tables, and benches. Just add two more hundred yuan, and I'll get you a jar of aged liquor. Right here by the pond edge, we'll string up some electric lights and throw you a wild picnic. What a gorgeous little vibe that would be."

Ah-Gang smiled. "Heh, you've got all the cleverness in the world, don't you?"

Even though he said that, his heart was itching. Since he had already come all this way, he had to get a kick out of it one way or another, right?

Without missing a beat, he replied, "Make it fifty-two hundred, is that final?"

The village chief guaranteed, "Deal!"

Old Hu's eyes crinkled with laughter. "That works, that works!"

***

He knew his own business best—there was something wrong with this big pond!

Rumors had it that,

When people went out to work in the fields, they had seen a dark shadow skimming across the surface of the water!

It was terrifying, looking just like a small child!

Furthermore,

This pond was exceptionally deep.

On top of that, he hadn't managed it much or raised fish in it over the past two years, so Old Hu himself couldn't say for sure what the exact situation was!

***

Ah-Gang pulled Liu Haizhu aside and whispered for a long time. Eventually, the two buddies pooled together fifty-two hundred yuan and handed it to Old Hu.

The latter didn't break his promise either.

In less than ten minutes, two walking tractors came rumbling over, hauling four large water pumps that were soon set up along the edge of the pond.

"Clatter-clatter-clatter..."

Four columns of water surged out from three directions. Liu Haizhu squatted at the edge of the pond with a cigarette dangling from his lips, watching the spectacle with bright eyes.

This pond was massive.

After finishing a cigarette, he strolled along the pond bank. Before long, he had walked over a hundred meters away.

Suddenly,

The fellow felt the mud on the embankment grow loose.

Following that,

Liu Haizhu felt a terrifying sensation: a pale, furry little hand reached out from the depths of the fish pond and grabbed his ankle with lightning speed, violently pulling him down!

*Splash!*

A small ripple,

And before Liu Haizhu could even cry out, he had vanished beneath the surface.

***

Meanwhile, up by the fish pond,

A crowd of villagers was gathered, and the atmosphere was lively.

There were simply too many people.

Not a single person noticed that someone had just disappeared like that.

***

Underwater,

More than ten meters deep!

The fellow abruptly snapped his eyes open!

He was panicking; he had been terrified of water since he was a child!

Whenever Hao-Zi and Xiao-Le played around in the reservoir, he could only sit on the bank and watch over their clothes.

Plenty of people had tried to teach him how to swim,

But no matter how he tried, the moment this fellow entered the water, he sank straight to the bottom like a lead weight, tumbling all the way down.

Without a single exception.

Besides, Liu Haizhu had been dragged a long distance away from the bank by this inexplicable entity!

With both feet sunk deep into the pond's muddy bottom, Liu Haizhu forced himself to calm down, trying to recall the direction of the bank.

Right at that moment,

He suddenly heard a sharp, hurried sound echoing from the deep water!

...What the hell!

Liu Haizhu suddenly felt that he really hadn't checked the lunar calendar before going out today. If he had, it surely would have read: Unfavorable for going out today; peril by water awaits!

***

*Whoosh!*

That thing was getting closer.

Two streams of bubbles burst from Liu Haizhu's nostrils...

He finally saw it clearly!!!

It was a damn water monkey!

(Note: The water monkey, also known as Wuzhiqi, is a water monster in Chinese mythology. It has the shape of an ape, a flat nose, a protruding forehead, a white head and a green body, possesses strength exceeding nine elephants, and can stir up wind and waves in the water!)

The fellow instantly flew into a rage!

Damn it, you mere little water monkey, how dare you act so insolent in front of me, your iron monkey grandfather?!

Underwater, Liu Haizhu reacted with extreme speed!

Seeing that thing getting closer and closer, he threw a punch with a *boom*, carrying the force of the water right at it!

Who would have thought that the water monkey was also nimble in the water? Just as the blow was about to land, it abruptly halted its momentum, swooped around, and darted right behind Liu Haizhu's back.

Listening to the muffled *thud-thud-thud* of the water currents in his ears,

Liu Haizhu's chest felt tightly compressed. Without even looking, he spun around and grabbed blindly behind him!

*Rip!*

The water monkey didn't hold back at all, driving its razor-sharp nails straight through the palm of his hand!

*Hiss!*

The pain made Liu Haizhu's eyes bulge out of his head. He converted his open palm into a fist and, using his pierced hand, fiercely grabbed the water monkey's wrist!

Staring at it with a death glare!!!

Wisps of blood, mixed with violently churning water currents, stood out with startling clarity in the dim depths of the water!

***

Up on the pond's surface,

Someone finally noticed that something was amiss.

The commotion in the water was simply too massive! The villagers grew worried that someone had accidentally fallen in!

Yet Old Hu grabbed onto the villagers for dear life, refusing to let them enter the water, and cried out with a weeping voice, "Fellow villagers, you can't go down there! I'm begging you!"

Luo Yingsi rushed over. She glanced at the dazed Ah-Gang and quickly slipped off her outer jacket.

Ah-Gang stared at her in blank bewilderment. "What are you doing?!"

Right at that moment,

A violent disturbance suddenly erupted from within the water!

Following that,

Liu Haizhu burst straight up toward the surface, his hand locked in a death grip around the immensely powerful water monkey!

*Clack-clack-clack-clack...*

In just a fraction of a second! Gunshots suddenly rang out through the air!!!

The water monkey clutched in Liu Haizhu's grip instantly gained nine bloody holes in its head.

What was even more unbelievable was the marksmanship... Every single shot hit the wretched creature squarely in the center of its forehead, all piercing through the exact same hole.

In that very instant,

Liu Haizhu looked down at the water monkey in his hand in absolute shock, then looked over at the pond bank, where Luo Yingsi stood with an expression of utter calm.

Suddenly, a wave of profound terror washed over him.

He opened his mouth to cry for help, but with a loud glug, he plunged straight back down into the water pond!