Since I have already decided to help them, I need to understand the situation of that water monster in detail. After my careful inquiry, I learned that the range of activities of that water creature is very large and almost the entire river is its territory. It is everywhere, and as long as there are living people around, it will appear at any time.
Of course, that ghostly thing seems to particularly hate people from Lu's family ditch, so it operates around the section of the river near Lu's family ditch.
One issue caught my attention: although there are other villages upstream and downstream of Lu's family ditch, this water monster has never attacked people from other villages; it only targets those from Lu's family ditch.
This made me curious because my intuition told me that something was not simple here.
At this point, I suddenly remembered the red-dressed girl who appeared on the river surface earlier. Then I asked Uncle Lu: "Uncle, it seems like this water monster isn't alone; it appears to have companions such as that red-dressed girl. Who is she? Do you know her?"
Upon hearing my words, Uncle Lu and his men fell silent for a moment before exchanging glances with each other. Finally Uncle Lu spoke up: "That's my daughter Xiao Ping. She was killed by that monster and now seems to have become its puppet. Ahh...this beast violates heaven and earth; its evil knows no bounds! I must tear out its heart and lungs then chop it into pieces!"
"He didn't tell us everything," YunQingYue said casually.
"I'm not stupid," I replied briefly before turning back to Uncle Lu: "Well then if things are like this then clearly this creature isn't simple - perhaps besides brutal strength maybe even some cultivation skills too? We need more planning for this."
Hearing what I said caused Uncle Lu's eyes light up slightly as he lowered his voice and said to me: "Don't worry, little master. This monster has already crossed us; as long as we haven't all died yet, it won't give up easily. Moreover, during this period of time, I have also discovered a suspicious point - that monster seems to be very afraid of us going upstream. Every time we go upstream, it frequently comes out to attack us. Therefore, my plan is to directly go upstream and lure it out to attack us. At that time, with your help on the side and our cooperation together, I believe we can kill that monster! If you need any weapons or equipment for this mission then don't hesitate to pick whatever you want from our boat."
"I don't need any weapons," I replied calmly. "You guys follow your plan; when the opportunity arises I will act accordingly. Don't worry though - I will do my best to help you.
When he saw that I agreed, Lu Dakun couldn't help but feel excited. He quickly thanked me and asked, 'So, Little Master, how can we repay you for helping us?'
'I don't-' I was about to say that I didn't need any repayment when I thought of YunQingYue's situation. Unable to resist, I said to him: 'Well, actually it's just that I can't stand seeing monsters harming people and wanted to do the right thing. Of course, if you really want to thank me after this is over, you could help me with a small favor.'
'Little Master,' Lu Dakun replied eagerly. 'As long as it's something we can do, we won't hesitate.'
'There isn't much to it,' I said. 'I might need your help finding someone in this river later on - or maybe not even a person; at this point, I'm not sure yet. When the time comes and the location is confirmed though, then I'll let you know.'
'Okay,' Lu Dakun readily agreed with my request.
With nothing else left to do after finishing their drinks and fish soup meal together everyone prepared for rest.
The night was deep dark; Lu Dakun and his men slept soundly in their cabin while someone stood guard at the bow of the boat. As for myself? Well they had arranged a small compartment complete with bedding and pillows for me but try as hard as i could sleep eluded me so i got up instead asking fourth watchman lu laosi for a cigarette before sitting down beside him at the bow smoking away while chatting.
"Uncle," i began softly amidst gentle waves lapping against our vessel under cover of darkness "have any of your loved ones been killed by that monster?"
Lu Laosi took another drag from his cigarette before answering mournfully "My eldest son went drinking by the river last year and never came back. They couldn't even find his body."
His words weighed heavily on my heart as he continued "He was a good boy, almost finished with junior high school and ready to go to the city for senior high when this happened. You think I wouldn't hate that monster? When Big Brother said he wanted to organize a team to kill it, I was the first one who signed up. I don't want money or rewards; I don't even care about my own life - all i want is for that demon to die!"
I felt a deep sadness wash over me at Lu Laosi's words and couldn't help but ask him: "But how did that water demon come here in the first place? There wasn't anything like it around here before, right?
Before, there was none," Lu Laosi said. "I don't know where it came from, but it suddenly appeared. It must be some evil thing that has been cultivated into a monster, so we have to kill it. Otherwise, who knows how many people will be killed by it in the future."
"Uncle is right," I nodded and then casually asked, "Is Xiaoping really Kun's daughter?"
"Hmm?" Hearing my question, Lu Laosi hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying: "Yes."
"When did she die? Why did she become the puppet of that monster?" I continued to ask.
"Well...she died last year or maybe two years ago." Lu Laosi hesitated with his words. "As for why she became a puppet, I don't know what happened."
"Did she ever team up with that monster against you guys before?" I frowned and asked.
"Nope. She rarely showed up and only appeared when the monster was about to be killed by us. We didn't know if she was dead or alive when she floated up from the river. She liked playing her flute; even when alive." Lu Laosi explained.
"I see...so it seems like she hasn't completely turned bad yet," I nodded and thought of another question: "By the way Uncle, what was that light ball you used against the monster? It seemed quite unique."
"That's called Chicken Egg Night Luminous Stone; indeed a very special item. We don't have this kind of thing here; Big Brother accidentally found it somewhere years ago and has kept it with him ever since then." Lu Laosi introduced me to its name.
"It looks like this thing might be composed of some radioactive elements which could cause cancer if exposed too much," I said as someone who had already started middle school with some knowledge on physics concepts at hand while listening to what he had said. Therefore, I couldn't help but feel that this Chicken Egg Night Luminous Stone was somewhat strange.