"Liusha River, huh!" Lin Fang muttered to himself.
He looked around carefully. He hadn't seen the Liusha River yet, but since the Little Fox said so, he estimated it couldn't be too far off. The thought of soon meeting the last member of the Journey to the West group filled Lin Fang with a bit of excitement.
"I've heard others say that there's a magical and ferocious river there. Without the Art of Flying Crossing, it's impossible to cross," said the Little Fox, recalling the information he had gotten with a worried expression, clearly aware that he didn't know the Art of Flying Crossing.
A warm hand was placed on his head, rubbing his ears vigorously, as Lin Fang said with a gentle smile, "Don't be scared, there's always a way to resolve difficulties. Just take it step by step."
As they continued their journey, they saw a group of rats carrying bundles, fleeing from the West as if they were humans.
The leading rat, running too fast, bumped into the Little Fox's leg and cried out in pain.
Upon looking up and seeing the Little Fox, the rat was so scared that it begged on its knees, "Please spare my life, Your Majesty. My insignificant self had no eyes to see and offended Your Majesty. I beg for your mercy."
The rat's plea was standard, earnest, and genuine, clearly being one of the constant surrender kind.
Although this wasn't the first time Lin Fang had seen such a sight, he still found the scene quite comical. A bunch of rats performing actions like humans—it gave off an unreal feeling.
"Where are you dragging your families off to, huh? Aren't you afraid of being eaten by wild beasts along the way with those tiny bodies of yours?" asked the Little Fox, full of suspicion.
Clearly, these Rat Demons did not have the luck of the Great Sage of the Yellow Wind; therefore, they were quite weak, and it was likely that even the less fierce beasts in the mountains could kill them. That's why the Little Fox had such a question.
However, this question made the Rat Demons burst into tears, wearing expressions of utter despair.
"If it were possible to live, who would choose to leave their homeland? The dangers on the road are numerous, but to stay at home is a dead end. We are fleeing for our lives," wailed the Rat Demon.
Upon hearing this, both the Little Fox and Lin Fang furrowed their brows—clearly, the road ahead was going to be tumultuous.
"Explain the reason in detail, we were just planning to head West," the Little Fox hurriedly asked.
"We've lived by the Riverside of Liusha River for I don't know how many generations, living in peace. But at some point, a Liusha River Water Monster arrived. It wouldn't just occasionally climb out of the river to consume people; it also captured us Little Demons to work for it."
"That's quite normal, isn't it? How can we, Little Demons, survive in these times without pledging loyalty to a powerful Demon King? It shouldn't be a reason to flee with your families in tow," said the Little Fox.
"Ah, you don't understand. If it was just making us work, that would have been one thing, but it's plainly sending us to our deaths. The Liusha River is tremendously perilous, not even a goose feather can float on it, yet the Water Monster forces us to search for Colored Glaze Fragments in the river's quicksand. The river is so vast, how could we possibly find fragments of a broken Colored Glaze Lamp inside it? Yet the Water Monster is relentless, brutally killing those who fail to find the pieces. In just a few years, he's nearly wiped out all the Monsters in the vicinity and has now expanded his territory. We had no choice but to flee East," explained the Rat Demon thoroughly, leaving the Little Fox trembling with fear, wondering why the road to find relatives was so treacherous.
Looking up at Lin Fang, the Little Fox saw that he, too, appeared to be deep in thought.
"If you continue eastward for a few more days, you'll come across a place called Huangfeng Peak, where a Great Sage of the Yellow Wind lives, who is also a Rat Demon. You should be able to find shelter there, but I still advise you to live somewhere far from the Huangfeng Cave," said Lin Fang, breaking his silence.
Upon hearing this, the Rat Demon asked with an unexpectedly joyous expression, "Is that legendary Great Sage of the Yellow Wind really one of our kind? So, our Rat Demons can have such a powerful presence too."
It is known that rats, as relatively weaker animals, have a low probability of transforming into monsters, and even fewer become a Demon King. Therefore, one can only imagine the surprise and delight upon hearing that such an influential figure existed.
Lin Fang nodded slightly, but thought to himself that if the Great Sage of the Yellow Wind had not stolen Buddha's oil lamp, it would have been impossible to achieve his current form, since most of the world's precious cultivation resources are in the hands of these powerful beings.
After receiving assurance from Lin Fang, the Rat Demon said goodbye happily, leading his family confidently towards Huangfeng Peak.
"Brother Lin Fang, so the Great Sage of the Yellow Wind really is a Rat Spirit. How did you know?" Little Fox wore a puzzled expression.
Considering the Divine Skills of the Great Sage of the Yellow Wind, who had never revealed his origins, none of the monsters around knew his true identity. The knowledge that Lin Fang possessed only added layers of mystery about him, leaving the Little Fox unable to see him clearly.
Lin Fang chuckled and said, "That's a secret."
Seeing his mischievous demeanor, Little Fox huffed, turned her head away, and stopped paying attention to this high-minded figure who had fallen from grace, only knowing how to bully little monsters like her.
"But what about this Liusha River, with such a ferocious water monster? Let's not be caught and forced into hard labor," lamented Little Fox, bereft of ideas. Having offended the Great Sage of the Yellow Wind, and now faced with a fearsome water monster blocking their path, they were truly caught between a rock and a hard place.
Turning around, she saw Lin Fang still wearing a smile, seemingly unfazed by the situation, which made her stamp her foot and say, "You're still laughing. A little monster like me might end up as forced labor and maybe survive, but you, a member of the Human Clan, would probably be caught and turned into a fine meal."
Because Lin Fang had never shown any signs of Demon Qi, even to this point, Little Fox believed he was merely a kindly young Daoist priest.
"No worries, I'm pretty tough. That water monster probably can't chew through me," Lin Fang replied brimming with confidence, apparently not worried.
Watching his unreliable behavior, Little Fox sighed softly, suddenly feeling as if her future was shrouded in darkness. However, at this point, she had no other choice but to follow.
As they continued with Lin Fang, it took less than half a day before they heard the rushing sounds echoing through the mountains, and her heart leaped—Liusha River must be near if she wasn't mistaken.
Progressing along the mountain path, they soon saw a vast river come into view.
The turbid river flowed endlessly, with colossal waves crashing against the cliffs on both shores, producing a tremendous roar. A bird flew across the sky and upon nearing the surface of the water, it plunged immediately into the river, which tumultuously swallowed up its form.
Neither Lin Fang nor his companion had seen such a ferocious river before, and they were stunned by the sight before them.
"Is this Liusha River? It's so perilous. How are we going to cross it?" The bewildered Little Fox muttered to herself, completely at a loss.
"Hey, there seems to be a stele over there," Lin Fang noticed, spotting a stele covered by wild grass not far away.
The two of them hurried over, brushing aside the wild grass to reveal indeed an ancient stele, upon which were engraved three large characters: Liusha River, followed by four lines of smaller text: The Eight Hundred Liusha Domains, The Three Thousand Weak Water Depths. Goose feathers float not, reed flowers surely sink.
Those few sentences spoke of the dangers of Liusha River, truly a natural barrier that had long been difficult to cross.
Little Fox looked at the raging waters with a face of despair.
In that moment, however, there was a disturbance in the water. A monster leapt out of the river, brawny and ferocious in appearance, wielding a Treasure Staff, with nine skulls hanging around his neck—it was the Liusha River Water Monster, the fearsome Curtain-Lifting General turned Monk Sha, cast down to the Mortal World.
As Monk Sha spotted Lin Fang and his companion, his eyes glinted menacingly. Without differentiating between friend or foe, he charged at them, raising his Treasure Staff to strike at their heads.