Chereads / The Oni’s Blade / Chapter 34 - The Dragon River

Chapter 34 - The Dragon River

Before they reached the Forest Palace, they zipped through the forest, hoping to catch up to Shuku, whom they saw a glimpse of. Meanwhile, Seiji and Bōshi talked about something incredibly odd, the orphanages scattered about the Darklands region.

"Did you know? I did some research beforehand, and it seems like all the orphanages were funded by the Black Dragon Manor." Bōshi said as Seiji started the topic on the orphanages.

"Partially," Seiji replied, "Which is the reason why, at one point, when we enter one of the many domains of Shèngyuán Jīng, we will meet someone who was 'involved' in these orphanages as they were young," Seiji spoke, "Or, more so captured."

"And, as you might expect, the things we would've gone through in such an environment, he wouldn't want to speak about this to anyone."

"This 'someone' you speak of then… could he potentially be of great help to us?"

"Indeed he will. Even if I can't exactly look into the immediate future at will, or things fully or currently unrelated to me, the fact that I saw his face directly as I peered into the future means that he is going to be quite important to us."

Suddenly, the sound of a muffled yelp sounded from behind them, and the source of such a source came from the strange fellow with blonde hair who seemed like a crook, who came out of nowhere and attacked them, being dragged by the hair by Kyōji.

"Huh? Why have you started yelling all of a sudden?" Kyōji asked, "Do you want me to bury you alive?"

"Seiji… what's wrong with him?"

"…Hm. I'm not sure," Seiji replied, "He acted up almost as soon as the orphanages were mentioned, but… I don't yet know if he's related to them or not."

"Hm. Then, let's just bury him. He might not die, but we're busy, so that's the best punishment for attacking us off-guard." Bōshi said.

He then gestured to Kyōji and Hinote, who were already preparing to bury him in the ground. Meanwhile, Seiji had a peculiar feeling about him, as if he would be quite significant shortly.

•••

"…Hm."

Not so soon after the group had left, Elder Xiao was left in deep thought in his humble hut. From the tone of Bōshi, it was made abundantly clear that they wanted aid, especially to conquer the Black Dragon Manor for whatever reason.

But, the memories of his time as a "slave" for the 8th Orphanage, made him feel as if it would be bad if he were to ever return.

"What's on your mind, elder?"

Behind him appeared Lín Fēng, who had a rough idea of what he went through in his youth.

"…Nothing. I am just reminiscent of the past."

"…Don't worry. I'm sure his words have mixed up your thoughts. But, no matter what you choose to do, me and my brother will always protect you first."

"…Thank you. Now, I have a vague idea of how I should go about this."

"What is it?"

"How about… I decide on the roll of the dice. You still have that wooden dice I gave you before, right?"

"The dice? But, that's…!"

Elder Xiao raised his hand calmly.

"Be calm, Lín Fēng, and remember what I told you about that dice." Elder Xiao spoke before Lín Fēng quietly muttered,

"…The destiny of the lands is decided by the Elden Gods, who know all that there is to know, and decide what happens, and what will happen."

"Haha, you can recall it," Elder Xiao said, chuckling lightly, "This also applies to the dice. If the Elden Gods decide for me to go, so be it."

"So now, let's see what the Gods have decided for me."

•••

"What the hell is that?" Kyōji asked, referring to Azure, who rested upon Shuku's shoulder.

"A Wild Rose Beetle," Shuku replied, "I found while I was separated from you guys."

"So cool! It looks like a hybrid!" Hinote said, reaching out to touch Azure's head. But, as his hand neared it, Azure screeched and bit his hand.

"GAHH!" Hinote yelled as he felt a piercing stinging sensation that most people would have been warned about. Meanwhile, the others, and Nuru particularly, looked on in mild stupefaction.

"Ha… I knew this would happen," Rei muttered, "Hinote rarely even attends when we have to study, so he doesn't even know about the Wild Rose Beetle's stinging bite."

"Agh…" Hinote cried out, clutching his hand. His eyes watered up due to the pain, but he was able to resist it, for the most part.

"Huh…" Shuku spoke to Azure, "It seems you're much more useful than I thought."

"Also… we're here."

Since Shèngyuán Jīng was massive, even excluding the 161 Forest Palaces, due to the areas inhabited by beasts, the way tourists and travellers found their way out was by the "Dragon Rivers", smaller rivers which had split from the Qīnglóng Jiāng, a great river that led through the Eternal Nation.

And thankfully, since the use of the Dragon Rivers was widely known, there were a few smallish boats and vessels nearby, each fitting around ten or so people. But, oddly enough, the boats had scratches and gashes on them, and one of them was even broken in half.

"Alright! Let's finally set sail towards the Darklands region!" Nuru declared.

"Hold on. Before we get on the boats, I have to warn you all," Lilac spoke, "There are a multitude of river beasts that lie deep in the Qīnglóng Jiāng, some of which have most certainly fallen into some of the Dragon Rivers. We shouldn't relax just yet."

"Of course! I wasn't planning to," Kyōji replied, "But, what kind of beasts can be found in the water?"

"You may not have heard of such beasts."

"Why not?" Bōshi asked.

"That is because, many thousands of years ago, a desolate continent once called the Root World, now lost to time and the 'Fog of Mystery', created 'astral anchors' to the Eastern Continent and ravaged it for centuries. A long while after, in a twist of fate, they were engulfed instead, and the beasts that remained on the Eastern Continent eventually converged to the Eternal Nation, as that was where a God's presence, the Life Nurturer, was felt most clearly."

"So, it's because these beasts are from a forgotten continent, huh?" Kyōji said, "Then, they must be stronger than normal river beasts."

Nuru nodded and spoke as he got into the boat, replying to Kyōji as he said,

"So what? We're all strong enough to fight off a few river beasts anyway, right? Plus, most of the river beasts from the 'Root World Continent' should either be dead, or deep asleep. The strongest river beast in the Dragon River should just be the ordinary ones, like the Seaflower Niles or the Redroot Tentacles."

As Nuru revealed they had little to worry about at all, they confidently hopped onto the nearby boat. But, little did they know of the many beasts, ordinary, but hungry, lingering around for another free meal down below.