Chapter 589: Hold the Rock and Jump into the River


    Time flew fast. It seemed summer had arrivedinjusttheblink of an eye.


    Ru Xue took Li Meng and his one-year-old sister Nianchu to her mothers ce. Li Mazi took the chance and persistently asked me out for a walk.


    As I was afraid that he would lose his mind if he kept staying home, I agreed to travel with him. We took the chance to travel to rural areas. Every day, we drove through mountains and fields. When we felt tired, we would find a lodge to stay the night and get something to eat.


    The days were strenuous, but wesawcountless beautifulsights. We had spent an entire week exploring the countryside.Whenthere was nothing else to see, we went home.


    Im not satisfied. I want to travel more! Li Mazi nagged and insisted. I had to follow him.


    Since we hadnt brought a lot of money and we had camped outside for a few days in a row, we felt tired. We decided to drive to the nearest town to find a good hotel to rest. Wehad towithdraw some money. Otherwise, wewould have toinhalethe Northeastern wind to fill our stomachs


    When we passed by a vige, Li Mazi suddenly stopped. He stuck out his tongue like a thirsty, big hound. LittleBrother Zhang, we should visit that vige to ask for some water.My throat isburning.


    Knowing him, if I didnt let himhavethe water, he wouldntstop talking. Moreover, it was scorching hot today. I couldnt endure the thirst, either. I nodded in agreement.


    Before we entered the vige, a vastfieldof green watermelons came to our sights. Li Mazi had tiny stars twinkling in his eyes. He directlywent overand picked a watermelon. Then, he wolfedit down.


    I felt awkward. I wishedthat people wouldnte over and beat himfor being awatermelon thief!


    Fortunately, no one was watching the field. I found shadeunder atree and sat down to take a lookat thisvige.


    The vige was encircled with rows of green trees. To the East, I saw a small river, which aroused my interest. I wanted to go therefor aswim.


    LittleBrother Zhang,e eat watermelon! Li Mazi quickly finished one watermelon. He took two more and handed me one.


    Nah, Im not eating now. You can have more! Afterward, we should go swimming!


    Then, I went to the riverbank. Li Mazi was interested inswimmingin the river, too. He tookoff hisshirt and wanted to jump into the river before me.


    As a routine, I checked the river first to see how deep it could be. The waters were strangely calm. I didnt see even a ripple or a small fish swimming there. It looked as though it was a pool of stagnant water. It was strange. Instinctively, I grabbed Li Mazis arm before he could jump into the water.


    Bro, whats wrong?


    Hold on, this river doesnt look right. I rubbed my eyes and forcefully opened my Yin and Yang Eyes. Then, I observed the river one more time.


    I gasped at first nce. The river didnt look deep, but it had ayer of hazy ck fog above.


    Usually, river water under the hot sunlight would evaporate and release steam. However, as I was standing on the riverbank, I could feel the cold air from the depths of the river.


    Li Mazi saw my stern face.In a ginger voice, he said,This river sure feels strange now that youmentionit.


    It seems weve gota new task to do. Lets gettothe vige to ask! Then, I turned towardthe vige. There was something in the river for sure.


    I could haveignoredit, butif I could help these vigers, my karma would improve.Thatwaswhy Icouldntjust leave!


    After a few steps, I suddenly heard rapid footsteps. I turned to look. On the opposite side, a man wearing a red vestjumpedinto the river. He sank immediately.


    My swimming skillswerentgood enough. I had to send Li Mazi to take a look.Hedidntreply andresponded by taking off his shoes, readyto jump in. I hurriedly grabbed him and put some soil into his mouth before letting him jump into the river.


    The water in the riverhad a pureYin attribute, and so was the soil. With the soil in his mouth, Li Mazi could adapt easily to the water. At least, he wouldnt drown himself with the other manifhe couldnt save him.


    Gosh! The water is so cold! Li Mazi paled as soon as he jumped into the water.


    He noisilyined, then divedinto the area the other man had jumped in. I stood on the riverbankand watched. I wassweating.


    Fortunately, Li Mazi quickly found the manwearing the redvest, and he was strong enough to pullhimup. However, it was strange that every time the mans head wentover the water, he soon sank backdown. It looked like somethingwasdragginghim down.


    Whats going on?


    Im afraid theres a water ghost!


    Li Mazi waved his hand. No, I dont think so. He continued to grope around. After a long time, he finallyliftedthe man to the riverbank.


    Li Mazi spat the water then cursed, Holymoly, that guy didnt want to live anymore. He jumped into the river with a rock! If Ihadnt beenstrong enough to take the rock from him, I would have drownedtoo.


    I was bewilderedand lookedat the unconscious man. I pushed on his chest a few times to make him vomit water.


    We got him as soon as he jumped into the water, so his life wasnt threatened. After he vomitedwater, he slowly woke up.


    With aconfusedface, his look shifted from the river to us. Then, he stooped and wept.


    I couldnt stand itwhen womencried,let alone an adult man! I turned my head aside in disgust.


    Li Maziwas panting. He spat and cursed,You are a big man. What burdenisweighingyour heart? You wanted to kill yourself and now you are crying. If I had known that before, I wouldnt have saved you


    You thought I wanted to kill myself?! The manin the redvest tried to suppress his anger when Li Mazi scoffed at him. His voice turned aggressive.


    I knew therewasastory behind this. My upational intuition surged. I reacted andsaid, Did you encountersomethingfoul?


    Iknew I wasbeing hasty. Before I had time tocorrectmy words, the man nodded then sobbed louder.


    Im Zhang Henshui, and I live in this vige. These days, I have beenlistless. Isleepfor more than twelve hours a day, but it isnt enough. At first, I thought I was so worn out because of the farming work. I didnt pay attention to it.This morning, I heard a voice in my head. Someone was urging me.I thought that I had sleptsomuch that my headwasmuddled. I took a shovel and left the house. I wanted to go to workonmy rice paddy fieldsbut when Iwentthere, the voice in my head grew louder. It asked me to go to the riverbank! I followed the voice to the riverbank to see what was there. As soon as I got to the riverbank, I felt a cold wind and lost consciousness afterward.


    I frowned.It seemedhed really encountered something foul. Isanything elsehappeningin your family these days?


    No, everything is fine. Theres only one thing:I always feel so tired after sleeping, more tired than working in the field. Sometimes, yinbed butfeeleven wearier than walking a hundred kilometers. When Igetup, my entire bodyfeelsso sore that Icantevengetoff the bed Zhang Henshui blurted without thinking. It seemed he had experienced these things for a long time.


    But to me, his situation was more like sleep-walking. I still wasnt sure if something foulwaspesteringhim, so I wanted to ask him if anyone else in his family had the same sleep-walking incidents.


    Before I could ask, hestarted telling usaboutanother event!