By the banks of the Yellow River, Ma Guniang, dressed in blue, looked somewhat indifferent. She seemed uninterested in Qin Yue’s words, her eyes fixed solely on the opera stage.
“Has something been passing through the river lately?”
Although it wasn't the flood season, the current in the center of the river was still turbulent. On the rocky beach along the banks, one could still see faint traces of lingering ghostly energy.
It was very thin, but it was there.
—Furthermore, with such a large opera stage set up, what kind of legitimate troupe would build one right by the Yellow River?
The stage didn't even face the audience; instead, it stood directly toward the Yellow River. It was as if the opera wasn't being performed for humans at all.
“Starting from last month, many traces of large, unidentified biological entities have appeared successively in the nearby Yellow River basin. According to our investigation, these creatures are likely a type of large aquatic organism that has always lived in the Yellow River.
“These creatures are exceptionally sensitive to light and sound, so we plan to lure and capture them. This is the content of the second trial.”
Qin Yue’s eyes flickered as she spoke honestly, though she remained silent about the true purpose of the Yellow River Trial.
“Did Senior Ma notice something?”
“What is in the water is not a demon; it is a ghost formed after a spirit dies.”
Ma Guniang spoke lazily:
“Spiritual pulses are mostly hidden deep underground. Currently, as the spiritual energy rises and dissolves into the water, the first to be affected are the fish and beasts in the rivers and lakes.
“If the corpse of some spirit falls into the river and isn't lucky enough to be retrieved, the body will be nurtured by spiritual energy, remaining unrotted. After eight or ten years, the soul will transform into a ghost-demon and come ashore to cause trouble.
“These things eat humans and they eat demons. But they like excitement, they love eating raw sheep liver, and they are afraid of willow stakes stained with dog blood. If you want to catch one alive, set a trap on the ground...”
As she spoke, Ma Guniang suddenly remembered something. She raised an eyebrow and smiled.
“What’s the fun in catching them on land? Go cut a few stalks of bamboo; I’ll fish a few up for you to play with—”
No matter how weak a ghost-demon was, it was still a red-named monster that could provide experience points and spiritual energy clusters!
She could enjoy the spectacle, but she couldn't forget her business.
Fishing for ghost-demons with a bamboo pole?
Qin Yue’s first thought was that it sounded absurd.
They had previously captured a slightly smaller unidentified creature that was a full nine meters long and stood as tall as a four-story building.
That thing had four hooves, the head of an ox, the face of a monkey, and was covered in shaggy red fur. It was invulnerable to blades and spears; even bullets only left white marks on its hide.
In the end, they had used a cage made of refined steel and liquid nitrogen bombs to flash-freeze it, slowing its movements before they finally managed to capture it alive.
Yet Ma Guniang said that with just a thin bamboo pole, she could fish that thing out of the Yellow River?
It wasn't scientific.
Fortunately, Qin Yue had already grown accustomed to Ma Guniang’s whimsical requests over the past few days. Without showing any emotion, she immediately ordered someone to prepare it.
...
Just as Qin Yue finished giving her instructions, she looked up and saw a man and a woman walking toward the opera stage.
It was Lyu Dongfang of the Lyu family and Hu Manni of the Ma family.
—Qin Yue was one of the people in charge of this exchange assembly, so she had an impression of every contestant.
Qin Yue didn't even need to say anything. Before the two could get close, the plainclothes officers scattered around the perimeter immediately stepped forward. One on each side, they unceremoniously took hold of the two and led them away.
“Here for the exchange assembly? Lost? Come, come, this way.”
“Please wait outside the yellow line. There is an emergency here; we ask for your understanding.”
Lyu Dongfang had originally intended to come over and give a proper greeting. When he saw Qin Yue give a look and two plainclothes officers immediately came up to lead him and Hu Manni away, he became unhappy on the spot.
“No, why is this Qin woman so overbearing? Even if she’s with the authorities, this assembly wasn't opened just for her, was it?
“I was just going over to say hello. Is it necessary to guard against me like I’m a thief?”
Lyu Dongfang’s feet grew heavy, and he rooted himself firmly to the ground like an ox stuck in mud. Four burly plainclothes officers used every ounce of strength they had, but they couldn't move him an inch.
Beside him, Hu Manni could tell at a glance that these were government people, so she didn't dare to strike. Her eyes swept over Qin Yue again and again, her confusion deepening.
Strong blood energy, a steady gait, and a restrained aura—she was clearly a skilled martial artist.
But she shouldn't be so cautious that she wouldn't even let someone speak to her, right?
Unless the person they were protecting was someone else.
Hu Manni’s eyes blinked, and she suddenly looked thoughtfully at the woman in blue sitting below the stage, focused on the opera.
With just one look, she shivered and instinctively reached out to tug at her cousin, Lyu Dongfang.
Lyu Dongfang, however, was completely oblivious. He puffed out his chest proudly and threw a provocative glance at Qin Yue.
Is that all?
The people from your Special Investigation Section aren't that impressive after all!
The outsiders talk about you like you're something miraculous.
Qin Yue’s fist clenched behind her back, the knuckles popping, but she didn't make a move. She simply let the men disperse calmly and continued with the mission.
A layman watches for the excitement, while an expert watches for the technique.
Lyu Dongfang truly lived up to his reputation as the most outstanding young man of this generation in the Lyu family. Although he was a bit arrogant, that move just now proved his skills were solid.
Several off-road vehicles stopped on the road nearby, and a group of young people got out. Seeing the scene, one immediately whistled.
“That’s the Lyu family’s Weight Child Skill!”
“Of course. The Yellow River Lyu family started out by operating sheepskin rafts on the river. When it comes to stance work, few in Great Xia can beat the Weight Child Skill.”
“Isn't that Lyu Dongfang? How did he run into Qin Yue?”
“Who is that woman in blue? I haven't seen her before.”
“Hiss... she looks like she came down from Longhu Mountain, or maybe Maoshan. They’re the only ones who love wearing those strange, ancient clothes. Very easy to recognize.”
“People can come down from Longhu Mountain now? Didn't they say they wouldn't get involved this time?”
“They said they wouldn't get involved, and you actually believed them?”
As the group whispered among themselves, Qin Yue felt the veins on her forehead throb. Although they were keeping their voices down, who could guarantee Ma Guniang wouldn't hear them?
In an instant, her first impression of Lyu Dongfang hit rock bottom.
“The Special Investigation Section is currently on a mission. Please excuse us.”
Qin Yue used two sentences to shut down whatever Lyu Dongfang was going to say next. “Your performance on-site will also be recorded in your trial results. I hope you will consider your actions carefully.”
With the situation unfolding, the other officials in charge, who had already received word, hurried over with their staff. Following the assembly's procedures, they announced the content of the second trial tonight:
Yellow River Night Opera.
All participants in the second trial must arrive at the rocky beach by 1:30 AM tonight to watch the opera.
Yes, the content was simply to watch the opera.
At 1:30 AM, with the north wind howling, they were to sit on the desolate, rocky beach and watch people perform an opera.
The faces of many people turned somewhat pale.
Anyone born by the water knew that this river was sinister.
Take the Lanzhou section of the Yellow River since the 1960s, for example. In about eighty kilometers of water, at least ten thousand floating corpses have surfaced, and that number is still increasing every year.
There weren't just many corpses in the Yellow River; there were plenty of other strange things too.
Rate on N.U.
