By the Yellow River, Ma Guniang, dressed in green robes, looked somewhat distracted, seemingly uninterested in Qin Yue's words. Her eyes were fixed solely on the opera stage.
“Has something been passing through this river recently?”
Although it wasn't the flood season, the current in the middle of the river was still swift, and faint traces of lingering ghostly energy could still be seen on the gravel beach along the banks.
It was very faint, but it was certainly there.
Besides, with such a massive opera stage erected, what normal troupe would set one up right by the Yellow River?
Furthermore, the stage didn't even face an audience; instead, it stood directly facing the Yellow River. Unless, of course, this opera wasn't meant for human ears.
“Starting from last month, traces of many large unidentified organisms have appeared one after another in the nearby Yellow River basin. According to our investigations, these creatures are highly likely to be a type of large aquatic organism that has always lived in the Yellow River. This type of creature is extremely sensitive to light and sound, so we plan to lure and capture them. This is the content of the second round of the trial.”
Qin Yue's eyes flickered as she spoke honestly, though she remained tight-lipped about the ultimate goal of the Yellow River Trial.
“Did you notice something, Senior Ma?”
“The things in the water aren't demons. They are ghosts formed from the spirits of deceased monsters.”
Ma Guniang said lazily:
“Spiritual pulses are mostly hidden underground. Now that spiritual energy is rising and dissolving into the water, the first to be affected are the fish and beasts in the rivers, lakes, and oceans. If the corpse of some deceased spirit creature falls into a river and is fortunate enough not to be fished out, the corpse will be nourished by the spiritual energy, remaining intact without rotting. After eight or ten years, its soul will transform into a ghost-demon and come ashore to cause trouble. These things eat humans and demons alike, but they enjoy lively crowds, love eating raw sheep liver, and fear willow stakes smeared with dog blood. If you want to capture them alive, just set a trap on the ground...”
Speaking of which, Ma Guniang suddenly thought of something. She raised her eyebrows and smiled.
“What's the fun in catching them on land? Go cut a few stalks of bamboo, and 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 be farmed for experience points and spiritual energy clusters!
Watching the show was one thing, but she couldn't forget about her main objective.
Fishing for ghost-demons with a bamboo rod?
Qin Yue's initial reaction was that it sounded utterly absurd.
They had previously captured a slightly smaller unidentified creature that was a whopping nine meters long and as tall as a four-story building when standing up.
The thing had four hooves, a bull's head, a monkey's face, and was covered in shaggy red fur. It was impervious to weapons; even bullets could only leave a faint white mark on its hide.
In the end, they had to use a cage made of reinforced steel and a large number of liquid nitrogen bombs to flash-freeze it and slow its movements before they successfully captured it alive.
Yet Ma Guniang claimed that with just a slender bamboo rod, she could fish such a creature out of the Yellow River?
That was completely unscientific.
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 her subordinates to prepare.
...
Just as Qin Yue finished giving her instructions, she looked up and saw a young man and a young woman walking toward the opera stage.
It was Lyu Dongfang of the Lyu family and Hu Manni of the Ma family.
As one of the organizers of this exchange assembly, Qin Yue had an impression of every single participant.
Without Qin Yue even needing to say a word, before the duo could even get close, several plainclothes officers scattered around the perimeter immediately stepped forward. They flanked them on both sides and, without giving them a chance to speak, escorted them away.
“You're here for the exchange assembly, right? Did you get lost? Come, come, this way.”
“Please wait outside the yellow line. There is an ongoing emergency here. Thank you for your understanding.”
Lyu Dongfang had originally intended to come over and give a proper greeting, but when he saw Qin Yue dismiss them with a single look and send two plainclothes officers to lead him and Hu Manni away, he immediately became displeased.
“Seriously, why is that Qin woman so overbearing? Even if she's with the authorities, this exchange assembly wasn't organized just for her, was it? I was just going over to say hello. Is there any need to guard against me like I'm a thief?”
Lyu Dongfang sank his stance, rooting himself firmly to the ground like an ox stuck in the mud. Even when four burly plainclothes officers pulled with all their might, they couldn't budge him in the slightest.
Standing beside him, Hu Manni could tell at a glance that these were government personnel, so she didn't dare to make a move. Her eyes swept over Qin Yue repeatedly, and her confusion grew deeper.
Her vital energy was abundant, her steps were agile, and her presence was restrained; she was clearly a martial arts expert.
But there was no need to be this cautious, refusing to even let anyone speak to her, right?
Unless... the person these people were protecting was someone else entirely.
Hu Manni blinked. Her gaze drifted toward the stage, landing on the woman in green robes who was intently watching the opera.
With just a single glance, a shiver ran down her spine, and she instinctively tugged at her cousin, Lyu Dongfang.
Lyu Dongfang, completely oblivious, proudly puffed out his chest and threw a provocative look at Qin Yue.
Is that all?
You people from the Special Investigation Section aren't all that!
And here the outsiders were hyping you up to be so miraculous.
Qin Yue's fists clenched behind her back, the knuckles popping, but she didn't make a move. She simply waved her hands calmly to dismiss her subordinates and continued with her duty.
A layman looks at the surface, but an expert looks at the technique.
Lyu Dongfang truly lived up to his reputation as the most outstanding youth of the Lyu family's current generation. Though he was a bit arrogant, that display of skill alone proved that his martial arts were indeed formidable.
Several off-road vehicles pulled up on the nearby road, and a group of young people got out. Seeing this scene, they immediately let out a whistle.
“That's the Lyu family's Weight Child Skill!”
“Of course it is. The Yellow River Lyu family originally made their fortune by piloting sheepskin rafts on the Yellow River. When it comes to lower-body stability, very few families in Great Xia can match their Weight Child Skill.”
“Isn't that Lyu Dongfang of the Lyu family? How did he end up clashing with Qin Yue?”
“Who is that woman dressed in green? I've never seen her before.”
“Hiss... She looks like she came down from Longhu Mountain, or maybe Maoshan. They always love wearing those bizarre, ancient-looking clothes. They're very easy to recognize.”
“People from Longhu Mountain can come down now? Didn't they say they wouldn't interfere this time?”
“They said they wouldn't interfere, and you actually believed them?”
Hearing the group's whispering, Qin Yue felt the veins on her forehead throb. Although they were keeping their voices down, who could guarantee that Ma Guniang wouldn't overhear them?
In an instant, her first impression of Lyu Dongfang hit rock bottom.
“The Special Investigation Section is currently executing a mission. Please excuse us.”
Qin Yue shut down whatever Lyu Dongfang was about to say with a few brief words. “Your performance on-site will also be recorded as part of your trial scores. I hope you will all consider your actions carefully.”
With the minor disturbance resolved, the other organizers who had received the news rushed over with their personnel. Following the procedure of the assembly, they announced the content of tonight's second round of trials:
The Yellow River Night Opera.
All participants taking part in the second round of the trial had to arrive at the gravel beach before 1:30 AM tonight to watch the opera.
Yes, the trial was simply to watch the opera.
At 1:30 AM, amidst the howling north wind, they had to sit on the desolate gravel beach and watch a theatrical performance.
However, quite a few people's expressions turned rather grim.
Anyone who grew up by the water knew that this river was incredibly uncanny.
Take the Lanzhou section of the Yellow River since the 1960s, for example. Along an eighty-kilometer stretch of water, at least ten thousand floating corpses had surfaced, and this number was still increasing year by year.
The Yellow River held far more than just corpses; there were plenty of other bizarre things lurking within it as well.
Rate on N.U.
