Chapter 107: Sudden Change On The River Surface!
“Shua.”
Ji Qing instantly opened his eyes.
He had indeed been meditating just now.
However, he was fully aware of what was happening outside.
“Do you know Ji Mou?”
Ji Qing asked.
He could tell that the “Shanzi” in front of him had no internal energy and wasn’t even a martial artist.
“Mister Ji, back in Jiang City, when you had your decisive battle with the Poison Demon Ouyang Bo, this humble one saw your elegance from afar in the crowd…”
Shanzi said tremblingly.
He wasn’t lying; it was just that he had been quite far away back then and hadn’t seen clearly, only a blurry figure.
However, Ji Qing’s reputation in the Jianghu was at its peak: black clothes, conical hat, long saber, plus a head of white hair.
With such obvious features, Shanzi naturally guessed it, so he immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy.
He even cursed inwardly: had he forgotten to check the almanac before going out today?
To actually provoke the “Astonishing Swan Saber” Ji Qing?
“Why become bandits?”
Ji Qing asked.
“Mister Ji, we’re actually just local fishermen, good folk, but with war everywhere nowadays and taxes as numerous as cow hairs, we couldn’t survive…”
“Quick, all kneel and kowtow…”
As Shanzi’s words fell, the other water bandits also came to their senses and immediately knelt to kowtow.
They were all shrewd and knew Shanzi had likely provoked a “tough customer,” so kowtowing and begging for mercy was their only path.
Ji Qing didn’t speak.
His gaze swept over the many water bandits one by one.
Indeed, most were in tattered clothes and gaunt with sallow faces.
There was no malevolent energy on them.
This showed they truly weren’t habitual bandits who killed for goods.
The people in the cabin were all stunned.
Everyone gawked with mouths agape.
The three couples hurriedly hugged their children, fearing the water bandits would harm them.
They never expected so many water bandits to kowtow and beg for life upon seeing that Jianghu person.
Clearly, this Jianghu person was some big shot in the Jianghu.
Making the water bandits not even dare to make a move.
Only able to beg for mercy.
But they still didn’t dare say a word.
Fearing the water bandits would hack them with a saber.
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
Ji Qing asked.
“We wouldn’t dare!”
“Mister Ji, we just rob some silver to support our families; we truly wouldn’t dare take lives.”
“Yes, we only seek wealth, not lives.”
Ji Qing held the Demon Saber.
Extremely sensitive to malevolent energy.
These people had no trace of malevolent energy, proving they truly hadn’t harmed anyone.
“Get lost.”
“Thank you, Mister Ji, let’s go quickly…”
Shanzi hurriedly stood up, bent at the waist, and left the cabin.
The three burly laborers were also extremely terrified and likewise got off the boat, jumping onto wooden rafts and paddling desperately away from the small boat.
Ji Qing closed his eyes again.
From start to finish, he hadn’t even moved.
The boatman was knowledgeable and knew Ji Qing was a “big shot.” With Ji Qing on the boat, the safety of everyone aboard was much improved.
The others also breathed a sigh of relief.
They just still felt a bit afraid when looking at Ji Qing.
At this moment, on the several wooden rafts that had slowly moved away from the small boat, Shanzi finally let out a long sigh of relief.
The three burly laborers nearby couldn’t help asking: “Shanzi, what exactly happened? That guy looked like just a Jianghu person to me—why were you so scared, even making us kneel and kowtow too?”
Shanzi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and sneered coldly at the question: “Forget it. Us surviving today was all thanks to my quick wits in immediately kowtowing and begging for mercy; otherwise, we’d all be dead.”
“That man is one of the top experts in the Jianghu, the ‘Astonishing Swan Saber’ Ji Qing. Crucially, he’s number one on the Villain Ranking! Every one of the top ten on the Villain Ranking has massacred villages, with at least hundreds of lives on their hands. For Mister Ji to be number one on the Villain Ranking, you can imagine how many lives are on his hands. Even our entire village together wouldn’t be enough for him to kill…”
Hearing Shanzi’s explanation, everyone broke out in cold sweat.
All feeling a wave of lingering fear.
To think it was such a terrifying fiend?
They must not have checked the almanac before going out today; everyone had essentially walked a circle at death’s door.
Luckily, their luck was still decent; otherwise…
Just as everyone was still shaken.
Suddenly, one water bandit pointed at the river surface and shouted: “Quick, look, what’s that?”
Shanzi looked out.
Somehow, a vortex had appeared in the great river.
And the vortex was growing larger, even moving toward them.
Shanzi felt a chilling terror in his heart.
“Paddle fast…”
Thus, the water bandits on the wooden rafts paddled desperately.
Unfortunately, that vortex was too fast.
In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of them.
“Huala.”
Wherever the vortex passed, wooden rafts were torn apart, and the people on them were sucked into the vortex, vanishing without a trace.
“Help, help…”
Shanzi and the others were scared out of their wits, shouting loudly.
Unfortunately, on the vast river surface, aside from a small boat in the distance, there was no one else.
“Boom.”
The vortex swirled, pulling in the wooden raft with Shanzi on it as well.
There were over a dozen people on the wooden rafts in total, and now all had vanished without a trace.
The previously surging great river gradually returned to calm.
“Hm?”
On the distant small boat.
Ji Qing instantly opened his eyes.
“Someone crying for help…”
He had heard the voices.
It was the water bandits crying for help.
He immediately left the cabin and came to the stern, looking out.
Just in time to see a massive vortex on the river surface swallow the water bandits’ wooden rafts into the river bottom.
Then the river surface returned to calm.
That eerie vortex also vanished.
As if it had never appeared.
However, Ji Qing knew something was off.
On such a calm river surface with no undercurrents, how could a vortex suddenly appear?
Especially since when the water bandits cried for help earlier, the Demon Record in Ji Qing’s mind had suddenly throbbed.
And if the Demon Record reacted, it proved one thing.
There was a demon nearby!
At this time, many others had also come to the stern.
They had clearly all been frightened.
“Quick, look, what’s that?”
Someone cried out in alarm.
On the calm river surface, another vortex had appeared.
And the vortex was growing larger, rapidly moving toward the small boat.
The Demon Record in Ji Qing’s mind throbbed again.
And the throbbing grew more intense.
“Demon!”
Ji Qing stared fixedly at that vortex.
He didn’t see the demon’s figure, but it was likely right beneath that massive vortex.
As the vortex drew near.
Ten zhang, eight zhang, five zhang, three zhang…
The people on the small boat were all in utter panic.
The boatman muttered prayers nonstop, beseeching the Goddess’s protection.
The other passengers were also praying to the gods and Buddhas.
Only Ji Qing slowly placed his hand on the hilt.
“Keng.”
Finally, when the vortex was only one zhang from the small boat, Ji Qing drew his saber.
“Chop!”
The Demon Saber left its sheath.
Terrifying malevolent energy condensed into a massive saber qi, spanning the void.
Ji Qing’s saber momentum also empowered the Demon Saber.
The massive saber qi crashed down, aimed straight at the huge vortex on the river surface!
