Chapter 151
Chapter 151 – Crisis in the River
Translated by Jon
Life on the boat was incredibly dull, yet Shao Xuan had to stay vigilant to ward off the creatures that shot out from under the water, and to pay attention to the wind and make sure that they didn’t veer off course and sail in circles.
There were less than 30 “safe days” from the moment the rainy season ended to the day when the two moons would eclipse.
Shao Xuan didn’t know how wide this river was, and could only try to move forwards as fast as possible. If 15 days had passed and there was no land to be seen on the opposite bank, then he would have to go back to where he came from, or else the river level would sharply fall, ultimately catching Shao Xuan and Chacha in a bottomless abyss. At that time, even if they wanted to fly, it would be too late.
Due to a lack of suppression from other creatures, the piranhas were especially active in the river. From time to time, they could be seen vigorously going at each other, sometimes even jumping outside the water. As they got further away from shore, the size of these creatures increased.
Huaa~~!
A four meter long fish suddenly popped out. It leapt across the canoe from one side of the canoe over to the other, while simultaneously opening its mouth.
Under Shao Xuan and Chacha’s efforts, the canoe started to rapidly move.
Right now, Shao Xuan didn’t care about anything other than wholeheartedly paddling. He was so focused that he didn’t care that the splashes they made would attract the fish’s attention.
The sound of waves could be heard from their paddling. The ship raced forwards as Shao Xuan’s movements started to blur. Using all his strength at the get go, he noticed his arms burning with exhaustion. Taking out a stone needle, he shot it towards the sky.
When the needle had travelled about 100 meters, a “bang” could be heard as the needle turned to dust.
Seeing this situation, Chacha became so scared that he almost dropped the paddles.
Shao Xuan too had felt his scalp becoming numb
In this sunny and cloudless place, with no clouds for thousands of miles in any direction, to think that in such a tranquil place, there would be such a strange noise that would cause one’s hair to stand on ends.
“It’s descending! Hurry! Row!” Shao Xuan continued to furiously paddle.
This time, Chacha didn’t even care if he snapped or dropped a paddle into the water as his movements became more urgent.
And he couldn’t be bothered to go retrieve it. Chacha grabbed up the reserve paddles, wishing he could grow hands to help him in paddling.
The canoe quickly cut through the water, resembling a high horsepower motor boat, dashing forward.
Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!
The pressure put on top of them gradually increased as all of Chacha’s plumage started to stand on end.
While furiously paddling, a feather from Chacha broke off and fell. However, it launched up towards the sky due to his movements. Although there was no wind, and the feather didn’t fly that high, only about 20 meters, the feather still followed the same fate as that of the stone needle and instantly shattered.
Both of them didn’t even raise their heads to look, not daring to waste any time away from paddling.
The pressure pushing down on them was still there, it was still descending on top of them. If Shao Xuan wasn’t able to paddle away from it, then he too would share the same fate as the needle and the feather.
Shao Xuan’s whole body was soaked in sweat, some going into his eyes. Although he suffered from those bursts of pain, he couldn’t spare the time to wipe it away in order to not slow his movements, and simply blinked a few times.
Not having anytime to think, Shao Xuan didn’t even know what this arriving pressure was. Apart from going faster, the only thing he could focus on was moving straight ahead and fleeing for their lives.
Only after hearing a “bang” from behind them did Shao Xuan wake from his frenzy, unaware of how long they had paddled.
The pressure had disappeared. Turning his head back, he could see a curtain of water vapor growing more and more concentrated, turning into a thick fog behind him.
The boat was still moving. Shao Xuan, clutching the paddles, was lying down exhausted. Raising his leg, he said, “Alright, it passed.”
Chacha was soaked in water from paddling so hard. Getting kicked by Shao Xuan had frightened him so much that he almost took flight. Had the paddles not been in Shao Xuan’s hands, they too would have been lost in the water.
The tranquil water once again turned fierce, the wind blowing all over.
Shao Xuan adjusted the sails once more, borrowing the wind, and continued forward. As for Chacha, he first rested, unable to fly for the time being.