Chapter 36: Fierce Battle with the Ghost Face, Underwater Treasure Light

Su Yu didn’t hesitate for a second. He dropped the heavy Fish Spear, activated Swimming Fish Tail, and with a powerful kick, shot toward the surface like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Behind him, the enormous dark shadow rumbled onward, crushing the rocks on the riverbed like an out-of-control war machine, refusing to give up the chase!

"SPLASH!"

With an explosion of water, Su Yu leaped from the surface like a flying fish. He placed a hand on the gunwale and deftly vaulted aboard.

At almost the exact same moment.

"BOOM!"

A massive pincer, covered in dense green hair and gleaming with a cold, metallic light, erupted from the water. It rose high, radiating a suffocating pressure and blocking the distant sunlight.

"It’s a Black Steel Ghost-faced Crab! Get back!"

In the distance, Old Man Jiang’s face turned pale with shock, and he cried out in alarm. He had encountered one of these vicious beasts once in his youth.

That Ghost-faced Crab had been much smaller than this one, but it could still snap an iron anchor in half with its pincer. If not for a stroke of luck, he would have died that day.

Su Yu glanced at the giant pincer and couldn’t help but curse. ’Damned beast!’

’Instead of going for the big fish in the net, this Ghost-faced Crab is coming after me. It’s treating me as its prey!’

"Watch out!" Old Man Jiang shouted again.

The words had barely left his mouth when the Ghost-faced Crab surfaced. Revealing its enormous body, it brandished both pincers and charged at Su Yu’s boat.

Su Yu had now caught his breath. Seeing the creature’s ferocious charge, he dared not be careless. He snatched up the spare Fine Iron Fish Spear at the bow and moved to the prow in a single step.

His spine tensed in an instant. The Qi and Blood in his body surged into his arms like a raging tide as he raised the Fish Spear high, his gaze fixed on the charging Ghost-faced Crab.

’In the water, I would have no hope of fighting this giant crab. But up here on the surface, I have to at least give it a shot!’

The next moment, the Ghost-faced Crab reached the boat. Its right pincer, as sharp as shears, came crashing down on Su Yu.

Before the blow even landed, it whipped up huge waves and a violent gust of wind. A strike with such power would likely smash the entire boat to splinters.

"Dodge it!" Jiang Mu screamed from a distance, her pretty face deathly pale with fear.

Su Yu’s face was calm as he gripped the Fish Spear with both hands and moved to block the massive pincer.

He didn’t meet the pincer’s serrated, razor-sharp edge directly. Instead, he aimed his strike at its joint.

"CLANG!"

A deafening shriek of metal rang out across the water. The Fish Spear and the pincer collided violently, throwing up a massive spray.

A terrifying force traveled up the Fish Spear and through his body. Su Yu’s muscles clenched. With a great roar, he held his ground as the planks beneath his feet groaned under the strain.

The entire boat plunged downward, and then its stern shot into the air, looking like a crescent moon hanging in the sky.

Using the force of the recoil, Su Yu didn’t retreat but advanced. He pushed off the gunwale, launching himself into the air.

"Die!"

The Fish Spear in Su Yu’s hand, already bent from the impact, became a streak of black lightning as he viciously stabbed it toward the Ghost-faced Crab’s bulging, fist-sized eye!

The strike was lightning-fast. The Ghost-faced Crab was immensely powerful, but thankfully, it wasn’t agile enough on the surface to react in time.

"SQUELCH!"

The sharp point sank into flesh. The eyeball instantly burst, spraying a thick cloud of foul-smelling, dark-green liquid.

"HIIISSS!!!"

The Ghost-faced Crab let out a pained shriek, a sharp, piercing sound like metal scraping on glass.

Its massive body slammed down onto the water, throwing up waves ten feet high. White foam frothed from its mouth as its two giant pincers thrashed wildly, churning the water and creating thunderous splashes.

The battle between Su Yu and the Ghost-faced Crab seemed to unfold in slow motion, but it was all over in a flash.

"Now’s my chance!"

In the distance, Old Man Jiang, with his sharp eyes, seized the opportunity. The Fish Spear he held at the ready flew from his hand.

"SWOOSH!"

The Fish Spear shot out like a striking viper, aimed straight for the Ghost-faced Crab’s carapace.

"CLANG!"

Sparks flew!

The Fish Spear, powerful enough to pierce a large fish, only managed to leave a white scratch on the black carapace before being sent flying.

"What a tough shell!" Old Man Jiang gasped.

Though berserk, the Ghost-faced Crab was intelligent. Startled again by the flying Fish Spear and now blind in one eye, it lost the will to fight. Its massive body submerged rapidly, vanishing into the murky depths in an instant, leaving behind only a trail of bloody bubbles.

"Phew..."

Su Yu let out a long sigh of relief and tossed aside the ruined Fish Spear, his arm trembling slightly.

’That was close!’

’That Black Steel Ghost-faced Crab is terrifyingly strong. If it hadn’t been careless enough to surface, allowing me to ambush its weak spot, fighting it would have been impossible.’

’Take Old Man Jiang’s attack, for instance. There was no lack of power in that throw, yet it couldn’t even get through its defenses.’

’I need to get out of here, before it decides to come back!’

He quickly hauled up the Iron Wire Net. The Iron Bone Shuttle was still stuck fast inside—an unexpected bonus.

"Brother Su, that’s an Iron Bone Shuttle! A great catch!" Old Man Jiang called out. "We should get going before that Ghost-faced Crab comes back."

Su Yu nodded. He pulled his Fish Spear from the Iron Bone Shuttle, tossed the fish into the hold, and noted with pleasure that the spear was still usable. All in all, a happy accident.

But an even bigger surprise lay waiting beneath the surface.

Su Yu gazed into the murky depths and activated Listening Wave Positioning. A mystical perception flooded his mind, and he rejoiced.

’There really is something good down there!’

’What I was just thinking about wasn’t the Ghost-faced Crab, but a Treasure Plant!’

’I only caught a fleeting glimpse of it underwater, but I knew that glowing plant was something special. And with such a powerful Ghost-faced Crab nearby, it was probably guarding it.’

’It seems my hunch was correct.’

’A Treasure Plant!’

’These things are far more precious than Treasure Fish. A single Treasure Plant can easily fetch hundreds of silver, and some have special properties. They can be used for medicine or Alchemy, or even cultivated long-term, making their value immeasurable.’

’I’ve heard these Treasure Plants are all controlled by the great families; ordinary people never get their hands on them.’

’But with my current strength, getting that Treasure Plant won’t be easy. Facing that terrifying Ghost-faced Crab underwater is too great a risk.’

’I’ll just remember this location for now!’

...

The three of them, in their two boats, quickly left the dangerous stretch of water.

After reaching a calmer stretch of the river, Old Man Jiang slowed his boat. He hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "Younger Brother Su, I have a proposal, if you’d be willing to hear it."

"Please, Old Man Jiang, go ahead."

"I’ve been making my living on the Black Water River for decades. I know a few good spots, even some secret waters that very few people are aware of."

Old Man Jiang looked at Su Yu, his gaze sincere but with a hint of shrewdness:

"But the catches in those places aren’t easy to get. Especially some of the Treasure Fish—it’s nearly impossible for one person to catch them alone. Younger Brother Su, you’re incredibly skilled, and you have that amazing Net-Throwing Skill... How about we partner up?"

"In exchange, I’d ask for ten percent of your catch from those spots. What do you say?"

Before Old Man Jiang could even finish, Jiang Mu cut in, "Grandpa, we worked so hard to find those spots! How could you just..."

Old Man Jiang chuckled, cutting his granddaughter off. Looking at Su Yu, he said, "Younger Brother Su and I hit it off right away. Let’s just call it a friendship that transcends age."

’I see exactly what he’s doing,’ Su Yu thought. ’A win-win situation is great, and I’m actually getting the better end of the deal. There’s no reason to refuse.’

So he said, "Then let’s go, Old Man Jiang."

’It’s unlikely that Old Man Jiang has any ill intentions. A girl like Jiang Mu is an open book, and anyone who could raise a granddaughter like her probably isn’t a bad person.’

...

The three of them rowed for another hour, passing through several dangerous rapids. Before they knew it, it was noon. The sun hung high overhead, chasing away some of the chill.

Su Yu’s clothes still hadn’t dried, so he simply took off his soaked shirt and sat bare-chested at the prow.

In the sunlight, his lean muscles were as defined as if carved from stone, and his skin held a healthy sheen. This was the powerful physique he had forged through long-term practice of the White Ape Six Changes, his Qi and Blood so vigorous that he was impervious to the cold wind.

Jiang Mu kept stealing glances at him. Whenever Su Yu caught her eye, she would immediately look away, her face flushing as red as an apple.

"Younger Brother Su, we’re approaching our destination! It’s a unique body of water known as the Boiling Mist Swamp!"