C18 Water Boat

"To the left, to the left, to the left! No, no, no, go right, go right!" Kang Na excitedly clenched her tiny fists in front of her chest, her cheeks flushed with a vibrant red as she stared intently ahead without blinking an eye.

"Kang... Na..." Chen Yuan called out to her, somewhat exasperated. Kang Na was perched on his shoulder as if she were on a roller coaster ride.

"Ahhhh, to the left, to the left, quickly to the left!" Kang Na didn't hear Chen Yuan's calls. Her fists suddenly relaxed, and she covered her eyes, peering out through just a tiny slit.

"Kang! Na!"

Chen Yuan shook his head, deftly transferring the bamboo pole from his left hand to his right, and gave a sharp tap against the nearby rock reef.

The bamboo raft, like a vibrant green bamboo leaf caught in the breeze, skimmed past the rock reef, propelled by the swift current.

"Wow, wow, wow. Daddy is amazing! Daddy is so skilled!" Kang Na, having completely forgotten her earlier fear, was once again brimming with excitement. She wrapped her arms around Chen Yuan's neck and gave him a vigorous shake.

"Kang Na, stop moving or we'll tip the raft over!" Chen Yuan teased her, pretending to be alarmed.

Before Kang Na could respond, Chen Yuan felt a sudden weight on his left arm.

"Chen... Chen Yuan, you... slow down!" Liu Xiaoxiao's face was ashen. She clung to Chen Yuan's arm with a vice-like grip, as if she would never let go unless he complied.

Chen Yuan couldn't help but smile wryly.

With a little girl and a grown woman by his side, there was never a dull moment.

They were the ones who had insisted on taking the bamboo raft, and now they were making a fuss as if it were the most extraordinary thing.

"I just can't win with you two. If I had known it would be like this, why did you both insist on traveling by bamboo raft?" With Liu Xiaoxiao clinging to one of his arms, Chen Yuan had no choice but to navigate with just his right hand, dipping the bamboo pole back into the water.

"We agreed to ride the raft, but I didn't say to go this fast! What do you think you're doing?" Liu Xiaoxiao protested, though her voice lacked conviction.

"I've never heard of anyone being able to slow down a bamboo raft. We're going with the flow of the water, you understand? There's no slowing down. But don't worry, my rafting skills are top-notch!" Chen Yuan boasted with a puff of pride.

Kang Na was clearly skeptical, shaking her head vigorously like a bobblehead.

"Dad's just boasting. Look at that old man up ahead. He's on a bamboo raft too, and he hasn't budged an inch."

Kang Na pointed with her tiny hand, and indeed, there was an elderly man seated on a bamboo raft. He turned around and caught sight of Chen Yuan and his companions bravely navigating the rapids.

"Hey, he looks like he's talking. His mouth is moving," observed Liu Xiaoxiao, squinting to see better.

"What's he saying?" Chen Yuan didn't have time to worry about that. The current was growing wilder, demanding his full attention.

"We're getting closer! Don't hit him, don't hit him!" Kang Na began to yell once more.

"Kang Na, quiet down. The current's too strong. Save the noise for later," Chen Yuan cautioned. As soon as he spoke, their bamboo raft zipped past the old man's with a swift whoosh.

Huh, the old man's raft hadn't moved at all.

In such swift currents, how could his raft stay perfectly still?

A couple of thoughts flashed through Chen Yuan's mind when Liu Xiaoxiao, taking advantage of their fleeting proximity, managed to decipher the old man's words.

"He... He seems to be saying, 'Watch out... for the... waterfall... Watch out for the waterfall!!'"

"Wow, the water's dropping! There's no way forward, Dad, there's no way forward!" Kang Na, perched on Chen Yuan's shoulders, clung to his neck tightly.

"There's no way forward, so we should have—" Chen Yuan's face went pale.

He was cut off mid-sentence as the bamboo raft with the three passengers gently lifted off the water's surface and floated in mid-air.

The two girls, one older and one younger, clung to Chen Yuan for dear life. They plummeted into the waterfall below with a splash.

"Ah, the youth of today sure do love their thrills. But jumping off the Azure Drake Waterfall? That's a first for me. It's too thrilling. Youth is wonderful," the old man on the motionless raft mused aloud.

"This will be quite the treat for that famished beast."

"Ah well, meeting is fate, and I can't stand by and watch them perish." Talking to himself, the old man too took a leap from the waterfall, his bamboo raft instantly devoured by the churning waters below.

Chen Yuan was a cultivator. Once a Body Cultivator reaches a certain realm, they gain the ability to fly for short periods. However, Chen Yuan was still a long way from achieving that level.

But in that moment, he got a taste of what flying felt like.

It would have been much better without the added weight of two heavy sandbags.

With a plop and a series of gulps, they hit the water, and the force of the impact knocked all three of them unconscious.

Luckily, as a Body Cultivator, Chen Yuan soon regained consciousness after a brief blackout. As the feeling of restraint on his body lessened, his heart clenched with urgency.

"Hold on! Kang Na! Xiao-Xiao!"

With that thought, Chen Yuan snapped fully awake, his eyes snapping open as he searched for the two under the assault of the waves.

Not far off, two figures were slowly sinking.

"Kang Na, this is no time for games! Grab Xiao-Xiao, quick!"

While speaking underwater was impossible, Kang Na, as the sword spirit linked to the black sword, could sense Chen Yuan's urgency.

Almost instantly, Kang Na's eyes opened.

Her body emitted a blue glow, transforming into a slender rope that latched onto Liu Xiaoxiao, who was still descending.

With a splash, all three of them broke the surface.

Behind them, the Azure Drake Waterfall continued to churn, but Chen Yuan didn't hesitate, quickly leading Kang Na and Liu Xiaoxiao toward the shore.

"This is so boring! Who did daddy save first, mommy or Kang Na? You can't do this to me!" Kang Na grumbled as she swam.

She had planned to feign unconsciousness to see whom Chen Yuan would rescue first between her and Liu Xiaoxiao.

But Chen Yuan had seen right through her act.

"Kang Na! If you keep up this mischief, you'll lose your shoulder-riding privileges!" Chen Yuan scolded, exasperated. "A sword spirit getting knocked out by the waves? Do you really think I'm that gullible?"

Chastened by Chen Yuan's rebuke, Kang Na fell silent, focusing on swimming to shore with Liu Xiaoxiao, who was still recovering from her ordeal.

She still had a sense of propriety and naturally knew that at this moment, Liu Xiaoxiao had merely fainted from choking on water.

Meanwhile, beneath the deep indigo surface of the water, which had escaped their notice, a pair of profound and icy pupils suddenly opened. The deep blue glow emitted two orange-yellow beams that not even the depths of the pond could conceal.

Gurgle! Gurgle! Gurgle!

Numerous tiny bubbles began to rise from the depths, and two rows of ghastly, sharp white teeth emerged from their maw, now fully visible beneath the water.

Unbeknownst to the trio above, their presence had disturbed a creature lurking in the depths of the pond!