Chapter 1 The Cold River

Han River.

Calling it a river, yet looking out, aside from the endless river water, it was still an endless expanse of river water.

From all directions, from any angle, one could only see the azure blue waters of the Han River, with no end in sight.

If the ship weren't steadily heading towards its intended destination, Fang Yue would have suspected they were going around in circles.

"Ye-ge, the wind is strong up here. Go below and get some rest," Jing Yan said, supportively holding Fang Yue.

"I'm fine...cough! Cough, cough!"

Fang Yue covered his mouth and coughed forcefully twice. When he removed his hand, he suddenly froze, his expression somewhat dazed and dimmed.

A touch of bright red stained his parchment-like right palm.

Fang Yue wasn't concerned about the injury, but rather... that handkerchief, which ultimately didn't return.

[Chronal Regression] only targeted his own body for regression; external objects wouldn't be brought back.

And the handkerchief had fallen into the hands of that group of black-robed people. When he would be able to retrieve it, or even if he'd have the chance to take it back, was questionable.

The handkerchief wasn't valuable, but the handkerchief's former owner...

Taking a deep breath, Fang Yue calmed himself down.

Now was not the time for loss.

He understood that the most important thing now was to survive!

The Han River wasn't a safe place; even existences like those black-robed people were swallowed by the Han River.

This mysterious and profound Han River was like a monster with a gaping maw. Fang Yue wouldn't be surprised by anything it devoured.

But strangely, people couldn't walk on the Han River, nor could they even touch the river water, or there would surely be dire consequences.

Yet the giant ship beneath their feet could sail on the Han River like an ordinary ship.

Fang Yue looked towards the 'helmsman' at the bow.

To be precise, it was a massive wooden turntable, but on the turntable, an old man's face was etched. The turntable seemed to be the old man's body, changing according to the old man's thoughts, controlling the ship's movements.

The old man's original name was long forgotten; everyone called him "Helm Old Man."

No one knew how long Helm Old Man had lived, but when the ship was here, Helm Old Man was already the helmsman of this giant Han River ship.

Helm Old Man rarely spoke and only ate stones.

Black stones, blood stones, calamity stones, silver stones, gold stones... if it was a stone, Helm Old Man would eat it.

That human face was the entrance for swallowing stones.

When the stones entered the mouth and provided energy, Helm Old Man would drive the giant Han River ship to sail.

But not everyone was qualified to command the giant Han River ship.

Theoretically, to truly get Helm Old Man to start, at least a gold stone was needed as seed money. Only then would Helm Old Man truly drive the ship away from Han River Wharf or Qing City Wharf.

But in reality, no one on the ship paid this money. Helm Old Man moved on his own.

The reason was simple... as mentioned before, Helm Old Man was alive. He had some personal friendship with [Heavenly Sword], so he unconditionally took Tian Rui Chi, who possessed the Heavenly Sword Diagram, and the others away from Han River Wharf. Even the rain-level pursuers behind them couldn't make it stop, but instead fully cooperated in leaving.

However, that was only the initial part. Now, things were starting to be handled officially.

Helm Old Man was like a gold-devouring beast, almost scavenging all the black stones and blood stones from this group of people. Yet the ship's speed hadn't increased much, still moving forward slowly.

If Fang Yue and the others didn't give stones, they shouldn't think about getting the giant Han River ship to move.

And if the stones were exhausted later, and there were no more stones, while the giant Han River ship still hadn't reached Qing City Wharf…

They could only risk turning their attention to those strange water ghouls under the Han River.

Hunt underwater ghouls and obtain ghoul stones!

What a dangerous thing to do.

The Han River was treacherous and unpredictable; the ghouls under the Han River would only be even more dangerous.

Not to mention how terrifying those underwater ghouls were, even if they could kill these things, no one would dare to jump into the Han River.

The water of the Han River was something that couldn't even be touched, let alone sinking into the Han River.

"Ye-ge, maybe you can…"

Seeming to see what Fang Yue was thinking, Jing Yan lowered his voice.

But Fang Yue shook his head.

He couldn't take the risk. His parchment-like right hand, and the parchment that had absorbed the flute fragments, had both suppressed the strange phenomena of the Han River.

But no one could guarantee that he, holding these two things, could jump into the Han River and remain safe and sound.

Especially after personally witnessing the scene of the black-robed man being swallowed by the Han River, Fang Yue had a deep sense of dread towards the Han River beneath his feet.

If possible, he even wanted to go ashore now, not wanting to stay here for another second.

Touching the [Gold Stone] in his arms, Fang Yue hesitated.

He had fed other stones to the parchment, and the parchment accepted them all, but there was still no sign of awakening.

The only hope was this gold stone in his hand.

But likewise, the giant Han River ship beneath his feet also needed stones to drive it. If they encountered any situation, they might need this gold stone to save their lives.

So Fang Yue wanted to wait, specifically waiting for what, he didn't know, just didn't want to give the gold stone so early. Anyway, he had killed many ghouls along the way, and the number of low-level ghoul stones collected was extremely large, currently still able to satisfy Helm Old Man's appetite.

"Brother Ye, is your body feeling better? I was able to escape safely this time, all thanks to your help. Rest assured, as long as I can return to the capital, I will definitely have my master fully treat your injuries!"

Tian Rui Chi also walked over from behind at this time, but Fang Yue didn't dare to let his master treat his injuries.

Tian Rui Chi's special physique, and his almost half-sword spirit form, made Fang Yue deeply wary of this Heavenly Sword he had never met.

It was best to avoid this kind of guy from afar before he had enough strength.

Thanking Tian Rui Chi for his kindness, Fang Yue looked down at his right hand.

The parchment's last chronal regression only brought back the parchment-like severed hand.

The injuries caused by the black-robed man still remained in his body, requiring time to recover.

In this broad daylight, [Night Breathing] couldn't function either. After taking some pills, without [Night Breathing], drug resistance increased, and Fang Yue could only stare blankly.

Without the parchment, he couldn't use chronal regression either, so his recovery methods were naturally inferior.

"By the way, speaking of which, I also saw many small boats stranded at the wharf at Han River Wharf. Will those black-robed pursuers use those small boats to chase us?"

Jing Yan suddenly seemed to remember something and asked.

Fang Yue also looked at Tian Rui Chi in doubt, but the latter shook his head slightly.

"You misunderstood. The only thing that can cross the Han River is this giant Han River ship controlled by Helm Old Man. Although the boat ticket is outrageously expensive, it is the only ship in the entire Qing Country that can cross the Han River! As for those small boats and canoes you saw at Han River Wharf, those are all small boats created in the last hundred years by the royal family, who have been researching and imitating the structure of the giant Han River ship."