On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2078 It Eats People!

Upon hearing this, Prefect Ding roared in anger.

"Li San, shut up!"

Yan Ruyu sneered and shouted into the loudspeaker, "Why is Your Excellency in such a hurry? You say we're liars, then dare you let everyone see what's underwater?"

"You might not dare, but I do! Wait a little longer, and maybe that divine beast will come up on its own!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than an even louder roar came from the mist on the water's surface, this time clearer, as if it were coming from beneath the boat.

Someone pointed at the water and screamed, "It's moving! That shadow is moving! It's coming this way!"

The people immediately stood up; the timid ones retreated, while the bold ones stepped forward.

Liu Jiulang's expression also changed. He hadn't expected the divine beast to be so restless today. If it really came closer, the secret would be completely exposed.

He hurriedly said to Prefect Ding, "We can't wait any longer! Drive the people away! Otherwise, it'll be all over!"

Prefect Ding panicked and shouted to the people, "Today's sacrifice is over. Go home and no one is to leave their house without my order!"

The crowds on the shore resembled a disturbed beehive, their buzzing accompanied by growing anxiety.

Taking advantage of the commotion in the crowd, two figures made their move.

The whistle clutched a tattered banner, slammed it on the ground, and said in a low but inflammatory voice, "The government is trying to keep this from us!"

Beibei, standing nearby, immediately chimed in, pointing to the boat in the middle of the river: "Exactly! They want us to leave? Are they plotting something they don't want us to see?"

These words were like water dripping into boiling oil; the crowd erupted instantly.

"The sacrificial ceremony is a major event in Rongzhou. We are all citizens of Rongzhou. Why shouldn't we be allowed to watch?"

"That's right! Every time there's a sacrifice, they make us pay money, saying it's an offering to the gods, but now they won't even let us see where the money is going? We have the right to know where the money is going!"

Seeing that everyone's anger had been stirred up, Bee Whistle moved closer and lowered his voice, just enough for everyone around to hear: "I heard that after the last sacrificial ceremony, the eldest son of the Su family fell ill with a strange disease. Do you think something else has happened this time and they're trying to hide it from us?"

“We all know about this; the eldest young master is still not well,” someone immediately chimed in.

"By the way, why didn't Governor Su come today?"

The murmurs among the crowd grew louder. Those who had initially stood still were now pushing forward, shouting at the guards on duty by the river: "Make way! We want to see the sacrifice!"

The constables, holding hands and sweating profusely, said, "Fellow villagers, please don't push! The governor has ordered that the area be cleared before the sacrifice. It's not that we don't want you to see, it's just that the time hasn't come yet!"

"When is it not time? How many times have we had this sacrifice? We've never been allowed to see it even once."

Someone pushed the constable, who staggered back two steps, and the crowd immediately moved forward.

The boat in the middle of the river swayed gently with the ripples.

The fog that had been covering the boat was now gradually dissipating, like a veil being blown open by the wind.

Yan Ruyu stood at the bow of the boat, and the voice from the loudspeaker immediately drowned out the noise on the shore: "Everyone, watch carefully!"

The crowd on the shore paused, and they all subconsciously looked towards the boat.

Then a whistle was heard from the ship—it was Huo Changhe's voice, short and powerful.

Before the whistle had even finished, a loud "splash" came from the water, and something heavy was flipped up from the riverbed.

People on the shore held their breath, their eyes fixed on the water.

First, a patch of black and red scales was revealed, gleaming coldly like iron quenched with ice, the bright red part dazzling in the sunlight.

Then came the raised back, gradually rising higher and higher until it resembled a small hill following behind the boat.

Water plants clung to the gaps in the scales, and occasionally water droplets fell down, splashing small water droplets on the water's surface.

What's even more frightening are its claws, which are as sharp as a well-sharpened dagger, and the scales at the knuckles are bigger than a palm.

The shore fell silent instantly.

Those who were just shouting to rush forward are now frozen in place, their eyes wide open.

After a long while, Bee Whistle pretended to have just come to his senses: "Good heavens, what is that? It's so big and scary."

Beibei's voice trembled: "I don't know, could that be... a divine beast?"

"A mythical beast?" someone repeated, their voice filled with disbelief. "I've lived for over sixty years and have never seen anything like it in the waters of Rongzhou..."

"Look at those scales, they're harder than my iron pot, aren't they? And those claws, if they scratched someone, they'd tear them in two!"

The crowd gasped in shock; their earlier anxiety and dissatisfaction were now completely replaced by astonishment.

The moment Liu Jiulang saw the divine beast clearly, he abruptly closed his eyes.

He pointed out that he had only one thought in his mind: It's over.

Prefect Ding, standing beside him, was even more anxious than he was, his hands clenched in his sleeves, sweat streaming down his face. But soon, he noticed something even more amiss.

"Ninth Master, look!" Governor Ding's voice trembled as he pointed towards the divine beast. "Something's wrong with the divine beast!"

Liu Jiulang slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the divine beast.

It looked the same; its black and red scales still gleamed coldly, and its bright red claws were still sharp. But... why was it not moving at all?

The ship was moving forward, and the mythical beast followed behind, as if being dragged along, moving with the direction of the ship without even wagging its tail.

The back always maintains a single curve, without any undulation or luster, looking lifeless and devoid of vitality.

Liu Jiulang felt as if his heart was being squeezed by a hand, making it difficult for him to even breathe.

He stared into the eyes of the mythical beast—eyes that should have been as bright as lanterns, but now they were closed, not even a slit was visible.

"Ninth Master?" Governor Ding became even more anxious when he saw that he didn't speak, and lowered his voice to a whisper, "It...is it dead? It hasn't even moved!"

Liu Jiulang didn't reply, his gaze fixed on the divine beast's scales.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, but as his gaze fell on the divine beast's flat back, his heart sank lower and lower.

It really doesn't move.

No matter how the boat moved, no matter how the ripples on the water moved, it remained like a stone, following the boat without any vitality.

However, the yamen runners on the ship, being so close, only saw the thick beast scales and had no idea whether the divine beast was alive or dead. They had only glimpsed its shadow before and had never seen it so close before.

He was so frightened that his legs trembled and his soul almost left his body.

Huo Changhe whispered behind him, "Speak!"

At the same time, his hand seemed to loosen its grip slightly.

The constable screamed in terror, his mind blank: "I'll talk, I'll talk! This monster was hidden in the water during the sacrifice! It eats people, it eats people!"

"Don't kill me, don't kill me, I don't want to be eaten."

As he spoke, Yan Ruyu brought the megaphone close to him.

Those on the shore could hear it clearly.