Yu Nian lifted her eyelids slightly. "Then I'll have to trouble you to take us there on the bamboo raft later."
Feng Qun's heart leaped with joy and he quickly responded.
After everyone left, watching Yu Nian's slender and graceful back, Feng Qun licked his lips and smiled.
Actually, the so - called fear of offending the goddess at noon was just a pretext he made up. Yesterday, when he heard that a group of strangers had come to the village, he sneaked over to peek through the window at night. Unexpectedly, he saw Yu Nian, who was so exquisitely beautiful. He was just wondering how to approach her, and now she had come to him on her own!
Rowing a bamboo raft requires certain skills. If you're not a person who has lived in this area for a long time, it's easy to be left behind. Then he could play a little trick, trap everyone in the middle of the reservoir, and then row the raft to a quiet and deserted corner under the dim night. He could take good advantage of this little beauty. By then, it would be a done deal, and maybe he could even keep Yu Nian in the village as his mistress!
As night fell heavily, Feng Qun led a group of people and moored three rows of bamboo rafts by the shore.
Seeing the narrow and long bamboo rafts, Ming Mingzhong wondered, "Why are these bamboo rafts so narrow? How can we all sit on them?"
Feng Qun rolled his eyes and said impatiently, "The bamboo rafts have a limited load - bearing capacity. To avoid capsizing, you'd better spread out."
Under Feng Qun's arrangement, He Ming and his partner, as well as Feng Qian and his partner, shared a bamboo raft respectively, while Yu Nian took Feng Qun's raft alone.
Feng Chengyuan frowned and was about to say something, but saw Yu Nian give him a reassuring look.
Everyone boarded the bamboo rafts in turn. As Yu Nian passed by, a faint sandalwood fragrance wafted over, refreshing. Feng Qun squinted and sized up Yu Nian's figure, feeling his throat itch more and more.
Feng Chengyuan stood beside Yu Nian and took in all of Feng Qun's expressions. When passing by Feng Qun, he stopped and his deep voice was full of warning. "Keep your eyes in check. If I see you looking around restlessly again, I'll throw you into the river to feed the fish."
"How dare you?"
Feng Chengyuan turned his head and gave him a deep look. "You can try."
Feng Qun's face turned pale. He had been spoiled in the village since childhood and got whatever he wanted. No one had ever dared to talk to him like this.
But the aura of the man in front of him was so intimidating that even though the swear words were on the tip of his tongue, he didn't have the courage to say them.
It wasn't until Feng Chengyuan walked to another bamboo raft that Feng Qun spat on the ground fiercely. "Damn it! Who do you think you are?"
The bamboo rafts drifted slowly. A cool breeze blew, bringing a bit of chill. When observing the reservoir from the shore, it seemed calm, but when actually on the water, the current was surprisingly rapid.
Feng Qun sized up Yu Nian sitting at the front of the bamboo raft. He was eager to strike up a conversation, but saw Yu Nian pick up the fishing rod tied to the raft and cast the fishing line into the water, looking as if she was about to fish.
Feng Qun sneered secretly. Even an experienced angler with more than ten years of fishing experience might not be able to catch a fish while the boat was moving. Moreover, Yu Nian hadn't even put on any bait. There was no way she could catch a fish!
He shifted his gaze, regarding it as a game for an ignorant little girl.
After rowing for about five or six minutes, a layer of fog suddenly rose on the originally calm river. At first, it was very thin, but the closer the bamboo rafts got to the center of the lake, the thicker the fog became.
Qian Lin was a bit flustered. "Why did it suddenly get foggy at night?"
Although Feng Qun also thought the scene in front of him was strange, he was worried that everyone would want to turn back, which would ruin his plan! So he said casually, "What are you panicking about? This is a normal phenomenon."
Yu Nian stared intently at the surroundings. Suddenly, the fishing rod in her left hand trembled and then bent like a bow, swinging up and down irregularly.
Feng Qun's eyes widened in shock. What was going on? Did a blind fish really bite the hook? And judging from the amplitude of the fishing rod's swing, it was a big fish!
The other villagers rowing the bamboo rafts were all attracted by this scene and cast their gazes over.
Yu Nian squinted her eyes and calmly lifted the fishing rod. With a soft "snap", a big fish about two palm - lengths long landed on the bamboo raft. From a distance, the fish was big and fat, weighing about half a catty.
At first, everyone was curious, but when they saw the appearance of the big fish clearly, their faces turned ashen.
It was a dead fish, with mottled scales and a sticky body. There were several rotten parts on its body, and even its fish eyes were gone. But its dry fish mouth had bitten the fishing hook exactly.
Someone with sharp eyes shouted, "There seems to be something in the fish's belly!"
Yu Nian gently tapped the fish with the fishing rod, and strands of long hair and some unknown small things came out of the fish's mouth.
Recalling the crazy trembling of the fishing rod just now, an old man said shakily, "This is... a dead fish on the hook?!"
In the folk legend, if you catch a dead fish on the hook in a reservoir, it means that the water ghost has hung the fish on the hook underwater. If you don't leave at this moment, the water ghost will surface and find an opportunity to drag someone underwater to be its substitute.
A boatman couldn't hold back his fear and said to Feng Qun, "This is too strange. Maybe the goddess is really angry with us for disturbing her sacrifice site. How about... we go back?"
Although Feng Qun was also a bit scared, he had to put on a brave face and say, "What dead fish on the hook? Superstition! Row quickly. If you dare to run away, I'll break your legs!"
Seeing Feng Qun's domineering attitude, the boatmen closed their mouths awkwardly.
The bamboo rafts moved about another five or six meters in the fog before Feng Qun fixed the raft. He exchanged a look with the people beside him. Taking advantage of everyone's relaxation, he suddenly jumped onto a nearby bamboo raft and picked up a bamboo pole to poke at the rafts of Ming Mingzhong and the others randomly.
Sure enough, due to the sudden change, those who were a bit afraid of water lost their balance and were about to sink into the water.
Feng Qun jumped back onto his raft and was about to row away with Yu Nian towards the opposite bank of the river. In the blink of an eye, he had almost rowed about two meters away. There was a malicious look of success in his eyes, and his laughter was lewd. "Little beauty, you're going to experience how good your brother is later!"
The cold wind howled. Feng Chengyuan's expression turned solemn. Without the slightest hesitation, he swung his arms and jumped across.
Feng Qun only felt the bamboo raft sink suddenly and then start to shake violently. He turned his head in surprise and saw Feng Chengyuan's handsome face magnifying infinitely in front of him. His deep and cold black eyes were full of anger. He raised his arm and punched Feng Qun directly in the face. The punch was extremely heavy. Feng Qun felt dizzy and lost his balance, falling on the bamboo raft. He was shocked and afraid, and stared at Feng Chengyuan fiercely. "Damn you! How dare you hit me? I'm the village head's son!"
Feng Chengyuan seemed not to hear and stepped forward again, kicking hard on Feng Qun's knee. With a scream, Feng Qun's face instantly turned pale.
Yu Nian had never seen Feng Chengyuan like this before. She was a bit stunned and quickly pulled Feng Chengyuan. "Stop hitting." She paused. Seeing Feng Chengyuan's gloomy eyes, she added, "Doesn't your hand hurt?"
Feng Chengyuan was stunned. Seeing that Yu Nian was not injured, he finally stopped.
Seeing Ming Mingzhong and the others still struggling in the water, Yu Nian took out the hairpin from her hair and threw it into the water. "Liu Mo, go and save them."
A white light flashed, and a huge black snake appeared in the water. It quickly lifted everyone up and then bared its teeth and roared at the stunned Feng Qun.
If Feng Chengyuan hadn't acted so quickly just now, he would have already appeared and swallowed this clown alive!
Feng Qun was so scared that he let out a shrill scream. His legs trembled, and a large part of his pants got wet. He had actually peed his pants.
While everyone was in a daze, the bamboo raft suddenly began to shake violently. By the dim moonlight, they saw a huge red shadow swimming under the water.