Chapter 16: A Fish Amidst the Dragon's Roar

Lifting the lid of the dry dragon well, a foul wind surged up from within, carrying such an overwhelming stench of fish that Chen Chushi’s stomach churned violently, forcing him to take a half-step back.

The wind pouring from the well grew stronger, as if removing the cover had released a seal. Faint, whimpering sounds drifted upward.

Curious, Chen Chushi leaned in for a glance, his heart skipping a beat. The well wasn’t deep—perhaps three feet at most—and the water was thick and muddy. What truly unsettled him, however, was the dense pile of shattered bones strewn across the bottom, alongside numerous rusted swords and knives. A chill rose from below, seeping into the air and making him feel as if he were being blasted by an air conditioner set to sixteen degrees.

Suddenly, bubbles rose from the depths, bursting crisply on the water’s surface.

It was as if a signal had been given. More and more bubbles rose and popped, their sounds merging into a continuous, unsettling chorus.

At that moment, Chen Chushi noticed the water level rising rapidly before his eyes. He quickly retreated. In less than half a minute, the murky water overflowed the well’s mouth and spilled out in all directions.

Something squirmed in the turbid flow, slowly taking shape—a monstrous catfish, formed from the very sewage itself.

It flopped clumsily on the ground, its outline growing sharper, its head swaying from side to side, sensing its surroundings. When its semi-transparent eyes formed and snapped toward Chen Chushi, its two-meter-long body and gaping maw projected a terrifying aura.

[“Do we really have such bizarre creatures on Earth?” asked ‘I Possess the Bearing of an Immortal Emperor.’]

[‘Charming Chuci’ replied, “Of course we do. The Pacific’s deep waters are filled with countless undiscovered species—oddballs of every kind. I imagine down there, nothing cares about appearances; it’s all pitch black anyway…”]

[‘Just Watch Me Charge Ahead’ interjected, “You make sense, but I disagree! This thing in front of the big shot crawled out of a well—it looks downright supernatural…”]

[‘I Possess the Bearing of an Immortal Emperor’ mused, “Globally, there are countless stories of ghosts and monsters, but actual evidence is rare, and even fewer are witnessed by ordinary people. Why has the big shot gotten so strange since he started cultivating? I have two theories.

First, his cultivation stirred up ‘spiritual energy,’ triggering a revival of aura, which in turn nourished the legendary demons and monsters, awakening them!

Second, he accidentally broke a seal, setting off a chain reaction and unleashing those very same sealed creatures!”]

[‘My Son Possesses the Bearing of an Immortal Emperor’: “Excellent analysis above, I’m quite pleased!”]

[‘I Possess the Bearing of an Immortal Emperor’: “Haha, just a little deduction. Wait, what’s going on with your username?”]

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[‘My Grandson Possesses the Bearing of an Immortal Emperor’: “Can you two act maturely? The big shot’s facing an unknown creature—shouldn’t we, as citizens of the Summer Nation, be concerned? Why argue over trivial things?”]

[‘I Possess the Bearing of an Immortal Emperor’: “??”]

[‘My Son Possesses the Bearing of an Immortal Emperor’: “??”]

Sewage catfish.

Chen Chushi couldn’t find a better term, so that would have to do.

At that moment, the sewage catfish dragged its massive body through the water, inching painstakingly toward Chen Chushi, its gaze naked with hunger.

Bang! With a thunderous crash, the catfish’s tail slapped the ground, launching its body over three meters high. Its giant jaws gaped wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth as it lunged to devour him.

Startled but never idle, Chen Chushi gathered his mystical power.

A flat, watery blade sliced from the corner of the catfish’s mouth up toward the back of its head!

A third of the catfish’s head was sheared away, and it crashed to the ground, writhing in pain as pale green fluid seeped from the wound. Yet, within moments, the gash closed and healed as if nothing had happened.

Its eyes flashed with shock and fury as it lunged again, even more violently.

Chen Chushi was astonished. Was this catfish so formidable? Even with its head split open, it didn’t die—was it truly a spirit born of sewage, with the catfish only its guise?

He narrowed his eyes, calculating swiftly, then took two steps back, wrenched a water pipe from the ground, and swung it hard. The metal crashed into the catfish’s face, sending it rolling seven or eight times. Dazed as if drunk, the catfish struggled to regain its bearings—only to find that Chen Chushi had vanished.

The catfish’s strange cry echoed through Well Village. At first, it sounded vaguely like the roar of a dragon, but on closer listening, it was more like the screeching of a pig being slaughtered.

[‘Just Watch Me Charge Ahead’: “No way—I've heard the legend of the dry dragon well in Well Village. Don’t tell me that the supposed dragon’s roar in the legend was actually this monstrous catfish squealing like a pig?”]

[‘Charming Chuci’: “You’re making too many jokes for me to keep up with.”]

The sewage catfish had been sealed in the well for over a century. Once the lid was lifted, it was both starving and weak, desperate for a breath of air and maybe a quick bite to ease its hunger.

Never could it have imagined that the first person it encountered would split its skull open with a wave of his hand. Fortunately, it possessed some strange ability that allowed it to survive the fatal blow—but before it could retaliate, it took another heavy strike to the face!

Since gaining sentience, the catfish had kept a low profile in the well, luring humans with the scent of its secreted fluids whenever they came to draw water, then attacking them. Over the years, it had devoured no less than a hundred and fifty, if not two hundred souls. Today, just as it finally broke free, it was bullied instead.

Water from the dry dragon well continued to pour forth. The catfish sprawled atop the flow, sliding about as its eyes roved in search of Chen Chushi.

Gradually, unease crept in. It was far too quiet—eerily so. The village was dilapidated and deserted, but even outside, there should have been people. With its keen sense of smell, it realized that aside from the lingering scent of that man, there was no trace of any fresh human presence.

Weak and desperate for blood, the catfish’s patience wore thin.

It leapt onto the sturdiest rooftop it could find, hoping to spot Chen Chushi from above—and sure enough, it did.

The man who had sliced its face and struck it now stood on another rooftop in the distance, holding a small rectangular object—not a fire striker, but with a dancing flame. Enraged, the catfish spat out a thin jet of water straight at its target, carving a deep groove wherever the stream passed.

Chen Chushi was ready. He leaned aside, dodging the jet, and nodded thoughtfully. “Compressed water flow—hmm, with a few improvements, it could become an advanced water-cutting technique…”

After its watery assault, the catfish bounded forward in a frenzy.

Chen Chushi raised the lighter in his hand. “The principle is the same. It’s crude, but for an emergency, it’ll do!” He took a deep breath, infused his mystical power, and blew hard. The flame wavered, then transformed into a torrent of fire, surging toward the airborne catfish.