Chapter 969: There's Something in the Lake

A strand of divine sense was left permanently within Tong Nianyi's Sea of Consciousness.

That separated portion of spiritual soul acted much like a garrison commander, watching over the space and imposing order upon it.

"Daddy, hug. Hug!"

Tong Zhihuan had eyes only for his daughter. He held Tong Nianyi in his arms, a foolish smile spreading across his face.

"Nianyi, Nianyi. Do you recognize your daddy?"

A smile blossomed on Tao'er's face as well.

Seeing this, Chen Changsheng sighed in relief, but he still offered a reminder. "Since the trouble in her Sea of Consciousness hasn't been completely resolved, this child cannot come into contact with cultivation for the time being. This Chen has sealed the meridians of her Dantian, so she will likely have a weak constitution in the short term. You must watch her closely. She can, however, practice some mortal martial arts to strengthen her body. Wait until she is older and her physical body is sound to extract that wood soul from her Sea of Consciousness. Only then will she be truly safe."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "In short, this child's immediate future probably won't be entirely peaceful. But as long as she endures it, she will be fine."

Tao'er looked toward the Mister. With tears in her eyes, she said, "If not for you, Mister, there is no telling what Nianyi's fate would be. You have worked so hard. Tao'er thanks you deeply."

Chen Changsheng raised a hand. "You two should spend time looking after the child. This Chen is feeling somewhat tired and won't disturb your family of three any longer."

Tao'er and Tong Zhihuan were just about to speak.

But Su Junhan stepped forward with a gentle smile and said, "We can talk about it later."

He then turned to Mister Chen and asked, "There are plenty of fish in the lake now. Does the Mister have the leisure to go fishing?"

Chen Changsheng's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Gladly."

The two of them walked out of the Cave Abode and followed a winding goat path through Yuanshan toward the distant lake.

Holding their child, Tong Zhihuan and Tao'er watched the Mister leave, refraining from stepping forward to disturb him again.

Tong Zhihuan asked, "Wife, the Mister saved Nianyi. How should we thank him? I just feel like I can't find a proper way. Making a show of it feels wrong, but doing nothing also feels wrong."

Tao'er opened her mouth to reply, only to say helplessly, "I don't know what would be best either..."

When it came to gratitude, the Mister probably disliked formal, rigid gestures. Yet offering absolutely nothing in return still felt deeply inappropriate.

This completely stumped the couple.

Su Junhan and Chen Changsheng arrived at their destination.

It was still the same lake as before.

In his early years, this was where Chen Changsheng had met Hu Yu. Now, she was gone.

Before they even got close to the lake, the mouthwatering aroma of roasted fish wafted over to them.

Looking over, they saw a messy-haired Ning Bufan busy roasting a fish.

"Roasted fat fish, my favorite to eat~"

Ning Bufan hummed an odd little tune while sprinkling salt over the roasting fish. This salt was good stuff—you couldn't find salt this fine in ordinary parts of the mortal world.

Seeing this, Chen Changsheng chuckled. "It seems someone beat us to it."

Su Junhan smiled helplessly. "Young Friend Ning has always been an interesting one. Once he sets his eyes on the fish in this lake, they have a hard time escaping calamity."

"Hm?"

Ning Bufan paused, as if sensing someone's approach.

He lifted his head and looked over.

He spotted two familiar faces.

He hurriedly stood up, waved his hand, and shouted, "Mister Chen, Fox Sovereign! Come over quickly, the fish in this lake are super fat!"

The two walked over and saw the fish roasting over the fire, already taking on a slightly charred, fragrant crispness.

Chen Changsheng remarked, "This won't do. There's only one fish; it's only enough for you."

Ning Bufan scoffed. "What's the big deal? I'll just go down and catch two more."

Chen Changsheng shot him a glance. "The fish in this lake probably aren't so easy to catch."

Ning Bufan agreed, "Yeah, a little. The fish here are smart, and they swim fast."

Su Junhan said, "Most of these fish have developed a bit of spiritual intelligence by now, so naturally they aren't easy to catch."

Ning Bufan nodded. "Tell me about it. When I first found this place, I actually wanted to call Mister Chen, but I couldn't find him after looking for ages, so I just came by myself. Say, did you two seniors go out today?"

Su Junhan replied, "Not exactly. We were just busy with a few matters."

Ning Bufan didn't pry any further. He quickly added, "It's just about time to eat anyway. I'll go down and grab two more."

Su Junhan and Chen Changsheng exchanged a glance.

"Splash."

Ning Bufan strode to the bank and dove straight into the water.

Su Junhan chuckled at the sight and said, "Back in my early years when Big Sister was still around, I used to goof off just like him."

Chen Changsheng reminisced. "This Chen was the same as a child. Back then, it was just muddy river water, but I was bold. I'd dive right in without any fear of hitting a rock, catch a few dozen fish to take home, and clamor for my mother to fry them for me."

Standing on the bank, Su Junhan let out a soft sigh. "As we get older, we just can't be as wild as we used to be."

Chen Changsheng paused briefly upon hearing this, then nodded. "You are the Fox Sovereign, after all."

Every word and every action had to be carefully considered. Sometimes, a single moment of carelessness could make one a laughingstock, and the ones being mocked wouldn't just be him, but the entirety of Yuanshan.

Su Junhan asked, "What about you, Mister?"

Chen Changsheng replied, "If this Chen wanted to eat fish, I would probably go about it much more crudely."

"Is there anything cruder than jumping into the river to catch them by hand?"

Chen Changsheng thought about it for a moment, then said, "Put it this way. In my early years, this Chen went fishing with the Dragon Lord at a lake in the mortal world. The Dragon Lord couldn't catch a single fish to save his life, so he simply overturned the entire lake in one breath."

Su Junhan laughed helplessly at the anecdote. "That old dragon is utterly shameless. You shouldn't learn from him, Mister."

Chen Changsheng burst into laughter. "This Chen feels you make a fair point."

Su Junhan soon joined him in laughter.

As the two of them watched the water, they suddenly saw a figure float up from the lake.

Su Junhan noted, "This kid is pretty good in the water to be able to float on the lake for this long."

Chen Changsheng took a closer look, only to realize that Ning Bufan was lying completely motionless on the surface, not making a single sound.

"Hm?"

Su Junhan and Chen Changsheng exchanged a glance.

They were immediately startled. Su Junhan swept his sleeve, causing the lake water to tremble and carry Ning Bufan straight to the bank.

"He drowned?!"

Su Junhan stared blankly for a second before raising a finger and tapping him. Ning Bufan immediately spat out several mouthfuls of water.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

After coughing violently for quite some time, Ning Bufan finally woke up.

He jerked upright into a sitting position, gasping heavily for air.

Su Junhan clicked his tongue and asked, "Young Friend Ning, you are full of Buddhist dharma. How on earth did you manage to drown?"

Ning Bufan caught his breath, coughed up a bit more water, and pointed toward the tree at the center of the lake in the distance. "There's... cough, cough... there's something at the bottom of the lake! There is absolutely something down there!"

"The moment I got close, I passed out!"

Chen Changsheng and Su Junhan both froze upon hearing this.

Su Junhan felt somewhat confused and asked, "There's something down there?"

Chen Changsheng looked at Su Junhan and asked, "You didn't know?"

Su Junhan shook his head, also finding it strange.

Chen Changsheng paused for a moment before looking at Ning Bufan. "What kind of thing was it?"

Ning Bufan shook his head. "I don't know! I passed out the second I got close. I didn't see it clearly."