This Crayfish Is Not Edible - Chapter 99

Xia gripped his hand and stopped him. “Where are you going without me? You can’t just leave me here.” He said.

“Xia, this is not the time. It’s not sure if it’s safe down there. I will not risk it,” Long shouted.

Xia just gazed at him with a smirk. “Stupid Long! If you go, I go, remember. You can’t get rid of me even if you want to. I’ll stick to you like gum,” he said with a smirk.

Long gazed down at his lover and sighed. “Please… it’s too dangerous,” he whispered.

“Yes, it’s too dangerous for a child like you too,” Xia countered.

The golden dragon cupped his lover’s face and pulled him closer. “Love, I Am not a child. I’m four thousand years old,”

Xia blinked his eyes innocently at him. ‘He is four thousand years old? Who is he trying to cheat? I have seen his baby form… It’s not possible,’ he thought.

Long knew his lover was still sceptical about his claim. But he did not have time to explain, if they don’t get the herb soon both that stupid woman and Raijin will die. He subtly gazed down at the whirling whirlpool. ‘I don’t want him to be in any kind of risk. I’ll do this myself,’ he thought to himself.

He kissed his lover on the lips and whispered, “Wait here,”

After saying this, he jumped right into the swirling hole.

“LONG! You bastard,” Xia cried and jumped after him. ‘This stupid snake. He is always so impulsive. He doesn’t even know what that herb looks like, ah. I really ought to punish him for this,’ he thought as he was being swept by the rapid water stream.

As the seconds pass by he was getting more worried for Long. He was able to breathe perfectly but that stupid snake does not even know to swim ah,’ he mentally cursed him.

He started swimming towards the stream. Sharp rocks cut his arms and legs, but he did not bother. All he wanted was to get to the stupid snake as soon as possible.

‘Hang on Long, I’m coming for you,’ he thought as he hastened his strokes.

As he was nearing a fork in his path, the water was becoming turbulent. It was surging and there was too much pressure surrounding him.

Xia gripped onto the illuminating pearl and swam faster. In the distance to his left, he saw a brief shadow of black clothes.

‘LONG!’ he thought and swam towards it.

His arms and legs grew tired from the swim, but he still persisted. He swans as fast as he could towards the black shadow and hugged him.

The shadow hugged him back tightly and buried his head in his neck.

“Stupid Long, are you okay? Are you hurt?” he asked. Xia had the ability to speak underwater, but a non aquatic creature like Long could not hear him.

The grip on his waist was too tight. ‘Odd, is it just in mind or is long thinner than I remember? Long’s arms are much thicker and muscular,’ he thought, touching the hands holding his waist. The black sleeve covered it completely, so he was able to get a good vision.

Xia struggled a little and brought the illuminating peal closer.

“Long?” he whispered and pulled the person’s face away from him.

It was not Long at all. Rather, it was a dead person.

The white skeleton still had rotting skin attached to it. It’s clothed all ragged and mossy from being underwater for a long time.

“sta…. y….. with me….” it said with difficulty.

Xia gazed at the person in pity. Usually when a person with undying wishes, drown, their body or soul turns into a water ghoul. They lose their humanity and become monsters. He had seen many such creatures. They are usually weak. But many of them combined, they had the strength to capsize a large boat.

But this ghoul was different. He seemed to have retained his humanity, but his sparse spiritual energy was dark and demonic. He was also abnormally strong, that Xia could not remove his grip from his waist. Upon closer inspection, the water ghoul was wearing black armour that covered his chest to his legs. ‘He might have been a warrior, or even a general,’ he thought as he scrutinise him more.

The water current was getting stronger as the minutes passed, so he pulled the skeleton’s face.

“Sir, I Am trying to find my little snake.. I mean friend. Have you seen him somewhere?” he mouthed.

The ghoul gazed at him for a long time and nodded. “He…. Flu.. shed….. There,” it pointed its bony finger towards the small opening in the right.

“Oh, you mean he was flushed by the water towards that direction?” Xia inquired.

The skeleton nodded its head again.

“Okay then I shall take my leave,” Xia whispered and pulled at his hands.

The water ghoul shook his head. “dan… ger…. No… go,” it said.

“Oh, it’s dangerous down there?”

The skeleton nodded again.

His heart lurched.

‘Long can’t even swim. How will he protect himself against danger?’ he thought as he bit his lips.

Xia gaped at the skeleton and nodded. “Thanks for warning me, but my little snake really needs my help,” he said and pulled away from him.

The ghoul shook his head vigorously and hugged him tighter. If it was a normal human, they would have already suffocated and died, but thankfully Xia was aquatic.

He tried freeing himself, but the ghoul did not budge. Bubbles of frustration gushed from his mouth.

Xia frowned. He did not have the time to waste here. ‘If he is not going to let go, then he is coming with me,’ he thought. He pulled the ghoul’s collar and dragged him towards the right hole.

“Dag…er… Don’t… go,” The water ghoul cried.

“Shut up, I don’t care of its dangerous. I have to save my darling. That’s all that matters,” Xia shouted and swam ahead.

The Black armoured ghoul gazed at him with a shocked look on his face. Watching the youngster’s struggling face, a small amount of his memory flashed through his mind.

He had been in this water hole for almost ten thousand years now. He who was a heaven’s general. During war, his army was given the task to retrieve a precious treasure.

Being the youngest general of his times, he was too confident. His army charged in here head first. But in just seconds everyone was wiped out. Heavily wounded, he tried getting out just to spread the news of that dangerous entity. But the water hole’s pressure tied him down here.

His undying urge to warn people still retained. Every ones in thousand years some humans would stumble in here.

He would hug them and warn them not to go.

Unfortunately, after many years under water his intelligence had deteriorated. He had forgotten that humans can’t breathe underwater.

This way he would unknowingly kill many.

So over the many years his soul had been tainted by those he killed. His sparse spiritual energy turned into demonic energy.

The water swirled around as they both entered the right hole.

It literally flushed them down.

“Agh,” Xia screamed as he fell down into a large water body.

The ghoul still held onto him. as he swam to the surface.

Xia gazed down at the skeleton attached to his hip. “Sir, I have to search for my lover now. Would you be willing to help?” he whispered.

The Black armoured ghoul gazed at his and nodded his head.

“Thank you kind sire, he is this tall, and he is also wearing black today,” he said. And went underwater again.

The Black armoured ghoul detached himself from him. His heavy armour dragged him down into the deep end.

With a thud, he touched the bottom of the lake.

Xia followed after him, and he too started searching on the lake’s bottom. The ghoul stood guard for him. His head snapped around vigilantly as he was searching around.

“LONG? LONG, are you there?” he shouted.

He saw something moving to his left. “Long?” he whispered as she swam closer.

It was another decomposing corpse. Buried under the moss. Xia wiped away the moss and gazed at the new water ghoul. His body was cut in half. He still had the stunned look in his eyes. ‘Poor soul, he must have died in shock,’ he thought.

“May your soul rest in peace,” he whispered softly, touching its forehead.

The ghoul snapped and held his hands in a vice grip.

The Black armoured ghoul rushed towards him and snapped the new ghoul in half. “This… no…t….safe… They….kill,” he said with his rotting jaw.

The general ghoul gazed at his commander-in- chief. They also had become ghoul. But unlike him, they had the dying wish to fight for their life. The ghouls like that attack anything that approaches them.

A lot more corpses started twitching under them. They all rose up with their red eyes, gazing at them with killing intent.

“They… kill… leave… no….w,” he shouted at the youngster.