Fragrance rises to dance

Chapter 70

Tie one end of the rope to the mast, and Shengxiang, holding the rope end, leaped in front of Shangxuan, shouting, "Shangxuan!"

Shang Xuan responded by throwing the entire Shengxiang from the bow of the boat. Shengxiang used a movement technique to leap across the eight-zhang-wide river like a swallow spreading its wings.

He landed perfectly on the first large tree on the opposite bank. As he landed, the branches and leaves merely swayed and then remained still, almost silently. Cheers erupted from the bow of the boat; Shengxiang's superb lightness of foot made everyone completely forget the large crocodiles nearby. Shengxiang then pulled on the rope to tie a knot. Just as he was busy tying the knot, two large crocodiles opened their jaws and suddenly lunged into the crowd. Zen Master Yizhong chanted a Buddhist prayer, his sleeves billowing, blocking the crocodiles three steps away.

With the sacred incense rope secured, Yu Cuiwei shouted, "Everyone, cross the river!" At his resounding command, three figures quickly climbed the ropes and swiftly traversed the river, leaping towards the large trees on the bank. But the giant crocodile seemed to know they were trying to escape. It spotted one person slowly crawling towards it and suddenly lunged forward. The person, caught off guard, was knocked into the river. Yu Cuiwei reacted quickly, grabbing him, but it was too late. The person was submerged and never resurfaced. Terrified, the group scrambled to climb the ropes and flee for their lives. Shang Xuan carried the man who had lost all his martial arts skills across the river, making several trips back and forth. Yu Cuiwei remained at the bow of the boat; every time the giant crocodile took a step closer, he would strike with his palm.

After a brief standoff, everyone on the boat had climbed onto the trees on the shore, leaving only Yu Cuiwei and Shang Xuan at the bow. Shang Xuan grabbed Tang'er and started to rope her up. Seeing that Yu Cuiwei was about to be roped up as well, Tang'er struggled and shouted, "My young lady is still in the room!"

Seeing the ship was in a terrible state, Yu Cuiwei went into the cabin upon hearing the sound. A moment later, his figure flashed, and he emerged from the cabin carrying a girl in a pale yellow dress. Suddenly, everything went black as a large crocodile blocked his way at the hatch, its small eyes staring at him.

At that moment, Yu Cuiwei felt a chill run down his spine. He could clearly sense that it was the look of a hunter!

It was gloomy, damp, cold, and had an ugly gait; it was turning over unknown thoughts, rationally and calmly judging and analyzing.

Yu Cuiwei took a step back. He began to regret why he had saved the girl in his arms, and then planned to throw her into the mouth of the crocodile in order to escape.

The people in the trees on the shore could clearly see him trapped in the cabin by crocodiles. The boat was sinking, and more crocodiles climbed onto the bow and crowded towards the hatch.

Tang'er was terrified and grabbed Shangxuan's sleeve, shaking it, "My young lady... my young lady..."

Shang Xuan put Tang'er down and was just about to get up when suddenly the boat rocked violently and began to sink. Another large crocodile climbed onto the bow, causing the bow to sink and the stern to rise, and it looked like it was about to sink. The rope tied to the mast came loose because the mast was tilting, and everyone on the treetop turned pale. Just as everyone was exclaiming in alarm, "whoosh!" a figure flashed by. Someone touched the back of the large crocodile on the river surface and leaped onto the bow. This person was as fast as lightning, yet as light as a feather in the wind. He stood on the masthead, his clothes fluttering.

The person who risked stepping on the crocodiles to leap onto the bow of the boat was none other than Sheng Xiang. Shang Xuan's expression changed: Sheng Xiang's lightness skill and agility were excellent, but how could he face seven or eight large crocodiles with his bare hands? Moreover, this guy was naturally very compassionate; in over twenty years, he had never stepped on a single ant, let alone a crocodile. But the rope had broken, and he couldn't cross the river on the crocodiles like Sheng Xiang. Apart from shouting "Sheng Xiang," he was filled with anxiety, his brows furrowed in deep thought.

Yu Cuiwei was slightly taken aback. Shengxiang was indeed as he'd imagined… He knew Shengxiang was intelligent, but he couldn't believe such intelligence could maintain such a pure heart… Knowing full well he was this kind of person, having seen through his constant desire to kill for himself, why did he still rush to save people without hesitation? This child… believed in goodness, not great goodness, but small goodness. Therefore, Shengxiang couldn't distinguish right from wrong, and thus he could believe again and again: perhaps this Yu Cuiwei truly would be a great hero. Yu Cuiwei didn't deny finding Shengxiang's mindset laughable, but the instant he saw Shengxiang cross the river on the crocodile, his eyes genuinely welled up with tears—

This was the first time, the first time someone had genuinely come to save him when he was in danger, not for beauty, not for power, not to exploit him, but simply to save him.

Just as he was momentarily stunned, the large crocodile at the hatch suddenly opened its mouth and charged. Yu Cuiwei instinctively stepped back, only to suddenly bump into something soft. He reacted swiftly, leaping to the other side of the room. Sure enough, a large crocodile crawled in from the rear hatch behind him, and together with the crocodile at the front door, cornered him in the room.

Looking down from the mast, Shengxiang saw the deck crawling with crocodiles, which terrified him. He shouted, "Dayu, are you still alive?"

Yu Cuiwei chuckled softly inside the cabin, "Still alive."

Shengxiang perked up. "Can you get out of there?"

Yu Cuiwei looked at the two crocodiles that had crawled less than a foot away from him and considered, "Maybe it's possible."

Saint Xiang said, “Come out, and I’ll drive them all into the river, then we’ll row to shore.”

Yu Cuiwei chuckled. Driving all these big guys into the river was no easy task, unless… Suddenly, a splash was heard outside the boat—someone had jumped into the river. At the same time, the crowd on the bank exclaimed, “Shengxiang!” His expression changed drastically. Shengxiang had really jumped into the river? To lure away these crocodiles? In an instant, his gaze turned ruthless. A large crocodile hissed and opened its jaws to bite his arm. Yu Cuiwei sneered, tossing the yellow-clad girl in his arms onto the table. With lightning speed, his left hand grabbed the crocodile's upper jaw, his right hand bracing against its lower jaw. Gathering all his strength, he pulled hard, and with a “crack,” the crocodile was torn in two, blood flowing everywhere as it struggled and writhed in agony. Seeing this, another large crocodile hesitated. Yu Cuiwei picked up the yellow-clad girl and rushed out of the hatch. Only one crocodile remained on the deck; the rest had followed Shengxiang into the water. Yu Cuiwei kicked the crocodile down, then used his long pole to push it, and the boat moved toward the shore with his wrist strength.

Looking around, crocodiles were everywhere in the river, but no one knew where the Saint Xiang people were.

"Where is Saint Xiangren?" Without waiting for the boat to dock, he jumped ashore with the girl in his arms.

Shang Xuan's face was pale, and he shook his head.

Master Jin Dan said in a low voice, "Ever since he jumped in, he hasn't been seen. I'm afraid..." Before he could finish his sentence, Shang Xuan had already jumped into the river and, with a "plop," also leaped into the crocodile swarm.

Yu Cuiwei stood on the riverbank, looking back as Shang Xuan leaped into the river. That seemingly natural jump seemed to recreate the fleeting moment when Sheng Xiang appeared, and a sudden surge of excitement welled up in his heart. He hadn't felt such a surge of emotion in many years. Coupled with the force of tearing apart the giant crocodile just now, he suddenly felt weak all over, swayed, and almost dropped the yellow-clad girl in his arms. The people in the trees jumped down and rushed towards him with concern. Just as everyone's hearts relaxed, with a splash, a huge crocodile suddenly emerged from the river, its mouth about the height of a person, and lunged at the exhausted Yu Cuiwei, spraying water everywhere.

Yu Cuiwei turned around in horror. Sharp teeth were right in front of him; he was powerless to defend himself. The only thing he could do was throw the girl in his arms into the oncoming crowd. He stared wide-eyed at the possible outcomes of his life: he had imagined dying in a woman's arms, dying in a pile of mud, dying by the sword of some chivalrous knight, ruling Bingzhu Temple until old age, being betrayed by a traitor, dying at the hands of Li Lingyan—he had imagined all sorts of endings, but he had never imagined he would die in the mouth of a crocodile.

Is this retribution? He felt only surprise, not resentment. A slight smile even appeared on his lips as he met the crocodile's sharp teeth.

"Da Yu, are you crazy?" A sharp shout suddenly rang out beside them. A person almost leaped out of the water with the crocodile, pounced on Yu Cuiwei who was neither dodging nor flinching, grabbed him and narrowly avoided the crocodile's bite, rolling several feet away. The two watched in shock as the crocodile missed its bite and slowly retreated back into the river.

Yu Cuiwei's face was pale, his eyes almost glazed over as he stared at Sheng Tun. He didn't even look at the crocodile that had nearly eaten him; he was just staring wide-eyed at Sheng Xiang, as if he'd seen a ghost. Sheng Xiang gasped for breath, clutching her chest, "Why didn't you dodge?"

Yu Cuiwei suddenly snapped out of his daze, shoved Shengxiang aside, and almost flew into a rage, "Who told you to save me..."

Sheng Xiang braced himself on the ground, the river water soaking the sand from his embroidered sleeves. He glared back at Yu Cuiwei as if he'd seen a ghost. "You didn't tell me you were going to commit suicide, otherwise of course I wouldn't have saved you… cough cough…" he coughed, muttering, "And…"

Yu Cuiwei retorted, "And what else?"

"Besides—I can't save the first one, and I certainly don't want a second one." Shengxiang covered his mouth with his sleeve and coughed for a while—he had just choked on water.

The first one? Who? Yu Cuiwei slowly stood up, looking at the crowd that had arrived, and suddenly asked, "Are you talking about—Bi Qiuhan?"

Shengxiang's face was pale; she simply smiled and did not answer.

Just then, Shangxuan also emerged from the river. The crocodile, however, did not bite much in the river, perhaps sensing that this group of people was not easy to deal with, and slowly retreated.

"Shengxiang, Shengxiang..." Shangxuan ran to Shengxiang's side, soaking wet, his face showing a hint of fear. "Are you...are you alright?"

Shengxiang leaned weakly against him, closed her eyes slightly, pushed him away, and whispered, "Go find... Qiyang... to save me..."

Shang Xuan grabbed his hand, and Sheng Xiang's hand slid down limply. Everyone's expression changed drastically, "Sheng Xiang!"

When Shengxiang woke up, she saw the face of a gentle and graceful young girl. The girl had long hair that was loose and uncombed, and she wore a light yellow dress. She looked very elegant and peaceful. Both she and Liu Ji were slender and delicate, but she had a touch of childlike innocence and looked exceptionally calm and serene, without the slightest hint of aggression.

Seeing that Shengxiang had opened her eyes, the girl in yellow smiled, her voice gentle and matching her personality, "Don't move."

Shengxiang looked at her with great interest, and after a while murmured to herself, "I've heard that when martial arts heroes wake up after being seriously injured, they always see beautiful women. The legend is indeed true, Amitabha..."

The girl in yellow chuckled. "I'm not some chivalrous heroine who saves heroes; I'm a woman in distress whom you rescued." She pointed to the little maid beside her. "Don't you remember? This is Tang'er, and I'm Tang'er's mistress."

Shengxiang suddenly realized, "So you're the damned girl who almost killed Dayu and me while lying on the boat!"

Tang'er was somewhat dissatisfied. "My young lady..." Before she could finish her sentence, the girl in yellow gently tapped her shoulder. "You are not allowed to be rude to Young Master Shengxiang."

Tang'er felt a little wronged, "The young lady is..."

"Shangxuan—Shangxuan—" Shengxiang suddenly shouted.

Shang Xuan, who was sitting to the side, was startled and rushed over abruptly, "What's wrong?"