The vast river water, under He Xiuyuan's command, was like a mountain, pressing directly onto the Black Fish Demon's body, and with that cold shout, it instantly sobered up the Black Fish Demon below.
"Who... who is this person above?"
The Black Fish Demon felt its entire body stiffen at this moment, its heart trembling uncontrollably. Originally, it could move freely in this river water and could also control water.
It commanded these river waters as if they were its own arms.
However, now, its connection with the river water was forcibly severed. The vast river water was constantly squeezing it, and tiny trickles of fresh blood seeped from the gaps in its dark fish scales due to the pressure.
Yet, this blood simply floated around the Black Fish Demon, not mixing with the water, but merely gathering beside its body. At a glance, it seemed as if the surrounding river water was repelling even its blood.
The Black Fish Demon gritted its teeth at this moment, its Demonic Qi radiating outward, attempting to resist the surrounding river water pressing in.
However, with its demonic power, it was clearly unable to contend with such a vast amount of river water.
Who exactly is this person above?
When the Black Fish Demon thought of this, its heart immediately filled with fear and unease.
And at this moment, He Xiuyuan, on the covered boat, let out a sigh of relief after stepping down and taming the turbulent river water, causing it to calm.
However, his body was now completely devoid of Spiritual Qi, making it impossible to deal with the Black Fish Demon below again.
Now, while the Black Fish Demon couldn't break free, he had to leave quickly!
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan was about to tell the boatman to row the boat away, but before He Xiuyuan could speak, the surrounding boatmen had already started rowing, quickly heading towards the shore.
They were all people who made a living by the river. Just now, watching the turbulent waves in the river, they almost thought they were going to be buried in the fish's belly.
However, under such circumstances, they saw a scholar standing at the bow of the boat, letting out a loud shout that calmed the river water.
Although they were extremely shocked by this, they also knew that they should escape first at this moment.
After all, the lives of so many people on the boat depended on them.
He Xiuyuan watched the boats rowing towards the shore, sighing in relief. Then he looked at the river water; the Black Fish Demon was still trapped underwater, but it seemed it would soon break free.
Just now, in his anger, he had poured all his spiritual power into the bottom of the river, leaving his body empty now.
He couldn't do that again in the future.
He Xiuyuan mused to himself, while re-hanging the wine gourd back on his waist.
The boatmen, knowing they had just narrowly escaped being buried in the fish's belly, were now rowing with all their might. Finally, before the magic of the Water Control Art completely dissipated, they managed to bring the boats to the shore. All the boatmen let out a heavy sigh of relief at this moment.
Then, while helping the passengers disembark, they looked for the scholar they had just seen.
Soon, all the boatmen's gazes collectively fixed on He Xiuyuan.
"It was this Young Master's shout that calmed the river water, wasn't it? He truly is a man of remarkable talent, a marvel!"
"Yes, it is said that years ago, there were Water Spirit Monsters causing trouble in front of Zhuangyuan Ferry, and later, a top scholar shouted them away. Today, we have witnessed it again."
After securing his boat, a boatman hurriedly came before He Xiuyuan and thanked him.
If it hadn't been for He Xiuyuan today, they definitely wouldn't have been able to return home.
"Young Master is truly extraordinary, but just now, from your words, it seemed you were speaking to Lord Jiang?"
A boatman from behind came forward and cautiously asked He Xiuyuan.
If they hadn't misheard just now, He Xiuyuan seemed to be scolding something at the bottom of the river, as if accusing it of being insatiable?
When everyone heard this, their hearts tightened.
They would still have to travel back and forth on this Zhuangyuan Ferry in the future. If Lord Jiang at the bottom of the river got angry, what would they do then?
After all, He Xiuyuan couldn't be here all the time to shout angrily whenever they encountered Lord Jiang.
Steward Song, listening to these words from the side, turned his head away helplessly.
In his opinion, it was common for there to be big winds and waves on the river.
He Xiuyuan had merely shouted a sentence, and the surrounding area becoming calm was just a coincidence. If any of these boatmen had poured wine at that moment, they would probably have thought that their offering had pleased Lord Jiang, causing him to withdraw his Divine Ability, wouldn't they?
This He Xiuyuan was truly something. It was one thing for him to swindle people in Peach Blossom Town, but why was he doing this again at Zhuangyuan Ferry?
Steward Song felt helpless, but he said nothing at this moment.
For the boatmen here, Lord Jiang held a very important place in their hearts and could not be easily denied or slandered by outsiders.
And He Xiuyuan, standing by and listening to the boatmen's words, also understood their concerns.
After thinking for a moment, He Xiuyuan said, "Don't worry, everyone. After that scholar drove away the Spirit Monster years ago, didn't nothing happen? In the future, you can still run your boats with peace of mind."
"However, don't run them today. How about we wait until tomorrow?"
Since things had come to this, He Xiuyuan had to find a way to resolve it.
Otherwise, he really didn't know if hundreds more vengeful souls would appear in this river in the future.
If he didn't have the ability, he could naturally stand by and do nothing, but now that he had a small cultivation, he should at least do his part.
He recalled how, back in Peach Blossom Town, he had made Wu Yun endure the suffering of drowning, telling him not to find a substitute but instead to save others.
He taught others this way, and now that it was his turn, He Xiuyuan couldn't bring himself to be so hypocritical.
If, in the end, things were impossible and he truly couldn't deal with the Black Fish Demon, then he would have a clear conscience.
Moreover, He Xiuyuan had just heard what the Willow Tree Demon and Toad Demon said about those Cultivators, each of whom seemed to possess a noble and upright demeanor.
Even if he couldn't reach that level, he couldn't disgrace this identity, lest he be unable to face fellow Cultivators in the future.
As he thought this, He Xiuyuan's gaze involuntarily drifted towards the shore, where a big man was carrying an elderly woman on his back, walking step by step upwards.
When the boatmen heard this, their expressions immediately relaxed.
He Xiuyuan had just calmed the river water with a single sentence, so they naturally trusted He Xiuyuan very much.
Immediately, they all nodded and repeatedly thanked He Xiuyuan.
After everyone had finished their polite exchanges, He Xiuyuan and the others finally went ashore and walked towards Lin'an Prefecture.
"I heard Lin'an Prefecture is quite lively. How about staying there for a day before continuing our journey today?"
He Xiuyuan walked a few steps and spoke to the people beside him.
He wanted to go back and recover, then meet the Black Fish Demon by the river in the evening.