Chapter 028: Surprised, Aren't You?

Money does make everything more convenient. Zhou Beitang simply made a phone call, and less than half an hour later, two high-powered water pumps were delivered. Installation, connection to electricity—the pumps quickly began their work.

"Mr. Yu… um… what exactly is in my pond?" Zhou Beitang asked me.

During the wait for the pumps, he’d already repeated this question several times.

"Don’t worry. You’ll know once the water’s gone," I replied with a faint smile. In truth, I already had a good idea of what lay beneath. After examining the energy around their villa, I’d discovered a dense accumulation of malevolent energy right under this pond.

But as for what exactly was causing it, I’d have to wait until the water was gone to see for myself.

"Xiaowei, stop keeping us in suspense. Just tell me—what’s going on?" Shang Wuyong pressed.

To be honest, I had little fondness for these two brothers. Their social skills were abysmally lacking, making for awkward company more often than not.

"Just a moment. The water will be out soon enough," I assured him.

With both pumps running, the water level dropped rapidly.

"Xiaowei, there’s nothing here but mud," Shang Wuwei commented.

I didn’t answer. Instead, I craned my neck, peering intently into the pond. Indeed, aside from mud and tangled roots, nothing unusual was visible.

Zhou Beitang looked at me, clearly awaiting my explanation.

I took out my compass and double-checked.

Yes, no mistake—there was a powerful concentration of malevolent energy in this pond.

"Xiaowei, did you get it wrong? There’s not even a fish in here, let alone anything strange," Shang Wuyong questioned.

Shang Wuwei chimed in, "Yeah, where’s this mysterious thing you were talking about?"

Were I not familiar with their personalities, I might have thought they were deliberately trying to undermine me.

"Exactly! You’re right! Why isn’t there a single fish in here?" I turned to Shang Wuyong with a meaningful look.

The absence of fish itself was a problem.

As the saying goes, ‘clear water holds no fish.’ But this pond’s water wasn’t clear, and yet, not a single fish was visible.

Everyone knows—where there’s water, there are fish. Any place with standing water for a long time will inevitably have fish. In a pond like this, there should be at least a few. But with the water drained, not a single fish, not even a tiny one, could be found.

Zhou Beitang, puzzled, remarked, "That’s right. I remember putting in plenty of fry a few years ago. How could there not be a single fish?"

Exactly. Not to mention fish that might have hatched naturally—Zhou Beitang had even stocked the pond with fingerlings, yet now there were none.

"Maybe the fish are hiding in the mud? I’ve seen those rice field fish—they stay buried in the silt," Shang Wuyong suggested.

"Rice field fish? Ha!" I chuckled. Then, from my bag, I took out a blank talisman paper. With a brush and cinnabar, I swiftly drew a charm.

It was a Seven-Star Talisman of the first white rank—a simple enough charm for me to draw.

With a few strokes, it was completed. I held the talisman between two fingers, formed a hand seal with the other, and recited in a low voice: "Sun rises in the east, brilliant light shines, divine spirits guard me, the Gate of Celebration is established. Fortune and blessing encircle, unwavering as steel, maintaining balance, justice prevails. The curse is not broken, the home of the water ghosts, the Three Primordials fill the bowl, the Eight Spirits claim the domain. Defy me and perish, none may obstruct, by order of the Yellow Elder, depart swiftly. The Northern God commands, misfortune is forever severed..."

The full Seven-Star Incantation finished, I intoned, "By the mandate of law—hasten!"

I flung the talisman into the pond.

As it left my hand, it turned into a faint streak of light that shot into the pond.

A low hum sounded, and the talisman’s light scattered into countless sparks.

Then, from the mud, there came a sudden squirming.

"Ha, look! Isn’t that a fish?" Shang Wuyong pointed at the moving mud, shouting.

But before he could finish, his mouth fell open in astonishment.

From the mud leaped a creature the size of a washbasin.

It shook itself and opened its gaping mouth, letting out a strange croak.

"Good lord, what a massive toad!" Shang Wuwei exclaimed.

Indeed, the thing that had jumped out was a toad as large as a washbasin.

'Toad' is the local term for what’s otherwise known as a spadefoot toad or simply, a toad. Normally, they’re no bigger than a fist. But this one—washbasin-sized—was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

"Gu..." It opened its mouth again and let out another strange call.

With that sound, more and more toads began emerging from the mud, each with a muffled 'plop.'

The ones that followed were regular-sized, but soon the entire bottom of the pond was crawling with them. Dense, leaping shapes—enough to make anyone’s hair stand on end.

"Bloody hell! This… this many?" Shang Wuyong shouted.

"Heavens!" Zhou Beitang could only retreat, his face pale with fright.

Though I didn’t move, my own heart was pounding. I hadn’t expected so many toads.

Toads are unremarkable in small numbers, but when one grows as large as a washbasin—or when so many appear at once—it’s genuinely unnerving.

Not to mention, this sudden swarm was downright sinister.

I cleared my throat and steadied myself, then shot Zhou Beitang and the others a glare. "Well? Satisfied now? Is this mysterious enough for you?"

"Good lord, it’s more than mysterious!" Shang Wuyong exclaimed, wide-eyed.

Zhou Beitang, on the other hand, looked utterly miserable. "Mr. Yu… what… what is this? My god, I never imagined there’d be… tsk tsk… in the pond right outside my door..."

He hugged his arms, rubbing them as goosebumps rose all over his skin.

"Gu..."

At that moment, the giant toad croaked again, and the smaller toads all hopped toward it.

In no time, the big toad was surrounded, like a mighty general with his troops.

"What the hell are they doing?" Shang Wuyong shouted as the toads clustered ever closer.

Once all the small toads had gathered around the giant, they suddenly stopped moving.

Not a good sign. I frowned.

"This is bad!" I cried, then immediately shouted to the brothers, "Hurry, help me! Separate them!"

"Ah?" They looked at me blankly.

There was no time for explanations. I opened my jade box of talismans, snatched a 'Five Thunders Celestial Talisman,' recited the incantation, and hurled the charm at the crowd of toads.

With a crackling sound, the talisman exploded midair, unleashing streaks of lightning upon the toads.

The chorus of croaks and shrieks erupted as the toads scattered, rushing for the edge of the pond.

"Quick! Help! Don’t let them crawl out! Kill them! Kill them all!" I shouted.

The brothers finally snapped to attention, forming hand seals and reciting incantations, beams of spiritual energy shooting from their hands at the fleeing toads.

The sound of bursting toads and frantic leaping filled the air. Strangely, the toads burst without spilling a drop of blood—their insides were as gray and dusty as the mud itself.

"Gasoline! Hurry! Mr. Zhou, get some gasoline!" I called to Zhou Beitang.

These things were born of malevolent energy. They absolutely could not be allowed to escape the pond. If they did, it would be impossible to control the situation.

Zhou Beitang was petrified. I had to shout twice before he came to his senses and ran off to fetch gasoline.

At that moment, the giant toad stirred!

It had been facing away from me, but now it slowly turned, fixing a pair of eerie eyes on me...