Guarding the River of Time-Chapter 298 - 289: The Inverted Waterfall, Farewell Zero!

Chapter 298: Chapter 289: The Inverted Waterfall, Farewell Zero!

"The adult was right, that senior didn’t ask me for any compensation; he repaired it for free."

"That senior is a good person, I owe him a huge favor."

Old Ten said quietly.

"Wrong."

"We all owe him a favor."

The imposing man said seriously.

"I’ll give you a year’s leave." After saying this, he hurriedly left.

After the leader left, Old Ten suddenly felt that the salty tofu stew in the pot wasn’t as fragrant as before.

After all, there’s a big difference between slacking off and taking a vacation.

He liked the feeling of stealing a moment of leisure amidst busyness, but now that he was given a vacation, he felt uneasy instead.

....

That night, while Su Mu was meditating, he noticed some movement on the river’s surface.

He got up and went to the riverbank, looking up to see a wooden boat on the water that looked familiar.

He walked toward the boat and, upon getting closer, discovered a man sitting at the bow with a fishing rod, fishing.

At that moment, many fireflies flew up from the river, and by their faint glow, he could make out the person’s face.

It was an old man in cloth clothing, wearing a bamboo hat with gray-white hair.

Seeing Su Mu approaching, the old man put down his fishing rod, took off his hat, and clasped his hands together, saying, "My friend, long time no see."

Su Mu recognized the old man in cloth clothing; he had met him a few years ago.

He still remembered that after helping him out back then, he had given him a fishing rod and a stone ring.

Both treasures had helped Su Mu a great deal, leaving a deep impression on him. The man’s name was also unique, just a single character — "Zero."

"So it’s you, Daoist Zero."

"Out fishing at night?"

Su Mu asked with a smile.

"Not entirely, I happened to be passing by and thought I’d check on you," Old Man Zero replied with a chuckle.

....

"It seems you’ve been faring well these years, growing ever more youthful."

Su Mu noted that the old man seemed significantly more spirited and energetic than when he had seen him before.

Back then, the old man spoke weakly and walked with a faltering gait.

But now it was different; even though his appearance hadn’t changed much, his vigor had improved greatly, and he spoke with robust energy.

"It’s all thanks to your help."

"I’ve come this time to remind you of something."

Old Man Zero’s expression turned serious.

"What is it?" Su Mu asked with furrowed brows.

....

"When guarding the river, you need to be extra vigilant and cautious," Old Man Zero said, stressing each word.

"Do you mean to say someone is targeting me?"

Due to a past incident, Su Mu was quite affected; a stranger had inexplicably become an enemy, going to great lengths to try and kill him.

But he didn’t know the man at all, so... Su Mu also felt like someone was indeed targeting him.

Could it be that over the years of guarding the river and collecting tolls, he had inadvertently offended some powerful figures?

Upon hearing this, Old Man Zero nodded: "You must be careful, my friend."

After his words, Su Mu replied, "Thank you for the warning."

"Would you like to come ashore for a cup of tea?"

"No, I still have something to attend to and need to hurry back, so I won’t disturb your rest," the old man said, waving his hand.

"Until we meet again." After saying this, the old man paddled away quickly, as if in a hurry.

....

That night, Su Mu neither slept nor cultivated.

He spent the entire time thinking back over the years, and recalling all the Cross River Men he had encountered, trying to figure out who he might have offended.

By dawn, Su Mu had still not figured it out.

He stood up, stretched, and decided not to dwell on the matter any further.

All he needed to do was stay vigilant. He wouldn’t court trouble, but he certainly wouldn’t fear it. If such a life-threatening situation arose again, he would make sure to root out the threat completely.

The last time, things went wrong when that man was saved by someone.

.....

"For the time being, you don’t need to follow me."

Before heading out on patrol, he recalled what the old man had said the day before and decided not to let the Little Fox accompany him.

If there really was a dangerous situation, it would be easier to escape on his own.

Upon hearing this, the Little Fox nodded despondently, then watched as Su Mu left.

Whenever Su Mu went on patrol, if the Little Fox didn’t go with him, it would stay quietly at the door, waiting for his return.

Strangely enough, even though the Little Fox had been in the house for a long time, it never managed to play with Nannan. It always stuck to Su Mu, accompanying him.

...

As he walked, Su Mu patrolled into an entirely new body of water.

To earn more Favor Points, Su Mu needed to patrol waters he had never visited, encountering more varied and complex situations, and thus gaining more Favor Points after handling them.

.....

At this time, Su Mu arrived at the junction of tributaries.

He discovered that the water in the three tributaries branching off from this junction was static, which was very strange.

Su Mu followed one of the tributaries.

After walking for about an hour, he found that the other two tributaries had aligned themselves parallel to this one.

In essence, the three tributaries formed three straight parallel lines flowing in the same direction.

Su Mu quickened his pace.

After half an hour, the sound of flowing water, much like the noise of a waterfall crashing onto a stone surface, reached his ears.

Su Mu followed the sound.

...

Upon witnessing the scene before him, he was stunned.

At the ends of the three tributaries was a cliff face.

This cliff was a thousand meters wide and a hundred meters tall.

The water from the three tributaries surged upward along the cliff.

The sight resembled an inverted waterfall.

Because, in a normal waterfall, the water flows from top to bottom, but in this case, the water was flowing upward, defying natural phenomena.

This piqued Su Mu’s curiosity.

Approaching the inverted waterfall, Su Mu reached out to touch the water, and at that moment, he was stunned again.

Because the water was flowing extremely fast!

He looked up at the top of the waterfall.

With a wave of his hand, Su Mu stopped the flow of the water because the high speed made it difficult to climb up.

........

After halting the water flow, Su Mu walked up the waterfall step by step.

Oddly, the higher he climbed, the more evident was the heaviness underfoot.

After just thirty meters, sweat began to bead on Su Mu’s forehead.

At the final ten meters, his feet felt incredibly heavy, and each step took tremendous effort.

....

There was only one step left. Su Mu circulated his Cultivation Technique, took a deep breath, and leaped sharply.

Reaching the top of the waterfall, Su Mu steadied himself and looked ahead.