Chapter 188: The Toad Spirit

　　The shadow beneath the coat floated silently in the lake water.

　　Its body was plump and round, with thick, short limbs.

　　It seemed to be floating on its back on the surface of the water, motionless, with its state of life or death unknown.

　　"What on earth is that thing? It looks like a child?"

　　"I think it looks more like a toad! Could it be a toad spirit?"

　　The three of them were filled with suspicion and fear.

　　What was certain was that it was not a water ghost, but something with a physical form.

　　Previously, they had only seen several heads floating on the surface of the water, and hadn't noticed this thing at all, indicating that it had been hiding underwater all along.

　　Fortunately, they had used a substitute and didn't let Jingjian go into the water directly.

　　Otherwise, it would be hard to say whether Jingjian could still come out alive.

　　"Whatever it is, it must be some kind of water creature. Hiding in the water to pick up scraps, it was injured by the incense ashes and ghost-repelling characters," Lu Fei said thoughtfully.

　　Jingjian suddenly showed a hint of joy: "From its appearance, it might already be dead. Why don't we find a way to get it out and see if there is something like an internal elixir?"

　　"Something this big shouldn't die so easily, right?" Lu Fei said cautiously.

　　"Even if it's not dead, we can still take action while it's unconscious! Once a filthy thing from the water is on land, it's like meat on a chopping block, only fit to be slaughtered! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

　　"Alright, let's give it a try."

　　After thinking for a moment, Lu Fei nodded in agreement.

　　The purpose of this trip was to collect the inner dan of demonic creatures. Although no fish demons were caught tonight, with a ready-made demonic creature in front of them, why would they let it go?

　　Jing Jian took out another rope, tied it to the oversized fishhook, and then swung it a few times before throwing it forcefully at the calf-sized shadow.

　　It took several attempts before the hook finally caught the thing.

　　"Huzi, help out."

　　Lu Fei held the flashlight, standing by the shore and watching the movements of the demonic creature.

　　Huzi and Jing Jian pulled the rope with all their might, dragging the monster towards the shore.

　　The monster was extremely heavy, but there was no struggle, making it much easier than when they were tugging of war with the water ghost.

　　The calf-sized body slowly spread across the water and floated over.

　　The closer it got, the more vigilant Lu Fei became.

　　The little black dog in his backpack stared at the thing without blinking.

　　Ripples formed on the water's surface; the monster had already been dragged to the shallow area, just three or four meters from the shore.

　　But right at that moment.

　　Splash!

　　The monster seemed to have moved.

　　"Be careful!" Lu Fei's alarm bells rang out, and he aimed his flashlight at the monster, clutching the Ghost Ward in his hand.

　　Hu Zi and Jing Jian gritted their teeth and exerted all their strength to pull the monster to the shore as quickly as possible.

　　Under the flashlight.

　　The skin of the monster was pitch black and smooth, with limbs that were short but eerily similar to human hands and feet.

　　Lu Fei felt a chill run down his spine.

　　Any spirit or demon that has taken on human form is not to be trifled with!

　　The Human-faced Eel, with just a face resembling a human, was already quite troublesome. This monster, however, had its entire body transformed into something like an infant, entirely different from the Human-faced Eel.

　　Lu Fei's body tensed up, and he raised his hand holding the Ghost-subduing Talisman, ready to throw it as soon as the monster came within range.

　　Although the Thunderstrike Jujube Wood Staff was powerful, it required spiritual energy to activate and could only be used for close combat.

　　Splash!

　　Perhaps because of the forceful tugging by Hu Zi and Jing Jian, the fishhook dug deeper into the monster's flesh, causing it pain and prompting it to move again.

　　On its black skin, a large eye suddenly opened.

　　"Not good, it's awake!"

　　Lu Fei gritted his teeth, quickly stepped forward, and hurled three ghost-sealing characters at the monster.

　　One of them landed on the monster.

　　Black smoke rose in waves. The creature let out a wailing sound similar to that of an infant, its plump body writhing violently as it desperately flipped over and sank into the water.

　　Jing Jian and Hu Zi immediately felt the force on the rope in front of them drop, causing both of them to stagger forward a few steps. Hu Zi quickly gritted his teeth, leaned back, and stopped their forward momentum.

　　Then, he wrapped the rope around his arm, turned his back, and pulled with all his might like he was pulling a cart.

　　Water splashed violently, and the monster struggled fiercely.

　　Unable to hit the monster with the ghost-sealing characters, Lu Fei immediately grabbed the wet rope and pulled with his teammates.

　　The rope was taut, swinging left and right continuously.

　　Veins bulged on the hands of the three, and they were almost grinding their back teeth to dust.

　　Under the effect of the exorcism words, the monster's struggling force became weaker and weaker, its plump body gradually resurfacing and moving closer to the shore.

　　"Just a little more effort!"

　　The three of them made one concerted effort, and even the small black dog jumped out of Lu Fei's backpack, ran over and bit the end of the rope, its small body straining to help pull with everyone else.

　　There was a splash of water.

　　As the monster came ashore, everyone immediately felt the tension in the rope loosen, and they couldn't help but show their joy.

　　Once the infant-like monster left the water, it could no longer struggle, its flat mouth opened wide, breathing weakly.

　　"We finally got it. This thing is really fat..."

　　But their joy didn't last for even two seconds.

　　A sudden gust of wind rose by the lakeside.

　　Lu Fei sensed something was wrong and looked up towards the lake.

　　A wave surged from afar on the lake.

　　Layer upon layer, it seemed as if something was rapidly approaching from underwater.

　　Whatever is carrying such a large wave must be a huge creature!

　　"Quick, pull harder!"

　　Lu Fei, sensing the danger, shouted and tightened the rope again, pulling the monster with all his might further away.

　　Hu Zi and Jing Jian didn't know what was happening, but seeing how serious Lu Fei was, they quickly joined in and started pulling the rope again.

　　Boom!

　　Behind them, the surging waves piled up layer by layer, the mist wet their backs, and the strong wind made their sleeves flap violently.

　　Without looking back, they dragged the monster, which was as heavy as a baby, a long distance. They only stopped to catch their breath when they felt the waves recede behind them.

　　Turning around, they couldn't help but feel a chill of fear. 

　　Where they had been standing, the reed bed had collapsed, and stones were scattered everywhere as if a flood had occurred.

　　In the lake, amid the turbulent waves, there was a large shadow staring directly at their direction.

　　Even from such a distance and in the darkness, they could feel the intense anger and hatred in its gaze.

　　"That seems to be the fish demon!" Jing Jian exclaimed.

　　"Fish demon?" Lu Fei was also startled, he looked down at the baby-like black monster in front of him, "Could this be its offspring?"

　　"It really is!" Jing Jian's eyes widened. He hadn't noticed earlier, but now he realized that what they had caught was a miniature version of that fish demon!

　　The monster had a pitch-black fish skin, though it had limbs like a baby, its head was still quite flat, and behind its back, there was a slippery tail.

　　Isn't this just a catfish with hands and feet!

　　Everyone felt a mix of happiness and worry.

　　The good news was, by sheer luck, instead of catching the fish demon, they had first captured its offspring.

　　Bad news, we've made a mortal enemy out of that big fish!