Chapter 394: The Lame Golden Toad

　　"A mud hole under the water?"

　　Mr. Lai stood on tiptoe, looking at the pitch-black river under the bridge, a worried expression on his face.

　　"I don't know how deep the water is, and I'm only an average swimmer."

　　"Do I have to go down too? But I can't swim!" Mrs. Lai's face fell.

　　Lu Fei glanced at them: "Since we've come this far, one of you can go as a representative. I will go into the water with them."

　　"Thank you so much, Manager Lu!" Mrs. Lai was deeply grateful.

　　"Too kind of you."

　　Lu Fei looked around and checked the time.

　　"Since the weather is nice, let's get into the water now. Mr. Lai, you can warm up a bit first to prevent cramps after getting in the water."

　　"Alright then."

　　Mr. Lai handed the glass jar over to his wife to keep and found a relatively spacious spot by the edge of the field, where he started doing some stretching exercises.

　　"Huzi, keep an eye on things from up here. If Mr. Lai can't hold on, you need to be ready to pull him out."

　　"Got it!"

　　Lu Fei handed the small black dog to Huzi, put away his black umbrella, and walked to the bridge first.

　　The ancient sword hung quietly under the bridge.

　　After countless years of wind and rain, it was covered with the marks of time, as if it had become one with the bridge.

　　I wonder what happened during the construction of the bridge.

　　He lowered his head and looked at the river again.

　　The space under the bridge, which never received sunlight, appeared dark and bottomless.

　　"Manager Lu, I'm ready."

　　Mr. Lai's voice came from behind, and Lu Fei turned around and nodded to him.

　　"Good."

　　He took off his T-shirt and shoes, revealing a well-built upper body. After testing the water temperature with his foot, he jumped in.

　　The water under the bridge was exceptionally cold, but he quickly adapted and waved to Mr. Lai.

　　"Mr. Lai, you can come down now."

　　"Coming."

　　Mr. Lai took off his clothes, timidly got into the water, and shivered from the cold.

　　"Honey, be careful!"

　　Mrs. Lai squatted by the shore, carefully handing over the glass jar containing the golden toad, her face full of worry.

　　After this incident, the two of them grew much closer.

　　"Don't worry, Manager Lu is here!"

　　Mr. Lai nodded to her, holding the glass jar, and swam to the underside of the bridge with Lu Fei.

　　Under the bridge, there was no sunlight, making it even cooler.

　　Mr. Lai's face turned pale from the cold.

　　"Mr. Lai, can you make it?"

　　"No, no problem!"

　　Mr. Lai shivered and made an OK gesture.

　　To survive, we have to make it work, even if it seems impossible!

　　"Follow me!"

　　Lu Fei looked around, confirming the approximate location based on his memory, then took a deep breath and dived into the water.

　　Mr. Lai immediately followed him down.

　　Lu Fei's swimming skills were also average, but he relied on his magic to support his body while in the water, preventing the icy river from freezing his limbs.

　　However, as he descended, he felt his body becoming increasingly uncontrollable, and an overwhelming sense of suffocation gradually enveloped him.

　　Just as he could no longer go any further, a warm current suddenly surged from his shoulders and quickly spread throughout his body.

　　Lu Fei instantly felt his body become lighter, and the suffocating feeling disappeared. In the water, he was as agile as a fish.

　　Dragon scales!

　　Lu Fei was both surprised and delighted.

　　This dragon scale really has many benefits!

　　He opened his eyes wide and observed his surroundings.

　　Various debris and duckweed floated in the water, and fish could be faintly seen swimming in the distance.

　　"I can see so far in the water."

　　Lu Fei was extremely excited.

　　But after a few glances, he withdrew his gaze.

　　First things first, I can play around later.

　　He grabbed Mr. Lai and pulled him down.

　　They continued to sink.

　　Finally, the bottom can be seen.

　　Dense aquatic plants, piles of rocks, and thick silt.

　　Where is the cave?

　　Lu Fei squinted his eyes and searched around.

　　His body was light, moving freely and without burden across the riverbed, but Mr. Lai's body had reached its limit and began to struggle uncontrollably.

　　The glass jar slipped out of his hand and floated in the water.

　　Lu Fei grabbed the jar and pushed Mr. Lai upward with all his strength.

　　Splash!

　　The two surfaced.

　　Mr. Lai gasped for air, breathing so hard that he nearly passed out. Lu Fei patted his back forcefully, and after a long bout of coughing, he finally recovered.

　　His face was as pale as paper.

　　Mrs. Lai on the shore was extremely worried.

　　"Mr. Lai, hold on a bit longer, we just need to find the toad's cave."

　　Mr. Lai pitifully nodded.

　　When he felt a bit better, Lu Fei pulled him and quickly dived down.

　　With the experience from last time, they soon reached the bottom of the river.

　　Lu Fei carefully searched through the dense aquatic plants and finally made a discovery.

　　"These stones are different, they are piled up like a door. Could this be it? Let's try it!"

　　Seeing that Mr. Lai was about to run out of strength again, Lu Fei quickly pulled him over, making him place the glass jar in front of the pile of stones, and even pressed his head down, making a bowing motion.

　　Just after they did this, the stones suddenly moved aside, and a huge vortex appeared in the mud, instantly sucking both of them in.

　　Drip, drip.

　　Drip, drip.

　　Lu Fei opened his eyes to find himself in a damp cave entrance.

　　Mr. Lai was right beside him.

　　Good, he's breathing.

　　"Is this the home of the little golden toad?"

　　Lu Fei carefully looked around. There was no sunlight, but it wasn't dark; the cave was illuminated by a golden glow that flickered inside.

　　"Mr. Lai, Mr. Lai?" Lu Fei pushed Mr. Lai, but couldn't wake him up.

　　His eyes were tightly shut, and his expression was one of panic, as if he were trapped in a nightmare.

　　Lu Fei simply picked him up and, carrying the glass jar, walked deeper into the water cave.

　　The deeper he went, the more dazzling the golden light became.

　　When the light grew so bright that it nearly blinded Lu Fei, he finally reached the end.

　　Lu Fei put Mr. Lai down and squinted his eyes to look at the golden light.

　　There stood a stone the color of gold, about the size of a bucket, shaped like a toad, radiating a brilliant golden glow from all over its body.

　　Even more peculiar was the treasure chest on the back of the toad.

　　The chest contained all kinds of rare gold, silver, and gemstones, everything one could imagine.

　　All the lights converged, making the entire water cave shimmer with golden brilliance.

　　It took Lu Fei considerable effort to clearly see the appearance of the golden toad, and he was immediately astounded.

　　The toad had only three legs.

　　"A three-legged golden toad?!"

　　As the saying goes, three-legged men are everywhere, but a three-legged toad is hard to find!

　　It is said that the three-legged golden toad comes from the Moon Palace in the sky, symbolizing good luck and wealth.

　　This is indeed an auspicious and spiritual creature!

　　Lu Fei was utterly shocked.

　　Upon closer inspection, it turned out that one of the legs of this golden toad statue was broken.

　　Thank goodness.

　　If it were really a three-legged golden toad from the Moon Palace, he probably wouldn't have been able to do anything about it.

　　Ah, Mr. Lai has such good luck!

　　Lu Fei thought to himself, then opened the glass jar and carefully placed the little golden toad in front of the golden toad statue.

　　"Great Golden Toad, they have realized their mistake and specially returned the little golden toad to offer their apologies! I hope you can forgive them."

　　Mr. Lai was in a coma and he could only apologize on his behalf.

　　Bowing to the three-legged golden toad, Lu Fei waited for a few seconds, but the golden toad statue did not react in any way.

　　But there was a sudden loud noise in his ears, and the icy river water instantly submerged them.

　　Damn!