Standing by the reservoir, Ye Mingshang glanced at Sharkman beside him. "It's up to you."
Sharkman grinned and said, "Don't worry." With that, he jumped into the water with a splash.
The color of the reservoir was greenish, making it difficult to see what was inside, and there was no way to help; they could only watch from the side.
"How capable is this Sharkman? Can he handle it?" Ye Mingshang asked.
Zheng Guoxing stroked his long white beard and replied confidently, "Don't worry, Big Mouth is quite strong. These water ghosts are no match for him."
Now it was Ye Mingshang's turn to be puzzled. "Then why didn't we let him help earlier?"
The old man chuckled awkwardly. "Today you're here, so he doesn't dare act up. Usually, he's quite arrogant; every time I ask him for help, he demands a high price. I really can't afford it."
Oh, so that's how it is. At first, they hadn't talked much, and Sharkman's familiar attitude made him think they had a good relationship. It turned out to be just a transaction.
Sharkman had been underwater for about five or six minutes when suddenly a green shadow shot out with a splash. Ye Mingshang quickly threw a talisman paper to pin it down.
"First one, not bad, we've got something." The old man smiled happily as he looked at the water ghost on the ground.
Splash! Splash!
The sounds of breaking water continued as one green water ghost after another was tossed up, all pinned down by Ye Mingshang's talismans.
Half an hour later, there were already more than ten water ghosts piled on the ground. Ye Mingshang was puzzled; did they poke a nest of water ghosts? How could there be so many? Were all the water ghosts in the province coming here?
Splash!
Another water ghost was thrown out, and after that, there was no further movement. Half an hour passed without any signs of life.
"Are you done? Why aren't you coming up?" the old man asked in confusion.
"Could it be dead inside?" Ye Mingshang speculated.
After waiting a while longer, the surface of the water began to stir.
"Glub—glub—"
Bubbles rose to the surface, and soon with a splash, a familiar figure emerged from below. However, he no longer looked as spirited as before; his face was filled with terror, and he appeared to be in a panic as if he were fleeing.
"Master Ye, help me!" Sharkman shouted.
Ye Mingshang frowned. In the next moment, a large fish, entirely black, suddenly burst out of the water. Its head alone was taller than a person. It leaped halfway out of the water, opened its Big Mouth wide, and swallowed the terrified Sharkman in one gulp. Then it noticed the scattered water ghosts and the two standing nearby, opening its Big Mouth again to shoot a jet of water.
"Whoosh!"
As the water jet flew toward them, Ye Mingshang waved his hand casually and shattered it.
Seeing its attack fail, the large fish let out a strange cry and puffed up its cheeks. With a loud bang, it shot out a water cannonball about the size of a half-person.
Ye Mingshang pulled the old man aside to dodge. "Boom!" Debris flew everywhere as a large crater about one meter in diameter formed on the ground where they had been standing, demonstrating its formidable power. If the old man had been hit by that, he would have been sent straight to report below.
"Glub! Glub!" The Fish Monster called out as its Big Head sank down to drink some water before launching several more water bullets at them.
Ye Mingshang dragged the old man back and forth to dodge, and when he couldn't escape, he delivered a powerful punch that exploded on impact.
After a stalemate between the two sides, a large water balloon came flying in. Ye Mingshang pushed the old man aside, but he was hit directly in the chest by the water balloon and flew backward.
After hitting the ground, Ye Mingshang looked pained, his face flushed red as he clutched his chest, clearly in agony.
"Goo! Goo!" The Fish Monster called out, its excitement evident in its voice.
The large fish happily splashed the water twice, while Big Head dove underwater and spun around. Then it leaped high out of the water, ready to unleash its water cannon. However, at that moment, it couldn't find the figure it had just seen. Just as it was puzzled, a deep voice came from behind.
"Are you looking for me?"
"Goo!!!" The big fish suddenly felt a chill run down its spine, and then everything spun around. A few seconds later, it crashed heavily onto the ground, sliding far away and scattering debris everywhere.
The big fish, pinned to the ground, struggled and thrashed its tail, trying to jump up and return to the water.
But would it get its wish?
Just as the big fish jumped up, it felt a sharp pain in its back and once again made intimate contact with the ground.
The sound of thuds echoed continuously as Zheng Guoxing watched in terror.
"This... is this really a person?"
The old man's voice trembled with disbelief. In his eyes, this completely disproportionate clash showed that the big fish was being brutally beaten by Ye Mingshang. The massive creature, clearly seven or eight meters long, seemed no larger than an ordinary small fish in this young man's hands, completely at his mercy. With each punch that shook the ground, the big fish had no chance to resist and could only whimper as if begging for mercy.
Under such a frenzied assault, the big fish quickly became overwhelmed and lay gasping on the ground, occasionally spitting out water.
"Poof, poof, bleh!"
The big fish swayed slightly and with a puff, spat out Sharkman.
Sharkman rolled out in a ball shape, wobbling as he stood up, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
Once he finally regained his composure, he instinctively looked around and was immediately astonished. The fierce giant fish that had been chasing him everywhere was now lying on the ground, barely alive, while a young man stood calmly nearby, smoking nonchalantly as if the monstrous creature didn't exist at all.
Zheng Guoxing brushed off the dirt from his clothes and stood up, walking over in surprise. He looked up at the large Fellow lying down, then glanced at Ye Mingshang, who was calmly smoking, speechless.
Sharkman wore a similar expression. They were not young anymore and had encountered many capable Daoists, but none of them had used such violent and direct methods to exorcise demons. Was this really the style of a Daoist? It resembled the fighting methods of monsters instead.
Ye Mingshang calmly exhaled a smoke ring and said to the two dumbfounded individuals, "Why are you looking at me like that? Is it strange?"
"Uh-huh," both nodded involuntarily.
"It's just a little fish. Is it really that serious?" Ye Mingshang shot them a sideways glance.
A little fish? Ha ha... Only someone like you could refer to such a massive creature as a little fish...
(To be continued.)
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