"Why is it so heavy?"
Yu Daochen looked down in confusion.
He saw a figure clinging to the little girl's feet, its deathly pale face grinning eerily at him.
Yu Daochen's expression changed drastically.
It was a water ghost!
Just as he was about to gather his Tian Qian Palm, he saw Su Lai tightly grip the wooden stick in his hand and strike the water ghost.
The water ghost seemed terrified of the wooden stick in Su Lai's hand. It released the little girl's hand and dodged to the side.
Su Lai nodded at Yu Daochen and then pursued the water ghost, which was attempting to escape.
Yu Daochen dared not delay. He hugged the little girl and swam to the surface.
The crowd on the shore looked at Yu Daochen as he surfaced, shouting.
"Who are you people? Let our villagers go."
"Quick, let go of my daughter!"
"Hand over my daughter!"
Yu Daochen ignored them completely and swam towards the boat.
Upon reaching the boat, Da Hu grabbed the little girl and then pulled Yu Daochen onto the boat.
Da Hu felt for the pulse on the little girl's neck. Her heartbeat was growing weaker, and his face turned grim. He quickly gathered Qi in his fingertips and pressed it to her chest to protect her heart. He then looked at Yu Daochen and asked,
"Master Yu, what do we do now?"
Yu Daochen suddenly thought of a method. "Use Qi to force the water out directly."
Da Hu no longer cared about anything else. He directly mobilized the Qi within his body, condensed it at his fingertips, and channeled it into the little girl.
Yu Daochen propped up the little girl, pried open her mouth, pinched her philtrum, and said, "Guide the Qi out directly."
Da Hu nodded, controlling the Qi entering the little girl's body to surge towards her throat.
Suddenly, the little girl spat out a mouthful of water, and then continued to vomit.
Seeing this, Da Hu was overjoyed. He looked at Yu Daochen in amazement and said, "Master Yu, what method is this? It actually works."
Yu Daochen did not answer. Instead, he looked at the villagers swimming towards them from the water, his expression grave. "We should think about how to deal with these people."
Da Hu had already noticed. These people intended to drown the little girl. He cursed.
"Damn it, these guys intend to drown the little girl alive."
Yu Daochen did not reply. Instead, he looked at the faces of the villagers in the water, his expression becoming serious.
Five villagers swam to the side of the boat, but because the boat was too high, they could not board without someone pulling them up. They could only shout from the water.
"Who are you people? Give us back Xiao Juan quickly."
"I am this little girl's father. Give me back my daughter."
Yu Daochen remained silent, staring at their faces, lost in thought.
"Cough... cough..."
At this moment, the little girl regained some consciousness and coughed violently.
Seeing this, Yu Daochen glanced at the villagers in the water, then at Da Hu, and said, "Brother Da Hu, take the little girl to the room first. Don't let her catch a cold. I'll handle this."
The man in the water seemed to hear his daughter's voice and shouted, "Xiao Juan, Dad is here to pick you up."
Hearing her father's call, the little girl suddenly burst into tears and ran towards the side of the boat.
Da Hu quickly grabbed the little girl's arm, saying anxiously, "Little girl, you need to be clear-headed. They are bad people who want to drown you!"
The little girl looked at the tall, sturdy Da Hu, who had a villainous look on his face. She clenched her fists and punched Da Hu, saying fearfully, "You are the bad guys! Let go of me, I want to find my dad."
Da Hu dared not fight back, but he was afraid that the villagers would harm the little girl, so he could only hold onto her hand.
Yu Daochen knew in his heart that reasoning with a sixteen-year-old girl was unrealistic. He made a decisive command: "Knock her out."
Da Hu looked at the crying little girl and comforted her, "Don't worry, uncle is not a bad person."
The little girl didn't listen. Crying, she punched Da Hu's chest. "Let go of me, I want to find my dad."
Her father was right below the boat. If this uncle wasn't a bad person, why wouldn't he let her go find her dad?
Da Hu had no choice but to raise his hand and knock out the little girl. He picked her up and walked towards the room.
This little girl had just woken up from drowning, and with the recent shock, she was likely to catch a cold.
The man in the water roared at Yu Daochen, "What are you doing to my daughter? Let her go!"
The other villagers also joined in the commotion.
Yu Daochen looked at the man in the water who claimed to be the girl's father and asked, "Are you her father?"
The man nodded. "That's right, I am her father."
Upon hearing this, Yu Daochen said coldly, "Since you are her father, why are you watching her drown alive?"
"This..." The man was momentarily speechless.
"This is our village custom. Every child who turns sixteen must undergo a baptism in the Yellow River."
An old voice came from afar.
Yu Daochen followed the direction of the sound and saw three small boats rowing towards them.
On the leading small boat, an old man was looking at Yu Daochen.
Behind him were three strong men holding machetes and fish spears.
The villagers on the other two small boats also held weapons.
Seeing the old man arrive, the noisy villagers in the water immediately fell silent.
Yu Daochen looked at the approaching old man, a smile playing on his lips.
It seemed the person with authority had arrived.
The three small boats rowed to the large boat. The man in the water, who claimed to be the little girl's father, looked at the old man and said, "Village Chief, they..."
Before the man could finish speaking, he was glared at fiercely by the old man. "Shut up!"
The man who claimed to be the little girl's father immediately shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.
The old man turned to look at Yu Daochen. The height of the small boat was just enough to board the large boat.
The old man stepped onto the large boat, followed by the other villagers who also boarded the large boat, gripping their weapons tightly, waiting for the old man's command.
The little girl's father also came onto the large boat and, seeing the open door of the room, prepared to run towards it.
The old man saw this and shouted angrily, "Stop!"
The little girl's father immediately stopped.
The old man took a step forward, a smile on his face, and introduced himself. "I am the village chief of this Xiaohe Village, my surname is Zhang, and my given name is Min. May I know your esteemed surname, sir?"
Seeing the old man's polite demeanor, Yu Daochen chuckled inwardly and replied, "My surname is Yu, and my given name is Daochen."
"So, you are Mr. Yu."
Zhang Min chuckled and said, "Mr. Yu, you might have misunderstood our village customs, but we still thank you for your assistance."
After speaking, the old man looked at the little girl's father beside him and said, "Why don't you apologize to Mr. Yu quickly?"
The little girl's father quickly bowed and apologized. "Mr. Yu, I apologize for my rudeness earlier. I was also worried about my Xiao Juan."
Yu Daochen ignored the little girl's father and instead looked at Zhang Min, asking, "I don't understand what you mean by misunderstanding?"
Zhang Min smiled faintly and explained, "As Mr. Yu just saw, this is our village custom."