A warm heat radiated from the wound around Wang Xiaoli's body.
Lin Fan gently placed his right hand on it, nourishing her wound with spiritual energy, increasing cell activity to accelerate their division and regeneration.
"Is it working?"
"You've finally done something decent."
Wang Xiaoli let out a comfortable hum, her words laced with barbs.
"I'll give you a chance to say that again."
Lin Fan, seething with anger, stopped transmitting spiritual energy.
"Thank you."
Wang Xiaoli immediately lowered her head and said obediently.
Only then did Lin Fan resume channeling spiritual energy to help her heal.
"What did you encounter?"
"A black snakehead in Qinghe Reservoir had cultivated significantly. Caught off guard, I was besieged by a large number of its kin underwater. I suffered minor injuries before breaking free," Wang Xiaoli said lightly.
"You don't look like you only suffered minor injuries," Lin Fan scoffed.
"By the way, what is a black snakehead?"
"Black fish, snakehead. Don't tell me you've never eaten one."
Wang Xiaoli tilted her head and rolled her eyes.
"Black fish..."
Lin Fan vaguely recalled a patient's family member giving him a black fish half a meter long in the past.
The creature had a fierce appearance, its body covered in black and white spots, and its rows of sharp fangs looked formidable.
He also heard that black fish were incredibly resilient. When their aquatic environment dried up, they could burrow into the mud and survive for a long time by breathing with their lungs.
During food scarcity, they would leap out of the water at night, using their powerful jumping ability to find new habitats.
Despite being a fish, it possessed amphibious characteristics, truly a lord of freshwater.
Lin Fan was at a loss.
A black snakehead spirit that had cultivated significantly had managed to injure even a careless snake demon, let alone ordinary humans.
The dragon bone was buried underwater, and to retrieve it, one had to dive down.
With the black snakehead spirit guarding the depths, who had the capability?
"What are you thinking about?"
Wang Xiaoli felt the warmth on her shoulder fluctuating and said with dissatisfaction.
"What should we do?"
Wang Xiaoli was the only one Lin Fan could rely on.
"We'll figure something out after I recover."
Wang Xiaoli snorted coldly, "Hmph, it only managed to gain the upper hand by relying on being in its territory and having its offspring attack me together."
"Dare to steal my Dragon Pearl, and I won't let them off!"
"Don't push yourself, you're badly injured and won't recover anytime soon."
Lin Fan sighed helplessly.
Judging by Wang Xiaoli's human form, her true form must have been seriously injured.
Half an hour later, Lin Fan walked out. As soon as he returned to his room, his eyes widened in surprise.
Zheng Yue, Li Yusheng, and Li Yurou were all there!
"Xiao Fan, how is it?"
"Brother Lin, is there any trouble?"
"How did Wang Xiaoli get injured?"
The three asked in unison.
"Shh~"
Lin Fan made a shushing gesture, put down the medicine box, then sat on a chair and quietly recounted the events.
"There are monsters underwater too?!"
Li Yurou exclaimed in astonishment, then realized she had spoken out of turn.
Lin Fan glanced at her and quickly turned his head away, pretending he knew nothing.
"Was the Dragon Pearl snatched by the black snakehead spirit?"
"What do we do now?"
"Can it be subdued underwater?"
The four sighed, their faces filled with worry.
"The black snakehead spirit has bred countless descendants, will there be any dragon bone left?"
"I can't believe Master has coveted it for decades, only to be beaten to it by a fish," Li Yurou said with disappointment.
Lin Fan had no solution. "It's getting late. Everyone should go back to sleep. Regardless, we've come all this way. Let's at least go and take a look at the site. If there's no gain, then so be it."
"Alright."
"If it doesn't work out, we can just treat it as a sightseeing trip."
Li Yusheng and Li Yurou stood up and left, full of unwillingness.
After a night of commotion, Lin Fan and Zheng Yue returned to bed. It was already past three in the morning.
"Xiao Fan, will the black snakehead spirit from the water come to trouble us?"
Zheng Yue nestled in his arms, her voice filled with worry.
"Don't overthink it."
Lin Fan lowered his voice and gestured with his eyes towards the next room.
"Don't you realize that in this day and age, the world has already changed?"
"Mmm."
Zheng Yue looked up at him curiously.
"The neighbor is also a monster, yet she hasn't caused any trouble?"
"The information I checked before coming here said Qinghe Reservoir was built fifty years ago. Have you ever heard any rumors about monster disturbances?"
Lin Fan gently comforted Zheng Yue, guiding her reasoning.
Zheng Yue nodded slightly. "Qinghe Reservoir also has rafting activities. If monsters ate people, then those who fell into the water..."
"Although monsters transform from animals, they have gained intelligence."
"Since they have intelligence, they naturally know to avoid danger and not provoke opponents they cannot afford to offend."
Lin Fan's tone was gentle yet firm. "The dominant species on Earth today is humans. If anyone should be afraid, it's them, not humans being afraid of demons and ghosts."
"With planes and cannons bombarding them, there are no monsters that cannot be dealt with."
Hearing these words, Zheng Yue's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
"What you said seems to make sense."
"What do you mean 'seems to make sense,' it's the truth."
Lin Fan stared blankly at the ceiling, a heavy mountain pressing down on his chest.
He thought having one Wang Xiaoli in the world was troublesome enough, but unexpectedly, there was also a significantly cultivated black snakehead spirit in a reservoir.
This matter was becoming even more difficult to handle!
"Xiao Fan, are you having trouble sleeping?"
Zheng Yue looked up at Lin Fan with concern.
"I'm fine, you sleep, don't mind me."
"If you don't sleep, I can't sleep either."
Zheng Yue drew circles on Lin Fan's chest with a finger.
"Xiao Fan, are you worried that one of us might get hurt?"
"Sort of."
Lin Fan replied ambiguously.
"If it's really that bad, we can go back tomorrow. Although the dragon bone is a rare treasure, we can't lose our lives because of it."
"I feel that the remains of a true dragon would benefit you."
Lin Fan finally voiced the words weighing on his heart.
"Chi Zhu was originally intended for you, but due to an accident, it had to be exchanged with Wang Xiaoli."
Lin Fan felt a surge of anger when he mentioned this.
"If I become the King of Siam, I'll crown you my Queen," Zheng Yue said with a sweet smile.
At this moment, the sound of drizzling rain came from outside, raindrops pattering against the glass window.
"It's raining. I thought the weather forecast said no rain?"
Zheng Yue looked out the window in confusion.
"The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease. The black snakehead spirit has such audacity!"
Lin Fan's gaze instantly turned sharp, like two beams of purple light piercing the dark, rainy night outside the window.
In the adjacent room, snake scales began to spread from Wang Xiaoli's neck to her face.
"You dare to come again?"
"Seeking death!"