Huang Yi and Little Wang had been searching around the lake for a long time, but hadn’t discovered any clues. It seemed that this was simply a natural lake yet to be found by any players.
The silver-white moonlight poured down, rendering the banks of Moonlight Lake such beautiful scenery, yet Huang Yi was in no mood to appreciate it. He gazed across the vast expanse of the lake, where the milky breath was somewhat hazy and indistinct, blurring the view of what lay at the center of the lake.
"Woof woof!" Just then, Little Wang suddenly barked loudly, shattering the tranquility.
Huang Yi turned his head to look and saw Little Wang not far away, barking at something on the ground and occasionally looking up at Huang Yi, signaling for him to come over quickly.
Walking over, Huang Yi saw a dead little monkey lying on the ground, its body bloated, seemingly drowned and washed up on the shore.
Having stayed in this forest for so long, Huang Yi had never seen any signs of monkeys. It was clear that this monkey did not come from this forest, but from somewhere else. The fact that it had washed up here suggested that its original habitat was very close to this lake. All things considered, the monkey likely lived on a small island in the lake, but for some reason had drowned and been carried to this place.
"Sister, could you revive this monkey?" Huang Yi gently stroked the Little White Cat in his arms.
The Little White Cat immediately nodded his head, and with a graceful flick of his tail, a white light point fell softly down, landing on the monkey’s corpse.
The next moment, the little monkey slowly opened its eyes and started vomiting the lake water from its stomach onto the ground.
After spitting out the water, the monkey turned to look at the Little White Cat in Huang Yi’s arms, seemingly aware that she had saved its life. Its eyes filled with gratitude, it lay on the ground and kowtowed several times with great force.
"Little monkey, do you live on a small island in the lake?" Huang Yi squatted down and asked the monkey.
"Squeak squeak~!" The monkey immediately nodded and stretched out its paw to point towards the center of the lake.
"Then do you know how to get to that island?" Huang Yi asked again.
The monkey stretched out its paw, scratched its head, and its eyes rolled slightly, as if hesitating about something. After a while, it bit its lip, as if making up its mind, nodded at Huang Yi, and then set off along the northern shore of the lake, leading the way.
Walking with Huang Yi for half an hour, the scenery ahead suddenly changed. There was a dense reed area ahead, with reeds taller than a person, thickly growing straight up to the sky, and from time to time, water birds burst from the reeds, flying off into the distance.
The monkey led Huang Yi through the reeds for a while until they emerged from a dense clump, where it then stopped and pointed with its little paw ahead.
Looking up, Huang Yi’s eyelids twitched.
There was a dock ahead with a small boat moored, and an old man sat on it, his body bent, clad in a straw raincoat, wearing a bamboo hat, and holding a fishing rod. He was silently fishing under the moonlight.
The image was filled with a tranquil and serene feeling, making it hard to interrupt. At first glance, the old man seemed quite ordinary, but within such a scene, he exuded the aura of a hermit from the outside world.
Huang Yi, not wanting to disturb the peace, stood silently and still. Little Wang seemed to also sense that the situation was out of the ordinary, standing solemnly to the side without making a sound.
Huang Yi tried to check the old man’s information but only got a name, Ferryman Qianfan. However, he couldn’t see the level and had no idea about the old man’s strength.
After a full half-hour of waiting suddenly, a "splash" sounded, and ripples spread on the surface of the lake as a fish took the bait.
The old man calmly lifted his fishing rod, and a plump silver carp was yanked from the water, flipping its body under the moonlight, its scales glistening in succession.
"Gulurp!" At that moment, Little Wang couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, its eyes glowing as it stared at the fish. Some drool that hadn’t been completely swallowed dribbled down from the corner of its mouth.
"Cats eat fish, dogs eat meat, yet that little cat isn’t tempted, but you’re the first to drool," said the old man as he collected the fish.
At last, Huang Yi, holding the Little White Cat, walked toward the old man, with Little Wang and the little monkey following behind.
"Sorry for disturbing you so late," Huang Yi said politely as he approached the boat.
"Young man, you’ve been waiting for me patiently for so long, is there something you need?" asked the old man as he turned his head toward Huang Yi. His eyes looked cloudy, making him seem like any ordinary old man.
"I’d like to visit the small island in the middle of the lake," Huang Yi said, gazing at the vast lake surface.
"You have too much killing intent on you, you’ve killed quite a few people, haven’t you? Bai Long Lake doesn’t welcome the likes of you," the old man shook his head, then continued after he glanced at the Little White Cat in Huang Yi’s arms, "However, this little cat you’re holding is very kind, it has never killed any living being, and its aura matches that of Bai Long Lake. It may enter the lake."
"Then how can I enter this lake?" Huang Yi asked. He didn’t feel reassured about letting the Little White Cat go into the lake alone. No matter what, he wanted to accompany Little White Cat, unless she was in an absolutely safe condition; otherwise, he wouldn’t feel at peace leaving her.
The old man took another look at Huang Yi and said, "It seems that your blood naturally teems with the desire to kill, this aura has already infected every part of you. If you can produce a truly pure item, then I will allow you aboard and ferry you across."
Huang Yi pondered for a while, then opened his storage ring to take a look.
Most of the contents in his storage ring were equipment and materials he had obtained through battle and killing, clearly not meeting the old man’s criteria, and the rest of his items were quite ordinary, unable to represent purity.
It seemed like Huang Yi really had no way to board the boat.
Just then, inspiration struck Huang Yi, and he quickly reached behind his back and took down a cloth doll!
This cloth doll was given to him by the little girl from Osmanthus Inn. The little girl had a pure heart and was full of childlike innocence - her gift should represent purity.
The old man glanced at the cloth doll in Huang Yi’s hand, slightly taken aback as if he hadn’t expected Huang Yi to produce such a pure item. He nodded and said, "All right! You’ve passed the test, come aboard."
Huang Yi sighed in relief, reattached the cloth doll to his back, and carrying the Little White Cat, boarded the boat along with Little Wang and the little monkey.
The old man picked up the oars and started to row the boat, cutting through the dense fog under the cover of night, heading toward the center of the lake.