Chapter 30: Sha Zhou Searches for Ma

Sun Fuping signaled for Nian Songyu to wait a little longer.

This wait lasted for nearly fifteen minutes.

The creatures in the sand had all been driven away by the stench; within a radius of several yards, there was no movement whatsoever, save for the whistling wind.

"Not here yet?" Nian Songyu said impatiently. "Time is precious." Darkness fell quickly in the Panlong Desert; night would arrive in another two hours, and they didn't have much time to waste here.

"Not yet." Situ Han's forehead was drenched in sweat, though it was unclear whether from the sun or anxiety. "It might be very far away; it will take time to get here."

He Lingchuan did not forget to speak up for Situ Han: "I have seen it. It is a massive creature. There is no guarantee it can truly carry us across the desert, but it would save both time and effort."

"No guarantee?" Upon hearing those words, Nian Songyu's tone turned sinister. "You dare waste our time on something you aren't certain of?"

Another two sticks of incense passed, yet the end of the Red Cliff Road remained calm.

A gust of wind swept through the wooden, expressionless crowd, whistling as it rushed into the distance.

Nian Songyu's index finger tapped lightly against his scabbard—*tap, tap-tap*. This was a sign of his impatience.

As time passed, he increasingly felt that the sand bandits, having received He Lingchuan's signal, were trying to play a prank on their own side. The so-called "Fragrant Dumpling" was also He Lingchuan's idea.

Nian Songyu's gaze grew increasingly hostile, but He Lingchuan simply pretended not to notice, though he felt a flicker of anxiety in his heart.

Seeing the sun dipping further west, even Sun Fuping finally lost his patience: "No more waiting. Everyone, board the boats..."

During this interval, he had already divided everyone into three groups, assigning one Walnut Boat to each.

Time was of the essence; they could no longer afford to wait. They had to move now.

However, Situ Han raised a finger to his lips and let out a forceful "Shh!" "It's coming!"

Performing such a gesture toward so many important figures was incredibly rude, but in his current state of tension, he could not care less.

No sooner had he spoken than a "whoosh" erupted; the desert seemed to split like the surface of water, sand splashing everywhere as if a sandstorm had suddenly kicked up on the spot.

A colossal entity burst from the ground, rising nearly ten feet high, clutching a piece of cured meat in its mouth before crashing heavily back down.

Another cloud of dust billowed up.

The creature dove back into the sand with a speed and agility that defied its massive size, vanishing into the sea of sand in the blink of an eye.

Ignoring the fact that his face was covered in sand, Situ Han cheered, "It's here, it's here! It really came! *Pah, pah!*" He hurriedly spat out several mouthfuls of sand.

Except for State Preceptor Sun and a few others who had timely deployed their protective astral qi, everyone else was covered in dust and grit.

However, everyone finally saw clearly what kind of thing Situ Han had lured in with his "long line and big bait."

The creature looked like a cross between an eel and an earthworm—long, cylindrical, and legless, but with segmented rings along its body. Its color was almost identical to the yellow sand; if it lay quietly buried, even someone with excellent vision would find it difficult to identify.

But unlike an eel, its mouth was terrifyingly large, stretching wider than its own body diameter, and filled with dense, needle-like teeth. Two long barbels hung from the sides of its mouth, seemingly used to detect the movement of shifting sands.

Zeng Feixiong cried out in shock, "Such a massive Earth Dragon!"

This thing was eight *zhang* (twenty-six meters) long!

The soldiers nearby instinctively took half a step back. The sense of oppression brought by such a size was not something that mere rationality could dispel.

This type of Earth Dragon was not a sea eel, but a creature unique to the desert. In truth, whether living in the desert or the sea, some animals simply do not seem to require legs.

However, in other deserts, these creatures usually did not exceed one *zhang* in length, and experienced travelers would even catch them for food. But this one before them... even though Zeng Feixiong had led patrols back and forth along the Red Cliff Road, he had never seen an Earth Dragon this large!

Situ Han felt a sense of relief. "This isn't even an Earth Dragon King... the largest we've seen was over twelve *zhang* long."

"Since it's a big fellow, a small piece of meat won't satisfy it." He Lingchuan pointed to the three Walnut Boats. "Earth Dragons have immense strength; pulling a boat should be no problem. Besides, they usually move in groups."

In other words, the stinking meat would attract more than just one Earth Dragon.

Children by the sea know how to fish, and the original body of He Lingchuan, who grew up beside the Panlong Desert, had also "fished" for Earth Dragons many times.

Of course, he had never used such heavy bait, so he had never seen prey this large.

Situ Han nodded. "Everyone, please board the boats. We will repeat the process, and then we can use them like carriage horses."

Thus, the soldiers boarded in three groups. The boatmen at the bows of the Walnut Boats grabbed the hawsers and tied knots, standing ready.

This time, everyone had covered their mouths and noses, so when the sand bandits brought out the large chunks of cured meat and poured the stinking liquid over them, no one was caught off guard. Nian Songyu personally took charge, skewering a specially seasoned chunk of meat onto a pole and holding it high at the bow of the boat.

The boatman's pole was also part of the Walnut Boat, its length adjustable at will.

The sand bandits' specially prepared stinking liquid could drive away most creatures in the desert and served as a last-resort survival tool; however, every advantage has a drawback—this stuff was the Earth Dragon's favorite.

Strictly speaking, what the Earth Dragons loved was the "stench."

They were scavengers; the putrid rot that other creatures found unbearable was, to an Earth Dragon, the aroma of a fine meal. When a stench of this magnitude drifted by, it was like the dinner bell for a village feast—it was an event that was bound to arrive, no matter how far away it started.

Situ Han reminded them, "They are quite dim-witted. Just dangle the stinking meat, and the boat can move!"

Since these things had traveled such a long distance, the scent would not dissipate quickly.

Sure enough, as soon as the stinking meat was hoisted up, a massive Earth Dragon burst from the sand and lunged for the meat.

Judging by its size, it was even larger than its companion from before.

Nian Songyu was quick; with a flick of his wrist, the cured meat leaped upward, causing the Earth Dragon to strike empty air.

The boatman standing nearby threw the hawser, looping it with pinpoint accuracy around the Earth Dragon's neck.

Though it was round and limbless, the segments on its body were deep. The knot slipped past two segments and became firmly lodged in the third.

Startled by the sudden constriction, the Earth Dragon lunged forward over thirty *zhang* in a flash. It wasn't until the knot tightened and secured the beast that Nian Songyu lowered the pole, allowing the piece of cured meat to hang just above and in front of the Earth Dragon.

The aroma was overwhelming, and with its small brain, the Earth Dragon immediately forgot it was being restrained. Salivating, it swam toward the meat.

It possessed immense strength, and it began to drag the boat and its passengers forward with surprising ease.

And so, the boat moved.

As long as Nian Songyu flicked the pole, the Earth Dragon pulling the boat would obediently follow. Below, there was a constant *hissing* sound of sand rubbing against the bottom of the Walnut Boat, a testament to the creature's powerful momentum.

The most important task for the helmsman was to adjust the bow in time, ensuring that both the Earth Dragon and the boat traveled with the wind, so that the stinking meat hanging high ahead would not suffocate the passengers.

At this moment, nothing was more important.

In the blink of an eye, Nian Songyu's boat had traveled over a hundred *zhang*.

"It's our turn." With a successful example preceding them, the morale of the rest rose sharply. Sun Fuping and Zeng Feixiong led their group onto one boat, while the He father and son and the sand bandits boarded the last, all following the same method.