The Legendary Man

Chapter 1184 Dangerous Lake
At night, between the viridescent mountains by a spacious lake were a few cultivators donning pelts. They were roasting animal
meat by the campfire.
Among the few men, a middle-aged man who looked like he was in his forties stood up with a piece of roasted meat.
“I'm going to take the shift by the slope at the side. You guys should get an early night after eating. By the way, remember to
clear away the unfinished meat. We don't want to lure other ferocious beasts over.”
The youths at the party smiled and nodded upon hearing the middle-aged man's instructions.
“Got it, Mr. Downey. Don't worry. It isn't our first time out here. We'll definitely clear out everything properly and leave nothing
behind.”
The middle-aged man gave them a smile and headed toward the slope.
When the youths saw him leave, they hurried toward the campfire to check if their food was ready.
“Stellan, why don't we catch some fish to eat? It's kind of tiring to have animal meat all the time,” the smallest and the youngest
person in the group suggested as he looked at the rippling lake.
Hearing that, the three other people at the side lowered their meat and turned to look at the cultivator named Stellan.
“Well...” Stellan turned to look in the direction the middle-aged man had gone. “Mr. Downey has set up a formation and asked us
to stay here overnight. If we leave on our own accord, and if something were to happen...”
When the youths around him heard the hesitation in his tone, they became disheartened.
Stellan was the eldest among them, and he was the core of the team. If he did not agree with the suggestion, the others could
not protest about it.
The small-sized young man resentfully tossed his unfinished meat into the lake a dozen of meters away from them.
“Welrun, what are you doing?” Stellan bolted over to Welrun.
“Stellan!”

When the others noticed the strong fluctuation of Stellan's spiritual energy, they quickly stood between the two.
“Stellan, Welrun's still young. It's his first time out here too, and he doesn't know better. Please don't be mad at him,” said the
only young girl in their group as she tugged Stellan's arm.
The other quickly towed Welrun aside and tried to convince Stellan to calm down too.
Stellan finally let out a sigh.
“Does that mean he can be as reckless as this? When we brought you out of the village, didn't I tell you that ferocious beasts
roam the land? Didn't I say we have to be extra—”
Before Stellan could finish his sentence, Welrun turned red in the face and cried out, “I just threw a piece of meat! Yes, it's my
first time leaving the village, but Mr. Downey said that this herbs-retrieving path has been used for many years. I'm sure the
beasts are all gone now, so what danger can we possibly be in? I don't ask for much. I just want to catch some fish from the lake.
Don't you want to eat some fish too?”
Stellan noticed the tears welling up in Welrun's eyes, and his gaze became much softer.
“I'm not being strict, but you've heard what the elders said to us before our journey. Although we've walked this path many times,
we'll still encounter new beasts. Our priority is to bring the herbs to our chief. If you want to eat fish, I'll make an application with
the chief when we're back. So, stop thinking about having any fish here.”
Stellan returned to the campfire and quietly ate his food.
Ultimately, the others convinced Welrun to go back to his original spot.
The episode made things tense among the group for a while as they silently polished off the meat.
What they did not notice was a gentle ripple occurring dozens of meters away on the lake.
The meat that Welrun tossed floated for a while before disappearing with a dark silhouette.
After eating, Stellan swiftly kept the rest of the meat in his storage ring.
Then, he took out a few pelts and passed them among the group.

“Although Mr. Downey is guarding for us on the slope, we should be careful too. I'll stay up for the first half of the night, and the
four of you will take turns staying up for the other half of the night. Hurry up and go to sleep now.”
At that, the four slept by the fire as Stellan sat cross-legged at the side with a sharp bone dagger lying by his side.
Stellan furrowed his brows as he looked at the sleeping Welrun, but his gaze held no hint of anger.
Welrun wanted to eat fish, and he did, too.
However, fish was a rare commodity in the mountains.
Fishes that once swam in the lake were all gone from the mass catching. The only fishes left were those that people were raising
with care. If they were to steal any, they were bound for a vicious beating.
As for the fish in the giant lake, no one dared to catch them there.
It was definitely because the beasts in the water were too threatening.
If they encountered beasts they could not fight against in the woods, they could resort to fleeing by feet or through the use of
formations.
However, they stood no chance of surviving those beasts in the water.
Perhaps because the water beasts were menacing, a certain area near the gigantic lake was a safer spot to rest at.
That was why they had decided to camp dozens of meters away from the lake.
Land beasts would not dare to approach them where they camped, and even if the water beasts did climb ashore, they would
have time to react.
It was Welrun's first time out of the village. The journey thus far had been smooth, so he had underestimated the perilous state of
the outside world.
Stellan knew that Welrun would only learn to be cautious after witnessing the gruesome nature of the outside world.
Despite Welrun's dissatisfaction toward him, Stellan did not wish to see Welrun risk his life.
Everyone had to grow up eventually, but Stellan hoped that Welrun's growth would not be accompanied by regret.

“Stellan.”
Right as Stellan was lost in his thoughts, a soft voice rang out.
When he turned around, he realized it was Mona, the only girl in the group.
“Why aren't you sleeping?” Stellan asked with a soft chuckle.
Mona shifted over to Stellan's side.
“Stellan, don't take Welrun's words to heart. He's still young, and he doesn't know the dangers lurking out here.”
Stellan smiled at her. “Don't worry. Why would I take his words to heart? You should sleep.”
“I can't,” Mona answered quietly. “Stellan, if we send the herbs back this time—”
“Shh!” Before Mona could finish speaking, Stellan moved to hold the bone dagger by his side as he fixed his gaze at the lake.
“Wake them. There's something moving in the lake.”
Right as Stellan uttered that, the other two leaped to a crouching position, clearly having not fallen into a deep slumber.
The only one who was still lost in his dreamland was Welrun.
Mona moved her fingers, and a pebble encased in spiritual energy shot toward Welrun's wrist. While she woke Welrun up, she
unleashed a pulse of spiritual energy to keep his mouth shut.
“There's something weird about the lake. Pack up. We're regrouping with Mr. Downey.”