Monster Pet Evolution

"Correct, a sacrifice." Lao Yan took one last suck on his cigarette, its tip glowing a bright orange. Tossing the cigarette butt into the campfire, Lao Yan inhaled the remaining smoke into his lungs.

"Isn't it like what they say in those myths? A sacrifice to appease the gods. Even if they end up not fancying it much, they still wouldn't hate it, right? Just slaughter a couple of fat pigs, two live cows, light some incense, then worship them a bit; that should be enough."

"All right." Everyone else agreed, as they didn't have any better ideas.

"If we can establish a good relationship with this river god, it would be another layer of safety for us." Lao Yan's murky eyes glinted with a well-honed craftiness.

After all, they were currently hunting in the vicinity of Yuzhou, which had been built along the Yangtze River. They didn't dare stray too far from Yuzhou, so having the blessing of this river god would definitely make their operations smoother.

"Hey, do you guys think that people back then worshipped their river and sea gods like this? Just so that these gods would bestow their divine protection upon them?" Huang Tao asked enthusiastically, appearing to be fascinated by the subject.

However, the rest of the group seemed to be less impressed by this talk of river gods, water gods, and the like. A few of them yawned widely, curling up in their sleeping bags and drifting off immediately, as evidenced by their loud snores.

Huang Tao wasn't disheartened by the lack of response. Instead, she got up and trudged over to the cave opening where her familiar, the Flowing Water Crocodile, was resting. Its dead fish-like eyes were staring unblinkingly at the tree in front of it.

Huang Tao crawled onto the crocodile's back. She sat there with her hands supporting her chin, gazing dreamily at the expanse of the river. River god… I wonder what kind of being you are.

"You're not asleep yet?" Lao Yan emerged from somewhere behind her. He sat down on the floor next to her, not caring about the dust and dirt that would surely sully his pants.

"Nope, can't sleep," Huang Tao said as she shook her head.

Seemingly looking through her, Lao Yan asked, "Are you still thinking about the river god?"

"Mhm." Huang Tao nodded and turned to look at Lao Yan. "Did you know that I had an encounter with the supernatural back when I was young? At that time, I was just five years old. My mother had gotten into a shouting match with my maternal grandfather at their house, which led to her leaving with me in tow. She carried me on her back as we made our way home through the night.

"On the way back, we came across a cemetery. Suddenly, we could hear my grandfather calling my mother's name from behind. Her expression darkened immediately, and she warned me to not turn around no matter what. Her pace quickened as she jogged along the path with me bouncing on her back.

"Despite that, the voice kept following us. At the start, it was calling my mother's name, but seeing that my mother ignored it, it elected to call my name instead.

"Being a naive child, I stupidly turned my head when I heard someone calling for me. When I turned around, I saw an old man in yellow clothes standing behind me, his face seemingly gentle and kind, like a wise grandfather. He had a child-sized yellow coat in his hands that he draped on my back. As I was young at the time, I was paralyzed with fear by that scene, so I could neither fight back nor scream.

"When we got home, I fell sick. It was a mysterious illness, one that couldn't be cured even by the medicine prescribed by the town doctor. At last, my mother brought me to her mother, my maternal grandmother. I told my grandma what had happened to me that day.

"My grandmother was a well-known medium in the villages in her district. She led me to a temple in the mountains behind her village to pray to its resident statue of a deity, which my grandma told me was a mountain god. After praying to the mountain god, I went back. After a night's sleep, my illness was miraculously cured.

"From that day onwards, I started to believe in the supernatural. Gods, ghosts, the whole package." Huang Tao smiled. "Long after that, whenever I told my friends about this experience, they wouldn't believe me. They thought that it was something that I had come up with myself, or claimed that I was too young to properly recognize what was happening."

"I see." Lao Yan nodded. "Some things are certainly hard to explain."

...

Three days later, next to the riverbank, a large bronze cauldron was erected on a relatively flat area of land. Inside the cauldron was a multitude of incense candles, their cloying scent spreading through the air.

There were a few small tables in front of the cauldron that served as altars. Arranged atop these makeshift altars were offerings such as melons and other fruits.

Originally there had been a smart aleck who had asked if a pair of children, a boy and a girl, were necessary as a sacrifice. Lao Yan had smacked the top of his head soundly and chastised, "A pair of children? How about some steamed lambs, steamed bear paws, steamed deer tails, roasted ducks, roasted chickens, and roasted geese?"

Despite the lack of the aforementioned dishes, there were still two healthy, bulky cows that were knocked out and tied up on the floor. As a child, Huang Tao had been taught the basics of these sacrificing rituals by her grandmother. After that fateful incident, Huang Tao's interest in this particular field had been piqued. Interest was the best teacher, thus by her own efforts, her knowledge of these things was fairly vast. Until now, she could still recall most of the steps that made up such a ritual.

As the clock ticked by, the ritual was finally concluded. However, there was still no response from the river in front of them.

"It can't be… it doesn't exist?" someone grumbled under their breath.

"Shut up," reprimanded another person standing off to the side.

"It'll work if we believe in it. Be sincere; have faith," said someone else softly.

Huang Tao stared at the Yangtze River with wide eyes, hope mixed with vague hints of desire overflowing in her heart.

Deep inside the Yangtze River, there was a consciousness. It suddenly sensed something strange happening. In the depths of its mental sea, a peculiar flow of warmth, originating from a mysterious source, flooded into its soul.

Despite the weak, unfulfilling flow that didn't contribute much to its satisfaction, its effects were instantly obvious. Just like hunger, which couldn't be satisfied by a mere mouthful of rice, this one mouthful was enough to spark the desire to devour more.

This feeling was… The Growing Brain started to trace the source of this energy.

...

"It seems like the River God isn't going to show up. Chief, let's just pack up and leave," one of the people said to Lao Yan.

Lao Yan couldn't help letting out a sigh as he glanced at Huang Tao's back. Huang Tao had turned 21 this year, and a lot of her features, like her petite stature, as well as her personality, reminded him of his late daughter who had been eaten by a monster during the Cataclysm. This was the main reason behind the care and concern that Lao Yan showed towards Huang Tao.

Whoosh, whoosh!

A strong wind suddenly whipped up by the river, where all of them were standing. The vicious wind caused their flags to billow wildly in the air. Whoooo… The wind howled ominously. All of the familiars paced uneasily, whimpering in fear or warning.

The surface of the water suddenly parted, and from within, a gigantic hand made of water emerged. It reached out and grabbed the peak of a mountain behind it.

Splash! The river surface parted again, another gigantic watery hand reaching out to grasp another mountain.

Even though it wasn't their first time witnessing this phenomenon, they were still stunned by a re-enactment of what had happened the last time.

Fwoosh! The water rose up in a formidable wave. The sun's rays shone on the riverbank through the water, coloring everything a shade of blue. It was as if a blue silk robe was draped over everything on the bank.

Not too far away, a platoon of monster hunters was on the hunt. Out of the blue, they heard a great commotion from the river at the base of the mountain. All of them scrambled to the edge and peered downwards, where a gigantic titan made of water was emerging from the river. It was almost as tall as the mountain they were on.

"Oh, sh*t, what's that creepy thing? I swear, it seems like Earth Star is getting scarier with each year."

"You're still looking?! Run!"

"Wait, bro, look at that." One of them pointed at the riverbank.

On the riverbank, no one had tried to run. Instead, their heads were raised, as if they were conversing with this mega-sized being whose sheer size went beyond anything ever recorded in history.

There were even those who whipped out their phones to take pictures and record videos.

In the frame of one of those recordings, a cold, emotionless voice could be heard reverberating through heaven and earth. "I am Shen Chang, the river god presiding over the Yangtze River. I came into existence in the Eastern Han dynasty and have been protecting the citizens near this river for more than 1,700 years…"