Guarding the River of Time-Chapter 287 - 278: The Trauma of the Great Flood and the Damage to the Reincarnation Bridge

Chapter 287: Chapter 278: The Trauma of the Great Flood and the Damage to the Reincarnation Bridge

When he reached the shore, Su Mu waved his large hand, dispersing the mist surrounding the stone bridge, and finally saw the figure standing on the bridge holding a hammer.

From the appearance, he seemed to be around fifty or sixty years old, dressed in black cloth, with deep-set eyes and heavy dark circles, looking as though he had been up for several nights, appearing both haggard and slightly malnourished, with sallow skin, wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and an unkempt appearance.

The only striking feature was his pair of deep, mysterious eyes.

After looking him up and down, Su Mu didn’t sense a trace of Spiritual Power from this thin old man, appearing just like an ordinary person.

In his right hand, he held a rusty, large iron hammer.

This thin old man, upon seeing Su Mu approach, was slightly taken aback. He slowly set down the hammer and clasped his hands in greeting towards Su Mu, saying, "I’ve heard much about you."

Upon hearing this, Su Mu was surprised and asked, "Do you know me?"

.....

"I don’t know you, only heard about you; today is the first time we’ve met." The thin old man’s voice was very hoarse, as if it were being squeezed out from his throat, full of granularity.

Upon hearing this, Su Mu understood roughly and asked, "Are you a resident from around here?"

Because he had guarded this river for so many years, charging a toll for crossing from passersby, it wouldn’t be surprising if the other was a resident of a nearby town and had heard of him.

Upon hearing Su Mu’s odd question, the thin old man paused noticeably before replying, "You could say that."

...

This stone bridge was something Su Mu was quite familiar with.

He still remembered when Xiaojinzi wanted to go home, they crossed this stone bridge to get to the other side.

That trip led to complete silence, a disappearance that lasted almost four years.

Also, two or three years ago, Su Mu often came here to pick Lycoris Radiata to brew tea. After growing tired of it, he hadn’t been here much in the past year or two.

What left the deepest impression on Su Mu about this bridge was the large number of ants crossing it.

At that time, he wondered who had built this stone bridge. Could it have been this old man?

"Did you build this bridge?" Su Mu asked the question in his heart.

Upon hearing it, the thin old man waved his hand with a smile, "You flatter me; I don’t have that kind of skill."

Upon hearing this, Su Mu asked again, "Since you didn’t build the bridge, why are you here hammering away?"

.....

"Do you remember the flood from back then?"

"I remember."

That flood left an indelible impression on Su Mu. To prevent it, he expended a lot of effort. If he hadn’t found an ideal place to divert the flood, it would have been disastrous.

"First of all, thank you for stopping that flood."

"Your action was great, and not just I, but many others are grateful."

As he spoke, the thin old man bowed deeply to Su Mu to express his thanks.

Seeing this grand gesture, Su Mu waved his hand with a smile, "No problem, it’s my duty."

After all, Su Mu’s job was to maintain the order of the river. If he let that flood destroy the river, all his efforts would be in vain, and he would never be able to refine the river, let alone leave this place.

.....

"Because that flood created a rather large gap in this bridge, I’m here to repair it."

"Look, it’s right here."

With that, Su Mu followed the direction of the old man’s finger and saw a half-meter wide gap in the lower edge of the bridge near the water.

"This bridge wasn’t built solely by me, but I also participated, so... you also know that if such a large gap is left unattended, it would be very dangerous."

The thin old man explained his reason for repairing the bridge.

After listening, Su Mu also relaxed because he couldn’t sense any danger from this thin old man, who also held goodwill towards him.

Because of some recent incidents, Su Mu had been quite vigilant when patrolling the river, always worried about encountering some inexplicable troublemaker trying to assassinate him.

"Need any help?"

Seeing the old man struggling with the repairs, Su Mu thought about how long it would take him to finish at this pace.

Upon hearing this, the thin old man wiped the sweat from his forehead and waved his hand, "Thank you for the offer, but I’ve been repairing it for over a year, and with another three or four years, it should be done."

He didn’t want to trouble Su Mu, because after all, this "bridge" was something they needed to maintain themselves, and seeking help from outsiders would create a huge debt of gratitude.

Upon hearing this, Su Mu was quite confused. Repairing such a small damage would take three or four years??

Such a level of damage was something Su Mu could fix in no time.

"Are you sure you don’t need any help?"

"It’s free, no charge."

Su Mu asked again.

"No need, thank you." The thin old man quickly waved his hand.

The free service is often the most costly.

...

Splash—

A splash sound arose. It was unclear if the thin old man had become nervous upon seeing Su Mu, but as he hammered away, the large iron hammer slipped from his grasp and fell into the water.

Moreover, the hammer was ridiculously heavy; within seconds, it had sunk to the bottom, becoming embedded in the riverbed mud and sand.

At this moment, the thin old man awkwardly raised his head, meeting Su Mu’s gaze from the shore.

"Need any help?"

The thin old man was visibly embarrassed, and seeing this, Su Mu offered again.

"I..." The thin old man hesitated to speak because he had just confidently claimed he didn’t need help.

Now the hammer had fallen into the River of Time. Though it wasn’t an urgent problem, retrieving it would be a significant issue, requiring an unknown amount of time, potentially extending the repair from three or four years to possibly ten years.

Time was a big issue; every day of delay only increased the potential harm.

As the thin old man awkwardly searched for words, Su Mu waved his large hand, and the big iron hammer flew out of the water, landing in front of the old man.

Upon seeing this, the thin old man widened his eyes in disbelief.

He had heard about such power before but witnessing it firsthand was shocking. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Th...thank you." The thin old man regained composure and thanked him.

...

"You’re welcome."

Just as Su Mu turned and took a few steps, another splash was heard.

Su Mu slowly turned back, once again meeting the gaze of the thin old man, now empty-handed, creating a moment of quiet awkwardness between them.