Black Sea Reef

"This is weird, really weird!"

Some of the guards muttered under their breath, the dark seawater, coupled with the chilly wind, was truly unsettling.

Suddenly, the boat slowed down.

"We've reached Ghost Reef, keep sailing! We'll disembark in the small boat once we're close to shore. Who told you to slow down?" Bai Xiaowen asked.

Several of the helmsmen rushed over, sweating profusely, and said, "Master, something terrible has happened! The ship... the ship can't move!"

"Can't start?" Bai Xiaowen repeated.

"Yes, after entering the black water area, no matter how hard we tried, the ship's speed kept decreasing. Even when we turned the rudder, it became much more difficult. It felt like there were Water Ghost dragging the ship from underneath, preventing it from moving forward!" one of the guards said nervously.

Bai Xiaowen laughed and said, "Water Ghost? Even if there are Water Ghost, the fact that they won't let us go to Ghost Reef proves that ghosts are afraid of people, not people!"

Li Shuyi, who had been observing the sea, waved her hand and said, "Xiao Wen, it's not the guards' fault, the problem is with the seawater."

Bai Xiaowen walked over. Li Shuyi picked up a long pole from the side, dipped it into the black seawater, and stirred it vigorously.

This stirring immediately made Bai Xiaowen realize something was wrong. A long pole entering the water and stirring the waves should be a very easy action, something even a young child could do. However, Li Shuyi seemed to be struggling a bit when stirring the seawater.

Li Shuyi lifted the end of the long pole, a simple movement that seemed to carry a heavy load. Given Li Shuyi's strength, this was truly unbelievable.

Whoosh!

A large clump of tangled seaweed, its roots intertwined and wrapped around a long pole, was pulled a small section out of the sea by Li Shuyi.

This clump of seaweed that was dragged out was just the tip of the iceberg; the vast majority was still below the surface. It's even possible that seaweed grows in this tangled manner throughout the entire sea area, where moving one part affects the whole. No wonder Li Shuyi, with her strength, found it so difficult to drag the seaweed.

Li Shuyi pulled the long pole back, and a soldier beside her drew his waist knife and forcefully cut off a small section of seaweed, preparing to give it to Bai Xiaowen.

The soldier had just touched the seaweed when his expression suddenly changed. He threw the seaweed, along with his sword, onto the deck. "This isn't seaweed, this... this is a woman's hair!"

"Spreading rumors and misleading the public!"

Bai Xiaowen snorted, squatted down to examine the small piece of seaweed, and then reached out to touch it.

In terms of appearance and texture, this seaweed does indeed resemble a woman's hair; both are black and long and thin, giving the illusion of being both soft and resilient to the touch.

A wisp of flame appeared from Bai Xiaowen's fingertip, burning the seaweed to ashes.

"I understand now. The reason this sea area looks so black is because it's covered with this seaweed,"

Bai Xiaowen stood up and said, "The closer we get to the shallow waters of Ghost Reef, the more lush the seaweed becomes. So we can't continue sailing forward. Otherwise, if the seaweed gets tangled in the hull and blocks the oars, we'll be stuck here and won't be able to get back."

"What should we do now?" Li Shuyi asked.

"Let's get out of the small boat. The small boat has a shallow draft, so the seaweed won't create too much resistance. We can row slowly across."

Bai Xiaowen thought to himself that Zhang Ting's group of personal guards were probably not stopped by the seaweed because they were traveling in small boats.

The two boats carried a small number of small boats, and Zhang Ting and his men took two of the small boats with them, leaving three small boats that could only carry a dozen or so people.

Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment and only brought four personal guards, making a total of six people including himself and Li Shuyi. They traveled in small boats in pairs, rowing forward.

The reason Bai Xiaowen didn't bring more people was because he needed to rescue people. Zhang Ting and the others hadn't returned yet, so they must have encountered danger. This trip was to collect herbs and bring Zhang Ting and the others back. If the two small boats that Zhang Ting and the others were on sank, the empty seats in these three small boats could still accommodate passengers.

Moreover, bringing fewer personal guards won't have much impact on this mission of harvesting Ghost Mugwort.

Three small boats slowly approached Ghost Reef.

Just as Bai Xiaowen had predicted, the closer they got to Ghost Reef, the more lush the black, hair-shaped seaweed became. The sun had turned a ghastly white, and its rays, instead of bringing warmth, were rather chilly.

The atmosphere was very oppressive; the only sound was the lapping of oars against the water.

"Someone's here! Someone's over here!" Suddenly, a soldier exclaimed excitedly in a low voice.

On the shore of Ghost Reef, a soldier dressed in the Ming Army uniform lay on his back, unconscious. Bai Xiaowen immediately recognized him as one of Yu Dayou's personal guards who had accompanied Zhang Ting to gather herbs.

Three small boats landed, and two guards rushed over, patting and slapping, trying to wake their comrade.

Bai Xiaowen secretly sent out an Insight. Behind the nameplate of that personal guard, he could see a negative condition called "Drowning Coma".

The basic first aid knowledge learned in class came in handy. Bai Xiaowen directed two soldiers to clear the mud and seaweed from the drowning man's mouth and nose, and then hang him upside down to drain the water from his chest and abdomen. After some effort, the drowning soldier finally regained consciousness.

From the drowned soldier, Bai Xiaowen learned about Zhang Ting and his group's route. The soldier also couldn't provide complete information about Ghost Reef.

Bai Xiaowen, accompanied by his drowning bodyguard, followed Zhang Ting's group's route, and along the way they found several more bodyguards lying on the ground. However, two of them were already dead, and both had bluish-black finger marks on their throats.

"They strangled themselves."

Bai Xiaowen made his judgment based on the posture and angle of the deceased bodyguard's fingerprints.

The few soldiers who survived still felt lingering fear when they talked about Ghost Reef.

"Master, on Ghost Reef, we only encountered two kinds of monsters. One was Zombie, incredibly strong with skin like metal, making it extremely difficult to kill. Zombie are manageable; we can deal with them using the martial arts we learned from our lord. However, the other kind of monster is truly beyond our control—it's a ghost!"

"These ghosts are like invisible spirits; our swords strike them as if we're cutting through thin air, having absolutely no effect..."

Bai Xiaowen said, "If they are ghosts without physical form, you can't hurt them, so they shouldn't be able to hurt you either."

"No, these ghosts only know one move: they pounce on the living! After a ghost pounced on me, I immediately felt a splitting headache, and all I could see were ghostly images..."

Bai Xiaowen nodded, roughly understanding the dangers of Ghost Reef.

This is very unfavorable for melee-focused teams. There are Zombie with extremely high armor and ethereal ghosts, both of which are very effective against physical damage-dealing awakened characters.

Unfortunately, Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi happen to be in this category.

Li Shuyi goes without saying; she's a typical melee DPS. Bai Xiaowen, although specializing in Mental Specialty, is a summoner, and most of his summoned creatures are physical attackers...

"I also have a magic-damage-dealing creature..." Bai Xiaowen thought of the Skeleton Mage, "It's time to buff the Skeleton Mage."