Exterminating the Bandits

Two shichen later, the first light of dawn broke.

Lu Cheng scooped up a handful of cold water and washed the delight from his face.

[Fish Spearing Technique] had truly exceeded his expectations.

He had only meant to polish his spearing technique one last time. He never expected that, fired up as he was, less than half a night of practice would accomplish what usually took several days!

[Fish Spearing Technique]

[Rank: Common]

[Realm: Proficient (97/100)]

His proficiency had leaped from its original ninety-two to ninety-seven!

He was now truly just a hair's breadth from mastery.

With the fish spear in hand, it moved like an extension of his arm, without the slightest hindrance.

That would be a tremendous help with what he had to do next!

He put down the fish spear, composed himself, and lit a fire to cook.

Once the sun was high, Lu Cheng gathered his fishing nets, took his fish spear, and left home.

As he passed Old Man Ge's courtyard, he slowed his steps only briefly before continuing on.

At this time of day, Old Man Ge would usually be waiting in the courtyard. Today, though, the gate was tightly shut, and the courtyard was utterly silent.

Only after Lu Cheng had disappeared from sight did the tightly closed gate creak open.

Old Man Ge stood in the doorway, fully dressed, his expression complicated.

Behind him, an old woman leaned against the inner room's doorframe, her face fallen.

"Hmph, what an ungrateful wretch. We saved him, then took him fishing, and now that he can catch Silver Sturgeon, he just..."

"Enough. Shut up and go cook!" Old Man Ge cut her off with a scolding, shut the gate, and turned toward the inner room. "What's all this endless nagging for? We've caught plenty of fish alongside Lu Cheng these past few days. Being able to catch Silver Sturgeon is his own skill."

The old woman refused to back down and grumbled back at him.

"Cook, cook, cook. We're not even going out on the boat, so what are we eating for? It's a waste of food."

"You!" Old Man Ge glared at her, pointing a finger, but said nothing. With a sigh, he went around her and returned to the room, lying down again.

The old woman watched him, but in the end she went to the kitchen.

Before long, cooking smoke rose and drifted against the mist toward Dragon Whisker River.

"Master You, this kid's rowing so slowly. He's sure to have spotted us!"

On the churning Dragon Whisker River, a fishing boat rocked in the current.

The man rowing gave a low shout toward the cabin, jolting You Lanchuang awake from his daze.

You Lanchuang abruptly opened his eyes, flung aside the quilt, and sat upright, only to bang his head against the cabin with a thud.

Ignoring the pain, You Lanchuang scrambled out of the cabin and squinted ahead.

A boat was slowly making its way along the river a hundred zhang in front of them.

It was too far away, and the current was too strong, the wind and waves too fierce. Even the sharpest eyes couldn't make out who was aboard.

Still, You Lanchuang squinted hard for a long while. Then he smacked the subordinate on the head with his fan and snapped, "What the hell are you yelling for? You nearly scared me out of my wits."

"It's right that he's rowing slowly. The kid's only been on a boat for a few days. If he's learned to cast a net, that's already impressive. How could he row a boat that smoothly too? He's probably tired."

"But just in case, slow down some more. We only need to keep his boat in sight."

"Once he stops to cast his net, we'll follow."

With that, he ducked back into the cabin and rubbed the spot he had banged.

To get the Silver Sturgeon fishing grounds out of Lu Cheng, he had moved his bedding from home into the cabin for the night.

He had spent the whole night listening to the river's waves, and after being startled and jolted just now, his temples were throbbing.

His subordinate had it even worse. He'd been keeping watch since before dawn, and now he had to row as well.

His body and mind were both close to giving out.

Now You Lanchuang was taking his anger out on him too. The subordinate cursed him viciously in his heart.

But there was nothing he could do. He didn't dare disobey.

Grinding his teeth and cursing inwardly, he rowed with all his might.

About two quarters of an hour later, the thug suddenly realized that Lu Cheng's boat in the distance had stopped at some point.

The two boats were now less than fifty zhang apart, close enough to see each other.

Just as the thug was at a loss, You Lanchuang's vicious whisper came from inside the cabin.

"Speed up. Ram him head-on and capsize him!"

"Huh?"

"What are you 'huh'-ing for? He's cast his net, which means the Silver Sturgeon are here. Why leave him alive?"

At that, the subordinate stopped arguing, threw himself into rowing with all his strength, and immediately increased the boat's speed by more than thirty percent.

Inside the cabin, You Lanchuang sat and chuckled coldly.

"Hmph, so what if he's good at casting nets? He's still just a greenhorn."

Back then, he had followed Lu Zhongyou in just the same way, hoping to find the Silver Sturgeon's spawning grounds.

But the two of them hadn't followed for long before Lu Zhongyou spotted them. After that, he led them in circles around the river.

The two of them had attacked Lu Zhongyou as soon as they caught on.

But Lu Zhongyou had remained just as stubborn, refusing to reveal the Silver Sturgeon waters no matter what they did.

It seemed Lu Cheng didn't have Lu Zhongyou's experience.

"You little bastard, trying to make money off me? Heh, heh, heh, heh. Today, I'll send you down to reunite with your dead father!"

The fifty-zhang gap vanished in an instant.

"Boom!"

The two boats collided.

You Lanchuang's boat had two grown men aboard, so it sat much deeper in the water than Lu Cheng's.

Its bow slammed into the stern of Lu Cheng's boat, lifting it high until its bow pointed skyward and its stern plunged down, leaving it almost upright.

But under the force of that tremendous collision, You Lanchuang's boat fared little better.

It lost its balance too.

Though it didn't capsize, it spun out from beneath Lu Cheng's boat.

Then the river's buoyancy surged beneath it, pitching it violently in every direction.

The man rowing had prepared himself, but how could he stay upright on a boat jolted by such a violent collision with nothing but his feet to brace him?

With a shout, he plunged into the river.

Luckily, they both made their living on the river and were strong swimmers. He quickly surfaced and grabbed the gunwale, avoiding the churning current's deadly pull.

Only after the boat steadied did You Lanchuang stumble out of the cabin.

With a folding fan in his left hand, he pointed at Lu Cheng's empty boat and laughed triumphantly.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh! You little bastard, go feed the fish! Heh, heh, heh, heh..."

"Master You, give me a hand, Master You!"

The man's voice came from the stern.

You Lanchuang turned his head and, still exhilarated, cursed, "Useless! You even managed to fall in!"

He glanced at the empty boat, now settling two zhang away, snorted, then walked to the stern and bent down to reach for the man.

But as he leaned over, he saw a dark shadow swiftly pass beneath the surface.

A warning bell rang in You Lanchuang's mind.

He didn't have time to think. He blurted out, "Watch out!" and quickly pulled his upper body back.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a flash of light sliced through the water like lightning, passing beneath the spot where You Lanchuang had just leaned out.

You Lanchuang broke into a cold sweat.

The fish spear had passed so close to his scalp that it had nearly grazed it.

If his reaction had been even a fraction slower, his soul would already have departed for the afterlife.

Beneath the water, Lu Cheng cursed his bad luck. He hadn't expected You Lanchuang to react so quickly.

He knew You Lanchuang would surely be on guard now, but he couldn't bear to let this chance slip away.

His heart hardened, and he attacked again.

He scissored his legs and kicked against the water, surging upward. Holding the fish spear backward in his right hand, he gathered his strength, waiting to break the surface and thrust with all his might.

But just as Lu Cheng was about to emerge, a streak of dark light stabbed down even faster.

You Lanchuang was no stranger to brawling. Even after a brush with death, he hadn't panicked.

When he saw that the shadow beneath the water hadn't disappeared, he instantly guessed Lu Cheng's next move.

He grabbed the fish spear from the cabin and thrust it downward.

By then, Lu Cheng's upward momentum had already run its course. There was no time to change direction and dodge.

In the crisis, he could only swing his own fish spear upward to parry.

With Swimming at the Mastery level, Lu Cheng could do more than cut through the waves like a fish.

He could also use the water's force to amplify his strength.

Combined with his nearly mastered Fish Spearing Technique, he managed to block You Lanchuang's attack.

The two spears clashed, their forces colliding and sending up a string of bubbles.

Lu Cheng was startled by how quickly You Lanchuang had reacted on the surface. He immediately realized that if he kept this up, not only would he fail to kill You Lanchuang, he might also stumble at the last moment and lose everything.

Without a moment's hesitation, he used the force of their crossed spears to dart away.

The instant Lu Cheng moved aside, the fish spear stabbed down after him.

The second thrust was faster, heavier, and aimed at an even trickier angle than the first.

If Lu Cheng refused to give up and tried for a third thrust, this spear would surely hit him!

You Lanchuang's first thrust had failed, so he swiftly thrust three more times in succession.

But Lu Cheng had already moved away. How could he hit him now?

Only after the shadow vanished completely did You Lanchuang stand motionless with his spear, calming his breathing as he watched beneath the boat.

When nothing else happened, he slowly leaned back against the cabin's awning and remained on guard.

"Diao the Fourth, there's a ghost underwater. You..."

He stopped halfway through, only then noticing that his subordinate had vanished into the waves.

A large patch of red stained the gunwale where the man had been clinging. It was clearly blood spat from his mouth.

Lu Cheng must have killed him underwater at some point, without You Lanchuang noticing.

Though the shadow had stayed beneath the water from start to finish, You Lanchuang knew it had to be Lu Cheng.

The contempt in You Lanchuang's heart vanished, replaced by a layer of dread.

This boy was truly terrifying. His swimming skills and his nerve were both so astonishing they beggared belief.

You Lanchuang panted furiously, his chest heaving like bellows at full blast. He cursed inwardly.

What a vicious brat Lu Cheng is!

What the hell kind of ability is that for a boy his age?

Could Lu Zhongyou's dead ghost have possessed him?

Otherwise, how could a frail scholar who only knew how to read two months ago suddenly have such abilities?

Staring at the churning water and the glaring red on the gunwale, You Lanchuang seethed with shock and anger.

At the same time, a chill crept over him.

I'm leaving!

If I stay any longer, Master You might not make it off this river alive!

"Damn it, a boat capsized in a ditch; a dragon stranded in a shallow stream."

"You little bastard, just you wait. If you've got the guts, don't ever set foot on shore again!"

You Lanchuang forced his heartbeat under control, holding the spear in his right hand to keep watch while gripping the oar with his left.

But he hadn't rowed far when he heard a crack from beneath his feet.

He turned and saw three barbed blades protruding through the bottom of the cabin.

The fear in You Lanchuang's heart instantly smothered his anger.

Lu Cheng was scuttling the boat!