His Son Was Gone!
As Haider spoke, he began to kowtow with difficulty, his bound body Tackle the deck with a loud thud.
Lin Xia gave Haider a cold glance, a look that instantly plunged the latter into an icy abyss, causing him to stop his futile actions.
"Get up."
Lin Xia's voice returned to its calm tone, yet carried an undeniable power.
"I said I wouldn't kill you, and I will keep my word. Send us to Sea God Island. I have no interest in wiping out your pirate crew."
With a thought, the vines that Wrap Haider loosened and retracted as if they were alive, disappearing into the cracks in the floor as if they had never existed.
Haider immediately felt his body relax and the restraints disappear, but the deep-seated cold and numb sensation did not completely fade away, especially in his dantian, where it felt as if a piece of thousand-year-old ice had been stuffed inside, and he could not mobilize a single bit of Soul Power.
He knew that the restrictions Lin Xia spoke of were no exaggeration.
He struggled to stand up, but his legs were still as weak as noodles. After several attempts, he managed to stand up by holding onto the side of the ship, his whole body still trembling.
"But."
Lin Xia's voice suddenly turned cold, like the Siberian wind, chilling Haider to the bone.
"You should be able to sense that your Soul Power has been completely sealed by me. I've also left a little Present for you. If you harbor any wicked thoughts, or try to escape or call for help... hmph."
Lin Xia didn't continue, but a cold smile curled at the corner of her lips.
Haider instantly understood the meaning of "worse than death." A chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He had no doubt that Lin Xia had countless ways to make him regret being born.
"Yes... yes! I understand! I would never dare! I would never dare!"
Haider nodded his head like a chick pecking at rice, his voice filled with sobs and extreme fear.
Lin Xia's gaze swept across the chaotic deck and landed on the two crew members he had previously thrown into the sea with vines. They were now clinging to the ship's railing, their faces ashen, having witnessed the entire massacre and nearly scared out of their wits.
He pointed at them and commanded Haider.
"Keep your ship sailing. Although I'm not very skilled at navigation, I can still find my way around."
Lin Xia's gaze fell upon the boundless sea, and the mark of the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud between her brows seemed to flicker almost imperceptibly.
"Haider, you're not entirely stupid. If you want to live, obediently follow the route I tell you and get us safely to Sea God Island."
"Yes! Yes! I understand! I'll go right away! I'll go right away!"
Haider, as if granted a pardon, scrambled toward the wheelhouse, and as he passed the two crew members clinging to the ship's side, he roared hoarsely:
"What are you all standing there for! Get up if you're not dead! Go clean the deck! Raise the mainsail! Follow... follow the course this lord gave us, full speed ahead! Now!!"
His voice was filled with the urgency of someone who had survived a disaster and absolute obedience to Lin Xia's orders.
The two crew members were already terrified. Hearing Haider's roar was like hearing a royal decree. They scrambled onto the deck, not daring to look at Lin Xia and the others, much less at the gruesome corpses of their comrades. They began to carry out the orders with their hands and feet.
Their movements were swift, yet stiffened by a deep-seated fear.
The stench of blood still lingered on the deck. The setting sun painted the sea a golden-red hue, making the bloodstains on the deck even more glaring.
Xie Yue stood expressionless to the side, the pair of enormous Moon Blade in his hands having been sheathed at some point. He was slowly and meticulously wiping non-existent bloodstains from his fingers with a clean cloth, his movements elegant and cold.
Yan stood with his arms crossed, gazing into the distance, and snorted heavily, clearly still somewhat annoyed that he hadn't been able to personally beat Haider to a pulp.
Hu Liena and Dugu Yan walked over to Ye Lingling and whispered something to her.
Ye Lingling shook her head slightly, indicating that she was alright. Her cold gaze swept over the corpses on the deck, carrying a hint of pity, but more so the indifference befitting an enemy.
Night, like thick ink, enveloped the Sea Demon. The sea breeze, devoid of its daytime clamor, carried the biting chill of late autumn, whistling softly as it swept across the ship's side, ruffling the stray hairs on Lin Xia's forehead.
He leaned against the high gunwale of the ship, his deep blue eyes gazing into the boundless darkness.
The Cyllene were hidden, and the sky seemed like a huge, seamless black velvet cloth, pressing down heavily.
Even with Lin Xia's powerful mental strength, in this vast and boundless darkness, all he could perceive were the churning inky black seawater within a few dozen meters of the ship's hull and the endless, salty, and damp sea Damp.
However, Lin Xia felt a strange sense of peace.
This cold, lonely, and even slightly dangerous night at sea actually eased the tension in his heart that had been building up for days.
The sea breeze brushed against my face, carrying away the lingering smell of blood from the day and the fatigue from days of sailing.
He felt the Sea Demon beneath his feet rising and falling gently with the rhythmic waves, as if he were experiencing a subtle resonance with this behemoth and with this unfathomable ocean.
Inside the control room, a dim yellow oil lamp was the only source of light in this deathly darkness.
The flickering Ember elongated and distorted the shadows cast onto the bulkhead.
Haider sat motionless in front of the helm, his hands seemingly resting on the smooth wooden helm, but his knuckles were bluish-white from excessive force and trembling slightly.
His back was hunched over, as if crushed by an invisible burden.
That face, which had been roughened by years of wind and sun, but was now filled with obsequiousness due to fear, had all its expression vanished, leaving only a stiff, rock-like stillness.
He stared blankly into the deep darkness outside the porthole, his eyes vacant, as if his soul had already been swallowed up by the endless blackness.
Outside the cabin, Lin Xia's figure was faintly visible in the porthole light.
Haider's gaze Infiltrator the glass and landed on the young, upright figure. Suddenly, a surge of overwhelming hatred and a mad madness to destroy everything welled up in his empty eyes.
It was no longer the fear of facing a powerful enemy, but the despair and hysteria after all hope had been completely stripped away.
"Son... my Little Jerry..."
Haider's chapped lips moved silently, and a low whimper, like sandpaper scraping, escaped his throat.
That young man, always with a kind smile, a little clumsy but striving to become an excellent captain like his father...
The boy who excitedly circled the Sea Demon when he was recruited by Zi Zhenzhu, shouting, "Dad, this ship is awesome!"... the boy whose throat was instantly slit by that Gui Mei silver-haired boy in the conflict just now, before he even had a chance to release his Martial Soul... right before his eyes, blood splattered, and the light of life was extinguished in an instant.
Haider's heart felt as if it were being repeatedly cut and churned by countless red-hot, dull knives.
It wasn't just the pain of losing a child; it was the complete collapse, shattering, and pulverization of his entire world and all his future prospects in that moment.
For years, he's been like a greedy hyena, plundering the seas, enduring the exploitation of Zi Zhenzhu, the ravages of storms, and the gnawing at his conscience. What was it all for?
Isn't it simply about accumulating enough wealth to leave this blood-soaked and betrayed sea with your son, go to a faraway place, buy some land, find him a beautiful wife, have a few healthy grandsons, and live out your old age in peace?
That was the only thought that kept him living on the edge, licking blood from the blade, and eking out a living in fear!