Ambushed (Please Keep Reading)

Wang Mengde sensed the threadlike spiritual energy coursing through his meridians and sighed inwardly.

Cultivating with spirit sand took only a quarter of an hour for one circulation.

Absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth took at least three hours for one circulation.

Too slow.

After completing one circulation, Wang Mengde went to bed to rest.

The next twenty-odd days passed in a quiet yet fulfilling manner.

Every morning, before dawn had broken, Wang Mengde went tide-foraging with his sister-in-law.

At noon, as long as the weather was decent,

he took the skiff spirit boat out to sea.

He had no especially good luck. He rarely found seafood with spiritual energy while tide-foraging, and he never caught any Golden-Thread Spirit Trout while fishing at sea.

Still, with his three minor-achievement spells, he harvested large quantities of ordinary seafood and fish every day.

On his worst day, he still earned thirty-one spirit sand.

On his best day, his earnings reached as high as sixty spirit sand.

Most importantly, Wang Mengde's three spells steadily improved.

Tide-foraging and fishing every day, casting spells every day—he made tiny progress every day.

That noon,

after selling his seafood, Wang Mengde returned from the dock.

He pushed open the courtyard gate and found Shen Qingyue washing vegetables by the well.

At the sight of him, light rippled through her almond eyes.

"Brother-in-law, you're back?"

"Mm."

Wang Mengde walked over, took out ten spirit sand from his robes, and held them out to her.

"Use these to buy vegetables and rice from now on. Buy yourself some clothes too," Wang Mengde said. "Take them."

Shen Qingyue pressed her lips together and looked at Wang Mengde. "Brother-in-law, in three days, we'll have to repay Chen the Pockmarked and Chen Two-Tiger."

"You still need to cultivate." Her voice was soft as she said, "And I still have quite a bit of the spirit sand you gave me before. It's enough."

Without allowing any argument, Wang Mengde stuffed the spirit sand into his sister-in-law's hand and said:

"I've already prepared the five hundred spirit sand for Chen the Pockmarked and Chen Two-Tiger.

Take this spirit sand and buy yourself some clothes. You haven't bought any in a long time."

Shen Qingyue lowered her head and looked at the hand he held.

It was warm.

It made her feel safe.

A ripple rose in her heart, and a blush appeared on her pretty face. Flustered, she pulled her hand back and tucked the ten spirit sand into her sleeve.

"I'll bring out the food."

She turned and hurried toward the kitchen, her steps somewhat frantic.

Wang Mengde watched her retreating figure, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

After eating,

Wang Mengde slung a basket over his back, took his spirit-pattern fishing rod, and headed out.

At the dock, he found his spirit boat.

He activated the spirit-energy formation.

The boat gave a slight shudder and slowly left the dock.

He guided the spirit boat toward the waters he had frequented these past days.

Though he had never caught a Golden-Thread Spirit Trout in those waters, others had caught two there.

He refused to believe his luck was that terrible.

The skiff spirit boat split the sea and sped away from Rosy Cloud Island.

At the dock,

a pockmarked figure emerged from a corner.

Chen the Pockmarked watched the skiff spirit boat gradually sail away.

He took a talisman from his robes.

It was a Sound Transmission Talisman, a low-grade first-rank talisman. It could transmit one sentence over a short distance.

But that was enough.

He poured spiritual power into the talisman.

The talisman glimmered faintly.

"Second, that kid has gone out to sea. He's heading south, most likely to his usual spot."

The talisman trembled slightly, then turned into countless ashes and scattered away.

Chen the Pockmarked withdrew his hand and headed toward a crowded area.

"Hey, have you heard? Someone saw a huge school of Golden-Thread Spirit Trout at Shipwreck Reef to the east today."

"Really?"

"Apparently there's a whole school, at least several hundred. Someone even caught some already. Believe it or not, I'm heading over now."

"Several hundred?"

Soon, news that several hundred Golden-Thread Spirit Trout had been found at Shipwreck Reef in the east spread through the dock.

The fishing boats setting out afterward all heard the news and headed toward Shipwreck Reef in the east.

Chen the Pockmarked turned and walked toward the other side of the dock.

His own skiff spirit boat was moored there.

He boarded his skiff spirit boat, untied the rope, and followed those fishing boats east at an unhurried pace.

He grumbled inwardly, That bastard Wang Mengde is far too cautious. He never goes to waters where no one else is around.

If I hadn't come up with this scheme, there really would've been no way to deal with him.

I just hope it works.

Meanwhile,

near the waters Wang Mengde usually visited,

Chen Two-Tiger sat on a rented skiff spirit boat, fishing. Then he suddenly rose to his feet and shouted at a familiar cultivator:

"Hey, Brother Wang! A school of Golden-Thread Spirit Trout has been found at Shipwreck Reef to the east—a huge one."

"Really?"

"I only heard about it too. They say there are two or three hundred fish."

"Two or three hundred?"

Chen Two-Tiger was the first to activate his skiff spirit boat and set off. "I'm leaving first."

Watching Chen Two-Tiger's skiff spirit boat cleave through the waves and depart,

the fishing cultivators aboard several boats all lit up.

"Quick, quick, quick! Don't waste time."

One after another, they activated their spirit boats and sailed toward Shipwreck Reef.

Chen Two-Tiger steered his spirit boat and looked back at the fishing boats rushing after him in unison.

The smile on his lips could no longer be suppressed.

"My brother truly is brilliant beyond compare, wise without equal."

Wang Mengde's skiff spirit boat arrived at the waters where he often fished.

He looked around.

The sea lay open and empty. As far as the eye could see, aside from a few seabirds in the distance, there was nothing.

No fishing boats.

Not a single one.

Wang Mengde frowned.

Recently, there had always been fishing boats in these waters.

Why was there not one today?

He looked left and right, a vague unease stirring within him.

It was too quiet.

It made him feel unsafe.

After pondering for a moment, he did not drop anchor. Instead, he turned the boat toward Rosy Cloud Island.

Something felt wrong.

Then he would change locations.

Just as the bow turned, a black dot suddenly appeared on the sea.

That black dot drew closer and closer, faster and faster.

It was a spirit-powered skiff.

A man stood aboard it, his face covered in pockmarks as he stared at Wang Mengde with deadly intensity.

Chen the Pockmarked.

Wang Mengde's heart tightened.

Damn.

But he did not panic.

All the beatings society had dealt him in his previous life had taught him one truth.

The more dangerous the moment, the calmer one had to be.

Without showing a trace, he quietly slipped his left hand into his robes and gripped the protective talisman.

His right hand also slipped into his robes and gripped the Golden Arrow Talisman.

One talisman in each hand, pressed against his palms.

Then he drove his spiritual power into the formation. The skiff spirit boat abruptly accelerated and shot toward Rosy Cloud Island.

Chen the Pockmarked's face darkened.

That damned bastard was actually this vigilant.

He snorted coldly and likewise poured in spiritual power.

His spirit-powered skiff was larger and more powerful, three-tenths faster than Wang Mengde's.

Its hull split the sea as it rapidly closed in.

The distance shrank.

One hundred zhang.

Eighty zhang.

Fifty zhang.

Chen the Pockmarked took out a Golden Arrow Talisman and poured spiritual power into it.

The talisman shone with golden light, then transformed into a golden arrow.

The golden arrow tore across the sea with a shrill whistle, shooting straight at Wang Mengde.

Wang Mengde caught that flash of gold from the corner of his eye.

He violently twisted the rudder.

The spirit-powered skiff tilted, carving an arc across the sea.

The golden arrow grazed past his shoulder and plunged into the water with a splash.

Wang Mengde steadied the boat and frantically drove his spiritual power into it, accelerating his escape.

Chen the Pockmarked sneered.

Run?

He drove in spiritual power once more. His spirit boat grew even faster and swiftly closed the gap.

Another Golden Arrow Talisman.

The golden arrow came screaming through the air.

Wang Mengde twisted the rudder again to evade it.

The arrow skimmed past his body, kicking up a spray of water.

The distance continued to close.

Forty zhang.

Thirty zhang.

Twenty zhang.

Again and again, Chen the Pockmarked closed in. Again and again, he fired Golden Arrow Talismans.

Again and again, Wang Mengde evaded, escaping death by a hair's breadth each time.

But the distance still shrank.

Fifteen zhang.

Ten zhang.

Chen the Pockmarked took out another Golden Arrow Talisman.

Wang Mengde looked back, his face filled with terror and his voice trembling.

"Brother Chen, Brother Chen, spare my life."

"I've already prepared the spirit sand I owe you. Five hundred in total, principal and interest included—not one grain short."

A trace of disdain flashed through Chen the Pockmarked's eyes.

Prepared it?

Then all the more reason to kill you.

Who told you to prepare it?