The Chen Brothers

Shen Qingyue paused slightly and looked at Wang Mengde with her beautiful eyes. "Brother-in-law, be careful. I'll wait for you to come home."

Her almond-shaped eyes were full of tender concern, and... faint worry.

Though the near seas were not as perilous as the open ocean, demon fish still roamed there.

Last time, her brother-in-law had been injured by a demon fish, and had nearly...

She hoped her brother-in-law could earn more spirit sand, but even more than that, she hoped he would return safely.

Wang Mengde lowered his head and looked into Shen Qingyue's concerned eyes, at her pretty, delicate appearance.

His heart filled with pity and the urge to protect her.

And also...

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

Wang Mengde looked away, his voice somewhat low. "Mm."

Shen Qingyue seemed to notice something, and the tips of her ears quietly flushed a faint red.

"Brother-in-law, I-I'll go wash the dishes..."

Her voice was soft, carrying a trace of barely perceptible panic as she reached out to gather the bowls and chopsticks from the table.

The dishes lightly clinked together, producing a scatter of delicate tinkling sounds.

Wang Mengde withdrew his gaze and returned to the west room.

He took down the spirit-pattern fishing rod, fish basket, spare hooks, bait box, water-parting spike...

After checking them one by one, he packed them into his wicker backpack.

He pushed open the courtyard gate and headed to Rosy Cloud Pier.

There, he found his small spirit skiff.

His spirit skiff was not large, about twelve feet long and no more than four feet wide. Its hull was the weathered color of teakwood, its paint flaking, with several old scratches across the bow.

A spirit array plate the size of a palm was embedded in the stern.

It was small, and very old.

Yet it was the most valuable possession the former owner of this body—and Wang Mengde now—had on Rosy Cloud Island.

He untied the mooring rope and stepped onto the deck.

The hull swayed gently, then steadied.

After setting down his backpack, he took a grain of spirit sand from his robes and set it into the spirit array plate at the stern.

A faint cyan glow slowly emerged from the spirit array plate.

"Hum..."

With an extremely soft tremor, ripples spread from the stern of the skiff.

The skiff cut through the tranquil sea, trailing a thin white wake as it sailed beyond the pier.

Wang Mengde stood at the bow, steering its course.

Golden-Thread Spirit Trout favored warm currents and loved reefs. They appeared in the waters southeast of Rosy Cloud Island, where submerged reefs met shallow shoals.

As Wang Mengde urged the spirit boat onward, he cast the Spirit Eye Technique.

His gaze flashed like lightning as he swept over the surrounding sea and waters.

There were quite a few fish beneath the waves.

Gray-Headed Sharks, Sea Eels, Silver-Scaled Fish, Silver Dartfish, Yellowfin Seabream, and more.

However, Wang Mengde did not stop to fish, because ordinary sea fish were not worth much.

Gray-Headed Sharks, for instance, tasted so awful that there was no market for them at all.

Silver-Scaled Fish and the like were barely edible, and sold for only three Blood Copper Coins per pound.

A second-level Qi Refinement cultivator had limited spiritual power. On a single voyage, at most he could catch three hundred pounds of such fish, selling them for nine hundred Blood Copper Coins in total.

That was nine grains of spirit sand.

After deducting the spirit sand consumed by the spirit skiff for the trip, only six or seven grains remained.

For a first-level Qi Refinement cultivator, that was already quite a decent haul.

But for someone at the second level of Qi Refinement, it was somewhat meager.

Storms often broke out at sea, so one could only make ten-odd voyages a month.

To make money, one had to catch sea fish like Golden-Thread Spirit Trout, which contained threads of spiritual power and sold for one grain of spirit sand per pound.

Catch two, and that was more than fifty grains of spirit sand.

Even if he could not find fish like Golden-Thread Spirit Trout, he still needed to catch ordinary fish with somewhat better flavor.

Wang Mengde continued onward.

About half an hour later, he reached his destination.

He slowed the boat and looked around.

Seven or eight spirit boats floated sparsely across the sea ahead, some skiffs, some slightly larger single-masted fishing boats.

The cultivators aboard sat or stood with fishing rods in hand, quietly waiting.

There were unexpectedly quite a few cultivators in these waters.

Wang Mengde's gaze swept across them and paused on one of the skiffs.

That boat was slightly newer than his. Two broad-shouldered, burly men with fleshy faces sat at its bow.

Chen the Pockmarked and Chen Two-Tiger.

Wang Mengde withdrew his gaze and guided his skiff farther away.

Chen Two-Tiger also caught sight of Wang Mengde. He lifted an elbow and nudged his elder brother.

"Brother, look over there."

Chen Dahu followed his gaze, then frowned. "That good-for-nothing Wang Mengde... broke through to the second level of Qi Refinement?"

Chen Two-Tiger froze at his words, growing somewhat anxious. "Brother, Wang Mengde is at the second level of Qi Refinement now. He'll definitely earn money much faster. Even if he can't earn it, he can borrow five spirit stones. Then we won't get that spirit skiff."

Wang Mengde's spirit skiff was somewhat old, but its performance was excellent.

At the secondhand boat market, a spirit skiff in that condition might not even be bought for eight spirit stones.

If they had to let it go for five spirit stones, they would be losing out badly.

Chen Two-Tiger had already regarded that spirit skiff as his personal property.

"We'd still be making a killing with five spirit stones." Chen Dahu shot him a glance, his tone indifferent.

Chen Two-Tiger grew even more anxious. "Brother, you promised to give me that spirit skiff."

Chen Dahu turned, glaring at him as his voice abruptly turned cold. "Who told you, you useless bastard, to gamble away your own spirit-powered skiff?"

Chen Two-Tiger immediately wilted. He hunched his neck and did not dare meet his brother's eyes, though he still muttered under his breath:

"I-I just had bad luck... Besides, you keep going to Warm Fragrance Pavilion to find fairy maidens. You spend far more than I ever lost."

"Bad luck?" Chen Dahu sneered. "When has your luck ever been good?"

Chen Two-Tiger hunched his neck, his voice growing softer and softer. "I just wanted to win it back..."

"Win it back?" Chen Dahu stared at him with a heavy gaze. "Gamblers never come to a good end. Quit it immediately. If I catch you crawling into that gambling den again, I'll chop off your paws."

Chen Two-Tiger did not dare talk back and merely muttered quietly:

"Fine, I'll quit... But if my luck turns good, I could turn things around in one night. Wouldn't I get that boat back then..."

He secretly glanced at his brother's expression, then muttered again:

"Better than you going after those fairy maidens... Throwing away several grains of spirit sand every night. Not only does it cost money, it ruins your body too."

Chen Dahu slapped the back of Chen Two-Tiger's head again.

"What the hell do you know!"

Chen Two-Tiger clutched his head, but the corner of his eye kept following that half-worn skiff in the distance.

Wang Mengde's boat had already sailed dozens of yards away and was slowly stopping in the shade behind a reef.

Chen Two-Tiger stared at that figure, leaned closer, and lowered his voice as though afraid the sea breeze would scatter it. "Big Brother... let's do one more job."

Chen Dahu finally turned his head.

He looked at Chen Two-Tiger. His gaze was heavy and emotionless, yet it made Chen Two-Tiger's back tighten.

"He's at the second level of Qi Refinement now," Chen Dahu said. "Our rule is to only target first-level Qi Refinement cultivators."

Chen Two-Tiger said, "He only just broke through. How strong can he be in a fight?"

"You broke through to the second level of Qi Refinement more than ten years ago, Brother, and I've been at the peak of the first level for years."

"If we buy a few talismans and join forces, wouldn't taking him down be a sure thing?"

As he spoke, he secretly watched his brother's expression. Seeing that Chen Dahu did not immediately refute him, his courage swelled.

"Besides..." Chen Two-Tiger licked his lips. "Those little lambs at the first level of Qi Refinement are getting more cautious by the day. We can't find a chance to make a move at all. How long has it been since we last made a score?"

He paused, a trace of leering humor entering his voice.

"The few fairy maidens you fancy, Brother, have probably been... been rubbed callused by now."

Before his words had even faded—

Chen Dahu swung his hand and slapped the back of Chen Two-Tiger's head again, this time even harder.

"Ow!" Chen Two-Tiger cried out in pain, half his body sinking down.

"Can't you say one damn thing that sounds human?" Chen Dahu glared at him, the vicious light in his eyes seeming ready to flay someone alive.

Chen Two-Tiger held his head and no longer dared to grin foolishly.

But neither did he shut up.

He rubbed his shoulder, rolled his eyes, and leaned close again.

This time, his voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, yet every word carried a sticky undertone.

"Brother..."

"Wang Mengde's sister-in-law..."

"You're not thinking about her anymore?"

Chen Dahu's breathing paused for an instant.

He did not answer, nor did he strike again.

His gaze crossed the sea and settled on the skiff that had already come to a stop.

Only after a long while did he speak.

"There are too many people in these waters."

Chen Two-Tiger's eyes instantly lit up.

"Wait until he's alone," Chen Dahu said.

Chen Two-Tiger nodded forcefully, unable to suppress the curve of his lips any longer.