What was going on?
Nan and Mu immediately looked around, their hands subconsciously moving to grip their sword hilts, ready to draw at any moment, their posture concealing a state of alertness.
Though it was just a simple “Stop the boat”, having been martial brothers for many years, they had already detected the caution in it, and instantly entered a state of readiness.
The boatman merman heard the call and stopped the boat, climbing up at the stern to pop his head out. Naturally seeing the three martial brothers gripping their swords in readiness, he immediately looked around too.
Yet neither he, nor Nan and Mu, could see any abnormality in the surroundings. Even looking in the direction Yu Qing was staring at, they could not see anything out of place.
Mermen were very sensitive to changes in the water, so he ducked his head back in to test, but also detected nothing unusual from the water.
After observing briefly, Nan Zhu could not help but ask, “Old Fifteen, what is wrong?”
Yu Qing, staring intently at the drifting shapes of the wisps of mist before him, did not speak. He could not easily explain what was wrong, especially with outsiders present. He only knew that the subtle changes in the mist before him were slightly abnormal.
The Nether Sea, for some unknown reason, rarely had wind or rain. Even the water surface was mostly calm, and the airflow was relatively stable. This provided very stable observation conditions for those cultivating the Word-Watching Technique.
Added to this, the wisps of mist that drifted about from time to time provided a natural convenience for interpretation.
The changes in the mist caused by subtle air currents, others could not see, but his Word-Watching Technique had not failed him. Although limited by temporary conditions he could not fully understand it, it still allowed him to keenly detect that there were others moving nearby.
He did not reply to Nan Zhu, but instead raised his hand to loosen the ties of his cloak, took it off and threw it onto the boat, and tilted his head to signal to his two martial brothers.
Although Nan and Mu did not understand the reason, one thing was certain. This fellow Old Fifteen had a stronger ability to sense danger than them. This had been proven more than once, and he often could detect risks they had no perception of.
So the two still followed the signal, also taking off their cloaks and throwing them at their feet.
The boatman merman, however, did not understand, and was somewhat irritable. “What is wrong with you lot now? We are about to reach shore, so why stop here and dawdle?”
Yu Qing said, “Boatman, we will not waste your time. Start counting the money from now.”
The boatman merman was stunned. He looked at the not-too-distant Purple Wave Island and said, puzzled, “Now?”
Yu Qing: “The boat does not need to reach shore. Just stop here and wait for us.”
The boatman merman: “It is not far from here. Better to send you to shore, lest you turn around and say I did not deliver you properly, then haggle over the money. One mouth cannot outargue three.”
“No need, just wait here. Rest assured about the money. We are not petty people. Whatever amount was agreed is the amount. We will not short you half a tael. We would not dare deceive you, after all we still need to rely on your boat to return. By the way, can we extinguish the lantern now?”
“If delivering here counts, then one journey is finished, so naturally the lantern can be put out.”
So Yu Qing did not say more. He waved his hand to send a gust of force wind into the lantern, extinguishing the boat lamp, then crouched down and put his foot in the water, being the first to submerge.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie, plunged into darkness, immediately followed, diving into the water together.
The three martial brothers made slight physical contact in the water, conducted a simple exchange, then together dove underwater, holding their breath and swimming stealthily…
“Why did the light go out?”
At the highest point of Purple Wave Island, Long Xingyun, who had been staring at the boat lamp on the sea, spoke strangely, then stood up along with Yin Shanhe who was similarly frowning. Both stared carefully at the sea surface.
On a nearby reef, Qing Ya also slowly stood up, asking, “Is my eyesight failing, or did I see wrong? Did the light go out?”
Pang Chengqiu, who stood up after him and reached out to support him, said, “It should be.”
Qing Ya was curious. “The boat has not arrived yet. There is still some distance. Why extinguish the lamp?” He turned his head to look at the two mermen sitting at the bow with their tail fins swaying in the water. “Did you not say that before delivering the passengers, the lamp cannot be extinguished during the journey?”
One merman said matter-of-factly, “Yes. If the lamp is out, naturally they have been delivered.”
Qing Ya: “But they have not reached shore yet?”
That merman said, “Who said they must reach shore to count as delivered? Wherever the passenger says, that is where it counts. Do you not even understand such a simple principle?”
“Uh…” Qing Ya was rendered speechless. He looked again in the direction where the light went out, still seeing no light at all, and could not help but exclaim, “What is going on?”
The two on the island did not know what was going on.
The few on the reef also did not know what was going on.
The three martial brothers stealthily swimming underwater likewise did not know what was going on. In any case, all parties felt something was abnormal.
The three in the water swam to the side of the island with its purple splendour like waves and brilliant radiance. They quietly surfaced by the shore, not even daring to fully expose their heads above water, carefully observing their surroundings.
They could not afford to be careless. The purple light here was magnificent. Even at the shore it was brightly lit, and the reflections in the water were also dazzling. The three only dared to surface in shadowed areas.
After observing with the Word-Watching Technique and confirming no one was nearby, Yu Qing finally exposed his entire head above water to breathe, and said to his two martial brothers, “It is fine to speak quietly.”
Only then did Nan and Mu also fully surface, though they were still careful of their surroundings.
Nan Zhu asked in a low voice, “Old Fifteen, why are we sneaking about like this? What is going on?”
Yu Qing replied in a low voice, “There are people on the island.”
Hearing this, Nan Zhu could not help but roll his eyes. “Are you mad? Of course there are people on the island. If there were not people on the island, what are we doing here? Do we need to act like thieves?”
Yu Qing raised a finger to his lips, signalling him to keep quiet. “Nonsense. We know very limited information. We barely even grasp the basic situation. No matter who that employer is, if we have a chance to scout the situation first, why would we not? Since we left the mountain, have we not suffered enough losses?”
Nan Zhu: “We are strangers here. We cannot scout anything.”
“Stop nagging.” Yu Qing ordered him to shut up, then could not be bothered to respond, and began to observe carefully.
For others it might be difficult to scout the situation here, but for him it was not necessarily so. The boat lamp had limited illumination range, but the light here was much stronger. The observable range was larger, and there was more supplementary analytical evidence from subtle changes. Added to this, being close to the target location, any causal chain reactions would appear relatively obvious.
In short, being closer made it easier to observe.
In no time, he had roughly observed the movements in this area.
In other places he might not be able to perceive such a large range, but the conditions of this Nether Sea were too favourable for the Word-Watching Technique he cultivated. It was an observation place with almost no interference.
Of course, this was also related to his cultivation having risen to the Xuan level.
There seemed to be movements of eight people on the island, at three separate locations. One place had one person, one place had two people, one place had five people.
As for which person was the Lingxi Zhai employer he was looking for, he could not figure it out. So he said to his two martial brothers in a low voice, “You wait here. I will go scout the situation first.”
Mu Aotie immediately said, “Let us go together.”
The implication being that it would be good to have mutual support.
Nan Zhu also nodded.
“Why do you need a crowd to scout? Is it not conspicuous enough? Just wait here. Do not move around. Wait for me to return.”
Yu Qing left these words, identified a direction, then shrank into the water and quickly swam away, heading first to where there were more people.
Nan and Mu looked at each other. Then Nan Zhu muttered quietly, “Old Nine, Hu Youli said the monster on this island is a huge creature with many hands and feet. Could it be another Yun Xi?”
Mu Aotie: “She said it was a demon cultivator similar to an octopus monster.”
Nan Zhu: “Does not Yun Xi look like an octopus monster? Could that employer be a third Yun Xi? Just like tricking us into Little Cloud Realm, tricking us again to Purple Wave Island. That is not impossible.”
Mu Aotie was truly impressed by him, that he could find something to say even when there was nothing. He simply remained silent and said nothing.
Actually, he did not speak much, partly because he had been with this martial brother for so long. When one of two people often chattered away, the other, finding it noisy yet unable to make him shut up, would gradually develop a habit of not liking to talk, annoyed by too much chatter.
“Ah, Old Nine, look at you. Do not think I am being overly suspicious. If one has no long-term considerations, one will have immediate worries…”
Nan Zhu continued chattering nonstop, while Mu Aotie continued to remain silent.
Yu Qing, meanwhile, was stealthily swimming underwater to the location of the reef.
He had previously thought the place with many people’s movements was also on the island. Midway, he discovered that the light and shadow seen from underwater were not right. He quietly surfaced to take a look, and only then realised that the location with five people he was heading to was not on the island, but on a reef.
The reef was not far from the island, only sixty to seventy zhang away. The water surface between them was still illuminated by the purple light from the island.
Yu Qing detected in the water the movements of two slowly swaying tail fins. Using the light and shadow on the water surface, he saw they were mermen by the boat. He changed direction, and quietly surfaced on the side behind the reef.
His head had not even fully emerged. Having just exposed a pair of eyes in the shadows beside the reef, he saw a person who greatly surprised him, nearly giving him a fright. The number one local boss of Sea Market, Qing Ya!
How could Qing Ya be here? He thought he had seen wrong. But carefully examining by the light from Purple Wave Island, there was no mistake. That stiffly bound broken leg was still there.
Another proof was the trusted subordinate Pang Chengqiu by Qing Ya’s side, whom he had also seen before.
Thus there naturally could be no mistake.
What surprised him even more was another person. Due to his angle of view, he did not see that the person was standing on the boat. He only assumed he was standing in a lower place, a person showing only a shoulder and head. Cui You, trusted subordinate of Qin Jue who had already lost his life in Little Cloud Realm.
Now, he finally understood what the movements of five people here were about. Three people and two mermen.
The question was, how could Cui You be here? He had seen at Hidden Horn Port that Cui You was following Long Xingyun, was he not? How could he be mixed up with Qing Ya and the others, and appear here? Coincidence?
“It seems there has been no reaction all along. By rights it should be that dog Tanhua. Only this extinguishing the lamp before reaching shore, who knows what trick he is playing.”
Qing Ya suddenly chuckled, with the air of someone enjoying the spectacle and not fearing trouble.
What? Dog Tanhua? Yu Qing was stunned. Subconsciously asking in his heart, is he talking about me?