Who is the Dog Tanhua? The answer is not hard to guess. Qing Ya’s words have already revealed a lot of information. Corresponding to the ship that turned off its lights before docking, Grandmaster Yu figured it out in a flash and felt somewhat irritated. This local snake is at least a notable figure in the Sea Market, yet he actually curses people behind their backs!
At this moment, Pang Chengqiu chimed in, “Master Qing, why don’t we go over and see what is going on.”
Qing Ya tilted his chin towards Purple Wave Island, “No matter what is going on, it is none of our business. There is no need for us to get too close. When the Dog Tanhua arrives, he will naturally go onto the island, and those two on the island will handle it themselves.”
Those two on the island? Yu Qing muttered in his heart again, which two?
Pang Chengqiu said, “I just wonder if those two have seen it. Turning off the lights without docking might also be to avoid being discovered by someone.”
As soon as the words fell, Cui You, whose facial expressions changed constantly, leaped up and darted away, landing lightly on the water like a dragonfly skimming the surface as he headed to the island.
Qing Ya, Pang Chengqiu, and the two merfolk watched him go.
“If the Dog Tanhua is docking with the lights out, and the lights have been off for so long, logically speaking, he should have already reached the island. Isn’t it too late to rush over and report now?”
Qing Ya muttered this, while simultaneously taking out a handful of peanuts, crushing and peeling them one by one, and tossing them into his mouth.
Pang Chengqiu asked, “Once the two sides meet, will Long Xingyun really kill that Tanhua?”
Long Xingyun? Yu Qing’s eyes flashed repeatedly. He felt both surprised and not entirely unexpected, after all, he had seen Cui You.
Qing Ya said, “Judging by his demeanour, he is likely to eliminate him and be done with it.”
Pang Chengqiu asked, “If they start fighting and accidentally alert the old monster on the island, and Long Xingyun gets into danger, should we step in to help?”
Qing Ya replied, “With Yin Shanhe protecting him closely, even if the old monster is alerted, he probably cannot do anything to that young pavilion master. It is the same as I said before. The old monster is not stupid. As long as Long Xingyun reveals his identity, unless the old monster does not want to mix in this place anymore or wants to flee to the ends of the earth, there is a high probability he would not dare to go too far with Long Xingyun. No matter the situation, we have brought them here, which is already doing our utmost duty. We should just stand by and watch.”
Pang Chengqiu sighed, “It seems that the number one talent in the world is destined to be unable to escape this disaster this time.”
Qing Ya said, “That arrogant bastard. I don’t know where he gets the nerve to run to the Startling Swan Hall every other day. I have long been displeased with him. I haven’t even settled the debt for this leg of mine with him yet. I just hope Long Xingyun does not let him die too painlessly.”
Yu Qing, who was eavesdropping, had flashing eyes from time to time, and squinted at Qing Ya’s figure. Thinking of Cui You who had gone to report the news, and worrying that alerting Long Xingyun’s side to search would involve Old Seven and Old Nine, he developed a desire to retreat. He slowly pulled his head back behind the reef, and then slowly, slowly shrank into the water.
He dared not make the slightest sound, knowing full well that if there was any anomaly, it would be hard to escape Qing Ya’s detection at such a close distance. Fortunately, water is extremely soft. As long as the movements are gentle, they can be completely silent. Despite this, he still used his cultivation to tightly seal his aura, not daring to reveal the slightest bit, and even held his breath.
Only when the top of his head submerged in the water did it cause a ripple on the surface.
The light from Purple Wave Island, coupled with the tail fins stirred by the merfolk, caused the water surface to shimmer with ripples.
Qing Ya, whose attention was no longer focused on the ship that turned off its lights without docking, suddenly had a flash in his eyes. His gaze fixed on the ripples of light on the water not far away. Seeing the patterns of colliding light ripples, his brows frowned slightly. Suddenly realising something, he abruptly turned to face the darkness, his cold eyes sweeping across it.
Following this, he flashed over to the reef on the other side, almost standing exactly where Yu Qing had just been hiding, his cold and fierce eyes sweeping everywhere.
Immediately after, he flashed and dove into the water. He took out a luminous stone underwater and used magic to control it, making it flow everywhere at the bottom of the water to assist his vision in searching.
Pang Chengqiu also realised something and followed him into the water, doing the same to search.
Yu Qing, who had already fled far away in the water, occasionally looked back and could still see the shaking light of the luminous stone in the water. Realising his movements might have been detected, he could not help but feel secretly shocked and quickly sneaked away.
Based on their reaction time over there, he also guessed that it might be the ripples from his diving that caused the alert. The environment of the Nether Sea was just too special, and the water surface was too calm. The abnormal ripples under the light were very easy to be discovered.
He did not know that Qing Ya’s attention had previously been focused on the direction he came from, and that there were merfolk playing in the water there. Otherwise, he would have been discovered by Qing Ya the moment he popped his head up.
A little while later, Qing Ya finally emerged from the icy seawater and floated down onto the reef, attracting the attention of the merfolk on the boat. There was not the slightest sign of his clothes being wet.
Soon, Pang Chengqiu, also completely dry, followed and surfaced.
Both of them put away the luminous stones they used for lighting, as it was inappropriate to emit bright light and attract attention.
Pang Chengqiu naturally asked at this time, “Master Qing, did you discover any anomalies?”
Qing Ya said hesitantly, “Perhaps it was the ripple feedback from the boatman playing in the water and the waves hitting the reef. But the waves should not be able to hit the reef behind. Maybe my eyes deceived me, or maybe someone approached us in secret.”
“Someone approached?” Pang Chengqiu subconsciously looked around. “Who could it be?”
Qing Ya said, “If there really is someone, who else could it be now? From what we know now, it is either someone from that ship with the lights out, or a tentacle of the one entrenched on the island. It is mostly the latter. The Dog Tanhua probably does not know we are hiding here, and should not be able to silently and accurately find our hiding place.”
“Qianjun…” Pang Chengqiu muttered, becoming highly vigilant, after all, the strength of the old monster here is not simple.
On Purple Wave Island, Cui You had also found Long Xingyun.
It was not easy to find him. Although Long Xingyun and Yin Shanhe were at the highest point of the terrain, they also used the geographical advantages to conceal themselves, especially after discovering that the target ship might be arriving.
It was only when he saw Cui You sneaking around and searching randomly that Long Xingyun showed himself and beckoned him over.
As soon as they met, Long Xingyun questioned him very unhappily, “Don’t you know we are waiting by the stump for the hare? What is the point of you sneaking around everywhere and alerting the snake?”
Cui You quickly pointed in the direction where the ship stopped and the lights were turned off, “Young Pavilion Master, a ship came from over there just now. It might be A Shiheng and the others. The ship lights suddenly went out. I was afraid you would not notice, so I specially came to report the news.”
Long Xingyun said, “Bullshit. We are not blind. If you could see it, how could the two of us not notice?”
Cui You was somewhat embarrassed by his scolding, after all, his good intentions were completely unappreciated, but he still submissively agreed and nodded to admit his mistake.
Yin Shanhe, who was watching from the side, interrupted, “Go back quietly and keep an eye on the ship. Just be wary of Qing Ya and the others playing tricks. If you discover any anomalies, warn us immediately.”
To him, with Cui You’s strength, it made no difference whether he was by his side or not.
“Yes,” Cui You agreed, took his leave, and quickly sneaked back.
Long Xingyun asked, “Uncle Yin, what is the situation with that Dog Tanhua? Why hasn’t he come over yet? Could it be someone else coming?”
After hearing Qing Ya call Yu Qing “Dog Tanhua” over there, he agreed deeply and started calling him that too.
Yin Shanhe said, “No matter who is coming, since they have come here, they should be planning to go onto the island. Let us observe a bit more and see.”
Despite being somewhat impatient, Long Xingyun still held back. If it were someone else by his side, someone he could not suppress, he would have long taken the initiative to go and investigate.
When dealing with Yu Qing, he still had a huge psychological advantage and was not afraid at all in terms of strength. Or rather, he simply did not put someone like Yu Qing in his eyes at all. In his eyes, Yu Qing was just a turtle hiding its head. Otherwise, he believed he would have killed him long ago.
Yu Qing, who had been going back and forth in the water, also surfaced and appeared beside Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie.
Seeing him return safely, the two breathed a sigh of relief. Nan Zhu immediately asked, “What is the situation?”
Yu Qing was in no hurry to answer him. He first used the Guan Character Technique to observe, and after confirming there were no anomalies nearby, he said in a low voice, “There is an ambush targeting us here.”
The two were greatly shocked. Nan Zhu asked in a low voice, “What situation? How can there be an ambush? Who is ambushing?”
Yu Qing said, “Long Xingyun is here, waiting for us on this island. There should be experts by his side.”
Just this sentence was enough to make Nan and Mu change colour in shock. They all knew Long Xingyun’s background. How could they afford to be targeted by Long Xingyun in a place like the Nether Sea?
Nan Zhu said with some grief and indignation, “It is all in the past, and Tie Miaoqing has also left. Why is he still watching us? They say it is better to resolve grievances than to make them. Is that bastard still holding a grudge against us?”
Mu Aotie spoke up, “That is not right. How does he know we came here? The news of our coming here is only known by the Lingxi Studio. Are the people from Lingxi Studio deliberately causing trouble?”
Yu Qing said, “I am not sure. Qing Ya brought the people here personally. Qing Ya and Pang Chengqiu are also here, hiding on the nearby reef. I just saw them with my own eyes. The two ferry boats that were following us earlier should be them. We took a detour, so they arrived before us.”
Mu Aotie said in a deep voice, “That further proves that they already knew we were coming to Purple Wave Island in advance. Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to rush straight here to wait for us.”
Nan Zhu said, “Exactly. Only Lingxi Studio knew we were coming to Purple Wave Island. There is definitely something wrong with Lingxi Studio.”
Yu Qing said, “It is not just Lingxi Studio who knows. Hu Youli also knows. We inquired about Purple Wave Island from her. If she leaked it to the outside, it would not be hard for someone with a mind to guess our destination. Either Lingxi Studio leaked the news, or Hu Youli let the cat out of the bag.”
Nan Zhu said, “There is no point in guessing now. Let us go back. Since we know there is a trap, let us hurry back first. Alternatively, we can take advantage of the fact that they do not know yet, set sail directly back to Xingluo Island, and hurry back to hide in Youjiao Wharf. By the time Long Xingyun reacts, there will be nothing he can do to us.”
Yu Qing continued to observe the surroundings with the Guan Character Technique and replied, “It is too late. There is no way to take the ferry boat back anymore. When our ship arrived, they already discovered it. As soon as the ship lights turn on, they will immediately realise we are trying to escape, and I am afraid they will chase and kill us right away.”
“Let us just do it thoroughly. If you do a thing, you might as well see it through.” Nan Zhu suddenly spoke with a cold tone, his face ferocious. “Can’t you navigate on this sea? Let us just hijack that boat and leave quietly in the dark.”
Yu Qing, who was observing the surroundings, immediately retracted his gaze and looked at his face as if looking at an idiot. “If we really do that, I am afraid Long Xingyun will laugh out loud. Everyone knows we are the passengers of that boat. If the boat is hijacked, I am afraid they will not even need to lift a finger.”
Nan Zhu said, “It is not like we have never killed merfolk before. Don’t we have connections with the Nether Temple?”