Yu Qing snorted in disdain. “Just because we have connections means we can go around killing the sea clan at will? There is no such logic anywhere. Last time they did not hold a grudge against us because the fault was not ours. The sea clan gave in to their own greed, and that merman plotted to murder for treasure. We were merely defending ourselves, which is why the Nether Temple did not hold it against us.”
Nan Zhu said, “Then let us do it again. We will just say the boatman saw your ring again and got greedy.”
Mu Aotie could not stand it any longer and retorted, “Are we going to accidentally expose the ring yet again? Using the same excuse over and over, do they take others for fools?”
Yu Qing said, “We barely managed to build some rapport with the Nether Temple, and they even saved our lives. To turn around and stab the sea clan in the back, I just cannot bring myself to do such a thing. Old Nine, do not listen to his nonsense. Do you not know what he is thinking? He is just coveting the banknotes on that merman.”
Nan Zhu glared and said, “Look at what you are saying. Am I that kind of greedy person? A gentleman loves wealth but acquires it in a proper way. I am just making a suggestion, offering a piece of advice when our lives are at stake. Am I not doing it for the good of everyone? How did it become my fault? As for the banknotes on that merman last time, who swallowed them?”
Yu Qing pretended not to hear and continued talking to himself, “I can orient myself on this Nether Sea, but I do not know the routes at all. I have no idea how long it would take to wander our way out. If we take too long and cannot slip away, do you think they will not figure it out? Do you think their forces are just for show and will let us escape easily?”
Nan Zhu could not help but poke his neck a bit further out of the water, getting somewhat anxious. “Then what do we do? Just stay soaking in this water forever?”
Yu Qing looked up towards the island with its purple luminous waves and seemed to mutter to himself, “There are some doubts that have been hard to resolve. I want to take a risk and give it a try.”
Hearing that they were going to take another risk, Nan and Mu instantly grew tense. Throughout their journey, every so called adventure was no ordinary risk, but a literal gamble with their lives.
Nan Zhu, in particular, felt a tremor of fear and quickly tried to soothe him with good words, “Old Fifteen, you are still young and prone to acting impulsively. That is understandable, but you still need to exercise restraint when you should. As the saying goes, he who walks by the river often wets his shoes. We cannot rely on luck to escape danger every time. If you keep gambling with your life, sooner or later you will lose it. You are not a child anymore, you should be more rational.”
Seeing their reactions, Yu Qing changed the subject. “If the Lingxi Pavilion did not leak the news, then what they said is true, meaning that mysterious patron is indeed living in seclusion on this island. According to my investigation, there is indeed another person on this island. Since we have made it this far, we should find a way to locate him and confirm it.”
Confirming whether the mysterious patron of the Lingxi Pavilion was on the island or not was extremely important to him. It was also the reason why he was reluctant to leave despite knowing the danger.
Nan Zhu reminded him, “You just said that Long Xingyun brought experts to the island to wait for us. On top of that, there is a massive creature on this island. How are you going to confirm it?”
Yu Qing said, “Qing Ya and the others have already searched the island. We do not know where that massive creature went, but it is definitely not on the island right now. Otherwise, with its huge body, it would be impossible to miss. As for that person on the island, they are not in the same location as Long Xingyun and his group. They are on the other side. We can swim around to find them without running into the people of Long Xingyun.”
He could not reveal the secret of the Guan Technique, so he could only use Qing Ya and his group as an excuse.
Hearing this, Nan and Mu were both somewhat puzzled. Was this guy Old Fifteen some kind of divine detective? How did he gather so much information in such a short time away?
“Let us go. I said it is fine, so it is fine. I would not joke with my own life.”
After offering a word of comfort, Yu Qing took a deep breath, crouched, and sank into the water.
Nan and Mu exchanged a glance and had no other choice. If there truly was danger, they could not just sit by and watch Old Fifteen take the risk alone.
The two of them could only sink into the water one after the other. Using the light from the island, they saw the direction of Yu Qing and quickly chased after him along the bottom.
Yu Qing, looking back from time to time, saw them following and felt relieved.
Actually, the abrupt intervention of Long Xingyun and his group had changed the situation, truly filling this secret mission with danger and variables. He did not want to bring the two of them into danger either, but there was no other way. Once Long Xingyun and the others waited for a long time without seeing them, they would inevitably launch a search.
Just like back in the capital of the Jin Kingdom, when a massive force surrounded and hunted him but failed to catch him for a long time, he could use the Guan Technique to avoid the risk of being searched. But Old Seven and Old Nine did not have this ability. Once discovered during a search, they would not be able to escape at all.
Therefore, it was safer to keep the two of them right by his side.
As long as he was there, the manpower of Long Xingyun and his group was limited. Let alone catching them, it would not even be easy for them to spot them.
It was not that the past masters of the Linglong Monastery wanted to be selfish about certain things. The secret inner sect cultivation methods were not told to the outer disciples truly because of talent limitations. Not just anyone could learn them. Since they could not learn it, it was better not to tell them, to avoid them overthinking from knowing too much. This would easily lead to disadvantages for both themselves and others, which would actually harm everyone.
The three brothers swam stealthily around the island underwater. Yu Qing led the way in front. Under the illumination of the light from the island, the seabed near the shore was quite bright, making it easy to spot any strange objects approaching. However, it still gave people a mysterious and shadowy feeling, keeping their nerves taut.
The three of them did not stay submerged the entire time. They would occasionally pop their heads out in the shadows of the shore. Changing air was not the main reason. With their cultivation, holding their breath to swim around the island was no problem. The main reason was that Yu Qing needed to use the Guan Technique to scout the situation, confirm the locations of the various parties, and check if any danger was approaching.
Eventually, the light in the water grew darker and darker, almost making it impossible for them to see the situation at the bottom near the shore.
Purple Wave Island was mostly brilliant and shining, but there was another area that appeared quite dark. It was almost barren, consisting of an uneven reef area. During high tide, large stretches of the reef would be half submerged in the sea.
The three brothers swam around the island underwater, stealthily making their way to this barren, dark area.
After popping up behind a pitch black reef, Yu Qing lay behind it and carefully poked his head out, looking towards a certain spot.
Nan and Mu quickly noticed something unusual. Seeing the reaction of Old Fifteen as he looked around, they also poked their heads out and looked in the same direction.
Not seeing anything obvious, Nan Zhu asked in a low voice, “What are you looking at?”
The cultivation and eyesight of Yu Qing were indeed a bit better than theirs. He pointed to a spot ahead by the seaside, “The person we are looking for is right there, on the most prominent reef by the shore. See it?”
Nan and Mu immediately strained their eyes to look, staring intently at the indicated direction to make it out.
Looking closely, they finally spotted something. There was indeed someone sitting on the reef, occasionally swinging their arms. Nan Zhu muttered, “What is that person doing?”
Yu Qing could see a bit more clearly and said, “Fishing.”
“Fishing?” Nan Zhu was stunned, not expecting anyone to have such a refined hobby in a place like this. He asked again, “Are you sure this is the person you are looking for, and not one of the group of Long Xingyun?”
Yu Qing thought about the conversation he had eavesdropped on earlier. “Most likely not. There are not many people here. If they were truly the men Long Xingyun brought, they would definitely be hostile to us. It is highly unlikely they would be sitting here openly loitering.”
Even though he said this, he had no absolute certainty, but his own judgement was the most probable. In any case, whether or not it was the person he was looking for, he had to go and confirm. It was the same as before, confirming the identity of the other party was very important to them.
Nan and Mu thought it made sense.
Yu Qing, however, said, “You two hide here and do not move. I will go over and confirm.”
Without waiting for the two to agree, he sank back into the water and swam further away. To avoid exposing the hiding place of the other two, he only surfaced again after putting some distance between them, and this time he went straight ashore.
Who would have thought that after taking only a few steps on the undulating reef, Nan and Mu would pop out of the water and jump up, stubbornly following him again.
The two were afraid Yu Qing would be in danger alone. Although they did not think they had any great skills, they believed they could lend a hand in a critical moment, contributing whatever strength they had.
Yu Qing looked back and felt helpless. Knowing he could not persuade them to go back, and since they had already surfaced and exposed themselves, he was too lazy to say anything more.
The three brothers immediately walked towards the solitary figure by the seaside. As they walked, they applied a bit more “Blue Enchantress” to their eyelids.
As they were walking, a shadow suddenly descended from the air and landed directly on the shoulder of Yu Qing. It was none other than “Big Head”.
“Big Head” did not like water. The three of them had previously jumped straight into the water from the boat without even a word of greeting, completely ignoring its feelings. After getting soaked, “Big Head” immediately struggled free, burst out of the water, and flew off on its own.
The three of them did not mind it either. Anyway, they were indeed letting it roam free now.
Ever since “Big Head” was “enlightened” by the Nether Monk at the Nether Temple last time, it had remained motionless for several days. The three of them had only seen this kind of abnormality back at the Wen residence.
This time, after awakening from its motionless state, “Big Head” seemed much smarter. It appeared to have reached a realm where it could completely understand human speech, which greatly surprised and delighted them.
With this ability and knowing right from wrong, the three of them felt even more at ease letting it roam free.
See, after coming out of the water, “Big Head” had been circling and flying in the air. As soon as it saw them, it immediately returned to the group.
Yu Qing had no mind to deal with this insect right now. He first took out the swimming fish ring and put it back on his hand.
Before boarding the ferry from the sea market earlier, he had taken off the ring and put it away. He could not possibly forget the lesson from his first time riding the ferry.
As they approached, using the distant light reflecting from the island, they gradually made out the person on the reef more clearly.
It was indeed a fisherman. He wore brown clothes, his hair and beard were grey, and his beard was two feet long. He was a rather old man, with his sleeves and trouser legs rolled up, bare elbows and barefoot, sitting with his legs crossed on the reef and occasionally swinging his fishing rod.
After getting closer, the three brothers exchanged a glance. Needless to say, anyone who could sit in a place like this to fish was definitely no ordinary person.
Another obvious point was that demonic energy was floating around the fisherman, making it clear he was a demonic cultivator.
Just then, the old fisherman suddenly swung his rod. Splash, he directly flung a strange white fish over a foot long out of the water.
The fish came off the hook in the air, but its momentum still flung it onto the shore. It landed with a slap, falling right in front of the three brothers and flopping around.