Stranger Danger

“That’s right,” Ye Qing answered. “I’ve checked the map. One must pass through many islands if they are to travel from the Four Seas to the Poison Dragon Island. White Fish Island is the only uninhabited island out of all of them, and it is out of the way enough that the shockwaves of our battle should not draw attention or harm innocents.”

Why not just intercept Fang Muyun on the sea and kill him wherever? Why go out of his way to locate an island such as White Fish Island? It was because intercepting him thoughtlessly was risky, of course.

For one, fighting on the sea was very different from fighting on land. A complex and everchanging environment, one misstep might just prove enough for Fang Muyun to escape through the sea.

Second, the sea route between Four Seas Island and Poison Dragon Island was a popular one. Connected to multiple islands, it was frequented by ships and personnel most of the time. Not only that, the day Fang Muyun set out was also the island lord’s birthday. Jiang Shiyi was famous throughout the Eastern Sea had boasted a wide social network. Countless people would be paying him their respects and participating in the birthday ceremony, increasing the traffic even more than it already was. If he could not kill Fang Muyun within the allocated time, someone would stumble upon their battle or recognize Fang Muyun from afar. It would be difficult for him to finish the job then.

Did he possess the strength to finish Fang Muyun off in a short time? If he were to be entirely honest with himself, the answer was no. Even if he had a grasp of Fang Muyun’s strength, even if he was working together with Feng Qingyou, even if the scholar had no idea he was coming, he still did not think he could kill Fang Muyun in a short time.

All things considered, Ye Qing ultimately decided to lure Fang Muyun to an island before commencing the operation. It was the safer and less risky option.

White Fish Island was the answer he arrived at after extensive research.

“White Fish Island? It’s a good choice,” Feng Qingyou said thoughtfully. “But getting him there is going to prove troublesome.”

“I agree. Still, nothing is impossible.” Ye Qing smiled. “There is still time to finalize our plan, so let’s take this one step at a time. Right now, we’re going to visit White Fish Island and check if it’s a suitable ambush spot.”

Although Ye Qing had selected White Fish Island as his ambush site, he hadn’t surveyed the place in person yet. What if it turned out that it was unsuitable for whatever reason after all? He would have to find another ambush spot. If it was suitable, then familiarizing himself with its environment would also facilitate his attempt to assassinate Fang Muyun.

After arriving at the shore, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou went and searched for a deserted location. Then, Ye Qing waved a boat into existence.

The boat was shaped like a fish. Its body was covered in colorful golden scales, and at the bow hung a flag with a golden carp on it.

They jumped onto the boat, and the flag began waving despite the fact that there was no wind. The golden carp on the flag also seemed to come alive and started swimming. The boat glowed golden for a second, and the next moment, it dashed into the sea at high speed.

The boat was named the “Wave Breaking Golden Carp Boat”. A Soulstealer-class Strange Artifact, it was forged using the bones and scales of the Phenomenon-class Strange Artifact, the Golden Carp. Its soul was sealed within the flag. When the boat entered the water, it was like the Golden Carp itself traversing the rivers, navigating the sea, and breaking through the waves like a human would navigate a flatland.

Of course, the Wave Breaking Golden Carp Boat was fast, but that was it. It could not block the wind or the waves. Luckily for it, its passengers were powerful enough that they did not care for its deficiencies.

There were several reasons why the duo had chosen not to travel to their destination on a comfortable and safe vessel such as a tower ship or ferry. One, the sea surrounding White Fish Island was more treacherous than normal, which was why few boats and ships enjoyed sailing there. Two, if they did succeed in killing Fang Muyun in White Fish Island, the Chu embassy would surely spare no effort in investigating everyone who visited that island as of late. There was an exceedingly high chance they would be able to pick up on their trail in that case.

Although Ye Qing was confident that he could clean their tracks cleanly and ensure that the investigation met a dead end, that was no reason to be careless. Besides, this matter did not allow for even the slightest margin of error or carelessness. One misstep, and it would be damnation for him and Feng Qingyou.

That was why they were using their own transport. In fact, they went so far as to avoid the commonly used sea routes and sail far, far away from the traffic. It was all to avoid being seen and generating unnecessary trouble.

Of course, to stray away from human traffic was to invite trouble of a different kind: Strangers. The official sea routes were cleaned up regularly in order to ensure the safety of the vessels using them. Everywhere else that wasn’t an official sea route did not enjoy such luxury as a matter of course.

There were Strangers everywhere. They had been traveling for tens of kilometers only, and they had already endured over ten attacks. Although Ye Qing released his aura in full to scare them away, there were always stubborn or brainless Strangers who chose to swim head first into death anyway. So, Ye Qing obliged them and punched them to the afterlife.

If there was one silver lining to this trip, it was that the views were pretty great. The endless sea, the deep blue waters, the gorgeous, titanic waves… they were all sceneries that were rarely found on the land.

The gorgeous sights of nature weren’t the only beauties on the sea either. For example, they saw thousands of dolphins leaping out of the surface at once and kicking up a wave that was over tens of thousands meters tall.

Colorful seaweeds swaying under the sea and emitting colorful halos that made the bottom of the sea looked like a celestial realm.

Tens of thousands of Bubble Fishes blew countless bubbles into the sky, sunlight refracting across their surface and blinding the world with color.

Sea beasts the size of an island floating to the sea surface and blowing water into the sky, causing an entire area to rain for a time.

Sea Serpent Birds flapping their wings in the sky and breathing illusory clouds that took the form of celestial realms, palaces, divine beings and more from their mouths.

An endless expanse of translucent jellyfishes floating across the sea surface, their tentacles floating in the azure waters and dying an entire patch of the sea white.

Melody Conches playing exquisite music, and Beauty Clams dancing a bewitching dance.

……

These were all one-of-a-kind wonders that few people ever got to witness, and for good reason. They were as beautiful as they were deadly.

For example, the towering wave created by the dolphins could easily sink an entire ship and kill everyone on board.

The Bubble Fishes’ bubbles were deadly poisonous and could kill someone upon contact.

The Sea Serpent Birds’ illusions could trap an unsuspecting vessel forever until everyone on board was dead.

The Beauty Clam’s dance was really a predatory tactic to lure a human closer and consume them.

So on and so forth.

In conclusion, practically everything on the sea was dangerous. Here, carelessness was a taboo and a death sentence for those who indulged in it.

Luckily for Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou, they were both powerful and knowledgeable. Between the two of them, there was no Stranger they didn’t recognize, and no obstacles they could overcome by strength or wits. Despite the endless stream of harassment, they were ultimately able to make it to the sea surrounding White Fish Island unscathed.

Their troubles had just begun, however. As soon as they sailed into the sea region, dark clouds immediately blotted out the clear blue sky above their heads. Not even a minute later, a heavy downpour accompanied by powerful gales threatened to capsize them. Even the sea was roaring and creating tidal waves that seemed to touch the sky as if enraged. It was as sudden as it was terrifying.

This was one of the biggest reasons no one wanted to live at White Fish Island. The weather around White Fish Island was unusual in the sense that it could be perfectly calm at one moment, then transform into a thunderous storm in the next moment, then a deadly hailstorm in the next next moment, then a submarine volcanic eruption in the next next next moment. It would be an understatement to say that the weather was actively dangerous and hostile toward humans.

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