Chapter 29: Found

"Steward Liu, taking someone's money to resolve their disaster is an ancient rule, but setting aside whether we can even find the Third Young Master on this vast lake, even if we did, how would we bring him back here?" Yang Xiao still wanted to make a final struggle; he was speaking of an objective fact—visibility on the lake was extremely poor, and there was simply no way to distinguish direction.

Unexpectedly, Steward Liu narrowed his eyes, his tone brooks no doubt, "We have long been prepared for this. After you leave by boat, we will erect a long wooden pole on the shore and hang a large red lantern at the top. Once you find the Third Young Master, you only need to follow the direction of the lantern to find your way back."

"You guys are fucking well-prepared." Yang Xiao wore a smiling face, while in his heart, he fiercely greeted Steward Liu and everyone in the Feng Mansion.

Seeing Steward Liu's increasingly impatient attitude, the group could only bite the bullet and board the boats. Seeing Xu Su and Su Tingting standing together, Steward Liu's expression darkened, "Two women cannot share the same boat. Get down. You, go with him."

After Steward Liu's arrangement, Kuang Hongyi and Xu Su were in one boat, Shi Dali and Shi Guanming in one boat, and the two newcomers, Yang Xiao and Su Tingting, were assigned together.

It was clear that Su Tingting did not want to be with Yang Xiao; her first choice was still experienced veteran players like Xu Su and Kuang Hongyi, but hindered by Steward Liu's authority, she dared not object.

"Everyone, to ensure your safety, the Master has specially taken out the Life-Extending Incense treasured in the mansion's storehouse. As long as you light the incense and place it at the bow of the boat, no Evil Spirit will notice you. But remember, you only have the time of one stick of incense; you must find the Third Young Master and bring him back before the incense burns out."

As Steward Liu waved his hand, three servants walked over, each carrying a small Incense Burner, with three sticks of incense inserted side-by-side in each burner, "This item is precious; light it only after boarding."

"The Master has also prepared a White Lantern for you to hang at the bow, for your mutual communication, and a red sky lantern. Whichever boat finds the Third Young Master first, remember to release the sky lantern; the other boats will immediately close in to support upon seeing it."

Yang Xiao took a look; the so-called sky lantern was nothing more than a simple Kongming lantern, covered with a layer of red paper on the outside.

Taking the Incense Burners, the White Lanterns, the red sky lanterns, and a bamboo basket handed over by a servant, the three teams boarded their boats one after another.

With a light push of the poles against the shore, the three boats slowly sailed into the fog. Opening the bamboo basket, inside were two Short Blades and a fire starter.

While steering the boat and keeping an eye on the surroundings, Yang Xiao directed Su Tingting to light the three sticks of Life-Extending Incense, then hung the large White Lantern at the bow.

But just as Yang Xiao was alert to the movements nearby, he saw Su Tingting with her back to him, holding the White Lantern, appearing to be in a daze.

"What are you doing?" Yang Xiao urged in a low voice.

Su Tingting turned her head, her pale face wearing a complex expression, fear mixed with some confusion. Then she raised the White Lantern and looked at it closely; only then did Yang Xiao see two small Paper Persons pasted side-by-side on the lantern skin.

The Paper Persons were also white, and it was clear they had been cut directly from a single sheet of paper; they were only a thin layer, so they were not very noticeable.

The faces of the Paper Persons were blank, with no eyebrows, eyes, or features drawn, yet the moment he saw the Paper Persons, a wave of unease suddenly surged in Yang Xiao's heart.

The size and posture of these Paper Persons were clearly those of him and Su Tingting. Yang Xiao instantly understood why Steward Liu had to adjust the personnel configuration on each boat; it turned out that all of this had been planned.

The other two boats should also have corresponding Paper Persons.

At this moment, the three boats were sailing side-by-side. The surrounding fog gradually thickened, and one could only vaguely see the outlines of the opposite boats and the ghastly light emitted by those White Lanterns.

Of the three boats, Yang Xiao's was in the middle. He noticed a figure moving on the boat to his left; it was someone holding up a White Lantern, as if waving to him.

Yang Xiao didn't need to think to know that Kuang Hongyi and the others had also noticed the Paper Persons on the White Lantern. It was inconvenient to shout in the lake fog, so they could only use this clumsy method to warn him.

He likewise had Su Tingting raise the lantern and shake it a few times as a response.

Calling it steering the boat was actually just clumsily moving the pole back and forth to try and keep the boat stable. This lake was not stagnant water; there was a force in the water pushing them forward.

Looking back toward the shore, one could see a bright red light point at a high position; that was the large red lantern hung by Steward Liu, and also the lighthouse guiding Yang Xiao and the others home.

Before Yang Xiao could recover his senses, the boat suddenly shuddered violently. The powerful inertia caused Su Tingting to fall instantly, and Yang Xiao was nearly thrown out of the boat.

"What happened?" Su Tingting, who had scrambled up, was terrified; her knees and arms were injured to varying degrees.

Just now, the boat had come to a complete halt, as if it had hit something. That thing was underwater, and it was not small in size; otherwise, it would never have caused such a big commotion.

Su Tingting subconsciously wanted to poke her head out to look underwater, but was pulled back by Yang Xiao from behind. He covered her mouth tightly, and the two crouched down together, not making a sound.

Only then did Su Tingting realize something was wrong. The surrounding fog seemed even thicker, and most importantly, the two nearby boats were gone.

Besides that, even the large red lantern on the shore had disappeared. Now, looking around, the entire lake was left with only endless fog, with visibility of less than 3 meters.

"Don't speak." Yang Xiao made a mouth gesture to Su Tingting, who was already scared out of her wits, and then pointed to their feet.

Su Tingting understood Yang Xiao's meaning: there was something in the water, right under their boat.

The two held their breath. A few minutes, or perhaps less, the calm water suddenly surged. Their boat began to sway left and right, lasting for about 1 minute before it calmed down again.

Slowly letting go, Yang Xiao gasped for air, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Daring not to hesitate, he immediately poled the boat away.

The surrounding fog was pervasive, and they could not distinguish the direction at all, bumping around like headless flies. Fortunately, there was still a long section of the Life-Extending Incense at the bow.

After an unknown amount of time, a strange sound attracted the attention of the two. This sound was simply too abrupt on the lake, which had only the sound of water.

"It sounds like someone is crying." Su Tingting curled her body up; hearing someone cry on this strange lake was definitely a very unique experience.

Slowly, the fog on the lake dissipated a little. In front of them appeared a patch of green and yellow reeds, and inside the reeds, a wooden boat slightly smaller than theirs was moored.

"Found him." Su Tingting's expression brightened.

A person was squatting on the wooden boat, with their back to them, their body trembling. That strange crying sound came from this person.

Judging from the ornate clothing, it should be the Feng Third Young Master, no doubt.

A red light rose behind them. Yang Xiao was startled, then turned around abruptly, only to see that Su Tingting had already released the Kongming lantern.

"Who the fuck told you to release the lantern?"

Yang Xiao grabbed Su Tingting by the collar, but before he could continue, in the next second, both of them froze. Turning their heads, they saw two more red lanterns rising in the distant fog.