Chapter 24

“Quiet”

A cold, icy voice came from the upper deck of the riverboat, followed by a figure shooting straight upward to intercept the two approaching men, halting them midair—it was “Feng Lao.”

The three stood face-to-face in midair, speaking directly.

“Overclock”

Wang Yu silently murmured the term, amplifying his senses countlessfold; everything around him slowed to an excruciating crawl. As he fixed his full attention on the three figures high above, clear voices gradually reached his ears.

“...No. Since you purchased tickets and boarded, you are guests of the Bai Zhen Pavilion. We cannot allow outsiders to board and search at will.”

“Friend, are you truly unwilling to grant the Huang family any face? We only need to take the man we’re after and will leave immediately—no disturbance to anyone else.”

“Heh. If this were a private matter, old man would gladly give the Huang family face. But as guardian of this vessel, if I let you break the rules, wouldn’t that tarnish the Bai Zhen Pavilion’s reputation? Such a heavy responsibility—I cannot bear it.”

“Even if your Bai Zhen Pavilion is powerful, this is still under Huangshi City’s jurisdiction. Isn’t your conduct going too far?”

“What? The Bai Zhen Pavilion has always operated this way. Did the Huang family just find out? If you’re unwilling to deal with us, I can report it upward and shut down our branch in Huangshi City—our magic vessel will no longer come here.”

At these words, the two men’s faces darkened. After a brief whispering exchange, they could only angrily sweep their sleeves and depart, turning to fly back toward the dock.

Wang Yu, who had been eavesdropping, finally relaxed, silently muttering, “Lucky.”

Though he still couldn’t confirm whether these two Huang family cultivators were targeting him, it was best that they couldn’t even board the ship.

Seven spirit stones for the ticket? Definitely not wasted!

At this moment, Feng Lao flew back to the upper deck, and the massive vessel sped swiftly down the river, soon leaving the dock completely out of sight.

Wang Yu deactivated the overclock synchronization, left the deck, and followed the corridor toward his private cabin.

For the next seven or eight days, Wang Yu diligently cultivated in his room. Without spirit stones to assist him, relying only on the small bottle of yin spirit energy, his qi absorption efficiency dropped sharply—he focused mainly on practicing the Four Forms of the Wolf Charge Diagram and learning new spells.

Compared to the sluggish progress of his Yin Water Art, he clearly felt his physical body still had room for further strengthening. Each cultivation session now brought a faint stirring in his bloodline, resembling precisely the signs described by Chongyun Daoist before full bloodline awakening. This made Wang Yu train the body-refining art even more earnestly.

The new spell, “Water Gathering,” came to him as easily as the Firefly Spell, but forming its spell seal proved far more difficult. After seven or eight days, he had not succeeded once.

This frustrated Wang Yu. One day, he finally opened his door, intending to step onto the deck for fresh air.

The instant he opened the door, a creak echoed—the door opposite him opened at the same moment.

Out bounced a girl in green robes, about thirteen or fourteen, with a round face, large eyes, clutching a handful of nut-like snacks, shoving them into her mouth nonstop, cheeks bulging like a squirrel’s.

The girl looked up and saw Wang Yu—then screamed, “Big brother!” dropped her snacks, and bolted back into her room.

“Mother, quick… quick come out! I saw Big Brother… really, right outside the door…”

The girl’s voice drifted faintly from behind the door. Wang Yu stood outside, utterly baffled, unsure what had just happened.

“Qin’er, how could your big brother be outside? Did you imagine it?” A soft, maternal voice came from the opposite room. Moments later, a beautiful woman in her mid-thirties stepped out, following the girl.

The moment she saw Wang Yu, her eyes widened slightly—but then she noticed something, and a faint bitter smile appeared on her face.

“You silly girl, this young master merely resembles your big brother a little. Where is he? Apologize right now—you must have startled him!”

“Look at his nose, his mouth, his eyes—they’re identical to Big Brother’s! Not five or six percent—eighty percent! He’s just taller, otherwise how could I have mistaken him?”

“So the young lady mistook me for someone else. No matter. I must take my leave.” Wang Yu finally understood. He gave them a nod and turned away, but behind him, the woman’s scolding continued:

“When will you ever make your mother worry less? You’re so grown up and still so clumsy. Sigh—what will you do when you marry?”

“Mother, I won’t marry—I want to…”

By the time Wang Yu turned a corner, the mother-daughter voices faded. He paid it no further mind and walked onto the deck.

On the deck now, besides a few busy crewmen, several other passengers were strolling or breathing the fresh air.

One group was a young married couple, dressed lavishly. The man had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a sturdy build, and wore a long sword at his waist. The woman, a young wife, had delicate features and fair skin; they whispered softly to each other.

Near the couple stood a tall, slender young man, twenty-seven or twenty-eight, holding a long, narrow bundle in one hand. Half his face was hidden behind a black mask. He appeared to gaze at the rushing river, but his peripheral gaze kept flickering coldly toward the beautiful young wife.

The young couple clearly noticed his gaze. The husband’s face darkened with anger; he gripped his sword. The wife, however, looked panicked, clutching her husband’s arm tightly, refusing to let him move.

The man with the bundle stared even more boldly at the young wife.

The three knew each other—and clearly had some past grievance.

Wang Yu instantly formed a simple judgment. He ignored them, walked to the opposite side of the empty rail, and gazed toward the distant shore.

This stretch of the Chishui River was three or four li wide. The shore was clearly barren mining land—no sign of human habitation. Occasionally, herds of unknown beasts, resembling horses or cattle, came to drink.

The river water was murky and crimson, surging violently. Whirlpools of varying sizes kept appearing.

The “Iron Arrow” vessel, relying on its massive size, crushed smaller whirlpools without hesitation. For larger ones, it veered far away to avoid them—keeping the riverboat steadily on course.

As Wang Yu stared, he suddenly saw water splashing nearby. Several dark shapes emerged from the river, then vanished again.

Wang Yu froze, squinting intently.

The river’s surface churned. One after another, dark shadows rose—each a black fish half a zhang long, bristling with fangs, each crowned with a single spiral horn of uneven size.

As soon as the strange fish surfaced, they swarmed toward the massive vessel. But before they could draw near, a sharp drumbeat rang from beneath the boat.

A hail of crossbow bolts shot from protruding positions on the hull, slaughtering most of the fish in moments. The survivors dove back into the water, leaving only swirling blood and floating corpses.

These were the fish-beasts of the Chishui River? They didn’t seem terrifying at all.

Wang Yu watched the scene, astonished—his eyes widened in wonder.

“These horned fish are the most common fish-beasts in the Chishui River. Aside from their numbers and using their horns to strike prey, they have no other strange abilities.”

A gravelly male voice came from behind him.

Wang Yu turned quickly and saw a thin, gaunt man of about forty, dressed in gray robes, smiling at him.

“Who are you?”

The fact that this man had approached so closely without detection made Wang Yu wary. He asked slowly.

“Young master is a cultivator, yes? I am Gao Qi. My master, Yu Bin, is a wealthy man from Tongzhou and also a cultivator. He loves making friends with young talents from the cultivation world. If you’re not too proud, please join us for dinner tonight in the Jia-3 hall on the boat. Several other cultivators will be there—my master has already reserved the room.” The gaunt man smoothly introduced himself and handed Wang Yu an invitation.

Tongzhou isn’t even on this boat’s route to Wu State, is it?

Wang Yu took the invitation, puzzled. Its surface was covered in gold leaf. One side bore a silver “Yu” character; the other, freshly written black characters: “Jia-3.”

Could this be the gathering of free cultivators mentioned in Chongyun Daoist’s notes?

“Since a fellow cultivator invites me, Wang Mou will attend.” Wang Yu held the invitation, his expression unchanged, as if recalling something.

Seeing Wang Yu accept, the gaunt man exchanged a few more polite words, then departed.

Wang Yu had no desire to linger. He prepared to return to his cabin. But before leaving the deck, he noticed the young couple and the tall man with the bundle still standing in tense standoff.

Back in his cabin, Wang Yu practiced the Four Forms of the Wolf Charge Diagram until nightfall, then left again, heading to the uppermost deck’s “Jia-3” room.

Outside the hall, two muscular men in martial attire stood guard. Seeing Wang Yu approach with the invitation, they immediately bowed and pulled the door open.

Wang Yu stepped inside slowly.