Chapter 610

Pan Yun agreed, snatched up Pan Xiaohei beside her, shoved it into her arms, and jumped into the sea.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He rushed forward in panic: "Little Master!"—they only caught a glimpse of Pan Yun plunging into the water like a sea fish, vanishing instantly.

Wang Cong grabbed both of them: "No need to worry—Little Master is already First Marquis; though she lacks the power to move mountains and overturn seas, swimming for three or five hours underwater is no problem."

As soon as Pan Yun entered the water, a barrier enveloped her, like a bubble, completely enclosing her.

Pan Xiaohei's tense heart finally settled; it poked its head out from under her arms.

She hadn't sunk far; visible beneath the waves, corpses bobbed uncertainly in the swell, slowly rising from beneath their feet, only to be slammed back down by the next wave before they could break the surface.

Within sight, not a single living soul.

Pan Xiaohei's fur stood on end, sensing danger; it swiftly turned its head—and indeed saw a school of fish surging toward them, no, toward the blood.

It let out a loud "meow," but before the sound escaped, Pan Yun, having just finished her hand seals, darted through the water like a flying fish.

Pan Xiaohei was astonished: "You didn't even touch the water—how are you swimming underwater?"

Pan Yun gave it a look of utter disdain: "You forgot where I'm from? It's the 26th century—magic isn't just for convenience, it's for entertainment too. The Water Magic Ninety-Nine Techniques let you breathe like a fish underwater, observe coral and fish up close, interact with them, even shift your frequency so fish mistake you for one of their own and live among them temporarily. One technique doesn't cost 998, doesn't cost 668—just 228…"

Pan Xiaohei: …

Pan Yun couldn't help venting: "Of those ninety-nine techniques, twelve were developed with my help—my senior said he needed to finish his graduation thesis, so he had to scrape together ninety-nine techniques. I helped him wholeheartedly, and after he graduated, he sold them for money…"

He didn't even give me a cut. Pan Yun refused to speak to him for a whole year.

Still, he bundled all ninety-nine techniques and gave her a complete set; she reluctantly forgave him a little.

And now, these ninety-nine techniques were finally being used.

The only flaw in this set of magic was its enormous Qi consumption.

Pan Yun drifted with the current for over twenty minutes, then spotted a pair of legs kicking intermittently beneath the waves.

She immediately swam closer—and saw he was floating on his back, looking upward from underwater; one hand gripped a strip of cloth tied to a board, whose reflection in the sea showed another leg dangling down, the strap threaded through the board and clenched tightly in his hand.

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow, deducing someone else was on the board.

She hadn't expected the two missing people to end up together—someone hadn't abandoned the other even in the storm.

Pan Yun swam forward and grabbed the foot dangling in the water.

The man froze for a moment, then thrashed violently.

Pan Yun gripped tighter and yanked him in with a slippery sound—*pop*—he burst through the bubble, eyes wide, staring straight into Pan Yun's.

Pan Yun smirked slightly, reached out, and poked his puffed-up cheek, popping his held breath; he involuntarily inhaled, yet no water rushed in. He stared at Pan Yun in shock, too stunned to speak—then suddenly his neck throbbed, his eyelids drooped, and he passed out.

Pan Yun withdrew her hand, rose upward, and dragged the person on the board into the bubble too.

She felt his neck—he was still breathing—then grabbed both of them and swiftly headed back.

Li Wenying had already cleared all the corpses from the three ships—the Japanese pirates, except their leader, had been stripped of everything and thrown into the sea.

Their own dead were placed inside the cabins.

They decided to handle them ashore; the heat was intense, the cabins cramped, and leaving corpses on board risked plague—but they couldn't bear to dump the heroes' bodies into the sea.

"They came out with us. If we can't find them, fine—but if we do, we won't let their remains be lost."

Everyone agreed, and they set sail toward Moonwatch Island.

All four ships hoisted the flags of the Japanese pirate vessels.

Even Wang Cong grew anxious and hurried to find Li Wenying: "Master Li, our Little Master hasn't returned yet."

Li Wenying: "Let's proceed slowly. Pan Sister carries the Three Treasures Cauldron—she'll catch up soon enough."

Wang Cong: "But what if she finds them…"

Li Wenying: "Just knock them out. Worst case, give them a potion afterward—say they saw things, dreamed it, couldn't tell dream from reality. Plenty of ways to handle it. With her abilities, do you really think she'll drown herself in the ocean?"

Moonwatch Island isn't far from here at all!

She knows the direction—flying there would take less than twenty minutes.

Even if we left half an hour ahead, she might still arrive first.

Pan Yun climbed onto the ship, still unsteady on her feet, when she heard Li Wenying's words; she said flatly: "Master Li, didn't you say you'd wait for me half an hour?"

Li Wenying immediately corrected himself, beaming: "I knew Little Master Pan's abilities wouldn't need half an hour! So—did you find them?"

Pan Yun pointed below deck.

A Xin and the others were hauling two large bamboo baskets up with ropes.

One basket held a person.

As soon as the basket was pulled aboard, the heroes rushed forward, lifted the man out, felt his pulse, and sighed in relief: "Alive, alive—quick, get the Dao physician!"

No need to fetch him—Tao Yanbai and Miao He came over themselves.

Pan Yun wrung out her soaked clothes; Pan Xiaohei, nestled in her arms, poked its head out and shook its fur violently, flinging water everywhere.

Water splattered *pup-pup-pup* onto Pan Yun's face; she kept her eyes shut, expression resigned.

Pan Xiaohei's aura of grievance seemed to radiate: 【I stayed dry the whole way—why did it end like this?】

Pan Yun: 【I went into the sea—do you expect me to come back dry?】

She thought: 【There's a Zhang Tian Shi Fu Daoist Priest in the group—if they accuse me, will you pay my fine?】

Pan Xiaohei fell silent.

Nearby, a Zhang Tian Shi Fu Daoist Priest held a small notebook, nodded slightly at Pan Yun with a smile, and swiftly scribbled with his pen.

Pan Yun smiled back warmly, then turned away where they couldn't see, her face dropping: 【I wonder if they're as sincere as they seem—better find a chance to sneak a peek at that notebook.】

She finished by hugging Pan Xiaohei close and gently stroking its fur.

Pan Xiaohei: 【…Wait till I show you.】

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly, satisfied; she set Pan Xiaohei down and turned to Li Wenying: "Master Li, what's our next move?"

Li Wenying: "Moonwatch Island launched two large ships and four cannons—its strength has been weakened. I propose splitting into two groups, landing at two different points. You take two ships, I take two—how's that?"