Chapter 459

A flower’s natural beauty does not fade merely because it has been drenched in water.

The same was true of Honglan. She looked haggard after everything she had endured, yet even so, she was as lovely as a hydrangea blossom.

“It is an honor to see you, Benefactor.”

At that moment, I finally understood what people meant when they described a voice as sounding like rolling jade beads.

Her face, bare of makeup, was dazzlingly fair, and beneath her long lashes shone two eyes like morning stars.

“Good heavens.”

“How can anyone be this beautiful…?”

Exclamations rose from every direction.

Those admiring Honglan’s beauty hurriedly closed their mouths and left when they noticed my gaze.

Perhaps they were ashamed of behaving that way while hundreds of people had been drowned.

Then again, it also showed just how extraordinary Honglan’s beauty was—that it could make them forget everything that had happened.

If we weren’t in a situation like this, I wouldn’t have been any different.

I composed myself and spoke.

“I’m glad you regained consciousness. How are you feeling?”

Honglan lowered her head slightly before answering.

“Although I cannot compare to my Benefactor, this lowly woman has also trained in martial arts. I do not seem to have much trouble moving.”

From what I had sensed, her martial arts barely qualified as First Rate.

She might not have been skilled enough to be called a seasoned First Rate master, but a martial artist who had strengthened her body and cultivated internal energy possessed far greater vitality than any ordinary civilian.

Thank heavens.

Honglan’s being a martial artist had been a stroke of incredible luck, both for her and for the other survivor we had rescued with her.

I asked the military officer who was still standing nearby,

“Where is Ju Wongong?”

Ju Wongong. A carefree distant relative of the imperial family who had taken a pleasure boat out onto Dongting Lake despite the troubled mood of the times.

He was the other survivor.

“If you mean Young Master Ju, we placed him under heavy guard and moved him somewhere safe. According to the physician, he is out of immediate danger, but no one can say when he will regain consciousness.”

He was the same military officer who had been directing everyone when we first arrived at Dongting Lake.

Responsible for the security and defense of Dongting Lake, one of the major areas of Hubei Province, he continued with a rigid expression.

“When we reported what happened, the City Lord was furious. Though the attempt failed, trying to assassinate a member of the imperial family is among the gravest of crimes. We will immediately mobilize the entire fleet and every soldier in the city to make an example of these insolent rebels—”

“Assassinating a member of the imperial family wasn’t their objective.”

“What?”

I stared at the confused officer and continued.

“They’re called Dark Heaven. You may have heard of them.”

“Dark Heaven…? Aren’t they a gang of thugs that has been causing trouble in the martial world recently?”

“A gang of thugs?”

A scoff escaped me at his choice of words.

Dark Heaven’s name had begun spreading among ordinary people after the Shaolin Bloodshed, but the officer before me had no idea how powerful or terrifying they truly were.

Gung Gibang, standing beside me, spoke with an incredulous expression.

“Officer, did you know that this ‘gang of thugs’ killed Master Hong Dao, the Abbot of Shaolin Temple¹ and the Dharma King?”

“Th-that…”

“The Poison King, Great Hero Tang Sadok, the Grand Family Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, was killed too. So was the Heaven-Shaking Venerable Nun of Emei Sect. Three Supreme Peak masters of the previous generation who once shook the martial world, along with more than two thousand martial artists, are dead. And you call them a gang of thugs?”

“I-I heard those rumors, but I did not know the full extent of their power. Then are you saying Dark Heaven was responsible for this?”

“There’s a limit to how ignorant a man can be. Good grief. Even a passing mutt would laugh.”

“That’s enough.”

I raised a hand to stop Gung Gibang, then addressed the officer, whose face had turned red with embarrassment.

“Regardless, my point is that Ju Wongong was not their target.”

“Th-then what makes you think that?”

“If Dark Heaven had wanted Ju Wongong dead, he would already be gone from this world.”

“…!”

“If they wanted to kill him, they could have done it any way they pleased. He couldn’t have stopped them even if they ambushed him in broad daylight. Why wait until he took a pleasure boat out onto Dongting Lake, then destroy it along with all the other vessels? Why not even confirm whether their target was dead or alive?”

To Dark Heaven, Ju Wongong’s life was like an object in a cloth bundle—something they could take out or put away whenever they pleased.

Besides, there was no particular reason for them to target a distant imperial relative who had committed a crime and been exiled.

If their goal was to create chaos, the Emperor or Prince Shangshan Zhu Bao would have been far more attractive targets.

I spoke firmly.

“Their objective wasn’t to assassinate a member of the imperial family. Ju Wongong was merely one of the fish that happened to get caught in the net they cast.”

“Then what in the world were they after…?”

“We’ll find out once we catch the culprit.”

“What?”

“I mean the culprit who carried this out directly. Dark Heaven being behind everything is already a foregone conclusion.”

The officer had been staring blankly with his mouth open. Now he hurriedly asked,

“G-Great Hero, are you saying you know who the culprit is?”

“There is someone I suspect, but testimony from someone who saw it happen firsthand would be more reliable.”

I turned my head and looked at Honglan.

With Ju Wongong hovering between life and death, she was the only witness who held the key to unraveling everything.

“Did you see the culprit?”

The question was brief, but it was enough. With everyone’s eyes fixed on her, Honglan’s red lips slowly parted.

“Yes.”

“…!”

“…!”

Shock and agitation spread through the room in an instant. Amid the commotion, I clenched my fist tightly.

Finally.

The string of incidents that had begun with the Sea Serpent Society. The bastard—or bastards—behind them had never shown so much as a hair.

Now they were finally beginning to reveal themselves.

I couldn’t let go of this tail now that I had found it. I had to seize it with all my strength, drag the body out after it, and finish the job.

Remembering the countless corpses they had left behind, I asked again.

“Tell us exactly what you saw.”

“It was…”

A shallow furrow appeared on Honglan’s smooth, unlined brow.

She seemed to be recalling what had happened. After hesitating for a moment and steadying her breathing, she began to speak.

“Everything happened in an instant. The festivities were in full swing when the two military vessels nearby sank one after the other, only moments apart. That was how it began.”

I listened closely to Honglan’s story.

Ju Wongong might have been a distant relative, but he was still a member of the imperial family. The two military ships assigned to escort him had been overwhelmed by a sudden ambush, and the pleasure boat, where the festivities had been reaching their peak, had fallen into chaos as well.

“But no one could stop it. Nothing was visible, yet the ship suddenly tilted with a tremendous roar. Then a single streak of Force flew in from somewhere and swept through the vessel. That was all it took.”

“Force…!”

“I am certain. That single attack killed most of the Peak masters guarding Young Master Ju and the martial artists of Qingxia Hall.²”

The scene seemed to unfold before my eyes.

Nothing was more destructive than Force. Even someone who had never seen it before would recognize that dazzling light for what it was the moment they faced it.

The same was true of Honglan, and it must have been an attack that Ju Wongong’s guards and the bumbling martial artists of Qingxia Hall² had been powerless to stop.

Perhaps because she was recalling that horrifying moment, Honglan’s voice began to tremble faintly.

“But in the final moment, the guards risked their lives to push Young Master Ju away, and I embraced him before throwing myself into the river.”

Honglan’s quick thinking had saved both her and Ju Wongong.

Most of those who froze in terror were slaughtered soon afterward. Those who were still breathing could not long endure the bitter cold of the night or the injuries they had suffered in the fall.

And then…

Honglan said that, through the black waters of Dongting Lake, she had seen something rapidly receding into the distance.

“It was a person. Just one.”

“…!”

The tail had finally revealed itself. I bit my lip hard and asked again.

“Are you certain?”

“How could I lie to you, Benefactor? It was only for the briefest moment, but I saw him clearly with my own two eyes.”

Honglan was the sole witness, and she was also a martial artist who had reached the First Rate realm. If she was that certain, it was highly likely to be true.

That’s right. It was him.

Just as one man came to mind, the military officer, who had been listening with a dazed expression, abruptly spoke.

“A-are you all out of your minds? No matter how powerful martial artists may be, this is not land. This is Dongting Lake! Dongting Lake is as deep and vast as the open sea!”

“Does anyone here not know that?”

Gung Gibang muttered the words like a sigh, while Hyuk Mujin clicked his tongue.

“And?”

“What do you mean, ‘and’? I have heard plenty about the miraculous abilities of martial artists like you, but this is absurd! Even the water bandits of the Yangtze River Channel League whom I encountered from time to time were never capable of such feats. How could anyone swim so quickly across such a vast expanse of water, much less sink dozens of vessels single-handedly, including the Great Nation’s military vessels—”

“He could. If he is the man I’m thinking of.”

A clear voice rang out. Under everyone’s gaze, Honglan slowly parted her lips.

“He is a master of water arts who can breathe like a fish, swim faster than one, and easily sink dozens of vessels by himself. I do not know how formidable the water bandits you encountered may have been, but here on Dongting Lake, even the Seafaring King himself could not stand against him.”

Honglan’s gaze turned toward the blue-green waters beyond the camp.

Dongting Lake. A scenic site known throughout the land for its long history and beautiful landscapes.

And one old fisherman who had guarded Dongting Lake all his life.

No.

A Supreme Peak master of the previous generation, and a master of water arts who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Seafaring King.

I quietly murmured his alias.

“The Dongting Fisherman.”

“…!”

The Lower District Sect’s information had been correct. The Dongting Fisherman had not yet left Hubei Province.

He had faked his death and remained here at Dongting Lake, hiding in plain sight while evading everyone’s suspicion and attention.

And at last, I had found Dark Heaven’s tail—the Dongting Fisherman.

I’ve finally made it this far. You damn old bastard.

We had already paid far too high a price in lives. Before any more time passed, I had to capture the Dongting Fisherman and uncover every detail of Dark Heaven’s movements and plans.

It was the only way to prevent an even greater tragedy.

That was why Honglan’s next words were like a torch lighting the path ahead.

“Did you know, Benefactor, that the Dongting Fisherman has hidden secret refuges throughout Dongting Lake?”

“Are you saying you might know where they are?”

“I do not know their exact locations, but I know several places where they might be. Once you have finished preparing, please tell me. This humble woman can guide you there herself.”

“…!”

I clenched my fist tightly. Then I immediately sprang to my feet.

“Let’s go. Right now.”