Chapter 586 - 255: Fishing
Chapter 586: Chapter 255: Fishing
Fang Shuwen said with a smile,
"If I like you with the birthmark on your face, why would I help you get rid of it?"
"..."
Luo Shuqing’s small, white teeth ground together with a CRUNCH.
She finally took a deep breath, forcibly swallowing the bellyful of insults she was about to unleash and stopping herself from blowing up on the spot.
Fang Shuwen ignored her and began to meditate and circulate his energy.
Luo Shuqing pouted, shooting him several glances before finally shaking her head in resignation.
"You’re such a boring man. I don’t know what woman would be blind enough to fall for you."
After speaking, she flopped down hard, rolled over, and turned her back to Fang Shuwen, as if trying for ’out of sight, out of mind.’
The night passed without incident. Luo Shuqing closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, it was the next morning.
Fang Shuwen told her to pack their bags. Suhe Lan had already prepared a boat for them.
It wasn’t one of the ones that had been burned before, but a spare vessel from within the Tingtiao Pavilion.
The previous large ship was simply too big and inconvenient for just a few of them to use.
The one Suhe Lan arranged for Fang Shuwen was neither too big nor too small—it was just right.
At the docks, Suhe Lan waved goodbye.
Fang Shuwen gave a wave back and went inside the cabin.
Zuo Xuan, Zuo Hong, and Zhou Zhengze were in charge of sailing. The sails were raised, and the ship gradually pulled away from the shore, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Watching Fang Shuwen’s group depart, Suhe Lan was suddenly overcome with a sense of loss.
The person she once thought of as her support had suddenly become a deadly poison.
To her, Fang Shuwen, her savior, meant far more than he could ever imagine.
Now that Fang Shuwen was gone, Suhe Lan felt as if a part of her heart was empty.
After a long moment, she composed herself and gathered the remaining disciples of the Tingtiao Pavilion.
She stood before them all, her gaze sweeping over each one of them as she began to speak slowly:
"The Tingtiao Pavilion now exists in name only.
"Fortunately, our Martial Arts heritage remains... To avoid unwanted attention, from this day forward, the Tingtiao Pavilion shall be renamed the ’Clearstream Hall.’
"Though the Jianghu’s currents are vast, we shall entrust ourselves to the clear stream;
"Though the world’s affairs are chaotic, we shall maintain our tranquil resolve.
"From this day on, you are all disciples of the Clearstream Hall.
"Now, take inventory of all necessary supplies. Within one day and night, we will leave this place and find a new home to rest and rebuild."
"Yes!"
The disciples all cupped their fists and then quickly scattered like birds and beasts.
Suhe Lan shed her graceful and stately demeanor, reappearing before them in sharp, cyan robes, radiating a heroic air.
She stood with her hands clasped behind her back, her gaze fixed on the distance... though to where, she did not know.
...
...
Aboard the ship at sea, Fang Shuwen sat at a table. On it was a pot of light tea, and in his hand was the Surprise Wave Order.
He gazed at the token, lost in thought.
Suhe Lan was right. One person’s strength was ultimately limited. Even someone with earth-shattering abilities needed eyes and ears; otherwise, it would be difficult to get a clear picture of the situation in the East Sea.
"I really do need some eyes and ears."
Fang Shuwen toyed with the Surprise Wave Order in his hand.
"The Four Saints of the East Sea, Black Island.
"The Profound Celestial Sect, the Eight Forbidden Lands.
"And the Dark Sea... plus the legends about that great calamity. I’ll need people to help me gather information on all of this."
He mulled over all these matters in his mind, but ultimately, it felt like a tangled mess of a thousand loose ends, impossible to sort out.
He finally sighed and tucked the Surprise Wave Order into his robe.
"I’ll deal with this later."
The previous night, Suhe Lan had told him everything about the Surprise Wave Order and the Jingtiao Pavilion.
He knew how to use the item and how to contact the Jingtiao Pavilion.
But since he was currently at sea, he had no immediate use for it.
He would worry about it the next time they made landfall.
After leaving his room, Fang Shuwen found that he suddenly had nothing to do.
He didn’t need to worry about sailing the ship, and he couldn’t practice his Martial Arts for twenty-four hours a day without rest.
He paced around the deck a few times, unsure of what to do.
Then he turned his head and saw Luo Shuqing, who had somehow gotten a fishing rod from who-knows-where and was now fishing at sea...
The problem was, the ship was currently sailing with a favorable wind, moving along at a merry clip.
Fishing under these conditions?
Fang Shuwen figured the girl was just bored out of her mind.
Just as he was thinking there was no way she could possibly catch a fish, her hand twitched, and a large fish leaped out of the sea and into her grasp.
Fang Shuwen fell silent for a moment. ’Alright, I guess I don’t really understand the ways of anglers.’
’A big fish or whatever, it’s not important at all!’
’Why should I care about something like catching a fish while the boat is still moving?’
He seemed to take root where he stood.
’I refuse to believe you can catch another one!’
Luo Shuqing didn’t know what Fang Shuwen was thinking, nor did she pay him any mind. She quietly changed the bait and cast her line back into the sea.
Time ticked by, second by second, and the smile on Fang Shuwen’s lips grew more and more obvious.
But at that very moment, both Fang Shuwen’s and Luo Shuqing’s expressions changed slightly.
They both noticed a change in the fishing rod at the same time, but... it wasn’t a living creature.
Sure enough, with a flick of her wrist, Luo Shuqing pulled a human figure out of the water and onto the deck.
They both looked, and it was, shockingly, a corpse.
Perhaps because of the commotion, Zuo Xuan, Zuo Hong, and Zhou Zhengze were also drawn over to see what was happening.
Zuo Xuan glanced at the body and was taken aback.
"The Cyan Mist Saber, Chen Jiuquan?"
"You know him?"
Fang Shuwen glanced at Zuo Xuan.
Zuo Xuan shook his head.
"The man has a reputation as a hero in the Jianghu. I’ve only heard of him.
"I only recognize him because he once visited the Qingxiao Pavilion.
"I’ve heard that his Nine-Colored Divine Saber technique is extremely formidable. How could he have... died at sea?"
Luo Shuqing, however, crouched down to examine the corpse and was slightly stunned.
"This wound... it seems to have been made by his own famous Ultimate Skill, the Nine-Colored Divine Saber.
"He... died by his own Saber Technique?"
Fang Shuwen, however, ignored this and instead looked into the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Never mind what Saber Technique killed him.
"We have guests."