My Friend

At the dock, a dense forest of vessels—patrol boats, tower ships, and assault warships—lay packed together.

Their masts rose like a forest, their sails furled, swaying gently in the morning breeze.

Water bandits clad in black uniforms patrolled in groups. With sabers at their waists and spears on their shoulders, every single one of them was tall and robust.

On both sides of the island stood several tall watchtowers. Sentry bandits stood guard atop them, their vigilant gazes scanning the lake's surface.

“The foundation of this Chenjian Dock is far more immense than I imagined...”

Shen Xiuhan stood silently in the water, his azure bubble blending seamlessly with the lake, making him virtually invisible.

Just moments ago, two Chenjian Dock water bandits had rowed a bamboo raft right over his head. The bamboo poles dipped into the water with a creaking sound, yet they didn't notice anything unusual at all, chatting and laughing as they drifted away.

After a quick sweep of his surroundings, he looked toward the direction of the shimmering light.

“Hiss... This is going to be tricky... Judging by the direction, even if that spot isn't in the very heart of Dongyi Island, it's not far from it. If I want to get in, I have to go onto the island!”

Shen Xiuhan frowned, feeling a slight headache coming on.

The island was crawling with people, and its defenses were practically airtight, with layers of sentries and hidden lookouts.

Moreover, there were numerous Anjin and Mingjin experts stationed there. With his current cultivation, wanting to sneak into the heart of the island without alerting anyone was sheer fantasy.

“Forget it. I'll note down the layout first and head back to make a plan.”

Shen Xiuhan sighed, calculating silently in his mind:

‘Once I return to Changyun County, I should see if I can find a way to secure a clean identity that can withstand scrutiny. If I can step onto the island openly, my chances of obtaining the treasure will increase significantly!’

At this thought, Shen Xiuhan took another deep look at Dongyi Island in the distance. With a turn of his bubble, he prepared to submerge into the deep water and head back the way he came.

Right at that moment, a sudden commotion erupted from the Dongyi Island dock. Shen Xiuhan instinctively turned his head to look.

He saw a middle-aged man in black martial robes walking out from the island. The man had a fierce, fleshy face, and a conspicuous nine-ringed broadsword was slung diagonally across his back. Behind him closely followed four or five tall, brawny men with immense blood qi.

Thud, thud, thud! At the dock, forty to fifty low-ranking water bandits knelt on one knee in unison upon seeing him.

The clashing of armor plates and weapons blended into a thunderous roar: “Greetings, Fifth Chief!”

‘The Fifth Chief...’ Shen Xiuhan's eyes narrowed as a piece of intelligence flashed through his mind. He realized, “The Fifth Chief of Chenjian Dock... Tang Jin!”

Over a month ago, he had used his system's intelligence to look into this person's background.

Back then, the young son of the Mei Courtyard's cook had gone missing and was secretly sent to Fish Island by the Bai family. That very island was guarded by this fierce bandit, nicknamed the Blood Fiend Blade!

“Why is he here?” Shen Xiuhan pondered for a moment but had no clue.

Instead of nesting on his Fish Island, why had this old scoundrel suddenly run over to Dongyi Island?

On the distant dock, Tang Jin, his face dark with malice, said something before fiercely waving his hand.

Beside him, those fierce men immediately took the lead, leaping onto a massive tower ship.

Right after, the kneeling water bandits began to clamor as they swarmed onto the surrounding patrol boats like wolves and tigers.

Flags and sails unfurled with a rush as the rowers began to pull their oars in unison.

Ship after ship cut through the lake's surface, surging forward with murderous intent. It looked as though they were launching a full-scale raid.

Shen Xiuhan watched coldly for a moment but did not follow. Controlling the bubble, he submerged straight into the dark depths of the water, heading back toward Yunyi Island.

Behind him, the outline of Dongyi Island gradually faded into the morning mist, leaving only a blurry shadow.

...

Fifteen minutes later, in a reed marsh at the edge of Yunyi Island.

Splash! Breaking the water's surface, Shen Xiuhan emerged like a swift fish.

Pressing both hands against the gunwale, he flipped and leaped lightly onto the black-awning boat.

Water droplets dripped from the tips of his hair, pattering softly against the deck.

Wiping the water from his face, he leaned down and reached out to pull up the rope tied to the gunwale and submerged in the water.

However, the moment his fingers lifted the rope, Shen Xiuhan's heart sank.

The weight was wrong! It was too light!

Rip... A frayed, severed piece of rope was pulled up from the lakebed.

The fine iron creel originally tied to the end of the rope, along with the fierce, seventy-catty Tier Two Precious Fish—the Ink-Bone Blue Fish—had vanished without a trace.

Instead of getting angry, Shen Xiuhan let out a cold laugh, a chilling glint flashing in his eyes:

‘Interesting... Truly interesting. To think someone dares to steal from me, Shen.’

Narrowing his eyes, he pinched the wet, severed end of the rope and examined it closely.

The cut was not clean. It wasn't severed by a blade, but was instead covered in uneven, tiny jagged marks. It looked as though it had been bitten off by some beast with sharp, serrated teeth.

But before he could think further, a man's voice drifted out from the cabin behind him without warning.

“My friend, are you looking for this?”

Boom! Shen Xiuhan's body froze. In an instant, his hairs stood on end, and a chill rushed up his spine straight to his skull.

How was this possible? He had already broken through to the Tendon Tempering stage. His five senses were incredibly sharp, capable of detecting falling leaves or flying petals within a radius of several yards.

Yet someone had managed to slip onto his boat completely unnoticed, sitting right inside the cabin just inches away... and he hadn't detected even a whisper of breath or a ripple of blood qi.

Whoosh! Like a tiger bursting from its cage, Shen Xiuhan spun around. The five fingers of his right hand curled slightly into a claw, the boundless blood qi in his body surging to its peak. His muscles tensed, veins bulging as he stood ready to strike!

Sitting in the cabin behind him was a heroic-looking young man with a bold countenance, sharp eyebrows, and bright eyes. He wore a faded blue robe with a few mud stains on the hem, but it could not conceal the innate nobility in his bones.

The young man was smiling, holding a straw rope in his hand. Tied to the end of the rope was none other than the iron creel, and through its gaps, the Ink-Bone Blue Fish could still be seen gently flicking its tail.

Seeing Shen Xiuhan turn around with thick murderous intent, the heroic young man showed no fear. Instead, he smiled apologetically and pointed at the iron creel beside him.

“My apologies, brother. I happened to be passing by earlier, and my spirit beast companion sensed a fortunate item underwater. Being a bit of a glutton, it took the liberty of diving down and biting through your rope.”

“I waited here for the owner to return so I could explain what happened and return your property to show my sincerity.”

The young man's tone was sincere and his expression open, without a hint of deceit. However, as Shen Xiuhan stared at his face, he froze slightly.

‘The contour of this man's eyes and brows... why does he look so much like Xiao Wen from the outer courtyard?’

Just as Shen Xiuhan was filled with doubt and suspicion, a small, furry head suddenly popped out from behind the young man's left shoulder.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak...”

It was a plump, oversized rat. Its body was covered in grey fur, but its back was marked with rings of gold patterns. Its long tail was entirely golden, looking as if it were crafted from pure gold, shimmering with light as it flicked.

This little creature was highly intelligent. Its obsidian-like eyes darted around as it stood on the young man's shoulder, its front paws gesturing wildly as it squeaked at Shen Xiuhan.

The heroic young man listened intently. His previously open expression gradually turned strange and bewildered as the rat squeaked.

‘A rat with a golden tail... truly bizarre. It must have been this little thing that bit the rope underwater and found the Precious Fish.’

Shen Xiuhan narrowed his eyes, staring at the strange rat. A strange sense of familiarity welled up inside him.

‘Strange, why does it feel like I've heard of this Gold-Tailed Rat somewhere before?’

He thought rapidly for a moment but couldn't recall the exact source. However, he didn't feel like racking his brain. If he couldn't remember, it didn't matter—he could just ask his system.

His gaze focused, and with a thought:

【Today's Intelligence has been refreshed】