The next morning, Liu Shinian and I were sleeping soundly by the water when we suddenly heard whimpering sounds coming from it.
I slightly opened my eyes and looked towards the water, only to see two hands rising and falling, as if someone had fallen in.
"Is that a person?" Liu Shinian asked, his voice filled with doubt. I turned to look at him and realized he was already awake, staring intently at the hands in the water.
"I don't know, but they look like the hands of a merfolk."
"Should we go down and take a look?"
"I'll try."
Saying that, I picked up a stone and threw it towards the hands. The hands suddenly stopped moving and retreated into the water.
Just then, a cry for help came from not far to our left, "Help! Someone save me!"
Liu Shinian and I rushed over, and saw a handsome man struggling in the water, desperately calling for help.
"I'll save him."
With that, Liu Shinian jumped into the water and pulled him out. A long, black iron chain was wrapped around his left ankle, leading down into the water.
"What is this?" Liu Shinian asked, very confused.
The man explained.
"I was returning from the sea nearby, but a strong wind suddenly blew me here."
Liu Shinian, after hearing his explanation, drew his sword and swung it. With a loud clang, the iron chain did not break.
I looked at the man before me with suspicion, wondering if he was Tian Wu.
He seemed a little guilty under my gaze and confessed.
"Alright, I'm not a salt merchant. I was captured by this Tian Wu and had my feet bound here to be used as bait for food."
Liu Shinian frowned slightly and asked, "Were you trying to lure us into being eaten by Tian Wu just now?"
He shook his head.
"No, anyone who can reach this island is either a master or an expert. Seeing your noble bearing and extraordinary demeanor, I guessed you two were top-notch experts, which is why I cried for help."
I was still a bit suspicious, so I leaned closer and asked, "Then why doesn't Tian Wu eat you, but only uses you to lure people?"
He explained, "I think it's because of this."
He unbuttoned his upper garment, revealing the golden scale armor underneath.
"This golden scale armor is filled with poison. If you bite even a single scale, even an immortal would suffer for ten days and a half a month. I guess he was afraid of my golden scale armor and didn't eat me."
I asked Liu Shinian, "Liu Shinian, you're knowledgeable. Have you ever heard of this thing?"
Liu Shinian replied.
"I once heard that in the vast ocean, there was a merman with golden scales all over his body, containing potent poison. Later, he was killed, his skin was peeled off, and made into golden scale armor. This should be it."
Although I had Liu Shinian's confirmation, I still didn't quite believe him, so I asked again.
"How were you captured by him?"
He then recounted the whole story in detail.
"I was originally the young master of a wealthy family on the shore. While out playing at sea with friends, we accidentally entered this mist. Then, I was dragged into the water and eaten by this Tian Wu. All my friends died, and only I survived because of this golden scale armor."
After hearing his explanation, I nodded with half-belief, and then asked Wan Gui Wang in my mind.
"Can you break this iron chain?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll trouble you."
"Watch me."
Saying that, he flew out of me and violently collided with the iron chain. With a "crack," the iron chain broke, and he flew back into me.
The man looked at the black mist with curiosity. "What is this black mist? It's so powerful?"
I lied, "This is my primordial spirit."
"Miss, you truly are a master among masters, with such a powerful primordial spirit."
Liu Shinian immediately recognized it as Wan Gui Wang, but seeing me lie and someone playing along, he couldn't help but secretly smile.
"Now you are free, you can leave."
He looked at the water surface, a surge of hatred rising in his heart.
"No, all my friends were eaten by this Tian Wu. I want to stay and kill him with you to avenge my friends."
Liu Shinian advised, "You are no match for him. You should leave quickly."
He suddenly became sorrowful.
"I am already a dying person, and I have done so many wicked deeds for him. If I don't kill him myself, how can I face my deceased friends and innocent lives?"
Seeing his sincere emotions and his deep hatred for Tian Wu, I asked him, "What is your name?"
"My name is Bai Helai."
"Bai Helai."
This suddenly reminded me of the girl in my dream that night, who was also surnamed Bai. Could they be related?
Liu Shinian also introduced himself, "My name is Liu Shinian, and her name is Liu Muye."
"Liu Muye, what a unique name."
Seeing that he was fair-skinned and clean, clearly someone who had never been on a battlefield, I instructed him, "Since you're staying, you must listen to us and not act recklessly."
"Okay."
"By the way, do you know how to lure Tian Wu out?"
"I do, but it will have to wait until tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow morning?"
"Yes, he will wake up from his cave tomorrow morning, and then I can lure him up."
"Alright, then tomorrow morning."
Seeing him completely drenched and looking like a drowned rat, I took off my clothes to give him.
Liu Shinian was a step ahead of me. He took off his outer coat and handed it to him.
"Put it on. It must be quite cold in the water."
As he said this, he looked at me and gestured, "Put your clothes back on, don't catch a cold."
I smiled, understanding his intentions, and put my clothes back on. Then I brought Bai Helai back to the campfire.
Liu Shinian took out the peach blossom cakes from his embrace and offered them to him.
"Have some."
He took one and took a bite, exclaiming, "Delicious!"
I, however, was not in the mood, and just stared blankly at the calm lake surface, wondering how strong this Tian Wu truly was.
So, I sat by the campfire from dawn until dusk. As the evening breeze blew, I felt extremely bored.
Bai Helai noticed that Liu Shinian had never put down the large box on his back and asked curiously.
"Brother Liu, what are you carrying? Why don't you ever put it down?"
Liu Shinian gave a sound of acknowledgement and pretended to be confused. "Oh, this? It's nothing much, just some food and supplies. I'm carrying it because I'm afraid of losing it."
He looked at it again, clearly not entirely convinced, but he didn't say anything more.
Seeing them chatting happily, I walked aside to the large tree, leaped up, and lay on a branch, my eyes fixed on the lake.
As the night deepened, a faint, cold wind blew across the lake.
Liu Shinian and Bai Helai also began to feel sleepy, yawning one after another before drifting off to sleep.
I also felt overwhelmingly sleepy, yawned, and lay down, using my hands as a pillow on the branch, and fell asleep.
In my dream, I vaguely felt an icy hand sliding across my face, and a chill permeated the air around me.
Then, I felt a pair of cold, icy lips suddenly land on mine. Although I could feel it, I couldn't move at all. After a few kisses, the icy lips quietly withdrew.
When I opened my eyes again, it was already the next morning, with the sun just rising. I quickly turned my head to look down and saw Liu Shinian and Bai Helai standing by the lake, gazing at the water.
I rolled over and jumped down, joining them. I intended to tell Liu Shinian and Bai Helai about the strange incident last night, but I found it difficult to articulate and decided against it. I only asked Bai Helai.
"It's morning now. Do you have any way to lure Tian Wu out?"
Without much explanation, he put his finger in his mouth and blew a whistle towards the lake. Soon, ripples of white smoke appeared on the water.
The bottom of the water suddenly stirred, and then the sound of rattling chains could be heard.
Following that, a thick fog billowed from the water towards the three of us, and then the sound of chains swinging through the air could be heard.
"Quick, dodge!" Bai Helai shouted.
Liu Shinian and I quickly dodged, and saw several chains flying out of the fog, piercing the ground around us. The chains then retracted and quickly lunged at us again.
"Give me my sword!" I urgently shouted to Liu Shinian.
He immediately threw the brocade box at me. I caught it in mid-air, opened it, and found it empty. Just as I was about to question him, a chain struck, forcing me to dodge.
Then I loudly asked Liu Shinian, "Where is my sword? Where is my sword?"
Liu Shinian looked confused, dodging as he replied, "Wasn't it in the box?"
"The box is empty, my sword is gone."
"What! Impossible, I was watching it closely. How could it be gone?"
"Let's not worry about that for now, let's fight."
"Alright."
With that, Liu Shinian drew his Willow Saber and leaped into the thick fog, engaging in a struggle with the chains.
At this moment, I suddenly felt a terrifying breath behind me.
I turned around but saw nothing. Suddenly, a long tongue snaked out from behind me, wrapped around me, and dragged me towards the water.
Wan Gui Wang timely flew out and severed the tongue, and then a painful howl, as if from hundreds of people, echoed from the water.
Following that, a massive water column erupted from the surface and shot towards the sky.
To allow me to fight more easily, Wan Gui Wang took a deep breath and blew away all the fog. The chains and the original commotion also subsided as the fog dispersed.
"What happened? Did he escape?"
I looked at the calm water surface, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.
Wan Gui Wang circled the water surface twice before flying back into me. He spoke in my mind.
"I circled twice and found no demonic energy. He probably escaped."
"My Dragon Roar Sword and Crimson Blood Sword are both gone," I replied in my mind.
"Don't worry. The Dragon Roar Sword and Crimson Blood Sword carry a lot of evil energy. Most people can't touch them. The twin swords must not have been taken away; they might be in a corner nearby."
"Could they be underwater?"
He shook his head. "I don't sense anything."
"Then what should we do?"
"Let's observe the situation for now."
"Okay."
Liu Shinian quickly ran to the fallen brocade box. Looking at the empty box, he was filled with guilt.
"I was watching it so carefully, how could it disappear? Sigh, I..."
Seeing his confusion and self-reproach, I also felt distressed and leaned close to his ear.
"Wan Gui Wang has already told me, the twin swords are nearby, no need to worry."
Liu Shinian's face lit up with joy, and he looked at me with hope. I gestured for him to pretend he knew nothing.
At this moment, Bai Helai also rushed over, anxiously asking us, "Are you alright?"
I was a little suspicious of him and asked, "Where were you just now?"
He paused slightly and explained, "When those chains flew over, I couldn't fight them, so I hid behind. Seeing that you were all okay, I came out."
Looking at the mud stains on his shoes, my heart calmed down, and I thought it was unlikely to be him.
Then I bent down on my own to pick up the brocade box from the ground. Bai Helai looked at my strange behavior and asked Liu Shinian.
"What's wrong with her?"
Liu Shinian said to him, "I told you yesterday, my brocade box contained some things. They suddenly disappeared during the fight just now. Did you steal and eat them?"
Bai Helai looked at Liu Shinian, who suspected him, and quickly explained.
"No, no, no, it wasn't me. I slept very soundly last night and heard nothing but the wind."
Liu Shinian looked at him with suspicion and asked, "Besides you, is there anyone else on this island?"
He quickly replied, "Besides me, there are only you and Tian Wu."
Liu Shinian pondered for a moment and guessed, "Could it be Tian Wu?"
Bai Helai said, "It's very possible. Tian Wu is always unpredictable."
Liu Shinian murmured, "But why wouldn't he eat us and instead steal things?"
Although these were all unanswerable questions for now, they were not without solutions. The two could only return to the campfire.
I put the brocade box away and acted as if nothing had happened, chatting with them.
"Those chains just now were the ones I saw in the water."
Liu Shinian analyzed, "Those chains were powerful and moved swiftly. Could it be that the chains are being controlled?"
"It should be."
Bai Helai told us, "Every time Tian Wu hunts, he releases a large amount of white mist to confuse his prey and drag them into the water to eat them."
I agreed with his words.
"I was just entangled by a long tongue, and it was severed in time. It seems this Tian Wu not only possesses powerful demonic energy but also some intelligence. We need to prepare further."
Liu Shinian unbuckled his sword and handed it to me.
"Use my sword."
I threw the sword back to him. "Your sword is more useful in your hands than in mine."
"Then what about you?"
"Don't worry, I have my own ways."
He then remembered that I had Wan Gui Wang and wouldn't be in any danger, so he was relieved.
"Let's look around for any breakthroughs." We can also see if we can sense the Dragon Roar Sword and Crimson Blood Sword.
I looked at Bai Helai and said sincerely, "Helai, please take us for a walk."
"Okay, follow me."
Saying that, he got up and led the way. Liu Shinian and I followed him. We walked around the lake, but found nothing special.
Liu Shinian looked around but found nothing out of the ordinary.
However, Bai Helai, who was walking ahead, suddenly said to us, "Do you know what those four black whirlwinds are?"
Liu Shinian and I simultaneously looked up at the four black whirlwinds, not understanding.
He then said.
"That is Tian Wu's demonic energy. When the demonic energy is strong, the black whirlwinds become huge, even intertwining. When the demonic energy is not strong, they appear as four separate black whirlwinds in different locations."
Unexpectedly, these four black whirlwinds were the location of Tian Wu's demonic energy, and now they were scattered in four corners.
They were wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, indicating that his demonic energy was not strong at the moment. Could it be related to eating people?
Thinking this, I gained some more information.