The sky over the rivers and lakes is very clear

Chapter 97

"Who are those assassins...?" Were they those ghostly men in black?

Steward Qin shook his head indifferently.

"Did Brother Liu Yue go to chase the enemy alone?" What is the Jiao Kang clan?

"..."

"Brother Liu Yue, with such high martial arts skills, you won't be unable to defeat those people, will you?"

Steward Qin still ignored him completely.

Zhu Huihui pouted: "What a big, silent gourd!"

Steward Qin finally spoke, coldly saying, "The young prince only instructed this old servant to escort you to Xuan Yue Water Island, not to keep you company."

"But you didn't deliver it!"

Chief Steward Qin glanced outside and said with a forced smile, "This location is still 29 waterways away from Xuan Yue Water Island."

The long, desolate embankment was shrouded in a light drizzle, and the lamplight cast a dim, yellow glow.

Standing under the lamp at dawn and dusk, holding a bamboo umbrella, I wait patiently.

The hurried footsteps coming from the other side of the embankment made her heart pound so hard it felt like it would leap out of her chest.

What could that enormous head be in the darkness? A villain, a fish spirit, or a water monster?

The big head quickly approached, and just as Chen Muwan's scream was about to burst from his throat, the big head finally entered the range illuminated by the embankment lights.

"Miss Mu, where is the hero?"

The newcomer lifted the large straw hat from her head, revealing a pretty face with a touch of childishness under the lamplight, thick eyelashes, a pert nose, and round, small lips...

Chen Muwan's heart, which had been pounding in her chest, suddenly felt weak all over, and she could barely hold up the umbrella. She had to take a few steps back and brace herself against the weeping willow tree with one hand: "Miss Zhu... Miss Zhu!"

The one who came was, of course, Zhu Huihui!

At that time, the Liuyue fast ship chased after the enemy. Following the instructions given by the young prince before he left, Chief Steward Qin ordered the guards to operate the dragon boat and head straight for Xuan Yue Water Island. Even though the dragon boat was slow, it would only take a little over an hour to travel the two-nine waterways.

It was completely dark. Xuan Yue Shui Yu stood majestically on the shore of Dongting Lake, appearing as a gray-black silhouette in the night, hazy and mysterious.

The dragon boat slowly approached the mountain resort's water fortress. The guards who were in charge of the boat stood at the bow, holding lanterns and shining them towards the water island. The lanterns flickered and changed in length, making it easy to tell what kind of signal they were sending.

Zhu Huihui leaned on the railing, watching the changing lights with interest, and then struck up a conversation with Steward Qin, who stood beside her like a wooden statue: "Steward Qin... what are these lights saying?" Although she knew that the effeminate fat man looked down on her, she had no one else to talk to, so she had no choice but to chat with him.

Steward Qin ignored her with a stern face.

Zhu Huihui glanced at him sullenly, picked up an apple from the table, took a bite, and chewed it fiercely twice: "Steward Qin, why do you always look at me with displeasure?" Had she stolen his chickens? Had she stolen his steamed buns and wallet? Or had she flirted with his wife and daughter? Right—eunuchs don't seem to have wives and daughters…

Steward Qin snorted.

He disliked her, which was a mild reaction. He didn't know where the young prince had picked up such a wild girl. She was not only rude and dirty, but also uneducated and incompetent. She could barely read and write, and her kung fu was worse than a novice's. Such a "neither scholarly nor martial" person would starve to death if thrown on the street, yet the young prince treated her like an honored guest!

Zhu Huihui talked to herself for a long time, and Steward Qin finally just hummed and hawed, his forced smile giving Zhu Huihui goosebumps.

Seeing that the dragon boat was less than half a mile from the shore, she jumped up and ran out of the cabin. "Pah! You sissy, I can't be bothered with your attitude!"

This time, Steward Qin spoke up. He grabbed her and said in a deep voice, "Wait!"

Zhu Huihui's eyes widened: "What? Trying to molest me?" Her claws snapped into hooks, lunging for Steward Qin's genitals. Hmph! She'd disliked him for a long time; this was a preemptive strike, a counter-offensive!

Steward Qin's facial muscles twitched, his eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he stepped aside, suppressing his anger as he said, "Something's wrong with Xuan Yue Water Island!"

Zhu Huihui grabbed at nothing, nearly falling over from the force of her grab. She staggered a few steps before regaining her balance: "What happened?" Her sneak attack failed, yet she still pretended nothing had happened; her shamelessness was truly remarkable.

Steward Qin's face was as dark as the sky, so dark it looked like it would drip water if you squeezed it.

Zhu Huihui looked at the shore, scratched his head, and suddenly realized: "It's so dark, yet they haven't lit any lamps!"

That's right! No wonder Steward Qin said something was wrong with Xuan Yue Water Island. It's so dark and raining, yet Xuan Yue Water Island doesn't even have a single light on! Even the navigation light hanging high on the flagpole is out!

A flash of inspiration struck him: Maple Snow Colors. What happened? Could it be... could it be that all the people of Xuan Yue Water Island have gone blind like the great hero? Or has something unexpected happened?

Steward Qin said coldly, "The ship has been sending signals to Xuan Yue Water Island for half a day, and they haven't responded at all—is there anyone still breathing on Xuan Yue Water Island?"

He clapped his hands: "Dock! Azure Dragon's House, Heart, House Team 3, go ashore to Xuan Yue Water Island, Winnowing Basket Team stays to guard the boat!"

Zhu Huihui was completely baffled and was about to ask a question when a loud reply came from outside the cabin: "Yes!"

She was startled. Judging from the voices, there were at least fifty or sixty people in Zhoushan, but she had been in Zhoushan for so long and had never noticed them.

Unbeknownst to her, Liu Yue's guards were organized into teams according to the four divine positions of Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. The three teams of Horn, Neck, and Clan that Liu Yue had previously taken away, along with the four teams of Room, Heart, House, and Winnowing Basket, belonged to the Eastern Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon.

Of course, Steward Qin wouldn't explain this to her. Seeing that the boat was less than ten feet from the shore, he waved his hand lightly, and twenty or thirty burly men leaped ashore. Each of them was dressed in a golden flying fish robe, and their rusty spring knives were drawn. They landed silently and quickly disappeared into the shadow of the magnificent buildings on Xuan Yue Water Island.

Seeing this, Zhu Huihui felt even more strongly that Xuan Yue Shui Yu might be in big trouble. In her memory, when Fang Jianwu was hosting a banquet at the lakeside pavilion, a mysterious man in black appeared, and countless guards emerged from the lake, the reefs, the shore, the bushes, etc., completely surrounding the scene.

Now, with so many of them on Xuan Yue Water Island's territory, not a single person has come out to greet them...

Her eyes darted around and she noticed Steward Qin standing to the side, staring at her expressionlessly. She gave a sarcastic "humph," strolled out of the cabin, stood at the bow of the boat, and assessed the distance to the shore. She figured that with her current skills, if she tried to jump over like others, she would probably fall into the lake.