The man was instantly dragged underwater. Caught off guard, he inhaled a mouthful of icy river water.
The fear of suffocation made him instinctively struggle to surface.
However, it was too late. Through the murky current, a black steel Fish Spear spun, effortlessly parting the water and precisely striking his throat.
"PFFT!"
The sharp point broke through the water's resistance, piercing the man's throat with precision and ruthlessness.
A ghastly bloom of blood blossomed in the water before being swept away by the undercurrent. The man's eyes bulged. His body convulsed twice, then went still.
Inside the boat's canopy, the other man heard the splash and scrambled out. All he saw was a lingering trace of red and the empty surface of the water.
"Third Brother?"
"Who's there?!"
"Get out here! I'm with the Water Snake Gang!"
A chill ran down his spine. He grabbed a nearby oar and bellowed, his voice sharp and menacing.
He waited a moment. When there was no movement from the water, he grew frightened and started moving toward the bow and the shore.
Underwater, Su Yu hid on the other side of the bow, concealed by the boat's canopy, breathing softly.
'I didn't think killing him would be so easy,' he thought. 'Even though I had the advantage of a sneak attack, it shows my strength in the water is not to be underestimated.'
'But if he gets to shore and I have to face him head-on, it won't be so simple.'
Just as he was considering his next move, Su Hong shot forward, his Broadsword in hand, and launched a surprise attack on the man.
"You Water Snake Gang mutt, die!"
"Ah!" The man, seeing the Broadsword swinging at him, was terrified. He hastily raised the oar to block.
"CRACK!"
The sturdy oar cracked under the blow. The immense force split the webbing between the man's thumb and forefinger, and he staggered back several steps right to the edge of the boat, his body swaying.
'A perfect chance!'
Su Yu burst from the water, grabbed the man's ankle, and with a powerful yank, dragged him under as well.
Wave-Piercing Stab!
There were no fancy moves. The steel Fish Spear claimed another life, PFFTing as it pierced the man's throat.
"SPLASH!"
After killing the last man, Su Yu vaulted onto the boat. His chest heaved as he greedily gasped for air, his body slightly drained of strength.
Killing two men in a row had seemed exceptionally smooth, but it had been fraught with peril.
First, Su Yu needed enough strength to drag a man into the water from a surprise attack. Then, his combat ability in the water had to be sufficient—especially his Fish Spear attacks, which needed to be fast and fierce, giving the submerged enemy no time to react.
Second, when killing the second man, he had relied on Su Hong to draw the enemy's attention from the front, giving him the chance to strike from below.
The slightest mistake would have allowed the enemy to react, turning it into a direct confrontation where Su Yu would have likely been injured.
It was all thanks to the strength he'd gained from his boxing practice and the enhanced underwater combat ability from the Fishbone Skill!
"Second Brother, are you all right?" Su Hong came forward, his voice full of concern.
"I'm fine." Su Yu waved his hand, calming his racing heart.
Su Hong looked at the two floating corpses, a hint of admiration and relief in his eyes. His once quiet and reserved younger cousin was now not only meticulous in his thinking but also decisive and ruthless in his actions.
'In these chaotic times, this is the only way to survive.'
"You rest first. I'll take care of this."
Su Hong deftly hauled the two bodies onto the boat and began to loot them.
A moment later, two money pouches lay on the deck.
"Second Brother, there's a total of four taels of silver on these two. You take it! Go search inside the canopy."
Seeing the silver Su Hong offered, Su Yu wanted to split it, since his big brother had helped.
But Su Hong was adamant. "Second Brother, you're practicing martial arts now. This is when you need money the most. You take it!" he said, forcefully shoving it into Su Yu's hands.
Su Yu no longer refused. He carefully tucked the money pouches away and turned to enter the low boat canopy.
The space inside the canopy was small, containing only a fur pelt spread on the deck and a small wooden box.
Su Yu moved forward and opened the wooden box. Inside were more copper coins and Broken Silver. His heart leaped with joy. A quick count revealed another two taels!
'Six taels of silver in one go! It's true what they say: a man can't get rich without a windfall, and a horse can't get fat without night fodder.'
Su Yu mused to himself and looked at the remaining items in the box.
Two black stones, each the size of a fist, were covered in honeycomb-like holes!
'It's that black stone!'
Su Yu's eyes narrowed, his expression turning serious.
He had seen the two men hide one black stone in the grass on the bank earlier. Now there were two more in this box. He wondered if these were the rest of them.
After some thought, Su Yu took the two black stones out and put them in his money pouch.
'Since they dared to leave them on the boat, it must mean the black stones are indeed not dangerous as long as they don't touch water. I don't know what they're for, but I'll take them for now and find a place to hide them later.'
As for his big brother, he didn't plan on telling him. It would only cause unnecessary trouble.
When he emerged from the canopy, only the last glimmer of the setting sun remained, about to sink below the horizon. The once-sparkling Black Water River now looked exceptionally deep and dark, like a giant mouth swallowing the light.
A jolt of alarm went through Su Yu. The Black River at night now felt unsettlingly creepy. "Big Brother, it's getting dark. We need to hurry up and deal with this."
"We'll sink the bodies in the river and take the sampan to hide it!" Su Hong didn't hesitate. He had already gathered stones and was tying them to the corpses.
The two quickly rowed out to deeper water. Su Hong then cut open the stomachs of the corpses. "Once their bellies are cut, they won't float back up. The things in the water will eat them quickly. The Water Snake Gang will just think they had an accident, or they'll blame it on another gang!"
Su Yu nodded. Together, they heaved the bodies into the water.
"Take this sampan, Second Brother. Find a place to hide it. Don't bring it back to the docks."
Su Yu thought for a moment and decided to take the boat near the water cave he had discovered earlier. It was very far from here and wouldn't be found.
The sampan bobbed on the water's surface as the two of them rowed quickly.
"SPLOOSH, SPLOOSH!"
The dim twilight of the setting sun cast its glow on a patch of waterweeds not far away, where the tail of a fiery red fish was faintly visible.
"There's a rare, big red fish over there! It looks like it's trapped!" Su Hong had sharp eyes. He spotted it instantly and was about to row over.
"Wait!"
Su Yu quickly grabbed Su Hong's oar-wielding arm, his voice low.
"What's wrong?" Su Hong was a little confused but stopped rowing.
The river wind blew across the water's surface, stirring up the last of the shimmering ripples. Patches of red dotted the water like a shattered mirror.
Su Yu's heart was in his throat. He heard it again—that strange breathing sound from the other night. This time, thankfully, it was coming from beneath the surface, right under the nearby waterweeds.
"Let's go, Big Brother! There's something foul here!" Goosebumps broke out all over Su Yu's skin. He whispered urgently, urging his brother to row toward the shore with him.
Su Hong had also grown up in a fishing village, and with so many fishermen dying in recent days, he knew exactly what "foul things" in the water meant. His expression turned grim as he quickly turned the boat around and began rowing toward the bank.
But after they had rowed only a few yards, they felt a strong resistance, as if something under the water was holding the boat back.
Just then, a CREAKING, SCRAPING sound came from the bottom of the boat, like someone was scratching the hull with their fingernails.
Su Hong's blood ran cold. He exchanged a look with Su Yu, and they both roared in unison, "Row! Don't stop!"
Their oars instantly became like whirlwinds, furiously churning the water.
"CREAK… SCRAPE…"
As the two rowed for their lives, the sampan finally began to move slowly, inching toward the shore.
In the distance, the setting sun was about to retract its final ray of light, and the churning water grew ever darker.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Su Yu caught a glimpse of something by the left side of the boat. A hand, covered in black hair, swollen and rotting, had silently emerged from the water.
The hand was dripping wet, its fingernails purple-black and sharp. It was slowly gripping the edge of the boat, as if trying to pull itself aboard!
The overwhelming stench of a corpse instantly assaulted his nostrils.
"Get off!"
At this life-or-death moment, Su Yu roared. The viciousness suppressed in his chest erupted completely. He grabbed the blood-stained steel Fish Spear beside him and stabbed violently at the black hand.
"BANG!"