5: Chapter 5 Double Kill

Discovered!

As this thought exploded in Jiang Hanzhou's mind, those two water bandits waded forward like ghosts.

Their speed far exceeded that of ordinary people; clearly, they had practiced some crude martial arts and might have even touched the threshold of the Qi Nurturing Realm.

It was too late to run.

A cold light flashed in Jiang Hanzhou's eyes.

Since he couldn't hide, then...

Take them out!

He leaned back abruptly, crashing into the deep water with a "splash," his entire body submerging into the river, leaving only a rapidly expanding ripple behind.

The two water bandits leaped onto the covered boat. As soon as their feet touched the swaying deck, they stopped abruptly. Their eyes met, and they both read a hint of astonishment in each other's gaze.

"This kid... he jumped fast!"

"Hmph, the Three Rivers Estuary is vast and boundless; how far could he swim? He must still be in the reed marsh. Keep your eyes peeled, we must take him out!"

But Jiang Hanzhou had not swum far at all.

He hovered three feet under the water, like a fish blending into the undercurrent, quietly watching the four feet moving on the boat.

The Minor Achievement level of Fish Dragon Transformation granted him the ability to see underwater, as well as a breath capacity far exceeding that of ordinary people.

If he wanted to spar, he would be capable of playing these two in the palm of his hand.

But he did not have the heart for that.

Having just entered the Qi Nurturing Realm, facing two opponents wielding sharp blades and possessing a rudimentary understanding of teamwork, any delay meant danger.

Quick battle, quick decision.

In the blink of an eye, a plan formed instantly in his mind.

...

"Where on earth is this kid hiding?"

One of the one-eyed water bandits looked at the pitch-black water surface with some frustration.

Just at this moment.

A series of rapid bubbles gurgled up abruptly at the roots of the reeds on one side of the stern.

"Over there!"

The one-eyed water bandit growled, and without a second thought, he hacked his steel blade viciously toward the bubbling water surface!

"Get out here!"

The blade broke the water, but only severed a few withered reed stems. The reaction from overexerting force caused his figure to sway slightly.

At this very moment—

"Swish!"

A streak of black light shot out from under the water on the other side of the bow without any warning!

Like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, it went straight for his face!

It was a water-dividing thorn!

The water bandit's pupils constricted, and he tilted his head back in terror, barely managing to parry with his steel blade.

"Clang!"

The tip of the thorn grazed past the blade, sparking and breaking him into a cold sweat.

"You lit—"

His angry curse had just rushed out of his mouth.

"Boom!"

The real killing intent, however, erupted violently behind him!

The river water exploded, and a black shadow broke through the waves, bringing up a sky full of white, ribbon-like splashes.

Like an evil spirit spat out by the river, he leaped into the air, carrying the chill of the river and the determination to kill, instantly pouncing on his back!

It was Jiang Hanzhou!

He had never moved at all; he had only exhaled a string of bubbles, drawing all their attention in the wrong direction.

The water bandit could not even turn around in time.

A pair of fists rapidly enlarged in the corner of his terrified eyes.

Boss Hong had said that those in the Qi Nurturing Realm had much greater strength than ordinary people, but this power was still loose and not concentrated into a single point.

...But two points were enough!

The Perfection level Net Casting Fist struck out in unison, the twin fists so fast they left afterimages, precisely and ruthlessly targeting the one-eyed water bandit's throat.

"Crack!"

A dull sound of bone breaking, enough to set one's teeth on edge.

The water bandit's Adam's apple instantly caved in, the vitality in his eyes scattered, and he fell backward without even a groan.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

The other water bandit had just parried the feinting water-dividing thorn, and upon turning his head, he saw his companion dead, along with the life-taking figure that had broken out of the water.

He was so scared that his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, screaming as he swung his blade to pounce, but he was already more than a beat too slow.

Jiang Hanzhou tapped his toes on the shoulder of the corpse that was about to sink, borrowed the force to dash forward, and his gaze locked onto the falling water-dividing thorn in the air that had just been parried away.

He reached out in mid-air, grabbed, and gripped!

The moment the cold handle of the thorn was in his hand, his body had already passed by the opponent with the momentum of his forward rush.

His arm swung with the momentum.

A black light flashed, precisely burying itself in the second water bandit's throat.

"Hrr..."

The water bandit stumbled to a halt, his steel blade falling onto the boat with a "clatter," his hands clutching his spurting neck in vain, staring with disbelieving eyes as he slowly knelt down.

The river surface returned to churning, mixed with blood-colored ripples.

The covered boat swayed gently, as if the life-and-death struggle just now was merely a fleeting illusion.

"Splash."

"Splash."

The two corpses fell into the river one after another, and after the heavy sound of them hitting the water, Jiang Hanzhou rocked the covered boat and arrived at the place where the water bandits had dug up the stolen goods.

He jumped off the bow, arrived at the mudflat, and lifted the heavy package from the mud pit.

The outer oilcloth of the package was already damaged, revealing the coarse burlap bag inside that had been soaked by the muddy water.

The weight in his hand was not light, and Jiang Hanzhou's heartbeat could not help but quicken a few beats.

He opened the package, and what met his eyes were a dozen gold leaves and several dozen taels of broken silver, adding up to a value of three hundred taels!

Jiang Hanzhou's heart began to thump-thump wildly.

How much money was three hundred taels? It was enough for him to live comfortably in this Three Rivers Estuary for the rest of his life!

Even for a Martial Artist, it was enough to Cultivate for a very long time.

Jiang Hanzhou now had his fate in hand, so of course he wouldn't think of lying flat; now that he had money, he could Cultivate quickly.

"However, this money must not be discovered by anyone else."

He looked at the vast expanse of reeds, found the mudflat again, buried the package, and after marking the spot, he got on the boat. Then, after washing the bloodstains off the boat with river water, he took his net and went fishing in the river.

Even if he couldn't catch any Spirit Fish, he still had to get some fish catch to go back and report.

This was the daily task of a Fisherman.

After Jiang Hanzhou finished the remaining dry rations, the sun set in the west, and he rowed the covered boat toward the pier to gather.

Quite a few returning covered boats had already gathered at the pier.

Boat pressed against boat, person squeezed against person; the noisy sound waves mixed with the fishy smell and steamed in the twilight.

Everyone's face carried more or less excitement or annoyance, but their voices were louder than one another.

"See that? My luck was good today, I caught a three-jin red-tailed silver carp!"

A Fisherman carried a fish basket and deliberately tilted the opening to let that flash of bright red sway before everyone's eyes.

"A red-tailed silver carp is nothing! Look at this!"

The person on the boat next to him lifted a fat, struggling black carp with one hand, its tail splashing water everywhere, "Look at this size, this energy! If I stew it tonight, the fragrance will waft through half the street!"

"Your black carp is just fat; if you want to talk about rare, it has to be these golden-scaled crucian carp of mine. Look at these scales, they look like they're plated with gold!" someone retorted, unwilling to be outdone.

"Golden-scaled crucian carp? That's just luck! I honestly cast my net seventeen times today, a full cabin!"

"Seventeen nets is impressive? My brother-in-law has a stall at the fish market, what kind of good fish hasn't he seen? My catch today can match three normal days..."

The bragging, the comparisons, mixed with crude laughter and curses, made the pier seem like boiling water.

"Little Jiang, how was your harvest today?" someone familiar nearby asked.

"Me? My luck was bad. I got blown by the wind halfway and fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in a rush to catch some fish to report back."

Jiang Hanzhou explained casually and didn't say too much.

Too much talk leads to mistakes.

The person didn't pay much attention upon hearing this and followed along to Iron Hand Zhang's side to hand in the fish catch.

Most people had not caught any Spirit Fish.

However, there were two people—one who caught a copper-line carp and one who caught a green-tailed Spirit Fish—who were each rewarded with six taels of silver by Iron Hand Zhang.

This made the others extremely envious.

On the way back, one could hear their sour discussions.

However, Jiang Hanzhou didn't care; instead, he looked at the two Martial Skills that had already reached Major Achievement, thinking about the next step.