52: Chapter 52 Snake Island

Under the cover of night, Donghai Prefecture City had mostly fallen into slumber, save for a few gambling dens and brothels where voices still lingered.

Jiang Hanzhou skimmed across the rooftops like a wisp of black smoke, arriving outside the Prefectural Governors Mansion yamen in short order.

The bluestone plaza before the yamen was deserted, the stone lions on either side casting ferocious shadows under the moonlight.

A notice board stood by the eastern wall of the yamen, its wooden surface densely plastered with various wanted posters, reward notices, and government documents.

Jiang Hanzhou's gaze swept across it, quickly locking onto a brand-new reward notice.

The paper was still white, and the vermilion official seal was strikingly vivid.

[Reward: Evil Ghost Bandits]

[The Donghai Prefecture Naval Yamen hereby offers a reward for the extermination of the Evil Ghost Bandits. This bandit gang is entrenched on Snake Island, plundering passing merchant and fishing vessels, committing murder and robbery, and engaging in all manner of evil. Seven core bandit leaders have been identified, all of whom are Viscera Burning Realm Martial Artists. The rewards are as follows:]

[First Chief: 'Ghost-Faced Flood Dragon' Hai Tongtian, Burning Viscera Late Stage, reward: 8,000 taels of silver.]

[Second Chief: 'River-Turning Shark' Luo Qi, Burning Viscera Middle Stage, reward: 5,000 taels of silver.]

[Third Chief: 'Poison Lady' Third Mother Hua, Burning Viscera Middle Stage, reward: 5,000 taels of silver.]

[Fourth Chief: 'Water-Dividing Yaksha' Zhao Blackie, Burning Viscera Early Stage, reward: 3,000 taels of silver.]

[Fifth Chief: 'Soul-Chasing Arrow' Sun Ming, Burning Viscera Early Stage, reward: 3,000 taels of silver.]

[Sixth Chief: 'Copper Skin and Iron Bone' Ox Sturdy, Burning Viscera Early Stage, reward: 3,000 taels of silver.]

[Seventh Chief: 'Green in the Mist' White Little Green, Burning Viscera Early Stage, reward: 3,000 taels of silver.]

[Other bandit members will be rewarded by head: 200 taels for Iron Bone Realm, 50 taels for Qi Nurturing Realm.]

[If the Evil Ghost Bandits can be completely annihilated and their Snake Island lair destroyed, an additional 500 Merit Points will be awarded, which can be exchanged at the Naval Yamen for corresponding Cultivation Techniques, Medicinal Pills, and weapons.]

[Reward Time Limit: From today until the destruction of the Evil Ghost Bandits.]

[Donghai Prefecture Naval Yamen, October of the 23rd Year of Yongchang, Great Qi.]

Seven Viscera Burning Realm experts.

Beneath his mask, the corners of Jiang Hanzhou's mouth curled slightly.

Old Third Zhao had spoken of them lightly, merely saying they were "very formidable," yet he hadn't realized these "Evil Ghost Bandits" possessed such strength. With seven Viscera Burning Realm experts presiding, it was no wonder they had run rampant in the outer waters of Donghai Prefecture for years, with several government suppression attempts returning empty-handed.

A force of this magnitude, if placed at the Three Rivers Estuary, would be no less than the White Dragon Gang at its peak.

But in Jiang Hanzhou's eyes, they were nothing more than a pile of walking silver.

He reached out, his fingertip tracing a light stroke along the edge of the reward notice.

*Chiii—*

The paper fell at the sound, and he rolled it into his robes, stowing it close to his body.

Then, with a flicker of his figure, he vanished from the yamen plaza, heading straight for the south city docks.

Half an incense stick later, on a desolate coast thirty miles south of Donghai Prefecture City.

Jagged reefs stood tall as the sea waves slapped against the shore, splashing snowy white foam.

Jiang Hanzhou stood atop a towering black reef, looking out at the pitch-black surface of the eastern sea.

The sea breeze was biting, carrying a salty, fishy chill.

He shed his outer night-traveling clothes, revealing the tight-fitting black diving suit beneath.

This was sewn from deep-sea fish skin mixed with special silk threads; it was tough, waterproof, and worth a hundred taels. He had purchased it specifically for maritime operations.

He wrapped his outer clothes, boots, mask, and other items in oilcloth and tucked them securely into a crevice in the reef.

Then, he leaped.

*Plop.*

The sound of him entering the water was extremely light, almost drowned out by the sound of the waves.

The seawater was bone-chillingly cold, but to Jiang Hanzhou, whose blood was like mercury and who had reached Major Achievement in the Viscera Burning Realm, it was no different from lukewarm water.

He held his breath and focused, his blood circulating slightly as a pale golden luster flashed beneath his skin for an instant.

The next moment, his legs swung like a fish's tail.

*Whoosh—!*

His figure shot forward like an arrow from a bow, cutting through the seawater as he sped eastward!

His speed was astonishing, trailing a white water line beneath the surface that vanished in an instant.

With the Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill at Major Achievement, his control over his Physical Body had reached a microscopic level.

The contraction of bones and the vibration of muscles could all be converted into propulsive force.

Coupled with the faint resonance with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi after his dao bone was first formed, his progress through the water was hardly slower than using movement techniques on land.

The night was deep, and the sea surface was as black as ink.

Jiang Hanzhou was like a true Vicious Beast of the sea, diving and swimming rapidly in the direction he remembered.

He had already inquired clearly about the location of Snake Island.

Roughly eighty miles southeast of Donghai Prefecture, it was an island shaped like a coiled venomous snake. Due to its dense hidden reefs and complex waterways, it was easy to defend and hard to attack, making it the lair of the Evil Ghost Bandits.

Eighty miles of sea route would take an ordinary boat two hours to navigate.

But Jiang Hanzhou took less than half an hour.

Ahead on the sea, the silhouette of an island gradually became clear under the moonlight.

The island was not large, about three to five miles across, with a raised center and winding sides, truly resembling a giant snake coiled in the sea.

The island was covered in dense forest, and a few lights were faintly visible, concentrated in a flat area on the northern side of the island.

That was the encampment of the Evil Ghost Bandits.

Jiang Hanzhou slowed down and slowly surfaced, revealing only the part of his face above his eyes.

He observed quietly for a moment.

The camp was built against the mountain facing the sea, with wooden fences, watchtowers, and a simple dock where a dozen or so boats of various sizes were moored. Several of them were clearly captured merchant ships, modified with rams and crossbow engines.

Figures moved about within the camp, and the sounds of revelry were faintly audible; they seemed to be drinking and making merry.

There were sentries on the watchtowers, but they were lax, chatting idly.

"Seven Viscera Burning Realm experts..." Jiang Hanzhou calculated silently. "The First Chief Hai Tongtian should be in the main camp, while the other six might be scattered or gathered together."

"Clear the fodder first, then decapitate the leaders."

He took a deep breath and his body slowly sank into the water, diving toward the docks.

...

Beneath the dock's waters, Jiang Hanzhou clung to the hull of a pirate ship like a ghost.

His five fingers, like hooks, easily pierced the iron-clad wooden hull to steady himself as he listened intently.

The conversation of two pirates drifted down from the ship:

"Damn, that merchant ship we hit today really had a lot of loot! Just the silk alone was twenty bolts, plus hundreds of pounds of tea!"

"Pity there weren't many women, only three, and the First Chief took his pick first..."

"Shh! Keep it down! If the Third Chief hears you, she'll blow a fuse! Last time Old Six looked at her too long, his eyeballs were almost poisoned blind!"

"Heh heh, speaking of which, the Seventh Chief didn't show her face again today? I heard she went back to the rear mountain for secluded cultivation?"

"The Seventh Chief's 'Mist Concealment Art' is getting more and more eerie. Last time I saw her practicing, her whole body turned into a cloud of green mist, and you couldn't see a trace of her from three yards away..."

Jiang Hanzhou's eyes flickered.

Mist Concealment Art? That's a decent stealth technique, though its rank likely isn't very high.

He delayed no longer, releasing his grip as his body glided toward the dock pier like a fish.

At the end of the pier, two pirates leaned against a pile of wooden crates, clutching their sabers and dozing off.

Jiang Hanzhou rose silently from the water, his hands moving like lightning to seize their necks and give them a gentle twist.

*Snap.*

The subtle sound of bones breaking was masked by the crashing waves.

Their bodies went limp, and he gently laid them on the ground.

Jiang Hanzhou stripped off their outer clothes, wiped the water from his hands, and then, with a flicker of his body, melted into the shadows of the dock.