145: Chapter 145 Enemy attack!

Ten days was enough for someone to become thoroughly familiar with a place.

Lin Tian stood on the bamboo raft at Fish Pond No. 6, gently tapping the water surface with his bamboo pole, and the raft slid forward silently.

The morning light spilled over the eastern ridge, casting onto the lake and dyeing the entire water area in a layer of pale gold.

As the raft passed, ripples spread, shattering the golden light into millions of pieces, only to slowly piece them back together.

He used the bamboo pole to circle the edge of the fish pond, his gaze scanning back and forth over the water, confirming that the net cages were not damaged, the water surface was not unusually murky, and nothing was hiding in the water weeds.

After finishing the circle, he laid the bamboo pole across the raft, sat down, closed his eyes, and sunned himself for a while.

This was his tenth day at Yunhai Fishery.

Ten days ago, he had come out of Field Master Zhou's bamboo building, and the square-faced man was still waiting at the door.

The man's surname was Sun; he was an old guard of the fishery who had stayed at Yunhai Fishery for over three years and was very familiar with every blade of grass and tree here.

Lin Tian asked him how to get to Fish Pond No. 6. Senior Brother Sun grinned, said "Follow me," and led him along the lake shore towards the west.

Yunhai Fishery had ten fish ponds arranged in order from east to west, numbered 1 to 10.

Fish Pond No. 1 was next to the bamboo building; it was the smallest in area and the shallowest, used to raise the newly hatched fish fry of the year.

The further west one went, the larger the fish ponds became and the deeper the water was.

When they reached Fish Pond No. 6, the lake surface suddenly opened up. At a glance, there were dozens of net cages on the water, arranged neatly like seedlings in a field.

Wide waterways were left between the net cages for bamboo rafts and small boats to pass.

Lin Tian stood on the shore, gazing at the shimmering water, and asked: "How do we get across?"

Senior Brother Sun pointed to a bamboo raft tied to the shore: "Take the boat across. Every fish pond is equipped with bamboo rafts and small boats; Pond No. 6 is equipped with two bamboo rafts and one small boat, which is enough."

He paused and suddenly asked, "Junior Brother, how is your swimming ability?"

Lin Tian shook his head.

He knew how to swim, but that was all.

He had learned it at the martial arts hall; he could splash around in the water and wouldn't drown.

But underwater movement techniques, underwater breathing techniques, fighting people in the water—he couldn't do any of those.

Senior Brother Sun glanced at him, didn't say much, just patted his shoulder: "Then you'd better learn. Working at the fishery, you can't get by without good swimming ability."

Lin Tian took these words to heart.

The captain of Fish Pond No. 6 was surnamed Ma, in his forties, with dark skin, large palms, and hands covered in calluses.

He had been at Yunhai Fishery for nearly ten years, working his way up from a regular guard to captain, and his familiarity with this water area was no less than that of the fish in it.

Captain Ma was a man of few words. Seeing Lin Tian arrive, he looked him up and down, nodded, and then gave a few instructions about daily tasks.

The daily tasks were actually very simple.

Patrol twice during the day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Patrol once at night.

When patrolling, push the bamboo raft to circle the fish pond, check if the net cages are damaged, if the water surface has any abnormalities, and if anything is hiding in the water weeds.

If everything is normal, go back to the bamboo house on the shore and stay there.

The bamboo houses were for the guards to rest and Cultivate; one room per person, and although they weren't big, they were quiet.

Looking out from the window of the bamboo house, one could see a corner of the water surface of Fish Pond No. 6, shimmering.

Lin Tian had asked Captain Ma where the danger mainly came from.

Captain Ma squatted on the bamboo raft, holding a bamboo pole in his hand, and pointed to the dark forest on the other side of the lake.

"Martial Artists from other Families or Schools generally dare not come to Yunhai Fishery to cause trouble. This is the territory of the Qixia Sect; who would have the guts to tweak a tiger's tail?

The danger mainly comes from the Vicious Beasts in the mountains.

Those beasts have very sharp noses; they can smell the scent of Treasure Fish from across a mountain.

To them, Treasure Fish are natural supplements created by heaven and earth; swallowing one is worth several years of hard Cultivation in the mountains.

So, every once in a while, Vicious Beasts will sneak over from the mountains, wanting to steal fish to eat."

He plunged the bamboo pole into the water, and the bamboo raft stopped steadily.

"Our task is to stop them. If we can drive them away, we drive them away; if we can't drive them away, we kill them."

In ten days, Lin Tian became familiar with every inch of the water surface of Fish Pond No. 6.

During the day patrols, he used the bamboo raft to go over every corner of the fish pond, remembering where the water was deep, where it was shallow, where the net cages were dense, and where the waterways were narrow.

During night patrols, he sat on the bamboo raft carrying a lantern. The light from the lantern reflected on the water, illuminating the situation underwater clearly.

The Treasure Fish swam slowly in the net cages, their scales shimmering with a faint silver light under the lantern, occasionally flicking their tails and stirring up a string of fine bubbles.

When there was no danger, this job was indeed very leisurely.

A patrol took less than an hour, and the remaining time was all his own.

Lin Tian spent most of his time Cultivating.

The bamboo house was quiet; pushing open the window revealed the lake. Occasionally, a fish would leap out of the water, bringing up a splash before falling back in, ripples spreading out in circles before quickly calming down.

He meditated in the bamboo house to practice the Purple Qi Diagram, practiced sword techniques and palm techniques in the open space by the lake, and practiced the Meteor Arrow Technique on the bamboo raft—the bowstring pulled back, the arrow pierced the air, nailing into the old tree trunk on the opposite bank with a dull thud.

After ten days, Captain Ma and the other team members were very satisfied with Lin Tian.

This young man was low-key, steady, and hardworking.

He never shirked the work assigned to him, was careful and earnest during patrols, and could even notice if a knot on a net cage had loosened slightly.

When not patrolling, he would return to the bamboo house to Cultivate; he didn't cause trouble, didn't provoke issues, and didn't get into disputes with others.

The only flaw that could be picked out was that his swimming ability was indeed not very good.

Once, the bamboo raft was shaken by an underwater current; Lin Tian lost his footing and almost fell into the water, but fortunately, he reacted quickly and grabbed the bamboo pole to steady himself.

Captain Ma, on a nearby bamboo raft, saw this, shook his head, and said nothing.

The fishery guards all had excellent swimming skills.

Captain Ma could hold his breath underwater for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense without needing to surface; diving to the bottom of the lake to retrieve dropped tools was an everyday occurrence.

Some team members had practiced underwater movement techniques and were more agile in the water than on land; with one dive, they could swim from one end of the fish pond to the other without needing to surface for air.

Another team member knew an underwater breathing technique and was said to be able to stay underwater for an hour, just like a fish.

Lin Tian only knew ordinary swimming and couldn't stay underwater for long before needing to surface for air; as for underwater combat—his sword and palm techniques would have their power at least halved in the water.

Fortunately, half a month had passed, and he hadn't encountered anything that required going underwater.

The night of the fifteenth day.

Lin Tian sat cross-legged in the bamboo house, Cultivating the Dragon Roar Iron Shirt.

His Internal Energy flowed slowly through his body according to the route in the Secret Manual, and a faint dark cyan luster appeared on the surface of his skin.

After half a month of hard training, although the Dragon Roar Iron Shirt was still far from the Proficient Realm, the toughness of his skin had improved a bit.

He pressed his forearm with his finger and could clearly feel that the layer of "copper skin" beneath his skin was a bit thicker than when he first started.

At this rate of training, in another two or three months, the Dragon Roar Iron Shirt should be able to Breakthrough to the Proficient Realm.

Suddenly, the sound of a drum rang out.

It wasn't single drum beats, but dense, rapid drum sounds, like heavy rain pelting on roof tiles.

The drum sounds came from the direction of the bamboo building, exploding in the silent night, shaking the walls of the bamboo house.

The waves on the lake were shaken by the drum sounds, creating fine ripples that spread out in circles.

Immediately after, shouts and calls rang out from all around the lake shore.

"A Vicious Beast attack!"

"Quick, quick, quick! Defend!"

Lin Tian grabbed the autumn water sword from the table and hung it at his waist, then backhanded the cold moon bow and quiver, pushed the door open, and rushed out.

He unleashed the Cloud Shadow Step with full power, his whole person stretching into a blurry shadow in the night, skimming over the gravel path between the bamboo houses, and rushing towards the gathering point of Fish Pond No. 6.

When he arrived, Captain Ma was already standing on the shore.

His sword was unsheathed, the blade reflecting the light of distant torches, glowing with a faint, cold light.

Several team members rushed out from their respective bamboo houses one after another; some held sabers, some carried swords, and some still held unfinished dry rations in their hands, stuffing them into their mouths as they ran.

Torches lit up one after another, creating a long dragon of fire on the lake shore.

"Team 6, assemble!" Captain Ma's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

His gaze swept over the faces of the team members one by one. Seeing Lin Tian running over with a sword at his waist and a bow in his hand, his gaze paused on the cold moon bow in his hand, then moved away.

In the distant forest, the roars of Vicious Beasts rose and fell.

The sound was low and thick, carrying a primitive, savage power that made the leaves tremble.

Judging by the sound, there were quite a few, at least a dozen, and more than one type of Vicious Beast—there were coarse, hoarse roars, and sharp, piercing screeches, mixed together like someone beating a dozen drums of different sizes in the dark night.

"Prepare to defend!" Captain Ma pointed his saber forward.

Clang, clang, clang—the sound of swords and sabers being unsheathed merged into one.

The team members gripped their weapons and followed Captain Ma as they rushed toward the forest ahead.

The torchlight illuminated the edge of the forest; the trunks of the ancient trees appeared a dull brown in the firelight, and the tree shadows swayed, like countless twisted arms waving.

Lin Tian stood still.

Captain Ma looked back at him, his brow slightly furrowed.

A team member nearby also noticed and whispered: "Is this kid scared silly?"

Another team member shook his head, his tone carrying the tolerance of someone who had been there before: "He's a newcomer; it's normal to encounter this kind of situation for the first time."

They didn't pay any more attention to Lin Tian and rushed towards the edge of the forest, gripping their weapons.

Lin Tian was not scared silly.

He was going to attack from a distance.

He held the cold moon bow in his left hand; the bow body was deep blue, glowing with a faint, cold light in the night, as if he were holding a piece of ice fished out from the deep sea.

His right hand drew an arrow from the quiver and nocked it on the bowstring.

The arrow was a gift from the manager of Wanbao Pavilion; it had a cold iron arrowhead and an ironwood shaft. When nocked on the bowstring, the arrow body vibrated slightly, emitting a very light, very fine humming sound.

He took a deep breath, his gaze crossing over the charging team members in front, and locked onto the black shadow rapidly surging at the edge of the forest.

The Vicious Beasts in the forest rushed out.

The first to rush out was a huge black-furred Vicious Wolf, its shoulder height almost reaching a person's chest, its fur jet black as ink, with only two eyes glowing with a ghostly green light in the firelight.

The moment it lunged out of the forest, the fallen leaves on the ground were trampled and exploded, and its sharp claws dug several deep grooves into the ground.

Following closely behind it were seven or eight slightly smaller gray wolves; further back, there were a few more Vicious Beasts whose names couldn't be identified, some running on all fours, some running upright, their shapes shadowy in the night, like a group of evil ghosts surging out from Hell.

The two sides collided fiercely.

Captain Ma took the lead, his long saber slashing out a crescent-shaped blade light, striking head-on at the black-furred Vicious Wolf.

The black-furred Vicious Wolf dodged to the side and snapped back at Captain Ma's waist and ribs. Captain Ma blocked with his saber; the blade and the wolf's fangs collided, sparking a few sparks.

The other team members also engaged with the rushing Vicious Beasts; the gleam of swords and sabers intertwined in the torchlight, and the sounds of shouting, beast roars, and weapons entering flesh mixed together, making people's eardrums buzz.

The battle entered a white-hot state from the very beginning.

Lin Tian's gaze swept rapidly across the battlefield.

He was not in a hurry to shoot.

The Meteor Arrow Technique emphasized a guaranteed hit on the first shot; if it hits, it must kill.

Shooting arrows randomly would not only waste arrows but might also accidentally injure his own people.

His gaze suddenly focused.

On the left side of the battlefield, a team member was entangled in a fight with a gray wolf.

The team member's sword technique was not weak; he forced the gray wolf back with one strike and was about to pursue, when three steps behind him, a slightly smaller black wolf silently sprang out from the bushes.

The black wolf was obviously very good at sneak attacks; its four limbs landed almost without making any sound, its ghostly green eyes staring fixedly at the team member's back, its body lowered, hind leg muscles tensed, and then it lunged forward.

The team member felt the force of the wind behind him, and his face turned pale instantly.

He wanted to dodge, but the gray wolf in front was still entangled, and he couldn't pull away.

He wanted to turn his sword to block, but it was already too late.

The black wolf's claws were already raised, the sharp tips gleaming coldly in the firelight, and they came down toward the back of his neck.

If this claw strike landed solidly, with the strength of a Vicious Beast, even if he didn't die, he would be seriously injured.

He gritted his teeth, preparing to take the hit head-on.

If he could avoid the vital points, he would; he would just have to endure this strike first.

As for being injured, that was unavoidable.

Just then, a streak of arrow light lit up from afar.

The arrow light was extremely fast.

From lighting up to landing, there was almost no interval, like a meteor streaking across the night sky, trailing a long, dazzling beam of light that reached before his eyes in an instant.

The sound of the arrow piercing the air was sharp and piercing, drowning out the shouting and beast roars on the battlefield, like a red-hot iron wire stabbing fiercely into everyone's ears.

With a squelch, the arrow burrowed into the black wolf's left eye socket.

The black wolf's claws were still raised in mid-air, less than three feet from the team member's neck.

Then its body stiffened suddenly, as if someone had cast a immobilization spell on it.

The light in its ghostly green eyes extinguished instantly, the raised claws hung down limply, its entire body lost all strength in mid-air, and it crashed straight onto the ground like a severed wooden stake.

With a dull thud, the fallen leaves on the ground were shaken into the air.