38: Causes and consequences

"Forget it!"

Seeing Sixth Master, who used to lord it over common folk, in such a state, Gu Chang's immense fury dissipated considerably. He couldn't be bothered with further nonsense and directly leaped onto the pleasure boat, seizing him.

"P-P-Pardon my life~"

At the last moment, driven by his survival instinct, Sixth Master finally begged for mercy. However, the only response he received was Gu Chang's increasingly forceful grip.

"Crack!"

"Ho~ Ho~"

As his neck bone was crushed, life instantly began to drain away, and his last breath escaped from his throat.

"Bang! Plop!"

The next moment, Gu Chang's gaze swept across the entire pleasure boat. All the boatmen were cowering in fear, huddled together, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Moor the boat by the Island!"

However, Gu Chang didn't care what they were thinking at this moment. The key was how to deal with these people next and clarify the entire sequence of events.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"Quick, quick! What are you standing around for!"

"Everyone move!"

"..."

One of the boatmen, clearly the boat's captain, quickly stood up and got busy after hearing Gu Chang's command.

"Splash~ Splash splash~"

Soon, the pleasure boat was moored to the Island. Gu Chang then brought all three surviving Martial Forest experts onto the Island and began to interrogate them.

To be honest, there wasn't much to interrogate; Gu Chang was simply uneasy.

The three individuals were taken to different locations by Gu Chang, and he questioned them about the sequence of events.

This way, the possibility of them all lying simultaneously was greatly reduced.

By this point, these Martial Forest experts had completely accepted their fate and were thoroughly intimidated by Gu Chang's strength. Therefore, they basically answered whatever he asked, and unless it involved some important secret, they would generally tell the truth.

"Crack!"

After crushing the last Martial Forest expert, Gu Chang stood on the Island, lost in thought.

"ice lotus seeds, Cultivators, Demonic Path experts, and various Schools and Families around Taihu Lake have basically all been mobilized."

"No wonder they found their way here. With so many people, it was only a matter of time before they searched the entire Taihu Lake."

"But this is really annoying me!"

"I just want to quietly Cultivate and improve my strength. Why is it so difficult?"

Even after understanding the sequence of events, Gu Chang was still very annoyed because this incident was a complete calamity.

The troublesome part was that he had killed people. These Martial Forest experts had the backing of various Schools and Families, and he would likely face more trouble in the future.

This was the troublesome aspect of the Jianghu: if you hit a junior, an elder would come. Unless you displayed overwhelming strength, the various forces would not back down.

"These five people consist of two second-rate experts and three third-rate experts. As for someone like Sixth Master, he's considered unranked."

"Their strength is far inferior to mine, which means my own strength should be comparable to a First-rate Expert. As for Innate Experts, these people haven't seen them, so no one knows how strong they truly are."

After this encounter, Gu Chang had a rough understanding of where his strength stood in the real world.

It could be said that a First-rate Expert was already considered a prominent figure in the Jianghu, often only possessed by powerful Families. Such an expert appearing in a city would surely be courted by various forces.

Of course, a First-rate Expert was merely a term in the Jianghu. In the eyes of a Cultivator, they would probably only be slightly more powerful Mortals, characters who could be easily slain.

Unless one's strength broke through to the Innate Expert level, they would not even be worthy of a second glance from a Cultivator.

"So my strength is not enough. Next, I must improve to a level comparable to an Innate Expert!"

After a period of serious contemplation, Gu Chang made a decision in his heart.

That was to abandon this Island and find another place to continue Cultivating. After all, there was nothing here except for fishing.

Since that was the case, abandoning this place would result in no loss.

"S-Sir!"

In front of the pleasure boat, several boatmen stood together, trembling. When the boat captain saw Gu Chang approach, he felt his mouth go dry.

For no other reason than the Killing Intent emanating from this young man dressed as a fisherman was simply too terrifying!

Perhaps Gu Chang himself hadn't realized it, but his experience fighting on battlefields in the Reincarnation World was causing his entire Aura to transform towards being imposing, oppressive, and fierce.

"What is it?"

Gu Chang simply glanced at him, then frowned and asked.

"W-We will absolutely keep your secret, Sir. Not a single word of what happened here will be leaked!"

"We beg for your compassion, Sir. Please pity us, Sir. We have elders at home and young ones below..."

The boat captain's knees instantly went weak, and he directly knelt on the ground, kowtowing and pleading.

As an ordinary person, a true nobody, he knew he had no ability to resist. His only hope for survival now was for this young man dressed as a fisherman to show mercy.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you!"

"Just stay put for now. After I leave, you can sail away!"

Gu Chang had never had a penchant for indiscriminate killing. These boatmen had only come because they were ordered by those Jianghu individuals.

Gu Chang was well aware of this, so he wouldn't kill them.

More importantly, Gu Chang's parents in this life were fishermen, and he himself was one. He understood how difficult it was to make a living on the water.

"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Sir!"

"Thank you for your mercy, Sir!"

"..."

The other boatmen also expressed their gratitude and then obediently remained in place.

Gu Chang, meanwhile, directly collected the spoils of this battle, then moved everything from his fishing boat and the items he had stored on the Island onto the pleasure boat.

Since there was a ready-made large boat in front of him, he would no longer use his old small fishing boat.

After all, the space in a small boat was ultimately too cramped, so much so that he couldn't even move his body freely, let alone practice martial arts.

After moving all his belongings, Gu Chang directly pushed the pleasure boat into the lake with force, then with a single powerful leap, he jumped onto the boat. Alone, he rowed the oars and swiftly disappeared into the depths of Taihu Lake.

The few fishermen on the Island dared not utter a sound when they saw this scene. It was only after the pleasure boat had disappeared for a long time that someone dared to ask the boat captain: "Ah Da, what, what should we do?"

"What else can we do? We should be happy we met the King of Hell this trip and still lived!"

"Hurry up, everyone get on the boat, and as soon as we get back, we move!"

"There's always a place for us to make a living in the eight water systems of Taihu Lake, but we absolutely cannot get involved with those Jianghu individuals again!"

"Oh, and what happened today, keep it sealed in your mouths, or if it leaks out, I'll be the first to kill you!"

By the end, the boat captain's tone had become exceptionally ferocious. Only he understood how terrifying the young fisherman who had just left truly was.

His Physical Body could withstand blades and swords without harm, and he effortlessly killed five experts alone!

How could that be a human! He was clearly a living King of Hell!

"Yes, yes, yes, we'll all listen to Ah Da!"

"Understood! Don't worry, my lips are sealed!"

"Let's go, we can't stay here!"

"..."

The few boatmen spoke as they piloted the fishing boat Gu Chang had left behind, departing from the area. As for the bodies on the Island, no one mentioned them, acting as if they didn't exist at all.

As for the pleasure boat Gu Chang had taken, if anyone dared to say another word, they would likely be surrounded and beaten by the surrounding boatmen the next moment!

In this world, principles and rules have always been in the hands of the strong. They could only submit to their fate.

"Splash~ Splash splash~"

"The pleasure boat is indeed much larger than my original fishing boat. There are three rooms inside the cabin, more than enough for daily living."

"Plus, with all the rice, oil, salt, and other daily necessities inside, I won't have to worry for at least another month or two."

In the depths of Taihu Lake, Gu Chang dropped anchor and then began to inspect the interior of the pleasure boat.

He had to admit, he was quite satisfied with this pleasure boat, even more so than with the swords, weapons, and Secret Manuals he had obtained from those Jianghu individuals.